As expected, with Ria having hidden her power at the Guild trials, she was able to continue winning matches without any issues.
None of the four star Hunters she faced had forced her to take a step away from her current location as her overwhelming firepower made it impossible to approach.
While watching the fights happen, Alice couldn't help but feel as though sothing was off.
To her, a four star Hunter should be more than capable of making Ria use more of her power. And yet here she was taking them out one by one with ease.
'All of the people we fought against, even the three star's were better than these people. Are they really that weak or are they acting weak to boost Ria's confidence?' Alice thought to herself with a frown.
Even without Cayla, the movent of the four star Hunters seed rather… dull in comparison to the fights she's had.
All things considered, Alice speculated that she could probably beat them in a fight if she uses only her first Sigil and dagger. However, that was pushing it slightly since she had no way to deal with the difference in physical strength.
'The only ranged attack option I have is my fire and the blood I collected from the Hunter last ti. Though it's a last use resort since having the angel scream can cancel out Abyss Powers when rged with my own Sigil.' Alice thought to herself as she glanced into her pouch.
There were only two vials of blood left that didn't include her own, whether it's in powdered form or liquid form.
Shaking her head, Alice glanced at the last fighter and wondered how she would've fought him if she was in Ria's position.
'His resonance was one that allowed him to manipulate this weird black energy. I guess in a way it was similar to Kaden since he was using shadows to attack. Against him… I would probably start by using my dagger then rush him to see how his reactions are.' Alice mused to herself.
Defeating him would be annoying without her second Sigil, but if it was a fight to the death, his death was guaranteed.
"I suppose Allura ntioned that not all four stars are equal. Just like the difference between Ria and her opponents." Alice mumbled while making her way over to the bar to get sothing to drink.
In the end, she decided to try one of their best sellers which seed to be a ad made from apple and honey.
Slling the ad from the cup, Alice was surprised by how sweet the sll was as she had expected sothing bitter.
"Seems like you're not familiar with alcohol girly." The bartender chuckled as Alice shook her head.
"I don't really drink. It seed like people are buying this a lot so I figured I'll try it." Alice replied honestly as the bartender chuckled.
"ad's are usually rather sweet since they're made from honey. The alcohol contents are relatively low." He explained as Alice nodded her head and thanked the bartender.
Making her way back to her seat, she could see that Ria had been paired against one of their more 'powerful' fighters. Just judging from the way he was carrying himself, Alice could tell that he was soone with experience.
It wasn't comparable to Allura or Gin but Alice knew that he was roughly Neal's level or maybe just a bit lower.
'Seems like Ria might have to use more strength in this fight.' Alice thought to herself as she took a sip of the ad.
"!!!" Raising her eyebrows, Alice was surprised by how the drink tasted. It felt like a warm fire flooding her body yet it didn't hurt at all. The sweetness that ca before the warmth made her feel cozy as she took another sip.
"Holy crap… This is good…" Alice muttered as she realised what she wanted as her hobby. Or rather, sothing that she wanted to classify as what she enjoyed and that was tasting more alcohol like this ad.
"Urg… Ria's grandfather had a flask that he kept drinking from. I wonder if I can get sothing like that too for this drink." Alice sighed while taking another sip.
From sips to gulps, Alice finished her drink quickly and ran back to the counter to get more.
"Seems like I've hooked you on this drink girly hahaha." The bartender chuckled seeing the eagerness in Alice's eyes as she placed the mug on the counter while asking for more. In a sense, it was almost as if a kid was asking for sweets from a stall.
"It's sweet then hot. Kind of spicy then cosy. Very tasty." Alice nodded her head as she wasn't sure how to explain how she felt from drinking the ad yet she knew she enjoyed the drink.
"Are there any others like this one? Or is this one the best one?"
"We got a few others. Though whether or not it's the best one depends on your tastes. So ads are made from different kinds of honey. So would be considered poisonous to Hunters with weak constitutions yet those with 5 or more Sigils tend to enjoy such drinks as they help them get drunk." The bartender explained with a chuckle.
Alice was like an eager student right now as she morised everything he ntioned about the drink and bought so more to sample.
Seeing how she was gulping down the drink like the barbarians from the northern continent, the bartender was surprised to see how resilient she was towards the drinks. Even though the alcohol contents were low, considering her stature, it was a wonder how she was not even red in the face yet.
"Hmm… I think I like the ad made from Cinder Honey the most." Alice muttered after trying out all of the different ads that the bar offered. Despite not being red in the face, the alcohol was slowly taking effect as the tips of her ears were red.
"Do you have a flask that can hold a bunch of the ad in one go? Like er… that whole barrel." Alice asked, pointing at the barrel behind him.
"We don't since they're usually equipnt for famous Hunters. But I can have so people deliver the ad to where you're staying if you wish." The bartender offered as Alice nodded her head.
"Then I'll take 10 bottles to g-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Ria had walked up behind Alice and chopped down on her head.
"OW! Hey! What was that for?" Alice frowned as she glanced back and saw Ria behind her.
"Oh! Ria you should try this hehe~" Alice grinned, showing Ria a mug of the Cinder Honey ad.
"You're drunk. And how much of our gold did you spend on alcohol? You do realise that you only have 1 gold piece left right? The rest is my gold?" Ria asked with a twitching smile.
Tilting her head for a mont, Alice placed the mug down before holding up 6 fingers.
"The girly here spent 6 gold on our finest ad and wanted 10 bottles to go which would total to roughly 5 extra gold pieces. So 11 gold in total." The bartender chuckled, causing Ria to blink her eyes in bewildernt. She was in shock at how much Alice had drank in the course of a few short matches and was now even planning on buying 10 bottles to take ho with her!
Massaging her eyes, Ria glanced down at Alice and sighed.
She could see the longing in Alice's eyes as she laughed to herself thinking about the drinks that she'll have.
"I suppose you're a happy drunk. Though it's more accurate to say you're tipsy. However... your self control has already waned this much."
Shaking her head, Ria placed 5 gold pieces on the counter.
"Can you send the bottles to this address?"
"Of course. Here's one free on the house as it seems like the girly has fallen in love with the flavour." The bartender chuckled, handing a bottle to Alice who didn't hesitate to hug the bottle while Ria dragged her out of the establishnt.
Even she knew when to quit and after winning two more matches, she took her earnings to look for Alice.
Counting the coins in her pouch, Ria sighed as burning through 11 coins just for drinks was not part of her calculations. It was likely that they'll have to revisit the place aning… Alice will get more drinks.
"I'll be honest, out of everything, I didn't expect you to like drinking so much." Ria sighed while glancing back at Alice who was drinking her bottle happily while letting out strange giggles.
"You should try it Ria. It's tasty!" Alice offered as Ria sighed and nodded.
"50 silver per bottle better be worth it."
Taking the bottle, Ria took a sip and raised her eyebrow.
"Huh… Well I can see why you would like it I suppose. Though I wouldn't go out of my way to spend this much on it." Ria shrugged, giving back the bottle to Alice.
"You're losing out then. More for ." Alice smiled.
However, her smile soon faded as her eyebrows began to furrow.
Pausing her steps, she closed her eyes and sniffed the air.
"Alice?"
"Wait… Sothing slls weird." Alice frowned.
Despite being tipsy, her awareness was now sharpened as she continued to sll the air.
Following the sll, Alice arrived at the entrance towards the slums as there was a deep frown on her face.
At this point, even Ria could sll the stench as she had to cover her nose.
"What the hell is this sll?"
"Abyss Blood boiling in rotting flesh. The sll is usually very potent and if you're not careful can cause slight side effects just like if you were to drink impure blood." Alice warned, gesturing for Ria to take a step back.
"Though from the sll, it doesn't seem to be a high concentration. You'll definitely get sick if you sll it for too long but it can be treated."
She knew this sll well. After all, she slled it plenty of tis when her body was suffering from side effects in the Zenia prison.
However, the biggest worry was how this sll was caused.
'Soone did this on purpose. Maybe it has sothing in common with the rumours I heard earlier…' Alice contemplated for a mont before stepping away.
"Well, I'm sure the guards will deal with it tomorrow. Not like we can do anything here anyways." Alice shrugged.
"If you say so." Ria glanced back at the slums before following Alice back to their Inn.
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