'Seed of Chaos' System

The next day started off with early-morning physical exercises, which Alesha found just as torturous as the day before. Apparently, indirect contact with sunlight was still plenty to activate her "sun weakness," which she found rather infuriating. Then it was time for their education about the Kingdom. Surprisingly, she learned something interesting. Apparently, Heroes weren't the only entities that possessed skills; monsters and demons did, too. This was evidently the reason Hero Summonings were important to the Kingdom: Heroes, who possessed Classes and Skills, could more easily counter the strength of the Demon King's Army than the natives of this world. Did that mean that on top of not being able to level up, the native humans couldn't use skills? Didn't that make the Heroes a huge threat to the people, then? 

Alesha supposed that was why their education included stuff like basic political and social structure, the monetary system, geography, the conditions of the poor and how to properly dispose of monster corpses. If the Heroes understood how their actions would affect the natives of the world they lived in, if the Kingdom could make the Heroes feel like this was "reality" and not a "video game," it was more likely they would make more careful choices. Come to think of it, getting the Heroes acquainted with death so early on probably helped drive the "reality" of this world home for them, too.

Thinking about it made her wonder: was this world real? Or was it just a construct designed by Zorhellian to serve as the setting for the Story his game participants were currently trapped in? Did it even matter? She had no way to know, and thinking too deeply on the subject wouldn't bring any new insight or knowledge. Perhaps she was better off simply treating everything as real, since she couldn't tell the difference anyways.

After their morning education came lunch, a relatively light affair featuring nutritious sandwiches and soups. Han, the one with the Class "God's Chef," had been pulled away from their education early to help prepare the food, and the Heroes were pleasantly surprised to discover that everything he cooked granted some pretty beneficial effects. Alesha, of course, was unaffected by the buffs. 

While she was sulking over the effects of Gaia's curse, a soldier approached with a sizable deerskin flask and a folded piece of paper. After handing it to her without a word, the soldier bowed and left, leaving Alesha confused. She unfolded it and read the contents, curious. 

"We can't have one of our Heroes dying on us," the note said simply. 

"Huh?" Alesha said. The note didn't clarify anything at all. Looking around the dining hall, she could see that none of the others had been given a flask, or anything else for that matter. Did that mean this was just for her? But why?

She unstopped the flask somewhat clumsily and her eyes widened at the scent. She gulped reflexively, mouth beginning to salivate. Was this… blood? Placing it directly under her nose, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply. It certainly was. She had been wondering about keeping her vampiric urges in check, since she predicted that her "blood dependency" racial trait would become troublesome at some point. At the very worst, she guessed that it could send her into a blood frenzy if she didn't get blood often enough. Did this mean the Kingdom had predicted her needs and was prepared to provide for them? Should she feel touched, or should she feel creeped out? Alesha wasn't sure.

Whatever the reason, they had given her blood, and her instincts were screaming at her to drink it. She took a sip. It was strange, a lot more viscous than she would have expected, and it had a sickeningly sweet aftertaste alongside the metallic twang she'd heard was characteristic of blood. Still, she craved it. Alesha drank deeply, and before she truly felt satisfied, she had already drained the entire flask. She upended it and let the last drops plop into her mouth. 

Then something unexpected happened. A golden, semi-transparent window appeared, featuring the first bit of good news she'd had in a while.

*****

Plunder conditions met! New skill acquired: Troll's Regeneration Lvl 10

Skill description: Unless beheaded, the possessor of this skill will be able to regenerate any injury.

*****

Alesha gasped, her heart filling with hope. She had been worrying about what would happen when Captain Swallow told her superiors about her curse, species, and the function of Plunder, but this was an indication that it had gone well, right? Not only had the Kingdom not designated her as a threat, but they were giving her blood so that she could survive! At least that's what it seemed like to her. Surely the skill the blood contained wasn't a coincidence? It wouldn't be pleasant to get hurt, of course, but now she would be much harder to kill.

She had been worried that she'd get cast aside for being useless. There were far too many "Hero Summoning" comics and manwha where that occurred for her to write off the possibility… but this changed everything. If the Kingdom gathered monster blood to give her based on the skills the monsters possessed, then she drank the blood to acquire those skills, then even she who was stuck at level 1 could be of use to them, right? 

She leaned back in her chair, heaving a sigh of relief. Her worries appeared to have been for nothing.