With my trophies firmly in hand, I set out for the DOEA office. Yesterday had been a challenging day, and upon returning to town, instead of promptly submitting my haul, I opted to head straight home. However, this morning brought a shift in perspective. The previous day's trials acted as a catalyst, propelling me towards newfound determination. Before delving too deeply into ambitious plans, though, the practical task at hand remained: turning in my items. Perhaps there awaited a substantial reward, I mused to myself.
Entering the DOEA office, I greeted Poppy with a smile. "Good morning, Poppy," I said, addressing her warmly. "I apologize for not making it in yesterday. It was a bit of a rough day, but nothing I couldn't handle."
"Well, I'm glad you're okay," she responded. "It must have been quite the day."
"It was... quite the day," I replied, a hint of excitement in my voice. "I fought a huge mutated rat. Here, look." With a flourish, I retrieved the horn from my backpack, watching as Poppy's eyes widened in amazement.
"Bradley, that looks to be a very valuable trophy," she exclaimed. Taking the horn in her hand, Poppy swiftly grabbed what appeared to be an eyeglass of some sort, bringing it up close to the horn as she adjusted a couple of dials.
"This looks to be a resource from a yet unidentified monster species," she exclaimed, her excitement palpable. "If it's not too much to ask, what kind of creature did you get this from?"
"It was a massive mutated rat," I replied, recalling the encounter vividly. "It looked to be about 250 pounds, with this horn sticking out of its head." I paused, a slight grimace crossing my face. "It took a good chunk out of my arm. It was fortunate I had my healing ability, or I think my left arm would have been crippled. Well, until I could receive healing from my mother or sister."
"Well, based off the reading I'm getting, it has a considerable amount of ether," Poppy exclaimed, surprise evident on her face. "It seems to have been from a weak T-rank monster. However, I've never heard of any monster looking like what you described. If you wouldn't mind, I would love to add a description to the public database."
After my extensive description and the additional 1000 bucks I acquired by registering a new monster species, I was well on my way towards a fantastic day. Poppy's description of the horn as ether-heavy, as ether-heavy as a T-rank monster could produce, sparked a few new ideas for me. After all, my weapon could use some upgrades.
As he made his way towards Ricky's, thoughts of potential upgrades filled his mind. Over the past week, he had tirelessly farmed an ungodly amount of rats. With the sheer amount of carnage he had wrought, he had managed to amass a considerable sum in his bank account. In fact, it was more money than he had ever seen in his life, and he was prepared to spare no expense. He currently had exactly $25,061 in his bank account, and he had a few crucial needs he was willing to invest almost everything he had gathered into.
Entering the shopping center, he swiftly located Ricky's shop and stepped inside.
"Ahh, Bradley, how may I be of service to you today?" Ricky said, his face lighting up with a bright smile.
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Pulling out my rat horn and grasping my poleaxe from my side, I quickly outlined my request. I described how I wanted the horn transplanted onto where the original poleaxe had its spear tip. Furthermore, I explained my desire for some ether tech to be implanted onto the poleaxe, potentially enhancing the sharpness and durability of the weapon.
"Of course, with these requests, you can expect it to be done in a day or two at most. It will cost you... $3,231, add tax and you're looking at $3,493," Ricky said, detailing the price.
"Works for me. I'll be back in a few days to pick it up," I replied, nodding in agreement. "Before I leave though, do you happen to have anything to store gear of some sort? Like a heavy-duty backpack, maybe with some tech to make it lighter." This was the real reason I had come here. Not only would it save my school backpack from any further abuse, but it would be a quality item I hopefully wouldn't have to replace for a long time.
"In fact, I actually just got something of the sort in stock the other day," Ricky exclaimed, his excitement evident. "It was just patented by some space affinity guy out east. I think it uses space-attuned ether to somehow create a larger space inside of a smaller one. Don't ask me how it works, it just does."
"Could I take a look at it? It seems like it would be a pretty useful item to have on adventures," I asked eagerly, intrigued by the concept.
"Sure," Ricky said before hurrying into the back of the room, presumably to grab the space bag. Returning from his quick trip, Ricky handed me what looked to be a normal rugged, high-quality leather bag with a multitude of pockets, each secured by leather straps.
Opening the largest pocket in the center of the bag, I peered inside to find what looked to be a four-by-four-foot space, with crackling lines of space ether rippling along the sides, matching the leather exterior. Quickly examining all of the other pockets—ten in total—I found that only the central one boasted the spacious four-by-four dimensions, while the others were smaller, each about a foot by a foot, with the same crackling lines of space ether lining their insides.
Looking back up at Ricky, a massive grin spread across my face as I asked, "So, Ricky, how much would this untested, potentially dangerous bag be worth?"
"Don't even try to guilt trip me on this one, kid," Ricky replied with a playful scowl. "It cost a flat $15,000 from the guy out east, and it's very well tested. I'll take, let's say, $19,000. Knock off a thousand because you're a repeat customer. Plus tax, you're looking at $19,458, and not a cent less."
"Fine, I won't hassle you," I said, resigning myself to the cost. Swiping my card for the second time that morning, a tear almost welled up in my eye. My bank account had gone from a solid 25k to a measly 2,000 in a mere couple of minutes. "Oh well," I thought to myself, "easy come, easy go."
Thanking Ricky, I left the shop. However, it wasn't time to leave just yet. No, I needed a couple more things before I departed.
After two full hours of furious negotiations with his last couple of thousand, he had made out like a bandit. He acquired for himself a few ether-infused herbs collectively known as pool herbs, as they boosted a person's ether pool. However, there were so many different grasses and plants after the ether awakening that people had basically given up on naming them, collectively calling them pool herbs—a generic term for all herbs that boosted one's ether pool. That didn't mean people hadn't classified the herbs; they were categorized based on the rank of pool they could benefit. U-level ether pool herbs, which he had bought, could only benefit a U rank ether pool. However, with his unique ether absorption ability, he hoped to benefit even when in T rank.
With the bulk of his $2,000 spent on U Rank Ether pool herbs, he had also grabbed a couple of vials of various acids and poisons, as well as a few other useful items such as rope and a lighter. Overall, he had exactly $20 remaining in his bank account. However, he felt like a million bucks. He was ready to tackle the world, right after he got his weapon back.