Only a day had passed since Matthew left for Texas. Even though they had only been together a few days, he already missed having someone to talk to about this 'system'. He still had Blake, he supposed. But Blake was a busy man, being an S-rank and all.
He'd contemplated texting Matthew a few times, but each time he stopped himself. Matthew was probably dealing with more than a few issues. Explaining why he was nearly twice as powerful as he was when he left being the one off the top of his head.
Luke on the other hand had the opposite problem. While at the strength of a low C-rank. He was now licensed as an E-rank, as such, he couldn't gain access to even the weakest of dungeons by himself. He'd have to find a team somewhere, just like him and Matthew had with the zombie dungeon.
Even given this limitation, it was nearly impossible to find a group willing to take on a single E-rank; not even to fill a quota. Due to having one of the largest gate densities in the United States, New York City had nearly two dozen guilds throughout it. And those were just the ones Luke knew about as an A-rank, having gotten emails upon emails to join. He was sure there were nearly double that amount in smaller guilds throughout. Regardless of their size, guilds owned basically every part of the city. At least all the parts that normally spawned gates due to how many people sprawled through them. In the poorer parts of the city there were a few free gates. But most were E-rank themselves and, for most guilds, weren't even worth buying for potential profit.
It was technically illegal to enter a gate without the proper regulation without permission from the F.B.H. Luke, technically had a pass by the Federal Bureau of Hunters to enter any gate of C-rank or lower alone assuming no one had already claimed it. But that was Luke as an A-rank. Given the fact it had been about a week since he'd gotten his new license, the logs had probably been updated. Though he was curious as to the staff's reaction to seeing his rank go from the 2nd highest to dead last.
Luke rubbed his eyes from having stared at his screen. His senses finally stopped focusing on his computer.
He sat in the middle of a breakfast diner. It was already lunch time, but Luke still decided on a brunch of scrabbled eggs, half a bagel, and some bacon.
Luke waved his hand and opened his stat screen, trying to rid his mind of the endless loop of not finding accessible gates.
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~
[Name: Luke Sirius]
[Level: 25]
[Job: None]
[HP: 195/195]
[MP: 133/133]
[Available Status Points: 10]
[Strength: 39]
[Agility: 43]
[Vigor: 39]
[Intelligence: 53]
[Sense: 39]
[Faith: 39]
[Skills]
[Active: Sundering Blow, Ember Step, Hook of Hades]
[Passive: Escape Artist]
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~
He still didn't know what to put his 10 extra status points into. His immediate thought was Intelligence, he could always use more mana. Especially since his gun now used more mana per shot than his former. But then his mind went to the vampire knight he and Matthew had fought just a few days ago. It had made him realize something. His physical stats were lacking.
While he didn't use them as much as Matthew did, with the exception of agility, he could still get overpowered or caught off guard by a strong enough opponent. In that regard, either Strength or Sense would be smart. Ultimately, if he couldn't decide, he could always put spare points into Faith.
"Do you need something?" A voice snapped Luke from his focus.
Behind his translucent screen, Luke saw a waitress staring at him. She had long blonde hair tied back in a pony tail. She wore thin rimmed glasses. Her body was rather slender, further insinuated by her uniform.
Luke waved his hand, closing his status screen. "What?" Was all he ended up saying as he looked at her. "Sorry, I spaced out."
The waitress nodded. "You've been here for a few hours staring at your computer. You having trouble with something?"
Luke lazily gestured to his computer. "Just... trying to find a gate to enter."
The waitress just crossed her arms and walked around to the back of the hunter's chair to stare at his computer screen. "That doesn't seem too hard."
"For an E-rank?" Luke looked behind him at the waitress.
She pursed her lips. "Oh... that makes things a bit more difficult. Actually," she walked next to the table to look at Luke. "I'm a hunter in my off time. Me and a few friends are heading out to south Boston to farm a few gates. You can be my plus one."
"Farm gates?" Luke asked. He knew the term, but had never bothered to do it himself. It was when a group of hunters venture into a gate and clear it out as usual. But they don't kill the boss when they arrive. Instead, they just leave and wait a few days for the monsters within the dungeon to respawn. Often times they would continue on to do the process again on other dungeons nearby. The process wasn't illegal by any means, but it was frowned upon.
"Oh, c'mon. I'm sure you've heard the term before." She asked.
Luke waved a hand. "Yeah yeah, I've heard the term; I know what it means. But why? Wouldn't it be better to just go into the gates and kill the boss at the end?"
Now it was the waitress's turn to wave the question away. "That's just an unnecessary risk. Our team, even with an extra member isn't all that tough. We have me, a D-rank assassin; Two E-ranks- one tanker and one healer. And a C-rank Mage. That one's actually my brother." She glanced down at Luke as she finished her list. "And maybe you."
"What rank gates would you guys be going into?" Luke asked, turning from his computer.
The waitress shrugged. "A few E-ranks and a D-rank. Don't know much about them beyond that. My brother normally does the research."
Luke leaned back in his seat and stared at the list of unavailable gates in the area. Then his mind drifted to his rent. It wasn't as big a deal as he'd first expected when he was reduced to an E-rank. Regardless of what he did in the meantime, he still had a few months before his money ran dry. Then again that wasn't including things like food and hunting equipment.
"How much are you paying?" Luke asked.
"Just whatever your cut is in the dungeons. Any magic beast's you kill are yours for the taking. But we tend to share things we get."
"E-rank beasts aren't worth much." Luke mumbled to himself. E-rank essence stones were hardly worth much in the grand scheme of things. Most decent ones were only worth about 10 dollars. Granted, with how many monster's he could kill in a single dungeon, he could get several dozens, even if its split among a whole party. "You mentioned there was a D-rank dungeon, right?"
The waitress nodded.
D-ranked stones were marginally better; granting nearly 50 dollars per stone if it was of decent quality. For both E and D-ranked stones, the boss's stones were almost double what a normal magic beast's was.
"I'll go on one condition." Luke held up a finger.
The waitress raised a brow. "You aren't really the one who should be making conditions, y'know."
Luke continued; the words going in one ear and out the other. "Let me kill the boss of each gate. Alone." He clarified.
The waitress gave an, admittedly, appropriate reaction. She titled her head to the side and knit her brow. "Why the hell would you want to do that?"
Luke opened his mouth but paused. He kind of ran straight into that question without any good answer. "Someone has to kill the boss," he began. "And apparently no one in your party is going to bother doing it."
The waitress just sighed and began to write something down on the notepad she would normally use to write down someone's order. "As long as you help out, I'm not really one to judge if you have a death wish." She tore the piece of paper from the pad and set it before Luke. "Meet the group tomorrow evening over by the Boston docks. Contact me later so I can add you to our group chat so we can talk things over."
With that, she left, leaving Luke to watch her go alone with his computer and a note. He looked down at the piece of paper. It had what he assumed was the waitress's number along with a few words below it. 'Names Janette btw :P'
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
***
A few hours later, near sunset, Luke lay on his couch within his penthouse.
He'd texted Janette's number about an hour after he'd left the cafe. Sure enough, after a bit of talking, she'd added him to a group chat with herself and three others.
Apart from Janette, there was Nino, an E-ranked healer.
Freddy- or just Fred, an E-ranked tanker.
And Havik, a C-ranked mage, who was also Janette's older brother. According to Janette 'Havik' wasn't his actual name, but it's just what everyone called him, so Luke went with it.
Overall, the group seemed welcoming of the new member of their party. Though Luke's introduction wasn't without some questions.
He'd explained himself as an E-ranked Ranger with a debuff skill and that his main weapon was a gun that fired bullets made of mana; rare for a lower ranked Ranger, but not unheard of.
Luke groaned as he sat up from his spot on the couch. He sat for several seconds in silence before a thought struck him; his new skill. He stood and held out his hand. He recalled the description of the skill.
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~
[Hook of Hades]
[Rank: B]
[Type: Active]
[Cost: 50]
[Description: You fire out a hook and chain from your arm that tears out a small piece of a creature's soul before returning to you, absorbing a random skill from the creature. A skill above the rank of this skill cannot be absorbed. If a creature has no skills to absorb, this skill is dispelled. This skill may fail depending on the difference in strength between you and the targeted creature and your Faith stat]
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~
He looked over it for a moment before stepping into a clearer area of his living room. He thought for a moment on exactly how to activate the skill due to the lack of creatures around him. After reading the description one more time he had an idea. He didn't need creatures.
Luke cast his arm out as if stylishly throwing a knife. As he did a chain shot from his forearm. It went further and faster then he had expected, clearing the entire length of the room in under a second.. "Wait-" Before Luke could draw his arm back to retract the chain. The crooked metal hook on its end smashed into the wall, making a fist sized crack in the surface. Finally, the chain quickly retracted back into his arm.
[MP: 133/133 > 83/133]
Luke stared at the small bits of wall that had fallen onto the hardwood, then at the crack on the wall. "At least I know how to activate it."
***
Luke set out to the streets that morning. Firstly to get breakfast, but secondly for equipment. In terms of hunting equipment he had nothing except his revolver. All things considered, it was a strong-ass revolver. But he needed something more then a simple weapon. He wasn't going to splurge too much, likely only aiming for mid-to-high D-rank. Partly because he was sure the occasional quests he'd get would quickly trump any item he purchased from the local shop, and partly because he was being more stingy with his money.
The first thing he know he needed was armor of some kind. While he was quick on his feet, as rangers tend to be, he at least wanted some sort protection.
The second thing on his list was a support item- a ring or necklace maybe- that increased his efficiency with his mana. Despite having put nearly every status point he ever got into Intelligence, he was still unsatisfied with his maximum mana supply. Hook of Hades alone took over a third of his maximum. Then again, it was his most mana intensive skill. But regardless of that skill, each shot from his revolver took 2 mana. If he had to guess most magic beasts worth fighting would take several well placed rounds to put down. None of that was even considering his other skills.
Sundering Blow he used constantly due to the fact it lowered the defense of whoever it hit by a percentage. While its cost was negligible compared to his other skills, he often followed it up by several shots of his gun.
It had been a while since he'd been to the shopping district in Boston. It was more crowded then he expected. He couldn't walk more then a few steps before needing to adjust his path as to not bump into someone.
At first, nothing caught his eye. Most of the items sold were mid-E-rank at best. Or they were just things he didn't need, such as swords or plate armor. But then something caught his eye: a small stand on the side of the street. Several trinkets- mostly jewelry- lay in glass cases on a table. Faded price tags were tapped onto the cases.
"Hello, any specific items you're looking for?" The man behind the booth greeted the hunter near immediately.
Luke scanned over the items. "Mainly just things to increase my mana capacity."
The man behind the booth smiled before opening up one of the cases and taking out a sliver ring. A blue spherical gem rested in a socket in its center. Before Luke could analyze the ring any further a screen appeared.
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~
[Ring of Lesser Mana Storage]
[Rank: E+]
[Description: A normal ring with a mana crystal melded into its socket. The crystal still holds remnants of mana the wearer can use as they please.]
[Effect: +5 Intelligence]
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~
Luke nodded slightly at the item's description. It was simple; granting him a small boost to intelligence by about 10%. Which wasn't bad for an E-ranked item. Luke waved his hand. "Set that aside, I may get it. But what else d'you have?" He asked.
The man did as was told, this time bringing out a necklace. Once again another screen flashed before Luke's eyes.
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~
[Amulet of the Apprentice Mage]
[Rank: D]
[Description: An amulet with the mana stone of an apprentice mage's staff housed within it. This item's true effects are at their peak when the other items of the apprentice mage are worn.]
[Effect: Slightly increases effectiveness of the Intelligence stat]
[Set Effects:
- Two or more items of the apprentice mage (0/2): Increases the effectiveness of the Intelligence stat. +10 Intelligence
- Three or more items of the apprentice mage (0/3): Greatly increases the effectiveness of the Intelligence stat. +10 Intelligence. Increases mana regeneration]
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~
Luke's eyes widened slightly as he looked over the item's effects. For a D-ranked item, it seemed very powerful, even without any form of set bonus.
"Where did you get this?" Luke asked.
"Some hunter buddies of mine harvested a few mana crystals from some mage boss in an E-ranked dungeon a while back. We split them amongst us three cause no one else wanted them. I'm not a mage myself so I decided to make an item out of it and sell it. Why d'you ask?" The man tilted his head and inspected the amulet himself.
"Are any of the other two willing to sell their stones?"
The man shook his head. "Likely not. One of 'em is a mage himself and, from what I know, made a staff out of his. The other guy already pawned it off to some rich kid in Britain."
Luke pursed his lips together. Well, there went his chances of getting the set bonuses. Regardless, he was surprised they were even a thing. He could imagine items created by the System, like his gun, could have been an exception. But items naturally found in dungeons was a major discovery that he doubted many knew about. However, seeing as this was his first time seeing this, and that others didn't naturally know to group the items together, he doubted that he would be gaining set bonuses from nearly any item soon.
Luke's gaze turned to one final item that rested in a case. It looked like a bracelet made of a deep grey metal. Three gems were imbedded in it. The leftmost one was yellow, the rightmost; blue, and the central one was red.
Luke gestured to the item. "What's that?"
The man set the amulet aside and took the bracelet from its case. "This one I got about a week ago. A friend of mine knows a guy who works for the F.B.H." He glanced at Luke. "Ya' heard of the F.R Regiment?"
Luke's brow raised. He hadn't expected to hear of that branch of the F.B.H. "The ones who hunt down false rankers?"
The man nodded. "And anyone else who pisses off the F.B.H. But anyways, he's one of them. One false ranker he killed was wearing this. Apparently it has some elemental gems in it."
Luke looked at the bracelet closer. Finally, a screen appeared.
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~
[Elemental Bracelet]
[Rank: D+]
[Description: A bracelet with three elemental gems within.]
[Effect: Wearer can imbue the weapon in the hand the bracelet is attached to with either lightning, fire, or ice. The wearer can spend mana to switch between wich elemental gem is used. The more mana fueled into the gem, the more potent the element applied to the weapon. Maximum: 30MP]
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~
"Why is it always the last item that's the most useful." Luke mumbled to himself. He glanced to the other two items on the table. "How much for all three of these items?" Luke gestured among the three items.
The man answered back almost immediately. "10k for all three."
Luke blinked a few times as if someone had just thrown water in his face. "10k for three barely D-ranked items?"
Now it was the man's turn to blink. "I didn't even tell you the ranks of the items."
Luke felt his face begin to burn for a moment. "I... have an inspection skill. I can see the stats and things of magical items."
The merchant scanned Luke up and down. "9.5k for all three."
"8k." Luke snapped back.
"9k." The merchant said just as quick.
Luke narrowed his eyes. "8.75k. Final offer."
The merchant sighed and crossed his arms. "8.75k if you do me a favor."
Luke raised a brow. "A favor?"
"You said you had an inspection skill right? Well if you are willing to get some info on an item I have, I'll sell those three items there-" he pointed to the ring, amulet, and bracelet. "For 8.75k."
"What's the item?"
At that, the man bent down under the table and took out a small lockbox, no larger then one a wedding ring would rest in. The man turned the box towards Luke and opened it.
Luke's eyes widened as he looked at the item. It was a jagged stone with a faint blue rune shining on its center. Without the aid of the System, he still knew what it was. Nonetheless, after about a second, the screen flashed in front of him.
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~
[Rune Stone of 'Blade Aura']
[Rank: D]
[Description: A stone imbued with a skill from a magic beast. Rune stones are formed when a magic beast has fully mastered its skill, forming it into a solid object within themselves to pass it down onto those who have slain them]
[Effect: When crushed by a being possessing magic, the being will obtain the skill 'Blade Aura']
***
[Blade Aura]
[Rank: D]
[Type: Active]
[Cost: N/A]
[Description: You channel mana into a melee weapon you are wielding, increasing the weapon's cutting force dependant on the amount of MP you pour into this skill. This skill will continuously drain MP while active.]
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~
The only reason Luke didn't try to grab the stone immediately after reading its description was due to the fact the skill was largely worthless to him.
Luke's eyes met the merchant's who stared at him with anticipation. "Its a D-rank runestone. The skill in it is called 'Blade Aura'. It allows you to pour mana into a blade to increase its effectiveness."
The merchant whistled before closing the box. "Damn, something like that can go for upwards of 40, maybe been 50k if I pawn it right. Well anyways," he waved a hand to the three items on the table as he put the lockbox back under the table. "I'll do you 8.5k for the lot of them."
***
An hour later, Luke walked down the streets of Boston with a ring around his finger; amulet around his neck, and bracelet on his wrist.
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~
[Name: Luke Sirius]
[Level: 25]
[Job: None]
[HP: 195/195]
[MP: 160/160]
[Available Status Points: 10]
[Strength: 39]
[Agility: 43]
[Vigor: 39]
[Intelligence: 58 (+5)]
[Sense: 39]
[Faith: 39]
[Skills]
[Active: Sundering Blow, Ember Step, Hook of Hades]
[Passive: Escape Artist]
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~
The ring and amulet matched together fairly well. The bonus to Intelligence was good, but his maximum MP had increased beyond what just 5 more points in Intelligence would have. He wasn't sure exactly how much his new amulet increased the amount of MP each point of Intelligence gave him, but it was sure doing its job.
As his status screen faded, he looked at the elemental gems on his bracelet. Despite needing mana to activate it, it gave him some small piece of mind that he could now pour fire magic into hit bullets, just like he was able to with a skill as an A-ranker. While it definitely wasn't as strong, it also gave him options for lightning and ice if the magic beast he was fighting had a particular resistance to one or the other.
He looked to the sky, he still had about an hour before needing to go to the Boston port to farm gates. He began to wonder what to do in the meantime. But not a second later his rumbling stomach answered.