[Hunter Lucas, Hunter Will, please wait to receive your appropriate reward.]

[Calculating…]

"What's going on?" Will asked as the notification kept popping in front of him.

"The system is calculating an appropriate reward for our effort, and since we're probably among the first to clear a dungeon before the integration, we might get something good," I replied.

"Wait, what do you mean with among the first?" Will asked.

"Yeah, if we were the first the system would have already acknowledged it. Apparently, someone else had beaten us to the pot. Still, we'll get good rewards never the less. Also, this kill right now directly hampers a huge pain in the ass that we were going to have to deal with in the future. Let's see…"

[Reward calculation complete, are you ready to receive your rewards?]

Y/N?

"Yes," I replied and immediately a new window appeared in front of me.

[For having defeated an enemy that would have proven quite a difficult challenge left untended for, you will receive an appropriate reward based on the damage that has been mitigated.]

[Please receive the following]

[ Gray Rat Broodmother's Claws X 20]

[Gray Rat Broodmother Fur X 5]

[Gray Rat Broodmother Tail X 2]

[Activated Mana Crystal X 40]

[Fabolous Enhancement Gem x 10]

[Normal Healing Potion X 10]

[As an additional Reward for the feat of defeating what may have become a detrimental obstacle in the path of humanity, you may choose one of the following items to take with you along your journey.]

[Universal Bag storage capacity 10 by 10 meters.]

[Skill Book: Infestation]

[Gray Rat twisted Fang: Dagger]

Please choose one.

"Take the storage bag," I said before will could even ask.

"Wouldn't a skill book be good, I mean you just used a skill right now. That looked awesome." Will said.

"I would have recommended the skill book if it was something unique or rare, but this thing is really useless, it summons rats that can hinder a few enemies, but facing stronger foes in the future the summoned rats aren't really that worth it. also don't waste one of your precious skill slots for something this crappy."

"Okay, then why not the dagger?" Will asked.

"Admittedly, the dagger is better than the skill book since it's more usable in any situation, and it's already made by the system, meaning that it can easily cut through the flesh of monsters. The problem is, without an appropriate storage space where do you think we can carry the rest of the loot? Also, I still remember some recipes from my last time, I can make better things than this dagger, at least good enough until we get the Godsmith in our party."

"Godsmith, sounds pretty important."

"He was a man of little words and would be very easy to make an enemy of. Also, he was very dangerous, however, if you end up on his good side, he'll make weapons for you that'll make gods fear," I said.

"You mentioned a party earlier, are you going to tell me who they are?" Will asked.

"All in due time, don't worry about it. Now let's gather these mats. We'll need them pretty soon." I said as I picked up the Storage bag relic and immediately received a notification of it being bound to me.

A small leather bag appeared strapped to my side.

"That looks nice, but kinda out of style don't you think?" will said.

I moved my hand above the bag and it disappeared from view, then moved my hand in the opposite direction and it appeared again.

"Oh, that's handy," Will said.

"Don't worry about fashion, all that will disappear in thirteen days from now," I said.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Right, right, the apocalypse and whatnot."

"Collect half," I said as half the materials disappeared from the ground and appeared inside my bag.

"Emm, what are you doing?" Will asked.

"Splitting loot, what do you mean?" I replied.

Will shook his head, "You think I'll know what to do with some scavenged rat remains? You can take all of this, I don't need it nor know what to do with it, just make sure to split the 'profit' afterward. I can't handle raw materials, nor have any idea what to do with them, I might waste them…" Will said.

"True, Mana Crafting and Smithing isn't yet known to the world, okay I'll handle the loot," I said.

"So, how do we leave?" Will asked.

"Right, Mishaa, exit please," I said.

Suddenly, a blue warp gate appeared next to us.

[Please make sure to have taken everything you need before leaving the dungeon. After being cleared the dungeon will self purge]

"What does self purge mean?" asked Will.

"Killing the boss makes the dungeon disappear along with all the mobs that were still inside it, ejecting everyone from within it," I said.

"And since there are no hidden rooms or hidden bosses in such a low-tier dungeon, it's not worth staying here any longer. Let's leave." I said and the two of us took the portal and appeared inside a small cave.

The light from my lantern lit up the cave walls that had small crystal-like gems embedded in them.

"Diamonds?" Will said as his eyes glistened in obvious greed.

"In your dreams," I replied, "This is none activated mana crystals, they're pretty small and with the dungeon dead now, they'll also disappear. This is where grandma Meng got the crystal from."

"What's the difference between an activated Mana Crystal and one that isn't active."

"An active mana crystal can be used to enhance materials to a far greater degree than one that isn't active. Also, there are different grades of crystals, this one that grandma Meng gave us was pretty common and the weakest among the bunch, but it was enough to hone a weapon to be of use. Now, with the drop from the rat, we have better grade crystals that we can use to make more items, enhance gear and make better grade consumables such as potions and more destructive weaponry."

"Sounds so complicated…" Will complained.

"It is at first, but don't worry about it, you'll get the hang of it pretty soon. Let's head back. We need to prepare for the upcoming turmoil."

"Yeah, I can't help but worry about my folks…" Will said.

"I'll make something happen, don't worry, I can't save everyone in town, but I'll make sure to save those that I care about. I still have something to take care of in the following days, make sure to not reveal anything that happened tonight. Before the integration happens, if you showcase any of this, you won't realize it when you're bagged and dragged into an underground facility for tests and experiments… you know what I mean."

"Yeah…government stuff."

"Yep."

The two of us moved ahead until we got in Will's car.

"I still can't believe what just happened…" Will said.

"It's always like that the first time," I replied. "Right now, all I can recommend for you is to hit the gym," I said.

"The gym? You think I got time for that?" Will said.

"Yeah, any moment spent gaining more stamina is gonna be extremely helpful in the next few weeks. I'll also give you something that'll make your gains pretty significant. But It'll take me a couple of days to make. For now, let's just get home." I said to will.

The two of us drove off in the night, listening to some rap music which clearly made Will feel much better about what just happened earlier as he seemed to completely get into the vibe and forget all about the gruesomeness of the night.

We arrived back home soon, and once I was out, I made sure to remind Will to clean up as he looked pretty scary with dried blood all over his clothes.

"That's enough to get you arrested, be careful and wash up," I said.

"Right don't worry," Will replied. Let's talk more comes the morning,"

"Yeah, sure. Have a good night, if you can that is," I said grinning.

"With this much fatigue, I'll be surprised if I can't sleep," Will replied and drove off.

I walked back inside, thankfully no one was awake.

I didn't want anyone to see me with all this scum and dirt on me. So I walked upstairs and washed off the grim.

Soon after I hit the bed and didn't even realize when I slept as I was already woken up by dad's constant shouts for me to get down and join them for breakfast.

"Coming!" I said and got down.

The daily family routine seemed so nostalgic and yet so familiar that I was once again thankful for getting yet another chance at correcting what I couldn't fix the last time.

And this time I'll be damn sure to make everything work right.

***

A couple of days went by already, and in those days I made a few purchases that cost me all my savings.

The first of, are a few herbs that were being sold on the internet, for a far too cheap price than their real value.

These herbs and flowers I bought looked 'pretty' but their real value is what I'm about to do with them. The second thing was keeping in contact with Will and subscribing to the closest gym.

Usually, it would be impossible for a person to think that they'll get any workout done in ten days, but with the bought herbs I managed to make the impossible pretty possible.

Doping. But not the bad kind.

One of the Herbs, Spirit's Breath, a rare, yet not so expensive herb I bought online is one of the greatest enhancers to human stamina. It can only be consumed once and will amplify the natural body's stamina and elevate a body's exhaustion limit to a new level.

The only problem was, the recipe was discovered far too late down the timeline. And sadly many people had died due to exhaustion, or the inability to run the last mile or land the last blow. With the Spirit Breath Potion, a lot had changed, but in my opinion, the discovery of such a recipe was far too late.

Yet, now, I'm remaking the same potion, far too early for its time. And it only needs a couple of things.

An activated Mana Crystal, and the herb itself. The crushed and filtered essence of the herb needs to be mixed with the activated crystal's mana, and unless someone actively uses the crystal it's impossible to mix the two.

Potion Quality wouldn't also be a problem since just ingesting the mixture will enable the effects.

Not only will this increase my overall stamina and reduce the strain on my body when I use more body taxing moves, but it'll also help build the body to a far greater degree than it is humanly possible. Though I won't hulk up, I can get jacked up in less than a week hitting the plateau of body evolution in one week.

Though the body can still be improved upon later using other tools, I'll have a body capable of sustaining my moves without it breaking very soon.

I had Will drink up one of the potions though he reluctantly did so, he was pretty thankful when he was able to hit the gym for hours on end without feeling slightly exhausted after sessions that no human body could sustain.

I made sure however to have Will train and do the bulk of his workout hours in the privacy of his home because I didn't want him to get reported for being a freak of nature capable of doing eight continuous hours of weight lifting without breaking a sweat.

Today marks the first week's end. We only have one more week left before shit hits the fan. I haven't been to school for a long time. Nor did I have the intention of going right now. Because I was patiently waiting for something to happen.

As I was revising some of the old recipes I remembered and noted down some of the dungeons that I needed to hunt down after the integration happened, I received a phone call.

Looking at the strange unfamiliar number I grinned.

I picked up the phone and waited, "Mr Lucas I presume." A slightly agitated, shaky yet trying to act firm womanly voice replied back.

"Yes, Vivian. Come get me at this address." I said I didn't even need to explain any further after giving her the address I needed her to get me and hung up the phone.

Things are starting to move, and now I need to take the wheel. Though it's scummy and a really nasty way to do things, it is the only way I have left.

Today I'm going to save a billionaire, and I'll make him owe me, big time.