At nearly precisely four-thirty in the afternoon, the door to my shop opens and the bell chimes. I don't need to look over to see who it is, since it's almost always the same person who arrives at this time on Fridays. That doesn't mean I don't look up from my book, though.

Just as I expected, it's Ryan. From small talk we've made over the years, I've learned that he's twenty-two years old, about two years older than me. He's also my oldest customer in terms of how long he's been coming here, being the only customer who entered on the first day my shop was opened four years ago to still be coming here today.

I do find that kind of interesting, since most Awakened who enter Dungeons as much as he does generally start to use much higher-quality potions within a few years. He's also been Awakened since he was fourteen, or a full four years before I opened my shop. Not only that, but he's not turned off by my use of traditional alchemy brewing rather than modern.

His regular patronage of my shop doesn't make me unhappy, though, and not just because it helps my shop stay afloat.

Ryan's rather attractive. He stands 5'11" with a strong jawline and is typically in a shirt that fits his lean body well. Today, it's a black short-sleeved one that shows off the muscles of his arm and when he turns to face me, it holds against his abs a little well; stuff like that has let me know he's got a six-pack. Those jeans hug his legs just right, too.

As usual, his sandy-blond hair is styled neatly and his orange eyes are as full of light and energy as always. That combined with his usual light smile makes him seem as if he's always amused by something.

And as usual, seeing him makes me wonder if I look okay. I'm a little on the short side at 5'7" and have a more slender build, no real tone to my muscles at all. My brown hair is probably unkempt since I know I tend to mess with it a bit while reading, and I know that my lilac-colored eyes tend to draw interest.

For my outfit, I'm dressed in a white t-shirt with a light green short-sleeved button-up over it, left unbuttoned, along with a pair of blue jeans and sneakers, though those last two probably aren't visible from his side of the counter.

Not that he's ever given an indication of being interested in me. I don't mind that, though, as I have a policy against relationships with customers, even for hookups. Just seeing his attractiveness nearly every week is enough for me.

"Good afternoon, Evan!" Ryan greets me with his usual smile. "Good book?"

"Yeah," I place a bookmark in. He's in a chatty mood today. "It's a fairy tale about a mythical fox named the azulvitt fox."

"Azulvitt?" He asks. "'Azu' is the ancient tongue for 'night', right?"

The book is written entirely in the ancient tongue often found in many Dungeons. This book is a copy of one that was found in them a few months ago. Since it was confirmed to be a book of stories rather than something containing forbidden magics or knowledge, they began printing copies for sale.

The copy I have took longer to come out – I only buy ones that have replicas of the pages and covers as well. Rather than a standard hardcover book, this one resembles the original tome, with yellow-touched pages, rougher edges, and a dark blue cover with silver caps on the corners and ends and silver script on the front and spine.

Since every part of it was handmade, from the ink to the paper to the cover, it takes more time to produce and I had to order it specially. It's also not translated, which added to the cost. Every pair of pages has an image as well, with the page pair I'm currently on showing the fox with dark blue fur and silver tips to its ears and tail and its silver paws and eyes standing in a forest, looking toward the reader.

"Yeah," I answer. "Its name means 'softness of night'. This seems to be a collection of stories about the azulvitt fox. The one I'm on right now talks about how he guides travelers in dark forests at night to safety, warding off evil spirits. Specifically, it's a story about him leading a boy who was abandoned by his parents to… I haven't gotten to that bit yet."

Ryan turns his head a little to try and get a better look at the image.

"It's kind of cute," he says. "I found a tome with a similar-looking creature in a Dungeon yesterday. Was a wolf, though. Can't read the ancient tongue, though, so don't know what it was about. Maybe another book of fairy tales?"

"I'll keep an ear out for it," I say. "How'd the hunts go this week?"

"Not bad," he tells me. "I do need a new ring and some new potions, though. Burned through my whole supply and used up the ring."

"Your usual order?"

"Yeah," he answers. "A 30oz jar of mana potion with 200 MP per ounce, a 30oz jar of health potion with 200 HP per ounce, and a [Ring of Strength] that buffs the wearer's Strength by 10%, with a 10-minute maximum. Do you have them in stock?"

Very rarely do I not have them in stock, since I know there's a consistent customer for those each week, but he still asks just in case it's one of the very rare times I don't. With Dungeon spawns and the loot amount in them varying from day to day, it's always possible there's too little materials for me to have everything made by one of his visits.

"I do," I answer. "Sourcing the ingredients for the mana potion was a little hard, though, so the price is increased. It's not by too much, just a couple of cents per MP restored."

He's also never had an issue with the price increases when they're needed, but I still let him know anyway out of courtesy.

"That's fine," he says.

"I'll be right back," I close the book and tuck it under the counter, then head into the back to grab the tray with the goods on it.

Since I know he comes nearly every Friday and buys the exact same order each time, I make sure to have the entire order ready and on a tray in advance. Two glass jars; one filled with a clear blue liquid and the other filled with a clear red liquid, and a steel ring with silvery runes drawn on it.

I bring the tray up to the front and set it down, then enter the goods into my register as he inspects them to verify they're what he requested. While not necessary here, it's still good habit just in case someone tries to rip him off, even if it's someone he trusts.

"That will be $4,790," I inform him. "Cash or card?"

"Card," he answers.

"You can insert now," I tap something on my register, then he inserts his card and enters his PIN. "Alright. Here's your receipt, Ryan. Would you like a bag for these?"

"Sure," he answers.

I wrap each jar in some brown paper, then place them into a paper bag and set the ring in, then roll down the top and clip it closed before handing it to Ryan.

"Thanks for coming," I say.

"Are you doing scavenging again this weekend?" He asks.

In addition to running this shop and crafting the items sold here, I also enter Dungeons as a scavenger, or someone who goes in after the hunters leave and gather materials within that were left by the hunters. Some of them are used to make the goods I sell here, others are sold to fund me purchasing the reagents I still need after the scavenging is done.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"Yeah," I answer.

"Good luck," he says.

"Thanks," I say. "Before you go, mind if I ask a question?"

"What's up?"

"Surely you're past the point where items as weak as what I sell serve you well," I say. "You must have at least a couple thousand HP and MP by this point, right?"

That would only be Level 10 for a typical Awakened, but that's possible within eight years. Not just possible, normal or even low. Someone at that Level would also typically burn through the amount of mana potion he's buying in a Dungeon run or two.

The only thing that I can really think of is that he's only doing runs as a casual thing and has something else as his source of income.

"You're an alchemist who does alchemy the traditional way instead of modern way," Ryan says. "With consistent results. That speaks to your talents in it. I'd rather support someone like you than a big business which relies on modern tech and methods to produce consistent results."

While I'm not an Awakened, I can still view item information for materials brought out from Dungeons or crafted from said reagents. That's not unique to me – everyone can do that, regardless of Awakened Status.

However, being able to see what a reagent has doesn't mean consistency between brews. Traditional brewing is usually extremely inconsistent, but I manage it with very little variation. Several bigger traditional alchemy companies have tried picking me up as an alchemist because of that, but I want to stay independent.

"What you're getting isn't really enough, is it?" I ask.

"I do have to buy some from elsewhere," he admits. "But I try to stick to the shops which perform traditional alchemy. There's no heart in products of modern brewing methods. If you ever start carrying some higher-quality stuff, let me know, yeah?"

"Will do," I say.

"Alright," he smiles. "Have a good weekend, Evan."

"You as well, Ryan," I say, then he leaves.

Once Ryan's left, I return to reading the book until five hits. That's when my shop closes, so I turn off the register, then walk to the other side of the counter and lock the door before activating the security enchantments.

My shop is a rather basic one, mainly catering to novice hunters and fresh Awakened. The items Ryan buys most weeks are the highest-quality ones I sell for their types. A regular Awakened stops using those after somewhere between three and six months. As for variety, there isn't much.

The standard stock for my shop are: health potions, mana potions, healing salves, poison-curing salves, poison-curing potions, [Ring of Strength]s, [Ring of Constitution]s, [Ring of Agility]s, [Scroll of Barrier]s, and [Scroll of Fireball]s. If someone pays a premium, I can also do custom orders on scrolls, as I keep a stock of the scroll papers and necessary inks just in case.

Right now, I'm in a little bit of a slower period. This happens from time to time, where sales aren't good and the shop's earnings are lower than the expenditures. Unlike many beginner-focused shops, I don't take risks.

That means I don't really have much room for growth and have very small profit margins, but I also don't have much risk of losing. When business is good, I earn enough that I can make it through rough times.

However, it's not good enough to give me a large buffer. That's why I opted for the security enchantments that I have. They were something I decided on back when I had this place built as I neared sixteen.

I didn't come from a rich family… or even a real family. When I was twelve, I started work as a scavenger. While other boys would probably have splurged all of their earnings, I saved up so I could start a proper shop. It was a little bit ambitious, but it worked out.

Losing everything I've worked for isn't in my plans. While being a hunter sounds fun and exciting, it only sounds like a part-time job to me, and I'm not even Awakened. Alchemy, magical crafting, and reading about ancient texts are my passions.

"Haaaaaaaa!" I let out a breath after I finish doing inventory.

I'm really going to need to acquire some materials and brew up more potions this weekend. While I have enough materials to last out the week for health potions based on my estimates of sales for it, I'm almost completely out of mana potions and ingredients for those.

With inventory finished, I head to my office and calculate sales for today and then the week. Total earnings over weekly costs: -$483.16. It's a really good thing I make sure to keep some buffer up. This is the sixth straight week.

If things keep going this way, though, I may have to make some changes. I'm nearing the end of my buffer with this dry spell lasting longer. Dungeons aren't going back up in spawn frequency and loot amounts as quickly as they usually do, and that's affecting my shop pretty bad.

I shut down my computer, then make sure the shop is locked up as I exit it, with all windows and doors secured. Then, I head up the stairs attached to the back, onto the patio above the shop. Much like traditional craftsmen, I also live above my shop, with additional storage and crafting space in the basement.

Entering my home, I walk to the kitchen to grab myself a drink as I contemplate on what to do for dinner.

Your Awakening Quest is available! Would you like to participate? Yes No

One day, we might finally understand what triggers the Awakening Quests. Today is not one of those days, so I have no idea why I suddenly qualify for it.

At least I haven't changed out of my work clothes yet. Awakening Quests take place within Dungeons, and we're transported to them as soon as we accept. Passing into a Dungeon destroys materials not filled with magical energy, such as normal cotton. Cotton harvested in a Dungeon or in an area with a high concentration of mana in the soil and air won't be destroyed.

While the clothes I'm wearing are more on the expensive side than what I should really be buying, I wear them for my shop because of the appearance it gives. Not many novice Awakened know my shop doesn't do that great all the time, and me wearing more expensive clothes gives the appearance that it's always doing well. That, in turn, makes the quality of my goods seem higher even when it's not.

I also need them for running Dungeons as well, of course, but it's essentially the same outfits since I don't do much fighting.

Thanks to this, I have clothes that can survive going into a Dungeon. Once Awakened, I'll have an easier time acquiring things to produce goods for my shop as well.

I empty out my pockets to ensure the stuff that's in them won't be destroyed, fix a knife onto my belt, then select confirm in the notification floating in my vision. Based on what I've heard before, they're purely thought-based interfaces and just wanting "Yes" to be selected is enough.

The moment I try to confirm via thought, I find myself standing facing a roughly-circular field of dry, hard soil. I'm not entirely sure if the dirt field circular or not since there's a slight slope up toward the center, which obscures the other side, but it probably is round. The stretch I can see is about one thousand feet or so in width, and there's a dense fog completely surrounding it.

The fog isn't on the small hill or the field around it, but rather, outside of the diameter I can see. I've heard that some Dungeons have fog barriers, when there would logically be land outside of it. Caves tend to not need them, but fields and forests do.

Goblins are scattered about the field and hill. Ugly creatures about four feet in height, they're a common monster in Dungeons. Low-ranking ones have skinny limbs and heads that look too large for their bodies. These ones match that description perfectly, and only wear loincloths as well. Their green skin varies in shade but is medium-to-dark overall, and none of them have quite noticed me yet.

When I look more closely, I discover a sort of nearly-invisible barrier surrounding me. It's bluish-clear and made up of tiny hexagons. That's probably preventing the goblins from noticing my presence, so that I can take time to process both my surroundings and the message floating in my vision.

Your Awakening Quest will begin in 5 minutes. Difficulty is Rank 5 based on your personal Rank. Your stats are temporarily what they will be if you Awaken. Two of your Skills are available for the duration of this Quest. Complete the task within the time limit to Awaken. Fail to complete the task, and you will not Awaken. Slay all goblins: 0/200 Time Limit: 4 hours Available Skill 1: [Magic Missile] Available Skill 2: [Fireball]

I'm Rank 5? That's the highest Rank out of the possible Awakened Ranks, accompanied by having five Classes and the highest amount of EXP requirements – but also the highest growth rate. It explains why I'm naked right now, too – my clothes can withstand Category 1 Dungeon energies, not Category 5 Dungeon energies.

They dissolved immediately upon my arrival.

So now I have to kill two hundred goblins while butt-naked.

A timer ticks down in my vision, along with a notice that activating any Skill or exiting the barrier will begin the Quest. I decide to wait for it to tick down to give me more time to observe the goblins.

When the timer reaches 0:00, a new notification appears along with a 4-hour timer.

Slay all goblins within the time limit to Awaken. Begin!