A [Magic Missile] slams into the head of a hunter ant, an insectoid monster which reaches up to my waist in height. It black chitin shatters from the impact of the blow and the creature skitters back a little, then resumes its charge forward. That recoil gives me enough time to fire off another [Magic Missile], whose faint blow glow helps light up these dim tunnels a little as it soars to meet its target.
The ant drops to the ground from the impact, and I walk over and reach into the hole in its head, pulling out the green crystal from within. Rather than a crystal for their hearts, ant monsters have them as their brains. It's fairly large as a result of that, but size doesn't necessarily equal to strength of quality.
It does help some, but a crystal the size of my head could contain less essence than one the size of my fist if its quality is low. The ones here are from what's equivalent to an early Rank 5-1 Dungeon, so they're all of a good quality.
Essence Crystal Tier: 7 A crystal containing magical essence, which is useful in a variety of crafting forms.
The rich green color of the crystal is another indicator of its quality level, as the color is very faint when it's weak and very strong when it's high. This one is high enough that the green isn't faded throughout, though there's still some fading towards the ends. Ones of an even higher quality, the color is much more bold and there's zero fading at all.
I send the crystal into my storage, then continue walking down the tunnel.
The tunnels don't really have that much in them for me to harvest, though I probably wouldn't take anything unless I really felt it would be useful. The storage available to me right now isn't that great so I need to manage it well.
It takes me around an hour to locate the Queen Hunter Ant, which is nearly up to my chest in height and surrounded by two dozen normal hunter ants in a large cavern. Upon spotting her, I begin casting another spell. Her bodyguards wait with her rather than charging toward me from the start, preferring to take on the one eliminating their colony in an area with more space rather than in the narrow confines of a tunnel.
A tunnel which begins to glow more brightly as a spell takes shape. Three inches in diameter, the ball of flames floating above my right palm creates no heat which I can feel, though heat which I am aware of nonetheless. I'll be able to feel the heat of the flames once I send the spell forward, but a person's magic doesn't affect them with effects like that while still under their control.
The ants of the boss fight deciding to stay grouped up is to my benefit, because [Fireball] has a decent range for where I can throw it and a decent radius for its explosion.
[Fireball] Level 1 Conjure a ball of flames which explodes upon impact, incinerating all foes it touches. Cost: 100 MP Casting Time: 10 seconds Range: 28' Radius: 14'
From the entrance to the cavern, I let my [Fireball] fly. The ants don't attempt to scatter as it soars, only move forward to shield their queen. They're probably believing it's just a fire version of the missile spell I've been using to take out the others.
Upon impacting one of the ants, the [Fireball] explodes and flames swirl around as they expand. The scent of burning ant fills the air, and it's a lot stronger than I remember. I guess the scent really does dissipate some in the time it takes for hunters to finish their job and scavengers to reach the remains.
What ants aren't disabled from combat because of my attack rush toward the tunnel once the flames fade, only to discover a second [Fireball] forming. They attempt to scatter, except they have the ones still aflame and in pain to deal with.
I'm able to finish the cast and send off the next [Fireball], then I switch to [Magic Missile]s, sniping out the ants that are wounded, the queen included. When she dies, a notification pops up, but I wait until the rest of the ants have been eliminated before reading it.
The moment she's dead, the surviving ones able to move charge the tunnel rather than waiting for me to enter. I'm able to take them out one at a time as the not that wide, and they have the corpses of their brethren to deal with. They seem to have forgotten that they can walk on walls, so the ceiling is free of enemies.
Upon finishing eliminating the remaining hunter ants, I call the notification back to my attention so I can read it.
Daily Quest Completed! +500 EXP You can leave the Daily Dungeon at any time within the next 1 hour. If you have not left by then, you will be ejected by the System.
For a moment, I contemplate pushing my way through the remains of the ants, but ultimately decide against it. My storage is full and while the queen's essence crystal will be larger, it won't have enough essence more than the rest to be worth sacrificing ones I've already collected. Blue mana crystals are visible in the boss chamber and those sell for a decent amount, but I don't have something to properly mine them with.
Because of that, I decide to exit immediately. The first thing I do after reappearing in my kitchen is to thoroughly wash my hands in the sink, since ant monster juices cover them. It's not a perfect job but it's well enough I can put on some new clothes without worrying, then I head back down to my shop and into the workshop portion.
I start pulling the essence crystals out of my storage and dropping them into one of the sinks. With a sponge, hot water, and soap designed for cleaning monster gunk off of stuff, I begin scrubbing the essence crystals clean.
Most of the crystals are placed into a basket when I finish, to be taken out for sale in a little bit. I keep a few of them, however, as they'll do quite well for some of my crafting. Those are set to the side in my alchemy station, then I grab the basket and leave.
I make sure to lock the doors and turn the security system back on to full, then get into my truck and drive to my preferred loot shop. Upon arrival, I look at the wooden sign hanging beside the door, a board with an etching of a wing, a mushroom, a sprig of herbs, and a crystal on it. Those represent what the shop deals in and is a universally-accepted symbol for "magic loot of all types". Basically, they'll buy any plants, minerals, and monster parts in their raw forms, regardless of if they came from a Dungeon or from the wilderness outside of society.
The Skybound Loot is an old shop that was passed down to the current owner by her grandparents when they retired a few years ago. I've been coming here since I was twelve and like the shop quite a lot. They've never tried to rip me off whether in buying loot from me or selling me things I need for my shop and the owner is quite friendly.
With how late it is in the day, they're already closed up, with metal shutters pulled down over all of the windows, completely obscuring the inside.
I know Cassidy well, though, and send her a text after carrying my basket – which is covered with a thick cloth – up the steps to the front door. Much like me, the owner lives above the shop, and she'll be getting ready for an evening out at about this time.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
"Hey, Evan!" Cassidy calls out as she reaches the edge of her upper deck.
Cassidy's a woman in her mid twenties, with long, brown hair, ruby-red eyes, and who's currently wearing a dress that starts dark red and fades to reds, purples, and white at the bottom. It shows off her curves quite well even without cleavage. The only makeup she wears is some light eye shadow and red lipstick, and a pair of ruby-studded silver earrings hang from her ears.
"Hey, Cassidy," I greet her. "Got a few minutes?"
"Sure thing," she says. "Give me just a sec to get down there."
Cassidy disappears from view and after a few minutes, she opens up the front door of the shop from within.
"Would have expected you to be at a club, looking for a hot guy to hook up with," she says as I enter, making sure to close and lock the door behind. "You got called to do some scavenging?"
Sitting in a chair in the customer section is a man dressed in dark grey leather armor with black clothes worn underneath, a sword fixed to his hip. He has brown hair and sapphire blue eyes, and is a couple of years older than Cassidy.
Unlike me, Cassidy can afford additional employees and even round-the-clock guards. That includes Awakened like George, who's Rank 3 and fairly strong. His armor and sword are both Tier 8 in strength, meaning they're from a more powerful beast, Dungeon, or area than the Dungeon I went in earlier.
"Awakened," I answer as I dip my head to George. "Did the Daily Dungeon after eating dinner."
"Oh?" She looks at the basket, then smiles at me. "So that's the first loot you've earned yourself?"
"I've killed monsters before," I tell her as she walks around to the back of the counter. "Just not as an Awakened."
"Oh, right," she pulls on a pair of snow-white gloves. "I keep forgetting that. You're always so calm and peaceful, it's hard to imagine you killing anything. I'm betting you received a Class or Classes related to crafting and got a gathering Dungeon Quest. What's your Awakened Ra-aa-aaa-nk…"
As she spoke, I set the basket on the counter and pulled off the cloth on top, revealing the crystals within. Cassidy has to take a few moments to collect herself, then she picks one up and examines it.
"Such a deep green," she says. "They're Tier 7, too? The only times I see ones like this in a Daily Dungeon for a fresh Awakened, it's for a Rank 5."
"I'm Rank 5."
"I'm willing to bet that you have [Dimensional Storage], too," she says. "Because you're odd like that, Dungeon Baby."
It's not often that Cassidy brings that up; usually, I only hear mentions of that from customers at my shop or Awakened at the club I frequent. I'm pretty sure that's the same reason I have [Dimensional Storage] immediately, too. That Skill is normally something someone has a chance of receiving after their thirtieth total Skill Level.
"I do," I confirm. "It wouldn't have been too feasible to bring out this many otherwise. I don't earn that much that I can afford gear which can withstand those energies, and my arms can only hold so much."
Cassidy snorts and rolls her eyes, then sets the crystal in a wooden tray lined with red cushioning. After booting up the register, she grabs a scanner and turns it on, then slides its scanning panel over the crystal. It uses magic to appraise the item against a database in the system, while also reading how much magical essence is contained within it.
I watch as Cassidy scans everything, then she does something with the register before looking at me.
"Alright," she says. "The total value of the essence crystals you've brought is $44,828.49. Would you like that as cash, deposit, or trade?"
"Deposit," I pull out my ID and wait for her to say I can insert it, then I insert it into the card reader.
"I'm guessing you're heading to the Hunter's Mall?" Cassidy asks. "To get yourself some gear that can handle Rank 5 Dungeons?"
"Yeah," I answer. "I'd rather go to Jared's, but he'll be closed up by now. I'll head there Monday after I close up for the day instead."
"Oh, so my evening isn't important enough to be left alone?" She teases.
"I just knew you'd not want to pass up the opportunity to get your hands on high-quality materials," I say. "With the shortages and all, your shop is probably hurting as much as mine."
Cassidy and I stare at each other for a few moments, then burst into laughter. A loot shop as long-established as the Skybound Drops isn't going to be affected by lower Dungeon spawns and lower loot amounts from Dungeons as my potions, scrolls, and rings shop. People still travel out of the city to hunt monsters and scavenge materials in the wild, after all.
The problem for a small-time shop like mine is that if I can't scavenge from a Dungeon, I have to buy the goods. That decreases the profit margin immensely. Loot-based shops will always be able to sell what they buy, but they won't always have what I need or they may have only a low stock of it.
"He's probably having fun getting the twins to bed right now," Cassidy says. "What would you have done if I'd already left?"
"Asked if the party was really that important," I smile.
Cassidy goes to parties on Friday nights to scout out new Awakened to lure in as customers. They're thrown by various guilds and companies to try and scout out and win over people who've Awakened recently.
"Definitely not," she says. "How's your shop doing? I've noticed that there's been a bigger shortage lately."
"I always try to keep at least a months' worth of full expenses as a backup," I answer. "So I've got some buffer, though not for long. This is Week 6 of operating at a loss. Fortunately, I'm still earning some, so it'll last me a little bit longer. Not too much longer, though."
"Going to use some of that cash to buff up your shop?" She asks.
"A little," I confirm. "Though after a conversation with Ryan earlier, I'm thinking I might add some potions of a slightly-higher grade to my stock as well. It's not much different than when this happened a couple of years ago, so if worst comes to worst, I'll close up a little and do some extra Dungeon scavenging, then make stuff I don't normally stock."
I don't do that often, but it both saves the shop money and earns it a little bit extra, which I can use to pull through tougher periods like right now.
"Knowing you," Cassidy says. "You're going to want to do tomorrow's Daily Dungeon and then the Weekly Dungeon tomorrow as well. You might not be feeling up for doing some scavenging after since this is new to you. I haven't done the transfer yet. Want me to cancel and do some trades? Since you're Rank 5, that's the level of material you'll be receiving and there's no guarantee you'll get everything you need."
That's not a bad idea, actually. This will save me some hassle.
"Alright," I say. "Do you have everything for making mana potions?"
"I do," she indicates the card reader. "Are there any specifics you want?"
"Do you have manaberries and manapples?" I remove my card from the reader.
"I do," she answers, then checks something on the register. "We have three gallons and four pounds, respectively. The berries range from 10 to 20 MP per berry, while the apples range from 90 to 108 MP per apple."
"Alright," I say. "I'd like all of the apples, then. What variety of mana mushroom do you have?"
After I make my selections, Cassidy brings out everything I've requested to allow me to look over them. The goods are as advertised, so she deducts their costs from my earnings for the essence crystals, then makes the deposit and hands me my receipts. The costs for the stuff to make mana potions is still increased so I'll need to keep prices up a little next week as well, it looks like.
"Are you planning on registering?" Cassidy asks as we load my purchases into the back of my truck.
Registering as an Awakened isn't required, but it does come with some benefits. The most immediate of them is that we're given money based on our Awakened Rank, which is partially an incentive to register. That lump sum allows Awakened to get started as hunters, though it isn't required to use it for that.
Being registered also allows someone to legally enter Dungeons that spawn within the city limits. Joining a guild is legal without being registered, but doing Dungeon work isn't. A registered Awakened can also receive discounts at certain businesses.
There's one obligation if someone registers, though: running Dungeons and hunting monsters. If I register as an Awakened and don't join a guild, which is required to have its hunters run Dungeons and hunt monsters outside of them, then I can be asked to help run Dungeons that spawn in the town or be called in to help with Breaks from Dungeons that weren't spotted or cleared in time.
While those requests can be rejected, doing that too much in a short period of time can result in the Awakened license being revoked.
"I'm not sure yet," I tell her as I close the tailgate and check to make sure the cover for the bed is secured. "I'm going to ask some of the freelance fives I know how often they're called."
"Alright," she says. "Good luck getting new gear. And remember, the jumps between the needed Tier for gear is higher the higher than Dungeon's Awakened Rank. So while Tier 7 gear will do just fine in a Category 5-1 Dungeon, it'll be destroyed immediately in a Category 5-2 one."
"I know," I give her a small smile. "You have fun at the party tonight."