Syl

Chapter 79: Loot Dealing

"Ah! Miss Syl, please don't dump them on my desk; we have a room for this!" Luke frantically said when I piled a few parts on the desk.

I nodded and deposited them away, causing him to look relieved. He led me to another room with plenty of tables and minor shelving. Interestingly, almost no two tables were made from the same material. Some were wood, while others were stone, and even a few were made of metal.

Seeing my curiosity at the various tables, Luke spoke up, "Depending on the monster, their materials can be hazardous; we've had some monsters burn a room down or melt straight through the floor!"

"Oh... Right, if I took out the inferno sac, it'd probably burn your desk, maybe the whole room?" I replied, scratching my chin.

Luke had a complex expression of paled horror and genuine excitement, "Y-you actually managed to harvest its flame gland?" he stammered out.

"Yeah, it's in great condition. Want to see?"

"No! Miss Syl, please wait! I'm going to get Mister Thern. Please wait right here, and please do not take out the organ, no matter what!" Luke shouted frantically and darted off.

I shrugged and started pulling out the various other materials I had harvested. For the most part, I put them on one of the wooden tables, but I laid out the scaled hide on one of the stone tables in case it had any residual heat. By the time Luke arrived with Thern in tow, I had laid out all the spider fangs, spider sickles, earth crystals, and orc ears.

"Blimey! Someone's been busy. Good to see you again, Syl." Thern said with a cheerful expression.

"Master Lisa wasn't joking when she said you were a harvesting fiend," Luke said before he slapped his mouth shut.

"Ha! That she is, and this is some mighty fine work except for the few melted earth crystals."

"That was the salamander's work, not me. I recovered them from its nest and wasn't sure if they were still valuable."

"Ha! It sounds like its tiny bit of dragon blood overwhelmed it." Thern chuckled, then ran his hands over the scales, "This is mighty good. You should get some armor from this and replace that cheap robe you're wearing."

"I was considering just selling it, but..."

"Nope! No buts, you're trying to make Gold rank, so you need to start looking like a Gold-rank adventurer! Your pointy ears can only do so much for your appearance; you must look the part, or people will doubt you."

"Mister Thern is right. Image can play an important part in your adventuring career and is how you can be requested for special quest assignments or receive favors from higher-ups if you're famous enough."

I couldn't argue with any of his points, and fame was one of my ideas of reassurance if I was ever discovered or wanted to reveal myself. Plus, having some extra defense beyond my slime and mana couldn't hurt.

"Also, if you get it commissioned here, I can do the enchanting. Then I can waive the fee in return for some more of that alcohol." Thern said, followed by a hearty chuckle.

"Enchanted gear... That sounds very useful. I had someone recommend self-repair and size-modification to me."

"Those are some universally good options. Size modification is great if you ever want to sell it later for an upgrade." Thern replied.

"I didn't know you were an enchanter. Your class sounds like a combat one?"

"Ha! Now that's a story. Aye, I used to be an enchanter. Then, one day, I got this class as a revelation and took it! My ma beat me black and blue, demanding I change back. She was so furious. Luckily, my pa pointed out that I could still use my enchanter skills even if my class changed." Thern said, chuckling as if it was a fond childhood memory.

"That's why I requested Mister Thern's presence. He will temporarily enchant a container to safely hold the organ and prevent it from hurting anyone or damaging anything."

Luke brought out a large metal box, to which Thern held out his finger and started tracing a pattern into the lid. As his finger glided across the surface, he left behind dense lines of golden mana, which began merging into a complex pattern and into the structure. He then repeated this process on each side of the box, double-checked his work, and nodded approvingly.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Aye, that should hold it good. I also added some preservation enchantment to it; we don't want to lose something so valuable." Thern said with a nod, then turned to Luke. "You may want to leave the room temporarily, just in case you take damage from the heat before it's contained."

Luke nodded and promptly left, closing the door behind him. Thern opened the box and gestured for me to withdraw the item. My plan to withdraw the inferno sac was to surround it in transparent slime that I had infused with water mana, making it look like water magic and allowing me to avoid touching it directly. I proceeded with my plan, and Thern seemed very impressed when I withdrew the organ held in a tendril of slime water. I carefully placed it in the chest and returned my slime to my palm, which immediately revealed the heat still generated by the organ.

"Blimey, that's impressive," Thern said, stroking his beard, "I'd swear the organ was fake. It's so pristine, and your control over water is most impressive; I can imagine this beastie wasn't happy fighting you."

"Definitely not. I swear it looked outraged." I said with a chuckle, and Thern joined in with a hearty laugh.

Thern drew another magic circle around the box, which seemed to contain the heat, then let Luke come in and see it. Both were fascinated by the organ, and Thern gave Luke a short explanation of how it would absorb raw mana and turn it into fire.

"So what would they use this for?" I asked.

"Well, it could be transformed into a magic tool, a furnace heart, or a catalyst."

"You should get it turned into a catalyst for yourself, Miss Syl," Luke replied.

"No. I'd rather sell this and buy some slime catalysts."

Thern laughed so hard he snorted, "Well, I can't even say that's the weirdest adventurer hobby. One of my old buddies collects monster skulls to make into beer mugs."

"Speaking of which, did you find any for me, Luke?"

"I found a red slime catalyst. I also extended our search since you said you didn't mind if it wasn't a catalyst, and we found a source for a white slime core that's been crafted into a freeze tool."

I immediately cheered, "I'll gladly take both. Assuming I have enough money?"

Thern let out another belly laugh before gesturing around the room, "I think you have the cost covered."

"There's just one issue... The owner of the freeze tool is only willing to sell it under one condition."

"Unless the request is completely unreasonable, I'd still be interested. What is it?"

Luke sighed, "It belongs to one of the nobles here, and he wants you to have dinner with him publicly at Moonsong."

"Oh! Moonsong is the best restaurant in Kaerlin." Thern replied, "Although getting involved with nobles is nasty business, I bet he just wants to raise his own public profile by being seen with an exotic elf."

"Yes... Master Lisa agrees. He's harmless, according to her, but he just wants to use you for social standing."

"I don't really mind. I'm technically using him too, and if I can get my core, I'd consider it a win."

"Aye. Not to mention free food. Although looking at your harvests, you're probably not lacking for coin."

"Very well, Miss Syl. I'll inform Master Lisa to confirm the details. As for your fire catalyst, I just need you to swipe your tag at the reception here, and then I can give it to you." Luke said, then gestured to all the materials, "So what are your plans with these harvests? Do you want to keep any or have a request for our crafters?"

"Sell them all, but I'll take up the offer for the enchanted armor."

"Ha! Excellent!" Thern said, giving me a hefty pat on the back. "You can drop off my alcohol in the library when you've got it. It's a pleasure doing business with you!"

Luke took me to a different section of the guild building, which appeared to be where their crafters resided; it was like a mini marketplace with all sorts of trinkets, potions, and items being displayed. The first thing was going to one of the armor crafters, who used a skill to immediately get my measurements and then suggested what type of armor to make once we told him the materials he'd be working with. Ultimately, he recommended a black leather armor design to match the scales and fit more with the rogue theme. He vehemently refused to use Draconic Scales, even lesser ones, to make a robe, and Luke agreed it fit the Shadowcaster theme more to wear something more Rogueish.

With a quick swipe of my guild tag, the deposit was made, and then we made our way to the vendor, which had my catalyst. Different from the staff I had previously acquired, this one looked less impressive and was a small scepter with a much smaller core. I promptly paid for it and stared at the slime core happily, eager to consume it.

"Would you like to try it out at the training ground, Miss Syl?" Luke asked.

It sounded like a good idea; I had never used a catalyst before, and if I needed to fake one, it would be nice to know the effects. I would even consider getting myself a non-slime core if it turned out to be useful.

"Gladly. Thanks for the suggestion, Luke. I didn't know the guild had one."

"Most city guilds do. Ours even managed to get a golem from Keld to use for training practice."

"Keld?"

"Oh, I'm surprised you've never heard of it. It's an independent city formed by a former adventurer, Keldenar the Golemancer. He retired from adventuring and formed an entire city staffed entirely by golems. The residents who live there have all manual labor taken care of by the golems, so they are free to do research, crafting, or even just live comfortably."

"He just retired and formed his own city? I'm surprised the nobles allowed him to do that."

Luke chuckled, "A lot of them certainly tried to stop him. He took unoccupied land with no dungeon, which was infested with monsters, conquered it himself, and set up shop. He practically built the entire city in an instant with hundreds of golems. Plenty tried to force him into one of the kingdoms but soon realized their folly in confronting a Diamond-rank adventurer who can create infinite soldiers."

"What did the guild think?"

"Oh, they love it and gave Keld their full backing. Nothing better than having someone who can stand up to even Kings or Queens and help protect the guild's values."

'That's very useful to know... It certainly makes my plan to rank up in the guild to protect myself more viable.'