Exactly three hours had passed since I entered the Blooming Expanse when the robot cruiser arrived and its doors swung open.
The cruiser hummed, and a wave of ether brushed against me before a familiar robotic voice resounded.
“Cadet Adam Savier and the officially recognized Soulkin have been detected.” A stretched-out, low-pitched beep echoed, and it continued, “Four beast carcasses have been detected and identified: Mustar Bovines, 5-Star Wild. Do you wish to store the carcasses, cadet?”
A smile formed on my lips, and I confirmed without hesitation.
“Transport fee of four coins will be deducted if the weight and size exceed the free fare limitations. Do you wish to proceed?”
The smile cracked and disappeared, replaced by a muttered curse. Nonetheless, with no other choice, I agreed.
“Four coins have been deducted. You may now board Cruiser X24.” I disliked the robot more and more, but I stepped inside the cruiser anyway. Aureus followed and whipped the cruiser with his tail before escaping into my World when red holographic screens appeared throughout the cruiser’s interior. I ignored the warning messages and turned back to the beast carcasses disappearing in golden, star-like sparks.
The cruiser departed a moment later, after reminding me to put on the seatbelt. I followed the instruction, which was rewarded by multiple screens blocking my view.
“Oh?” I sat upright, eyes widened ever so slightly, “That’s interesting.”
Even though I didn’t select a mission, the Grand Camp offered to purchase the Mustar Bovine carcasses. From the looks of it, Cruiser X24 had already analyzed the bodies and come up with a wide variety of offers, one being to drop the corpses in a warehouse for beast corpses, which was near-ish to the dorms. While that was good to know, it didn’t help me in any other way.
“Selling the Mustar Bovines to the Camp Shop.” I muttered, only for a red light to flash before my eyes. “Shop only wants useful body parts, which I have to harvest myself? I... can’t sell the untouched carcasses to them?”
Apparently, the Camp Shop and the entity Cruiser X24 labeled as the Grand Camp were different.
Whatever. My fingers flicked across the screens that changed almost too fast for me to take in all the information.
So… if I want to earn coins using the Shop, I have to butcher and process the corpses on my own? And only the useful parts are worth something, which leaves me with the disposal of trash. Aureus would take care of that.
The Earthheart was so hungry these days that he’d eat all of the bovines, except for their bones maybe. Not that waiving the trash disposal fee was worth much.
After paying the butcher, material costs, and the processing fee for all Shop sales, I’d be left with two to four coins per corpse. No, that’s not quite right; I forgot about the transportation fee. I cursed myself for a moment, my eyes burning red.
One to three coins per corpse…
I left the safety of the Grand Camp to hunt three hours in a Peak Awakened Zone for four coins – twelve if I was lucky. The Grand Camp, on the other hand, paid 15 flat and promised to return the transportation fee, which brought my earnings to two more than my monthly stipend. Not too bad for my first hunt. There was improvement to be made, but that was always the case, wasn’t it?
“Sell the bovines to the Grand Camp.” I confirmed after a moment of hesitation. Even if I’d earn a lot more by learning butchering to sell the most precious body parts in the Camp Shop, I simply didn’t have the time to do so.
Next time I could hunt stronger beasts—Awakened ones. For that, however, I’d have to learn a lot more about the Blooming Expanse as well as my powers. There was no need for hasty decisions, even though the chatterbox roaring in my head thought differently.
Hunting!
We just returned from hunting. Don’t stress it! I responded, suppressing a snicker.
“Transaction has been confirmed,” the robot said, so I checked my ID to make sure nothing went wrong.
Name: Adam Savier
Blessed: Adept
Soulkins: 2
Affiliations: Grand Camp
– Ranking
District – #973 → #965
Grand Camp – #13,048 → #12,997
Retinue – #679 → #674
– Rank Benefits: 14 Coins/month
Camp Coins: 115
“What?!” My ranking changed drastically. Even better, my rank benefits increased to 14 coins from one moment to the next.
Was the ranking live updated? If so, what would happen if I increased my ranking drastically until the end of the week? Would I be given 14 coins or whatever amount my monthly stipend would reach at that time?
There’s only one way to find out! I told myself, grimacing as my Grand Camp ranking dropped by one. My competitive nature surfaced out of nowhere, fueling my desire for greatness, and a myriad of plans formed in my mind.
***
Hunting was good. It was a necessity to gain real combat experience and to stay at the top of the game, but it was not that lucrative. Not if you have to be vigilant in the weakest Zone around the Grand Camp. Weaker Awakened beasts I focused on hunting weren’t much more expensive than the Mustar Bovines. Their pricing had been a premium for their highly nutritious meat, apparently.
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Most apprenticeships and almost all jobs represented in the Grand Camp were more rewarding. At least, until I could safely hunt all the beasts in the Blooming Expanse. Only a few occupations would be more worthwhile at that point.
Thus, I tried a few things when Cruiser X24 landed minutes before noon. A few appointments for occupational aptitude tests had already been confirmed, and I rushed to the cafeteria’s bakery to make it in time. Stupidly enough, I was still drenched in beast blood and covered in dirt.
“What in the blazing ovens—!?” was the first thing I heard when one of the bakers made eye contact with me. “Outside with you! OUT of my bakery! You’re dripping death all over my floor!”
“Oh, shit!” I exclaimed, realizing how I must look. I tried to backpedal, but it was already too late. “I’m sorry for my appearance, Sir, but I just returned from hunting when the appointment for my aptitude test was confirmed. I had no time—”
“I don’t give a living shit about your reasoning!” The baker hollered loud enough to make me flinch. “Leave my bakery so long you can still walk! As for your aptitude test, consider it done; you failed the most basic of sacred rules by appearing looking like this.” He motioned to my clothes, the dirt, and the half-dried blood before deflating. His eyes lingered on me for another moment, disappointment shimmering through the anger.
Disappointment shouldn’t really matter since I had a massive list of jobs I’d applied to have my aptitude tested, but the baker’s disappointment stung quite a bit. More than the shouts and the anger.
I left the cafeteria in silence. Aureus tried to reassure me, but I was annoyed with myself and nobody could help with that. Frustrated, I rushed to the dorms, retrieved a new set of clothes my parents had gifted me for my birthday, and went for a thorough shower. A trace of ether seeped into the Earthen Aspect, removing the soil that somehow ended up in my hair. Then, once clean, I received multiple notifications, adding a dozen more aptitude tests to my schedule. I triple-checked my updated schedule and rushed down to the janitor’s office for my next appointment.
The janitor was more than satisfied with my abilities. I worked swiftly, followed his orders without complaints, and I made good use of my Earth Aspect to clean the shower rooms and floors.
“We didn’t expect anyone to be interested in the work of us janitors, especially not the Camp’s cadets. Their potential is simply too high to end up in a job nearly everyone can perform,” he said somberly, forcing a pained smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Nobody in their right mind would want to become a janitor if they had the means to become Experts.” The janitor shook his head slowly. “Even so, it is us janitors who ensure that everything keeps running, no matter what others may say. We are the heart of the Grand Camp, and I hope you understand that.”
My lips parted, but the janitor wasn’t finished yet. “Even if you don’t join us today, you don’t have to feel bad about it. Cadet Adam Savier, I may not know you, but I can see you’re a good guy. If you ever need a helping hand, as dirty as it may be, you can turn to us.”
I was not prepared for that kind of emotional weight, so I left the janitor’s office once my watch registered the janitor’s offer.
“Six coins an hour.” I chuckled, shaking my head. Endangering my life in a Zone where the vast majority of creatures could kill me was not nearly as lucrative. It was something, but six coins an hour was still not enough. I needed more to feed Aureus and myself with expensive dishes and ordinary resources.
My next appointment was already waiting for me, so I rushed to a large dock where Cruiser X24 and the other robot cruisers were at. I tried working as a mechanic, giving my best to maintain a cruiser under the head mechanic’s instructions. Unfortunately, I was not doing very well. Good enough to be apprenticed, which felt more like a pity offer than anything else, but he saw my determination, and he was willing to give me a helping hand. That would have been great if he didn’t deduct most of the pay, informing me that I would only receive the full pay of a mechanic once I knew how to maintain and repair the cruisers, tools, and other ether devices.
It wasn’t too bad and worth looking into if I failed at everything else, but that was not necessarily good either. At least, I was given a chance. Next up were the Ethericians, who took care of all the work revolving around ether circuits. I found Spencer among the workers. He didn’t even notice me as he fixed a space-isolation circuit on his own. It looked like Spencer had been an Etherician for years, which might well be the case since older colleagues asked Spencer for help. He knew what he was doing, while I failed miserably.
“I’m sorry, but we cannot risk hiring you. Maybe if you study ether circuits a little bit more, we can offer you an apprenticeship, but it looks like that will take a while. The Grand Camp will be over even before you learn how to fix a basic 1-Star circuit.”
The rest of the day turned into a blur of disappointment mixed with rays of hope. For one, I was rejected by the cooks and the butcher – apparently the baker told everyone about ‘the dirty brat’ – within five minutes. They were unnecessarily snappy, which nearly caused Aureus to manifest and rip them a new one. The Trappers offered me a position, as an apprenticeship too, with lowered earnings, the blacksmith rejected me, mocking my physical strength, the leatherworkers were uncertain what to make of me, and the seamstress looked at me in pity. On the other hand, the masons and farmers were impressed with me.
I didn’t even know that we needed farmers in the Grand Camp, but it turned out I had the knack for it – for plowing the farmland around the thirteenth district. Interestingly enough, they paid well. Not as well as the veterinarians, who denied me for my lacking knowledge about medicine, which made sense, but it was discouraging nonetheless.
At the end of the day, I had a few job offers, which increased my ranking across the board by several ranks, and I had one more test I had to complete.
“I took the liberty to check the test results from your theoretical exam, and I have to say that I am impressed. Most apprentices wouldn’t be able to answer the questions you’ve answered in a time crunch.” A long-haired Beaster, with a small shop in our district, told me. His smile was kind, his eyes glimmering with genuine interest. “Unfortunately, I do not have the space to accommodate another apprentice with no practical experience. If you could concoct a few serums on your own, I would probably reconsider hiring you, but that is not the case, is it?”
My heart leaped wildly at first, but it dropped quickly and tore down the rising excitement as quickly as it appeared.
“No.” I looked down at the floor, teeth gritted. Taking a deep breath, I discarded the frustration building up in my chest and looked up, meeting the Beaster’s gaze. “I didn’t have the time to learn how to concoct serums. However, I know what I have to do, and I can probably concoct a proper serum in no time. All I need is a chance. I…”
The Beaster raised his hand, his lips pressed firmly together. “I’m sorry, but taking on greenhorns as apprentices is simply too expensive. The only thing I can do is to offer you a position if you can prove to me that you can concoct three basic serums. That doesn’t have to be today. Instead, you can rent a workshop and work on a base serum and some non-lethal basic serums with your own resources. As long as you store the data and concoction reports in the system, I can check and verify your progress. If you do, then—”
He said a lot more things, but I neither had the time nor the resources to play mad scientist. As gentle as the Beaster was, his kindness resembled pity, and it threatened to drown me.
“I understand,” I said, my voice a little too cold. “Thank you for your kind words. If you will excuse me.”
On the way out, I caught a glimpse of Daniel. He’d been taught by Beaster Bert for years and was clearly more experienced than the other apprentices around him. I slowed and watched Daniel, hating how jealousy ate away at me, and departed when it was clear that Daniel would be busy for a while.
He didn’t notice me, and I was oddly grateful for that.
“I could hunt beasts to provide Aureus a nutritious meal,” I muttered to myself, trying to shake off the disappointing events of the day, but it was hard. It was not the first time I had been rejected, but seeing Spencer and Daniel thriving in their element was disheartening. They deserved all of it, but what about me?
Was there nothing profitable for me to do around the Grand Camp? That couldn’t be. There had to be something.