Sunday, 15th of August.
Luis is sitting inside a cafe waiting for Zea to come. Yesterday, both of them promised to split the loot from dungeon exploring today.
'She said to come to this cafe at 11 AM. There are still 10 minutes before that.
'I wonder what is inside the treasure chests?
'On the first ten floors, if a monster dropped a treasure chest, it is usually filled with a potion. The potion inside is random between a health potion or mana potion.
'But two of the chests were not dropped from monsters.
'Let's imagine the worst scenario, all three of them are filled with a health potion. So three potions in total, that is not a bad haul. If it is converted into money, and then split it two ways… That is not bad. I can live for a few weeks without any worries.'
A health potion is a magical liquid that can be used to heal a wound when it is drunk. A health potion can be made by someone that has [Magic Brewing] skill. The effect of the potion differs based on its quality.
A normal quality potion can heal a broken bone. For light injuries, a low-quality potion is enough. A high-quality potion is very rare, as of now it can only be found as a drop on the deeper floor. No [Magic Brewing] skill holder can make that high-quality potion now.
'If the two boxes that we found inside the hearth are not filled with a potion, we can make more money. And that is still not counting all the mana stones that we get from killing giant rats.
'Ah— Wait… most of the mana stones are Zea's. She was the one that killed giant rats after all.'
Lost in his thought Luis didn't notice that Zea is already standing beside his table. She then sits in front of Luis, only at this time does Luis notice Zea.
"What are you thinking with a serious face like that?" said Zea after she sits.
"Nah, nothing important."
Zea then calls the waiter and orders a drink and a snack.
"So what should we do with the loot? Split it in half?" Zea started the conversation.
"Most groups that explore the dungeon split the loot equally after cashing it. Should we do the same?" suggest Luis. "Oh right. As you were the one that killed most of the giant rats, you can take all the money from the mana stones. We only split the money that we get from selling the treasure."
"Eh— I can't do that, we will split that in half." Zea paused a few seconds before continuing, "How about this, I will give half of the profit from mana stones as the payment for your guide yesterday. That is ok right?"
"You really sure about that? I mean, I don't do much— Don't regret it okay?" Luis tried to reject it at first but decided not to. He thought that if the other party is okay, then let's just accept it.
"So… What is inside the treasure box?" Luis tried to change the conversation topic.
"Hmm… I don't know. I have not opened the boxes. After I got home yesterday, without thinking about anything I beelined to the bed."
Zea then put the three treasure boxes from her bag to the table. Those three boxes are similar, there is no big difference in how they look.
"What do I need to do to open the chest?" Zea asked Luis in case there is a need to do some special thing before opening.
"Oh right, you need to pour a little mana to open the chest. After you pour the mana, there will be a clicking sound that indicates the chest is now unlocked."
Following Luis's instruction, Zea tried to pour a little mana but it failed.
"Looks like you are still not used to using mana. It is okay, you only used mana once yesterday when making the dungeon card."
Luis then picked one of the chests and tried to demonstrate the process to Zea.
"You see, try to imagine that your body is filled with inner energy. Then imagine that energy flow toward your hand. From your hand, the energy comes out to the chest and—"
*Click*
"Look, it is open now."
He then opened the chest and look at the stuff inside. There is a clear crystal orb and a small parchment.
"This—" Luis is surprised when he sees this. He didn't expect to get this item, especially not on the fourth floor.
"What is that?" Zea that is still trying to pour her mana has her attention diverted. She is interested in what is inside the treasure chest.
"This is a skill orb. I have never seen one myself but from the information on the internet, this is no doubt a skill orb. They say that a skill orb will always drop inside a treasure chest. And then, alongside the transparent spherical orb, there is a parchment inside.
"Written on the parchment is the name of the skill. But it is written in the dungeon language. So if we want to know what skill the orb is holding we need to look for someone that can read the parchment or an appraiser."
"Heh~ So how much is the price for the skill orb?" Zea asked curiously.
"It depends on the skill it carries. Some common skills can be sold in the range of a hundred thousand dollars to a million dollars. For the rare skill, it depends on how much the buyer wants to pay."
"Wait a minute, how much? A hundred thousand?"
"Yup. In the first place, a skill orb is not that common. So a common skill orb is still a rare item. Then one of the most common skills is [Appraisal]. Now, even if one has to pay for a hundred thousand dollars, he will then have a skill that is very useful.
"For example, we have this skill orb but we don't know the skill inside. We need to hire someone to appraise this right? Imagine if they charge 50 dollars for an item appraisal. And here we need to appraise three items. So it can be said that with a mere hundred thousand dollars, someone can get a job for his lifetime.
"Actually, the price of skill orb is expected to keep crashing. This is because the number of people that start to explore dungeons keeps increasing. With more people exploring the dungeon, more skill orbs will appear on the market. Around three years ago, the price range for a skill like [Appraisal] is around five to seven hundred thousand dollars. Compared to that, a hundred thousand dollars is… a small sum."
Finished with the long explanation, Luis then drinks his juice refreshing his throat.
"Eh, I didn't know that. Also appraising is surprisingly expensive." Zea thinks for a bit before continuing, "So, what will we do for the skill orb? Follow the plan and sell this orb?"
"Let's open all the chests first, we will think about this later," said Luis while picking up another treasure chest.
Zea once again tried to pour her mana to the chest. Two clicking sounds are heard, indicating that the remaining two chests are opened.
"I did it. So that is how to do it… But just like yesterday, it was a weird sensation.
"Now, what is stuffed inside?" Zea opened her chest first, "Ohh… Another skill orb. Then what is inside your chest?"
Luis opened his chest, "A health potion. So, we have two skill orbs and a health potion. We can sell the potion but how about the skill orb? You know, this is a skill orb so instead of selling them, want to take one each?"
"Sure, I think using a skill orb is a rare opportunity that might not come very often. The money is a shame but if we get a good skill, we can earn more money later." Zea agreed with using the orb.
"Hey, I suddenly think of some idea. How about we use the skill orb now? Without knowing what skill we will get, we use the skill orb." Zea suggests this out of nowhere.
"But why?"
"You know, we have decided to use the skill orb. Does knowing what skill is stored inside the orb matter? In the end, we will still use it, not sell it. Also, it seems fun."
'That is right, we have decided to use the skill, so using it now is not a problem.' Luis thought like this. 'But why is it sounds wrong...'
"Okay then, I will pick this one," Zea said while picking the treasure chest on her right. "So how to use this? Pour mana inside the orb?"