"Miss Zenearith!" Cassy exclaimed in surprise. "If you were here, you should've intervened with those goons earlier!"
The woman, receptionist Zenearith, chuckled lightly as she rested on her arm, waving her free hand randomly as if shooing something away. "Why should I? Babysitting grown men isn't in my job description."
Talking to that point, her gaze shifted to Aster as her smile widened.
"I'd prefer to cover for young adventurers like you, Mr. Aster, rather than those grumpy old men," she murmured with a wink.
Aster, however, paid no mind to her words. He moved to the counter and placed his backpack on it before speaking.
"Instead of that, please assess the loot we acquired yesterday. We couldn't return here in time last night."
"Fufu, businesslike as usual," Zenearith chuckled again before taking Aster's hand nearby. "But such demeanor only spurs me on, you know~? *Hiss!*"
"What's wrong with you today? Please proceed with your work, or I'll report you to the Guild Master for harassing newcomers and wasting time."
Of course, Aster doesn't know the guildmaster yet. However, he had connections with the mayor, so he "technically" could tell her on to the Guildmaster.
"Alright, understood!" She responded, raising her hands instantly. "Loot appraisal, then? Let me see..."
She unzipped the backpack and extracted pack after pack of carefully collected slime mana powders. After counting a total of 110 packs, she let out a soft whistle. "That's a notable amount, and you even took the effort to dry the slimes! Drying them beforehand doubles their value, so..."
She retrieved a holographic tablet and tapped it a few times. "Slime Mana Powder is valued at 100 Tels, and you have 110 packs, totaling 11,000 Tels."
"Eleven..." Aster frowned, pondering.
Though it sounded big, for Cassy, it was merely a day's worth of expenses. Her previous lodging costs 5,000 Tels a day, after all. In essence, it wasn't enough to cover her lodging and dungeon entry fee!
"Oh, right!" Aster exclaimed, pulling out a small, round object from the bag's side pocket. "What about this one? We obtained it from the slime yesterday as well."
"Oh! What rarity!" Zenearith murmured as she carefully accepted the core from Aster's hand. "A Slime Core... and an intact one at that... I'd say 5,000 Tels for this."
"..."
A single core was worth almost half of the total mana powders they collected! Without delay, Aster revised their planned course of action in his mind. Instead of mana powders, they should collect the intact Slime Cores instead!
After Miss Zena finished the appraisal, she initiated a magical transfer of all the loot to the guild's storage for safekeeping. Simultaneously, a notification ping arrived on Aster's Adventurer's Card.
Retrieving it, he quickly noticed a new figure written on the bottom right of the front panel, indicating half of the full amount they had just received: 8,000 Tels! The other half was sent directly to Cassandra's card, which she too was currently checking.
As they were in a one-week party contract, all their earnings would be split as per the contract, 50-50, and distributed automatically! This not only prevented disputes and withholding party members' rightful share but also allowed the guild to manage unruly parties!
"So, will you require more slime powder packets?" After completing the turnover, Zena asked Aster with a faint smile. "I could offer you a 10% discount if you purchase a whole box."
"No, I still have some leftovers from yesterday, so we're fine." Aster declined promptly.
After all, the prices of commodities from the guild were a lot higher compared to those from shops. Aster doesn't want to spend extra when he doesn't even need it yet.
He then turned to Cassy and smiled. "Let's go. We still need to hunt many slimes today!"
"Alright!" She nodded. "I'll lead the way!"
The two turned and exited the guild, leaving the still-smiling receptionist behind.
---
The dungeon is a mystical place. If left for a while, the hunted monsters will be replenished, so there's no fear of exhausting the hunting grounds. However, on higher floors, respawning takes a bit longer.
Thus, there are occasions when some floors are actually depleted of monsters to hunt.
For the first floor, there's no possibility of running out of monsters. Respawn occurs as quickly as six hours, so unless numerous parties are hunting simultaneously, it's impossible to deplete the area entirely.
"Haaap!"
*SCREECH!*
And so Cassandra and Aster's team were doing the same thing as yesterday: hunting slimes in small groups. The only difference this time was that instead of drying them to collect their mana powders, they aimed to extract the cores.
"Hmmm...!"
Aster exerted himself once more, pointing both palms forward as he activated his Magic Carved Seal. However, the outcome wasn't satisfactory. "Damn, overdid it again...!"
As expected, replicating the temperature and duration perfectly from the last time was crucial. Using too high a temperature or casting for too long would cause the core to crack, wasting the loot from the slime. If it's too low, the core will melt, merging with the slime's gel and turning into mana powder.
"Don't worry! We can try again!" Cassy attempted to cheer him up.
"Right..." Aster nodded. "We're just getting started today, after all. Let's move on to the next one!"
This was only the fifth slime they hunted, and the first one that Cassandra killed. Aster himself defeated the first four, given that he was now free to move around thanks to the Stagnating Life Bracelet.
He wiped away a bead of sweat before turning toward another nearby patch of grass. Even before Cassandra could point it out, Aster had already spotted one. He, too, was starting to become adept at locating slimes hidden within the tall grass.
After signaling to her, the two approached the bush from either side, allowing Cassy to lunge forward with her knife.
*SCREECH!*
Without missing its target, her dagger pierced deep into the slime, taking it out on the first attempt! "Lucky strike~!" Cassy cheered, bouncing a little.
However, suddenly, her body emitted a bright light, causing Aster to step back in surprise as he shielded his eyes.
"Whoa?! W-What was that?" He muttered, bewildered.
Cassy, on the other hand, excitedly retrieved her Adventurer's Card from her pocket and gazed at the words displayed on it. "I... I leveled up!"
[
Name: Cassandra Bright
Age: 18
Race: Rabbitfolk
Purity: 25%
Level: 2
Party Members:
Aster Mistral (Empty) (Empty) (Empty) (Empty) (Empty) (Empty)
]
"Oh, this is my chance to boost my stats!" Cassandra exclaimed, flipping her card over and tapping once on the Intelligence stat.
[
Strength: 15
Dexterity: 15
Constitution: 10
Intelligence: 7
Wisdom: 8
Charisma: 6
Luck: 0
]
With that, her intelligence was now gradually catching up to her Wisdom stat. However, considering her overall abilities, she was better suited for a melee class than a healer.
Of course, Aster didn't intend to persuade her to switch to a melee class. Cassandra was already working diligently as a healer and was even willing to wield a dagger in combat. That alone was sufficient for him to consider her trustworthy and reserve a permanent slot in his party for her.
"Congratulations. You're now level 2." Aster applauded, contemplating. "Now, I should aim to level up next!"