Arriving at the side of a two-storey brick building, there was a military-grade cargo truck outside, along with numerous people with grey hoodies like himself.
"Hi there, man. You are tall!" A boy said from beside him.
He was decently shorter than he was, standing at 5'9. This compliment that he received from time-to-time really irked him.
It was one of the most obvious things one could say and it wasn't like he didn't know that himself.
"Thanks." He bluntly replied.
"Aren't you excited to enter a dungeon? I mean, after that gang initiation I've been itching to enter one again!" He stated.
He had dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes, with tanned skin that wasn't as tanned as Rhys' own. Rhys genetically was from a place different to Osegan, which was why he had more golden-brown skin than those around him.
"I guess so. The first one wasn't an easy dungeon to get out of, though."
"Yeah, but it was so thrilling. And, of course, we're getting some proper bread after this!" He replied, tapping on his shoulder as he talked.
A suited man, wielding silver gauntlets, stepped out of the building beside them. By his holster was a mammoth sword that almost hit the ground, even though it was attached to his leg at an angle.
"Let's go now! Enter the cargo truck and do as you're told at all times. You are not to sell any of the materials that you find within this dungeon. If you do, it'll cost you your life!" He explained, pointing at the group.
This man stood at 6'2, being Rhys' height, but had quite the terrifying appearance. His gauntlets even had beast crystals wedged in them, and were glowing as he moved them around.
It was common to find beast crystals used as sources of extra power for breastplates, but rarely additional items like gauntlets. This meant that he had a lot of money and was a powerful warrior as a result.
In this world, power and riches were strongly linked. One could see a rich person flaunting expensive equipment and items, then immediately know that they had a good system or powerful family backing them.
The students were directed into this truck, and it rumbled along the ground, eventually parting into the grasslands surrounding Osegan. Inside this place, they were each given large bags that they could use to store the crystals they found. They entered a circular underground base and were directed to a dungeon portal that was at its base.
Some of the individuals had now clad themselves in battle attire, such as breastplates, gauntlets and other things. However, the number of them were limited, as the people grouped here weren't really in the situation to afford such equipment.
Even with that, these people were only to enter Class-F dungeons, since that was the only calibre dungeon they could properly operate in. Anything of higher danger and their lives would be at serious risk.
"Enter and remember what I said. You receive a share of what you get, so make sure to take everything that you can." He explained, pointing into the portal ahead of them.
The group entered, opening to a vast cavern that had walls that reached way above their heads. The cave ceiling looked to be at least 50 metres above them, and this larger opening focused into several smaller paths that were still gargantuan.
Looking around the area, Rhys rushed past the group of expanding fighters and even utilised his Fledgling Blitz skill to pass him. To his surprise, he was at the forefront of the expanding mass of gangsters, entering one of the narrower paths that he could find.
These caves were also illuminated, but this time by a warming golden light-stone. Crouching down, he found the corpses of dead beasts that he could barely even identified. The remains of their bodies looked so heavily decayed and mangled that he couldn't even recognise the bodies, but this wasn't an issue.
It made it even easier for him to acquire the crystals. He could see snake-like beasts, with tough metal-like crystals, and other otherworldly creatures that resembled beasts straight out of people's nightmares.
With a collection of crystals, he placed them in the khaki-coloured cotton bag that he had been given to store them.
Searching across the Ethereal Emporium, he struggled to see for what prices these crystals went for but wasn't concerned. He had incurred practically no costs to acquire these things. He was willing to sell them at the lowest possible price he saw.
Selling each of the 30 crystals that he had attained, he received 500 shards in return. Seeing the money enter his account, he could almost feel his body moving on its own, searching for more crystals.
He just couldn't stop, and continued selling the crystals that he was finding. With a crystal in his hand, he had a system panel just beside him and, in an instant, it was gone as someone bought it on the market.
"What are you doing?" The same boy that he had met earlier asked, watching him do this.
'Oh crap.' Rhys thought to himself, turning to face him.
"What do you mean?" He replied, with a light chuckle.
He just stood there silent, and the two awkwardly stood there. Rhys was hoping he would brush this off, knowing just who these gangsters were.
As much as he liked to believe that he was growing stronger, he did not have enough strength right now to face them.
"Don't worry about it, man. I mean, they can read when you sell crystals like that, as you know, so I don't really understand why you're doing that." He stated, walking past him to pick a crystal that was by his side.
Just before he was about to walk past him, he lifted out his hand as he turned back to face Rhys.
"The name's Kaga. Kaga Teijo." He replied.
Rhys reciprocated the kind gesture and shook his hand back.
Kaga walked on past him, and Rhys just began selling more of the crystals that he had attained.
Rhys felt a little surprised by the respect he was receiving. Due to his abilities, people would rarely greet him in such a manner. Most people were only willing to show such kindness after hearing that one was powerful.
With more than 750 shards now in his account, he just couldn't believe how much money he'd received. He kept a few odd crystals in his bag, as he still wanted a good reward from the gang. Selling crystals, while also making more money as a reward just felt like a complete hack.
He hated himself for not entering these gangs sooner, now knowing how rewarding it would be.
****
"Who the hell is this guy that keeps undercutting these crystals?! Why would he sell a 40-shard Flying Ferret crystal for 25?!" A man shouted with annoyance.
He had a sharp jawline, with a handsome face and piercing blue eyes. He had blonde hair that was parted into curtains and surrounding him were several odd contraptions. They looked advanced and mechanical, with vibrant colours and glowing interiors.
Across the walls around him were blueprints and other diagrams, detailing the devices that he had conjured up in his littered dorm room.
Moving the paper that he had been using to design a new device of his, he stood up from the chair that he was currently sitting on and just swiped away the system panels that clouded his vision.
"Whoever that guy is, I need to try and get into this system to find him. Just how secure is the Ethereal Emporium anyways?" He asked himself, before pacing forward.
Across his desk, a holographic keyboard appeared along with a panel that was being projected from a tiny projector built into the wooden workbench he worked on.
"Here we go! You won't remain anonymous for much longer, you little rat!" He whispered to himself, before typing away with immense speed.
****
He had gained 850 shards from selling the loose crystals that were around him, and the different gang members were all returning from this dungeon to leave after the number of shards they were finding dropped significantly.
Entering the dungeon exit, they arrived at the same dungeon portal that they had used to enter.
The different gang members proudly handed over their bags, and Rhys could see the hierarchy of power even within this group of people. Some of the weaker, less armoured people felt more embarrassed about the number of shards they had found, while others pumped up their chests and handed over their bags confidently.
"Hey, you! Give me your damn crystals before we leave this place!"
Rhys could hear the whispers of a man behind him, and could see Kaga, the boy that he had met just before entering this dungeon.
Seeing this happen, he felt sick to his stomach. Now it made a lot more sense as to how some people had so many more shards than others, even though they had spent similar time in the dungeon.
His first instinct was to step in, but he deemed it unnecessary to do so here. Each member moved forward in an ordered line, and he just didn't see anyone stepping or acting out. He didn't want to draw such attention onto himself, and especially not in front of the armoured, burly warriors standing ahead of them.