[Quest Complete]
[You have completed the waves.]
[Would you like to leave the tower? Yes/No]
Rivyn saw the familiar red system screen flash in front of him, asking if he wanted to leave the tower. Without hesitation, he clicked "Yes." But instead of being transported somewhere else immediately, he found himself in a blank space again—the same eerie void he was brought to whenever he died inside the tower.
Confusion settled in. Why am I back here? he thought, wondering why he hadn't been returned to the real world yet.
Before he could question it further, another system message appeared.
[Additional Rewards for Quest Completion - Earned Skill: Inventory]
[Would you like to claim mana cores? Yes/No]
"Inventory?" Rivyn muttered, his surprise evident. He hadn't expected to gain something like that, but he didn't dwell on it for long. His attention quickly shifted to the next line. Claim mana cores?
He had assumed the monsters he killed in the tower simply vanished upon death, leaving him no way to collect their cores—the valuable resource that adventurers typically harvest from defeated beasts. But now, the system was offering them to him.
His heart raced, filled with excitement. Money. This is what I need. He couldn't deny that he wanted to leave the tower more than anything, but the thought of free monster cores was too good to pass up. He hit Yes immediately.
[You have obtained:
592x D-rank Monster Cores
231x C-rank Monster Cores
81x B-rank Monster Cores
22x A-rank Monster Cores]
Rivyn's eyes widened in shock. Five hundred D-rank cores, over eighty B-ranks... and A-rank monster cores?!
His breath caught in his throat. He had been battling those goblins and orcs for what felt like an eternity, but he hadn't fully grasped their power levels until now. A-rank monsters? No wonder they were so tough. But his thoughts drifted back to when he had been fighting goblins as an F-rank himself. How did I manage to kill C-rank monsters on my first try?
There were too many questions, and none of it made sense to him. But before he could analyze the details any further, the next system notification appeared.
[Teleporting in 3... 2... 1...]
Before Rivyn could even process what was happening, he found himself standing in front of the tower again, exactly where he had entered it earlier. He blinked in disbelief, taking a few moments to reorient himself. I'm... back? His eyes scanned his surroundings, the bustling city of the Empire in the distance. The same place, the same crowd—but this time, he wasn't the same person. I survived.
Relief flooded his chest, but with it came a sense of accomplishment. I've done it. For weeks, he'd felt trapped, but now he stood victorious. A sense of freedom washed over him, along with an odd emptiness. It's over.
He couldn't help but laugh softly to himself. The tower had taken everything from him—the constant dying, the endless fighting. Yet here he was. Stronger, faster, sharper.
His immediate thought was that he needed new clothes. These are disgusting. He glanced down at his torn, worn-out clothes—realizing they were exactly the same as when he entered the tower. He wanted to feel fresh, renewed. He quickly wandered through the marketplace and found a clothing shop. Using some of the coins he had left, he bought some simple but comfortable new clothes. His build had also changed—he was taller, more muscular. Everything fit differently now, so the change of wardrobe seemed appropriate.
After changing and freshening up, Rivyn looked at his remaining silver coins and sighed. He had spent most of his money, and all he had left was one silver. It wouldn't last him long, so he headed towards the guild to sell his mana cores. If these cores are worth what I think they are, I'll be set for a long while.
He asked for directions from passersby and soon found himself standing in front of the adventurers' guild. The inside was bustling with activity. Rivyn saw adventurers of all races—humans, dwarves, even some lycanthropes. It was a lively, chaotic space, but Rivyn didn't pay them much attention as he walked toward the counter. There was one thing on his mind—money.
"Excuse me," Rivyn began, addressing the man behind the counter. "I'd like to sell some mana cores. Can you tell me how much they sell for?"
The man looked up, studying Rivyn for a moment before responding. "Mana cores vary in price depending on their purity and the amount of magic power they hold. We use a device to measure them and then pay based on their grade. Usually, F-rank cores sell for 1-10 silver coins, E-rank for 30-50 silver coins, D-rank for 100-200 silver coins, C-rank for 500-1000 silver coins, B-rank for 5-10 gold coins, and A-rank can go for 50-100 gold coins each."
~~~
100 bronze coins equaled 1 silver coin. 1,000 silver coins equaled 1 gold coin. 1,000 gold coins made up 1 platinum coin. And beyond platinum… there were mana gems, the rarest and most valuable resource in the world. Mana gems were so rare that they were considered national treasures, often hoarded by kings and emperors.
~~~
Rivyn nodded, absorbing the information. "Sounds good. What about testing my rank? Do I have to take the adventurer evaluation?"
The man shook his head. "You can buy your own device to test it if you don't want to take the formal evaluation. Some adventurers prefer that route."
Rivyn made a mental note of that but decided to focus on selling his cores first. He reached for his pouch and pretended to grab something from it, but in reality, he was pulling them from his new inventory. He didn't want to draw attention by showing too much, so he carefully pulled out five C-rank monster cores.
The man's eyes widened as Rivyn handed over the cores. He placed them on a scale-like device, and as he did, a crystal plate beneath the cores began to glow. The color shifted from white to green, then yellow, and finally, red.
"Peak purity," the man muttered in awe, scanning the rest of the cores with the same shocked expression.
After a moment, he looked back at Rivyn, his voice laced with surprise. "These are worth 1000 silver coins each. I'll give you five gold for all of them."
Rivyn kept his face neutral, though inside he was screaming. Five gold coins! He had never seen so much money in his life. He calmly nodded and collected the coins, forcing himself to remain composed.
After selling the cores, Rivyn decided it was time to leave the guild. He knew that walking out with five gold coins had likely caught the attention of some unsavory individuals. Sure enough, as soon as he stepped into the streets, he felt the presence of two men following him. He sighed internally. It didn't take long for trouble to find me.
He wandered through the streets, heading toward a more isolated part of town. 'These fools want to rob me? I needed a self evaluation.' He hadn't been in a fight outside the tower since returning, and this was the perfect opportunity to gauge his abilities.
He made his way into a narrow alleyway, seemingly waiting for something. Not long after, four large men with intimidating builds followed him in. The one in the middle didn't even bother wearing a shirt, his muscular frame on full display.
Rivyn smirked to himself. Perfect test dummies.