As the vortex from the Spider Nest calmed, Bastion's figure emerged, bathed in the cool light of the moon. A breeze carrying the scent of earth and grass greeted him, refreshing compared to the stifling stench inside the dungeon.
The serene night was momentarily interrupted by two stunned figures standing nearby: Brian and Tiger.
Ignoring their gawking, Bastion took a deep breath and prepared to head back to the orphanage. He'd only taken a few steps before the two men rushed forward to block his path.
"Bastion, correct? I'm Brian, a representative of the United Federation Trading Company," Brian introduced himself eagerly.
Recognizing the name from the earlier banner, Bastion nodded.
Brian leaned in, barely containing his excitement. "You cleared the Hard Mode Spider Nest this afternoon, and even broke the record, right?"
"Yeah."
Brian's eyes lit up. "Fantastic! Did you happen to get the Toxic Spider King's Venom Gland?"
Bastion shook his head. "Nope, didn't drop this afternoon."
Brian's expression froze, his earlier excitement draining away. "Ah… that's unfortunate. Well…"
Before Brian could finish, Bastion added, "But I just ran it again tonight. Got lucky this time."
With that, Bastion retrieved the venom gland from his inventory and displayed its information.
[Toxic Spider King's Venom Gland]
- The essence of the Spider King's poison, a rare and valuable alchemical ingredient with potent toxicity.
Brian's disappointment instantly gave way to elation. But as his excitement settled, a thought struck him.
"Wait… did you just say you got this from tonight's run? The one you cleared in three hours?"
"Yeah," Bastion replied matter-of-factly. He assumed Brian knew about the updated dungeon records from the vortex.
Tiger, overhearing their conversation, froze. He quickly sprinted to the dungeon vortex and checked the records.
[Spider Nest (Hard)]
Fastest Clear Time: 3 hours, 12 minutes
Clearer: Bastion
Staring at the screen, Tiger felt his knees weaken.
Two record-breaking clears in a single day.
First six hours. Then three.
Tiger staggered back to Bastion, his face pale. "I… I have to ask. How did you cut your time in half? Is there a shortcut we don't know about?"
Bastion frowned slightly. "Shortcut? No. I was just unfamiliar the first time, so it took longer. Once you know the layout, speedrunning is normal. Cutting the time in half is pretty standard."
His tone was calm, as if explaining basic arithmetic.
Tiger's face twitched. Was this… human reasoning?
"... He okay?" Bastion asked Brian, gesturing to the shell-shocked Tiger.
Brian coughed lightly, suppressing a smile. "He's fine. Just… processing."
Shaking his head, Bastion turned back to Brian. "About the venom gland—what's it used for? I know it's valuable for poison resistance potions, but it doesn't seem irreplaceable."
Brian raised an eyebrow, impressed by Bastion's knowledge. "You're right. The venom gland is indeed used for poison resistance potions, but it's also a crucial material for certain hidden class second-job advancements. That's why someone issued a 200,000-credit bounty for it through our Trading Company."
"Interesting…" Bastion mused. He remembered the materials needed for Pyra's bloodline refinement quest and decided to ask Brian.
"Do you know anything about these items: Ember of the Flame Goddess, Tom King's Spatula, and Pure Demon Crystals?"
Brian tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm… The first two are similar to the venom gland—rare boss drops. They're about as valuable and equally scarce. People rarely sell them outright, preferring barter instead.
"As for Pure Demon Crystals, they're refined from the blood of high-level demon creatures, typically Level 50 or above. These demons are extremely powerful and hard to kill. The crystals have a very low drop rate, and most come from the Ironwall Outpost.
"If you want to buy them… ten crystals would cost around 600,000 credits."
"Six hundred thousand?!" Bastion's jaw dropped.
Brian offered a sheepish smile. "That's actually a reasonable price. Pure demons are battle-hardened monsters capable of taking on dozens of soldiers at once. Add in their rarity and the difficulty of extraction… It's no wonder they're so expensive. Honestly, most people wouldn't even have a use for something like this."
Bastion glanced at Pyra, who was innocently wagging her flaming tail. A four-legged gold vacuum cleaner, huh?
Still, Pyra's raw power was undeniable. Even at 10% bloodline purity, she was already dominating her peers. Raising that to 20% would undoubtedly bring even greater benefits.
Bastion made up his mind.
"I'm willing to sell the venom gland…"
Brian's face lit up.
"…but I won't take credits. I'll trade it for either the Ember of the Flame Goddess or Tom King's Spatula."
Brian frowned slightly but quickly nodded. "Alright, I'll reach out to my colleagues to issue a trade request. It might take some time, but we'll do our best."
Bastion nodded and pulled out another item from his inventory—a shimmering, colorful egg.
"Oh, and this. I'd like to sell it too. Does the Trading Company handle auctions? What's it worth?"
Brian's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
A boss-tier pet egg.
These were exceedingly rare, with only a handful appearing across the entire empire each year. To see one here, casually presented for sale…
Brian swallowed hard, regaining his composure. "Boss-tier pet eggs are notoriously hard to appraise because auction prices can vary wildly. A conservative estimate would be at least 300,000 credits. However, with the right bidders, it could fetch 700,000 or even 800,000."
"Perfect," Bastion said. "There's an auction tomorrow, right? I'll submit it for sale then."
Brian nodded eagerly. "I'll handle the arrangements. You'll have a dedicated contact tomorrow to guide you through the process."
"Great. Oh, and tell them not to bother me too early—I need to sleep in," Bastion added casually as he walked away, disappearing into the night.
Brian and Tiger stood in stunned silence, watching his retreating figure.
After a long pause, Tiger muttered, "Truly… heroes emerge young."