Chapter 24: Marketplace Encounters
"Oww, ouch! Be a bit gentler, Mom," I complained to my angry-faced mother as she applied medicine to my wounds. It had been a few hours since I returned from the dungeon.
The first thing I noticed upon my return was that the dungeon was no longer a Tier 2 Dungeon—it had upgraded to Tier 3. This was surprising, considering the dungeon's layout. Instead of traditional floors stacked vertically, it was more like an expansive region, with the entire forest and castle making up its various areas.
I blamed this world for ruining my image of what a dungeon should be. Here, "floors" didn't necessarily mean actual levels; they were just higher-tiered regions in the same space, kind of like a Souls game. The only difference? In a Souls game, you could respawn after dying. Here, death was permanent.
"Alright, young man, I'm going to warn you just this once," my mother said sternly. "Don't risk your life over a silly dungeon. You're far too important to me for that." Her voice softened near the end, her expression betraying a deep sadness.
From what I knew, it had something to do with her younger sister, who had tragically died in a dungeon dive. A shame, really, considering my aunt had immense potential with a super-rare profession called The Huntress.
The name might sound underwhelming, but according to analytics, it was incredibly powerful. It offered tremendous bonuses in group fights and god-tier support for duels.
"Don't worry, Mom," I replied cheekily, trying to lighten her mood. "Your son is far too handsome to die early. The world hasn't even seen the best of me yet!"
"Oh, please," she scoffed, though a small smile broke through her stern demeanor. "You can't get any more narcissistic than that."
After a few more rounds of playful banter, I left her room, feeling slightly better about the scolding.
---
"Hmm… What to do now? Huh? Where did Umbra go?" I muttered to myself, searching for the little devil.
It didn't take long to remember. He had wandered off to the kitchen while I was grabbing some healing potions from the estate.
"You know what? I'll let him have this one. I'm too lazy to chase after him right now," I said with a shrug. "That aside, I think I'll head to the marketplace. I've got to sell all this loot from the dungeon."
Some people might wonder why someone born into wealth would bother accumulating more. Well, there's a story behind that.
Our family has a tradition: by the age of fifteen, every young member of the Blight family must amass enough wealth to sustain themselves. The family doesn't raise freeloaders who rely solely on connections.
It's an age-old test to determine if we're worthy successors. Besides, I had no intention of relying entirely on my family. It didn't sit right with me. Even back on Earth, I tried to be as self-sufficient as possible.
I worked two or three part-time jobs simultaneously, managing my time meticulously. Somehow, I juggled it all while finishing college.
Thankfully, my college wasn't overly strict on regulations, which gave me some breathing room. By the time I was eighteen, I'd saved enough money to buy myself a nice car and fulfill one of my lifelong dreams: a high-end gaming setup.
Now that I think about it, there were so many games I hadn't played, so many things I'd missed. But I've left all that behind. After all, in this life, I have magic, and that's definitely better.
---
I snapped out of my musings as I parked my car in a suitable spot. I'd opted for a normal car today—not the luxurious one—to avoid drawing attention.
The first place I visited was the Dungeon Association. It was the organization responsible for rank-ups, dungeon drops, and quest management.
As I passed by the quest board, curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to take a look.
The quests were displayed using a holographic projection—a basic application of light magic. It wasn't particularly sophisticated; anyone with decent mastery over light magic could pull it off.
Most of the quests were Tier 1 and Tier 2. I also spotted three Tier 3 quests.
Quests were ranked up to Tier 5, with danger levels scaling as follows:
Tier 1: Small-scale monster subjugations near towns or city borders. Can be handled by slightly trained civilians or soldiers.
Rewards: 1,000C–10,000C
Tier 2: Larger threats, such as monster attacks on villages or bandit raids. Typically for Rank 2 individuals or teams.
Rewards: 25,000C–125,000C
Tier 3: Large-scale conflicts, often involving transcendental events. Examples include celestial phenomena like meteorite strikes, border skirmishes, or monster hordes featuring transcendental monsters.
Rewards: 10,000,000C–100,000,000C
Reflecting on the vampire lord I'd fought in the dungeon, I realized he qualified as a transcendental monster. He could have easily annihilated a small town of 25,000–30,000 people.
As I considered taking a quest to broaden my horizons, a flash of crimson hair caught my eye among the crowd near the quest logs.
I recognized that striking red hair.
And that calm demeanor.
And those piercing crimson eyes.
It was unmistakable—Ashlyn.
Her composed yet sharp presence was something you couldn't forget easily.
Thinking it wouldn't hurt to catch up, I walked toward her group.
"Hello there. How's it going?" I greeted her casually.
Ashlyn turned, her crimson eyes widening slightly before softening into a relaxed expression. "Well, what a surprise," she said with a sassy smirk. "Nice to see you again, sir stranger, who didn't bother giving his name last time."
Oh, crap. Now I remembered—I'd completely forgotten to introduce myself back then. In my attempt to act cool, I'd skipped basic courtesy.
"Ah, my bad," I admitted sheepishly. "I wasn't exactly focused that day. Anyway, nice to meet you guys again. The name's Araxis."
I intentionally left out my last name, preferring to maintain a bit of anonymity.
Before I could continue the conversation, someone interrupted us from behind.
"Excuse me," a voice said. "Are you done deciding on thrquest from earlier? Please hurry—I can't hold it for grouo forever.
To be continued…