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Chapter 8

  It took Richard a couple of days to find his first Black Beetle Stomach. He didn’t know if his luck was just bad or what. Oftentimes there were posts online of explorers complaining of farming for something for a long time and never getting it. Was it possible that the dungeon knew what an explorer was going for and denied them just for trolling? While it sounded like it was too much early 2000’s one could never know. And it would be impossible to confirm unless the dungeon owned up to it. He looked at a wall long enough that it turned awkward, and there was still no response from the dungeon.

  On the way out of the dungeon Richard paid the taxes for the stomach and sold the other drops. He already bought the other materials that he needed, he just needed more stomachs. Even if it was just the one that he found he was excited to get home and create the potion.

  Would it be better to create the Bone or Blue Core potion first? It seemed like the Blue Core Vial increases the quality of the potion by a stage. While the Bone would give the Lasting effect. Richard wondered how the explorers at the frontier of progress would use such a potion? Would they quickly quaff one before diving into melee? Or if they were already at full mana would they take one right before a fight that required heavy casting? Since the cost was lower it’s possible that mid strength teams would use them as an affordable option instead of the full price potions.

  In the end he decided on making the Cabbit Bone Vial version of the mana potion. And as expected it came out with the Lasting modifier. He was happy with getting one more craft out of the way and was surprised when a window appeared in front of him.

  Alchemy (S-Rank) Level 0 Milestone Reached.

  Enough unique items have been crafted to unlock the requirements for the next level.

  To level up Alchemy (S-Rank) craft additional items until you reach the goal.

  11/15 unique items crafted.

  Richard spent a moment looking over and reading the message again and again. There didn't appear to be any hidden meanings that he could see. And just that he had to craft 4 new items to get Alchemy level 1. He had one in mind, the Blue Core Vial Mana Potion. But what about the other 3? Should he search out another ‘safe’ dungeon in the area? Or should he try for something with a little more danger to it?

  The thought of danger didn't really appeal to Richard at all. The entire exploring endeavor was to just avoid having to work from some Zoomer trash, drunk on their own power. That and because of that incident at his last job he didn’t think that it would be easy to find work again. At least not in that field…

  Another option would be to see about finding a party. Maybe not a full time proper party. But if there were groups of members at the Crafter’s Union that dived for drops. Wouldn’t that be for the best? When he signed up for the guild he had been given access to the intranet team software. There were so many channels and people talking that he felt somewhat intimidated by wading in.

  A decision would need to come sooner or later. But for the current time Richard decided to just finish off what was in front of him and aim for the next stomach that he needed.

  ***

  “Poul, what do you have for me?” Calvin asked and rocked back in his chair. His office at the guild was on the top floor. But that was only so long as he was able to produce results. Results that were better than the others. And he needed something big in order to keep his lead. Something like a new crafter slave.

  “B- ugh. I mean,” Poul said and the sound of muffling came over the phone for a moment. “Sorry. Sorry. Yup. I’m just about done my break. Alright, still there?”

  “Of course I am. Get to it.”

  “Sorry. Break went long. From what I can tell he’s over at the Beetle Dungeon in New Burl. Been there for a few days now.”

  “Are you sure that is where he’s going to be from now on?”

  “Uh. No. Who knows where he’ll be each day.”

  Calvin sighed. It would have been nice if he could have put someone skilled in place. But then it would have hurt too much to have such a person wasting their time undercover in the centers.

  “Sorry Boss.”

  “Don’t call me that. And we’ll assume that he’ll be there tomorrow. I’ll send the team and have them contact the mole,” Calvin said and hung up. A quick text message later and the plan was put into action. Once they had a crafter it would buy him some time at least.

  ****

  Alison checked in on the new guy again for what seemed like the 10th time. That morning Sam had sprung the job on her.

  “What do you mean that I have to keep an eye on him?” she had asked Sam.

  “Just keep an eye on him. He’s been bouncing around for some time from job to job. Don’t know why that is. Would have been a red flag in my day. But DC HR does what they think is best, even though they never worked at a center or even entered one in their entire life.”

  “Okay, but just check the camera, yeah? Isn't that good enough?”

  “Well. For most people I would say. But you never know. So please, can you?” Sam asked and placed his hands together.

  “Fine. But if he doesn’t work out, I'm taking a vacation as soon as the next one comes.”

  “Ah don’t be like that, you’re our most treasured worker. We need you here for training. Please at least wait until after a month or two.”

  Alison shook her head at the memory. She had somehow not only let Sam convince her into keeping an eye on the rookie, but also slaving away and delaying some much needed vacation.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  She closed the door slowly and went back to dealing with the backlog of work that had to be done in order to keep the place running.

  ***

  Newt tugged at the neck of his shirt. It fit well enough, only it was a little too snug at the neck. Something that he hated. One would have thought that a government gig would have better equipment right? Right?

  His phone vibrated, twice, a pause, and then another three times. And a moment later a party of explorers entered the Dungeon Center. Newt looked behind him and confirmed that his senior was nowhere to be seen. She had been hanging in the back room all morning which was lucky. Next he removed his phone from his pocket, opened an app, and pressed on the scramble button. The cameras would be down until he turned them back on.

  “Go on in, quickly,” Newt said to the man at the front. The man nodded in return and then the group of them disappeared into the dungeon. Once they were clear he undid the scramble and hoped that no one noticed. They usually didn’t, but there was always a first time right?

  Then he got back to helping process the easy requisitions. How could a government body be so badly managed that the new guy needed to do some heavy lifting?

  ***

  Richard had been farming for another Black Beetle Stomach for several days. If he thought that the first one took a long time before it appeared, then the second felt like it was taking twice that. When it finally dropped he jumped in the air and let out a holler. Before blushing and checking to make sure that no one else heard him.

  While he was happy that the stomach finally dropped. It meant that he also needed to figure out how he was going to level up Alchemy. It looked like there was the occasional party made up of people from the Crafter’s Union. Only it wasn’t often enough for him to really start to make money. Buying from the guild and market could work, but the profit would be a lot lower per item made. While it would be safer, it would also be holing up in a room somewhere. It sounded too much like a basement and he didn’t want that. Even more so considering that he had a taste of fighting in the dungeon. Though fighting was a somewhat strong word. And winning a stacked game against weak opponents left a bad taste in his mouth.

  With his drop in hand there was the option of continuing to grind on the first floor. If Richard left now the day would be a loss, if he didn’t count the potion that he would be making. But he was so tired of the beetles that he couldn't be bothered to spend another moment on that floor. And his steps started towards the exit. Surely he had made enough money during his last farm to take an early day off.

  Oftentimes he would run into other people. If they were solo explorers they would nod to one another and go about their ways. If it was a larger party then Richard would usually get out of the way and either put some distance or in the case of the twisting tunnels of the Beetle dungeon he would step into a side tunnel long enough for them to pass.

  Which was the case when he noticed a group of three walking down the main path. The one in front had his hair buzzed short and he was wearing leather armor with a long handle showing over his shoulders. Behind him was a stouter man with a straight staff and a shaggy mess of hair dressed in a grey robe. Lastly there was a woman with long dark hair who had a bow in hand and a quiver on her hip.

  The man in front noticed Richard and gave him a big smile. “Hello, do you happen to have some time?” he asked.

  Richard looked at him and his party some more. The other man was standing there smiling, while the woman was looking disinterestedly at the moss on the walls and ceiling.

  “I’m just on my way out,” Richard said.

  “I see. One of our party wasn’t able to make it today. Would you be willing to come with us to the second floor? We just need to get a common drop real quick and then come back up.”

  “Was the second floor so dangerous that you needed a party of 4?”

  “It helps, everything little bit does. The beetles on the second floor come in twos instead of ones. They also have a chance to patrol around the tunnels. So it’s better to have another melee member. To either block or help finish the fighting sooner.”

  “Well-” Richard started to say and then was interrupted.

  “Please. We’ll share the drops with you. 50/50, no. 60/40! How does that sound?”

  Richard weighed the offer a little more. He didn't know these people. But he had been safe so far. And he had just joined the Crafter’s Union. The lure of the drops was too strong for him. If he could just craft a few more items then he could level up his Alchemy. The chance was right there in front of him.

  “I’m alright for a few hours of exploration. But I need to get a bus home. So I need to be out before the last one leaves.”

  The man smiled again and spoke, “Excellent. My name is Brant, there is Helen and Hughbert.”

  Helen shot her eyes towards Richard and showed the thinnest of smiles before she started inspecting her nails. Hughbert, who had never stopped smiling, nodded and said, “Welcome”.

  “I’m Richard, nice to meet you,” he said and took up a place beside Brant as they walked towards the stairs to the second floor.

  They spoke about the monsters to expect. Asides from the dual packs of the same beetles on the first floor, there was also a bigger one. It looked like a Black Beetle that had been tripled in size while also being crossed with a firefly. There were even times when their behinds would glow with light. From an explorer’s perspective the light would help them locate the new beetle in the dimmer light of the second floor. It otherwise didn't seem to increase the danger of the monster at all.

  When they stepped on the second floor Richard felt that something should have changed. But the tunnels were pretty much the same as those on the first floor. Except that they might be a little bit wider. The party had also mentioned the light being dimmer, but it also appeared to be at the same level as the first floor. If someone had asked Richard to compare between the first and second floor he wouldn’t have been able to tell any difference.

  Once they were on the second floor they found a pack right away. Before the beetles could get too close Hughbert waved his staff and a small bolt of light flew out and hit one of them. It dropped to the ground while Brant met the charge of the other beetle and with a chop of his two-handed axe he was able to put it down.

  “Like that”, Brant said. He had picked up both of the drops, Black Carapaces, and handed one to Richard. “We are after a Silver Thorax. It should be a common drop from the fireflies. Only finding them can be tricky at times. So we might need to come back again. But here’s hoping.” He held up his hand and crossed his fingers as he spoke.

  When the next pack appeared Helen stepped forward and landed a hit on one of the beetles. Her arrow landed in what must have been a weak point in the carapace between the head and body. As the beetle slumped to the ground after being shot.

  It was Richard’s turn to meet the charge and he stepped forward. When the beetle charged he dogged at the last moment and swung the club down full force. The beetle tanked the hit though, and Richard needed another two in order to finish it for good. While it looked like the same beetle as the floor above, they needed a lot more hits from Richard for him to kill them. He then picked up the Carapaces that dropped and handed one to the party.

  They fell into a rhythm, dealing with the packs easily enough. Such that Richard wondered if they really needed him there. Just as he was going to ask about the time they chanced upon something different.

  Even though he knew what to expect Richard was somewhat taken aback due to its size. It was about the size of a go-cart, maybe even a little bigger. There were some subtle differences, but otherwise it looked just like a larger version of the other beetles he had seen so far. But it also had the faintly glowing rear end that Brant had spoken about.

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