Chapter 53

Chapter 53

I arrived to the market less than 20 minutes later and waved to the old merchant.

"Hey kid, how are ya today?"

"Great."

I took my axe and mana out of my item storage to place them on counter between us.

"Ya know, that's a neat skill. I don't think you were using it when we first met, but I gotta say item storage must be useful!"

I froze in place... how could I be so careless? I've been using my item storage skill in front of the merchant this whole time like it's not a big deal. Anyone could have seen me using it here...

I looked around cautiously, not that it would matter. The damage is already done.

"U-Uh thanks, yeah. It's a good thing to have. Just uhm, could you keep it between us? I don't use this skill often."

The merchant could sense the tension in my voice and nodded slowly.

"Sure, sure. I won't pry."

He took my mana and placed them on the measuring scale. The big black numbers read out 3976.43MU. He took a look at the axe and smirked.

"This is a 175 strength boost axe, nice. I can do 80 silver for the whole haul."

I thought to myself for a moment.

"How about 40 silver, an item box, and 2 D class HP potions."

The old man eyed me for a moment then started shuffling through a cabinet.

"Sure, work for me."

He started counting out my silver and placed a small magic pouch with 2 HP potions on the counter.

"Oh, one other thing."

I pulled out the silver key and handed it to the merchant. His eyes lit up.

"Where'd you get this? I've only seen a handful of shaman keys in my lifetime."

"I got it from a dungeon break today. How much is it worth?"N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n.

"Ohh, good find. I'm sure you could get a few gold at auction for a key like this."

"Really? So... what's it do?"

"I'm not too sure... I've heard rumors about certain keys being used in the Capital Labyrinth, but I've never been there myself. If you're looking to sell it, I can give you an address for a good auction house. Here."

The old man scribbled something down on a small piece of paper and handed it to me. I took it and threw it in my item storage along with the key. It sounds enticing, but I'm not really interested in an auction right now, I'd rather capitalize on these increased dungeon breaks while I still can.

"Thanks. Appreciate it. Hey, how long to these surges tend to last anyways?"

I remembered the Inn keeper telling me about them, but I wasn't paying much attention to him when he was explaining.

"The last one we had lasted just a few days. I'm sure it'll be over by the end of this weekend."

Then i remembered... Nessa and Hudson's group! They're hunting this morning, I could get in with them. I wasn't planning on it initially, but if I have to go with anyone I'd rather go with them than some randoms.

I started wandering around a bit more confidently because now I'm looking for a party that I've already met before. This shouldn't be too hard, unless they've already entered the dungeon.

The sun did just recently rise... I waited around watching groups of hunters funnel into the dungeons for about 20 minutes. Most people swarmed around the E and D Class Dungeons. There were a few that entered the C Class, and not one person entered the B Class dungeons. I did see a few parties go to the escalator in the back that went upwards, I completely forgot about that one. The gear those hunters had on were very expensive looking, it must be some kind of guild run entrance. I'll check it out later If I have the time. It was kind of calming to watch the crowds of people go by, but at the same time I was getting a bit anxious in the back of my mind wondering if they'd ever show up.

Then finally I saw a familiar face.

My eyes lit up as a party emerged from the crowd getting in line at the D Class escalator. It's Hundson... and Nessa! I couldn't forget that red hair. What a relief.

I walked over with a wide smile on my face.

Hudson was the first to notice me. He looked up and waved. Then Nessa looked up and noticed me as well as I came within talking range.

"So you decided to actually come and see me? Huh Jay!"

"I-Well yeah I did."

"Are you hunting solo in the D Class dungeons today? I heard it may be really dangerous with the recent surge reports."

I scratched the back of my head nervously and nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I was going to... but ahh I kind of need to be in a party to enter. It's a temporary rule apparently."

Hudson leaned in and winked at me.

"Come on in with us. No problem."

I smiled. He knows exactly what I need, perfect. No explanation needed.

"Thanks! You're the best."

Nessa chimed in again. She could clearly sense what was going on.

"Ahhh come on, fight with us for a little. I wanna see what you've got!"

"I-uhm. I... yeah sure."

I can't say no to her.

Hudson interjected.

"So you'll be joining us today?."

I looked at him.

"It won't be the full time if you had special training planned, I don't want to disrupt your session."

He grinned.

"Of course you can fight a few monsters with us today. I'd love to see what you can do. I've been trying to recruit you since the moment we met. It's no problem at all!"

We both chuckled a bit and I got in line between Nessa and Hudson.

There were 3 other team members close behind. I didn't get a good look at them yet, the line started moving forward before I could introduce myself.

Looks like I'm on another team... so much for my vow of solitude. At least I'll get to farm for another day in the D Class Dungeons.