Cormac and Durin exchanged puzzled glances, unsure of what was going on in Jett's head. Durin, still not fully grasping the situation, said, "You heard the kid. Go on, give it a shot."
With a deep breath, Cormac stepped forward, drawing his sword. The Serpentine Queen, weakened and unable to fight back, glared at him with defiant eyes.
Cormac hesitated for a moment, then plunged his blade into her heart, ending her suffering with a final, swift stroke.
"I... I leveled up ten times with just that?"
Jett watched with satisfaction, his mind already racing with thoughts of what lay ahead. 'That's it, get stronger.'
"Is that what you were planning all along? Surely I am not worthy of such a gift," Cormac asked, bowing deeply.
"You don't have to be modest about these things. Besides, it's not a gift," Jett replied, feeling a bit flustered by the bow.
"Huh?" Cormac was confused.
"An inescapable future is upon us, and I'll need strong allies by my side. This is just me making preparations for such a time." Jett smiled, "But until then, Cormac Keys, get stronger. Protect Lagia, protect my family."
"Ha, ha, ha, how old are you really? The way you switch from an immature child to a wise adult is beyond me," Durin laughed, patting Jett on the back with force.
'Who's he calling immature? I'm mentally older than I look,' Jett thought as he went straight to the queen's corpse to collect the items that had dropped. 'Still need to manually pick the drops since I didn't land the finishing blow.'
*****
They had to close the Labyrinth and start over three more times, taking approximately two days.
"Alright, we should have the two hundred thousand fangs you asked for. What's next?" Durin asked.
"The fangs were one part, but we also got the other ingredients for the tear," Jett replied as they made their way back to the entrance.
[Serpentine Fang x20,000]
[Serpentine Queen's Scale x3]
[Eye of the Serpentine Queen x4]
[Serpentine Spell Book x5,000]
[Serpentine Spear x7,000]
[Serpentine Sword x6,000]
[Serpentine Bow x9,000]
A new notification popped up.
[Conditions have been met. Items can be converted into The Serpentine Queen's Tear]
[Will you proceed? Y/N]
'Yeah, plus I can use the extra materials at that place.' Jett smiled as he accepted the conversion.
[Congratulations: Serpentine Queen's Tears S has been obtained.]
In WAR BOUND, crafting was exclusive to players with specific classes that supported it. Making items, weapons, or potions without those classes was impossible. However, there were scenarios where players could use quest rewards to access a hidden crafting function.
"Here you go. It's yours now," Jett said, handing Durin the potion.
"Is this the...? Hold on, you never told me you were an alchemist," Durin said, a bit surprised.
"I'm not an alchemist. The Labyrinth has a special criterion that must be met to get this potion. We just met it, that's all."
"You have my thanks, child. I had my doubts about you, but you've proven me wrong. For that, you have my utmost apology."
"It's alright. We really should be on our way to that academy. Do you mind giving us a ride?"
"Of course, but first let me give you a reward."
"What's this?" Jett's eyes widened. 'No way, is this what I think it is?'
"A blueprint scroll. An S-ranked item that lets you design and create a new item that has never existed in this world."
"Isn't this too much of a reward?" Jett said, though inwardly he marveled. 'I say that, but this is an impossible item that nations would kill just to obtain.'
"This is barely enough to repay you for this potion. You have no idea what you've done for me."
"Whoever needs this must be really important to you."
"We had something important to take care of." Jett turned to Cedric. "You got big."
"I'm not sure how I'm supposed to respond to that," Cedric replied.
"Greetings, my prince," Cormac said, bowing.
"Just call me Ray. Inside the academy, I expect to be treated as a normal person," Ray said, gesturing for Cormac to rise. "And who might you be?"
Just then, the boy from earlier appeared with a group of other kids.
'Ugh, this guy again,' Ray thought.
"I see the trash from earlier was actually a prince. Too bad it had to be from a trash empire like Verena," Goud said, trying to provoke Ray.
"I think we should go," Cedric said from behind.
Goud sneered, "What's the matter? Afraid to face me, prince?"
Jett stepped forward, his eyes narrowing. "You think you're tough, Goud? All I see is a loudmouth who's compensating for something."
Goud's face flushed with anger. "Watch your mouth, nobody insults me and gets away with it!"
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt your feelings? Maybe you should run back to your 'trash empire' and cry about it," Jett taunted, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Jett, that's enough," Ray said, trying to calm him down. "We don't need any trouble."
"Yeah, let's just go," Cedric added, stepping in between them.
Goud glared at Jett, his fists clenched. "You'll regret this. Watch your back, all of you." With that, he turned and stormed off, fuming.
"Now you've done it," Ray shook his head.
'What kind of MC are you, dude? You have literal plot armor, so why waste it?' Jett wondered.
"Let's just go," Cedric repeated.
'Oh, hell no. I'm not going to cramp myself with all six of you. Who asked you guys to leave Finn in charge of accommodation?' Jett thought as he walked in the opposite direction. "Umm, I have something to do first."
They all accompanied him to a building at the edge of the main campus. The place was empty, with only a lady at the counter looking bored out of her mind. The room was about the size of a soccer pitch.
"I think you're lost. The main campus is that way," the lady pointed to where the campus was.
"This is the conversion store, right? My bodyguard did some hunting before we got here, so we decided to come exchange them for points," Jett replied.
'Wise choice not saying they're yours,' Cormac smiled a bit.
"Well, in that case, I'm Tessa, but everyone calls me Tess. I manage the conversion hall," she said, looking directly at Cormac. "Just place the items here, pretty boy."
"Not to be rude, but I'm the one with the items, and this place wouldn't be enough to hold everything," Jett warned.
"C'mon, kid, I don't have all day," Tess sighed as she brought out a small device.
"Cormac?" Jett signaled.
Cormac knew what he meant and proceeded to take Ray and Cedric out of the building. "Right, I think it's time we left."
Jett followed them to the door but stopped there.
"Hey, what's the big idea?" they both complained as they felt left out.
"See you in a bit," Jett waved before turning to face Tess. "Now don't blame me for this."
He instantly brought out all the items and materials he wanted to sell, including the serpentine corpses that were still intact and other items he got from the labyrinth. The place filled up rapidly, and the walls started to crack under the pressure.
"I still have more," Jett said as he stepped back a little.
"Holy crap, stop!" Tess yelled, gasping for air. "Take them back, take them back!"
*
*
*
At this point he's just showing off
She asked for it though