Danmachi: Scavenger

The guild at night wasn't anywhere near as busy as it was in the morning, and there were barely any receptionists working the night shift—only three, from what Rex could see. With his bag he walked up to a silver-haired elf who maintained a polite smile on her face.

"Good evening, sir," she greeted with a small bow as he approached. "I am Sophie. How can I be of help?"

'Now this is customer service,' Rex thought, immediately comparing her to the stoic and uninterested Rose from that morning. "Yes, good evening," he replied with a small nod. "I want to sell some drop items," he said, gesturing to the bag he held in his right hand.

"Please follow me," she said, stepping out from behind her booth. He followed her into a separate appraisal room, and once inside, she gestured toward the table as she closed the door. "If you could place the items here," she prompted.

Rex walked to the table and reached into his bag, arranging the drop items from floors 10 to 12, with only a few magic stones from the upper-floor monsters he had killed while descending to floor 10. When he started laying out the infant dragon's drop items, the silver-haired elf's eyes widened in surprise.

"Are those from an Infant Dragon?" she asked, stepping closer, her blue eyes fixed on the scales. Then, as if realizing it herself, she exclaimed, "They are!"

"Yeah," Rex confirmed, placing the last hide onto the table.

"It's been months since I've seen these sold at the Guild," she said, straightening up and giving him a curious glance. "I take it this is the first time you and your team have sold rare drop items like these?"

"It is," he replied with a nod, deciding not to correct her assumption that he had a team.

"Right," she murmured before offering him a polite smile. "For rare crafting materials like these, I'd recommend selling them directly to a crafting Familia rather than through the Guild. They're more likely to offer a better price compared to the Guild, which acts more as a middleman and would likely purchase at a lower rate to account for resale or auctioning."

'Ah, makes sense,' Rex thought as the elf continued explaining.

"It would also be better for you to take these materials to a crafting Familia to have equipment made specifically for you, which could be far more valuable in the long run than simply selling the materials for money." She scanned the materials once more. "And you could also use these materials to establish a relationship with a smith, which can be useful later—like future discounts, priority commissions, or even exclusive gear."

She turned back to him. "Do you still want to sell it?"

"How much would everything sell for if you don't include the infant dragon drops?" Rex asked. 

"I'd say, about…" Her eyes danced around the items as she did a quick mental calculation. "Around ten thousand valis would be a good estimation."

'That's five hours of work, so about two thousand valis an hour,' he thought with a nod. This was less than he would have gotten per hour if he had actually sold the magic stones instead of absorbing them. 'Sacrifice money for power.'

"If you add the price of the Infant Dragon drop items, how much would it come out to?" he asked.

"I haven't really appraised infant dragon drops before, so I'm not too sure about that," she admitted, shaking her head. "But I'd say at least…" She bobbed her head as she thought. "Let's just say one hundred thousand."

"I'll sell it," he decided without a second thought. 

He was going to kill more dragons anyway, so he could sell those drop items to a Familia later. Right now, he was just too lazy to go to a Familia to sell them and besides, they might not even be open.

"Alright," Sophie nodded, smiling. "Please wait in the lobby."

He returned to the lobby, but instead of sitting and doing nothing, he went to the commission board and looked through it. Most of the commissions were for the upper and middle floors, with commissions for the lower and deep floors being something that only certain Familias could handle. Those who wanted such commissions completed would go directly to the Familia capable of doing it rather than posting it on the commission board.

However, most of the easier commissions had already been taken, and the remaining ones from the upper floor were tasks that would take time or a lot of grinding—like collecting 15 orc hides, 12 war shadow finger blades, or Blue Papilio wings. It was worth noting that his eight-hour shift today had only yielded five orc hides. Drop items weren't something that just fell into your lap.

"Oh?" His eyes moved back to the Blue Papilio wings commission. 'It's from the Miach Familia.' 

It had been posted a week ago, and the expiration date of the commission was today. If it wasn't completed by tonight, it would be taken down. He could take it and… 

'Nah.' He would have to spend time looking for the butterflies on the seventh floor instead of hunting dragons on the eleventh or twelfth floor. 'And the reward price is even lower than what I would have gotten if I sold it to the guild.' 

He looked through the commissions a few more times, searching for something he could take from the board while eyeing the ones from the middle floor. 'Seven million valis just for a flower on the 20th floor? Holy shit.' The commissions from the lower middle floor had a minimum of five zeros, which was absurd. 'I need to get to level two quickly.'

When he noticed Sophie returning to her booth, he left the board without taking any commissions. "How much did it all come out to?" he asked as she placed down two pouches.

"One hundred forty-seven thousand," she replied, handing him the paper. He quickly scanned it to see that the infant dragon's drops accounted for about 130 thousand.

'If infant dragons are this pricey, why don't groups of level twos just go on a mass genocide of them for the cash?' he thought while folding the paper to put in his bag. He transferred his money into his own pouch, leaving the guild's pouches on the table in front of Sophie.

"Have a good night," she said, waving slightly with a smile.

"Yeah, you too," he waved back before turning and leaving the guild. 'Next stop, to buy a new weapon.' There are a lot of adventurers that do night shifts, so some of Hephaestus and Goibniu Familia stores at babel stay open through the night, which is where he is going. 

'And I also need potions.' It would be foolish of him to go after infant dragons without some mind or health potions. 'A few Dian Cecht stores should still be open in babel, right?' he thought, looking at the towering building ahead. 'Too bad Miach would be closed by this time. Would rather buy their cheap—

A familiar scent tickled Rex's nose before his eyes caught sight of a Chienthrope. '...Speak of the devil.' Not too far ahead of him, walking through the market, was Naaza, carrying two plastic bags filled with items. Her ears twitched at every passing sound, and her tail swayed lazily behind her. 'Should I go up to her and ask if I can buy some potions?'

The answer was a resounding yes. He could use this chance to pay off his debt and with how poor her Familia is, he doubts she will decline an adventurer wanting to buy from them. He nodded to himself, quickening his steps until he was alongside her.

"Naaza," he greeted.

Her sleepy eyes flicked to him, brown catching the lamplight. "Ah, Rex," she acknowledged with a slight nod. "You're… out late."

"Yes, going for a night shift in the dungeon," he replied, gesturing to his bag. "Is your shop still open? I want to buy more potions. Of course, I'll also pay off the debt I owe."

Her ears flicked, and a soft spark of interest lit her eyes. "Yes, we're still open," she said quickly, though her tone remained measured. Her tail gave the faintest of swishes behind her skirt. "Come on." She started walking faster, clearly eager to get to the store before he changed his mind.

'Like I thought,' Rex smiled slightly as he followed behind her. 'But you'll just let a random guy you barely know follow you home at night?' Then it hit him—she could brew potions on par with Dian Cecht's, so she likely had a development ability, that means… 'Inspect.'

— — — — — — — — — —

Naaza Erisuis (Miyal Hound)

Level 2

[Strength] H193 | [Endurance] H187 | [Dexterity] G248 | [Agility] G271 | [Magic] H101

[Mixing] I

[Magic]

Darbh Daol: Debuff magic that weakens the user's status. "Chat:..."

— — — — — — — — — —

'A level 2 with debuff magic. Of course, she wouldn't be scared of a level one.' He scanned her petite frame before glancing around the dark street. 'But I should be able to beat her, right? I can probably skip a level, especially since I can breath fire now, so if I attack her right now—'

"Here," she said, cutting off his train of thought as she pushed open the doors with her shoulder and stepping inside.

'They don't even lock the door?' he thought as he closed it behind him. 'I guess no one would think of robbing this poor store.'

The atmosphere inside was dim, much like his first visit, but a soft lamp on the counter provided enough light to see the relatively empty shelves. "You wanted to buy more potions?" she asked, placing the bags on the ground behind the counter.

"Yes, do you have more of your dual potion?" he asked, arranging the ten thousand valis he had on the desk.

"No," she shook her head slightly. "But we still have high-quality magic potions if you need."

'If I remember correctly, she said it cost eleven thousand and six hundred valis last time,' he thought, doing a quick mental calculation. He currently had 158,000 valis, but after removing his ten thousand debt, he technically had 148,000 in purchasing power. 'I need to keep at least one hundred and twenty thousand for a weapon, so I can only spend about twenty-eight thousand here…'

"Give me five magic potions and eight normal health potions…" he said. Before he even finished his sentence, Naaza was already arranging the potions on the table. 'Damn, slow down.'

"That would be twenty-seven thousand two hundred valis," she said, her tail swishing back and forth behind her. "If you don't have enough, you could pay with whatever you have and pay back later."

"Don't worry, I have enough," he replied, arranging the money on the table. "That should cover it." She nodded slowly, having been counting as he placed it down. He placed the potions directly into his bag, not wanting them to break in his pouch like before, then gave her a slight wave. "Then I'll be on my way."

As he turned to leave, Naaza suddenly spoke up. "From what you bought, it looks like you're going to have a long night…" She rustled through a box under the counter before holding out a potion. "So you'll need a potion that removes the body's fatigue and hunger. You can buy this for eight thousand seven hundred."

He already packed food and water in his bag from his Familia kitchen so he shook his head. "I currently don't have enough to spend—"

"I could give it to you for free, so the 'next' time you visit, you can give me the eight thousand seven hundred," she pressed, emphasizing the next as she reached under the counter to bring out another normal health potion. She held it beside the first one. "I can also throw in a normal health potion for only three hundred valis to make it even at nine thousand. And if you manage to pay off the debt within two days, I'll even give you a fifteen percent discount on your next purchase over thirty thousand. What do you say?"

'It is a good deal… right?' He thought for a moment before nodding. "Alright." At his agreement, an energetic expression crossed her face, and a smile formed.

"Thanks, Rex," she said as he took the potion.

"..." Rex stared at her smiling face for a moment before asking. You know how when you see a cute animal you want to pet it? That's how he felt right now but he didn't dare do it. This wasn't an anime where the protagonist can just pat any girl's head. 

'Besides, how old is she?' He asked, "How old are you, Naaza?"

She tilted her head slightly, confusion crossing her brown eyes at the question. "Eighteen?" she replied after a pause.

"Ah, okay," he nodded. 'Legal,' he thought before waving. "I'll see you in a day."

She waved back. "See you soon."

After the Miach Familia store, he went straight to Babel and as he wandered through one of Hephaestus Familia stores on the fifth floor, his eyes caught sight of a weapon leaning against the wall. 

It was a classic seven-foot-tall halberd, with a broad, axe-like blade on one side balanced by a top spike for thrusting and a hook opposite the axe blade for grappling. The wooden shaft was reinforced with metal, and when he lifted it off the wall to test its weight, he found it a bit heavy but manageable.

The halberd had the classic, unimpressive look of a practical weapon—nothing like the exaggerated designs often seen in anime, where the axehead would be massive or the spike absurdly long. 

'I'm looking at you, Rory Mercury,' he thought as he inspected the halberd. "Should I buy this?" he muttered to himself.

The halberd was more versatile and effective against a dragon with scales than a sword. Its reach would keep him at a safer distance from the dragon's claws, teeth, and tail, while the axe blade could deliver powerful slashing attacks against the tough scales that a sword could never match. Even the thrusting capability of a sword could be replicated with the spike at the end of the halberd. The extra weight was a minor inconvenience, but the real challenge would be mastering its use.

'If they sold a two-handed greatsword like a zweihänder, I would have bought that,' he thought, glancing around the store once more. 

He could spend more time looking for a two-handed sword, but after a moment of consideration, he decided on the halberd. It had taken him only a few hours to master a sword, so he figured it wouldn't take much longer to get the hang of the halberd. Well, the old Rex did know a bit of Swordsmanship, but it was so bad that it didn't even matter.

'Hmm…' Rex's eyes drifted to a rack of armor near the counter—breastplates, gauntlets, and greaves gleaming under the store's lamps. 'Should I upgrade?' he wondered but dismissed the idea with a shrug. 'I'll just have to be more careful. If I get hit, it won't matter what I'm wearing.'

He ended up buying the halberd for 118,000 valis, leaving him with only 2800 valis in his name. "Tonight should be a profitable night."