V2Ch70 New Money

The door to the guild swung open and a crowd of people were there to... ignore us and go about their business.

I had to push through several people to get to the counter.

"Hey, Girard. We're back."

I pulled a sack out of my backpack and placed it on the counter.

"Got my proof of a C-class kill."

"Great! Lokes?"

"Got its balls right here!"

He lifted a brown and bloody sack that didn't leave much to the imagination. Girard facepalmed.

"You realize these arent worth much, right? Someone might try to make an aphrodisiac with them but, they sell for copper..."

"So? It's proof, right?"

"Yes..."

Girard's face showed immense disapproval. He began to rummage through my sack. He pulled out the teeth and assessed the quality. He was impressed at the clean removal.

The eyes were desired by mystics that claim they can look through existence and increase luck. They are usually sold to unlucky schmucks that fall for that BS. I was a target for that scam once. I only went far enough to find out the process before payment. The con artist was asking for 300 gold. I had to hold in my laughter as I left the scammer in the middle of a sentence. Like I would ever pay that much for eyes.

"Good haul. Rankings will be held in a few hours. Hold out until then."

Girard looked up and waved at Shiro.

"What you got there, bud? I can log your haul."

Shiro threw his sack, which was three times the size of the one I had, up into the air. It landed neatly in front of the receptionist and fell open, revealing horns from the larger wolf.

"A den mother!"

Girard said in surprise.

"This is the first A-class creature I have seen in over a year. Where did you find it?"

"The newbies pissed it off, I sav..."

"He stole our kill, is what he did! Bastard! We could have jumped two ranks if you had let us be!"

Lokes interrupted Shiro.

"Riiiight... Lake may have been able to hold his own. You? I would have given you four or five seconds alive. At most."

Girard motioned for me to lean in. He covered his mouth from view and began to whisper.

"By saying that you can hold your own against an A-class creature, he may as well be telling you that you are in for another rank advancement as early as next week."

"What did he say, Lake?"

Lokes was next to me attempting to listen in.

"He was asking me how I wanted my dire wolf eyes cooked."

I looked at Girard and nodded.

"Well done, please."

I looked back at Lokes.

"How do you want your balls cooked? Or would you prefer to eat them raw?"

I felt a swift punch to the nose. I reeled back from surprise, more than anything. I looked up at Lokes.

"I'm tired of that joke."

I let out a smirk. If he only knew the kind of power I held. Would he still have punched me?

"It has been a while since we've had anyone advance to rank C. The tradition was real in the past. Maybe we should revive it just for you, Lokes."

Girard followed through perfectly. Half the room was listening to the conversation by now.

"What? No! If you ass-holes try to make me eat that, I'm switching over to the adventurers guild!"

Several veteran trackers polluted the room with their laughter.

"Still such a kid."

I slapped his shoulder.

"I'm out. I'll be back later."

I left the guild behind. At least, this one. Over the past few weeks, I joined two other guilds. These were underground guilds so my affiliation with the trackers guild was irrelevant. Even so, I change clothes between guilds to avoid recognition. The second guild I joined was a fighters guild. Classic underground one on one matches with bets and lots of money. I made it to the top in only a few nights. No one has the balls to fight me at this point. Though, I do have one fight scheduled for two nights from now. I don't get the roster so the opponents are always a surprise.

The last guild I joined was much darker. It was an assassins guild that paid for body parts. Tasks were posted just like the trackers guild. Eyes, noses, fingers, hands, feet and ears. I am cheating the system a little. Some tasks require parts from specific individuals. I avoid those. I use my own body parts to fulfill simple part quotas. In order to rank up, I would have to kill a specific Duke. That's the only reason I'm still rank F. I don't mind. It's just extra cash flow.

I picked up two tasks the night before I left to hunt the dire wolf. This first was to deliver all the fingers from a single male or female. I had a small hiding spot that no one ever seemed to visit. I used this spot to sever my own fingers, one hand at a time. I bagged them up and waited for them to regrow before doing the other hand. Easily done in ten minutes.

The other task was seven right eyes. I had been secretly removing mine while Lokes slept. I kept them in an airtight jar with a special preservative liquid in it. My eye seemed to regenerate more slowly than other parts. Maybe because It's connected to my brain. I removed my right eye for the seventh time and placed it in the jar with the others.

It may seem gruesome, but It paid three times that of an A-rank trackers task that I can't even attempt yet. Mostly because you are not only putting your life on the line, but also your reputation if caught. Since I am only using my own body, who cares?

I wiped my eye socket until the blood stopped flowing and kept it closed as I got close to the entrance. It was hidden under the docks and in some sewers. Before I went any further, I looked at the place where the Orcas had been docked when I first came here. The spot was filled with a different ship. It made me feel a little lonely. An image of Riksa passed through my mind and caused me to almost whimper. I looked away and dove into the unclean domain of my next destination.