Trion Shelter
In the sandy desert, everything seemed peaceful. Suddenly, a hand emerged from the sand, followed by a human body.
It took 10 hours for him to regain his energy and let his organs rest after the repair.
With his ragged and dirty clothes, he took his card again and looked at the marked address. The impulse had led him towards the shelter as he didn't want to deviate.
"Darn it, I almost died. I'm supposed to become the protagonist, but at this rate, I'll be just another secondary character," he thought.
Brandon carried a loaf of bread and a bottle of water as he walked. It was all he had left, after all, the suit and equipment given to him by the school were of poor quality and the fall destroyed them.
His steps were slow as the pain from his broken leg didn't allow him to move faster, and he didn't want to worsen the injury.
He barely had any clothes left. He kept walking, and after a while, he could see a fortress with wooden barricades.
Brandon approached, and as he got closer, he saw how gigantic the shelter was.
Limping with his broken leg, he passed through the entrance; seeing that he wasn't stopped, he proceeded inside and looked for a place to sell his cores.
He needed money to buy medicine and pay for a doctor to examine him.
It took him some time to collect all of them again and store them in a piece of cloth he had torn from his backpack.
...
He approached a stand with the sign "Buy and Sell Cores." There were others like it, but he preferred this one as it listed the buying and selling prices.
He wasn't very aware of the prices, so it would be a little uncomfortable for him, so he decided to sell at this shop.
Upon entering, the shop owner looked him up and down and then said, "How can I help you?"
Brandon opened the bag he had and dropped 31 level 1 nuclei. He had lost two, but he wasn't too discouraged.
The man looked at the nuclei and then looked at Brandon. "These are low-quality level 1 core, each core costs 50 Star coins, making a total of 1,550. Is that okay with you?" he asked.
"That's fine with me," said Brandon.
The pleased seller deducted 1,500 Star coins from his inventory and handed them to him in a bag.
This surprised Brandon as the money is usually deposited into his account. The seller could see him staring at the bag and immediately understood what was happening. "Transactions are only made in the central general market. In shelters, we use normal currency."
He took the money and left the place, now looking for a clothing store. He arrived at a simple store to buy clothes, as he knew he didn't have enough money to buy more extravagant clothing.
He entered and was greeted by a feline receptionist. Although his clothes weren't judged, it was normal to see hunters who arrived all torn up.
He bought two hooded sweaters, a pair of black pants, and some boots.
He left with these items in a bag and went to an inn. Here he rested as it had been a heavy day and he needed something more comfortable to sleep in.
He also received treatment for his dislocated bones. Inns were common to have their personal doctors and offer the service. He found out about this after paying for a bedroom.
"I'll make this shelter my place to stay until I have to relocate or ascend," he said before falling asleep.
...
The streets were crowded with people that day. Brandon had breakfast at the inn and walked towards a bar. There was no better place than this to look for information.
"A beer, please," said Brandon.
The bar was filled with different races, just like humans. It was not uncommon to see humans walking around.
On one side of the bar, two people were talking. "Hey, did you notice that James' group hunted a medium-level beast?" said a human.
"Yes, they are promising young people. They could be the future of our human race," said another.
"I heard that James got a soul rune," said the first.
This caught Brandon's attention; he had never heard this term before. "Waiter, can you give me information about soul runes?"
"5 Star coins, and I can give you any information," replied the waiter.
Brandon dropped five coins on the counter and said, "Speak."
The waiter took the coins and looked at Brandon. "Unlike basic and medium beasts, high-level beasts have a 60% chance of becoming an object or soul rune before they die. These souls can range from skills to weapons. But don't get too excited, even though the probability is 60%, you can still kill five beasts and not receive anything," he answered.
This information surprised Brandon a lot. Now he understood why a single bee was so deadly, or more deadly than the group of medium bees chasing him. A weak beast could not have transmuting properties.
"What price do they have?" he asked.
The waiter was cleaning a glass with a cloth while continuing to answer. "Depending on the type, it can cost from ten thousand coins to fifty thousand coins. But it's not just about the value of the rune, it's about how difficult it is to kill a high-level beast and how difficult it is to find them. You can't kill them without a power with sufficient damage or another soul rune. But you must also be careful. If someone finds out you have one, they may hunt you down to take it," he said.
As he listened, he wondered how powerful James was to have a soul rune, or how he got it. He was about to leave, but before he did, he looked at the waiter and asked one last question. "What about elite beasts?"
Not only the waiter, but other people also looked at him. "Elite beasts are just a legend. No one has seen one, so don't even think about it. Although I can tell you that there is a rumor about someone who managed to hunt an elite beast and was given a soul rune that could evolve."
"An evolving soul, if this were possible, you wouldn't need to change weapons when you ascend," he thought.
He left the bar and headed to a blacksmith that the bartender recommended. Following the directions, he managed to find a shop at the end of the street that was run by forge masters.
He entered and found many models of weapons. The quality could be seen from a distance.
"What do you want, sir?" spoke a girl, or so it seemed.
"I'm here to repair these weapons and see if you have a gun," he replied.
The girl looked at the weapons and could only shake her head. An old man approached and looked at the weapons that Brandon brought. "They are weapons that can be repaired, but I wouldn't waste my time repairing that junk. It's better to use your hands than that," he said.
Brandon knew that the equipment provided by the school was junk, but to be offended by a forge master was a shame of a weapon.
"As for the guns you're referring to, they are a type of weapon that we don't have since they are produced by humans and have the patent for it." Said the dwarf.
The dwarf left and came back with two weapons and an arm-crossbow. "Although I don't have pistols, I have this crossbow that will in no way be inferior to those pistols. In addition to these swords that complement each other," he commented.
"If you want everything, it will cost you 1,200 Starcoins," he continued.
Brandon gulped when he heard this price. He still needed to buy provisions and another backpack to go hunting. With the expenses of clothes and lodging, plus the bar, he had already spent 450 coins.
"Can you give me a little discount?" Brandon said with an embarrassed smile.
The dwarf looked at him for a moment and then replied, "800 coins, but you need to come back here for repairs, and any other weapons or armament you need, you have to buy it here. If I see you buying somewhere else, I'll take your head, got it?" the dwarf replied as he shook Brandon's hand.
Brandon didn't hesitate to accept and took the dwarf's handshake. "For our cooperation."
The girl watched Brandon as he left and asked, "How can a miser like your grandfather give a discount?"
The old man gave the girl a little tap on the head and replied, "I'll punish your brother when he returns for teaching you those words. As for that boy, my instincts were screaming at me to do it."
Brandon stocked up on his provisions and bought a stronger backpack. "Here we go again," he said.