Chapter 9: Gains in The First Hunt

"This is a crystal deer. Although the horns are gone, the root horn hasn't been taken away yet. This is worth a lot of money, even if there is just a little crystal left. Wow, I guess beginner's luck is true."

Jayven was shocked to see the monster carcass; after all, a gram of that crystal is worth at least 10,000 ACC due to its usefulness for alchemy.

This is explained by the fact that a crystal deer is such a rare variant of the steel-horned deer, the outer monster in the area.

Not to mention that because of its rarity, High-ranking hunters will have a hard time looking for it, which wastes their time.

"I'm glad the horn's root is still intact; this one cost a bit more than the entire horn. If I remember correctly, since it is near the brain so the mana there is quite concentrated. Which is wha I learned when I was working at the alchemy shop."

As Jayven analyzed the value of his loot, he continued to dismantle the deer, and before long he counted his current gains.

"Too bad it seems to have been hunted long ago; the meat and innards are spoiled. I was only able to get the bones and hides that are only a bit damaged due to the slimes.

Well, having a crystal horn root is already a blessing, so let's not ask much. I might not even be able to hunt it by myself after all."

With the dismantling over, he then continued to hunt and found some horned rabbits, blade racoons, and slimes.

"Good, the rabbit horns can be made into weapons, as well as the blade racoon's claws. Too bad the slime's acid is too little to collect since it gets splashed in the distance, wasting some of it."

He felt a bit good about his hunting result but also dismay at his efficiency. He can't think of a way to not waste too much of his earnings other than practice.

"Also this." He then focused his attention on a small crystal. A mana crystal.

The mana crystals of monsters have good value to society; a gram costs 100 ACC. It may seem small at first, but once used, it can light a lightbulb for a week straight.

"Not to mention that once 1 kg was collected, it could be used to fuel a car, making it run for days, depending on the consumption."

But there are still qualities to consider, such as the fact that even if it is as small as ten grams, the mana crystal can light a bulb for a whole year. But only monsters with higher ranks can have those.

"Oh, It is almost afternoon, and I already have too much to bring. I need to get back now."

Noticing his bag was full, he thought of going back. And not long after he arrived at the gate and saw the long line at the exit, he realized that he couldn't hunt this afternoon.

"I won't only be able to hunt this afternoon; that line will definitely take at least a night before I can go out."

He sighed as he entered the town after he was finished with the check-up.

"Alright, let's enter the Hunter Association to trade for it. Although it may cost less than 10% than its market price, the transaction is fast and very safe."

Walking around, he rode a bus to the hunter's association, and in there, he wasn't the only hunter; there were at least five inside, which is very common.

Hunter Job is revered in this world; they are the synonym for savior for the common populace. So people here and there will at least look twice to see them.

But that is not all. Because some would look at hunters with hostility. There are many reasons for this.

One being jealousy; it could also be a grudge or many more. It's a common occurrence that comes with becoming a hunter.

------------ Hunter Association's Blossom CIty Branch Office------------

It didn't take long until the next bus stop arrived, and then, when Jayven and most people got out of the bus, they saw a huge building with the word hunters association hanging on its large door frame.

"Well, then how I gain today will determine my future income. Seriously, I need more money to buy better equipment and train myself."

He then entered the building, and a huge number of people were inside, but that doesn't mean the place is full; instead, it isn't even half of its supposed capacity.

This place is just as huge as I remember it being. Looking around, Jayven was hit with nostalgia from his first visit.

"Now, where could I sell my stuff? After looking around, he saw the counter where he was supposed to go."

The line was not long since it was still not noon. The line was quite short, so it was clear that he would not take long with the line.

"Next."

"Please take care of our spoils, sir."

"Hmm, two horned rabbits, one Charging Boar, and four Big rats—that would be 79K in total."

"Wait, shouldn't it be at least 100K?"

"Yeah, our group hunted them with great care. Why the price?"

"I bet you only learned to dismantle at your school; although the approach is right, not all monstes have the same look here."

As Jayven and the others were lining up, the group at the front was being scolded for how they dismantled the monsters, and they kept on reprimanding them.

"Again, that's why I told those kids not to argue with the appraiser."

"This is going to take a while."

"Why can't they just listen? Kids these days are really ignorant."

"Hey, isn't there also a kid here, and he seems alone; won't he make a problem?"

"You're right, hey kid." Upon noticing Jayven, they started to warn him.

"What is it, sir?"

"Listen here."

Jayven was surprised to get a sermon from them. I guess this happens so often, huh? Jayven thought as he was being lectured by the older group.

And not long after, it was his turn.

"Here sir."

"Hmmm, it looks good; other than the crystal-horned deer, everything is well dismantled. Tell me, where do you get this?"

Hearing this, Jayven was not flustered since corpse stealing is quite common and a frequent action for hunters.

"I found it covered with slime and was surprised to see it was a crystal-horned deer."

"You're lucky the one who hunted this was losing his mind since he didn't know about the root horn. He just snapped the horn off, not knowing the root horn's effect."

Hearing this, he was sweating, thinking that he might be in danger.

"Oh, don't worry, he just needs this to make a potion out of it. He got reprimanded by his client because of that, though, so the request is still there."

Hearing that, Jayven took a look and saw that there was really a request for it.

"Well, since you're selling it here, it's no problem; we will be the middleman for you, so you won't have to face him in person."

"Thank you, sir."

"Okay, here is the total." The appraiser then gave Jayven the ice for his loot.

Seeing that he was surprised, it is twice what he had expected, not including the horn, and at least 200K of ACC.

"Are you surprised by that little change? Well, don't be; you will have to burn more money, though being a hunter is not going to be that easy. Anyway, we will contact you once the deal is done, and we will transfer it to your account."

Hearing that Jayven left with his sum of money, I thought of the future action he should take. But a sudden interruption broke his concentration.

"Hey! How come you're paying him more than us? What happened to your so-called speech?"

"Haa, again."

"I said, Don't question him."

"Why can't these kids learn?"

With the sudden demand for explanation, the people lining up were dismayed, thinking that this would definitely end in something bad.

"Shut Up!" With a growl, he yelled, stunning the group.

Wow, this is a great use of mana; his mastery of mana might be at its peak or higher than that of those at the Mana User Stage.

Jayven is impressed by the application of mana, as he felt the mana around him focusing on the group that was demanding an explanation.

"B-but."

"BUT WHAT?!"

"Eeekkk!"

"Look here. Try to properly analyze which one is much better."

Hearing that the group slowly walked towards the appraiser. Then he continued.

"I am going to show you two monster hides; tell me the difference with those keen eyes of yours. You lads over there too, come here and examine this too."

Hearing him yell at the crowd, a small group of people walked in his direction.

"Tell me, what do you see?"

Then everyone who examined the materials gave their own views of the way it was dismantled.

"Well, the other is finely cut. While the other one is crookedly cut."

"The fur is evenly cut on this side, while the other is out of shape."

"This one, too, is rather clean, while the other seems to have blood splattered in some parts."

Many gave opinions on how the two compare to each other, either usefully or just plainly complaining about the small details.

"So now tell me, which one do you think is yours?" The appraiser then turned to the group.