Hina laughed, leading him towards the local appraiser. She claimed when it came to gemstones, there was no one better than Hamish the former miner. Apparently, the workers of the second floor trusted him over the staff in the primary hub. Bunty spotted a free Upgrade Station on the way there and excused himself for a moment. He fished the giant ice spider’s core out of his vest’s pocket, making sure his hands kept it all the way covered.

When he touched the stone monolith, the runes lit up, but he didn’t feel the warmth like had last time. It would’ve helped deal with the sore muscles and joints. Gaia spoke inside his head again.

Explorer expected you to do great things.

Never in his wildest dreams did he foresee you slaughter a centuries-old beast.

Your creative methods didn’t just kill Eirkh the Bone Cruncher but half her brood as well.

Absorbing her Core will temper your body, making it hard, heavy, and impervious to the cold.

The inkwell within Explorer’s Fountain Pen will absorb her fear and hatred of water, learning the utility spell: Hydrophobia.

Would you like to walk on water? Paint your boots with the ink. Your coat can’t fend off the rain. Ink will help you with that too.

Your pen spirit’s nib will learn the spell: Frozen Blade.

The metal shall grow, slicing through stone and flesh alike. Be wary, though. If not used right, it will shatter as ice should.

Since Eirkh aged well past half a millennium, her Core may be used as an upgrade up to the third interval.

Bunty didn’t know a whole lot about Cores but could tell it was a powerful one. The spells it granted were strong, but the lack of a summon disappointed him. Even though Bunty hated swords, he knew he could do Frozen Blade justice. However, the chances of it shattering while in use worried Bunty. He guessed the spell would be useful for only attack and not defence. The information regarding the tempering disappointed him as well. Hard and heavy didn’t fit his style. Bunty relied on speed and flexibility to survive.

The other ice spider Cores offered weaker versions of the same spell. After some thought, Bunty decided he would hold onto Eirkh’s Core but sell the rest. Suppose it remained usable until the fifteenth floor—where the third interval ended. In that case, Bunty could use it as a second or third upgrade. Hopefully, the first Core he picked would alter his spirit’s nature sufficiently to change the available spells.

“Got a decent upgrade?” Hina asked. It occurred to Bunty then, in his state of tiredness, he had trusted her with valuable goods. She could have absconded with the furs and make a quick buck.

“Decided to skip it,” Bunty answered. “I’ll sell my Cores and look for something better on the higher floors.”

“You’d be surprised how many people don’t think to do that. When most Climbers find their first compatible Core, they rush to upgrade their spirit. Then they reach floors four and five and realise how much harder things are up there and struggle to find an Ascension Gate. I’ll bet my left tit half the people on this floor work here for just that reason.”

Bunty laughed. It was refreshing to talk to someone not from a noble house or in their employ. Hina wasn’t proper and reserved as women of ‘class’ were expected to be.

“Is that what happened to you?”

Hina shook her head. “Gaia thought it would be funny to give me Dandelion Puff as a spirit. The best it can do is multiply a few dozen times, blind people, and make them cough. My party got sick of it and booted me. I ain’t ready to give up, though.”

“I know the feeling.” Bunty sighed. “People take one look at my spirit and write me off as useless.”

“You’ll have that in the first couple of intervals. On floors, one to five, no one wants to group with someone with a supposed junk spirit. Afterwards, people will think you bought your first Core and think of you as a liability. That’s what I hear, at least.”

“I imagine the third interval onwards people are more accepting. A person with a ‘junk’ spirit won’t risk themselves up there unless they know what they’re doing.” Bunty emphasised the word ‘junk’. He understood why Neer hated it.

The appraiser turned out to be a wide set man with a white beard and wisps of white hair. Bulging muscles covered his body, though, and Bunty knew nobody with half a brain would dare challenge him. The instant the appraiser saw the ice spider eyes, he recognised them as Glacial Topaz. Even though they were brittle, the right power source could activate them. Ships transporting fresh goods out of New Calcutta employed them to reduce their holds’ temperature.

There wasn’t much demand for them in the open market, but the noble houses and trade faction would most likely purchase everything in stock. The going rate made Bunty’s eyes widen. He had at least a hundred pounds in his pockets. However, liquidating it all would be a challenge. Why would they deal with him? He was a nobody. They’d decide the rate, and he’d have no choice but to accept it.

Bunty didn’t believe in Lady Luck even though she starred in several of Neer’s bedtime stories. Baba had raised him not to believe in such concepts and superstitions. For the first time in a long time, he felt luck was on his side. The woman in line behind Bunty tapped on his shoulder.

“Lydia Stone,” she said in a thick Yankee accent. Bunty hadn’t met many Americans, and as far as he knew, there were two kinds: Yankees and not Yankees. “I work for the Fair-Trade Federation. Would you care to share where you found your wares? We’ve been trying to acquire Glacial Topaz for some time, but the local nobles monopolise the hunting grounds and keep chasing our parties away.”

“That does sound like them,” Hina commented, snorting back a laugh.

“I’m afraid sharing that would cost me my profit,” Bunty told her. He had heard of her organisation in the pubs. The noble families weren’t happy about their attempts at lowering prices in the markets.

“What if I buy all the Glacial Topaz you have right now? I can’t offer you the same price as the Ansons or DeLawneys but am willing to pay Joseph’s quoted unit price.”

“That gets me money right now, but still affects future profits.” The cogs turned in Bunty’s head. He had never negotiated a deal before, but Lord Graham would often take Alexander to meetings. The young lord would get bored and drag Bunty along. He straightened his back and looked Lydia in the eye, trying his best to remember Lord Graham’s tactics. “I can’t see myself letting go of future profits either. Considering Joseph’s quote and your interest, I understand the gems are in high demand. I might be willing for a percentage of profits made from the hunting ground.”

“That’s just bad business.” Lydia shook her head. “We can’t agree to such terms without knowing the probable yield.”

“And I can’t trust you not to forget all talk of a deal once you know where I found these. Believe me. It’s a treasure trove.”

“I suppose we’re at an impasse, then.” She sighed. “It’s a shame. We, as an organisation, are trying to reduce market prices. Your city’s nobles run the government and get to inflate and lower prices as they please.”

“And you want to undercut them?”

“No,” Lydia said. “We want to make things fair and accessible to the common folk.”

“Tell you what, you’re trying to do something good, so I’ll help you out,” Bunty said, trying to sound as earnest as possible. “You need a source of rare materials, and I’m looking for help scaling the first interval. My spirit isn’t ideal, and until I find a decent Core, it’s going to be a struggle. If your organisation can help me climb and upgrade my Spirit, I’ll give you the information you want. Contract pending, of course.”

Lydia looked at Bunty up and down and smiled. “I’m afraid that doesn’t work for us either. All of our Climbers are busy guarding the few resources we own. When they’re not fighting monsters, they’re fending off other factions trying to steal control. What if I list you as a benefactor within our organisation? Every resource we control is built around a door. It helps us transport assets between floors and get them to the primary hub with speed and efficiency. I’ll give you a list of these sites, and you may use the doors to help with your climb.”

“That sounds agreeable,” Bunty said, studying the notebook she handed him. It listed doorways spread across several floors. There was one on the third and a couple on the eighth. After he got the Omrito and had the opportunity to climb past the third interval, he’d have access to more gates higher up. “Let me add another stipulation. Instead of a benefactor, make me an employee.” He patted the rope slung across his torso and the clamps hanging from his pack.

“As you can see, I’m a climber and explorer. Since I prefer taking the paths less travelled, this will most likely be the first of many discoveries. My plans for Gaia’s Ark don’t involve finding resource hubs and monopolising them, though. If you hire me on as an employee, whenever I return to the primary hub, I’ll report everything I’ve encountered. You do whatever you want with the information and pay me a salary.”

“That sounds possible,” Lydia replied thoughtfully. “I can’t approve that myself and would have to check with the higher-ups. It’ll most likely be a finder’s fee for every lead that comes through, but I can see it happening. How about we start off by listing you as a benefactor and we go from there?”

Bunty agreed to the deal. He got the Cores and fur appraised; Lydia bought those too. Hina stood back wide-eyed watching the deal go down. Bunty could tell from her eyes that she was impressed. He gave her a couple more of the smaller ice spider eyes, before deciding on a meeting time with Lydia. Then he left the tower, stumbled to an inn, ate, and rented a bed for the night.