After I finished with that, the sun had already began to set. I arrived back at the house my Branch obtained and walked inside. I was astonished at what I saw.

Everything was so clean! Before, every wall, every piece of furniture, every corner, had a layer of dust. Now, however, there was no dust to be seen anywhere. The furniture was rearranged into different areas of the main room and there were a few paintings placed on the walls. I guess these people really liked to decorate their living space. Personally, I couldn't care less.

I saw someone walk through a doorway to enter the main room where the front door connected to. His eyes lit up slightly when he saw me before he spoke:

"Ah, Mark! Welcome back. Where've you been?"

I forgot his name so I didn't even bother trying.

"Ah, I was finishing up a few things. I'll be gone most of the day now because I got a job."

"Really? You're more fortunate than a couple of us. Thankfully, most of us were able to find some sort of method to get stones."

"Awesome. So, where's everyone else?"

He took me to where the others were. They all welcomed me back despite not knowing me for long. I couldn't understand why they were so hospitable. I guess it's because I'm doing my share of work for the team? I mean, I took those two jobs for myself. Depending on how many stones I obtained from the jobs, I could potentially let go of a few.

Anyway, after that, Leader showed me to my room. Surprisingly, the house was bigger than I originally thought. When we first entered, I didn't explore the entire house because I wanted to gain information as soon as possible. After that night, I learned that there was plenty of space for everyone to sleep with room to spare.

The next morning, I put on a different set of clothes before I exited the house. I traveled to the Alchemy vendor which 'hired' me and the guy at the counter looked pleased to see me walking in again.

"Hello again! You ready for you first day on the job?" He asked.

"Yea. Though, I will have to say that it will take an entire day to deliver the resources. I'm going to be incredibly busy." I replied.

"Oh, doing what?"

"Other stuff." I lightly shrugged.

"...Alright. Well, Master was anticipating your return so she already gave me your first task. Here." He took a small notebook out from under the counter and gave it to me.

"What's this?"

"It's a picture book. It shows you what each plant looks like, how to extract it, and where it's located. Oh, almost forgot.-" He took out paper and a pen from the counter and placed it before me.

"-You're going to have to write down the required information before you start. Sorry, it's regulations."

"Ah, no problem. If it's just a few lines and stuff, it doesn't matter."

I took the pen and wrote down the required information. It was basically asking my name, age, sex, Branch, and Sector. There were a few other small things but those didn't really matter. I gave it back to the guy, awaiting his response. After several seconds, he looked back at me.

"Alright, you're all set to go. The task Master wants you to complete is harvesting Luosil leaves and Falsi roots; she wants you to gather 10 pounds of Falsi and 3 pounds of Luosil. You'll find them in the notebook. Also, don't worry about damaging the notebook, we have several copies."

"Nice! Then, I'll get started immediately. I'll bring them tomorrow morning. Till then, cya!"

"Mm, tomorrow."

I left the Alchemy vendor and traveled directly to the Weapon vendor. By this point, I may have been anticipating Dat's job more than the Alchemy work. I’m not sure how beneficial either of the jobs will be, especially the skills I get from them. I could end up focusing on crafting rather than alchemy after completing several runs of the harvesting jobs. Of course, it’s important to have equipment and have the capability to repair the items. Then, having potions that help health and energy recovery is critical during a drawn-out battle. They can also be sold for high prices depending on the area.

When I entered the shop, I spotted Dat with the same pipe in his mouth and a book in his hands. He looked up to see who entered and was surprised to see it was me who was standing there.

“Welcome back! I didn’t expect to see you in the morning.”

“I wasn’t expecting it either. But, I’d rather tackle both jobs at the same time. I already told them that I would deliver the resources tomorrow, so I have plenty of time.”

“Don’t be so sure. It takes a good amount of time to harvest plants correctly. On top of that, you have to extract minerals and rocks that hold ore, all the while defending yourself from the monsters in the surroundings. It’s tough work if you aren’t up to the task.”

“I understand. I’ve already come to terms with it. I guess I’ll find out how difficult it really is once I get there.”

“...Alright. My apprentice hasn’t arrived yet so I’ll give you a notebook that details the ore veins and rocks. It’ll also show you where they’re located and what to do to extract them. By the way, did the Alchemy vendor give you a notebook about the monsters?”

“No, they didn’t...Now that I think about it, that would be pretty necessary.”

“That’s right. The monsters weren’t that much of a problem, however, now that the Dread Ruins have opened, they all transformed into even stranger abominations. Fortunately, my apprentice is strong enough to defend himself against most of them. He’s a Silver A ranker though.”

“Ooo...I’m only a B rank...ahaha…”

“Ah, don’t worry about that. Besides, I’ve given my apprentice two treasures to ensure his safety. Currently I can’t give one to you because you just started, but my apprentice will be able to defend you.”

“Why don’t you just say his name?”

“I’ll introduce him when he get’s here. Till then, I’ll help you through the notebooks’ information.”

And like that, Dat personally taught me what the notebooks’ details meant. It was awesome having a professional teach me, unlike that Alchemy vendor. Anyway, Dat even taught me the different ways to kill the new monsters. Apparently, because the monsters continually absorb the energy from the Dread Ruins, they’re constantly getting stronger. That may sound like a bad thing, but to me, that just means more XP. Mmmm, delicious XP! As long as I don’t die...because there’s no respawns in real life.

About an hour later, someone entered the store. Dat looked up and a warm light appeared in his eyes. The man was definitely taller than me, meaning that he was about six feet two inches. He had long brown hair tied in a ponytail behind his back. He wore a dark brown overcoat that covered a light brown shirt, coupled with brown pants. He had brown boots that were strapped against his legs, concealing his pants halfway down his shins. I could tell he liked brown. Or maybe it was because he’s a forger? Wait, why do I equate brown with forging? Hm, weird.

“Welcome back, Plouris.”

“I’m back, Master.”

The man first looked at Dat before he noticed me with a notebook in my hand sitting besides Dat. He was slightly confused, however, a couple seconds later, understanding was seen in his gaze.

“Master, is this the new guy?”

“Yes, this is him. I’ll introduce you two.”

Dat stood up, motioning me to follow. Once I was in-front of the man, Dat spoke:

“Plouris, this is new recruit. His name is Mark, and he just came from an Outer Sector. He basically knows nothing about the woodland and cave system around here. I’ll have you teach him everything you know.-”

“-Mark, this is Plouris. He’s been my apprentice for several months now. He’s grown from a bronze B rank into a Silver A rank. His rate of growth is astonishing.”

...I mean, in my terms of growth, that’s incredibly slow. But, from Dat’s words, his growth is fast? I guess I’ll have to look into the growth rates of these people once I get the chance. Anyway, I shook Plouris's hand and I nodded to him and he nodded back. It's just something guys do. Dat turned to Plouris again and said:

"Plouris, I've already briefed him on the very basics. I know that you're busier nowadays, but I need you to go with him and teach on the job. He needs some hands-on experience and I don't want him dying out there."

"Haha, no worries, Master. You can leave him to me. Now, what are we looking for, specifically?"

"Right. I need you two to get some Oligorite and Librovite. Plouris, these two should be easy for you, so just show Mark how it's done."

"Got it. We'll leave now so we can get the best spot. Come on, follow me." Plouris motioned toward me.

"Alright." I replied as I followed behind him.

Dat get us a final good luck before Plouris and I left the store. Judging from Plouris's words, there might be others in the same areas as us? I see, so there's competition. I don't know why I didn't expect such a thing. Maybe some of them aren't even affiliated with a single Weapon vendor, but normal people that just go out and gather resources to sell to the vendors. I guess that's why most people don't want to be hired. Maybe it's because the pay of the job is lower compared to just selling the resources.

In my opinion, there's not much difference. I mean, you can handle two jobs at once if you have ways to store enough materials; or if you're a workaholic. Storage isn't a problem for me because items that are same stack. Unfortunately they don't stack up to 99, otherwise I would have a bunch of shit in my inventory.

Having the job would also give you the incentive of learning the actual skill of whatever vendor it is. I noticed that many of the weapons in the Weapon vendor were several hundred stones. The cheapest I saw was still over 200 stones. Many of the items in the Alchemy vendors were also hundreds of stones. I wondered why they were so expensive...maybe it's because it's difficult to craft the items? Hm, I guess I'll find out.

Plouris and I walked for about an hour before reaching a giant gate. There were several people situated around it that were dressed in military-esque uniforms. They leisurely talked with one another until they noticed Plouris and I walk up.

"You guys headed out?" One of them said.

"Yea." Plouris replied as he took out a small badge; I wasn't able to see if it had carvings on it though.

"Ah, Vendor Datmear's apprentice. Who's this?"

"This is his new employee. I'm going to help train him to mine ore and extract minerals."

"Hahaha, I remember when I tried to do that. I broke every single crystal I came across."

"Well, we're doing anything that advanced yet, haha."

"Alright, you guys can go through. Be careful about those abominations out there."

"We will!"

Plouris waved his hand as we walked through the opened gate. It immediately closed after we passed the threshold outside the city.

"Why'd you show him your badge?" I asked.

"Apprentices of Vendors are able to go through the gates for free, that's why." Plouris replied.

"Wait, there's a toll fee?!"

"Yea. There's toll fees in every Core City. It's not that much though, just ten stones."

Well, I guess even super humans need money, right?

I apologize for the short chapter. I have Swim championships tomorrow AND Saturday so I'll be incredibly tired both days. I don't think I'll be able to get out another chapter by the time Monday rolls around. It's already late and I need to get to sleep early...I have to get to the championships at 8:15 AM. Yea. Then 7:30 am on Saturday. Ugh. My last year, though.

Anyway, I finally released my new fiction! The prologue and first chapter have been released. Unfortunately, I haven't had enough time to start the second chapter.

Ah, but here's the catch! The MC's technology involves quantum physics and advanced mathematics, which have resulted in more modern-age technology. The world he's in doesn't even have electricity yet, mostly because they use magic. So, what will the results be when technology and magic clash? Of course, those two aren't the only two weapons. This new world that I created is quite complex (Which, personally, I like.) and it has many different weapons AND history. I do my best not to do info dumps (I believe there are none as of now).

Anyway, without further delay, here's the link to my new story!: Link!