Chapter 22: A Rare Case 3

"Haha, cheer up I'll treat you to breakfast as a consolation."

The green-haired person named Gurim laughed. He patted the shoulders of the young man.

Allen Stryka was thrilled upon hearing this. He tried to guess what they would be having. He asked,

"Will it going to be the frog meat we hunted yesterday?"

"What? No!"

But Gurim refuted the idea. He even sounded like he had heard something ridiculous. He quickly regained his composure though. He cleared his throat and explained,

"That merchandise had been completely sold out already."

"Oh…"

"Why do you look so sad?"

The green-haired person was correct on his observation. Allen had slumped his shoulders when he heard the statement. He was used to eating the prey that he had hunted. This was the first time he was selling it completely. He confessed,

"Well, to be honest, I do want to try the taste of its meat. I, or rather we, hunted it after all."

"I could arrange it so that you can receive a portion on your next hunt."

"Really?"

Allen was surprised with the reply he received. He could not believe that such an option was possible. The person in front of him nodded. He then started to give details,

"But it cannot be the best cuts. Those are reserved anyway."

"That's fine."

"And your share of spirit crystals will be forfeit."

"Will I even receive any in the first place?"

Allen commented jokingly. He did not gain anything from their first hunting contract anyway. Well aside from the personal progress he achieved last night that is.

However the answer he received surprised him.

"Of course! I price things fairly, you know?"

Gurim snapped. He sounded offended for some reason. He began to explain,

"You received nothing for yesterday's work because I had to pay the processing fees. You cannot hunt around the territory of Nosales with permission anyway."

This was probably one of the reasons why some of the guards had spread out around the areas surrounding the city. They wanted to regulate the hunting activities in their perimeter. Over supply of mutated beast corpse would affect its market price after all. And besides, it could also lead to depletion of wild life resources.

Gurim then continued,

"But now that the registration is settled. You are ought to receive compensation for the succeeding hunts."

"I see."

Allen nodded as he listed intently. He apologized for his tactless remark from before. The person in front of him said that he did not mind.

Perhaps he had also calmed down to an extent. The young man then inquired,

"How much am I going to receive?"

"That depends. Will you accept the original amount of spirit crystals as per agreement? Or are you going for the meat instead?"

"Can't I have both?"

Allen tried to negotiate. He heard of some deals before the apocalypse. There were some transactions where the worker could request for payment which was both in the form of goods and cash.

This would have a lower total value compared selecting only one option. But having both was a privilege of its own. He wondered if such terms were possible here.

However,

"No!"

Gurim snapped once again. He seemed to be losing his patience this morning for some reason. He clicked his tongue. He then stated his terms,

"We are doing business here not charity. Choose one and be done with it."

Allen fell silent. He began weighing his options. On one side, he was intrigued on the effects of absorbing the spirit crystals. He wondered if it could be used in tandem with his cultivation technique.

On the other side, asking for meat was only a whim. He could just purchase another meat once he had the currency anyway.

His choice was already obvious. He gathered his resolve. He answered in a serious tone,

"The meat."

The young man was surprised. To be fair, even the green-haired person was surprised as well. They stared at one another. An awkward silence passed for a few seconds.

On his defense, Allen was supposed to chose the spirit crystal. But then his hunger took the best of him. He had not eaten properly yesterday after all. He had also just performed an intense muscle training a while ago.

The young man gathered his thoughts. He was about to change his answer.

However,

"You're a weird case, you know."

What weird? The proper term here should be 'rare' or something. But that was not the problem here. Gurim had spoken first before the young man could retract his words. Allen tried to reason out,

"A-actually I – "

"It's alright. All of the hunters and travelers I met before chose the spirit crystals. And to be honest that's too boring and ironically too tasteless."

But Gurim did not give him a chance to explain himself. How was he supposed to say that he misspoke?

The green-haired person then continued,

"You chose to be free and enjoy life. Rather than becoming a slave of capitalism."

No, being a slave of capitalism was not that bad. The young man could always buy other meats anyway. Please give him a chance to explain himself!

But such chance was not given. Gurim grabbed his shoulder tightly. He had a solemn expression in his face. He said,

"And I respect that."

"!"

"I cannot give you the best cuts. But I will promise you that the meat you will receive shall be cooked to perfection."

"But – "

"Worry not. The seasonings will be on the house."

"… Okay."

Allen answered weakly. The person in front of him had given such a heart-warming speech. How was he supposed to say no after that?

The only thing he could do was agree to the offer. He had to face the consequences of his choices after all. He could just move forward from now on.

If there was any consolation, Gurim was now beaming at him. He seemed to be genuinely moved by the answer he heard. Probably. He then said,

"Good! Let's be on our way then."

"Y-yes."

And thus his days as a hunter in exchange for a meal begun.

*Munch, munch*

Allen was currently eating the breakfast that Gurim had promised. And he was doing so as they walked along the streets of the city.

He contemplated on the payment of his newly assigned vocation. So far, he was actually disappointed. The reason,

"This is just a food ration."

"Haha, Military-grade. Packed with the essential vitamins and minerals to start the day right."

Generously speaking, it was a compact and ready-to-access meal infused with nutrients that could provide the strength to accomplish one's daily tasks. Bluntly speaking, it was just an energy bar.

Nonetheless Allen took another bite. The food had to be consumed no matter what. There was no room for picky eaters in the apocalypse after all.

Or perhaps there was. Since the frog meat he hunted was probably being served to someone right now.

The young man shook his head. There was no point in wondering on such scenario anyway. He should just focus on what was in front of him. Thus he decided to change the topic of the conversation.

"Could it be that Gurim is connected to the army?"

"Haha, who knows."

"Oh? This is the first time you did not answer my question properly."

Allen noticed that the green-haired person had a different tone this time compared to his previous replies. That was why the former tried to guess a possible explanation. He inquired,

"Could it be that the question is too personal?"

"Yes it is. So, are you sure you want to pay for the answer?"

"Never mind then."

Allen rejected the offer. Since asking further along that topic would cost an extra payment. He decided to change it once again.

"How do you get to Tier 2?"

"Haha, pretty eager to level-up huh?"

"Of course. I do have something to accomplish after all."

"Like tasting better quality meat or something?"

Allen rolled his eyes. But he did not try to argue any further. He would rather enjoy the only meal he had at the moment. Thus he took another bite on the food ration instead.

Gurim seemed to have taken his silence as a form of confirmation. The green-haired person cleared his throat. He then continued,

"The answer is 'I don't know'. Why would I still be stuck at Tier 1 otherwise?"

Perhaps you just enjoyed trolling with newbie hunters or travelers?

Was what Allen wanted to say. But instead he took a bite on the food ration once again. He was starting to get the hang of its bland taste for some reason.

Gurim seemed to have noticed the silence of his companion. He perhaps assumed that it was his prompt to continue what he was saying. He added,

"Although there were rumors saying that you could reach the second Tier if you get the second dose of your vaccine."

"Taking a second dose. Isn't that quite easy to do?"

Allen raised his eyebrow. He remembered his dad saying that Kinshin was preparing for the administration of the second dose vaccination. This was something that they were planning to implement once the supplies arrived at their town.

However, Gurim refuted the idea. He replied,

"You wish. Do you know what will happen if you received another dose of vaccine without proper preparations?"

The young man shook his head. The green-haired grinned as he paused for a few seconds. He then said,

"Boom! That is."

"!"

When he noticed the reaction he seemed to be waiting for, his grin became wider. He then continued,

"You have to fully digest the vaccine you have received first, or so I heard."

Allen was taken aback with what he heard. He felt relieved that he did not insist on availing the second dose program back in there town. He inquired further,

"Then how can you tell if you have digested it or not?"

"Beats me."

Gurim answered causally. When he did not receive a reply, he chose to add his opinion. He said,

"Perhaps you'll know once you reach that point."

Allen agreed. It was something that he had to face at a later time anyway. His first priority was to settle the items on his agenda after all.

He then finished the energy bar, or rather, the food ration. He gave a solemn nod to show his appreciation to the ingredients he had just consumed. He also wished that may it become his strength for the future.

They then reached the city gates. The strict city guard was on duty once again. He had allowed the two to pass through. He then went back to attending the line of people in front of him.

Gurim gestured that they should head to certain area outside the gates first. He led the way towards a stable of some sort. He then pointed towards a device waiting for them.

"A cart?"

Allen commented when he saw the wheeled device. It was crudely made and had probably seen better days. There was no animal attached on its front too.

"There's no way I'll drag another mutated beast corpse for you."

"It's fine. I need the muscle training anyway."

Allen understood that the one who would be pulling the cart had to be him. Instead of complaining, he accepted it readily. He lifted the front part of the device. He was surprised that it was working just fine.

"Haha, you're a weird case after all."

Gurim smiled. He seemed to be surprised with the decision of the young man. Nonetheless he went straight to business. He asked,

"Shall we move out then?"

"Yes. Let's go."

Allen answered as he began taking a step forward.