A Claw’s Favorite Midnight Snack and Mining His Own Business

Mustrano greedily devours the [Skillbook: Claw Proficiency], causing Alex a pang of regret; that skillbook is worth at least 10,000 FC, if not more! "Ah, whatever! Let's hope the skill integrates as smoothly as I think it will, and that its effect stays the same!"

[WARNING: Mustrano's Malice Mauler, evolving, effects unknown]

Seeing his new skill, Alex quickly skims over the already familiar effects, too tired to reread the massive wall of text—he loves them, sure, but seeing it all again feels tedious. He only glances at the added effect, and to his absolute delight, it's exactly what he'd hoped for!

Mustrano's Malice Mauler lvl 3:

Effect3: +10% damage, accuracy, and attack speed with any claw weapon, +5% per level

Effect3: +5% chance to parry and block with claws, +1% per level

"Yes! The entire Light Blue effect got fully integrated into the skill, and the skill level increased by 2! It's already at the max I can upgrade it to!" Alex clenches his fists with excitement. "This is exactly what I need. With its base damage of 30 and 15 from the three levels, plus the new effect raising damage by another 25%, the claw's damage is now about 56! That's nearly as high as my sword, and the claw is way faster, inflicts bleeding more easily, and can also poison my opponents!"

But Alex can't shake a tiny bit of disappointment; deep down, he feels a strange emptiness within Mustrano, as if something inside him is now full. "I think Mustrano's potential is nearly tapped out. I probably can't feed him much more… unless it's a perfect match. Maybe after I level up Genius Conjurer lvl 3 and this skill even higher, he'll regain a little potential, maybe enough space for one or two more skills. No need to be greedy, though—this skill is pretty much a cheat! It's technically a subskill, yet it holds two complete abilities that would usually require two skill slots. Complaining now would just be silly."

Alex then as always conjures a few grenades and attempts to sleep, though his excitement and gains make it hard to calm down.

After a decent night's rest, Alex wakes up to the sound of people loudly arguing outside. As he steps out of his tent, he's immediately surrounded by a large crowd of angry and despairing players.

"How can you sleep just like that? Our lives are on the line!" one man yells, his voice sharp with anger.

"Shut up, or I'll cut you off from the people I'm dealing with!" Alex snaps back, his patience thin. He glares at the man—a cowardly leech who is too scared to fight while Alex almost died yesterday, now demanding Alex's immediate attention.

He clears his throat, addressing the crowd. "Listen up! I have good news for all of you. Yesterday, I found quite a few rare items… around 200 to 300 Tokens worth!"

A few people cheer, while others look disappointed. "Only that much?" one of them scoffs at Alex.

"Are you a complete moron?" Alex snaps, still fuming from his near-death experiences yesterday. "Even the highest-level players only need 150 Tokens! I earned double that in a single day. What the fuck do you expect? If you think it's so easy, go out there yourself, you idiot."

He lets his words sink in, then adds, "By the way, I saw the five others out there yesterday. They all died—wolves were tearing into their corpses." His tone is dark, and some players look visibly shaken, while others exchange uneasy glances, as if using his words to validate their own fears.

Leaving the crowd behind, Alex scans the area and spots Eirini and Patricia sitting off to the side, eating something quietly. Ignoring the mob, he walks over to them.

"How did it go for you two yesterday?" he asks bluntly, noticing they're covered in cuts and bruises. They look like they need at least another day to recover, and he wonders if they'll even make it. But to his surprise, both women flash him wide grins.

"Heh, why don't you take a look at this?" Eirini says, holding out a rare item with a glint of pride.

[Lucky Miracle Clover]

World: Hunter x Hunter

Quality: Deep Blue

Effect: Increases LUK by 5 for 1 minute if consumed raw. Can be used for crafting various miraculous medicines, creating unique effects.

Note: Highly valuable with unpredictable and miraculous effects when used in alchemical processes.

Eirini beams. "We found three of them. We each turned one in and got 90 Tokens! We just need to trade this last one with someone else, and we'll both have enough to pass!"

Alex eyes the clover, feeling the weight of its potential. "This seems incredibly useful… how about I trade you a bunch of items worth 10 Tokens each? I'll add 3,000 FC per person as well to make it fair for you."

Patricia nods enthusiastically. "Sure, we were hoping to trade with you anyway! Your advice was worth a fortune. We found them in a hidden cave with light shining through the ceiling—just like you hinted at."

"What the fuck? If I had such information, I would have used it myself," Alex can't help but be skeptical. "Perhaps this Eirini character has a high initial amount of LUK as well," Alex reasons, feeling she is too innocent.

They walk toward the sales stall, and Alex immediately hands over some of his [Gloomore] to both and the [Sinerva Wolf Corpse (Upper Half)] to Eirini, while giving Patricia the [Sinerva Wolf Corpse (Lower Half)] so they can exchange them for exactly 10 Tokens each. Afterward, they trade the [Lucky Miracle Clover] to Alex, who pays them 3,000 FC each.

At this point, the other players start yelling at Alex. "HOW DARE YOU! Why are you giving them items? We need them! WE WILL DIE! THIS IS NOT A GAME!" one of them shouts in desperation.

Alex turns to them with a cold stare. "So," he says, "have you made a decision? Who won your little lottery? As I said, I expect a hefty sum for risking my life."

The woman who'd taken charge earlier steps forward and says, "We plan to give you 5,000 FC for 100 Tokens' worth of items…"

"Rejected!" Alex snaps, cutting her off, leaving them all visibly shocked.

"Are you stupid?" he continues, glaring at them. "I can buy weapons and items worth nearly 20,000 FC for 100 Tokens. Why the fuck should I give you the same amount for a measly 5,000? What the hell are you thinking?" Alex's tone is sharp, and he isn't totally bluffing—the weapons and items offered for Tokens are indeed valuable and would sell for a decent amount of FC, although they wouldn't quite reach the 20,000 FC he claims.

The woman looks dejected, as if she'd anticipated Alex's response but hoped he'd be lenient. "You'd be saving a lot of lives, and—"

"BULLSHIT!" Alex roars, cutting her off mid-sentence. "You're holding out on me. I know for a fact you've got items worth anywhere from 30,000 to 50,000 FC. I can see the equipment you're wearing. Do you think I'm a complete idiot? Five thousand FC for your survival? Are your lives that damn cheap? Should I just let you all get killed and ask the navigator if I can pick up the bloody chests you leave behind? They're probably worth at least 5,000 FC too!"

After some tense negotiation, Alex gets his way. They settle on 30,000 FC for each complete 100 Tokens' worth of items he provides. They stand next to the stall, double-checking everything with the old female villager who's returned to oversee the exchange.

The other players, who seem to have decided on their lottery winner through gambling or other desperate measures, follow Alex to the merchant stall in silence, clutching whatever they've scraped together for their survival.

Alex, after having his items evaluated by the old villager, predicted correctly. The items are worth slightly over 300 FC. The [Gloomore] and [Lurkwort] fetch a high price, while the ordinary wolf corpses barely add anything.

He dumps all his remaining items into the trade menu with the female representative of the players: [Gloomore], [Cave Spider Corpse], [Sinerva Wolf Corpse (Upper Half)], [Sinerva Wolf Corpse (Lower Half)], along with the poisoned [Poisoned Sinerva Wolf Corpse (Upper Half)] and [Poisoned Sinerva Wolf Corpse (Lower Half)]. He also trades four out of his remaining six [Lurkwort], choosing to keep two since they're useful for healing and can stop bleedings.

Once the deal is finalized, Alex receives a hefty 90,000 FC, even surprising himself. He realizes he probably could've extorted more, but there's a limit—he's noticed the desperation and malice in the players' eyes. They'd scraped together all they had, pooling their wealth to meet his terms. "If they're doomed, they'll do crazy things," he thinks. "I saw it… they'd try to drag me down with them, sacrificing themselves just to take me out. And they'll never part with their armor, thinking it's the only thing that'll keep them alive in this exam."

Alex reasons that he's content with 30,000 FC per 100 Tokens, deciding it's a very good price for him.

Still weary from yesterday's battle, Alex unwraps an [Energy Bar] Tereza gave him, but it does little to shake off his exhaustion. His injuries may be healed, but the mental and physical toll lingers. Part of him wants to take it easy today, but he pushes the thought aside, knowing he can't afford to slack off just yet.

"I'll go out again," he says to the group, his voice edged with fatigue. "I'll try to get as much as possible, but make up your minds about what you're going to do. I don't think I can save all of you!"

Alex, tired of risking his life and figuring if he overdoes it he might actually die himself, decides to return to the cave. Without a lurking Mustrano around, the danger seems very manageable and well-balanced.

He ventures toward the mountains, thankfully avoiding any wolves, and reaches the same cave. This time, he heads toward the other side of it.

He continues to search and search, and after two full hours, he finally finds another area with plenty of [Gloomore]. Since Alex knows the ore is worth 2 Tokens per unit according to the system, he stops after mining a solid 100 units. He could go on longer, but he feels even more tired and wants to relax for the rest of the day.

It's already afternoon when Alex returns. To his surprise, he finds only the five players who remained behind: the three who already have their tickets—one of whom is the female leader of the player group, Emma, whom Alex suspects is quite skilled at manipulating crowds and not as nice as she acts—alongside Patricia, Eirini, and two more people.

"Where's the rest?" Alex asks curiously.

Emma, introducing herself as 39 years old from the Netherlands, explains, "They figured you looked really tired and might only manage items for two more people, so they decided to gamble it all and take the risk of venturing out on their own!"

Alex nods, approving of their decision. "They're smart. I've got exactly enough [Gloomore] for two more people at lvl 3."

The two remaining players, who still need their tickets, exchange uneasy glances, stuttering as one of them says, "We don't have enough FC… we can give you a total of 20,000 and two Soulstones. We can't afford more."

Alex is momentarily confused, thinking, "Are they stupid?" He knows Soulstones are worth between 20,000 and 25,000 FC each. "15,000 is way below their value… though I only recently figured that out myself."

He plays it cool. "This is about lives; I guess I can accept that," he says, pretending to be generous. He makes the deal with both of them, causing them to smile with visible relief, even thanking him with tears in their eyes. It almost makes Alex feel a bit guilty, and he starts to sweat slightly, realizing he's actually earned a bit more than the 30,000 FC per person he initially demanded.

Alex banks another 20,000 FC and two Soulstones. He then exchanges his last 40 untradable Tokens for a healing item.

[Tribaio Village Healing Liquid]

World: Hunter x Hunter

Quality: Green

Effect: Heals 20 HP and 10% of your total HP over 10 seconds (total healing cannot exceed 50 HP).

Note: Contains various rare herbs—uses the user's own Physique to rapidly heal.

Price: 40 Tribaio Village Tokens

Afterward, Alex spends some time chatting with Patricia, Eirini, Emma, and the four remaining players. They exchange theories and information about the upcoming exam, the lore of the Hunter x Hunter world, and other details relevant to the Realm.

However, Alex is exhausted, and after about an hour, he decides to rest for the remainder of the day, quickly retreating to his tent even before the sun fully sets, not wanting to oversleep.

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