Matthew exited the dungeon counting his bullets. He was doing the math on his head on the profit of that raid. How much money would he get from selling the Mana Crystals he got, minus the bullets he shot divided by how many hours he spent...
Not far from the dungeon entrance, was a crystal exchange store. A store that specialized in converting Mana Crystals into currency with government approval. Ever since the first gate appeared on Earth 140 years ago, Mana Crystals started to become the standard of currency all over the world. Not only because Mana replaced most of the energy sources on Earth, but also because the other worlds and realms also dealt with Mana Crystals as currency. 20 years ago, all the governments on Earth and most realms and other worlds agreed to adopt a single currency called Mannium which had Mana as base value. 1 Mana score, which was measured as the quantity of free Mana, or Mana not bound to a living creature, that created 1 liter of water permanently, was worth 1/10 of Mannium, or 10 cents.
Each Mana Crystal that Matthew got from the dungeon was worth about 10 Manniums. Just enough to pay all the bullets he used. The money was deposited on his family account, since Matthew himself still didn’t have one of his own.
"I really did rush to the dungeon, huh? I do feel like a kid now." he thought.
And lost on those thoughts, he left the crystal exchange store and found himself staring at a cool black motorcycle with light blue decals.
"Hey kid. Need a ride?"
It was Vanessa, carrying a black helmet that matched the bike.
"Cool ride, isn’t it?"
"Yeah..." Matthew tried to answer, but was still lost in his thoughts.
"What’s up kid? Got a bad unique skill or something? If it is the payment, it gets better after you level up a little and can hunt more easily."
Matthew smile nervously: "Kind of both actually".
Vanessa looked him up and down. He had short black hair, messy with some volume, bright blue eyes similar to the decals on her bike. He was wearing a military fatigue, not from a real army, but one of those imitations you’d buy on a hunter’s lounge for civilians. A single gun was all the weapons he carried, a school backpack, sneakers and a black protective vest. She found him cute, and he did help her in the dungeon. She felt like a big sister around that kid.
"Wanna grab something to eat and talk about it?"
Not far from where they were, there was a pub adventurers usually went to after diving in the dungeon. The food was not great, but the beer was cold.
While munching fries covered with cheese and bacon, Matthew told her about his unique skill. It wasn’t unusual for people to disclose their unique skills, nor it was unheard of people who preferred to keep it a secret. Each adventurer had their own take on the matter. Vanessa was quite open about hers. Agility Plus, each time she leveled up she would get a +1 to Agility. That’s the reason why she chose to be a Scout.
"Yours... I don’t know. Never heard of a skill like that." Said Vanessa while drinking a mug of beer.
"Yeah. Might be a curse or might be a blessing. I’m not sure of what to do with it. But I think I’ll keep trying."
"Why did you want to become an adventurer? You don’t seem to need the money."
"I just wanted to make my own build." Matthew laughed and took a sip of his lemon soda: "Why do you ask?"
"Remembering why we start all this is the best way to move forward. It is a hard life, the pay is not good at first and many people end up dead. So it’s good to have a clear motivation."
"That’s why I’m not too sure anymore."
"You did get a nice class though. I know some doctors, not adventurers, proper medics, that would pay well for a Diagnosis skill. There isn’t a lot of machines with that skill around nor adventurer Doctors. It’s quite pricey. If you prefer that..."
"I thought about it. But I think I still want to explore a little more. Level up more and see how it goes."
"Yeah. That’s a nice thing to do. It doesn’t take long to level up. It took me a year to reach level 6. You can explore your options."
"You’ve been doing this for a year?" Matthew got curious.
"Yes. I tried being a lawyer first." Vanessa laughed and quaffed her beer "But I soon realized that law is not about the law. It’s about who are you friends with. If you went to school with the right people, you make a lot of money. If you don’t, you’re stuck swimming up stream." She drank again. "Well, it’s not like you won’t make a decent living even if you’re just taking everyday cases. But I really got disillusioned." She took a last drink and slammed the table with the mug. "So I decided that killing things for a living fitted me better" Vanessa laughed.
"I think I’ll do it for a year." Matthew said with a smile. "Thank you for listening to me Vanessa."
The woman laughed and patted his head lively. "You’re welcomed kid."
Then, out of the door, someone screamed:
"Yo! Vanessa! So that’s your type then? Little kids barely out of school?"
It was a very large and tall man, with an unkempt blond hair and beard. Dressed in a black and green biker jacked and pants, a white t-shirt and a big silver necklace adorned with a gold ring. He carried a big sword on his back.
"Go suck a truckload of dick, Eric! I’m just giving some advice for a newbie!" Vanessa screamed back. "Sorry about him kid, Eric is an old friend of mine."
"Yeah, and be careful with her kiddo. She’ll break your heart into pieces if you fall in love." Eric said while sitting on a chair at their table and serving himself of some of the fries.
"Fuck you" Vanessa snarled at him and violently took the fries away from him.
Matthew could only smile and hold his laugh. Vanessa was so cool and composed around him. Seeing her cursing like that was oddly fun.
"So what is the problem kiddo? Not sure which class to pick next? Or is it problem with the girls?"
"It’s been solved dumb-ass!" Vanessa gnarled again "Anyway, what are you doing here? Isn’t the dungeon around here too weak for you?"
"I actually came to talk to you." Eric said with a stern voice this time. "Something came up and I need your help."
Matthew swallowed hard. This seemed like some serious thing that he shouldn’t be listening.
"What is it?" Vanessa asked with a tired tone.
"Katia’s birthday is tomorrow and I don’t know what to give her!"
"I knew it..." Vanessa said putting a hand to her face.
"Won’t aunt Ness help me find a gift?" Eric asked making a face of a starving dog.
Matthew couldn’t hold up his laughter.
"What’s funny kiddo?!" the burly man quickly changed his tone to intimidate Matthew.
"Don’t bully the kid." Vanessa said in a sigh. "Matthew, do you need a ride home? I’m going to buy something with this lousy father."
"No, I live nearby, I can walk home."
"Then give me your number. If you need anything else, feel free to call."
"Thank you Vanessa." Matthew said after saving her number on his phone. "Hope everything will go well with your daughter Eric." He said before leaving.
"He’s a nice kid" said Eric after Matthew left.
"I know" said Vanessa while paying the bill.
"Handsome too."
"Shut up. He’s almost 10 years younger than me."
"Not telling you to marry him. It’s just that it’s been a long time my brother died."
"Shut up." Vanessa said with a murderous tone.
"Ok, ok... Sorry. But I do love you Ness. It would be nice seeing you with someone again."
"Let’s just go buy Katia a doll."