'Did I actually get loot rewards from this kill?'
'What about that Monster Wolf I slayed before? Does the system in this world operate with drop rates?'
[Drop rates vary between beasts and are influenced by luck. The rank of the beast affects the value and rarity of what's received.]
[Most beasts within the known world drop loot like hide, fur, claw, etc., while beasts in the Primordial World drop loot like skill books, magical scrolls, artifacts, etc.]
Darien looked at the loot rewards again.
[Furnace Boar Hide (Lv.2) Boar Meat (Lv.2) Life Core (Lv.2)]
Everything was at Level 2, a mirror of the Rank the Furnace Boar was in: hide, meat, and life core. The Life Core, of course, caught his eyes in a flash.
'Nice luck, I guess.'
Life Cores are solid concentrations of Primordial Energy found deep within the bodies of magical beasts.
They are often seen as the heart of a beast's power, forming over time as the creature feeds, evolves, and battles. The higher the rank of the beast, the denser and more potent the Life Core it carries.
An Unawakened like Darien, who was unable to cultivate Primordial Energy on his own, would see this Life Core as more than just loot.
Since he didn't have the natural ability to draw Energy from the world like others who had Awakened, he could rely on absorbing and utilizing Life Cores.
With the right amount of P.E., he could eventually make skills that require its consumption!
'What a great shortcut!'
Darien was happy, but when he looked around, he frowned.
'Wait… won't the Adventurers watching me notice the core's missing when they come to inspect the corpse?'
'If I take the hide and meat too… won't the whole damn beast just vanish?'
[In this world, everyone understands that loot drops aren't guaranteed. If the Life Core is missing, they'll simply assume it didn't drop.]
[As for the hide and meat, those are physical and visible materials. You can choose to leave them behind if you want the corpse to appear untouched.]
'Oh, this is plausible.'
Calmly, Darien moved closer to the beast, so close that he could be at least half a meter next to it.
Suspecting that absorbing a Life Core might be an ostentatious display, he decided to put it in his Inventory first and absorb it later.
[Life Core (Lv.2) collected!]
"Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!"
All those spectating had truly expected Darien to be flattened, but he had proved them wrong. His victory commanded their validation, and they burst into surprised applause, laughing and shaking their heads in disbelief and awe.
The Commander nodded in approval, and he stamped Darien's signing pass.
"Good job. You passed the task."
Darien bowed in gratitude. He also bowed because he wanted to hide the wide, sudden grin that appeared on his face. He tucked the pass away and made his way back toward the receptionist.
The receptionist blinked in surprise when she saw the young boy returning to her compact office.
For the registration test, most who failed often left through the small arena's side exit, never needing to return. Those who passed had to return to her to get their ID and pay the necessary membership fee.
So, when Darien's full frame was visible, the receptionist feared that he had come to force her to swallow her words.
"You… passed?"
"Oh yes, I did."
Darien spouted as he slid the paper across the desk toward her.
The young woman eyed him and the Commander's stamp before she began to prepare his ID wordlessly. Darien remained quiet as she stole a few glances at him while she worked with reluctant respect.
"The Adventurer's Association takes 50% of all your loot. I hope you know that?"
'50:50? This is exclusive robbery!'
No wonder many people never had the chance to become Adventurers even though they'd heard there weren't many protocols.
If one wasn't able to pay up the membership at the start, then what would he even have left when the Association takes both share and fee?
However, Darien knew that with his Inventory, he could simply store everything he collected—though 150kg was currently his limit.
Upon reaching the checkpoint at the gates, he'd only need to show a small portion of the loot as if that was all he gathered. He'd make sure he handed over just enough to satisfy their 50% share.
"Thanks for the reminder. I'm aware now."
Eventually, the receptionist finished, and she handed him the new ID.
Darien almost apologized for letting their fingers brush, but before he could, he noticed that she did it on purpose. It was as if the receptionist wanted to know how a touch with the silver-haired boy would feel.
"You're still here?"
"Yes. I'd like to foot my fee now."
Most new Adventurers let the Association deduct their fee from their future loot, often because they had no money upfront. And Darien knew that was a bad thing to do.
Paying the membership fee now meant everything was clear and final. If he allowed them to take it from his loot regularly, they'd be free to decide what the value was worth without standard rates.
Over time, that kind of system could drain him far more than a one-time payment!
The receptionist understood this too, didn't expect Darien to be smart, and mostly, she didn't expect him to have 10 gold pieces on him.
She counted the gold with a hint of disbelief, stamped the ledger, and slid the sealed receipt toward him.
"That's everything. You're officially an Adventurer now."
"Thanks."
Without turning back, Darien collected the receipt and his ID and exited her office.
He glanced left and right before he moved in the direction of the former. It was time to begin his first real expedition.
'The Primordial Forest is this way….'
When he arrived at the checkpoint gate, the guards standing watch gave him the same skeptical looks he was getting used to. But Darien, unfazed, simply displayed his Adventurer ID, and they had to step aside and let him through.
Eldermead's Adventurer Gates were like a segment of the massive, endless wall that bordered the entire dukedom.
Eldermead's wall connected to the defenses of its sibling dukedoms, forming a continuous boundary for the Finelands. So, the Adventurer Gates were just portions of this stretch.
All Adventurer Gates faced the Primordial Forest and were designed for easy but controlled entry and exit, unlike other portions of the wall itself.
They were heavily fortified with thick steel doors, mounted ballistas, and stationed guards, all prepared for regular beast stampedes and attacks from the Primordial Forest.
Darien took a deep breath as he stepped into the outer boundary, where only mosses, liverworts, and malnourished grasses grew.
The air was strangely still and damp, but since this was a forest, Darien thought it normal. He could smell the scent of soil and the heritage of ages this historic place possessed.
Ahead of him were trees standing shoulder to shoulder, with canopies so thick, they only let in fragments of sunlight.