After fulfilling his curiosity about ability shards, Nathan continued to scroll through the shop like a kid who had just been let loose in a massive toy store.
Every click opened something new.
Weapons forged with monster bones, potions with effects ranging from minor stamina recovery to temporary resistance boosts, even armor made from various monster hides.
And then, of course there were shards. He jumped between pages, his eyes darting from price to description. Item shards sat at the lower end of the spectrum, still expensive by any normal standard but at least imaginable. Summon shards climbed much higher as being able to summon creatures was an extreme help when it came to hunting.
But, ability shards remained in a league of their own, a lot of the active shards having abilities that allowed the hunter to do unimaginable things like control fire, or telekinetically move items.
Nathan swallowed as he scrolled past one listing after another, each price tag feeling more absurd than the last.
'This isn't just expensive, it's a completely different world,' he thought.
He leaned closer to the screen, reading reviews left by verified hunters. Some praising shards as life changing investments, while others warned about wasting money on abilities that didn't compliment their hunting style.
Eventually, his cursor hovered over a different tab he hadn't noticed earlier.
Sell an Item
Nathan clicked it.
A new page opened and step by step instructions appeared explaining the process in simple terms.
If you wanted to sell an item, be it a shard, weapon, artifact, or rare drop, you didn't list it yourself. Instead, you brought the item physically to a Hunter Forum office. There was at least one office in every Unit. There, the item would be appraised, verified, registered, and then listed on the site under your name.
The forum handled logistics, marketing and security. Of course for the price of a commission.
Nathan leaned back in his chair.
"So that's how people do it," he murmured.
There existed a massive, centralized marketplace backed by the same infrastructure that supported hunters worldwide. Which made a lot of sense with how big of an industry hunting was.
Nathan closed the browser tab slowly, then shut the website entirely and turned his computer off. He leaned back and stared up at the ceiling.
"I've got to get my money up," he said quietly.
Money was not just important for him to help Ethan, but now it is important for his hunting journey. As without money, his growth would stall sooner rather than later.
"Nathan! Dinner's ready!" Hearing Ethan's voice from the hall he got up from his seat and made his way to the kitchen.
Dinner that night passed peacefully as Lena chattered about something she had watched earlier while Ethan listened with half a smile, clearly tired but present. Nathan ate more than he spoke, his thoughts still lingering on glowing blue shards and impossible price tags.
Afterward, he retreated to his room, changed, laid down on his bed and went to sleep.
***
The next day followed the rhythm Nathan had begun to internalize.
Wake up early, put on gear, head to the rift and hunt.
For the next five hours, he moved through the tunnels with growing efficiency. His rotation was smoother now with less backtracking and fewer pauses.
By the time he decided to stop, his count was higher than the day before.
He had hunted twenty three goblin scouts today. Nathan exited the dungeon tired but satisfied, muscles aching in a way that felt earned.
As he stepped back into the chamber, his eyes drifted naturally across the room.
That was when he spotted Chris. He stood near the center of the chamber, talking to a small group of hunters. Nathan recognized him instantly as the guy from a few days ago that advised him to get his awareness up to ten.
Chris gestured toward one of the deeper tunnels, clearly pitching something but one of the hunters shook his head.
"Sorry, man," Nathan heard faintly. "Already got a group."
Another said something similar, and the small cluster dispersed, leaving Chris standing alone but as Chris turned around their eyes met.
"Hey, newbie!" he called out, walking over. "How's hunting been?"
Nathan smiled faintly. "It's been going great."
Chris stopped a few steps away and looked him up and down more carefully this time.
"…You look different," Chris said slowly.
Nathan raised an eyebrow. "Different how?"
"Way more like an experienced hunter," Chris replied. "What did you do, grind nonstop?"
Nathan laughed quietly. "I just hunted way longer than I probably should have."
Chris chuckled, but then his expression shifted as he stopped to think about something. He crossed his arms and glanced briefly toward the tunnels, then back at Nathan.
"Hey," he said. "You know how I still haven't found a group to go deeper."
Chris continued, "Seeing how fast you're progressing, I'll ask again. Want to team up?"
Nathan didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he focused inward.
His status window surfaced at the edge of his awareness. He skimmed through it quickly.
--------------------------------
Status Window
Name: Nathan Hale
Tier: Unawakened
STATS
Strength (STR): 6 (+1)
Agility (AGI): 6
Precision (PRE): 5.3 (+0.3)
Endurance (END): 5 (+0.5)
Awareness (AWR): 5.5 (+0.5)
Focus (FOC): 6
--------------------------------
He had noticed it already, his growth had started slowing.
Scouts were no longer pushing his stats forward the way they had before. Some numbers barely moved now, even after multiple kills.
'All my stats will reach 6 soon,' he realized.
To grow further, he'd have to face stronger enemies.
Nathan looked back at Chris.
"I'll be honest," he said. "I don't really know how the tunnel layout works. Or what to expect deeper in. If we teamed up, what would the plan be?"
Chris smiled, clearly relieved Nathan hadn't dismissed him outright.
"Alright," he said. "So, you see how there are six tunnels here?"
Nathan nodded.
"Some of them connect to deeper pathways," Chris explained. "Others branch into shallow chambers with goblin encampments. The bigger the room, the more goblins you'll find."
He pointed subtly. "If we go deeper, the fourth tunnel from the left is the best option for two people. It leads to a smaller chamber with usually around ten goblin soldiers."
Nathan pictured it immediately.
Ten enemies who are armored and perform coordinated attacks.
'Dangerous.'
He exhaled slowly.
"That's…" he began, then stopped.
He felt the exhaustion in his limbs, the dull ache reminding him how long he'd already been fighting today.
"I can't today," Nathan said honestly. "I'm wiped."
Chris studied him for a moment, then nodded. "That's a very fair reason actually."
Nathan hesitated, then added, "Can I give you an answer tomorrow?"
Chris's smile widened. "Yeah, I'll be entering the rift early in the morning."
They parted ways shortly after.
As Nathan made his way out of the chamber, his thoughts churned.
'Taking down ten goblin soldiers at once will be very risky,'
But it was also an opportunity, as if he could understand how to clear the shallow chamber he could significantly increase his hunting speed. Also for the first time, he would be hunting with someone else, someone stronger than him.
As he stepped outside and felt the rift's pull fade behind him, Nathan made a quiet decision.
'Tomorrow, I'll head deeper into the tunnels.'