Chapter 187: Selling The Corpses [Bonus Chapter 1/10]

A/N: Here you go. The 10 Chapters promised for hitting 700 golden tickets. You guys deserve it. Enjoy.

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Melody’s expression brightened into excitement the moment Karrakas asked the question.

"Yes! We’re definitely heading to the pavilion," she said.

Akira grinned beside her, excited at the prospect. "Agreed. I want to see what we’re working with."

Karrakas nodded and turned without another word, leading them back into the city streets.

As they walked, he spoke over his shoulder. "There’s a pavilion at the tower itself, run directly by the city of Salaria and overseen by the City Lord’s office. You can sell there and you’ll get reasonable prices." He paused. "But reasonable isn’t the best available."

"Are there others?" Lukas asked.

"Yes, there are several other guilds in whatever city you find yourself in on the Second Floor. Prominent families and guilds run their own pavilions on the side. The prices they offer depend on who you are and what relationship you have with them."

He glanced back. "Since we’re contracted to the Le Fay family, we have access to their pavilion. And their rates for contracted partners are better than anything you’d find at the tower pavilion or anywhere else in this city."

Lukas couldn’t help but wonder if there wasn’t anything the Le Fays didn’t have their hands in.

The building appeared at the end of a wide street, standing taller than everything around it, its width stretching across most of the block.

There was nothing flashy about it from the outside, only the size. The only thing that signalled that it was even a pavilion was the people streaming in and out of it.

Two guards stood on either side of the doors, both Adept ranked, watching as people entered and exited. The four of them walked in without worry.

The main trading floor opened up inside, long and busy even at this hour, with counters running along both walls and attendants moving between them.

Karrakas didn’t stop there. He walked down the hall to the far end, where a plain door sat set into the wall beside a keypad. He pressed his ID to it. The light on the pad shifted and the door opened.

They followed him through.

"This section is for those contracted or employed by the Le Fay family," Karrakas said as they entered a smaller, quieter hall. The noise from the trading floor disappeared as the door closed behind them. "If you didn’t have the right credentials, you wouldn’t have been able to pass through that door."

The hall they entered was well lit, with a receptionist desk taking up center stage.

An attendant stepped forward to meet them almost immediately. He was a D-rank Adept, dressed in a white shirt and dark trousers. He gave them a polite smile as he approached.

"Welcome, honored partners. How can I assist you today?"

"We’re here to sell a few things," Karrakas said. He looked at Lukas, Akira, and Melody. "Would you prefer to sell as a group or individually?"

They looked at each other briefly.

"Together," Lukas said. Melody and Akira nodded.

Karrakas turned back to the attendant. "I’ll be selling separately. I also have a private matter to handle while I’m here." He paused. "I’d like my usual attendant."

"Of course." The attendant turned and clapped once.

A junior attendant appeared from a side door and immediately walked towards Lukas, Akira, and Melody. The senior attendant gestured for Karrakas to follow him and led him away in the other direction.

The junior attendant stopped in front of them and smiled. He looked young, probably newer to the role, but his posture was professional.

"Good evening," he said. "My name is Hardy. I’ll be assisting the three of you today."

After confirming they were here to sell, Hardy led them through a door at the back of the hall and into a room that stopped all three of them in their tracks.

It was large. Way too large. From what they’d seen of the building from outside and the length of the outer and inner hall, this building had no business containing a space this size, and yet here it was.

Melody turned slowly, taking it in. Akira looked up at the ceiling, then back at the door they’d come through. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"How many rooms like this are in this building?" Lukas asked.

Hardy smiled. "As many as we need."

Lukas nodded. It had to be some kind of spatial expansion built into the structure itself. He filed it away and moved on.

"Present your loot when you’re ready," Hardy said, moving to a wide counter along one side of the room and producing a ledger and a small device.

They started pulling corpses from their spatial rings.

The Razor Chilopodas came out first, stacking up on the floor in a line. Then the Deathstalker Scorpions beside them.

Hardy moved methodically along the row, crouching beside each corpse, checking the condition of the shell, the integrity of the body, and the state of the legs and stingers.

He made notes as he went, tapping figures into his device without rushing.

When the last corpse was out, he stepped back and tallied the numbers.

He turned the device towards them.

Lukas looked at the total. "That’s less than I expected," he said.

Hardy kept his smile as he answered. "All you brought today are E-rank beasts from the most common species around here. The market for Razor Chilopoda shells and Deathstalker Scorpion parts is consistent, but it isn’t high."

He set the device down. "If you bring in something rarer, or something higher ranked, the numbers change significantly. Beasts that are in demand fetch multiples of what these go for."

He paused. "The desert has things out there worth considerably more than what you’ve brought in today. You’ll find them the further out you hunt, but I wouldn’t recommend doing that until you’re higher ranked."

Lukas looked at the total once more, then nodded.

Hardy confirmed they had nothing else to sell, then reached beneath the counter and produced a glossy slip of paper. Printed on it was their total.

"Take that to the front desk," he said. "They’ll process payment directly to your bank cards." He looked at all three of them. "And next time you come in, ask for me by name. I’ll be here."

They thanked him and walked back through to the small hall.

The woman at the front desk took the slip without comment, looked it over, and asked how they’d like to receive payment.

"Split equally three ways," Lukas said. "Directly to our bank cards."

She held out her hand. They placed their cards on the counter one at a time. She pressed each one to a small machine.

A system screen appeared above each card in sequence, confirming the transfer and displaying the amount added.

Lukas took his card back.

Then a notification appeared in front of him.

Ding!

[Quest: VIP Customer]