Chapter 641 - The second floor of the First Dungeon

After going through it all, I gathered 130 usable items out of what I estimate to be 231 bodies. There are a few more items, but they are mostly broken. Armors, weapons, pendants, and similar things got wrecked by the arrows. But even those, I immediately sold to the system shop, though only for a few hundred shards each.

The 130 gathered items are a mix of multiple rarities, with the lowest being mid-rare and the highest being low arcane. There are 11 low arcane items and 21 damaged arcane, around 60 upper epic, and I didn’t count the lower rarities.

I sit down at a boulder nearby, observe the pile, and try to ignore the constant pulses of mana coming from somewhere in the distance.

Coincidentally, it's where my javelin flew.

These pulses are followed by pulls of mana and gradually happen more often, to the point where it feels like a countdown.

It's fine.

Anyway, in the system shop, you can buy a low arcane item starting at around 100 thousand shards, with some going up to 150 thousand or slightly more. Damaged arcane items cannot be bought and can only be found in the tutorial.

The problem is when selling to the shop. If the system is selling a low arcane item for 100 thousand shards, and I make exactly the same one, it will buy it from me for 50 thousand. What sucks even more is if such an item is found in the tutorial, whether taken from a native, bought in a normal shop on the floor, or otherwise—the system will only pay 10-20% of its value.

I quickly go through all low arcane and damaged arcane items to check how many shards I would get, and the final number is around 250 thousand shards. The remaining ones would take too long to check, but I estimate around 150 thousand.

The decision is simple. I will try to sell them to one of the Locals.

Using my mana, I weave threads to tie the items together into a huge pile, which I then surround with more mana threads until it becomes a cocoon the size of a large closet.

I stop only when the pulses of mana from the distance cease and bright white light fills the horizon.

[You have defeated Reanimated Remnant - lvl 311]

[You have defeated Reanimated Remnant - lvl 341]

[You have defeated Reanimated Remnant - lvl 361]

[You have defeated Reanimated Remnant - lvl 351]

[You have defeated Reanimated Beast - lvl 314]

[You have defeated Reanimated Beast - lvl 333]

[You have defeated Reanimated Beast - lvl 314]

[You have defeated Reanimated Beast - lvl 349]

...

[Lvl 321 > Lvl 322]

I see the shockwave heading my way. A single loud screech sounds through the area as a powerful presence stretches in my direction. It is easily comparable to the Harvester and likely stronger.

Without looking back, I create large arms of mana and throw the closet-sized cocoon through the portal before following after it, leaving the 1st floor behind.

When I come to a stop with city buildings surrounding me, notifications pop up as well.

Welcome to the second floor of the First Dungeon.

For a fee, you may utilize arrays to teleport to the first floor or to any safe zone you have previously visited on the second floor.

The second floor contains three safe zones. Each safe zone is a large city governed by a King.

I close that notification and open the next one.

2nd Floor Quest: ???

Rewards:

14-day Stay Token

???

Of course, it’s like that. I wonder how many shards I would need to pay a Local to get information about the floor quest without getting scammed.

As for the city I found myself in, it's big, unlike any other safe zone in Beyond I’ve visited so far. The tallest buildings are two or three stories at most, and it's built in what currently seems like a perfect circle around the mountain in the middle. On the outer rim of the city, there are simple stone walls, and similar walls surround the mountain as well.

I stand on a hill that gets steeper as it nears the mountain, with the mountain behind me and the city ahead.

Now that I’m looking at the mountain behind that wall, I notice some nasty arrays. There are people guarding it, and although it looks dangerous, it also seems ceremonial. Most of them wear a combination of black clothes with bright yellow stripes and shiny silver armor. It’s safe to guess they are Locals.

Beyond the city, I can see the 2nd floor. Like the first, it is one enormous cave that stretches for miles upward and much farther into the distance, where I see a mountain range covered in snow. On the other side, there is a black void filled with nearly constant red lightning.

All around the city, miles upon miles of plains stretch out, covered in soft yellow grass and patches of flowers that sway gently in the breeze. The landscape feels quiet and endless, as if it belongs to some forgotten fairy tale.

Before I can look further, someone stops by my side. A young lynthari boy in old but clean clothes. He’s probably around ten years old, and I notice him checking my cocoon before looking at me. His hair is black, eyes golden, and his ears are grayish. Interestingly, instead of a single tail like other lynthari, he has two, both fluffy and the same color as his ears.

“Sir Beyond attendee, may I know your fine name?” he asks with a polite but energetic voice.

“No.”

“I see. It’s true, names are important, and I have pushed too far in asking you that. I deeply apologize! Please don’t kill me or beat me up!”

He lowers his face and lets out sobs that are more fake than a three-dollar bill. His shoulders tremble in exaggerated spasms, one eye sneaking a glance to see if the performance is having any effect.

“You want shards from me, right?”

“Yes! I mean, no!”

“So?”

“Maybe? You, dear sir, appeared in the zone where people who just finished the 1st floor usually appear, and with so many items at that!” He steps closer and lowers his voice to a whisper. “Other guides like me wanted to come closer to offer their services, but they got scared of your expression. But I decided to risk it, sir. You remind me of my long-dead father.”

“I see. If you lie to me again, I will hang you upside down from that lamp over there by your leg.”

“That would be a reasonable reaction, sir!”

“Your father?”

“I misspoke! He should be at home from work at the moment!”

“It happens that one might forget things like that. So why did you decide to talk to me? Aren’t you too young to be a guide?”

“Maybe I a bit... overpraised my qualifications! I don’t own the certification. Yet. But everyone has to start somewhere, right? And I decided to talk to you because you seem rich, sir attendee!”

“Are you family with someone named Duncan?”

“I don’t know anyone with that name, sir!”

“I see. And?”

“And I don’t think you would hurt me. Attendees very rarely do, and if they do, our King punishes them. At most I’d get a kick on the ass or just get screamed at and sent away. It’s only the other kids who are too scared.”

“You could be wrong, you know.”

“But we’re talking, and you didn’t get angry yet, so I’m not! Sir, would you like to know the locations where you could sell those items? Or the location of the guild square, so you can meet guild recruiters or have yourself tested? Any certification you would want to acquire? But Guild Square is usually recommended for every attendee to head to first.”

“It’s fine. Just tell me about the places where I can sell the items. I don’t mind if you lead me to a place you have a deal with, to bring customers and get a small cut in exchange. But if you lead me to one that tries to scam me, I will get annoyed.”

“Indeed, my eyes weren’t wrong. You, sir, you are very experienced, smart, glorious, and…”

"Are you stalling to buy time to think of a place because you planned to lead me to some suspicious merchant where you'd get a huge commission for scamming me?"

“Yes!”

“Then continue thinking. Are you used to dealing with people who have concentration-type skills?”

“We call them Coldies, sir! They are just like you. Empty expression and sometimes scary, but they are often very logical and rarely aggressive.”

“You mentioned a King. Who is it?”

“I’m hungry, sir attendee.”

With a sigh, I transfer him 1000 shards.

At that, his eyes widen, and the tails stop moving. He nods quickly and says, “I’m not hungry anymore! Each city on the 2nd floor has a King that is a powerful Champion and one of us Locals!”

“Little jerk. Your name?”

"Lochi, sir! Shall I lead you to a very proper merchant who will give you a good price for the items you have?"

“Yes,” I confirm.

“May I ask for the rarities of the items in your possession?”

“11 low arcane, 21 damaged arcane, around 60 upper epic, and some mix of others. I already separated the items I will be keeping, so all of this is for sale.”

“Hehe, sir, you must surely be joking!”

Instead of answering, I just look at him, and he looks back at me.

I stay silent. His tails start moving wildly, and I sense his heartbeat speeding up as he keeps glancing between me and the cocoon at my feet. He gulps.

Then he nods once.

Not even ten minutes later, the lynthari merchant in a more expensive part of the city, closer to the mountain in the middle, is done going through all the items and moves to sit on the armchair opposite me. Between us, there is a small table where I was already offered a drink.

Lochi stays near the items and curiously continues to poke them, sometimes lifting up a weapon to swing it around a little.

The merchant lets the silence stretch a little before he says, “As a merchant, I will take the system cut on me.”

He waits for my reaction, so I nod.

"The system shop value of all the items, if you wanted to buy them, would be 2,545,131 shards."

Somewhere in the room, the sword falls from Lochi’s hands and rings against the floor.

I nod again.

The merchant continues, "If you wanted to sell them yourself to the system shop, you would get 381,770 shards. If I buy them from you, it will take me years to gradually sell them all. I need to pay for the shop, I need to pay for the employees, and every transfer the system takes 10 percent of the shards. Some of the items you brought are great, but some require work before I can sell them. Others are highly specialized, and I will either need to wait years for the right person to come along or cut the price. Usually, I buy items from attendees for 50 percent of their system shop value. In this case, that would be 1,272,565 shards. With me also covering the system fee, it would cost me 1,399,822 to pay you that."

He leans back slightly. Partially, it seems like he talks out loud to himself as well.

"I usually end up selling items to the attendees for 70 to 80 percent of their value. Then, subtract the system cut. Ten percent on every transaction. That’s around 180,000 shards gone immediately. It’s non-negotiable, automatic, and taken the moment the sale goes through. That leaves me with 1.62 million, if the items will sell for 70 percent of their value."

Second finger.

"Next, storage fees. Mana-secure vaults aren’t free, especially not for mixed arcane inventory. I’ll be paying around 15,000 shards per year minimum just for these. If it takes me four to five years to sell everything, that’s 60 to 75 thousand shards gone."

Third finger.

"Repair and prep costs. Even the damaged arcane items need some work, so it's not just cleaning. Some of the upper epic pieces will need enchantment tuning or rebalancing. That’s another 100 to 120 thousand easily. More if I have to hire local specialists."

Fourth finger.

"Staff commissions and handling. My apprentices get a cut of everything that moves. I can’t run a shop this size alone. I’m expecting at least 7 to 8 percent overhead here. That’s another 90 to 100 thousand shards eaten over time."

He lowers his hand again.

"Then there’s the unpredictable drain. Customer disputes. Resales. Errors during the preparation of the items. One item flagged by a paranoid buyer as unstable, and I have to cover the loss or risk my merchant rating dropping. Factor that chaos in, and I’m looking at a net return of somewhere between 100,000 and 150,000 shards."

He looks me in the eyes.

"I am tying up 1.27 million shards of liquid capital to eventually make maybe a 10 to 12 percent return over the years. Of course, there’s a chance I might get lucky and make 5 percent more, or if I’m really lucky, 15 percent more. That’s something I hope for, obviously, but I’m not someone who relies on luck."

He pauses and looks at me with a question.

Not once did I get the feeling that he is lying as I observe his heart, the vibrations his muscles cause, or the movement of his blood.

"I’ll take it," I say, standing up and reaching out a hand toward him.

He stands up from the chair and shakes it with me. "Pleasure doing business with you."

***

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