Unexpected Healer Book 2 -- Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The trip back to the Adventurer Coalition building was uneventful for the most part, other than the fact that the signs led him to one of the other Coalition locations in the city first, but it didn’t take long to correct his path.  It was approximately an hour and a half after he left the entrance of the Magma dungeon when he walked up to the rear of the building, held out his room key, and a portion of the wall popped open invitingly.  He didn’t hesitate to head inside, the wall closing after he passed through it. 

In his room, he took a cool shower as he took his Heat Resistance Rings off, letting the water rinse off the sweat that felt sticky against his skin, and he gratefully changed into a new set of clothes as he dropped his soiled outfit outside his door to be laundered later.  After eating something he pulled out from his Inventory, he took the time to rest on the chair for a few minutes, contemplating everything he’d learned and experienced from trying his luck at a brand-new dungeon.

As he put his feet up on the table, he idly looked around the room again, thankful that the space seemed to be magically air conditioned to be relatively cool but not too cold, and it felt good after all the heat he’d experienced earlier.  While glancing around his room, he noticed something on the wall near the door that he hadn’t noticed; it blended in with the wall color to the point where it was only visible if he was really looking around, and it appeared to be some sort of outline of a hand.

Getting up from the chair, he got closer to the outline and stared at it, trying to see what exactly it was, before shrugging and activating both of his Fields just in case.  He then placed his right hand inside the outline, noting that it had the same amount of fingers as a Human and not missing one like the Charee. 

There was a brief flash of blue that emerged from underneath his hand for a brief second and he jerked it away in response; he looked at his appendage but it didn’t look like it had been injured, nor did it appear as if anything had actually happened.  He was turning away from the wall a few seconds later in confusion when there was a knock at the door.

Thaden kept his Fields active as he cautiously opened the door, only to find a Charee man standing at attention right outside, wearing what looked like some sort of fancy official Coalition attire.

Gharves – Forgestone Adventurer Coalition Concierge

Charee

Level 30

“Greetings, sir.  I’m the Silver Ranked Concierge, here at your service.  How may I help you?”

Thaden was slightly puzzled at the appearance of Gharves outside his door, but he was starting to catch on.  “Did I, uh, call you?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I see.”  It was easy enough to put things together when he hadn’t done anything but touch the hand outline on the wall.  “Veronia didn’t tell me there was a, uh, Concierge.  What exactly are you able to help me with?”

“I’ve been recently appointed, sir, as of approximately an hour ago,” the man explained, his manner and tone stiff and proper – like an English butler but without the accent.  “This position wasn’t supposed to be filled for a while yet, sir, which was why there was no one until after you arrived.  As for what I can help you with, you have but to ask and I will do everything within my power to grant your request – within limits, I hope you understand.”

Huh.  Neat.  I can see why these city branches of the Coalition are so busy if people are treated like this.  Granted, I’m pretty sure this is because I’m Silver-Ranked, but that’s beside the point.

The Lifewarden was about to send Gharves away, as he didn’t actually need anything at the moment, but then thought better of it.  “Are you able to help me accept another Quest?  I’d rather avoid spending too much time in the lobby with the other Contenders, if at all possible.”

“I can certainly do that, sir.  Is there any other assistance that you require?”

He shook his head, before snatching the other Silver-Ranked Quest for the Forest’s Wrath Dungeon off the table.  “No, just this,” he answered while giving the Concierge the paper.  As he was handing it over, he mentally slapped himself.  “Actually, I forgot that I meant to ask about something.  Do you know or have any information about how the stuff that I pick up from dungeons are used?  Are they crafting materials?  Are there people I should be talking to that would buy them from me?”  He didn’t really need the money, of course, but if he could find some way to make use of the relative junk that he’d been collecting, he’d be interested in learning about it.

Gharves looked at him with a strange expression on his face.  “You… are unaware of this information?”

“Uh, yes, I’m obviously unaware, which is why I’m asking about it,” he responded a bit testily, remembering how embarrassed and angry he had been when Sarah and her party had to explain about his Inventory and extracting loot.  This felt like something similar and he wasn’t sure if he was going to be angry at the Concierge or his own lack of knowledge at this point.

“I apologize, sir; I was under the impression that… never mind.  There’s no information to bring to you, so I guess I can just tell you,” the man said, his stance and general tone becoming more relaxed and informal as he spoke. 

“I’d appreciate that.”

“Yes, well, first you must understand that the materials that you acquire from monsters are used in the construction of other items, whether they be weapons, armor, accessories, or even potions.  While it is technically possible for Contenders to become crafters that can use these materials, such a focused route is generally discouraged by the Assimilation System because it will take away from their main purpose here on Tarth.  As a side project, it can be very fruitful and earn them some coin, but there are no PICK or Coalition benefits from crafting anything, which is why it shouldn’t be the main focus of any Contender.

“That being said, such an endeavor for the Charee and any other residents of Tarth the world over is worthwhile, as we are able to embrace the Class of a crafter fully and apply our talents toward the creation of mundane and powerful items alike.  Unless you are planning on committing time to learning how to craft, it is to these individuals that the Contenders are encouraged to visit.  For a price, you can commission an item to be made if you have the appropriate materials, or you can purchase premade items at their workshops; in addition, you can sell any unneeded materials to these crafters, though prices fluctuate based on supply and demand.  Regardless of what you choose to do, keep in mind that their crafted items are typically stronger than most loot drops that you may find, or any that you might be able to purchase from others at the Contender Market.”

He was nodding along as the Concierge spoke, thinking that his explanation was along the lines of what he was expecting, but his mind froze at the mention of the last item.  “Contender Market?”

“Yes, the Market….  You don’t know—I see.  Alright, here’s a rundown of the Contender Market, which is a special privilege given to Contenders to buy and sell just about anything in the entire world of Tarth.  Access to the Market is available in any city Coalition location, which is likely why you were unaware of it until now if you came from one of the surrounding towns, though they should’ve been covered in your Training…” Gharves said suspiciously as he tilted his head to the side while looking at Thaden.

Thankfully, he didn’t expand on that subject, but kept explaining about the Contender Market.  “There is a fee upon completion of a sale for items on the Market, but any Contender on Tarth can buy from you and it will be transported to them no matter the distance.  This only applies to physical items, of course.”

Like eBay for magical fantasy worlds, I guess.

The way the Concierge said the last part caught his attention.  “Only applies to physical items?  That makes it seem like there is something else that you can buy from the Market—” Thaden started to say, but he cut himself off when his mind went straight into the gutter and he found himself blushing and furious at the same time.

“Services, sir.  You can purchase the services of anyone who lists their specialties on the Market.”

He almost didn’t want to ask.  “What, uh, kind of services are you talking about?”

“As mentioned before, some Contenders spend time learning a craft, whether blacksmithing, leatherworking, fletching, alchemy, enchanting, or a number of other crafting specializations, and they can list their services on the Market.  They typically charge less than a Charee crafter, for example, but the quality is typically questionable. 

“In addition, any Contender can put the services of their Class up for sale, for instance if there is an environmentally dangerous dungeon such as the Magma dungeon located under Forgestone.  In that case, a higher-Level Fire Mage could cast a spell that would last a few hours and add Heat Resistance to all the party members heading inside.  Or, some higher-Level Support Classes are able to resurrect fallen Contenders within a certain time period; they can hire one of these individuals to accompany them to a dungeon and wait outside in case the unthinkable happens, and would be available to cast Resurrection on the body they bring out.  Then there are some Scout Classes that specialize in detecting traps inside dungeons, and they can offer their services to help guide a party through a particularly tricky section.”

“How does that work?  Wouldn’t the party have to replace their own Scout Class member to do that?”

Gharves shook his head.  “Not if they have a Contract Bond.”  Seeing the expression on Thaden’s face, he explained that term, as well.  “Through the Contender Market, any purchase of a service is automatically backed up by a Contract Bond which does two things.  First, it ensures that the purchaser receives what they bought, so in the previous examples it would be casting Heat Resistance spells, resurrecting the dead if they were brought before them, and detecting traps; this ensures that that can’t renege on the deal, and it is enforceable with a threat that they can lose up to 10% of their stat points if they fail to provide the service offered.

“The second aspect of the Contract Bond does something similar to the first, but it instead limits what can be done – and protects them at the same time.  In the case of the first two examples, it protects them from being harmed by the purchaser or their party until the service is performed and for up to 6 hours afterward.  This prevents the purchaser from trying to get out of paying for the service by killing the servicer, as all transactions are finalized after completion of the service.  What it also does, in the case of the Scout Class detecting traps, is allow the servicer to accompany a party into a dungeon to perform their service; while inside, they are immune from being harmed by any monsters or the purchasers themselves, though environmental dangers and traps can still kill them.  At the same time, they cannot participate in doing anything but what they were hired to do, so if a horde of monsters comes and slaughters the entire party, they wouldn’t be able to do anything but stand to the side and watch it happen.  They could then depart without having to worry about being attacked as well.  In essence, their service is a tool that can be used for a specific purpose, and nothing else.”

That’s… intriguing.

“Can you hire a service that will fight for you, such as a Mage or a Fighter?” he asked, hopeful that this could be the solution he was looking for to fight the Magma Colossus.  Unfortunately, Gharves shook his head.

“No, direct combat is not a service that can be exploited in that way.  Neither are other exploitive services such as slavery or prostitution, as such transactions are banned.”

That was a relief to hear.  He unfortunately knew Human nature enough to realize that even in a situation like the one they were in on Tarth, he wouldn’t put it past some sort of criminal underground to try and take advantage of those weaker than them.  Not that Thaden could really do anything to prevent that from happening, but he was glad to know that it wasn’t something that was sanctioned by the Assimilation and Contender System.

“Do you have any other questions?  If not, I can have you assigned to this Quest immediately.”

“Where might I find access to this Contender Market?”

“For Bronze Rank members and above, there are access portals in the rooms.  You can find yours at the end of the table right there,” the Concierge said, pointing at the table that held all the information he had been given the day before.  Seeing all the books and maps there, Thaden was reminded that he didn’t need them anymore, as he’d already memorized everything he required, so he picked them all up and handed them to Gharves.  The Concierge gave him a short bow and took off after that, promising to have Quest assigned to him as soon as possible, and soon enough the Lifewarden was all alone again. 

Once the man had left, though, he nearly touched the hand outline on the wall again because he forgot to ask if he could get food delivered to him, but ultimately decided against it.  He still had plenty in his Inventory and there was no need to bother him so soon after being helpful with the information he had imparted.  Thinking of that, Thaden looked over at the table he had spent so much time the night before looking up information, searching for whatever access to the Market could look like, but he didn’t see anything but a strange blue circle on the wooden tabletop.  He had originally thought that it was some errant paint that had fallen on the wood at some point and dismissed it, but now it seemed as if it might have another purpose.

Touching his finger to it cautiously, the effect was immediate.  Instead of some sort of futuristic computer terminal popping up out of the table like he halfway expected, all that happened was a notification window popped up in his vision. 

Welcome to the Tarth Contender Market!

Please select from your options below:

Buy                  Sell

The interface seemed fairly straightforward, so he mentally selected Buy and found a menu that reminded him of an online shopping website, where he was able to search different categories or even type in specific terms.  As had been mentioned by the helpful Concierge, there were categories for weapons and armor of all kinds, accessories such as rings, cloaks, and necklaces, potions that ranged from Health and Mana restoration to curing afflictions, materials collected from extractions, and services.  He was tempted to look at the services category because he was curious if people were actually doing that yet, but when he saw that he could sort his search results by Class, he instead eagerly dug into what was available. 

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a lot at this point.  Whether it was because equipment that was useable by Support Classes were rare loot drops or they were snatched up immediately upon being listed, he was unsure, but what he did find was vastly overpriced and weak, at least when he compared it to something similar for other Classes.  There were no weapons, which he was beginning to suspect was always going to be the case for his Class, and the few robes he saw that were for Support Classes only were far inferior to his existing Dark Abyss Robe of the Dead.  For 35 gold he could purchase what appeared to be a dark yellow robe that provided +3 to Mentality and Celerity – and that was all it did.  For a little more, he could pay 50 gold for a dark red one that only added +2 to Physicality and Mentality, but it also reduced the Mana cost of Support spells by 5%.  Needless to say, he didn’t need either of them, but he ended up buying the latter for 50 gold anyways since he had plenty of gold to spare; it was a waste if he was going to solo a dungeon, but it gave him something else to wear if he needed to blend in with other Contenders somewhere along the line.

As soon as he confirmed his purchase, he felt the gold disappear from his Inventory automatically and a few seconds later a red bundle of cloth appeared in front of him on the table.  Letting his finger leave the blue circle caused the Market screen to disappear, but he ignored that as he picked up the bundle and unrolled it to find that he now had the robe he had purchased in his hands. 

Bloodletter’s Robe

Rarity: Uncommon

Class Restrictions: Support

Level Restriction: 10

Physical Damage Resistance: 1

Magical Damage Resistance: 2

+2 Mentality

+2 Physicality

+5% Mana cost reduction for Support spells

Who needs two-day shipping when you’ve got two-second shipping at my literal fingertips?  He chuckled lightly at how sheer power of the Contender Market as he stored the new robe in his Inventory and placed his finger on the blue circle again.

Time to do some shopping – and perhaps list some of this junk I’ve got sitting around in my Inventory at the same time.