NOVEL NEXT Chapter 24: Frog in a well.
Whittaker's head turned towards him in confusion, but his smile didn't vanish. In excitement, he asked, "If not animals then what... what do we hunt?"
Shadow hastened his footsteps and his black eyes burned with battle intent as he replied:
"We hunt magical beasts. They are dangerous monsters that eat peoples. Though a lot of people still hunt them because they drop a lot of treasures. A single F-ranked book can be sold for around 1-10 platinum bars, and an E-ranked book can be sold for 10-100 Platinum bars. Naturally, these prices are the average. The price varies according to the desperation of the buyer!"
These words, he said with a laugh.
Whittaker's eyes opened wide in shock as he chased behind him. Platinum bars, did he hear it right?
He said, "Did you say platinum bar, or are my ears playing a trick on me?"
"It is platinum bars!" Shadow grinned and added, "Books are just one of the stuff that the magical beasts drop on their death."
One by one, he extended his fingers. Each time he did that, Whittaker will learn more about the treasure troves that are called magical beasts.
"The magical beasts drop Beast cores, crafting resources and beast equipment after their death.
"After the process of purification, an awakened can absorb the purified portion of the beast core to increase his stats.
"Resources can be used to craft items or magical potions.
"Beast equipment has three categories, weapon type, armor type, and accessory type. But the chances of these equipment dropping are slim. Beast equipment can be sold for a very high price."
By the end of the explanation, drool drip down Whittaker's mouth due to greed. In an instant, he seemed to have transformed into a greedy and cunning merchant that was crazy for gold. In his case, it is platinum.
After dozens of minutes, they reached the Quest Hall. Students casually chatted on the footpaths and the staircases as they waited for the arrival of their party members.
The Quest Hall was located behind the back mountain. The back mountain stretched from behind the seven-story Academy. It was big enough to hide the Grand Quest Hall, and, every day during sunset its shadow will loom over the main-building of the Frost Fall Academy. The Quest Hall was a subsidiary of the Adventure Association. Every Academy for awakened, as long as verified by the Awakened Association, has one Quest hall.
Passing by them, the two youngsters walked up the dozens of stairs and entered the Quest Hall. They had a different expression on their faces, one had a calm face: the other held a startled expression.
The Quest Hall hall had the same building design as the training hall. It was also a Dome-shaped building, but it was far grander than the training hall. The Quest hall had seventeen floors. It seems that this place was more important than the Academy main-building.
Shiny tables that have a lot of cables were positioned symmetrically such that there would be a wide walkway in the middle and the sides of the Quest Hall. Near the table, many students sat on the chairs, some chipped in the cables in their mana com to accept quest while the others drank Magic-colas.
Occasionally, A portal will open near the students that accepted the quest, and they will be teleported to the adventure association of their desired city, town, or tavern.
Five of the "Dragontooth" guild members had already gathered on the second floor of the Quest Hall. They waited for the arrival of their leader and vice-leader Ding Long and Lin Dong. They were unaware that the topic of their conversation was just beneath their eyes.
Technology that Whittaker hasn't seen was placed in the central area of this place. A wide pillar surging with visible mana reached up to the peak. Holographic screens, in his case, the system notification that he sees was floating in mid-air, and all around the pillar. He received a shock to the very core of his being.
Humans feared the unknown, but Whittaker had a wide smile on his face. He was excited because of everything he was witnessing. He was like a frog in the well, but one day, he will Pierce the sky of the awakened continent to take a dip in the ocean of mana.
His eyes wandered all around, and a silly thought popped up in his mind, 'Is that pillar the long-lost parent of Night Will's system. Are these screens his distant cousins?'
"Come here," Saying that, Shadow stepped towards the pillar. He knew that Whittaker has just joined the Academy, and has not registered in the Quest Hall. He was going to help him register.
Like a puppy, Whittaker followed behind. He was ignorant of this place. Thankfully, his roommate seems to possess all the knowledge that he lacks.
Shadow took Whittaker to the pillar to get registered. Following the protocols, he had him place his hand on the pillar to get registered. A spell matrix formed beneath his palm. Time ticked by, sixty seconds later, two items were delivered to Whittaker by a light that shone out of the spell matrix.
Really interested, Whittaker gazed at these items, and system notifications popped up.
[Mana com: Use to access mana net and communicate with other awakened worldwide.]
[Hunters ring: Use to store stuff. Maximum Weight capacity 3000 Kg. Storage limit, 69 items. The user will feel 0.03 percent of the total weight.]
From the side, a clear voice warned him,
"These items aren't permanent, and after completing a quest, you have to return them within 24 hours, or else, you will suffer under the hands of the Sadist belonging to the Disciplinary Hall. You have to complete 100 quests, If you want to obtain them permanently"
"Oh!" Whittaker had heard about that place before. Headmaster had sent Barbarian Luo to get punished there. He will surely return these items, as he didn't want to be spanked. How embarrassing would getting beaten up without a chance to fight up will be? He didn't know and didn't want to know.
Shadow has chipped the cables in his and Whittaker mana com. On the other hand, Whittaker was curiously scrutinizing this place.
Behind the pillar, there stood a lot of doors. Pointing at them, he inquired, "Shadow, what are these doors?"
Shadow glanced up to take a look at them. Then he replied, "Dungeon doors. Depending on which door you choose, you will be taken to a monster or magical beast dungeon. Dungeons are hard, and I advise you to learn more than five basics Pure-mana spells before challenging them."