The Hunter's Guide to Monsters

The belowground warehouse was built into a cavern opening to the precipice under the cottage. It was massive, probably could fit a football stadium inside.

Twice larger than his first warehouse in Zushkenar.

Krow used the Tradebook to attach the warehouse to his Orddet's account, first thing.

Then he unloaded all the enchanting materials – the crates of Starseeker items, monster mats that he didn't need, and the condorowl egg he was still hadn't decided what to do with yet.

Half his inventory cleared.

Selling half the meat to the town butchers would clear another 5%.

He considered halving his store of bullets. He planned to buy mage-rounds in Nyurajke anyway. The smiths here were more urbanized, would cater to the variety of people passing through.

He shook his head after a moment. His revolver ran out too often. More bullets, more choices.

Walking back to the upper reach, he noticed Sucar was too quiet. He almost forgot the other was there.

"Something wrong?"

"You passed the elder's test."

"Yes? We both did."

"The test that no one had passed in two years." Sucar continued as if Krow hadn't spoken.

"Obviously, because we're awesome."

"How are you so confident?" Sucar wondered, sounding a little lost, again ignoring Krow's words. "It was an impossible challenge, everyone thought so. People readied for it, tried compiling previous questions, and failed. But you didn't prepare at all."

"You might say I got lucky."

Sucar glared.

Krow sighed. "All the questions she asked were things I came across while traveling. The question I didn't know could be answered by a trick, but was also the one answer that my companion could voice."

He lifted his brows at Sucar.

"That does sound like luck," Sucar muttered in agreement. "But all the answers you know, that wasn't luck…you are a potioneer?"

"Ha, no. Just a traveler."

"That can't be right."

"They say travel broadens the mind," Krow nodded solemnly, attempting his most 'wise old man' tone. "Isn't that why draculkar travel, to gain knowledge and experience?"

Sucar frowned.

"You meet people you never thought you'd meet, get thrown into situations you never would have imagined to find yourself in. It forces the mind to grow. At some point, instead of wallowing in your own despair, you find that you need to learn from the problems the world throws at you or become the object lesson for those who were smart enough or lucky enough that they listened to the world more than you did."

The younger draculkar stared as Krow's tone became a trifle bitter at the end. "Listened to the world?"

Krow look a long breath. Shkav, he didn't intend to make things so serious.

"Life is a challenge," he said. "You watch, you make mistakes, but will you learn? If you do, you watch again, make new mistakes, and learn more."

"At our age, we're not supposed to make mistakes."

Krow laughed, irritated. "At our age, we're supposed to make the most mistakes of our lives. The reason the elderly are wise, is because they made many mistakes at our age, and they faced the consequences and learned from it, and they made more mistakes as they aged but didn't turn away, learned to turn those experiences into opportunities."

And he hadn't learned until it was almost too late.

"That…" Sucar fell into a contemplation that lasted nearly to the merchant district.

"Sucar!" A girl's voice stopped them.

Sucar's crush waved from a nearby platform, slightly elevated from the walkway they were on. "Are you two going for lunch? Join us!"

There was an older draculkar woman with her, who nodded in agreement.

Sucar's cheeks flushed dark. "Uh…that…that's really kind. Very kind, and I want to bu—"

Krow pulled Sucar into another headlock, wanting very much to roll his eyes. He grinned at the girl, what was her name again? Em-something?

"I'm sorry. I am only here a short time, and have to get resupplied before I leave. But Sucar can join you, if you want."

Sucar made muffled protests, trying to free himself from Krow's grasp.

"Of course!" The girl giggled at their antics.

"Great!" Mercilessly, Krow dragged Sucar up the steps, calmly blocking the elbow that the younger was aiming at Krow's ribs as he struggled.

He stopped halfway to the table the girl and her mother were seated at.

"Think of it this way," he lowered his voice. "Despite all the things you say you couldn't do, despite all the things you think badly about yourself, she invited you to lunch just now."

Sucar stopped struggling.

"She invited you too," he said sullenly.

"Because I said we were cousins."

"Why did you say that?" Sucar griped, in a whisper.

"You're stupid when you're panicking." Krow flicked a finger at his forehead. "Would she have told me anything if I said I was just some random stranger forcing my help on you?"

"At least you know that!"

Besides, Gojo said that all draculkar descended from one being, the First Ancestor, so it wasn't technically a lie.

"Hey, if I left you alone, you'd probably have flailed all over the placed and fainted off a balcony in your panic."

"Instead, I almost die to criminals in the sewers."

Krow flashed him a grin at the sass.

"Which got you a connection with a training sergeant from the Guard," he pointed out. "Who do we know that wants to join the Guard, hm?"

Sucar stilled.

"Life is a challenge. The greater the difficulty, the greater the reward. Also, today, didn't you pass a test that some university professor didn't?"

Sucar jolted, then frowned at him. "You passed that test."

"If you weren't there, I still would've passed," agreed Krow bluntly.

"Are you supposed to be encouraging?!"

"But not so smoothly, and not with the camaraderie that we ended up with." Camaraderie that came with making fun of Sucar, admittedly.

Sucar paled again. "She invited me back for a drink."

More like threatened, but that was semantics. 

Krow turned her down because he was leaving so she rounded on Sucar.

"Just send her a bottle of something, cloud brandy maybe, for the Wintersturn holiday and she'd probably leave you alone." No she wouldn't, Krow smirked inwardly.

"Yes, yes alright." Sucar sighed in relief at being offered a course of action.

The other really couldn't think when panicking.

He snorted and pushed the younger toward the table.

"You're not coming?" That was almost squeaked.

"Remember, she sees things in you that you can't seem to see in yourself. And she's a good enough friend that she'll forgive your mistakes as long as you learn from them."

"I…right. Yes. Thank you."

"Good luck." Krow turned him around to face the two and pushed him firmly forward, waved at the table, and headed into the merchant district.

Selling 250kg of meat at the butchers gained him 275 silver serpens, the equivalent of 11 gold drax.

Not bad.

It also gained him several quest prompts and access to a few sets of Uncommon quality butcher knives.

He could find another butcher to learn butcher skills from, but even the craftsmen were now not-so-subtly prompting him to join the military or the Guard?

This Masters of War expansion was really thorough.

Going to the weapon shop wiped out 9500 drax from his remaining cash.

Joining his arsenal were 2000 Darkspear bullets, shadow aligned, 2000 Shieldburst bullets, no element, and five high-capacity belt cylinders for his revolver that took 16 bullets each.

It wasn't precisely a belt. It was a revolving belt encased in a rectangular frame, a fantasy bullet magazine that worked like an escalator instead of a step by step staircase.

He wanted the ones that took 48 bullets, but they weren't compatible with his revolver. Not to mention they were too bulky.

If he upgraded his revolver, maybe he could find a belt cylinder with greater capacity. He could put a double barrel on the revolver!

Fantasy guns, really. 

The shopping spree left him with just 4100 drax.

That was more than even some Lvl 30s had these days, but still…

His fingers drummed on his thigh.

Maybe he should've just leased a warehouse? That wouldn't have cost so much.

He shook his head.

No, buying was the best choice.

This was probably the only time he'd be in Nyurajke before the Quake; this was the largest player town closest to the draculkar capital of Velkenbragg.

There were advantages to owning land so close to a capital city. It made it easier to expand if you had history. True, that was a Zushkenar concern rather than a Redlands one, but it was best to get it done now.

If he wanted more cash, well, he still had two Unique weapons.

Deconstructing them both would give him 30,000 drax total in raw material sales. Selling them whole, just above cost, would gain him more, possibly up to 45,000.

But the advantages of spirit-binding his items using a Unique catalyst were immense for the future.

The Starfall Revolver was his main weapon. With appropriate upgrades and enchants, it could last him the whole of the game. The Starseeker Traveler Coat was his main torso armor and upper thigh armor.

He had the Traveler Boots too, but he could bind those with another Rare feather. He had two feathers of that rarity left.

Maybe he could bind the Coat with a feather and sell one of the Uniques?

He frowned.

What did he need the money for, anyway?

He already had armor, a MND item, bullets, storage – the basics. He'd like another MND accessory or two, but not even selling the two Uniques would get him a good one.

He breathed deeply.

Protection, he decided.

Protection was a more immediate need, more important.

The craving for a visible store of cash was just his fear and insecurities acting up.

He jogged up the steps of Telanweth Temple, mind made up.

After the binding, he could start looking for a caravan to get through the Pass to West Marfall proper.