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# Chapter 8: The Value of a Monster's Heart
Morning arrived slowly.
A pale golden light spread across the horizon as the sun rose over the city of **Blackridge**.
The streets were already beginning to fill with people.
Merchants opened their shops.
Students hurried toward the academy.
And awakened hunters returned from their night hunts.
Among them walked a young man with tired eyes and bloodstained clothes.
Ronan.
He moved quietly through the streets, ignoring the curious looks from the people around him.
His shoulder still hurt slightly from last night's fight, but the pain didn't bother him much.
Compared to the humiliation he had suffered during the awakening ceremony…
Physical pain meant nothing.
What mattered was progress.
And last night had given him plenty of that.
Ronan stopped in a quiet alley and opened his system window.
---
**Name:** Ronan
**Level:** 3
**Ability:** Assimilation (Unique)
**Equipment:**
Goblin Ring (+2 Strength, +1 Agility)
**XP:** 80 / 400
---
Ronan studied the numbers calmly.
His growth was steady.
Not fast enough to attract attention…
But fast enough to change his future.
He closed the window.
Then he reached into the small cloth bag hanging from his belt.
Inside were several small, dark objects.
Goblin hearts.
Five of them.
Each one was about the size of a fist and still faintly warm.
When Ronan first cut them out from the bodies last night, he wasn't sure why he felt the need to keep them.
But then he remembered something he had once heard at school.
**Monster materials had value.**
Especially organs.
Hearts.
Fangs.
Bones.
Awakened hunters sold them to merchants who crafted weapons, potions, and magical equipment.
Which meant…
These goblin hearts were not useless.
They were money.
Ronan looked toward the main market street.
"Let's see how much they're worth."
---
### The Hunter's Market
The hunter market of Blackridge was very different from the normal marketplace.
The air smelled of metal, herbs, and monster blood.
Shops displayed strange items behind reinforced glass.
Weapons made from monster bones.
Armor crafted from enchanted leather.
Crystals that glowed faintly with mana.
Ronan walked slowly through the crowded street.
Hunters in dark coats moved around him confidently.
Some carried enormous swords.
Others wore magical rings that radiated faint energy.
Ronan observed everything carefully.
He needed to understand this world.
Because soon…
He would be part of it.
Eventually he stopped in front of a small shop with a wooden sign.
**"Monster Materials Bought and Sold"**
Perfect.
Ronan pushed open the door.
A small bell rang.
Inside, shelves were filled with jars containing strange organs and glowing powders.
Behind the counter sat an old man with thin gray hair and sharp eyes.
The man looked up.
His gaze quickly scanned Ronan.
His clothes.
His weapon.
Then he spoke calmly.
"New hunter?"
Ronan nodded slightly.
"I want to sell monster materials."
The old man leaned forward.
"What kind?"
Ronan placed the cloth bag on the counter.
Then he opened it.
Five goblin hearts rolled out.
The merchant raised an eyebrow.
"Goblin hearts… fresh ones too."
He examined them carefully.
Then he nodded.
"Good condition."
He placed them on a small scale.
After a moment he spoke.
"I'll give you **25 silver coins**."
Ronan blinked.
"Only that much?"
The merchant shrugged.
"They're goblin hearts. Very common."
Ronan thought for a moment.
He didn't know the market price yet.
But arguing without knowledge would be pointless.
"Fine."
The old man handed him a small pouch of coins.
Ronan counted them quickly.
25 silver.
It wasn't much.
But it was his **first money earned from hunting**.
That alone felt satisfying.
---
### A Dream Item
As Ronan turned to leave, something inside the shop caught his attention.
A glass display case.
Inside it rested a simple black ring.
But unlike the goblin ring he wore…
This one radiated faint mana.
Ronan walked closer.
"Excuse me," he said.
"What's that ring?"
The merchant followed his gaze.
"Oh. That?"
He smiled slightly.
"A **storage ring**."
Ronan's eyes widened.
"A storage ring…?"
The merchant nodded.
"It creates a small pocket space inside the ring."
"You can store items there."
Ronan's heart began beating faster.
That was exactly what he needed.
Right now he carried everything in a simple cloth bag.
If he hunted larger monsters later…
That wouldn't be enough.
A storage ring would change everything.
"How much?" Ronan asked.
The merchant leaned back in his chair.
"Cheap one like that?"
"**10 gold coins.**"
Ronan froze.
Gold coins.
One gold coin equaled **100 silver**.
Which meant the ring cost **1000 silver coins**.
He currently had only **25**.
The difference felt enormous.
But Ronan didn't feel discouraged.
Instead—
He smiled slightly.
"So that's the goal."
The merchant noticed his expression.
"Planning to buy one?"
Ronan nodded.
"Eventually."
The merchant chuckled.
"Then you better hunt a lot more goblins."
Ronan turned toward the door.
"That's exactly what I plan to do."
---
### A New Plan
Outside the shop, Ronan walked slowly through the busy market street.
His mind was already working.
Calculating.
Planning.
If one goblin heart was worth about **5 silver coins**, then—
He would need around **200 goblins** to afford the storage ring.
That sounded like a lot.
But Ronan had something other hunters didn't.
The **Assimilation ability**.
Every monster he killed made him stronger.
Which meant hunting would become easier over time.
Ronan looked toward the distant forest outside the city walls.
His eyes were calm.
Focused.
"This is only the beginning."
First—
He would grow stronger.
Second—
He would earn money.
Third—
He would buy the storage ring.
And after that…
He would go deeper into the forest.
Into the places where stronger monsters lived.
Where better loot waited.
Where true hunters tested their strength.
Ronan clenched his fist slightly.
For the first time since the awakening ceremony…
He could see a clear path forward.
Step by step.
Battle by battle.
He would climb.
And one day…
The people who once mocked him would understand something.
Ronan was no longer the weak student they remembered.
He was becoming something else.
Something far more dangerous.
A hunter who grew stronger with every kill.
And his journey…
Had only just begun.