The way back was much harder. The backpack, stuffed with jagged shell plates and heavy Swamp Fang claws, dug into his shoulders. Sebastian felt every extra kilogram. His seven units of Strength allowed him to carry this weight, but the "Stone Skin" under the pressure of the straps caused a strange sensation of numbness.
He climbed out of the manhole in deep darkness. The Rotten Sector lived its nocturnal life: the sounds of a distant shootout could be heard, and an Aegis patrol flyer passed overhead, cutting through the smog with a white searchlight beam. Sebastian pulled his hood lower and headed for Bruno's shop.
—
The bell above the door made the old hunter look up from the terminal. Bruno looked at Sebastian, who was drenched in dark blood, and then at his swollen backpack.
"You look like you've been run over by an Aegis truck," Bruno rasped, clearing space on the counter. "Dump it."
Sebastian dropped the backpack heavily. The clatter of chitin against wood was solid. The old man began to methodically sort through the parts, setting aside the best specimens.
"Crawler shell... not bad. Fourth-level Fang claws... you can get decent money for that. But this is all small change, kid. Where's the main stuff?"
Sebastian pulled two crystals from his inner pocket. One was a dull mana crystal, and the second was that same greenish one.
Bruno's eyes widened. He grabbed the skill crystal and held it up to the lamp. " 'Double Thrust'. Rank F. It's not the rarest thing, but finding a crystal like this in the Rotten Sector is like winning the lottery. Your Luck really has no limits."
"How much?" Sebastian asked shortly.
"If you sell it to me, I'll give you three thousand for the skill crystal and another two for the materials and mana. Five in total. But if you put it up for auction..." Bruno trailed off, looking at Sebastian. "But you won't do that. You need cash and new gear right now."
Sebastian nodded. He really didn't have time for auctions. Five thousand credits was a huge amount for his family. It was an opportunity to close debts and buy Ariana the medicines she had been constantly putting off.
"Keep the claws," Sebastian pointed to the loot. "Make me forearm guards out of them. The C-12 is good, but I need extra protection."
"Smart," the old man approved. "It'll be ready tomorrow. Here's your four thousand for the rest."
—
When Sebastian entered the apartment, Ariana was standing by the window. She didn't turn around, but he saw her shoulders tense. An eviction notice due to debt lay on the table.
"I brought money, Mom," he said, laying the stack of credits on the table.
She turned slowly. There was no joy in her eyes — only exhaustion and that same hidden fear. "Sebastian... this will end badly. These crystals... they smell like death."
"This house smells like death, Mom. And this — this is our ticket out of here."
He went to his room and called up the status panel.
[Sebastian Amaden]
Level: 4
Experience: 197 / 800
Rank: F
[Strength: 10]
[Mana: 10]
[Luck: 24]
Stat Points: 0
[Skills]:
Mana Resonance [Rank F] (Active) — Allows seeing mana flows, nodes, and hidden energy patterns.
Stone Skin [Rank E] (Passive) — Efficiency: 80% (Absorption: 16% of physical damage)
Level five was still a long way off. But now he had the feeling that he had finally stopped being a victim in this city. He took out his C-12 knife and began to sharpen it slowly. Tomorrow, he planned to go even deeper into C-4. The purple light wouldn't leave him alone, and he knew: where the risk is greatest, the greatest reward lies.