SKREE!

The dungeon rat let out a piercing scream so powerful that the surrounding walls trembled slightly. More vibrations followed after that, but it wasn’t caused by the screech. It was because of the horde of monsters heading my way.

Without hesitation, I decided to make my escape. Spreading the wings on my back, I flew through the dungeon, swerving through the tunnels and avoiding sharp rocks as I moved. These wings allowed me to change direction in a split second, so they were perfect for navigating the dungeon.

Dungeon rats poured out from every tunnel, seemingly spawning out of nowhere. Their sheer number was terrifying. If it wasn’t for my ability to fly, then I would’ve been ripped to shreds in a matter of seconds.

With Tunnel Sense active, I knew the exact path to take to exit the dungeon, and soon, in a few minutes, I was back outside. A sense of relief washed over me, but I also felt satisfied by the progress I made today.

I managed to acquire a monster core along with several useful items that I could sell. But by far, my biggest accomplishment was finding out the type of dungeon and the monsters I would have to face. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Now all I had to do was plan accordingly. An idea was already beginning to form in my mind: a special evolution that would help me defeat the dungeon rats and farm more biomass.

Just then, as I internally celebrated today’s success, a monster suddenly slithered out of the bushes. It was a snake, except the creature had dark feathered wings on its back. Its scales were the same color as jade crystals. The moment the monster slithered out of the forest, the two of us made eye contact.

With lightning-fast reflexes, the snake snapped at me, its ferocious jaws clamping down on my exoskeleton, but its fangs were too weak to break my hard shell. Seizing the opportunity, I molded my exoskeleton to form pointed spikes the moment the snake attacked.

The spikes ripped through the snake’s mouth and pierced its brain in one lethal attack.

[You have slain a level 3 snake]

Hmm? I didn’t receive any extra stat increase for killing the snake. It should have a title as a monster.

Confused by the lack of rewards I received, I decided to cut the corpse of the snake open, and to my surprise, it didn’t have a monster core. This meant that the snake wasn’t a monster; rather, it was a regular snake, except snakes don’t normally grow wings.

And from what I’ve heard, the animals and insects in this world were exactly the same as in my world. The only differences were the monsters since they had a monster core.

This left only 1 explanation... evolution.

A snake having wings could only be caused by evolution using biomass. If every creature in this world could evolve using biomass, then someone would have taken notice, and it would most likely be public information to all players.

This meant the ability to evolve wasn’t available to every creature in this world. If that was the case, then bugs, plants, trees, and animals could evolve into grotesque beasts.

The more I thought about it, the more I came to a single conclusion: This has to do with the location. Meaning this forest was most likely responsible for this anomaly. This place most likely has a history that I’m not aware of.

For now, there was nothing more I could do than work to clear the dungeon, but before that, I’ll sell the items I acquired. I quickly devoured the snake I killed and collected the biomass.

[5 biomass gained]

Hastily, I flew back to the rock formation, and after making sure my body was secured, I decided to log out.

When it came to items procured from Vesperia, normally your guild would handle it and take a percentage of the payment after the items were sold. The guild would have its own broker, a sales representative of sorts, who would figure out the market value of the items the guild had and see to the transaction.

A broker was an important part of any guild since they made sure that the guild secured maximum profits on any item sold. They also made sure the guild purchased items at the cheapest cost if they ever wanted to buy.

For someone like me that didn’t have a guild, this meant that I had to find a broker that wouldn’t scam me out of 90% of my profit. It just so happened that poor plebs like me who weren’t a part of a guild were the perfect people to scam.

But luckily for me, I happened to have a workaround.

"So this is the guy," a middle-aged man dressed formally in an expensive suit and tie muttered in a displeased tone.

His jet-black hair was combed backwards and held down by gel. His hazel eyes stared at me intently as if he was trying to size me up.

Everything about this man exuded confidence and nobility. From his expression, I got the feeling he wasn’t pleased with what he saw. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he let out a heavy sigh and said:

"Seriously, Amelia, this is what you bring me?"

"I need your help, Alfred," Amelia said, speaking to the man confidently and with a hint of familiarity.

The man stared at her curiously before leaning back in his chair.

"I bet. I heard about what happened with your family. You should go back home."

"That’s not what I came here to talk to you about."

"Right, you want me to help this friend of yours, yes."

Amelia nodded.

"Yes, you’ve been the broker for my family’s guild for years now. You’ve helped us close countless deals and get the best price for our products. That is why I came to you. We need your help to sell some items."

"I don’t take on just any client," Alfred said dismissively.

"I know that, but given our family’s history, I thought you would make an exception. You know me well enough to know I wouldn’t bring just anyone to meet you. Are you sure you want to turn us away?"

Alfred fiddled with a pen in his hand as he stared at her, as if deep in thought. His luxurious office remained dead silent and I didn’t spoke a word as I watched two converse.

"Alright, since you’re so confident in him, I’ll give him a chance."

Amelia’s face brightened.

"Only under one condition," Alfred quickly followed up, a small smile playing on his lips which caused Amelia’s previous excitement to dissolve into a frown.

"What is it?"

"Give me a moment with him; I want to see if he has the potential you claim he has."