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Dream Posh
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"Miss Terra?" I ask, prompting her to come over.
"Oh, done already? These are almost perfectly dismantled!" She says as she inspects my careful separation of meat, organs, skin, and bones, and neat arrangement.
"Who taught you how to do this?"
"No one. I just processed the meat as instructed."
Terra holds up a rib bone, stripped almost clean. I could probably do better if I did not have to use this form.
"Not even the best newbie I trained could get a bone this clean."
I eye the others.
Mark has some a bloody mess of separated meat and bone.
Lily has hers in a messily minced pile.
Freya's is... mush.
"You're probably gonna be newbie of the year at this rate." Terra states.
"I would like to ask, what should we do with the core."
"Hm? You could sell them or keep them. The market for mana cores typically is fixed for small cores like these, but fluctuates for higher valued cores."
"What determines core prices?" Mark asks.
"Hm, Well, let me see your crystals."
We display our prizes.
Freya's being the smallest and in pieces.
Lily's being the second smallest. Damaged.
Mark has the biggest, but traces of scraping is present.
Mine is the second largest, but more intact. Some parts had been lost when removing it.
(1)
"The prizes for these small ones typically are fixed by weight by the guild, to prevent over hunting and flooding of the market. You might get a little bonus for getting one that's more in tact. You could also try selling it to a third party, but you get the risk of getting a lower value if you present a whole bunch of broken cores like hers." Terra points out Freya's.
"Other types of crystals include ones that naturally form in places where mana is rich in the environment(2), and the most dangerous, from Mana Beasts(3).
Mana Crystals from beasts are usually small. They don't grow big enough, so usually a bunch of smaller ones are compressed by a Crystal Smith, or someone with a similar job. Of course these composite crystals typically don't last long, and are market quality. Their output is unstable, best used just for simple machines.
More intact, or Larger ones", she points to mine and Marks, "are more valuable. They're usually used for tools and weapons that require a steady output. A good smith could probably offer you a bit more than market price for good sized crystal. Of course, from a beast this small, They're pretty much base value.
Larger crystals, like from more dangerous beasts and mana beasts are the best. Their size means they have the most steady output, can last longer, and can be cut to size. Should one day you ever grow strong enough to get a hold of one, you'd be disgustingly rich."
I look into myself, and feel my core(4). It's slightly different, but I can sense an outer layer, filled with cracks and scored with lines, and an inner layer, more solid and intact.
"Is it true that the Train runs off of one of the largest cores found?" Lily asks.
"Almost. It's actually run by a whole bunch of crystals powering different parts of the train. I've only seen a glimpse of the inside of a train once, when I was younger, and there were so many crystals, it almost looks like the control center had one huge core instead. But those crystals are usually from the Shrine City, and the Drac Kingdom up north. It's too dangerous for the trains to operate out of market grade crystals, so they only take the best." Terra eyes me but goes back to topic.
"Okay, you're all pretty much done with the processing of your target." She pulls out some pouch sized hide bags, "These bags are guild property. They're enchanted to keep meat fresh longer, but not forever. You'll have to supply this crystal with mana to keep it going." She points to a small crystal embedded to the bottom of the bag. It seems to just hold and slowly disperses mana inside the bag.
"Try not to break these, they're worth about 100 credits. That's about 300 of these." she points to the small crystal she extracted from her example. "You get handed one for every extermination request taken, or the client will provide their own. Those are more expensive, so be careful in that case."
She picks out the skins, bones, and organs of most of our results, and places them in separate bags.
All that's left is the meat.
"And now for the next part. Meat usually are taken in by the clients or guild to be resold for food. How much your prize is depends on the quality, quantity, and freshness. The guild encourages you kids not to take a bunch of quests in one time, and instead, do quests one at a time. It might take longer, but you run less risk of wearing yourselves out, and keep things fresher.
Since this is basically a guild mission, you're free to keep the meat or sell it off. For now, I'm gonna show you how to do basic cooking."
Mark seems to pale a bit, while Lily seems a bit excited.
The cooking demonstration involves starting off a primitive fire using tinder and sticks. Terra explains to us ways to keep a fire and how to keep it away from other flammable things. In a forest like this, a clearing is the best place, with a circle of stones to keep coal and ash from spreading.
A flat rock is placed over the fire and the mushed meat is placed on the heated rock, while the more intact meat is skewered on sticks to be roasted around the fire.
Terra explains that proper cooking skills involves imparting mana into the food while cooking. Special pots and pans used by chefs lets them use their own mana, while using natural objects like rocks and sticks lets the mana in the objects or holder impart mana into the meat. Using the right amount of mana and spices is key for good tasting food.
"Ah!" Mark exclaims, "That's why it tastes so bad!"
Lily stares at Mark, "Wh-what?! You told me it was good!"
Mark awkwardly looks at Lily, she angry and almost crying. "I-I mean my cooking, not yours!"
Terra smiles at this while Freya is focused at the stick on her hand. Her meat shortly pops.
I taste mine. It's bland.
It's past mid-day when we exit the forest and head back to the guild.
Terra tells us that our results will be given to us tomorrow and to rest up.
That leaves about a quarter of the day to something.
>Return home
>Look for people (Name someone)
>Others
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