Chapter 40: Interested in Making Some Extra Money?

After leaving the City Lord’s residence, Song Qi did not head straight home. Instead, he made his way to the Hall of Professionals. Over the past few days, he had repeatedly cleared the “Crimson Blood Nest” and accumulated a fair amount of equipment.

Entering the hall, Song Qi walked up to a burly man on the second floor, who was dressed like a blacksmith.

“Hello, is this the equipment recycling desk?”

The blacksmith looked up and gave a small nod. “That’s right. But let me be clear: I don’t haggle, and my prices are lower than the market rate. Think it through before you sell.”

“I’ve thought it over. Please give me a quote.”

With that, Song Qi selected all the equipment from his backpack and dragged it out.

Clatter!

The equipment tumbled out, piling into a small mountain.

“This much?” The blacksmith was visibly surprised and became interested at once. He casually pulled out two pieces for inspection.

“Common-grade equipment?”

“This one’s common-grade too.”

After a cursory glance, his interest faded. Nearly all of it was common-grade. The quantity was impressive, but the value was sorely lacking.

“Honestly, if the guild didn’t require me to accept these trades, I wouldn’t bother.” He sighed and began to tally the equipment.

...

“Three rare-grade pieces—total, 6,000 credits. One hundred thirty pieces of common equipment, 300 credits apiece—that comes to... 45,000 credits. Give me your account number.”

Beep!

“All right, the funds have been transferred.”

As Song Qi looked at the newly increased balance in his account, he couldn’t help but sigh. A week ago, earning tens of thousands in a single transaction would have made him ecstatic. Now, though, the sum seemed unimpressive.

“As expected, the profit from low-level dungeons is just too low. Five days of grinding for this paltry haul,” Song Qi lamented.

He spoke absentmindedly, but the blacksmith was paying close attention. The man suddenly looked up, curiosity in his eyes.

“You got all this in five days?”

“Which dungeon were you running?”

“Crimson Blood Nest,” Song Qi replied.

He had run the dungeon hundreds of times, but the drop rate was abysmal. Hearing this, the blacksmith’s expression changed.

“Crimson Blood Nest? If I remember right, that’s the toughest of the low-level dungeons, isn’t it? Pardon me for asking, but what’s your talent rating?”

“Super S-grade.”

“I knew it!” The blacksmith’s face lit up with delight. He quickly grabbed Song Qi’s arm, as if afraid he’d run off.

“Brother, what’s your class? Mage? Magic swordsman?”

“Uh... neither. I’m a summoner.”

The blacksmith’s smile froze.

A summoner? The class that relies entirely on luck?

But then again, if Song Qi was a super S-grade and could breeze through the Crimson Blood Nest, that alone was proof of his strength.

After a moment’s pause, the blacksmith spoke up. “Brother, are you interested in earning some extra cash?”

“Extra cash? What kind of side work could a low-level professional possibly do?” Song Qi frowned in confusion.

Low-level professionals were at the absolute bottom of the hierarchy. Forget extra income; even the main jobs from the Hall of Professionals were unavailable to them.

The blacksmith glanced around, then pulled Song Qi into a side room.

“Listen, here’s the situation...”

...

It took a while for Song Qi to understand.

Simply put, the blacksmith was not only the owner of his workshop, but also a member of a wilderness clearing team. Not long ago, he and his teammates discovered a field dungeon. From their observations, this dungeon seemed to have undergone some kind of unknown mutation.

Unfortunately, the dungeon had already formed, and it was a low-level one. That meant only low-level professionals could enter. However, these wild mutated dungeons were notoriously difficult—most low-level professionals entering would be walking to their deaths.

Until today, when the blacksmith met Song Qi.

“What you need to do is simple: enter the wild dungeon, locate its core, and bring it out. Don’t worry about safety—we’ll provide you with an emergency escape device. If you succeed, no matter what’s inside, we’ll pay you one million credits. If you fail but provide detailed information, you’ll still receive one hundred thousand credits. What do you think?”

Song Qi stroked his chin.

“A dungeon core goes for at least ten million on the market. If it’s mutated into a special dungeon, the value could reach hundreds of millions. Offering just a million seems a bit stingy, doesn’t it?”

The blacksmith chuckled. “That’s not quite how it works, brother. Only we know the location of the dungeon, but you’re not the only one qualified to enter. The decision is ours to make.”

Song Qi shook his head. “Not quite. Wild dungeons are extremely difficult—only super S-grade talents have a real chance. If I’m not mistaken, I’m the only super S-grade in District Seven in recent years. The previous ones all advanced to intermediate or even senior professionals long ago. So, in a sense, I’m really your only option.”

Dungeon cores only appeared in solo runs, so only one person could enter a wild dungeon at a time.

The blacksmith looked puzzled, then pulled out his phone and started searching. After a while, he looked up, comparing Song Qi’s face to the photo on his screen.

“So it’s you. Well then, all right.” He nodded. “If the dungeon is confirmed to be mutated, we can offer you ten million credits. That’s the best I can do. If that’s not enough, I’ll have to find someone else.”

Ten million—no small sum. Song Qi was quite satisfied with the offer.

“No problem. However, I’d like to schedule it for ten days from now.”

In ten days, he was confident he could reach level twenty and summon a second creature, greatly increasing his chances of success.

“Ten days? That’s fine, no rush.”

The two agreed on a time and exchanged contact details.

Leaving the Hall of Professionals, Song Qi headed straight home. He was utterly exhausted.

Although life potions could repair physical damage, the fatigue from a full day’s work lingered.

Back home, he hastily gulped down a few bites of food, then went upstairs and collapsed into bed, falling into a deep sleep.