The Gift of Loot Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Level 2

Read chapter 14 of The Gift of Loot by Jack_Golightly on NovelPedia.

"No, I've never heard of regrowing a limb," Ralph, the guidebook master, said. He paused, craned his head to the side, and called over to the alchemist. "Hey, Bernie, you heard of anybody ever regrowing a limb?" "No," Bernie replied before he did a double take on seeing Thomas. "Oh hey, you're the one I gave the job to. But... you've got all your limbs?" "Not for me, my brother had a first bad dungeon," Thomas said shortly before he turned to Ralph. "Coincidentally," Thomas said, pulling out the guide. He grimaced at how spattered it was with mantis blood. "I have some information on this dungeon here, if you're interested." "Maybe. Depends on how good it is and what you want for it." Thomas shook his head. "I'll leave my phone number. Give me a call if you get a direct line on anybody who knows how to regrow limbs." Ralph brightened, as well he should. Thomas knew that was a good deal, and if he did right by Thomas, he'd be more likely to come back with more info. "Alright. Deal." Thomas gave him the information about mantis eyes, and Ralph stared at him with his creepy, too-bright gaze. Then, seeing he was telling the truth, he nodded and took his number. "Normally I'd give you a C-Grade mana crystal for that information." "My brother's hand is worth more than a C-Grade mana crystal," Thomas said. Next, he went to the alchemist, who was practically dancing in place. "Here you go, three eyes as ordered." He plopped them down in an old donut sack. Inside, the eyes clinked together like glass. "I have more where that came from. What do you want for them?" Bernie the alchemist blinked at him. "Why would I need more eyes?" "I don't know. Why'd you need these eyes?" "For an experiment I was doing." "Oh." They stared at each other for a moment. Bernie was an odd duck, and Thomas wondered if he would have to ask again if Bernie would like the eyes or not. Finally, though, something seemed to click in the alchemist's mind. "Well, I suppose the first experiment could go badly, and I may need to repeat it. Hmm, yes. Well, I suppose I'll offer you half price for the rest." They haggled briefly, and Thomas examined the rest of the eyes for three low-grade healing potions. Then it was time for him to get paid for his original job. At Bernie's direction, he placed the three eyes on the contract paper, and both pressed their thumbs again to the corners, which told the System that the order was complete. The mantis eyes disappeared, and three B-Grade healing mana crystals flashed into existence in their place. He snatched them up. They practically sang with his mana core. "I don't think this will regrow limbs," the alchemist said, vaguely, as if he were only half interested. "They repair and restore just fine, but they can't create tissue that no longer exists." "Yeah," Thomas said, immediately feeling a little glum again. "I got that." "Hmm." Bernie eyed his backpack and clothing. "Just so you know, the mantis blood is slightly corrosive. You may want to get it washed off." Thomas sighed and nodded, already knowing his backpack was toast. He started to turn away. "There is one thing you can try," the alchemist said, out of nowhere. Thomas turned back. "What's that?" "Well, I just found out they're holding a government auction for rare items in Reno the day after tomorrow. The government's trying to set up their own system auction. There should be interesting items there. Now, I can't say if there's anything to regrow limbs, but that might be a good place to start." Thomas frowned. "I've heard that the larger cities are getting dangerous." "The whole world's getting dangerous," the alchemist said. "You just gotta pick and choose your danger." The guy might be a space cadet, but he also had a point. Thomas nodded, said his thanks, and made his way toward the exit. The flea market wasn't far from the lake, so after exiting the casino, he crossed the street and kept going. Within ten minutes, he was at the lakeshore. It was a weekday, so the gr