'Captain!? Why did I just get experience from that fight? I didn't fire a single shot!'
'Ah, well, yes. That's because of my [Sky Captain] class. You get 5% of my EXP as a bonus, and I get 5% of all of my crewmates' EXP too.'
'Hahh!? You really need to explain some stuff when we get back to the ship! I've never even heard of the [Sky Captain] class!'
I should have warned her beforehand that this might happen. Luckily, we are the only people in this chamber.
After promising to explain things to her tonight, it is time to consolidate our loot and finally leave the dungeon.
On the floor before me is my first monster drop. Fragment of Abyssal Core
It is a jagged shard of obsidian-black crystal, roughly the size of a clenched fist. Its surface is unnaturally smooth in places but cracked with glowing veins of deep violet light that pulse slowly, like a dying heartbeat. When held, it feels far colder than its surroundings, and wisps of shadowy mist curl from its edges, dissipating into the air like smoke underwater.
Despite its size, it has an unsettling weight, as if it drags at the soul more than the hand.
'Is this thing dangerous?' I ask Kaelin.
'No, it's a monster material, but it isn't dangerous. It just has a certain feel to it. You can touch it all you like, nothing will happen. Do you want to sell it?'
'No, I want to keep it as a trophy.'
'You aren't going to start filling our ships with the trophies of everything you kill, right?'
'Just significant kills. This was my first floor boss after all!'
I want to remember significant moments like this, what better way than keeping a piece of my enemy to remind myself how I destroyed it.
We leave the other side of the chamber, and on the floor is a glowing circle with some kind of runes inside it.
'What's that?'
'Teleportation circle for the dungeon. There is one near the entrance, too. When we come tomorrow, we can step on the one near the entrance and come straight here, no need to drop down all of the levels again.'
'How convenient.'
I step onto the circle and my vision instantly changes. I am now standing in a small area next to the original entrance to the dungeon. Kaelin explains that after every floor boss, there will be a new circle, and we will be able to teleport directly there once we defeat it.
We walk out of the dungeon, and I can tell from the light levels outside that it is now late afternoon. I feel exhausted after today's efforts, but clearing the dungeon all the way to level 4 has been excellent.
Tomorrow we can start the day by fighting the floor boss once more on the 3rd floor, and then trying to reach the 6th floor boss.
For now, we should sell the aether stones we collected. I can't imagine that we will get much for them, considering Kaelin told me she used to make less than 100 gp per day, but selling the magical stones I earned through labyrinth exploration is on my to-do list; it's a man's romance after all.
We find the location of the store where Kaelin usually sells her stones, it's a large brick building called 'Mindy's Monster Emporium'. When we walk inside, there are multiple lines leading up to the counter where attendants dressed in beautiful but professional outfits stand.
We join the shortest line, and on the wall, I can see that there is a huge chalkboard with a price list. There are signs that the prices have changed recently, as there are chalk smears and bright white chalk prices on the board, which contrast greatly with the corresponding item list, which has dulled over time.
I guess haggling prices is a no-go here. I would probably need to go out of my way to find a smaller merchant if I want to experience the joy of fighting over the prices of my crystals, but I am sure I will get to do that at some point in the future.
We decided to come here because Kaelin informed me it is the only store in the city that doesn't openly discriminate against her for being a beastkin, I guess wealth doesn't give a damn about your race, money is money no matter where it comes from.
As we reach the counter, the attendant gives me a professional smile and, surprisingly, gives a polite nod to Kaelin. She indicates towards a set of scales to her left, and I place all of today's aether stones onto the scales.
'I can offer you 13 gp for your stones today, sir.'
Wow! 13 whole gp. No wonder Kaelin struggled to buy herself lunch so many times. I guess the money doesn't really become available until you get much lower in the dungeon.
I accept the coins from the attendant and then turn to Kaelin.
'I can see why you had such a hard time with that before!'
'Yeah! Fighting in the dungeon for 8 hours and then barely having money for food is pretty depressing.'
'Well, we only need to enter dungeons now to level up. How about before we go back to the ship, we go on a small shopping date to buy things for dinner tonight. No use using up the supplies on the ship, we can save them for when we are actually airborne.'
'Tehehe. You and your dates! Fine, you win! Today is a shopping date to get stuff for dinner. What should we buy?'
I offer her my arm as a gentleman should, and she wraps herself around it with a small giggle.
'Well my gorgeous gunner, I want food and drink. Take us to places we can buy cooked food we can take with us, and take us somewhere to get some good booze we can share. I am sure you will have your questions tonight, so we can eat some good stuff while we chat.'