They left the town hall with copper badges pinned to their collars and the clerk’s warning still fresh in their minds.

"Main city, huh?" Sera said, adjusting her badge. "You think it’s bigger than the academy?"

"Quarter of Earth’s surface. If there’s only one main city, it’s probably the size of a small country."

"Something to look forward to."

They walked back through the market square. The vendors here weren’t independent merchants but academy personnel, mostly support-track graduates and senior students who’d chosen supply logistics over combat postings.

Their stalls were standardized: academy-issue canvas awnings in the school’s colors, with prices strictly regulated by the administration.

They might not have been combat-track resonators, but they were still far stronger than the average human, and a single, average monster kill was enough to keep them comfortable for a week.

Even the weakest resonators were wealthier than most of ordinary humanity.

But that didn’t stop them from competing.

"D-Rank recovery draughts! Two hundred credits a vial, same as the academy store!"

"C-Rank mana potions, fresh from the alchemy labs! First-years get a discount!"

"Monster parts bought and sold! Best rates authorized by the academy!"

Damon paused at the last stall. The vendor was a middle-aged man with a logistics corps badge pinned to his collar, a career support-track Resonator who’d probably been stationed here for years.

His display of fangs, pelts, and essence vials was neatly organized, each item tagged with its academy-standard buy price.

"Interested in selling, kid?"

"Just checking prices."

Damon scanned the tags. With the amount of monster materials he’d brought back from his hunt, he could probably earn enough to make up for all the credits he’d burned on training and potions.

’Sera wasn’t wrong, hunting really does pay well.’

Slime essences, dire wolf fangs, the alpha pelt, the King Slime core fragment. He’d been collecting materials without any clear plan beyond "they’re probably worth something." Now the something had numbers attached.

"Actually," Damon said, "I do have some things to sell."

The vendor’s expression shifted from bored to interested. "Let’s see what you’ve got."

Damon pulled items from his inventory one by one, setting them on the counter. A few slime essences in their tiny vials, glowing faintly blue. A handful of dire wolf fangs, still sharp enough to cut stone. The alpha pelt, thick gray fur that seemed to absorb the sunlight.

And finally, the King Slime core fragment, its dark surface pulsing with a slow, steady rhythm.

The vendor let out a low whistle.

"Alpha pelt and a boss core. Not bad for a first-timer." He picked up the core fragment, examining it through a jeweler’s lens. "King Slime cores are decent alchemy catalysts. The pelt’s good for cold-weather gear. Fangs are standard crafting material."

"What about the essences?" 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Bulk alchemy ingredient. Low value individually, but you’ve got enough to make it worth something." The vendor set down the lens and pulled out a tablet. "I’ll give you the academy-standard rates. No haggling, no markups. That’s how we operate here."

He tapped through calculations, then turned the screen toward Damon.

[OFFER]

[SLIME ESSENCES: 160 CREDITS]

[DIRE WOLF FANGS: 240 CREDITS]

[ALPHA PELT: 300 CREDITS]

[KING SLIME CORE FRAGMENT: 450 CREDITS]

[TOTAL: 1,150 CREDITS]

Damon’s eyebrows rose. Eleven hundred and fifty credits. That was more than he’d spent on potions in his entire first month of training.

"Deal," he said.

The vendor transferred the credits with a few taps. Damon’s account balance jumped from just empty to a thousand. For the first time since he’d started buying potions, his finances were actually climbing instead of draining.

"The academy takes a cut eventually," the vendor said, "but the rates are fair. Most of it goes back into portal maintenance and town infrastructure. If you want better prices, you’d need to sell in the main city. The guilds there compete with each other, so they’ll pay above market for rare materials. But that’s a two-day trip each way."

"Two days?"

"Like I said. Main city’s the trade hub. Everything flows through there eventually. Verdant’s Edge is just the first stop."

Damon filed that information away. Two days to the main city meant expeditions weren’t day trips. If he wanted to go, he’d need supplies, planning, and probably a larger party.

Sera appeared at his elbow, a small pouch in her hand. "Bought some mana potions. Cheaper than the academy store, can you believe it?"

"Anything else worth looking at?"

"Not really. It’s all standard-issue gear. The good stuff is probably in the main city." She pocketed the pouch. "You done here?"

"Yeah." Damon nodded to the vendor. "Thanks for the information."

"Come back when you’ve got more to sell. Especially if you manage to bring down something with feathers. Eagle talons go for a thousand each."

***

They left the market square and followed the main road to the edge of town. Beyond the last wooden building, the forest resumed its dominance.

The trail continued north, marked by the same rune-carved posts, disappearing into the green shadows beneath the ancient trees.

"The boars are supposed to be territorial," Sera said, her staff already humming. "Does that mean they’ll attack on sight, or only if we get too close?"

"Probably the second one. Territorial usually means they have a defined range and defend it. If we stay on the edge, we might be able to pick our fight."

"And if we can’t?"

Damon drew his longsword. The blade was the same standard-issue weapon he’d picked up from the equipment locker, nicked from the goblin fights but still serviceable.

He’d need to replace it eventually, maybe with something from the main city.

"Then we run. The officer said they’re predictable. If we leave their territory, they should break off."

"Should?"

"They’re still animals, some might be less predictable than others."

They followed the trail for another kilometer. The forest grew denser, the canopy thicker. The bird calls faded, replaced by a heavy silence broken only by the crunch of their boots on the dirt path.

Then the trail curved around a massive oak, and they found their boar.

It was enormous. Seven feet at the shoulder, just like Sera said, with tusks as long as Damon’s forearm curving up from its lower jaw.

Its hide was thick and gnarled, covered in patches of bristly brown fur and old scars from previous fights.

It was rooting through the underbrush about fifty meters ahead, its massive head half-buried in a berry thicket. It hadn’t noticed them yet.

"That," Sera whispered, "is much bigger than I expected."

"We can still take it, I think...?"

Damon paused, running through the mechanics in his head. Sovereign’s Strike required a physical blow. The lightning itself wouldn’t carry the impact; it was pure magic.

But the moment the bolt collided with the boar, that was physical force. If he activated the Strike at the point of impact rather than on cast, it should layer on top as a damage rider.

In theory, it should work, and given how big and tanky the boar was, it was probably the perfect test subject.

"We’ll both open with Lightning Lance, and both of us will time Sovereign’s Strike for when the bolts hit. Four impacts total. If that doesn’t even make a dent, we fall back immediately. Got it?"

"Would that even work?"

"Won’t hurt to try..."

"Fine, but you’re carrying me back to town if it chases us. Deal?"

"Deal."