บท 42: Impressive Items!

"Miner?" asked Frank, as Matsuo had mentioned a keyword whose meaning in the underworld seemed vastly different than what a conventional miner might be…

"Ah… Well, I guess you lack a lot of common knowledge and terms. A Miner is someone capable of generating a resource within a specific space. Similar to actual miners, they bring resources by repeatedly taking them out of a certain area. Such people are often rare, and the items that are usually mined are things such as special types of encapsulated energy, such as negative energy, spirits, or Magic Stones, special types of Magic Crystals which are even more concentrated in their Mana and Magic properties," said Matsuo while crossing his arms and glancing at the shiny items in the ground.

"So that's how it is…" said Frank.

"But you are vastly different, Frank… Your Ability is… Well, it is amazing, and you say that you are awakened too, right? You're probably one of Gaia's Gifted Awakeners then, not a simple awakener who had awakened a power already latent within… your power might have been gifted by the World itself," said Matsuo.

Frank already knew about such a thing, but hearing it from Matsuo's words gave it a different meaning, he felt kind of like the chosen one… and well, he was to an extent.

"Gaia's Gifted are special types of Awakened Ability Users who usually never had any latent ability, to begin with, but for some strange case, they were given power by Gaia's grace, our world itself has chosen you… Although it is not, you are the only one, there are many like this… Each one always develops amazing powers that vastly surpass those Acquired Ability Users such as martial artists, or those Inherited Ability Users such as me and my family," said Matsuo.

"(Well, I already assumed as much, but hearing it from Matsuo gives this a bit of a different feeling… It seems that it was a good idea to tell him straight away about this to forge our bonds a bit deeper… I want him to trust me more as I trust him)" thought Frank as he grabbed on the items on the floor.

"That might be the case of my strange Abilities, Matsuo. I feel like everything is happening so fast… I wonder if I am slowly losing the sense of my own self…" said Frank as he glanced at the red-colored liquid in a bottle, his words were genuine, Frank had been feeling this way since he began to develop all types of crazy abilities through his System, he was feeling less and less attached to the world while beginning to feel as if he was entering into an abyss where he might not go back from later on.

Matsuo glanced at Frank with concern, he was already treating him as if he were a good acquittance in the Underworld, but Frank was barely getting the grasp of it while still not knowing most common sense over it, there were many issues about how his life would change so much from now on, and what his powers, which were way more than he had ever imagined, would impact his entire life and perhaps that of his entire family as well.

"Okay, relax, Frank, one step at a time, we'll teach you the basics while we grow stronger together… It is not a daily occurrence for someone as talented as you to show up, but we'll get through it," said Matsuo with a gentle smile, patting Frank's shoulders and giving him a reassuring feeling.

Although Frank was rather independent and did not need any type of approbation from others to feel alright, Matsuo's words reassured his heart a bit, as he was starting to feel rather strong pressure from what he was saying over the 'Gaia's Gifted'.

"Sigh… Alright, I better just get my own things sorted off… Let's grab these things and inspect the outside," said Frank.

"Sure buddy," said Matsuo, as Frank saved the items inside of his Inventory and then walked outside of the Hunting Domain alongside Matsuo, after a few minutes both of them were in Matsuo's room, his house alongside that of most of his family members were located all around the Monk Clan territory.

"Man… These things… This is a Health Potion, right? These things cost a lot in the black market…" said Matsuo.

"Wait, really?" asked Frank.

"Yeah, their creation is complicated and only Expert Alchemists or Sorcerers are capable of creating them, healing wounds, and even regenerating limbs is possible within the Underworld, but be prepared for its absurd cost…" said Matsuo.

Frank glanced at the Red-colored liquid inside the bottle as its information was displayed to him.

[Health Potion (D)]

A red-colored potion made with special ingredients that restore 30% of the consumer's health. It has a strawberry flavor with a bubbly texture, quite refreshing.

This Potion cannot restore lost limbs nor heal negative status effects.

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"My ability says that it restores up to thirty percent of the consumer's Health… is it good?" asked Frank.

"What?! It is! Such items might even save the life of someone near death… But it is only one, although you could make some money with it, I would recommend keeping it for now, so you can use it whenever you need it," said Matsuo.

"You're right, although I have a healing Skill, it might not be reliable all the time… (Or I might not be capable of healing others all the time either, I have to be prepared for the worst)" said Frank.

"What about the other items? Can you see what they do? There is this giant Magic crystal which I believe doesn't need any info… but this tiny green jewel and the club…" said Matsuo.

"On it"

Frank grabbed the tiny green jewel that released an air of magical properties and some green aura around itself, inspecting its properties through the ability of the System to see the information of anything that Frank owned.

[Speed Rune (F)]

A special magical jewel infused with the magical properties of wind, enhancing the user Speed. This rune can be incrusted into any equipment with an empty Rune Slot.

Grants +5 Agility to the equipment where it was equipped. After its use, it cannot be recovered and the only way to free the rune slot again is by destroying the Rune.

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"This… Does anything like this exist in the Underworld? It's a special jewel that enhances the speed of the wearer of any equipment that has this Rune encrusted into it," said Frank.

"Oh? Yeah, those exist, but they are incredibly expensive. These types of Magic Stones are often used in high-priced equipment that only the elite can buy… How much Speed does it give?" asked Matsuo.

"Well, everything is in game-like terms, but it grants plus five Agility. For comparison, I currently have 33 Agility… So it does give a nice amount," said Frank.

"Well, if you can use it, it would be better for yourself so you can get any boost possible as fast as possible, that little speed might help you a lot, more than you might imagine," said Matsuo.

"You're right… and last but not least, this giant metallic club…" said Frank, glancing at the club as he grabbed it, it seemed like it was to be a few hundred kilograms of weight, but he managed to lift it with a little bit of effort.

[Goblin Champion's Berserk Club (D)]

The powerful metallic club wielded by the Goblin Champion, possesses the strength of an almighty giant.

Requires 70 Strength to be properly wielded, decreases Agility if the wielder's Strength does not match the requirements.

Stat Bonuses: [+20 Strength]

Skill Bonuses: [Furious Berserk Club Technique: Level 1]

Special Effects: Enhanced Attack Power, Shockwave Creation.

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"It's… well, it is a bit absurd," said Frank, as he decided to simply read its effects to Matsuo.

"What…?! That item would cost you a few hundred thousand dollars…" said Frank with his eyes almost popping out of its sockets.

"To think that I just made it appear…" muttered Frank.

"Well, it was a hard battle, so the reward is… well, rewarding. It's strange, it is as if your Ability makes you work hard, but it rewards you greatly for such effort… Man, I wish it were always like that in life," sighed Matsuo.

"You could say that it is like that… So, what can I do with this one? My Strength doesn't match it so I cannot wield it properly, I would better sell it, right?" asked Frank.

"Yeah, we can buy it for you, do you want Contribution Points or Yen? We can also pay you in dollars" said Matsuo, representing the Monk Clan.

"It's not like I know any black-market dealers… so I will take around 40% in Yens, and the rest in Contribution Points," said Frank.

"Alright, do you want to exchange the other Magic Crystals?" asked Matsuo.

Frank thought about the possibility of using them for App Points, but aside from upgrading the Monster Nursery, there was not much he could do with them until he was to unlock the App Shop or the App Gacha. So, for now, he decided to exchange them all for Contribution Points except the big Magic Crystal, which he saved on his Inventory.

"All in Contribution Points, also, can I buy something with what I'll get?" asked Frank.

"I believe so, I'll show you our Contribution Points Shop," said Matsuo.