Chapter 11: Loot
[You have 37 uncollected Loot Bundles from the ’Silver Wolf’ battle. Would you like to extract them now?]
As soon as Arc arrived at the Silver Wolf den after shaking Liz off, the first thing he went for was his loot.
In the Golden Age, loot didn’t actually "drop" from slain mobs, nor did the slain mobs disintegrate into pixels. The loot for each kill was mailed to the player’s system for them to review at their convenience, and in the case of two or more people slaying one mob, the loot was calculated and distributed solely based on player contribution.
Arc didn’t have the opportunity until now to review his loot, as the moment he extracted them, they’d spill into his inventory—and if that wasn’t enough, the remainder would spill out.
With 37 bundles of loot from the total of the 37 Silver Wolves he’d slain, Arc was certain his inventory wouldn’t hold.
He clicked to extract, and just like he’d expected, his inventory was flooded in a moment, while the remainder, which had nowhere to go, began materializing out of thin air and spilling onto the floor.
[You have received ’Scent-Masking Gland’ (Common-tier Armour) ×27]
[You have received ’Silver Pelt’ (Common-tier Armour) ×95]
[You have received ’Silver-Threaded Tunic’ (Uncommon-tier Armour) ×2]
[You have received ’Wolf-Slayer’s Dagger’ (Uncommon-tier Weapon) ×9]
[You have received ’The Alpha’s Command Ring’ (Rare-tier Accessory) ×1]
[You have received ’Silver Feet’ (Rare-tier Skill Book) ×1]
[You have received ’Vial of Alpha’s Blood’ (Rare-tier Consumable) ×1]
[You have received ’Moonlight Tendon’ (Uncommon-tier Material) ×4]
...
Seeing the wholesome loot from the battle, Arc didn’t freeze and quickly began sorting through the ones in his inventory first, eliminating anything he didn’t have a use for. When he was done, only a handful of items remained in his inventory. Then he repeated the process with the dropped loot.
As soon as he was done with that, Arc swiftly began listing the unwanted items on the Trade Market, checking the market price before listing his at a slightly lower rate.
With that taken care of, he closed his status screen as he retrieved the Wolf-Slayer’s Dagger from his inventory.
He had a lot of work to do—retrieving the energy stones embedded in the Silver Wolves and dissecting them for their edible meat.
He never planned on relying on the party for anything and was going to store as much meat as possible for himself. And when he raised enough money from selling the items he listed, he planned on buying a [Manor] blueprint to build a house for himself as well.
With this goal in mind, Arc quickly got to work.
It took him over an hour to retrieve the energy stones, then a few more to dissect the beasts, and by the time Arc was done, the sun was already up and he sprawled on the field, heaving heavily from the manual labor.
He hadn’t slept a wink since he arrived in this world—survived a near-death encounter that had utterly drained him and just finished reaping the fruits of his labour. Arc wanted nothing more than to get some shut-eye.
He’d just closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep when he was startled awake by the tremor that shook the island to its core.
Arc didn’t say a word as he picked himself up, summoned the Wolf-Slayer’s Dagger, and began heading toward the point of impact.
But from the look in his eyes, it was certain nothing would be leaving the enemy island alive once he stepped on it.
***
"Everyone good?" Felix asked as he did a quick headcount.
"Jack, what’s the status?" he asked, seeing the frown on the man’s face.
"I—I’m not sure, but there are multiple living creatures trooping into the island from the east wing," Jack replied, visibly shaken by what only he could see.
"Arc?"
It was then Liz came to realize Arc was missing, and she began calling out to him.
"Arc?" Felix asked in confusion and made a second headcount, only to realize he’d skipped Arc earlier.
"Where’s he?" he asked with a frown.
"I don’t know," Liz replied, mirroring Felix’s expression. "He left to use the bathroom a few hours ago, but... he should be back by now."
Felix turned to Jack. "Can you find him?"
The man remained silent for a moment, doing his thing, before he shook his head in disappointment. "I’m sorry. I can’t seem to locate him anywhere on the island."
"Do you think they got to him first?" Rose suddenly asked in concern.
The party fell silent in reply as they weighed the possibility of her words and what might be their fate when the enemy arrived.
Liz bit down on her lips as Arc’s last words—just before she abandoned him in the forest—resurfaced in her mind:
"I’ll be fine. But I’d appreciate it if you still choose to keep watch for me till daybreak—"
They had both agreed to keep watch for each other, and Arc had done that without complaint, even when she denied being pressed for a bathroom break. But when it came time for her to return the favour, she’d left him all alone to scurry back to camp, knowing he was weak.
She gritted her teeth as these thoughts invaded her mind, and before she could realize what was happening, she blurted out something that turned the party’s heads toward her in surprise.
"Liz, did you just say you’ll look for Arc?" Rose asked for confirmation.
Liz clenched her teeth as she forced herself to reply. "Yes. I’ll look for him and bring him back here."
"How much time do I have?" she turned to ask Jack.
"Liz, are you sure about this?" Felix asked in concern. "I can go look for him if you’re that worried," he added.
"Don’t put it like that!" Liz’s cheeks flushed red. "It’s fine. I’m the only one who can do it, because I know where he went." She turned back to Jack for the answer to her question.
"Five—maybe ten minutes, before the enemy arrives," Jack told her.
"That’s more than enough. I’ll be back shortly," she said as she ran off in the direction she and Arc had taken.
"Wow, I didn’t know Liz cared about Arc that much," Rose mumbled.
"Of course. That’s why she’s always on his neck—because she genuinely wants to see him survive," Jack nodded in certainty.
Hearing these words before she could leave the party’s gossip range, Liz cursed internally.
"I swear I’m gonna kill you, Arc. And you better not be dead when I find you—or I’ll kill you all over again."
