The morning sun climbed over the capital's walls. Raze and Julius emerged from the abandoned warehouse. Both men moved stiffly. Injuries still healing despite a night's rest. But alive. Functional.

"The merchant quarter," Julius said. His voice was stronger than yesterday. Hope did that. Knowing his sister would live. "That's where we sell dungeon materials. Multiple buyers. Competition drives prices up."

"Lead the way."

They navigated through morning crowds. The capital was waking. Merchants opening stalls. Workers heading to jobs. The daily rhythm of a million people.

Raze's Inventory held most of the materials. Weightless. Invisible. But Julius carried some physically. Insisted on it. Said buyers liked to see merchandise.

The merchant quarter was loud. Chaotic. Hundreds of stalls pressed together. Voices shouting prices. Haggling. The smell of spices and sweat and money changing hands.

Julius headed for a specific street. Narrower. Less crowded. Where specialized dealers operated.

"Dungeon materials need specific buyers," he explained. "Regular merchants don't know values. Don't understand quality. We need someone who trades exclusively in mob drops and cores."

They found the shop quickly. A storefront with a simple sign: "Grimshaw's Acquisitions - Dungeon Materials Bought and Sold."

The interior was cramped. Shelves lined every wall. Filled with crystals, bones, pelts, fragments. Everything harvestable from dungeon mobs. The air smelled like preserved animal and chemical solutions.

Behind the counter sat an older man. Fifties. Gray beard. Sharp eyes that evaluated everything. He looked up as they entered.

"Dungeon runners. I can smell it on you." His voice was gravel. "What tier? What materials?"

"Tier Zero. Full clear. All three floors plus bosses." Julius approached the counter. "We have everything."

"Everything?" The man's eyebrows rose. "That's ambitious. Let's see what you've got."

Raze began pulling materials from his Inventory. The dimensional storage made retrieval simple. Items appeared in his hands from nothing.

The merchant's eyes widened at that. "Spatial storage. Useful skill. Rare."

He examined each material carefully. Professional. Thorough.

The rabbit pelts first. Black fur. Pristine condition. He checked for acid damage. Tears. Found none. "Quality. Thirty pelts. I'll give you fifteen silver each. Seven gold fifty total."

The bone horns next. Sharp. Undamaged. "Good crafting material. Twenty horns. One gold each. Twenty gold."

The Double Horned King Rabbit materials. The massive curved horns. The thick hide. He spent longer on these. Testing durability. Checking density.

"King materials. Rare. The horns alone are worth eight gold each. Sixteen gold for both. The hide another twelve. Twenty-eight gold total for the boss drops."

Running total: Fifty-five gold fifty silver. Just from floor one.

The slime cores came next. Dozens of crystallized acid. The merchant examined them with practiced eye. Checked purity. Concentration.

"Lesser slime cores. Good quality. Forty cores. Fifty silver each. Twenty gold."

The King Blight Slime core. Massive. Pulsing. He handled this one carefully. Respectfully.

"King slime core. This is premium. Concentrated toxin. Alchemists pay well for this. Fifteen gold. Firm price."

Raze paused. "I'm keeping two of the lesser cores. For personal use. Alchemy research."

"Smart. Cores have multiple applications." The merchant adjusted his tally. "Thirty-eight lesser cores then. Nineteen gold. Plus the king core. Thirty-four gold total for floor two."

Running total: Eighty-nine gold fifty silver.

The earth fragments. Lesser ones from the golems. Crystallized stone. Glowing faintly with earth mana.

"Lesser earth fragments. Construction grade. Fifteen fragments. Two gold each. Thirty gold."

Raze pulled one fragment aside. "Keeping this one too. Same reason."

"Fourteen fragments then. Twenty-eight gold."

The Greater Earth Fragment came last. Fist-sized. Glowing bright orange. Concentrated essence.

The merchant's breath caught. He picked it up reverently. Turned it in the light. Examined every facet.

"Greater Earth Fragment. From the Warden itself." His voice was quiet. Awed. "This is exceptional. Peak quality. I'll give you thirty-five gold. And that's generous. Most buyers wouldn't go higher than thirty."

"We'll take thirty-five," Julius said quickly.

The rune stones followed. Carved protective enchantments from the Warden's body. Harvested intact.

"Functional runes. These are valuable. Enchanters pay premium for dungeon-generated runes. They retain mana better than crafted ones." He counted. "Eight stones. Three gold each. Twenty-four gold."

The merchant tallied everything. His fingers moved across an abacus rapidly.

"Total comes to one hundred seventy-six gold fifty silver. Split evenly means eighty-eight gold twenty-five silver each."

Julius's eyes widened. His hands trembled. "That's... that's more than we calculated. Way more."

"Quality materials fetch quality prices. You two did exceptional work clearing that dungeon." The merchant counted out coins. Gold glinting. Silver clinking. "Here. Eighty-eight gold twenty-five silver for each of you."

Raze accepted his share. The weight was substantial. Real. He stored most in his Inventory immediately. Kept a few coins accessible.

Julius stared at his pile of gold. Tears formed. He didn't bother hiding them. "My sister. I can save her. With money left over. For recovery. For safety. For everything."

The merchant's expression softened. "Then I'm glad I could help. Nothing better than dungeon running that saves lives."

They left the shop. Both men richer than they'd been in their lives. Both processing what they'd accomplished.

Outside, Julius turned to Raze. Extended his hand.

"Thank you. I don't know how else to say it. You saved my sister's life. You saved me." His voice cracked. "If you ever need anything. Anything at all. Find me. I owe you more than money can repay."

"Just take care of your sister. That's payment enough." Raze shook his hand. "Good luck with the treatment. I hope she recovers quickly."

"She will. She has to." Julius smiled through tears. "Where are you headed now?"

"Back to my team. We have our own plans. Our own training."

"Then I won't keep you." Julius stepped back. "Be safe, Raze Dragonheart. The capital is dangerous. But I think you already know that."

"I do. You too."

They parted ways. Julius heading toward the medical district. Toward his sister. Toward hope realized.

Raze heading back to the Copper Rest. Toward his team. Toward the next challenge.

His Inventory held eighty-eight gold. Two slime cores. One earth fragment. The cores and fragment for Kael. For his research. For Aslan's treatment. The gold for Temple sessions. For equipment. For whatever else they needed.

The dungeon had been worth it. Every injury. Every moment of terror. Every impossible fight.

Worth it.

The walk back took thirty minutes. Through streets that felt less threatening now. Money changed perspective. Made survival more likely. Made options available.

He reached the Copper Rest. Climbed familiar stairs. The third floor hallway. Room seven.

Opened the door.

Mariabel sat on her bed. Reading. She looked up. Her expression transformed from bored to relieved.

"You're alive."

"Surprised?"

"Honestly? A little." She stood. Examined him. "You look terrible. What happened?"

"Cleared a Tier Zero dungeon. Three floors. All bosses. Nearly died multiple times." He pulled the slime cores and earth fragment from his Inventory. Set them on the table. "Got these for Kael. And made eighty-eight gold."

"Eighty-eight gold? From one dungeon?" Her eyes widened. "That's... that's more than we expected."

"Quality materials. Good buyer. Fair prices." Raze sat heavily on his bed. Everything hurt. "Where's Kael?"

"Next room with Aslan. Working on treatment preparations. The Phoenix Marrow arrived this morning." She moved to the connecting door. Knocked. "Kael? Raze is back."

The door opened immediately. Kael appeared. His eyes were bloodshot. Too many hours working without sleep. But focused. Determined.

"You're alive. Good." He saw the materials on the table. Moved toward them immediately. "Are these...?"

"Lesser slime cores. One earth fragment. For your research. For Aslan's treatment. Whatever you need."

Kael picked up a slime core carefully. Examined it with professional eye. "These are perfect. Concentrated acid essence. I can use this to create stabilizing agents. Buffer solutions. This helps enormously."

"That's why I saved them."

Aslan appeared behind Kael. His silver eyes were tired. But relieved. "You made it back. We were starting to worry."

"Takes more than a dungeon to kill me." Raze stood. Approached his team. "How's the training going?"

"Progress. Slow but steady. I held thirty-five percent for thirty seconds yesterday." Aslan's voice was quiet. "Control is improving."

"And your sessions?" Raze looked at Mariabel.

"Two down. One remaining tomorrow. My core is expanding. Expert Mid within reach." Her flames flickered briefly. "The Temple is effective. Expensive. But effective."

"Good. We're all progressing." Raze checked mentally. His own plans. His own goals. "I have a Temple session booked for tomorrow too. After that, I need to find someone. A specific person in the capital."

"Who?" Kael asked.

"A disgraced knight. Goes by the name Oziel." Raze kept his voice casual. "I heard he trains people occasionally. Teaches swordsmanship. I want to learn from him."

"A disgraced knight? Why would you want training from someone who failed?" Mariabel's tone was skeptical.

"Because failure teaches better lessons than success. And because I need proper technique. My swordsmanship is adequate. I want it to be exceptional." Raze met her eyes. "My movement skills compensate for technical weakness. But against truly skilled opponents, that won't be enough."

"Fair point." She didn't press further. "How will you find this Oziel?"

"Taverns. The drunk knight is a cliché for a reason. Disgraced warriors drink. I'll ask around. Follow rumors. Track him down."

"That could take days."

"I have time. The Temple session is tomorrow. After that, I dedicate however long it takes to finding him."

They talked for another hour. Sharing details. Comparing progress. Planning next steps. The scattered team reuniting. Briefly. Before separating again to pursue individual goals.

Eventually exhaustion claimed them all. Kael returned to his research. Aslan to rest before another training session. Mariabel to whatever nobles did when left alone.

Raze lay on his bed. Staring at the ceiling. His mind working through tomorrow's plans.

The Temple session would push him closer to Blooming Peak. Fill his container completely. Prepare him for the violent expansion to Adept rank.

Then finding Oziel. The Gallant Failed Knight. The man who would become the strongest swordsman across all twelve nations. Currently just a drunk failure. Unknown. Unrecognized. Perfect for recruitment.

If Raze could find him. Could convince him. Could learn from him.

The capital offered opportunities Thornwick never could. Resources. Teachers. Growth beyond normal limits.

But at a cost. Always at a cost. Danger. Exposure. The constant threat of discovery.

Worth it though. Had to be worth it.

Raze closed his eyes. Let exhaustion take him. Tomorrow would bring new challenges. New opportunities. New steps toward whatever he was becoming.

His Bloodline stirred. Unawakened but present. A reminder that he'd changed fundamentally. That absorbing the dungeon core had set him on a path that couldn't be reversed.

But that was tomorrow's concern. Tonight, sleep. Rest. Recovery.

Tomorrow he'd take the next step. Whatever that meant. Wherever it led.

The capital waited. Patient. Eternal. Ready to forge or break whoever dared walk its streets.

Raze intended to be forged.

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