A few minutes passed after the cleaners disappeared back into the tunnel, the echoes of their carts fading into the stone.
The chamber returned to its usual rhythm with hunters moving in and out, soldiers standing watch and the rift softly humming in the background.
Nathan stood still with his spear resting against his shoulder, his chest rising and falling as the adrenaline slowly bled out of him.
Only then did he remember.
'Oh yeah, the notifications.'
He focused inward on the system and the translucent red windows appeared before his eyes.
[Goblin Soldier Slain, +0.2 STR]
[Goblin Soldier Slain, +0.2 AGI]
Nathan blinked, then read them again to make sure he wasn't imagining things.
"…Wait," he said out loud before he could stop himself. "They give way more stats than scouts."
Chris, who had been leaning casually against the wall with his arms crossed, glanced over. "Obviously."
Nathan turned toward him, still staring at the floating windows. "So the bigger the stat gap between you and the monster, the more stats it rewards you?"
Chris nodded. "That's how it works, roughly speaking."
Nathan frowned, gears turning quickly. "Then… shouldn't you always fight stronger monsters?"
Chris smiled, not mockingly but with the kind of smile you give to someone asking an obvious question without realizing.
"Unfortunately," Chris said, pushing himself off the wall, "fighting something stronger always comes with risks."
He gestured vaguely toward the tunnel they had just exited. "And you don't always get to walk away clean."
Nathan's gaze drifted towards his own vest which was scratched, had cut and was stained. He remembered how close he'd been to getting skewered earlier, how one wrong movement would have meant a spear through his throat.
'If Chris hadn't stepped in…'
Understanding settled heavily in his chest.
The rewards were real but so was the cost.
As if on cue, the cleaners emerged from the tunnel again pushing their carts that were now filled with goblin bodies.
They passed Nathan and Chris without stopping heading straight for the rift exit.
As Nathan watched them go, he turned to Chris.
"So… what now?"
Chris glanced at the tunnel entrance, then at the clock mounted high on the chamber wall.
"Now we wait about ten minutes," he said. "Then we re enter."
Nathan nodded, accepting it easily now. He walked to the side of the enter and sat down, letting his tired legs rest as he began observing the chamber more carefully than before.
Hunters came and went in loose groups as some laughed and some of them argued. A few hunters sat against the walls, drinking potions or checking their gear.
'This place never really stops...' Nathan thought to himself.
When roughly ten minutes had passed, Chris straightened. "Alright, should be about time."
He started walking toward the tunnel.
Nathan pushed off the wall immediately. "Coming!"
As they stepped inside, Chris's gaze flicked down to Nathan's hands, more specifically towards the spear in his hands.
The wooden shaft was cracked barely holding on and the metal spearhead had slightly bent from the repeated impact against the goblin armor and bones.
"You should really look into getting a new spear." Chris said casually.
Nathan glanced down at it himself. "…Yeah, I know."
He hesitated, then said honestly, "I don't really have the money to do that right now."
Chris hummed thoughtfully. "Tell you what, if we get another shard today, I'll toss you a bonus."
Nathan looked up sharply. "Really?!"
Chris shrugged. "You're pulling your weight and a better weapon for you helps both of us."
A spark lit in Nathan's chest.
'Another shard…'
"Thanks," Nathan said, grip tightening on his spear. "I'll make it count."
They moved faster this time.
The two goblin scouts fell quickly as Chris cut one down before it could react and Nathan skewered the other cleanly through the neck. Their coordination was way smoother now after fighting together once.
When they approached the shallow chamber again, Chris slowed and glanced back.
"You know the drill," he said quietly. "Surprise attack, grab their attention and then back off."
Nathan nodded, eyes forward, focus sharpening.
'I've done this already.'
'I can do it again.'
Determined to get another shard Nathan headed towards the dent in the wall and got ready for his moment to strike.
***
Nathan's arms burned and his breathing grew heavier but his movements stayed sharp as he had started getting used to clearing the tunnel repeated.
By the time Chris called it for the day, Nathan felt like his body was running on fumes.
They exited the rift together, stepping back into the administrated building as the bright lights entered their eyes.
Nathan wiped sweat from his forehead as exhaustion finally crashing down on him now that the danger was gone.
"Stay here," Chris said. "I'll go quickly handle the exchange."
Nathan nodded, leaning against the wall as Chris walked toward the counter.
He watched as Chris spoke with the officer, then reached into his bag.
Two blue crystals emerged from his bag as he handed them to the administrator at the counter.
Nathan couldn't help smiling.
'We got another one.'
In fact, over the course of the day, they had repeated the shallow chamber about four more times after their last clear and got another crystal on the final clear of the day.
'This is what real hunting looks like.' Nathan thought as a smile appeared on his face.
Chris returned a few minutes later, rolling his shoulders.
"Alright," he said. "Give me your bank details, I'll transfer you your cut."
Nathan quickly pulled up his phone and sent them over.
"Pleasure working with you," Chris added before saying his goodbyes.
They parted ways shortly after.
On the bus ride home, Nathan couldn't stop looking at his phone as a notification blinked on the screen.
Bank Transfer: 1500$ Received.
'One thousand five hundred…'
Reading the notification he saw a note attached to the payment.
Message: Good work today. Let's run it again tomorrow, same time.
Nathan leaned back against the seat, staring at the screen as the city rolled by outside the window.
He had more made more money today than he had hunting scouts for the past day. Thinking about this his hand starting shaking out of excitement.
'I'm really doing this.'
Tomorrow, he will go back in and maybe by the end of this week, he might graduate from being bait.