Dungeon Raider System-Chapter 527: Botanist

Living inside a dungeon wasn't nearly as exciting as it sounded, at least not for those who chose to follow the rules and remain in the floating islands located in the second world. The fresh breeze and the constant daylight presented most citizens a welcoming environment and thanks to the daily rations provided by the military, those who didn't have traits didn't have the need to get a job.

This, of course, wasn't the case for hunters who needed a greater intake of calories to maintain themselves and found themselves in a dire need of food. Scarcity was the name of the game and they were all forced to play whether they liked it or not.

Unfortunately, finding a job wasn't easy in the megacity and was definitely not easier now that there weren't any factories operating. Worst of all was that most companies went down along with the city, leaving behind a great amount of hunters unemployed.

Other companies, though, adjusted their sails to the new tides and instead of continuing in their previous line of work they decided to gather their employees and try their luck in the dungeon.

It started with some opportunist hunters with traits that allowed them to manipulate the earth element that started charging for their services to create small buildings or bridges. Some strong hunters decided to offer their services as bodyguards or even thugs while others, more daring, decided to explore the unknown corners of the vast dungeon in search for fortune.

Some small companies that didn't have a seat at the table before, now boasted a high reputation due to their achievements, discoveries or new found wealth. Unfortunately for most big companies, keeping hunters on their payroll was too difficult, especially when taking into consideration that most people had no use for money and would rather be paid in food.

Times were tough, but hunters were even tougher. Especially those with enough combat experience to know when to fight and when to turn tail. This was precisely the case of a relatively small company, one that didn't have many members when the city fell but they were close knit exactly like a family.

The Dolminico company never needed too many members to do their business and instead resorted on hiring a few hunters with traits related to food. As their name suggested, it was run by the Dolminico family, one that used to make underground deals before the arrival but stepped back into society with a high end restaurant that before the arrival only served as a front to their shady deeds.

This became of great help inside the dungeon and they soon grew up in popularity and numbers, making them one of the top five companies present in the dungeon. They were easily recognizable by their trademark feature, a sleek appearance and a chef knife that served both as proof of identity and as a weapon.

As far as new companies, though, the Kalos company was far from being the most renowned. There was a small company that seemingly came up from nowhere that was deemed responsible for saving millions of lives thanks to one of their members giving a timely warning about the presence of enemy creatures within city walls and warning about the downfall of the city.

As well as leading everyone to the dungeon they now called home.

Known for wearing fedora hats, the Dungeon Raiders had the most fitting name for hunters who lived inside a dungeon. Not just that, they seemed to be the only ones able to come and go as they pleased, crossing the other floors like they didn't mean any danger to them.

This also led to many rumors, among which the most popular...

"I heard it too, they said that the guy who caused all this was one of the originals." A woman carrying a wicker basket spoke amidst whispers without taking her eyes from a woman on her late twenties who passed by seemingly unaware that the hat she was wearing was now considered a bad omen.

"I don't think that's true, they saved everyone." Another one commented.

"Did they? For all we know, they sent us here to starve to death." A third woman butted in and the murmurs began once more.

The island where these events were taking place was precisely one under the Kalos family control and the woman that prompted this curious conversation was none other than Miss Dragonfang. Although she could arguably be considered one of the original Dungeon Raiders, her participation in the company never stood out remarkably, at least not to the public.

This allowed her to continue serving the flag on the side as a sergeant, making her an important connection with the military, but it also meant she needed to work twice as hard.

"Hey, Lizzy, are you sure you're okay?" Phlox, Miss Dragonfang's right arm and best friend, asked with concern.

"I am, I totally am..." She said trying to sound reassuring, managing the opposite effect.

"You know you can be honest, there's no need to force yourself to do this if you don't want to. We can still ask someone else to do this..."

"I said I'm fine! Besides, we're already here." Miss Dragonfang replied, completely ignoring her friend's worries. If it was just about defeating cryptids or anything related to violence, Phlox wouldn't hesitate on letting Lizzy do the talking, but now they needed a softer approach she was starting to doubt her hot headed prankster of a friend could get the job done.

"Good morning, I'm looking for..." Miss Dragonfang spoke with a cheery tone of voice, though the man she attempted to talk to barely acknowledged her presence and simply continued walking. The same repeated over and over until her frustration was starting to show.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, I'm here looking for a member of the Dolminico's family." She said as she grabbed a girl by the shoulder, only managing to get a shallow cut on her wrist in response.

"What's wrong with..." Phlox hesitated on how to continue her sentence as she realized that Miss Dragonfang was actually the one in the wrong. Forcing someone to speak wasn't polite to say the least, but it could be considered an offense now they were on Dolminico's territory. Luckily, though, a young man passing by hurried over to them.

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"Are you okay? Please excuse her, we're just a bit too busy today. I'm Kalos..." The young man grabbed her hand pretending to check the wound, then took the chance to introduce himself by kissing her hand.

Although creeped out by the young man's behavior, Miss Dragonfang wasn't one to get carried away by emotions and she intended to follow her mission in spite of how she felt about that man.

"Get away, you creep!" She said, in spites of her better judgement.

"What she means to say is, she's Lizzy Dragonfang and she's pleased to meet you, Mister Kalos Dolminico." Phlox who remained by Miss Dragonfang's side spoke politely.

"It's fine, I know she meant to disrespect," Kalos said before winking at Miss Dragonfang and making her cringe even more, then continued speaking. "I've been expecting you. They said you bring us new ingredients."

"Ahem, yes, we're here because they said some of your members have traits that can identify edible plants and we bring some samples to test them out." Miss Dragonfang explained pretending nothing happened.

In other circumstances, both parties would have probably exchanged more than a few choice words, but the possibility of encountering new food sources benefited everyone the same. As much as Kalos would have liked to put her in her place, his company was in dire need of new ingredients. After all, what good was a restaurant business without any food to serve.

Even more so, when considering that food was the closest thing to currency on the dungeon now that money had been made redundant.

Miss Dragonfang proceeded to open the case Phlox was carrying revealing different kinds of plants, seeds and roots, all of them gathered inside the dungeon by Luna. They were just small samples, but Luna was careful enough to label each sample with a date and the place where she gathered it from.

"These are... interesting... mmm, I see..." Kalos directed a pensive look at the plants, though he didn't activate his trait. Instead, he limited himself to observe the different plants without even opening the bags.

"Quit messing around, brother, they're here for me," A young girl, probably of highschool age, walked in and immediately activated her trait. Her eyes glowed briefly and the plants seemed to react by moving exactly as a freshly detached lizard tail would. Twisting and twirling around, the plants wiggled in their tiny plastic bags and vials, until the girl seemed satisfied. "I'm done."

"Just that? Are you certain you can identify the ones we can eat from those we cant?" Miss Dragonfang asked once again.

"Yes, but I'll only do so if you follow certain conditions..." The girls said, failing to hide the faint blush that appeared in her cheeks.