Damian stood next to the giant ape. His sword was still in the eye socket somewhere. With the help of Finn's Spell Slingers, they attempted to turn it over, but it proved too cumbersome. They'd need to gather several more adventurers to get it on its back.

  "Hey, Alex."

  "What?"

  "How about you put that giant sword to some use today? You've barely touched it. If you keep throwing rocks, all your future skills will end up ranged."

  "!... Huh, guess I hadn't been putting my baby to work."

  "Let's hope you won't have to for at least a couple of days."

  "So how do we want to do this?" Alex asked, sounding more chipper.

  "Maybe we lop off the other arm first? One of the legs? We probably don't want to cut any of the bone. For a creature of this size, they'd have to be sturdy."

  Looking at the ape's other side showed that whoever lopped its arm off didn't cut through its bone. They expertly carved through the joint. Did the person who did this die right after? Or get away? Damian thought about the electric tree he had witnessed. Yeah, that person is probably dead.

  "Were you going to harvest the wraith without involving me?"

  A shiver ran down Damian's back, and goosebumps formed. Turning around, he met Ms. Sanderson's gaze. She was observing the ape.

  "No!" He yelped.

  Alex was uncharacteristically shifting around due to their new guest as well.

  With a thud, he could see someone was wrapping the elf in a hug from behind. "What did I say about using your skill on good people, Betty?"

  "Do you think that I forgot about your debt? What was it, 10,000 dials? Oh, maybe I was wrong before; it must have been 15,000 dials." The elf was pulling out her clipboard to jot down the new debt.

  "Nooo! I was wrong, wrong! Look, I did really good against the wraiths. That should knock my debt down, right?"

  "The Adventurers Guild shouldn't reward a member of the military defending the city. I will, however, write you a recommendation, citing your accomplishments."

  "Who cares about a promotion! I don't have 15,000 dials..." Higgins was visibly deflating. The light in her eyes was fading.

  For a moment, Damian thought that he saw the elf smile gently. No, he must be seeing things. Her face was as stern as always.

  "Ah, do you know if we can harvest the materials? One of the other adventurers said that the Valkyrie always burns them." Damian asked, trying to shift the conversation from Higgins's debt before it got raised.

  Ms. Elf adjusted her glasses with her free hand. "That they do, but the materials from high-tier wraiths make for powerful equipment. Both their mana conductivity and sturdiness are a grade above what you'd find from dungeon creatures of the same strength. It's strictly banned to create high-tier wraiths for this purpose, but in cases like this, the Valkyrie can't complain."

  Ah, no curses then... probably.

  Damian was still unsure whether they should begin the harvest. Hmm, do we try to harvest it? But it was human before, I think. Where does this land on the moral/immoral spectrum? Definitely not eating it, even if Fergus were to cook it... probably.

  "According to my estimates, your party would receive 60% of the materials, I would gain 20%, and the remaining 20% would be distributed amongst the rest who participated in the battle. Although many adventurers injured the wraith, I think that it's fair to say that their attacks were mostly ineffective." She pointed at the scorch mark left by Frey.

  Is 60% fair for us, though? Since she included the other adventurers in the 20%, we'd have to negotiate with all of them to try to increase our share. Damn, she's good. She gave us a high enough percentage that it's hard to complain about.

  "I also distributed the Merchants Guild's share amongst everyone's percentages. We had recovered the other arm while gathering bodies outside. I don't think anyone will complain that the merchants don't get a share. If someone asks, I was the one who cut off the arm."

  An open lie? I don't think anyone would refute her claim, though, not that we'd want to.

  "I'm here now to offer you payment in exchange for your group's percentage of the claim."

  A tier six wraith's materials. Extraordinarily rare. Equivalent to taking down a dungeon monster of at least tier 7. We don't have the funds to turn those materials into weapons, armor, or potions, though.

  We could hold onto them until we do, but how long would that be? Would we get targeted because people know we have them? Probable. But we'd paint an almost equal target just for holding the equivalent amount of money.

  "If you agree now, I'm willing to throw in those weapons and potions you took."

  "Huh? We weren't going to be able to keep them?"

  "We don't run a charity, Miss Alex, if during every disaster, the Adventurers Guild handed out weapons on top of the payment for participation, we'd be far in the red." Ms. Elf plainly declared.

  Damian's mind was racing. She's pressuring you. We've stumbled into a rare opportunity. We shouldn't give up our entire claim. We could settle for a lower percentage and raise the funds needed to have the rest crafted. Best to discuss this with the group... Isaac was always the one who dealt with finances.

  After gathering everyone and much discussion, they reached an agreement. Their party would sell 45% of their share. They'd be keeping 15% in one femur bone, one tibia, several sections of the skin with and without fur, and various smaller bones and sinew.

  They didn't plan on keeping any of the materials that could be used for potion crafting. It didn't sit right to drink something that might have been human. But using a 'person's limb?' as a weapon or protection seemed better than having weaker equipment and dying.

  A wraith couldn't exist if the mortal body were inhabitable. So, technically, what they were using could be the manifestation of whatever ghost or demon had returned to possess the person. Right? It was best that the group didn't know the individual whose body was the target of possession.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Along with their cut, Ms. Elf agreed to let them keep the weapons and potions as part of their payment for aiding the defense. They'd still be getting another reward for that after things have settled.

  A hefty bag of coins appeared in the elf's hand. "Here is the payment, 45,000 dials. An estimated 100,000 dials for the entire beast." Miss Elf casually tossed the considerable sum into the air.

  The bag landed in Damian's hand and jingled. The heft weighed far more on his mind than it did on his arm. Looking inside, they could see the glimmer of silver.

  The bag contained an assortment of silver and large silver coins. Not denominations they'd ever seen in such abundance. Split among them, they each earned 9,000 dials. An amount that would typically take them months to accrue together.

  Each of their eyes became big while thinking of what they could spend it all on. Damian looked at Ms. Sanderson with respect again.

  "But I'm going to have to subtract 25% for tax purposes."

  Wha... The whole group had their jaws dropped at the statement. All the warm feelings that had been bubbling up quickly disappeared, replaced by resentment toward the state.

  "But I'm willing to drop that if you forfeit your compensation for the rest of the battle."

  "Yes!" They screamed in unison. Whatever the defense payment was, it likely wasn't more than the share they'd be losing to taxes. Plus, the reward money would likely be taxed.

  "A bit of advice." Ms. Sanderson spoke.

  "Getting those materials made into decent equipment will be far more than you realize. You won't be left with much after all is said and done.

  And don't try to find a cheaper smith. They'd ruin the materials. You'd have been better off just buying enchanted steel from a better smith than using the cheaper alternative."

  Huh, so she is looking out for us?

  "Now that that's settled. Lorenzo, if you would."

  The adventurer who had carried Ms. Sanderson to safety earlier walked forward with a long blade in hand. He stepped toward the ape and stabbed forward. With a twirl of his wrist, the ape's arm was lopped off cleanly.

  He quickly moved around the beast, peeling off skin and removing bones that didn't have a spot of meat on the blackened hide. Piles began to form, neatly stacked by category. Lorenzo dismantled the ape so quickly that everyone in the room stopped to watch.

  "Woo! Lorenzo! Good show!" Someone hollered.

  "Um... Why didn't he just kill the beast?" Damian questioned.

  "Ah, so it's your first time seeing someone specializing in dismantling, then? Surprising." Ms. Sanderson asked the rhetorical question.

  "We've always done it ourselves. It's a lot cheaper that way. And the people at our Guild Hall weren't nearly this... spectacular." Frey absentmindedly answered.

  "Lorenzo is a dismantling specialist. His skill only works on something that is well and truly dead. He can use his skills against living monsters, but those deep cuts would become shallow wounds." Ms. Sanderson explained.

  "Still... his skill makes him look like a tier 6 or 7."

  "All for show. Lorenzo is actually only at tier 5. It's very similar to what couriers do. Fast speed, but lacking punch."

  All of a sudden, Lorenzo was standing in front of Damian, holding out his flame sword. It had looked like he polished it in between taking it out of the eye socket and bringing it over.

  "Ah, thank you." Damian absentmindedly answered.

  Not even a moment after taking the sword, he was back to disassembling the ape. Off to the side, there was a pile meant for them.

  Damian could see that Lorenzo even took the time to polish the spike he hammered into the back of the wraith's head. The end had lost its point and wouldn't be of much use as a weapon.

  Alex bounced over to their slowly growing pile and picked up the femur bone like a sword, and gave it a couple of swings. "Do you think that they'll be able to form this into a good sword? Or should I settle for another type of weapon?"

  "Hold it one pig-footed moment!" A familiar voice came from behind.

  A short man hustled past Damian and ran up to Alex.

  "Let me see that!" Robby was jumping up, trying to snatch the bone from Alex's grasp. Damian had thought that the giant oaf would play with the man by holding it out of reach, but she instead brought it down to the excited dwarf.

  He began sliding his hand along the black bone, knocking on various spots. "Good, good. This is excellent material!"

  "Ah! You shouldn't waste that on a weapon! I could probably grind it up with the bone marrow and create several potions that'd restore limbs in an instant!" An apothecary shouted from behind.

  All of the crafters who had returned started to crowd around the materials Lorenzo was sorting. They were already exclaiming what they'd use each piece for and what a masterpiece they would create.

  Who'd be the best person to entrust our materials to? The sword Robby made seemed well-made, I think. Damian had only used the weapon for less than an hour; he had no idea how long it would last. Ms. Sanderson's words rang in the back of his mind.

  "Hey!" Damian called out to the woodworker who had found staves for his party before the defense at the wall.

  "What is it?"

  "I was wondering, how good is Robby when it comes to other blacksmiths in town. Would he be a good option for crafting those bones into swords?"

  "Aye. Among blacksmiths, he's good—great actually. Not the best in town, though. A lot of the higher tiers and their families were evacuated to the royal castle or other supposedly safe places when this all first started."

  "Others refused and went to other places with their families. Robby hasn't settled down yet and stayed with the rest of the crafters over in the guild. If you can afford him, he'll probably be a good option."

  "Thanks for your honesty. Um, I don't think I caught your name before."

  "Podob, but you can call me Dobby."

  "Damian." They shook hands.

  "By the way... do you also craft with bone?"

  "Harharhar! I thought that you'd never ask. Of course I do! And if you ask anyone around, I'm the best there is!"

  Damian squinted his eyes. "We'll see about that." And then walked off toward Robby.

  "!!! Where are you going?!"

  He watched as Damian started talking to Robby, then pointed back at him. Robby then wrapped a bone in a hug and shook his head. Damian then pointed to some other bones in their pile, and Robby kicked the ground, sending ash flying.

  He reluctantly shook his head in agreement. It took a moment for Dobby to understand what Damian was doing and the fuss that blowhole Robby was making.

  "Ahh! What the hell are you saying about me and my craft, you damn ingrate!" He barreled over to fight over the monster scraps with Robby.

  After some discussion, they reached an agreement on the prices. 5,000 dials for a sword for Alex, 4,000 dials for another sword for Damian, and 9,000 for three magic staves. That'd still leave them with 27,000 dials for a leatherworker to create their armor.

  It seemed like highway robbery, since they were providing the materials, but only in comparison with elementary enchantments. You could buy a sword with a simple enchantment, such as 'sharpen weapon' for 5,000 dials, but if you wanted to get into the more exotic and powerful enchantments, you had to pay significantly more.

  The artisans were actually giving them a sizable discount because they'd get to work with exotic materials. Doing so could help them break into the next tier.

  Tiers, of course, didn't apply only to combat professions. Everyone held tiers for their magical prowess. The first tier for everyone was an elemental control. A fair number of people held concept-based elements rather than elemental ones, such as sharpness.

  Then, as you progress in tiers, you may receive something that you either desire or need. If you had taken up a non-combat profession and enjoyed it, the skill would typically be along the lines of crafting.

  Dobby had mentioned earlier that day that a woodworker had to get it perfect the first time, every time. That was actually usually false for many carvers. Many would develop skills to reform failed material back into its base ingredients. If they didn't have this, they'd likely have a fellow craftsman who did.

  What about someone who wished to switch professions from adventurer to crafter?

  That is entirely possible. Nothing is stopping an adventurer from swinging a hammer and becoming a blacksmith or vice versa. But they'd be behind the curve for sure, given that they'd have more combat-focused skills rather than crafting ones.

  It is a difficult transition to overcome, but not impossible. An adventurer would have to overcome a high level cap for a profession that they were already behind in.

  If they manage to push their limits in this new craft beyond what another blacksmith of the same tier could do, they can break that cap and gain a skill that would aid them greatly throughout their new crafting career.

  Some of the most legendary artisans in history were former adventurers who pushed beyond reason and broke their level cap in a new profession.

  What about undead and non-combat professions?

  When it came to the undead and people who took up less combat-based professions, they would still become undead, but at slightly lower rates than someone with a combat profession would.

  Their undead counterparts would also typically be less deadly, given their crafting skill set. But the undead and wraiths still wielded powers their living counterparts didn't. Most of these powers would turn an undead crafter into a deadly killer.