Sakura POV
"Where did you go, Sakura? You shouldn't wander so late at night," my aunt said, while my uncle lounged on the sofa, sleeping, treating this house as if it were their own. The sun hadn't even set, yet they were already here. These uncles and aunts of mine didn't work; they all relied on my parents' inheritance to live.
Their living here was a fact I could tolerate. But the problem was that they had been pushing me to sell the house lately, citing my need to attend an advanced medical academy.
I did want to be a doctor, but not at the expense of selling this house.
"I went to my friend's house to play."
"Ah. It's fine if you go out sometimes, but we are a family. Please come home and have lunch together with us sometimes."
I ignored their preaching and headed toward my room, but my aunt stopped me.
"Oh yeah, Sakura. Mr. Alex just came by yesterday. He said he would buy this house for 50,000 dollars. That should be enough to cover your tuition, right? Will you agree to sell the house?"
"No. I would never sell this house, Aunt Mary." I tried hard to keep my voice down. Shouting would serve no purpose with these people.
"But then, how do you plan to fund your education? This is a prime chance. You did well in school, so you should push to become a doctor. Mr. Alex is a nice guy. By the way, his brother, who was an adventurer, was interested in you. Let's have dinner or lunch together sometime. He is a senior adventurer, you know. If you guys hit it home, you will be set for life."
"No. If you're done, leave me alone."
I knew they were lying. How could this house be worth only 50,000 dollars? It should be worth double that amount. But I couldn't prove anything, so I let it go.
"Hah… Makoto," I muttered the name of my childhood friend. He was now a blessed student. His future was guaranteed. If I could—
"No! I would be no different from my aunt if I relied on him!" I punched my pillow as the evil thought tempted me. Even if I married Makoto and devoted myself to him, my uncle and aunt would only shift their target to him. They would suck out all of his money and income like leeches. I couldn't trouble him with my problems.
"When will Monday come… should I visit him tomorrow? No, that would make me look like a slut. How could I go to him again tomorrow after everything we did today?"
My cheeks burned when I remembered how Makoto touched me. I thought SM would hurt, but Makoto was gentle—unlike the men in the porn books. I couldn't believe I'd cum twice that day from his touching alone. What if his dick went into me?
"No. I just did it with him today, yet I'm already wet," I muttered.
Hah… I can't wait to meet Makoto on Monday.
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Makoto POV
The very next day, I went back to city hall. The receptionist smiled and lifted a box before I even arrived at her counter.
"Hello! Good morning, Makoto. Here is your loaned weapon. You wanted a sword, right?"
"Yes, thank you." I opened the box the receptionist handed me. Inside was an iron sword, dubbed the Beginner Adventurer Sword by the adventurer community, along with a scabbard.
[Iron Sword
ATK: 10
Weight: 1
]
It said Iron Sword and nothing else. This might as well have been a normal sword crafted by some random smith. Yet this ordinary iron sword could fetch ten thousand dollars in the market. The reason was simple: it was registered with the system. Only system-registered weapons—and blessed people, or adventurers for short—could damage monsters inside dungeons.
I thanked the pretty receptionist. She looked especially bright today. Did she put extra effort into her makeup? Or was it the lipstick?
"Ah. I forgot to mention—you'll be penalized 100 dollars if you can't provide the required three stones. By the way, you can request amnesty if there are extenuating circumstances that prevent payment."
"That's awfully generous of you. I didn't know the government could be so generous."
"We'd be troubled if a promising adventurer died because they couldn't pay the stones, hahaha." The receptionist chuckled.
"Understood. Is there anything else? If not, I'm leaving. Wish me luck, Miss Receptionist!"
"Good day. Ad astra per aspera."
I rode another bus toward the dungeon. Luggers hawked their services, but I ignored them. I didn't plan to stay inside the dungeon for days.
The scenery transformed from a nice marble gate into a cave. An electric lamp hanging at the corner of the corridor ruined the fantasy atmosphere—but I welcomed it. I wondered how explorers had done it the first time. Did they bring lanterns?
While the top floor was crowded, the rest of the interior was not. Only one in a hundred people could become blessed, and there were multiple dungeons in Japan alone, so it was a given that this place was less crowded than the upper area, where luggers and corporate businesses hawked their services. Dungeon traveling was not only supported by the government; even corporations wanted a piece of the pie. They sold supplies such as food and MREs to dungeon explorers in exchange for crystals.
The cave widened and branched out. A red arrow left by previous explorers denoting the exit tunnel was conveniently placed after every branch. With this, I didn't need to worry about getting lost.
"It's been an hour, and I still haven't found anything." I strolled through the dungeon. The tension I'd felt earlier had evaporated, and now I treated this exploration like a mere Sunday walk.
Then, the cave wall cracked.
Green hands sprawled out from the cave wall, revealing an ugly monster with vicious fangs. It was a goblin. It crawled on all fours as its eyes locked onto me. I unsheathed my sword. My excitement boiled over when a monster finally appeared.
"Hah!" I dashed forward and swung my sword at the green monster. It skittered away, hopping along the wall and floor before lunging at me. It opened its maw wide. Despite its small size, its mouth gaped like a shark's, serrated teeth aiming for my head.
"Fast!" I rolled down the corridor, dodging the lunging goblin. My heart hammered out of my chest. F-rank my ass. They looked dangerous as fuck! They might be small, only about the size of kindergarten kids, but that mouth could swallow my head whole!
It lunged like a rabid dog. I raised my sword, gripping it tight, positioning the blade toward its gaping maw.
"Eat this!" My beginner sword went through its skull, though its serrated teeth still scratched my arm. The demon lay limp on my blade before dark smoke consumed it, leaving behind a translucent purple gem the size of a toenail.
"Damn! I should have taken those adventurer-class lessons. But if I did, they'd tie me up with contracts," I cursed.
The city council and dungeon guards had advised me to take adventurer classes at guilds. But if I signed with them, I'd be obliged to delve into dungeons every day and give up to fifty percent of my earnings for five years.
They weren't as predatory as they looked. A decent adventurer guild could support me with guides, weapons, and even a monthly income on top of the stones I turned in. But finding a decent one was hard.
Money—or arcane stones—wasn't the reason I refused to sign with them. The main reason was that they usually required their members to share their stats. Even more so in reputable guilds. They needed that information to understand my skills and coordinate my placement within teams.
"Now that I think about it, I'm stupid. I should have bought some armor. Argh! But it would have to be system-registered anyway, or they'd just tear through it like paper!" I cursed. This was why most people registered with adventurer guilds despite their predatory taxation. Even F-rank monsters were a menace to beginner adventurers without proper preparation.
"At the very least, health potions…" I sighed. But that was even more unrealistic. Even the lowest-grade health potions could fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars on the market. I wasn't troubled by money, but I wasn't a millionaire either.
"Maybe I should hire that lugger." My thoughts went back to Stephen, the lugger I'd met yesterday. "Nah. Why am I getting all serious? This is just a side job. I can take it easy. I have all the time in the world. Survival is all I need."
Yes. I was just an eighteen-year-old boy who hadn't graduated from the academy yet. I could learn this slowly, avoiding those pesky predatory contracts. There was no need for me to force myself.
As I slowly traversed the dungeon, the sound of metal striking metal echoed through the corridor. I tiptoed forward. There, at the end of the corridor, a swordswoman was fighting three goblins.
Unlike the goblins from before, they carried swords in their hands. The swordswoman seemed to be struggling. Her beginner sword and buckler trembled in her hands. I was about to lend a hand, but I hesitated.
Who was I? I had just begun my adventurer life today. I struggled to fight even one goblin. How could I help her? Besides, I had read on a forum that stealing a kill—or kill-stealing—was frowned upon. It was technically illegal.
Ah, but she had a beginner sword as well. She might be just as new to this adventuring business as I was. But where did she get that buckler? Shields were very useful. I should ask the receptionist about one later.
"You there! Don't just stand there—help me!" she cried out when she saw me.
With her cry for help, I couldn't stay silent anymore. Instead of running straight to her side, I circled around the corner, trying to flank the goblins.
The goblins were fixated on her. I wasn't that stealthy, but they treated me as if I weren't even there. Taking advantage of this golden chance, I snuck up behind one goblin and delivered a horizontal swing, decapitating it.
Only then did the goblins turn their heads. Like the stupid idiots they were, both turned toward me, ignoring the woman they had engaged earlier. She plunged her sword into another goblin. The blade pierced through its back and exited its chest. The goblin lunged at her, but she blocked it with her shield. She stabbed it from the front while I slashed it from behind.
The last goblin cried out before black smoke engulfed it, leaving behind yet another gemstone.
Now… how should I divide the loot with her?