Chapter 3: Teacher

It was 10 in the morning, and the Adventurer's Guild buzzed with activity. Adventurers moved in and out of the building, their voices blending into a constant hum. The usual chaos of early-morning business filled the air, with workers behind the counters handling requests, transactions, and reports.

Rex entered the building, his cloak swaying lightly as he walked toward an unoccupied counter. The doberman demi-human approached a brown-haired elf, setting three pouches filled with magic stones on the counter in front of her and sliding them forward.

"I want to exchange all these," he said simply. The elf glanced down at the pouches, then up at his face. Her hesitation was brief but noticeable, causing Rex to raise a brow. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong." she replied, quickly taking the pouches. "Give me ten minutes; I'll be back." Without waiting for a reply, she turned and disappeared into the back.

Rex stepped away from the counter, finding a seat by the wall. He adjusted his cloak before leaning back and calling up his status.

— — — — — — — — — —

[Name] Rex Magnus

[Level] 1

[Strength] S920 | [Endurance] A882 | [Dexterity] B799 | [Agility] A825 | [Magic] I24

[Development Ability] None

[Magic] None

[Skill] 

Scavenger…

— — — — — — — — — —

Nothing had changed significantly. Killing a few monsters on his way up had increased his stats slightly, pushing his Dexterity closer to A. He sighed. 'Even with these stats, my combat capabilities are below average.'

Bell had shown him what a true high-level adventurer should look like. Even if he managed to get all his stats at 999, he doubted he could defeat the Minotaur the way Bell had. The old Rex had relied entirely on his party, barely knowing how to wield a sword or dagger properly. 

And courage? That was in even shorter supply.

'I just hope that once I max my stats at 999, I won't need to go on a suicide mission to get high-rank excelia,' he thought, folding his arms as he leaned back in his chair. 'Maybe the skill will forcefully level me up once I scavenge someone's stats after reaching 999.' 

He nodded to himself. 'Yeah, that sounds about right.' Even if leveling didn't work that way, he still needed to gain fighting experience. His thoughts drifted as he watched a pair of cat people leave the guild, shouting at each other, each sentence ending with a 'nya.' He shook his head slightly. 'I can't believe how quickly I've adjusted.'

Back on Earth, Rex had prided himself on being adaptable, but this situation was far beyond anything reasonable. And yet, he wasn't panicking or dwelling on the absurdity of his circumstances. Instead, he was focused on getting stronger. 

'Is it because of the old Rex's memories?' Though the memories hadn't fused with his personality, they were still those of a man who had lived for 23 years, 2 years longer than he had lived. They were bound to affect him, even if only subtly.

Whatever. He wouldn't complain.

After about ten minutes, the elf returned to the counter. Rex stood and walked over as she placed the pouches back on the counter.

"Your total was seventy-five thousand nine hundred twelve, but after tax, it came out to sixty-four thousand five hundred twenty-five," she said, pushing the three pouches forward, two empty with one filled with Valis coins in denominations of 500. "Have a good day." She gave him a small nod.

He didn't reply and secured the pouches back onto his belt before turning to leave. 'This is barely enough to buy Soma wine,' he thought bitterly as he stepped outside. The body's previous owner had been a heavy alcoholic addicted to Soma wines much like everyone else in the Familia, and while Rex himself wasn't mentally addicted, the body would still experience withdrawal symptoms. 

'And I definitely don't want to deal with that in the dungeon.' He groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. 'That's going to be a problem, isn't it?'

He'd get a discount as a member of the Soma Familia, but he wanted to save his Valis for better equipment. His Familia wouldn't support him financially, no matter how much he begged. 'Nah, screw it. I'll deal with the withdrawals when they come.'

Decision made, his first stop was a nearby inn to clean himself up. Returning to the dungeon covered in blood wasn't an issue, but entering a restaurant like that would definitely cause problems. Fortunately, cleaning his fur, tail, and hair of blood wasn't as difficult as he'd initially feared.

"This is so fucking weird," he muttered, staring at his tail in the mirror. It grew from his tailbone, reaching down to his knees when relaxed, and it was thin, straight, and short-haired, with a slight curve at the end. "I've become a furry. Damn."

With a shake of his head, Rex dried himself off with the provided towel. The shower at the inn had cost him 225 Valis—something he wouldn't have had to spend if he'd gone home to clean up. But his Familia home was too far away, and he didn't want to waste the time walking back.

Once dressed, he adjusted his cloak to hide his bloodstained shirt, secured his armor, and equipped his weapons before stepping out of the inn. His next priority was to restock supplies.

The first stop was a shop where he purchased a high potion for a staggering 50,000 Valis, consuming the bulk of his earnings. "Fuck," he muttered, gripping his chest dramatically as if his heart might burst. Two days of hunting income, gone in an instant. But it was worth it.

Unlike standard potions, which cost only 500 Valis, a high potion was a lifesaving item. It could stop any bleeding, heal severe injuries like broken bones, deep gashes, and third-degree burns, and keep an adventurer alive in the harshest conditions. 

The even more powerful Elixir, priced at 500,000 Valis, was reserved for the wealthiest Familias—certainly not for someone like him. Soma Familia might be rich, but Zanis, the captain, was notoriously greedy and wouldn't spare a coin.

With 14,300 Valis left, Rex spent 4,000 on nine regular potions. They were essential for adventuring, capable of treating first- and some second-degree burns, moderate injuries like cuts, and other minor trauma. He packed the potions into his pouch, then headed to a nearby inn for a meal, which cost him another 300 Valis. That left him with exactly 10,000 Valis.

'I've got about 7,000 Valis in savings at home, so that makes 17,000 total,' Rex thought, patting his pouch as he debated whether to return home to store the money. 'Nah, too much time wasted if I do that.' Instead, he turned toward the dungeon, ready to continue his grind.

Returning to the dungeon, Rex made his way down to the sixth floor, killing goblins and kobolds on the way. He collected their magic stones rather than absorbing them, having learned from the first attempt that weaker monsters yielded almost no stat gains. 

One absorbed stone had given him a single Dexterity point, with 0 in the other stats. It was clear that scavenging stats depended heavily on the strength of the target relative to his one. Still, the stones were worth selling, so he kept them.

Once on the sixth floor, it didn't take long for him to encounter his first monster—a Frog Shooter.

The almost-human-sized green frog stared him down with its single large, glowing eye, its croaking echoing loudly, a telltale sign of its presence. The Frog Shooter's most dangerous weapon was its tongue, capable of crushing armor and breaking bones at point-blank range. While its body was soft and easy to damage, its tongue was fast and lethal.

Rex's ears twitched as his eyes caught movement. Instinctively, he leapt to the side, rolling to his feet just as the frog's tongue shot past, slamming into the wall with a loud crack that left a noticeable dent.

"Fast," he muttered, pulling his longsword from its scabbard as the tongue snapped back into the Frog Shooter's mouth. Most adventurers underestimated the speed of its attack, and it often proved fatal. But Rex had no intention of making that mistake.

The frog croaked loudly, its tongue lashing out again. Rex spun on his heel, dodging to the side with practiced ease. Without breaking stride, he dashed toward the monster, adjusting his grip on the sword as he moved. With a smooth motion, he passed the Frog Shooter, slicing along its side. The blade tore through its soft skin, spilling steaming blood and entrails onto the floor.

Rex stopped a few feet away, flicking his sword to the side to clear it of blood as the Frog Shooter collapsed in a pool of its own gore.

"Easy peasy," he muttered, turning back to scavenge the fallen monster. 

But as he approached, a shiver ran down his spine. His instincts screamed at him to move, and he twisted his head just in time to avoid a shadowy object flying past his face, leaving a sharp sting and a thin line of blood across his cheek.

Quickly, he jumped back, spinning to face the source of the attack. A War Shadow loomed before him. The humanoid monster stood at around 180 cm, its skin so dark it blended perfectly into the shadows, its single, glowing red eye staring unblinkingly at Rex, with its long, clawed arms ready to strike.

The War Shadow dashed forward, thrusting its right arm forward, the knife-like claws shooting toward his head. Reacting quickly, Rex raised his sword vertically, deflecting the claws as they skidded off the broadside of his blade to the side.

He ducked and rolled to the side as the monster followed up with another strike, a horizontal slash to his head with its other claw. Coming out of the roll, he dashed forward, gripping his sword tightly with both hands as he thrust it into the War Shadow's ribs. The blade pierced clean through its body, emerging from the other side.

The War Shadow's beady eye turned to him in its final moments. Rex twisted the sword, tearing through its insides before the monster slumped forward, lifeless.

Releasing his left hand from the hilt, Rex placed his palm on the creature's head. 'Scavenge.'

[+3 Strength, +1 Endurance, +2 Dexterity, +5 Agility, +0 Magic]

The war shadow turned to ash, leaving behind a drop item. Turning back to the Frog Shooter, he crouched down and touched it to scavenge whatever stats he could.

[+4 Strength, +2 Endurance, +2 Dexterity, +0 Agility, +0 Magic]

'Now, all my stats are at A with strength at S.' He thought, flexing his muscles. 'But my fighting is still so awkward.' He replayed the fight in his mind and sighed. 'I don't think thrusting a sword with two hands is good swordsmanship.' He looked at the drop from the war shadow.

The War Shadow's middle finger blade—the longest and most durable of its three—was a valuable material. These blades could be crafted into high-quality weapons, like his black dagger, and sold for around 250 Valis each, depending on their condition. 

Rex stood, examining the blade in his hand. It was too long to fit in his pouch, and carrying it would be impractical without a supporter. With a sigh, he tossed it to the side, deciding to leave it.

"Wait a minute…" The Scavenger skill judged things so… wouldn't it be able to judge his thoughts and tell him the one with the highest quality. "Hmm…" He drew his sword and shifted his stance, holding the blade in front of him. 

He closed his eyes briefly, visualizing five different stances for an overhead strike, drawing from the memories of the original Rex and his own experience back on Earth, he pieced together possible techniques. And indeed, Scavenger immediately judged one as superior. 

While the ability couldn't create new ideas for him, it excelled at judging the best one. "Hehe~" A satisfied chuckle escaped him.

Following its recommendation, he adjusted his posture, raising the sword high above his head with the blade angled diagonally backward. Both hands gripped the hilt firmly—his right near the guard—and one foot stepped forward while his weight shifted slightly onto the back leg for balance.

With a deep breath, he transitioned into a powerful overhead strike. The blade came down with force—but he overdid it. The tip slammed into the ground with a dull thud, and he froze, staring at the embedded sword.

"…" He blinked at the weapon for a moment before shaking his head. "Well, at least now I have a teacher," he muttered to himself, retrieving the sword and turning toward the sound of a low croak nearby.

A Frog Shooter emerged from the shadows, its glowing eye locked onto him as it prepared to strike. Rex grinned, gripping his sword tighter.

"My own teacher is myself, BIATCH!" he yelled, charging toward the monster, ready to put his self-taught lessons to the test.