I Made Some Money

[Neo, where are you going?]

[I'm going to try adventuring.]

[Okay, Neo... be careful, okay?]

[Okay.]

Seol-ah seems a bit sad that's leaving the house again. Now that I think about it, why is she home all day? Shouldn't she be in school?

I walk out of the house and teleport to the guild. With no one noticing, of course. I got my license yesterday so I can start adventuring and get money. I looked at the commissions board. That's not a lot of money... oh. This commission pays 10,000 Radis? That's nice. I guess I'll do this one. A thousand radis is equivalent to around 10 million won, or 7,000 dollars. That's a good amount for a mundane job. Okay, I'll take this one.

[I'm sorry sir, you can't do that one. Only A ranks or above can take that commission due to its danger level.]

... I see. If I knew it would come to this, I would have just destroyed that robot yesterday and gotten a higher rank... whatever.

In the end, I decided to just take a commission to kill a few monsters that are causing a ruckus on the Southern border of this city.

I teleport to the Southern border. Hm, it's a vast plain. Where are the monsters..?

Hm? I see a huge hole on the ground. Ah, I see. I guess some monsters similar to moles are digging up holes around here. I look around. Nobody is here. I can just finish this quickly. Since it's a hole, there is obviously a shadow down there. No matter how many molested are there, or how deep a hole they dug, they're always on a shadow. Oh, I found them. I can see them through the shadow. Anywhere there is a shadow, I can see through. It's convenient. With a flick of my wrist, a blade stretches out of the shadow and stabs the moles. Or whatever that monster is. I teleport it here through my shadow. Hm.. I guess that's all for today? It seems a bit lackluster... maybe I'll go hunting a bit more.

I was about to jump into the hole, but a portal appeared right in front of me. What is this?

I step into the portal, and I realize I'm in some kind of cave? The portal is still behind me. What is this? Oh, we'll. I'll explore.

I walk deeper into the cave and I see a few goblins. I just stab them through their shadows. They collapse on the floor. Hm? I can sense some magic in their heart...

I use a shadow like a tentacle and take out what's in their heart.

A crystal? There's condensed mana in it... though it's a miniscule amount. I guess I'll just keep these for now.

I throw them into my shadow and keep going. I find a few Kobolds, some Hobgoblins... but nothing major. And now, I arrive at a huge gate. Hm, is this where the strongest monster is?

Yep. The strongest one is in here. I can sense it. But I also sense... corpses? Human corpses. And... 2 people are alive. Should I save them?

I open the doors and I see... oh? Another Nightmare? This one looks like a human but with unnaturally long arms and legs. There's a mark on its arm.... XII. 7? So it's supposed to be a lot stronger than that bear the other day, right?

I see the two people who are still breathing. It looks like a pair of two young girls... cat ears? are they beastmen?

The two frightened girls turn their heads towards me. The Nightmare does the same. This is going to be easy. I dash in front of the Nightmare and flick its forehead.

....huh? It's still fine. In fact, the Nightmare didn't even budge. I couldn't finish it off with a single flick... did I get weaker? Or could it be... the seal wasn't just preventing me from leaving, it was locking away my powers? How does it even lock away raw strength? Did I just get rusty from doing nothing for 50 billion years?

The Nightmare swings its arm at me horizontally. I block it with my arm but I get budged a bit. My, I really have gotten weaker. CouldnI even handle one of those heroes at this level?

I'm getting annoyed. I flicked my fingers upward and the Nightmare's shadow pierces the Nightmare. The Nightmare stops moving. And then, it dissipates. Nightmares don't leave any crystal thingies, huh... well, I guess I should get out of here now.

[Hic.... waaah....!]

Oh, right. The two kitties. I turn around to face them.

[Are you alright?]

[Yes.... waaah....!]

They won't stop crying. Well, it does seem like some people they knew were killed.

There are 2 cat girls. One of them has black hair and yellow eyes. Her skin is dark and her eyes are sharp. Her hair is short and her bangs cover her left eye. The other one has white hair and yellow eyes. Her hair is short as well. Her eyes look kind of... apathetic. She's not even crying. The black one was petite, but the white one was even more petite. She does look frightened, though.

[Let's get out of here.]

[W-we can't....]

The white cat speaks shakily.

[Why do you say that?]

[Our party members.... they defeated the dungeon boss over an hour ago... the gate that leads outside must be gone....]

Hm? Dungeons? I don't know what they're talking about... but I'll just pretend I know.

[... here. Hold my hand.]

They look puzzled, but they hold my hand.

[Where do you live?]

[Hic... Uhm.... Merund....]

If I remember correctly, Merund is a city in Velt, a country on the opposite side of the continent. How did these two end up here? Did they com here through a portal too?

[Alright. Close your eyes.]

They do as told and close their eyes. Their ears fold against their heads.

We sink into my shadow, and in the next moment, we're transported to another alley next to the guild in Merund.

The girls open their eyes.

[Huh...? This place is...!]

[This is the city you live in, right?

[Y-yes.... but how did you-]

[That's a secret. Don't go into dangerous places now, okay?]

[O-okay.... ]

Then, I vanish before their eyes.

-----------------

Two girls had just been rescued from a closed dungeon. Their party had been wiped out, but they were saved by a mysterious man.

[Shiro... what just happened?]

[That man just saved us from a Nightmare and somehow brought us home.]

[I know that! I'm talking about how he brought us home! Is it teleportation magic? But I thought you can't teleport in and out of dungeons!]

[I'm not sure either, unnie. But... it's true he saved us.]

[Aww, I'm so curious how he did that!]

[.... unnie. I think I want to meet that man again.]

[M-me too! I'm gonna meet him too! But... how are we going to meet him?]

[I'm not sure... but... I want to thank him. We didn't get that chance to.]

[Gaaah! You're right!]

[For now.... I've decided to go to that academy in the United Federation.]

[Huh? Why?]

[If I go there and do well... I might become famous. If I become famous enough, one day, perhaps he'll see me and meet me.]

[Hm... that's a good idea! I'll go too!]

[Unnie, you have to study if you want to go.]

[Gah! Rrrr.... I'll study! Even if I don't like it! And I'll make it into Dayura academy!]

Shiro smiles slightly.

[That's the spirit.]

Seriously, who's the older sister here?

--------------

After taking the two cat sisters home, I return to the guild.

[Receptionist. I've returned.]

[Oh, mister Neo! Welcome back. You took quite a while... it's already almost sundown.]

[There was an unexpected discrepancy, you see.]

I put the bag of crystals I got from that dungeon on the counter.

[These look valuable. Can I exchange it for money?]

[Magic crystals? Mister Neo, did you enter a dungeon?]

[A dungeon?]

[Yes, a dungeon! Only monsters inside dungeons drop magic crystals!]

[I see. Yes, I have.]

[Really?! Did you clear it by yourself?]

[....]

Did I? That dead party defeated the boss, right? But I did defeat the Nightmare who was far stronger than the boss... I'll just say I did.

[Yes.]

[Wow! That's incredible, mister Neo! Even if you're a C rank, clearing an E rank dungeon alone isn't easy!]

[I see.]

The receptionist lady started calculating my earnings.

[Okay.... and! Congratulations, mister Neo! With all these, you can go home with 700 radis!]

I guess that's a decent amount of money for one day of work. I receive the money from the receptionist and head home. Mr. And Mrs. Yoo are still out working. It's getting dark out...

I teleport home with the money. I don't see Seol-ah anywhere.

[.... young miss?]

... no reply. Did she go somewhere?

[Kyaaaaaah!!!!]

This scream. It's Seol-ah's voice. It's coming from the bathroom. I slam the door open.

[What's wrong?]

[C-cockroach!!]

.....

Seol-ah is wearing nothing but a towel around her body. She's cowering in fear in the corner of the bathroom. I think she looks even more afraid when they bear Nightmare was in town...

The cockroach starts going closer to Seol-ah.

[Noooooo!!!!]

Ah, this isn't time for me to be staying still. I squish the bug with a tissue.

[There. It's dead.]

Seol-ah, with tears on her face, continues trembling in the corner of the bathroom.

.... is she that afraid of cockroaches? Maybe something happened to her involving cockroaches and left her with trauma.

I crouch down and pat her head.

[It's gone, Seol-ah.]

Seol-ah's eyes snap open and she looks up at me, as is she was dead just now and had been revived. Her eyes are shining.

[O-oh... uhm... thank you, Neo....]

Seol-ah suddenly looks down at her body and blushes furiously. She tries to hide her body with her arms, even though she already has a towel around her.

[Kyah...!]

Is she embarrassed? I stand up.

[I'll get out now.]

Seol-ah nods with a red face. I leave the bathroom and close the door behind me.

I go to the kitchen counter and get some water. I drink all down in one go. I went and made some money today... that's a first. I wonder if this much will support Seol-ah's family?

Seol-ah comes out of the bathroom dressed in her pajamas.

[U-uhm... Neo.... you saw... right...?]

[Yes. I saw.]

Her face flushes even redder. Oh, was I supposed to lie? Seol-ah runs away into her room and shuts the door behind her. I guess a girl her age would feel embarrassed showing her skin to someone she isn't romantically interested in.

Just as I was thinking that, Mr. And Mrs. Yoo come back home from work.

[Oh, Neo! What are you doing there?]

Mrs. Yoo asks me warmly.

[I was drinking some water.]

[Oh, I see. Oh? What's that bag on your hand?]

[This? Money.]

[What? Money? Where did you get money?]

Mr. Yoo asks curiously.

[I got an adventurers license and tried some work today. I thought I would offer this to you.]

[What? We can't accept that! You worked for it!]

[Well, you're letting me stay at your place.]

[B-but... you saved our daughter! Twice!]

[But you're letting me stay at your place.]

Mrs. Yoo clears her throat.

[Neo, do you really want to give that to us?]

[Yes. I have no need for it anyway. I only worked today to give it to you two.]

[Alright. I understand. It would be rude of us to not accept when all you wanted was to help us.]

[D-dear?]

[Darling, think about how Neo feels. He's worked hard today for us and we reject his efforts? That's mean.]

....! Mrs. Yoo... she's quite thoughtful.

[I understand. Thank you for your support, Neo.]

Mr. Yoo reluctantly accepts the bag of money.

[700 Radis? That's a lot....]

[... I just got lucky today.]

----------------

Ahhhh!! Neo saw me naked! Not completely naked, but still! I'm so embarassed.... Neo didn't seem flustered at all though... I wonder if she doesn't find me attractive? Or do I just seem like a child to him? Hmph... I'm already 16 this year, you know....

I lay face down on the bed. My ears are red... I want to hide in a hole. Nobody has seen me naked...

I get up and sit in the chair on my desk. I'm going to study! I should focus. I'm going to go to Dayura Academy in a few months... I should focus! I'm totally not trying to distract myself!