Chapter 37

He made his way to the barracks after running into the unsettling man known as Kaine, his eyes did creep him out, but there was something else - something that Crimson couldn’t quite put his finger on, that also creeped him out.

After he enter the barracks he took note of the time from the clock on the wall. 5:45? This is truly a 9 to 5 job. He hopped in line to reach the counter and had to wait for a good 10 minutes to reach the front of the line.

“Yo brother! You get a good haul today?”

“I got something.” He responded dryly.

“Tough luck brother?”

“You be the judge.”

Slot 1: [Book of the Alkehaarian Language]

Slot 2: [Goblin Teeth x19]

Slot 3: [Goblin Claws x11]

Slot 4: [Empty]

Slot 5: [Wayfarer’s Katana Lv.1]

Slot 6: [Canteen of Water x2]

Slot 7: [Empty Canteen x1]

Slot 8: [Empty]

Slot 9: [Empty]

Slot 10: [Empty]

He pulled the Goblin Teeth and Claws out of his inventory and passed them over to Lars.

“That’s a really good haul brother! Especially for your first day.”

Crimson grimaced, “Well…there is one more thing.”

“Oh? What is it brother?”

He glanced around and beckoned Lars closer, the Tiger-Kin leaned over the counter and tilted his head.

“I got the skill [Inevitable End].”

Lars’ tail shot straight out and became bushy, his ears shot up, and he froze.

“Uhh, Lars?”

The Tiger-Kin didn’t move.

He glanced around the room and noticed that everyone else was staring at him with confused gazes. Moving quickly he snapped his fingers in front of Lars’ face.

“Lars? I need you to wake up now. I’m getting scary looks from everyone else.”

Lars blinked a few times, his tail and ears started moving, and he started to breathe again.

“Did I just hear you say that brother? That you got a,” he leaned in and whispered, “skill from the most basic level one goblin?”

“I think so, I wasn’t really paying attention, but there’s nowhere else I could have gotten it.”

Lars leaned back, he still had a stunned expression, “You must have some pretty high luck brother.”

“Dunno, I don’t have a comparison.”

“Well, to be considered lucky you need to have at least 65 in luck. 70 or more is super lucky. Anything less than 35 is unlucky. If you drop below 30 you’re super unlucky. That makes 50 the happy medium brother. Anything higher or lower than that isn’t very common. Well, they could be more common, but most people aren’t willing to share the details of their stats. Which is completely understandable brother.”

“Huh. Well, without any specifics, I guess I’m lucky.”

Lars ‘oooh’ a little, “That might explain it brother. Still,” he lowered his voice again, “it’s not often you see someone get a skill from anything less than a boss, or elite monster. I’m a bit jealous, and I’m not even a dungeon crawler!”

“Thanks Lars,” he said while bowing to hide his big smile - he hadn’t been praised much by anyone but his parents, “Anyway, now that I’ve turned in the drops: what next?”

“Well, since you’re under level 5 brother your quota for the month is pretty light: 50 [Goblin’s Teeth] and 40 [Goblin’s Claws]. Even if this is an easy quota it usually takes a solid week or so of dungeon diving to get what you got today brother. Your luck is pretty insane!”

“Thanks Lars. Do you mind if I ask you a few more questions? They should be pretty fast.”

“Go ahead, just make them fast brother,” he sniggered, “if you can’t already tell from the glares boring into your back: you’re holding up the line.”

He ignored the teasing, it was technically Lars’ fault since he spent too long frozen, but he would not be baited by him. “Yeah, can I take more than one weapon from the Armory?”

“Yes brother, but there is a limit, both to how much you can carry, and how much the rules will allow. I’m not too clear on the limitation so you’ll have to find out for yourself. Let me know what that limit is when they grab you to tell you it’s too much: I’m curious.”

Okay, being used as a guinea pig aside, “Am I allowed to leave the castle grounds whenever?”

“Yeah, it’s fine brother, some of these guys’ll do late night runs instead of daytime because it’s less crowded, and the undead in the Undead Graveyard all go up a level at night- even the bosses!”

Lars paused for a moment and stared at Crimson, “Now you don’t even think of running off with a bunch of weapons ya’ hear? If you had asked these two questions back to back to anyone else: they’d be thinking that you were out to steal some weapons.”

Crimson froze, he hadn’t actually considered that happening; maybe his intelligence stat would have been lower if it weren’t for [WorldWanderer].

“Thanks Lars, I hadn’t considered that.”

“I know that brother, just be careful.”

“Will do.”

Crimson headed out the door: his next destination already set.

- - - - -

Lars turned his attention to the next DG in line after his Brother left. It had been a really fun, and embarrassing conversation. Learning more about Brother was a rare occurrence, and he’d found it fascinating! But it was also embarrassing because he’d frozen in shock. He honestly wanted to hide under the counter until everyone left so he wouldn’t have to deal with the embarrassment.

His Brother is a really nice guy, most people wrote Lars off as the counter guy: just someone to interact with every once in a while, but his Brother actually spent time with him, and seemed to have fun too! From that he’d learned a lot about his brother and didn’t doubt him for a second- even when he was asking suspicious questions.

The last guy in line walked away, and Lars didn’t remember a word of what they just talked about, probably nothing more than “Good evening man,” “Please add these drops to my team’s quota,” “sure,” “have a good evening,” “you too.” It was how most of his interactions went. It was what made him appreciate brother too.

The door opened again and Captain Mars walked in, followed by a young-looking elf lady with green hair.

“Lars-,” he glanced at the non-existent line in front of the counter, “good, you’re free. I have someone I need to introduce you to.”