It had been 54 hours since Rex entered the dungeon, and after 2 days and 6 hours, he finally left. Due to the amount of hunting he'd done during those two days, his first adventurer bag had been filled to the brim.
He had to buy two new, larger bags from Rivira, and even those ended up stuffed full. He would have even filled 4 bags, but he got lazy and stopped picking up drops.
Now he carried a bag on his back completely filled and the other two on each hands. Since there was so much, he couldn't just take it all to the guild, so he sold the drops he didn't need at Babel.
It took a full hour, with three appraisers working together to sort through everything. Then he was called to a separate room—the office of the person in charge of the Babel appraisal branch.
Entering the office, he saw a glasses-wearing man sitting on a couch, who gestured to the couch across from him. "Please, have a seat," he said with a smile.
[God: Ebisu]
'…Naruto?' Rex was surprised at the name. 'And he even looks like Ebisu from Naruto. What mythology is bro from?' he thought as he sat down across from the god.
"Tea?" the god gestured at the steaming cup placed in front of Rex on the table.
"No, thank you," Rex declined.
His stomach wasn't in the mood for anything. Eating the fruits from the Large Tree Labyrinth had made his stomach hurt so bad he wanted to shit, and if he drank that tea, he might actually shit himself right there.
"Can I know why I was called here?" Rex decide to skip pleasantry and get straight to the point.
"This," the god gestured to the drop items on the table—scales, fangs, a few bundles of silk from those large spiders, one of the large, tree like glowing antler from the Elk, and a few other things. "These are drops we've never encountered before. We have no records of them, and our records date back to the construction of Orario..."
'Cap,' Rex almost blurted out.
There's no way they hadn't seen these drops before after a thousand fucking years. He didn't even go that deep to find them. Compared to where he found the third Green Dragon, these areas were pretty 'open.'
'They probably lost the record or something.' He thought, replying, "I explored a deeper part of the dungeon."
"You deeper into the dungeon's unexplored area?" Ebisu asked, one brow arching. "Did you perhaps map it out?"
"No." Rex shook his head. "I was too lazy." He realized he should have added that last part. 'No' would have done.
"...I assume you have some kind of map skill."
"I do," He nodded, seeing no reason to lie. The man was a god, after all.
Ebisu nodded slowly. "I apologize, but since we have no record of these, we can't appraise them."
He then gestured to the adventurer bag on the side of the table filled with unregistered drops. Rex had spent most of his time in the deep areas hunting down the Vouivres and had to go even deeper for a certain green dragon, so it was half-filled with unknown loot.
"You'll have to take it to the guild so they can research and record it." He paused, "It might take days. Weeks, even."
"Alright," Rex nodded, glancing at the pouch beside the god's cup. "And I guess that's mine?"
"Yes," the god nodded, picking up a slip of paper and the pouch, holding both out with both hands. "It came out to a total of three hundred forty thousand even."
'Damn! Three hundred bands!!!' he shouted internally, smiling as he took the large, heavy pouch and three papers. "Thanks," he said, not looking at the three papers. "So, is that all, my lord?"
Ebisu's eyes widened in surprise. "You're able to sense my divinity?"
"…"
"I was sure I hid everything," the god mumbled to himself, adjusting his glasses before smiling. "I guess you're one of the rare few that are extra sensitive to divinity. Why don't we keep it a secret that a god is working here?" he asked, extending his hand.
"Of course," Rex smiled, shaking the god's soft hands. 'I should probably not address a god as a god unless they blatantly show off their divinity or introduce themselves.' He stood up. "Is that all?"
"That's all," Ebisu replied.
So Rex packed the loot on the table into the borrowed adventurer bag, bowed slightly to the god, and said, "Then I'll see myself out."
"Stay safe," the god waved.
Rex picked up the bag, left the room, transferred the loot into one of the lower-quality bag he bought from Rivira, and returned the borrowed one to a worker. Then he put the 300,000 valis pouch into his main bag before heading off. His main bag was still half-filled with drops from the Green Dragons, which he planned to use for crafting new weapons.
His 2nd class spear had actually broken during his spartan fight with the second Green Dragon. Fifteen million valis gone in a flash. He nearly cried when it shattered after clashing with the dragon's claw.
In the last fight, he ended up using his claws like a true monster as he didn't want his third class halberd to break. It was a truly barbaric fight. Not something he ever wanted anyone to find out.
When he entered the Guild, he noticed it wasn't as busy as it should've been at 1 in the afternoon, so he approached Rose without any hindrance.
"Yo~" he greeted the wolf with a slight wave of his free hand.
"Yo." she returned, her expression unchanged. "Misha will take you," she said, gesturing to the girl at the next booth over who was talking to the elf, Eina.
"We meet after four days, and the first thing you do is send me away?" Rex used his free hand to clutch his chest, feigning pain. "So cold~." The last time he was here was when he registered himself as the Soma Familia vice-captain along with Hyakinthos and Zanis.
"I will not check out all…" her golden eyes glanced at the two bags, "those."
"Oh, you won't be checking out anything." Rex shook his head. "I already sold most of my loot at Babel. These are just the ones they said I should send here since they're 'new' drops."
"Hmm…" Rose stared into his eyes, then gestured to the back. "Follow me."
She left the booth, walking behind the pink-haired receptionist to go to the back. When Rex past the front of the receptionist, Misha's, window, he noticed the sticking up two thumbs at him with a stupid grin.
She then mouthed, 'I believe in you.'
"???" He tilted his head in confusion. 'Scavenger, is something wrong with her?'
Scavenger rated it high quality.
He didn't know what to make of that, so he just let it go.
"How's your day been, Rosalina?" Rex asked as he entered the appraisal room.
"Normal," she replied with a slight shrug as she closed the door. "Like every other day."
"Living where everyday mirrors the last must be so fucking depressing," Rex bluntly stated, causing the girl to glance at him. And though her expression didn't change, he knew she was definitely glaring.
"But don't worry, my sister." He winked, "Handsome Rex is here to brighten up your day~." He blew her a kiss.
Rose dodged the imaginary heart. "Just show me the 'new' drops," she said with a slight smile.
Rex dropped the second bag down and opened it, bringing out one of the bundles of silk and holding it out to her. "Ever seen anything like this?"
Rose put on some gloves before taking it to inspect, her eyes narrowing. "Not that I remember." She shook her head.
From what she could see, they were quite similar to the ones produced by the Arachne from the Dense Forest Ravine, but just from touch and sight, these were noticeably higher quality.
"I might have to check the records to be sure." She handed it back to him. "Anything else?" she asked, glancing at the bags.
"Yep," he opened it and tilted it toward her for her to see inside. "What do you think?"
Rose walked forward, standing across from him and scanning the contents, then bent down to carefully move apart the drops to inspect them. Rex couldn't help but glance at her crimson fur tail resting behind him, a thought crossing his mind:
'Wouldn't having sex with her be the same as fucking a monster?' he thought. After all, like himself, she was a furry. 'No, more like a Xenos—Wait, what the fuck am I thinking about?'
"I don't recognize any of this," Rose mumbled to herself, frowning as she stood up, looking at him. "Where did they drop from?"
"I went into some unexplored area of the Large Tree Labyrinth," he replied, returning the silk to the bag.
"For your guild expedition?" she asked.
"Nah," Rex shook his head. "I was bored."
The atmosphere instantly changed, which wasn't hard for Rex to notice. Rose coldly met his eyes. "You were… bored?"
"Yeah?" He immediately felt like he shouldn't have said that. 'She's mad?' He thought. "It got a bit mundane, and I was looking for something, so I went deeper into the floors."
She stared at him silently. Seconds stretched, and Rex stared back, confused.
"Rex Magnus," Rose called his name slowly, "the Dungeon is not a place where you should get 'bored' and explore mindlessly."
"A hundred percent—"
"It doesn't matter how strong you are—go deep enough, and you won't come back." She cut him off. "Even if you're in a party of level 3s, it's still extremely easy to die in the Large Tree Labyrinth. All it takes is a Bloody Hive or a misstep, and you're all gone," she snapped. "Like that."
He noticed her voice had gotten louder at the end. She was definitely mad. "I understand," Rex nodded. "I'd be mad too if I were in your shoes and my only friend said what I said. You're absolutely right, Rose."
He pushed. "The Dungeon is not a place to get 'bored' in."
Rose heard what he said—but one thing caught her attention. 'Only friend?'
"But, my beautiful Rosalina," Rex continued with a smile, "there's something you don't know about me."
"What?" she asked, her voice more direct than usual.
"I'm built different." He raised his head arrogantly.
There was silence. Rose notably clenched her jaw, and as she opened her mouth, he cut her off. "Rose, do something for me and close your eyes."
"…Why?" she asked.
"Just do it for me." Rex waved. "Close your eyes and listen to my voice."
"…Fine." She stared at the smiling man silently. "I trust you won't do anything to me."
"Please," he laughed, casually saying, "if I wanted rape you right here and now, who's gonna stop me? Definitely not you. Hahaha." He laughed like what he just said wasn't terrifying.
And, not even blinking at what he said, Rose nodded like she understood, folded her arms under her chest, and closed her eyes.
"Now," Rex's voice came in the darkness around her. "imagine you're a farmer girl. It's sunny out, and you've got your straw hat and overalls."
Rose was confused but followed the instructions.
"'Go feed the chickens, Rose!' your father yells. 'And you better feed them good or I'll use the belt!' You shouted back, 'I am already going, pops!' you then mumble to yourself, wishing you could just shut his old ass up for good."
'…Am I supposed to be a rebellious teenager?' Rose thought, clenching her eyes tighter.
"You take the seeds and enter the chicken coop, sprinkling feed or whatever chickens eat on the ground." Rex continued, "As the chickens gather around you to eat—BOOM!"
Rose flinched but kept her eyes shut, slightly annoyed at his sudden shout.
"You were attacked by a chicken."
"Now tell me. What would you do to that chicken?"
"…Kick it," she replied.
"You defeated the chicken, right?"
"I guess? Yes."
"What if you were attacked by three?"
Rose took a deep breath, then replied. "Casually kick them."
"Now open your eyes," Rex commanded. She opened them to see the man staring seriously. "See, you in that chicken pen is what I am in the Large Tree Labyrinth."
She frowned as he continued, "The monsters are like chickens to me. No—bugs I can crush with a step. Even if I slept in the forest ground, there's barely anything that can hurt me. I can afford to get bored, just like you can while feeding chickens."
He smiled. "So don't worry. Your only friend doesn't have a death wish." He gave a thumbs-up. "You won't become a lonely bum with no friends since I won't be dying anytime soon."
Rose felt very insulted by what he just said, but there was something else that was in the back of her mind, "Rex, what level are you?"
He smiled and slowly raised an index finger to his lips. "Can you keep a secret?" Rose mimed zipping her lips shut and throwing the key, so he replied,
"Level five."
Technically, his current stats were all SS1000+ at level 3, but his true stats put him at peak level 4—stronger than any level 4 in the world, but slightly weaker than a level 5 due to the natural boost from leveling up. However, with his skills, he could comfortably fight a level 5.
He might even be able to take out a peak level 5, and if he enters Rage Mode, level 6 will be no problem.
"I see…" Rose nodded, the war game a few days ago flashing in her mind.
How he easily punched through a wall while an elf mage needed magic. How he ignored the magic of level 2 adventurers. How he easily took care of a level 3 Hyakinthos. It made sense he could be level 5. But—
"Why didn't you know about Development Abilities if you were level 5?" she asked, remembering when he'd asked her about DA. She'd wondered if he was about to become a level 2 back then, but if he was level 5, he should already know.
"I told you before, right?" He shrugged. "I was a killer or something and my god just picked the right DA for me. I had no choice and knew nothing about DA." He casually replied, hoping she got the point that he didn't want to talk about it.
"Right..." Rose silently nodded at his words, an unknown emotion flashing in her eyes.
Then Rex gestured at the bag. "So I'll be leaving this here, right?" he asked, shifting the topic. "I was told it would take days to be appraised."
"It would," she replied, glancing at it. "The guild has to check their worth with other production type Familia that might need it, see what they can be used for, and then we pay you the price we decide."
"…You guys won't take the appraisal cost from my payment, right?" Rex asked, just to be sure.
"No," Rose looked at him like he was dumb, causing him to sigh in relief. "We'll just tax you more."
"Fucking shit." He groaned. "Of course."
Rose chuckled lightly. "I'm joking," she said. "There'll be no extra cost."
"That's good." Rex smiled, then he realized, 'Wait, why do I care about cheap change? I'm a multi-millionaire!'
"That will be all," Rose said as she tied up the bag and tried to pick it up—but it didn't even budge. '…Heavy…'
She was suddenly reminded how strong adventurers really were. How they could carry these things around like they were rocks. Especially first-class adventurers like Rex.
Acting like she didn't just try—and failed—to lift it, she stood straight and dusted her gloved palms. "…So you can be on your way."
"Weak ass." Rose showed no reaction to his insult as he turned to the door. "Have a good day, Rosalina~. I'll see you in two days, so don't feel lonely without me."
"You're not my only friend," she snapped. Her voice was still monotone, but her annoyance was obvious.
"Yep." He nodded as he opened the door. "And I'm a level one~." With that, he left the room, closing the door behind him.
As he was leaving, he noticed the pink-haired girl looking at him. She then stuck up a thumb—then pointed it down. '???' Confused, Rex just adjusted his thumb vertically and she nodded. '…Strange girl.' He didn't know what she meant and didn't care to ask.
Leaving the guild, it didn't take him long to arrive at Cupidinem, and the moment he did… the Bluetooth in his ass connected to his toilet and he suddenly felt it coming out.
'Shit!' he screamed as he instantly took off running, a massive gust of wind following behind him that raised skirts and made other stumbled when he passed them.
Rex quickly reached the main mansion, jumped over the gate, and entered the mansion. He sprinted through the foyer, and the moment he entered the large living room, he saw a few level 2 adventurers gathered with drinks. All of them turned to him.
At a glance, he recognized Daphne, Chandra, the level 2 elf Irhaal—who was dressed in a maid outfit for some reason—serving wine, Cassandra, Lissos, the three musketeers, and a few other guys.
"Rex!" Kaede jumped from her couch with a grin and dashed to him, blocking his path. "Gueess—"
"Hi Coco!" he shouted as he jumped over the rabbit's head, completely ignoring her and everyone else.
"Hi Rex!" she shouted back as he disappeared out of the living room, sprinting down the hall toward the stairs.
There were a few seconds of silence. Then all eyes turned to the silent Coco, causing her to shrink behind Cassandra—who didn't like the attention either, but decided to be the older sister and not shrink behind Daphne.
As for Rex, he made it to his bathroom on time and sat down in the Thinker position, releasing himself.
—*—*—*—
"How has it been, my brother—?" Rex asked as he entered Zanis' office, only to pause. "…I see you haven't been sleeping these days." He closed the door behind him.
"No." Zanis replied, raising his glasses and massaging his eyes.
"Don't you have Hyakinthos and those other guys from the Apollo Familia helping you?" Rex asked as he walked towards Zanis' wine drawer to pick out a Soma wine.
"Hyakinthos has been spending a lot of time in the dungeon." He sighed, leaning back in his chair as he stared at the ceiling. "Trying to recover from the embarrassment you gave him, I imagine. Probably wants to level up and save face."
Rex nodded as he poured some wine into a glass. "But the problem is with the black market."
"Oh?" Rex asked as he drank from the glass. "Like what?"
Zanis glanced at Rex without moving his head. "The Ikelos Familia placed another request for Papilio Crystallinum and the purple variant." He returned his eyes to the ceiling. "A man named Jura also placed a request on even more of the purple dust. His desperation was unsettling."
"Zanis not feeling comfortable?" Rex chuckled, "I guess you shouldn't trade with him."
"The money on the table was too much to ignore." Zanis shook his head as Rex drank the wine, his body quickly relaxing, muscles loosening under the effect.
'…I wish I could turn off Indomitable Will.' This would have been a great way to cool off after a long brutal dungeon run.
"Dian Cecht Familia also submitted a request," Zanis continued. "Apparently, the purple dust works remarkably well as an antidote catalyst—especially when paired with Papilio."
'I don't think it will be the same anymore.' After All, it has been replaced twice and has become Poison Release. 'Hmm, should I be able to create the Purple Moth powder with the magic? It looks like it can have a lot of customization.' Scavenger confirmed this so he relaxed. 'Will try it later before I sleep.'
"How did the discount with Demeter go?" he asked, suddenly remembering the big-breasted goddess.
"From eight hundred, our debt became four hundred million." Zanis sat up and cracked his neck. "She seemed excited when she entered my office three days ago. I don't know what made her that way, but I'm not complaining."
"Wonder why too." Rex was curious. She already seemed excited when she met him, so what happened? 'Did something happen with Soma?'
"Welp." He stretched, returning the bottle to the shelf. "Give me some paper work, so I can help."
Zanis stared at him. "What?"
"I want to help." Rex walked over to the sitting area to put down his Soma Wine and glass, "So give me a stack." After drinking Soma, his body felt so relaxed he didn't even feel like sleeping anymore, so he decided to just use Scavenger to help a brother out. Besides, he has nothing else to do.
"No." Zanis declined without even a second to think. "I don't trust you."
"You calling me stupid, bro?" Rex asked.
"I am." Zanis nodded. "You are not smart enough for this, Rex. Stick to the dungeon."
Rex stared at him and then went to take a stack but Zanis suddenly threw his body over it. "..." They stared at each other and Rex went for another one, but Zanis placed his arm on it.
"Don't worry." The captain smiled up at Rex. "I can do this myself."
"Nah." Rex cracked his knuckles, grinning like a madman. "Give me a stack or I give you these knuckles fuck boy."
"Yo-you are threatening me because you want to do paperwork???" Zanis asked, confused as to what has suddenly gotten into Rex. "Are you alright? Did you get poisoned down there? You can go to Dian—"
Suddenly, Rex kissed his fist, causing it to... glint? "I guess you want me to fist you~." Rex smiled, "I won't say no to that, Zanis~~~."
Zanis gulped then sat back, watching in horror as Rex took a stack. "Don't worry~" He smiled, "I will have you double check it before I sign anything or do anything important." He placed the paperwork on the table.
"Now," He stretched his arm over his head, "Let's get to work!"
[Author's Note: This chapter officially marks the end of the Large Tree Labryinth arc for now. Next chapter, he will enter Water City, so look forward to it~. I won't post a chapter tomorrow, so head's up.
And how do you feel about Rose and Rex's relationship? I think I wrote it well. And for some reason… I don't feel like making them romantic partners just good friends. Like friends that would kiss but have no romantic relationship… What do ya think.
Anyway, thank you for reading and have a wonderful life~o(*￣▽￣*)ブ]