Kapitel 4: Returning home

Sean took much longer than me to finish his orc. Throughout the process, I had been giving him advice and trying to correct any small mistakes he made.

The resulting pile of harvested materials looks very undesirable but Sean has successfully dismantled his first orc.

"Good job, you did very well for your first time! Now you can have a try at the goblin. I'll demonstrate."

I walk over to one of the goblin corpses and rotate my wrist in preparation letting the knife do quick circles in the air. I grab the goblin by the head and start cutting.

"Goblins are mostly worthless, they don't have fangs, their skin isn't used to make leather and the list goes on. There is only one exception. Certain cuts of its meat taste like spicy chicken and can be sold. The problem is getting those cuts nicely. First, you have to peel the goblins like a fruit by removing layer after layer of skin and then flesh and bones."

I keep removing parts of the goblin until only two hand-sized slabs of meat remain. Meanwhile, a pile of goblin parts has accumulated next to me.

"Want to give it a try?"

"How do I know which is the right part?"

"According to the handbook that part is more tender than the rest of the goblin. You should be able to feel the difference between the tough meat and the tender cut you are looking for. Once you've done it enough times you'll naturally get a feel for it."

Once again Sean steps in front of a corpse. This time he struggles much more since the body is smaller and he often hits bones or cuts open organs. An exhausting hour later he makes the last cut and reveals two very small cubs of meat.

The disappointment in his eyes is visible. Most beginners notice the tender meat when they are cutting through it and lose a large part due to it being cut apart.

"I did do a good job, didn't I?"

"Most beginners have similar results to yours. Dismantling a goblin is very hard compared to the rewards you get for doing it. That's why I wanted you to start on the orc first."

"Well then Sean, I hope you enjoyed our first lesson together. We are done for today but you can come back for more lessons whenever we are open."

"Thank you. I'll be sure to come again."

He disappears from my sight and I am suddenly back in my capsule. The capsule's top opens up and I get out finding my body to be oddly relaxed.

<Your body is given optimal conditions to rest while in the capsule. By now you should have fully recovered and since we are reaching the end of business hours you can head home a little earlier. We expect you back on Monday at 9 AM. Have a pleasant Sunday with your family!"

I follow Navi's guidance back to the entrance and take public transportation back home. On the way home I checked my account balance and found a nice bonus deposited there. Killing healers and teaching dismantling to students seemed a good way to make money.

This much will probably last us for a month if we are frugal...

No! I can earn more money! I should really buy them some nice stuff. And melody had been coughing in the morning.

I make a little detour to the pharmacy and purchase some coughing medicine for melody.

When I finally arrive at my front door, Melody is already waiting for me at the entrance.

"I got you coughing medicine."

"How did you get a job at a company that has clients above level 100?!"

Oh God, this isn't good. She has probably looked up the name I had given her. I am not astonished that people with high levels train there. Valeria's speed of movement when she grabbed my glass was already enough to show me her capabilities. But how will I explain this to melody? I wish Navi was here!

How are you here?

My wife found out about where I work and wants to know how I got the job. I can't tell her it was because of my skills, can I?

<Hmm. Tell her you met the chairman after you got dizzy yesterday and he offered you the job when you told him about your situation. Add something like that he invited you for a drink. I'll record your story and inform the chairman so your accounts will match.>

Whew, you're a lifesaver Navi!

"Why can't you answer? Did you lie to me?!"

"That's not it! Let's go inside and sit down, I'll tell you what happened."

"The kids are inside!"

"They are old enough to hear some things and it's nothing grave I assure you."

We move to the living room and have a seat. The twins are hiding in the next room while pressing their ears against the wall but we just ignore them.

"As you know I had a dizzy spell yesterday and got kicked from the mission. Getting kicked usually leaves you with a bad image and makes it harder to earn money. I must have been looking really down when I started to head home and a young man offered to buy me a drink and listen to my story.

"When I told him about my troubles he asked what level my dismantling skill was on and after I answered four he said he had a job for me. He told me to come this morning and have a trial day."

"Really! That's great then. How did it go?"

"I'm not sure but I taught one guy and they told me to come back on Monday. So I guess I'm hired."

"That's good then. Sigh, I was worried when you acted all mysterious. Cough, cough."

Melody has a violent coughing fit at the end of her sentence and all strength leaves her body. I manage to catch her before she hit the floor and quickly feed her some of the coughing medicine I had bought.

I had made her worried...

Even though I lied to soothe her worries I still feel guilty. I would tell her but I'm afraid of the consequences. What if she can't accept the fact that I'm a monster now, that I kill people to make money and that I died once. What if she thinks I'm not the same anymore? What do I do?

I'll just postpone it for later. Maybe a good opportunity to solve this will present itself in the future. I'll be sure to seize the opportunity if it ever arises.

For now, I carried Melody to the bed and told her to rest. The remaining part of the day I spend nursing Melody and helping the girls do their homework.