Chapitre 15: Chapter 14 - Rewarded.
"Rank D?" After leaving the building and going across the street where the bar was, Lukas showed the paper to Karen.
"Yes."
"Well, it was as expected. Probably your skills will develop in the future, and your Rank will increase a bit. But like I said, a Rank above C is just a dream."
"I see."
"Come on, don't be discouraged. I know that people at your age dream of being strong and-"
"I'm not discouraged." Lukas took the paper and folded it several times before putting it in his pocket. "Now I'm leaving. Make sure you get home soon. If you get too drunk, some of these men might try to do something." Lukas looked around.
There were some dangerous men around. Their expressions as they looked at Karen were disgusting.
"Don't worry. I can defend myself. Now you'd better go, or your mother will be worried. She doesn't know anything you're doing, right?"
"What makes you think that?"
"Well, your father was a hunter and quit his post after your mother got pregnant with you. I suppose she doesn't like the idea very much."
"He didn't quit his Hunter job just for that. My sister had already been born, so your assumption doesn't make much sense. Now good night." Lukas turned and left the bar.
Karen sighed and then took another sip of whiskey.
"That boy. I hope he's not an idiot like Jey."
####
"Dumb brother, where were you?" When he got home, Lukas found his sister sitting on the couch.
"Where are Mom and Dad?"
"They went to the market. Our mom was pretty worried, you know."
"Right, right."
"And don't ignore me. I want to know where you were. Did you happen to get a girlfriend? Huh?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"What?" Anna was shocked, and she didn't know what to say.
Lukas sighed and went upstairs.
He could hear Anna talking about some things downstairs, but he ignored her completely. He went into the shower and took a bath. His clothes were all dirty because of the dungeon.
"All right, now let's hide this. Maybe I should throw it away so no one will find it." Lukas took the paper and kept it inside one of his books. It was well hidden there since no one usually messed with his bookshelf.
Then he sat down in front of his computer and logged on to the association's website again. In the upper right corner, he saw a notification in his message box.
[ Dear Sir, Lukas Ortid. We have received the request for your license to be manufactured. Due to some circumstances, the delivery of your license will only take place three days after the scheduled date.
Hunter Association ]
'Okay? Well, whatever.' Lukas was not really in a hurry to receive his license. He managed to get into one of the dungeons even if he was without his license, so it didn't make much difference.
"But I suppose I need a license if I want to venture out on my own... I certainly do." He did some more research and did his school work before turning off his computer and heading downstairs.
As he expected, his mother asked several questions. She made him promise not to be home late.
####
"Ah, Lukas. I just received our money for the crystals. Hand me your account so that I can deposit it."
"Oh, sure." Lukas used his bank account for small transactions because he was young and didn't have a job. After passing his account numbers to Karen, almost within the same hour, he received a transfer of $400.
"Isn't that a lot of money?" he asked, surprised.
"I said it was a good reward, didn't I?" Karen smiled, noticing that Lukas was quite pleased. "Well, let's rest for now. Our next 'mission' is scheduled to take place next week."
Karen grabbed some coffee and then sat down. Noelle then appeared in the room. She waved and smiled after seeing Lukas.
"Aren't you guys going to another dungeon today?"
"Are you crazy? That needs planning."
"I see..."
"But you are free to enter a dungeon if you wish as long as you have a license and permission. Don't go doing something that will harm my guild, please."
"Don't worry. I haven't even received my license yet."
"Oh, that's right, they also warned me that they would delay the delivery of your license. Maybe because you took a long time to measure your rank?"
"But wasn't it just a day later?"
"It would be best to take the test and apply for the license on the same day."
"You should have said that before..." He looked at Karen as if disappointed.
"Come on; it doesn't matter. Why don't you take time off to go out with your friends?" Lukas felt those words. He didn't have many friends with whom he could go out for fun.
Karen realized this and apologized. But Lukas didn't want to talk to her. He left the guild and walked down the street while keeping his hands in the pockets of his black sweatshirt.
"Maybe I should run a little?" Lukas put on his hood and took a deep breath. Then he headed toward the park for a little run. "Speaking of running, I have to get back to school." It had been two days since Lukas had avoided going there.
####
Lukas felt "okay" going to school the next day but decided not to. His mother tried to get him to go, but he refused. For some reason, the school was not a place Lukas would like to be anymore.
That place brought back memories for him, which did not allow him to be able to take classes in peace. Especially all those classmates saying unnecessary things around him, it was torturous.
So he left and went towards the park to go for a run.
After running around the whole park, Lukas received an unexpected message from the system.
[ Thanks to the user's effort, he will be rewarded. ]
[ +1 Strength ]
[ +1 Agility ]
"Oh." Lukas opened his system and saw that the numbers had indeed increased. But nothing seemed different. "1 point isn't much, so it makes sense."
Fiding that out excited him enough to take another walk around the park.
####
"I thought I said our next dungeon visit is next week." When he arrived at the guild, Lukas removed his hood and was greeted by Karen. She was cross-legged, eating an entire pot of ice cream while watching something on her cell phone.
"Can't I visit the guild?"
"Of course, you can." Karen pouted and then signalled for Lukas to sit next to her. "Here, you like this?" On her cell phone screen was playing the same series Anna was watching a few days ago.
Lukas smiled bitterly.
"Not much."
"I find it quite interesting, you know."
"What?"
"The story is constructed very comically even though it is a story with a rather serious theme."
"Maybe I'll try to take a look at it."
Karen smiled and then brought a spoonful of ice cream to Lukas' mouth. He didn't refuse since he was hungry. Not that ice cream would fill his belly, but at least it would leave him momentarily satisfied.
"I thought you would refuse."
"What?"
"I'm using this spoon, you know."
"I don't mind that."
"Hm..."
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone