After Vozk finished his meal, he grabbed his water bottle and took a drink, then held up his arm. A thick, portable console-like device was attached to his wrist and opened up like a laptop. He pressed a button on the panel.
"What is that thing?" Leon asked.
"Huh? This? It's a Gen Decoder. I use it for work. Our jobs and Orbs are registered on it, and it pulls the information from our genes," Vozk explained.
"Can I see it?" Leon asked.
"Sure, just come over here. I can't take this thing off my arm... wait, you don't have one?" Vozk asked.
"I don't," Leon replied.
"Hmm... everyone has one, even if they're thrown down from the sky," Vozk mumbled.
"I'm sorry, I don't remember anything," Leon said. "I can't tell him I'm from another world."
"Oh, right, you lost your memory. All right, come here," Vozk said.
Leon got off the bed and walked over to stand behind Vozk, who was sitting in a chair. He peered at the device from behind. The screen displayed an unfamiliar language, the same one as his holographic status screen, though now he could read it.
===========================================
Name: Vozk
Race: Dragonoid
Faction: None
Job: Scavenger
Level: 32 / 99 (200 / 22,400)
Power: 6,400
Orb: Hammer Mastery Rank A, Firearm Mastery Rank B
Money: 450,000 CC
===========================================
"Hmm... it's pretty much the same as my status," Leon mumbled to himself.
"Done looking?" Vozk asked, raising his arm.
"Oh, yeah, I'm finished... my bad," Leon answered.
"No problem," Vozk said.
"So the Orbs are listed too?" Leon asked.
"Yeah, hammer mastery and firearm mastery. My hammer's already Rank A, but my firearm is still only Rank B," Vozk replied.
"Oh, you can upgrade them?" Leon asked.
"Of course. If you find the right stone, an Orb can be upgraded. I want to get an Elemental Orb so I can use elemental energy or magic, but I haven't found the right stone, and they're expensive to buy," Vozk said.
"Oh... I see. And CC is money?" Leon asked.
"Yeah, CC stands for Chip Currency," Vozk replied.
"Hmm... got it," Leon mumbled.
"Let me take a look at your genes," Vozk said, pulling a cable with a needle on the end out of his Gen Decoder.
Vozk took Leon's hand and pricked the needle into his arm, making Leon wince. The display on the Gen Decoder then changed.
===========================================
Name: Leon
Race: Human
Faction: None
Job: None
Level: -
Power: -
Orb: Knife Mastery Rank B, Firearm Mastery Rank B, Eagle Eye Rank A, Dual Wield Rank A
Money: 0 CC
===========================================
"Oh... you don't have a job or any money," Vozk muttered.
"Hmm... yeah. The display changed. "So passive skills are the same as Orbs, but my gift skills didn't show up... that's probably for the best, it's safer that way," Leon thought to himself.
"Do you want to work as a scavenger? I can register you at the same time. What do you think? You have four decent Orbs that aren't being used," Vozk asked.
"Oh, I can do that?" Leon asked.
"Of course. To be honest, not many humans work as scavengers. It's mostly dragonoids, goblins, beastmen, and the wing tribe," Vozk replied.
"That's fine. Not many means some, right?" Leon countered.
"Haha, true. Not many means not a lot, but not none. If you really want to, you can come with me to the Union tomorrow," Vozk said.
"Union?" Leon asked.
"Yeah, it's the association that employs scavengers and evaluates the magic stones they find," Vozk explained.
"Hmm, okay, I understand. All right, I'll go with you tomorrow," Leon said.
Vozk looked Leon up and down, then stood up and walked over to his chest. He opened it and rummaged through the contents, pulling out a leather jacket, a pair of leather pants that looked like jeans, and a black t-shirt. He brought them all over and gave them to Leon.
"Wear these... I think they'll fit you. They belonged to my old partner; he was human too," Vozk said.
"Thanks. Your partner? Where is he now?" Leon asked.
"He died in a dungeon," Vozk said flatly.
"I'm sorry I asked," Leon replied.
"No problem. It happened a long time ago," Vozk said.
Leon took the clothes. Vozk opened a door to a bathroom and gestured for Leon to take a shower. Leon went inside with the clothes and looked in the mirror above the metal sink.
"Oh... my hair's silver now, so the blond dye is gone. My face still looks the same as it did back home, though," Leon said, touching his hair.
He kept staring at his reflection, his hands clenched on the sink. He started thinking about his younger siblings at the orphanage since their parents were gone. A moment later, his whole body was unknowingly engulfed in purple flames. Leon realized his body was on fire, and he immediately tried to calm himself down by taking a long, deep breath and letting it out.
"I remember everything... before I disappeared, I heard that damn goddess say I wouldn't remember my past life... that's great, I remember what happened and the tricks that bitch played... oh... what about Clara? She was in that room with me, too, and met that goddess after dying 10 times. Does she still remember everything? Is she here too? There's no point in thinking about it. I have to act fast; tomorrow's the start," Leon mumbled to himself.
Leon walked to the shower. He saw that the showerhead was mounted high up and looked like a pipe with a sprinkler on it.
"Hmm... Vozk's a big guy. He's a dragonoid, so it makes sense the shower is high," Leon muttered.
He turned the knob, and water immediately started pouring out. Leon washed himself, feeling a sense of comfort. He smiled as he enjoyed the shower.
After he finished, he walked out wearing the clothes Vozk had given him. "Grooook... grooook," a loud snoring sound rumbled. Vozk had already fallen asleep on his bed.
"Oh... he's asleep," Leon mumbled.
After drying his hair, Leon sat down at the dining table and looked around.
"So this is what a house in the world of Atheras is like," Leon thought to himself.
He leaned on the table and stared blankly ahead, his mind fixated on his siblings who were waiting for him. He looked over at a large sledgehammer with a long handle and a huge laser rifle the size of a bazooka leaning against the corner of the wall.
"Looks like I'll need a weapon too," Leon said.