They're lucky he likes money more than he hates them right now, he thought, searching for anything else. The cave had a decent loot, with rare herbs and stones that could be refined into something great probably.
The faded scars stretched with his movements in an unpleasant sensation.
" You can keep the core " Kafka offered with a tight voice
Sariel just glanced at her, before looking at Gabriel and nodding. He exhaled.
" Thanks " he said
In truth, Gabriel didn't mind that much. Dungeons had their danger, he knew that. And he would have gotten much more hurt without their help. But something rubbed him the wrong way about how Kafka handled all of it. She rushed into the cave even when both of them were unsure about it, and had clearly known something was off but hadn't told Sariel or Gabriel.
Whatever.
He took his part of the loot, hoping they didn't scam him since he didn't know any of the value of the plants or metals.
Nothing he could do about that however. He'll just check in the library after they get out of the dungeon.
He was more eager to see his status, surely he level up when he killed that slime.
" Hey, do you want to sleep here and continue searching for monsters tomorrow ? " Sariel asked the both of them
Gabriel put up an air of reluctance, but nodded. Everybody knew killing monsters was the best for money, how could he resist the temptation? He sighed internally, the things he did to pay the bills.
Kafka agreed as well, although with much more enthusiasm.
What Gabriel was really hoping for, was to stumble on a Lucky Ticket. He knew the System occasionally gave out those for killing strong monsters or completing quests.
He knew he had to become stronger, the only reason he even survived the acide elemental was because of his luck.
" I will go find some dry wood for fire " Kafka said in that emotionless voice of hers
Gabriel wondered if she was some sort of robot.
Whatever. He opened his status.
[ Gabriel
Witch
Level 5
Strength 32
Agility 25
Endurance 28
Arcane 52
Acid Resistance ( lvl 1 ), Potion brewing ( lvl 1 ), Curse ( lvl 2 ), Steal ( lvl 5 ), Sneak ( lvl 6 ), Persuade ( lvl 2 ), Ice Resistance ( lvl 2 ) ]
He looked at his inventory, he had 12 stat points to spend after leveling up three times. Moreover, he had a single unread notification from the System.
[ Quest Finished
Attain level 5 ]
[ + 1 Lucky ticket ]
Oooh. Nice. He put all his points into Endurance, that stat was supposed to up his pain endurance too, right ?
He held his breath as the wheel appeared. He spent his ticket and it started spinning.
Why even make it a wheel when none of the items you could win were on it ?
[ + Pocket Watch of a Tragic Hero ]
What a long name. He clicked on its description.
[ Can turn back time up to 24 hours ]
Oh really ? How useful. His trait was really great. He sighed contentedly.
Once he was done with the System, he was left with an awkward silence.
Sariel was staring into space, his face impassive, yet his whole body giving off an aura of sadness. Gabriel shifted, his hands clenching and unclenching. He tried to find something to do to no avail.
" So, you and Kafka, huh ? " asked Gabriel while smiling politely
Or at least trying to. He probably just looked incredibly awkward, and he felt like it too.
" What are you implying ? " he said, frowning
Yeah, that's fair. Even Gabriel doesn't know what he was trying to accomplish here.
" That she's a cougar " he replied
Please take it as a joke, he repeated in his head like a prayer.
Thank gods Sariel just snorted before looking away.
" I don't think she's that old " Sariel said thoughtfully
" I would give her fourty years " Gabriel said
Sariel raised an eyebrow, the most expressive his face has been as of now.
" I'll tell her you said that "
And they were once again sitting in silence. Yet their positions were reversed, and now Sariel was the one shifting uncomfortably.
" I'm sorry " Sariel broke the silence " For the slime. " he clarified
" Eh, it's okay. You did give me two healing potions. Those aren't cheap "
Sariel stared at him. Oh. Maybe healing potions weren't that expensive to... other people. Richer people.
He could feel his cheeks heating up. This was even worst than the silence from before , especially when he could feel his stare on him.
" Plus, it's not like you were the one that put the elemental there " added Gabriel
Sariel's face turned guilty at that. Honestly, what is wrong with him and Kafka. Were they both trying to kill him, or what.
He stood up suddenly.
" She's probably gonna be away for a bit longer. Wanna go visit ? " he asked, eager to have a distraction and move a little
" You mean visit the dungeon with acid elementals at the entry without our strongest party member " he asked, incredulous
" Yeah " Gabriel nodded frantically as if to convince him
He also casted persuade. Just in case.
Sariel looked at him. He sighed
" Fine "
Gabriel grinned, his annoyance at his scars and their weird guilt thing forgotten.
He took him by the arm and walked where he wanted to go.
" Do you know where we're going ? " he asked in a somewhat judgmental tone
" You don't know either " Gabriel reminded him
" But I'm not the one guiding us "
" Well you can go in front if you're so- " Sariel put his hand on his mouth, interrupting him
Soon, it became clear why. Voices that weren't theirs could be heard, along with the sound of hits.
A group was fighting. Sariel casted invisibility on both of them to let them see the fight closer.
They all seemed like high levels, at least over ten. Wait. Was that-
Gabriel shook Sariel by the shoulder as silently as he could. Sariel looked over, and Gabriel pointed at a familiar silhouette.
" That treasure is mine " she said while kicking a man
That sealed it, both voice and her stature. This was Kafka.
" If you help us, we can share " the man dodged while negotiating
" There is no sharing " her voice could have cut through steel " It will be mine, all mine. I don't need help finding it. "
She kicked him again, he was unable to dodge this time. A dark aura enveloped her body. She ruthlessly took them down, her movement fast and methodic.
She hit them with spells after hits. After they were down, she continued hitting and casting. Their screams echoed into the night, until they faded to nothing.
" Please- please- " his pleas were caught off by a brutal, enchanted kick
A disgusting crunch assured everyone he died.
The woman just looked blankly at the destruction she had caused before leaving.
They waited to be sure she was gone before coming out of hiding.
" What the fuck. " Sariel sounded both stupefied and angry, yet his face stayed blank
They were clearly both emotionally repressed. Although, Gabriel could admit all that violence was pretty… disgusting. He nudged a corpse with his foot. He grimaced.
Wait, focus Gabriel. Remember their conversation. A wide grin appeared on his face.
" You heard them, their's a treasure " he said, almost squealing
" Are you serious ? "
" Yeah. Money. " he explained
He tried to cast persuade again. Sariel didn't look very persuaded though.
He groaned internally, he was going to have to give actual arguments.
" Hey, she just killed four people and she was definitely planning on doing the same to us. Are you really going to let her have that treasure ? " Gabriel argued
" We don't even know what that treasure looks like " he countered, yet Gabriel could tell he was already on board
" Don't worry " he gave a smug smile " I'm very lucky "