Reke spent the flight back wondering how he was going to get through the next twenty years.
When he'd handed the spaceship over to Plus, he'd thought he'd be able to leave in just a few years at most, so he hadn't planned to put much effort into things here.
But that wouldn't work now.
He wasn't that lunatic Kakarot.
Yes, you heard that right. In Reke's eyes, Kakarot was a lunatic.
His life consisted of fighting, training, eating, and sleeping—a four-point routine. Did anyone really think that was how a person should live?
He had no life at all, and couldn't even earn money to support a family.
He'd go off to train at the drop of a hat, neglect his family, and would rather stay in the Other World than come back to life. What kind of person would do that unless he had a decade-long brain clot?
Reke couldn't live like Kakarot. He wouldn't give up on getting stronger, and he was happy to fight powerful opponents, but that didn't mean those were the only things he cared about.
By the time he returned to the adventure team's building, Reke still hadn't figured out what to do.
But he knew one thing: making money was his top priority.
Don't say that with his level of fighting power, he should just use force to get rich.
As mentioned before, he'd at least received nine years of compulsory education, and he didn't want to become someone who only knew how to use force.
So making money had become his main task. He couldn't mooch off everyone forever.
With nothing better to do, Reke wandered around the building.
Though he lived here, he usually went straight to his room on the third floor. He'd never really checked out the other floors or found out what the adventure team members did every day.
Four-Eyes was surprised to see Reke in the first-floor cafeteria.
"Reke, what brings you to the cafeteria today?"
Reke looked at the bustling cafeteria, where people sat in groups of three or five, chatting noisily. A touch of nostalgia crossed his face. It was such a familiar scene, from so long ago.
"Tell Lola I'll be eating in the cafeteria from now on," Reke said with a faint smile.
As he spoke, he headed toward the serving counter.
Four-Eyes called Lola, then followed Reke.
"Don't you charge for food here?"
Not seeing anyone pay, Reke asked curiously.
"No, it's all free."
"Can you afford that?"
The adventure team had more members than the few Reke had met so far. There were over a hundred people just in front of him, not counting those who hadn't come to the cafeteria.
"We're scraping by. Most of the kids here are orphans. I brought them into the team one by one. I couldn't just leave them to fend for themselves."
Hearing that, Reke looked at the fierce-looking man before him with new respect. No wonder the old guy had such a high standing in the team.
As soon as Reke had entered the cafeteria, people had kept greeting Four-Eyes. At first, Reke had assumed they were just offering the kind of perfunctory greeting he'd give a boss at work in his previous life. Now it seemed that wasn't the case at all.
"So how does your adventure team make money? Do you have sponsors or something?"
"I haven't seen you go out since I got here."
Confusion showed in Reke's eyes.
"We take on commissions, from finding someone's cat or dog to helping the city defense force crack down on crime. Otherwise, we go out and dig up unknown creatures to sell to collectors, like when you ran into us."
Four-Eyes explained with a smile.
"Don't get the wrong idea just because we're nothing special in the Wild Grasslands. That place is off-limits around here. We're the only team in this city brave enough to go that far."
"Of course, other cities have plenty of adventure teams our size or larger. They've been to the Wild Grasslands too, just not the same parts."
Four-Eyes became animated as he talked about adventure teams, his voice brimming with pride.
"Where do you go to accept commissions?"
Four-Eyes pulled out a round device and tapped it a few times. A display appeared above it, offering a choice between accepting commissions as an individual or as a team.
The commissions were divided into levels, too. You couldn't accept a commission if you hadn't reached the required level. The ranking system was simple: levels one through six, with one as the lowest and six as the highest.
Individuals could only take small jobs, enough to make a living. Unless you reached level four or higher, that is. At that point, you could earn about as much as a level-three adventure team.
When Four-Eyes logged in, Reke saw that his individual rank was level four, while his adventure team was level three.
"How do you determine the levels? By fighting power or by the number of jobs completed?"
Reke was interested. He needed to make money, and this seemed like the perfect fit. He could earn money and pass the time at once.
"The requirements are different for individuals and teams. For individuals, it's more about what you called fighting power. For teams, fighting power matters too, but so do the number of jobs you take and your completion rate."
Four-Eyes answered patiently.
At that, Reke stopped eating and sat up straight. "Then what do I need to do to become an adventurer?"
"Huh?"
The question caught Four-Eyes off guard. He hadn't expected Reke to want to become an adventurer. With his fighting power, it was like using a cannon to swat a mosquito.
Then again, maybe Reke just thought it sounded fun and wanted to try it out. He'd probably lose interest in three minutes.
Four-Eyes thumped his chest. "Easy. Come with me to the guild tomorrow."
"Do I have to take an energy-response test at the guild tomorrow?" Reke asked.
"Yeah. If you don't want to be tested, they'll automatically register you as a level-one adventurer. Or would you like to join our adventure team instead?" Four-Eyes asked tentatively.
"Tell me how much fighting power you need for each level from one to six." Reke didn't answer him and kept asking questions.
Four-Eyes realized something was off. Reke didn't seem to be doing this for fun. He seemed to be taking it seriously; otherwise, he wouldn't need so many details.
But Four-Eyes had no reason to press him about his motives or abilities.
"Anyone can be level one. Starting at level two, you need a fighting power of at least 100. Level three requires 800, level four 2,000, level five 4,000, and level six 8,000."
Reke had made up his mind.
"All right. Take me to the guild tomorrow."
As Reke and Four-Eyes talked, the people in the cafeteria kept sneaking glances at them.
Those who knew Reke weren't surprised, but most people had only heard of him.
Since Reke was living at Lola's house, they'd assumed he was one of her relatives. They didn't know anything about him.
But after seeing how their leader treated Reke today, they realized something was off. Their leader was far too respectful toward this kid. Some of them had never even seen Reke before, and now they were curious about him.
One young woman in particular kept her eyes on Reke.
After Reke left the cafeteria, she followed him in secret, all the way to Lola's front door.
The young woman called out to Reke.
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