Chapter 7: Help? Hell, no

[Luke’s POV:]

When I left the house, I had zero Tora on me. Now, I have three hundred and ten.

That wolf, despite being so massive, was already wounded. I didn’t need to point it out. The injury on its body made that obvious enough.

And yet, I gained a hundred coins from that corpse alone. Crazy.

In this village, a whole week of farm work earns barely thirty Tora, and that’s not even counting the exhausting labor involved. Meanwhile, I had already earned enough to sit at home and relax for an entire month. Maybe more.

But would I do that? No. Of course not.

Not only because I wanted to get rich fast, old habits die hard, but also because I genuinely liked what I did today.

The adrenaline rush during the hunt was intoxicating. I could see myself getting used to it. I wouldn’t become some battle maniac, but between mowing grass and hunting monsters, the choice was obvious. One of them stirred something in me.

And beyond that, the rewards from hunting simply couldn’t be compared to any other job.

[Stats:

> Strength: 5

Speed: 10

Defense: 3

Intelligence: 6

Gamma: 5]

[Attribute points: 5]

[Gamma reserve: 920]

I had earned one strength point and nearly five whole Gamma points naturally through the battle.

Not to mention, my reserve received a sudden boost thanks to the doubled rewards and the Gamma I absorbed by killing the monster.

Right now, I could spend two hundred Gs to level up and still have more than seven hundred left for shopping.

I hadn’t even checked the other tabs in the <Shop> feature yet, but I was certain of one thing.

There were plenty of good things waiting for me.

I decided to check those things later as I finally reached my destination.

The meat shop.

....

[Third Person POV:]

[A few minutes ago]

"What are you doing?" Gustav, Luke’s father, asked as he watched his wife kneeling on the ground, searching beneath the wardrobe.

The woman didn’t respond immediately. She pulled something out first.

"Here it is," the brown-haired woman said with a soft sigh.

Gustav rolled his eyes. "Don’t tell me you’re going to use your savings to shield that boy once again."

Monica hugged the pouch to her chest. "He’s new to this, Gustav. At least this once, let me help him."

Monica knew her son wasn’t like the others. He had always been fearful of dangerous things. He disliked staying out in the sun for too long and couldn’t handle a weapon properly.

That was why, when he was sent out earlier that day, she had tried to follow him, only to be stopped by her elder son, who insisted she prepare more food for his wife.

She had been left helpless, especially since Lex had been supporting them through the past few payment cycles.

Now, it was close to sunset, and Luke still hadn’t returned.

Concern gnawed relentlessly at her heart.

"You know your behavior is only going to make things difficult for him, right?" Gustav said. "One day, he’ll bring his mate home, and after that? He’ll have no choice but to handle things on his own."

Monica lowered her head, her hands trembling slightly. "But until then... at least... let me take care of my child."

Gustav clicked his tongue, but before he could say anything more, they heard the main doors opening.

He blinked and pushed himself up from the bed.

With Monica’s help, he slipped into his vest and stepped out of the room.

From the other side, Lex, Caleb, and Laila emerged from their rooms as well.

Some were curious. Some were concerned. And some were already waiting to mock whoever had just entered.

"Luke!" Monica cried out in panic when she saw the blood on his right hand. Yet the boy himself appeared unharmed.

He looked up and said calmly, "Don’t worry. Not my blood."

With that, he placed something down on the table.

Thud

Everyone froze at the sight of the large chunk of brown meat. Given its sheer size alone, it was undoubtedly expensive.

Luke pulled out a chair and sat down.

"I hope this will be enough meat for dinner."

"How... in the world..." Laila whispered, unable to believe her eyes.

Her useless, powerless, and utterly hopeless brother had brought back such a massive piece of meat, and from his condition, it was clear he had been in a serious fight.

"You... you didn’t steal money from someone, did you?" Lex asked, his tone laced with disbelief.

The dark green-haired youth looked up at him. "Even if I did, what’s there for you to be concerned about?"

Lex snarled. "Brat. You didn’t spend all your income on this meat, did you? You were fucking supposed to earn for routine—"

CLANG

Luke suddenly tossed a small pouch onto the table.

"Go on," he said calmly. "Count it."

Lex’s eyes widened. That sound was... unmistakable.

Gustav was the first to move.

He picked up the pouch and emptied its contents onto the table.

One coin after another fell out, round bronze pieces with a small hole in the middle.

"And they’re... twenty already?" he muttered.

Monica gasped, while Laila nearly collapsed to her knees in disbelief.

Caleb could only manage a bitter expression, while Lex looked as though he’d been force-fed horse shit.

Luke snickered at their reactions before turning to his father.

"Father, while this should be enough for this cycle, I want to offer something more to you."

Gustav’s eyes lit up as Luke pulled out another pouch from his pocket.

He extended both hands and accepted it.

"Wait," Monica said quickly. "If you’ve earned extra, you should save it for your future."

Gustav was about to snap at his mate for the suggestion.

But Luke didn’t change his mind. "Once I bring my mate home, you two will be left on your own. This isn’t much, but I want to help you save for that time."

Gustav instantly grinned, "Only few people in this world get such a thoughtful child as you, Luke. My dear son, I can’t express how proud I am-"

"Wait, father." Luke held his father’s wrist before he could have moved away with the pouch.

Gustav’s face fell at the possibility of Luke taking the money back.

But then, the younger one grinned and said, "You possibly don’t think I will give you that without asking for anything in return, do you?"

Gustav blinked, "What...possibly I can give you?"

Luke turned his gaze and looked at the brunette milf on the side, "Of course, you can."