5 No direction

When students saw an adult was taking an exam with them, many began to form their own judgements within their minds. Mel quietly heard the high school students discussing about awakening their powers and how they would all enter the dungeon.

Mel had learned while applying that there were two tracks for high school exam now. Ability track amd cultural track. Mel had chosen the cultural track, but even those people were planning to enter dungeons.

After the exams ended, the results hadn't been announced, but Mel received notifications from the system.

[Task - Pass High School Examination Completed.]

[Title - Quick Learner acquired]

[Intelligence + 10, Willpower + 10, Wisdom + 10]

[Reward - x1 Training Card Dungeon Knowledge]

Back at home, Mel activated the Dungeon Knowledge training card and found himself in a lecture room where a faceless person explained not just the flora and fauna of the Pinewood Dungeon, but all kinds of monster habits, poisons, toxins and all kinds of information.

This card didn't seem to have a time limit at all, and after studying for a week in the training space, he willed himself back to see that the card was still in his hand.

"This is actually a reusable training card!" Mel understood immediately, a slight amount of shock appeared on his face. What he learned in that week long study was pretty basic knowledge, most of which humans have already found out, but many other basic knowledge that he didn't find any sign of on the internet.

Now that he had cleared the high school exam, the study daily task had changed.

[Task - Study Basic Dungeon Knowledge]

It was not even a repeatable task anymore and there was no longer a time frame. Mel saw the progress on the task was about 4% after having used the training card to study for a week.

Mel calmly went about his life. Within his chef training world, he was now training under a crazed chef who used monsters from the dungeon as ingredients to create magical foods.

Life was slow, Mel had stayed as far away from dungeons as possible, but his life was relatively stable. The system had slowly managed to bring him out of the bubble of an home ridden isolationist lifestyle.

As Mel kept training his physical fitness, his body had transformed from a weak scrawny kid to a well developed healthy body with strong foundations. He grew powerful bones and muscles from all the rigorous training.

One day, while walking to the bus stop to go to work, he saw a pickpocket crazily swipe a woman's purse and run towards his direction.

"Thief! Someone stop him!" The woman wailed in horror, while the thief was rapidly running away at a speed no ordinary human could have run at before the dungeons were revealed.

Mel immediately understood that this thief was probably someone who had awakened a speed related ability. The thief crazily ran towards Mel, intending to run into the alley beside him. Mel thought for a split second before twisting his ankle and tripping the thief.

The thief also seemed pretty inexperienced and was tripped by Mel's small movement, losing balance and falling down. Mel may not have ever fought, but after constant gym training at a crazy level, he was strong enough to capture a scrawny and stupid thief like this.

He grabbed the thief by the shoulder, clawing the thief in place, waiting for other bystanders to arrive. The woman who cried thief ran to him, thanking him and retrieving her stolen cell phone. Someone called the police. At that time, the thief suddenly turned ferocious and scratched Mel's hand like a cat, stunning him for a moment before running away into the alley. However, Mel had noticed that the thief was actually a little girl.

Meanwhile his system buzzed with a message.

[Task - Good Samaritan Completed.]

[Reward - x1 Basic Military Training Card]

Mel saw that the good samaritan task seemed to be a basic task and simply helping another person once a day was enough. He looked at the Basic Military training card with a little fear. Just the Gym card was enough to spread some panic within him and he did not dare to imagine what basic military training would be like.

At Morgan Bullseye's restaurant, Mel found himself in a discussion with the other crew as well as Morgan.

"I have assembled everyone here today with a heavy heart. Currently, the gourmet food business is facing a severe crisis because of the arrival of all new kinds of monster meats and herbs from the PineWood Dungeon. Demand in our food is reducing as our major clients, the upper class of society, have shifted to eating these monster meats because there are rumors that when cooked in a proper manner, eating these meats give an increase in strength and foundations.

I am closing down my restaurants to explore this new culinary path along with the Starry Guild. I had rejected the urges to enter this field for so long that now it has become uneconomical for me to sustain my passion. However, now I must bid farewell." Morgan Bullseye calmly, but authoritatively closed down the restaurant.

Mel was stunned by the turn of events as he returned home. He was out of a job as well and he learned culinary skill from the crazy instructors to use monsters but he knew that those didn't have any special effects. It was simply methods to safely cook these dungeon meats.

As Mel was quietly opening the door to his home, he had the feeling that someone was watching him from the shadows.

"Who is it? Show yourself." Mel spoke loudly on the hunch.

Then a petite figure of a girl dressed in rags appeared from behind a bush, looking at Mel with hatred. Mel realized that this was the thief he met this morning. As he was feeling guarded against the thief's revenge, he heard a loud growl from the thief's stomach.

Silence ensued between the two for a long minute before Mel sighed and opened the door. "Come in. I'll cook you a meal."