3 Slight Progress

Cain raided the dungeon for the entire weekend. He made several discoveries. The first of which was that only monster-related items could be stored in the inventory. Finding a bone dagger from the boss, Cain kept it for defense. The second thing he took note of was his weapon preference.

Either the weapon was too small or too large. The dagger had too little reach and the boss' club was too heavy. The bat was still his best option. During crafting, he also solved the problem of having to remake armor. Taking Sunday morning to repeatedly make armor, he discovered a skill.

'Quick craft' was a skill that took double the resources, as well as gold points, to create a random piece of armor. Gold points were coins dropped by the boss. They dropped in amounts of 5 or 7; only enough to create one piece of armor. However, the armor made through quick craft was sometimes of B rank quality. The quality outweighed the cost, and Cain slowly armed himself with a special B rank set.

'Quick craft' could also be used for hides, but Cain could just soak them in a matter of minutes. He gained more crafting levels while also saving gold points. Cain hadn't gotten much stronger, but he was armed to the teeth. For the first time since that event, he walked into school with a happy feeling.

Even though his bat wouldn't enter his inventory, Cain could keep the armor and dagger with him. If a goblin fought him, they'd be killed in seconds. Cain was 3 times stronger than he was in the test.

Though his school was important, Cain began to wonder if it really mattered. He was already a player. Perhaps his career was already set.

The thought of playing an RPG for a job was pretty exciting. Even though he was stronger, he still had a lot of questions. Did other places have similar tests, or was it just his school? Either way, how rare are players? And what if he was unique?

Cain was the first one to read his stats. However, he was only in the first ten to find the inventory. While it was a grim thought, Cain couldn't think of anyone surviving other than Amy. 'Amy...'

That girl had been embarrassed since the day of the test. The two of them were too awkward and in shock to make any progress in terms of friendship. It was clear that she liked him, but that event was just too much.

Cain sighed. He had a lot of stuff to do. He didn't have time to worry about love, yet here he was. Worried sick over a girl he'd just barely met. He scoffed to himself at the feeling.

Back to work, Cain had a few goals. The inventory held 1000 weight, with 1 "weight" being equivalent to about a pound. Cain had already filled it up past 700 weight. He wondered if completely filling it would give him something new.

His inventory was actually 10 times larger than normal. For being one of the first ten to discover it, his inventory was increased from 100 to 1000 weight. Almost 70% of that weight was from goblin parts.

The next idea was trying for a "sprint" skill, or maybe something like a "hard hit" skill. Cain wanted to know if he could gain skills through repetition.

Lastly, his production skill couldn't be leveled by quick craft. Cain needed to make things himself. Bonuses could come with level increases, so it wasn't something he should leave alone.

Heading to lunch, some students were hovering over a tablet of cooltube. "Isn't that a gate from a manga?"

"It's real.. do you think I'd be able to awaken?" Cain saw the rift with shock but didn't want to say anything. The rift was in a nearby mall, somewhere 3 miles away from home. His past experiences were yelling to him to check it out. Perhaps he could find something.

Looking back towards the massive window, Cain could remember the test as clear as day. The merciless enemies that poured out of the rift still haunted his dreams. If he didn't push it away, he could remember the exact screams that were heard as he ran from the danger.

'I'm done being a coward.' Cain knew his stats were higher, and his armor was good. Perhaps it was time to fight some real monsters. The one remaining concern was the police. Guarding the rift in suspicion, they were probably waiting for some kind of military reinforcement.

Cain set a date to go to the mall in two days. While on his phone, Amy's friend Margo noticed his typing. 'Check out the mall - 05/22/21' In her eyes, it could only mean one thing. Cain was getting Amy some kind of gift.

As soon as Cain left, Margo texted Amy. 'Let's go to the mall on the 22nd!'

'I'm not sure.. '

'Well, Cain's going there.' Amy froze at the name. Cain was going to the mall? That same guy who she couldn't look at? He seemed so sweet, but she had just ignored him from embarrassment.

It was decided. They wanted to see what he was up to. Amy's heart pumped with anxiousness and anxiety. She wasn't going to be able to stop until she saw what Cain was up to.