Kenneth looked at him strangely. "Receive? From who? The dungeon itself? No, why would I? The monsters are the reward—their parts, sometimes they guard treasure, but the dungeon doesn't just give you things particularly."
'Interesting, indeed.'
'So Kenneth hadn't received a quest completion notification. Hadn't gotten experience points, gold, or a mystery chest.'
Was it because he didn't have a system? Yamamoto wasn't sure. He didn't even realize when he asked the next question.
"Do you have a status screen?" Yamamoto asked casually, immediately realizing his mistake and trying to even things out. "You know? Like, where you can see your level and skills and stuff?"
"Of course. Everyone does." Kenneth made a gesture, as if pulling up an interface only he could see. "Kenneth Lamb, Warrior class, level 12, stats, skill… Why do you ask?"
"Just curious how it works for others," Yamamoto said. "Do you have an inventory system? Where you can store items in thin air?"
Kenneth laughed. "I wish! No, that's why we need spatial bags. They're expensive, but necessary for any serious adventurer. Can store much more than a normal bag, but they're still physical containers." He tapped the leather pouch at his waist. "This one cost me 20 gold, broke my entire savings, sending me miles back."
'So the people of this world have a limited system—they can see their basic stats and skills, but they don't get quest notifications, dungeon rewards, or magical inventory space… Not unexpected, I guess.'
Only he had those features, apparently.
For his own sake, he didn't ask further questions. Even though Kenneth wasn't critical with things, it was only a matter of time before he added one and two together.
Yamamoto could only pray in his heart that this Kenneth was not the type of side character that was secretly smart and big-brained while pretending to be dumb with others.
'That would be the worse…'
They finished harvesting and made their way out of the dungeon as the sun was beginning to set. They ended up taking much time than expected. Kenneth tallied up their haul: 23 regular Creeper eyes at 2 silver each (46 silver total), plus 2 Alpha eyes at 5 silver each (10 silver), for a total of 56 silver coins.
"Split evenly, that's about 28 silver each," Kenneth said with satisfaction. "Plus whatever personal loot you might have gotten. Not bad for a day's work!"
"What personal loot? You got personal loot?" Yamamoto asked lazily. Then again, he received 20 whole gold and a mystery chest, he even felt like leaving the whole money they had earned to Kenneth.
They made camp near the dungeon entrance rather than attempting the journey back in darkness. Kenneth proved surprisingly capable at setting up camp, building a fire, and preparing a simple meal from their supplies.
As they ate, Kenneth talked about the city—Mashlow, the major city of the state and somewhat its capital. That was where he had come from.
"It's where the Adventurer's Association headquarters is located, at least for this region," Kenneth explained. "If you're serious about registering, that's where you'll need to go."
"I plan to," Yamamoto said. Then, probing gently, "I've heard there might be some kind of major event coming up? Something involving the city?"
Kenneth's expression grew serious. "You heard about the southern offensive? Word travels fast." He poked at the fire with a stick. "In a few months, Mashlow and four other major cities in the southern region are organizing a joint military campaign against the demon territories to the southeast."
Yamamoto confirmed internally, this really was the major questline from the game—the Southern War Campaign. It had been one of the pivotal events leading up to the mid-game, opening up new areas and dramatically shifting things.
"They're calling for adventurers to join," Kenneth continued. "Mercenary contracts, really good pay, but it's dangerous. We're talking actual war. You probably haven't heard much of demons before. Those guys aren't like monsters in dungeons. They're intelligent, organized, and they hate us, really really."
"Are you planning to join?" Yamamoto asked.
Kenneth was quiet for a long moment, staring into the fire. "I want to. The pay would set me up for years, and the experience... you don't get opportunities like this often. But honestly? I'm scared. I'm level 12, barely above average. War isn't like a controlled dungeon runs with lots of upfront information. Even in dungeons, people die daily, not to talk of something like war with demons. It's not worth it."
Yamamoto understood that fear. In the game, the Southern Campaign had been optional content—difficult, but rewarding. Here, it would be real combat with real consequences.
"I have a few months to decide," Kenneth said finally. "Time to get stronger, maybe level up a bit more. We'll see."
They talked more as the fire burned low—Kenneth sharing stories about Mashlow, the guild system, the politics of the Adventurer's Association. Yamamoto absorbed it all, piecing together a more complete picture of this world.
One thing became increasingly clear, which was the simple fact that the game's story had been severely incomplete and full of gaps and missing information.
He expected it of course, but learning of everything was a bit overwhelming, either that or the fact that Kenneth really talked a lot.
'I'm really beginning to think that this guy is an intentional slow head.' He thought to himself.