(A certain delivery girl's POV)
"Alright, Emmie! Time for your first delivery! Here take the key!"
I caught the keys thrown in my direction.
"Yes!"
I excitedly replied. I am a 20 year old liberal arts student in college and this is going to be my part-time job. I just applied recently for it.
I took this job to pay for my rent and other expenses.
I feel a bit nervous..
I slapped my cheeks. This won't do! The day's just starting!
"You sure are upbeat about it Emmie-san"
"!"
Startled, I turned towards the source of the voice.
"I sure am Yamada-kun! I am kind of nervous but I am sure everything will work out fine!"
"Sure."
Yamada-kun said with a sigh. I have known him since childhood, when I told him I was going to start working part-time he immediately said he was going to join me as well.
Sometimes, he is so cute.
"I still don't get why you chose a delivery job, it would be easier to earn as an adventurer"
Adventurer, huh?
"No! That's a risky job. I know it has high pay but it's really risky. I don't want to endanger my life unnecessarily"
Adventurers, the term belonged to people who decided to go and venture into the dungeon. They fought monsters and brought valuables from there.
A high-risk, high-reward type of job.
But I didn't like it.
Endangering your life for money didn't sound nice to me. I would rather have this low-earning but peaceful job where I won't have to risk my life.
"It's not really that risky if you stay on lower floors, you know?"
"That's just for people who are strong like you!"
Why can't this childhood friend of mine understand it?
People who have something can't understand the true value of it. Yamada-kun is C+ ranked, a really strong individual.
On average people are around E+ ranked.
Not only that, but in a dungeon there's no certainty of coming back alive even if your rank is high.
"Besides, it's not only monsters you have to worry about. You know, right? In dungeons, there are no laws, no security, and no cameras. You have to be wary of the humans too. What will you do when you face them?"
It might be possible to somehow win against dozens of monsters as long as they are lower ranked than you but humans are different. Traps, tricks, deceit you name it.
This is the biggest reason I didn't choose adventuring as a part-time job even though I myself am stronger than average people.
"Ah...right. That is troublesome."
"Right? This job is much safer and also has good pay."
"...But isn't this job similarly troublesome?"
What? Delivery job? How?
Sensing my confusion Yamada-kun began to speak
"I mean, what if you ran into a wrong customer? Some people lash out for no reason complaining about how the delivery is late and all."
"That's for every job out there though. A manager getting lashed at, a doctor getting lashed at, a customer service getting lashed at, and how many more."
"Yeah, I know. That's not what I am talking about" Yamada-kun said shaking his head as he continued "I mean, in this job, you are probably gonna run into various types of people. You are going to their house, do you get it? What if you one day ended up having to deliver at a very shady place or if that person is absolute crap?"
"...You are worrying unnecessarily. If I remain this much concerned then even walking on a road is dangerous, you don't know when you might get into accidents."
My childhood friend is such a worrywart. But I like how he cares about me so much~
"Hmm.. It might be an unnecessary concern, sorry, if it bothered you but I don't want anything to happen to you. You are like a family to me" he said in a low voice
Uwaah!
Don't say such embarrassing things!
"F-family"
Why don't you confess to me already?
"Yeah, like a little sister"
A sister...
All of a sudden my shaking heart calmed down.
"Yamada-kun, I will be going then. I can't be late in delivering on the first day"
I said while wanting to have an urge to punch his face real hard.
"Sure. I will go and help Akatsu-san with the new stock that came today."
Akatsu-san...
Hmph! I don't care!
I stomped the floor before walking away.
'Idiot..'
After a few minutes of walking, I arrived in front of a bike. There weren't any boxes or packages that I needed carrying and that's because of the dimensional storage device that is installed in the bike.
It was the job of other staff to put the packages in these bikes and assign a number to them.
I looked at the tag on my key and the bike number.
'Yeah. This is the one..'
I inserted the keys and a small screen lit up. It contained the addresses of all the people whose packages were contained in the bike.
And I have to deliver them all.
Let's get started.
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In about a few minutes I arrived in front of the building.
'Looks pretty shabby...'
I had expected a cool-looking building. It was because the person who I was going for the delivery had bought an Elixir.
Elixir are expensive.
I could live as a NEET for quite some time if I had that much money on me.
I took out the package that I had to deliver from the dimensional storage.
All I had to do was think of what I wanted to pull out of the device and it will. I started to think about the number assigned to the package.
Two boxes came out.
"Agh, I will have to carry them all the way..."
I muttered. The company installed the dimensional storage devices in the bike and you can't really take the bike into someone's room now, can you?
The bike is also installed with GPS, so no one can really run away with these bikes.
Noah's apartment room no. is 2506'.
I am guessing it means, the twenty-fifth floor, room 6.
"Yosh!"
I said as I took both of the packages and started walking towards my destination
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*Huff huff*
'Why..'
I couldn't help but ask myself.
Why the hell does this building NOT have an elevator!?
What kind of era are the people of this building living in!?
Wiping of my sweat from my forehead I pressed the ringtone.
Ding~
I waited for the person to open the door with a business smile plastered on my face.
I am pretty proud of my business smile.
The door slowly opened.
Oh my god!
My business smile vanished in an instant.
This guy reeks!
Absolutely disgusting!
B-but!
This guy's face looks hot!
He looked around 15, 16? Black unkempt hairs, black eyes with deep dark eyebags, and white sickly pale skin. He is sweating a lot too.
His clothes were all wrinkled and he smelled downright disgusting.
Honestly, he looked like an absolute mess...
But despite all this, he is looking way above average.
Just how high is his charm to be looking handsome even in such a condition?
"Um.. are you okay?"
I couldn't help but ask.
The boy nodded.
You don't look okay though..
He looked towards the packages in my hand.
"Ah, I am from Dungeon Delivery, your delivery is here!"
I said trying to act as much as normal as I could. He may be reeking but he is still a customer.
He nodded his head as he took out a pen from his pocket understanding his intention I showed him my tablet.
Looking at it for a few moments and confirming his order he gave his required signature and retina scan.
Alright, only one thing left to do and then I am leaving ASAP. He may look handsome but the smell is unbearable.
"!"
He bent a little and picked up the boxes himself.
Usually, after delivering the item our job is to leave but when the customer has made a big order like this guy's two boxes, we are the ones to put the packages where ever the person wants us to inside the house.
Guess, I won't have to go inside his room.
Actually, I was glad. I have no idea how much his room might be reeking. Just standing near him was enough to make me want to run away.
But..
He is just a kid.
I didn't want to leave him like this. His condition looked horrible, one that is in urgent need of care.
I know he has bought the healing potions but those healing potions are only good for healing injuries mostly caused by external factors.
"Um, you should take care of yourself a bit more. How about visiting a doctor?"
He is rich, that is a given.
It shouldn't be a problem for him to go to a doctor and take proper medication.
He stared at me for a few seconds before
..shutting the door on my face.
I stood frozen for a few seconds trying to process what happened just now.
What if you had to make a delivery for a crappy person?
I remembered Yamada-kun's words.
...My first delivery on the first day was absolutely the worst.
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(Noah's Pov)
'Ugh!'
What was I doing? Vomiting!
Oh lord, this is absolutely the worst!
Since I started to try and control my brain using mana I have been having hangovers. I have been vomiting again and again.
My head was hurting like hell. It was even worse than the time when I had a fever of 40.55 °C.
Honestly, the feeling was similar to how one would feel when someone's twisting a knife inside your brain.
That's how my day kept going.
I tried to control my brain with mana, and after a few minutes I felt absolute pain, then I lost control and started vomiting, and then I tried to control my brain with mana once again.
And so the loop continues.
At times, my consciousness felt hazy. I was sure my body was burning indicating I had successfully caught a fever and a high degree one at that.
But I didn't stop!
I persevered through it all!
Now I can control my brain using mana for 5 minutes straight!
Hahahaha!
Fuuuuuuccccccck.
At this rate, I will die before I even get to go to the dungeon.
Now you must be wondering how was I even able to get the feel of mana when I have never felt it. That's because of the body memory of the owner.
Honestly, I was only able to achieve this level because when I tried to control the mana in my brain I was able to do it instinctively or should I say my body did it on its own?
This body memory kinda serves as proof that Noah really was messing with his brain or has messed with his brain.
Regardless, even with the help of body memory, I was only able to achieve this much.
Done vomiting, I washed my face in the faucet.
Making my way towards the living room while walking like a zombie I started to move the mana inside my brain again as I lay on the couch.
Yes, I lay on the couch. There's no need to take some grandiose position to move mana inside your body as long as you can concentrate properly, that's more than enough.
I started the process once again.
Honestly, it was hard to do. Moving the mana in my hands felt far easier than moving the mana in my brain.
If I have to describe the feeling then it was like moving some sort of murky substance that's inside my brain and knowing that this murky substance resides inside of my body was enough to give me creeps.
It was like I was trying to move some inky viscous swamp and if I didn't do it delicately or made even a slight mistake I would start vomiting the next instant, feeling hazy and all the crap.
The process felt disgusting and too hard.
Ding~
I heard the doorbell rang. I felt irritated. Just who the hell would come here?
'Do I have to open the door?'
'But I don't who it is?'
'To begin with would I even be able to deal with the person!?'
'Why are you coming to my house!?'
'Maybe I should I just ignore they would leave if I don't reply, right?'
Various thoughts entered my brain when suddenly a thought crossed my mind. I looked at the clock immediately.
Ah, fuck.
It was noon.
In other words, almost a day has passed since I have been trying to control my brain.
I started the process yesterday and I have been at it non-stop without realizing the time at all.
'Must be the delivery for my products.. ugh'
Grunting to myself I slowly stood up, having no choice but to go and take my delivery.
I cursed this world. It was more advanced than mine but there were still no AI robots to work.
Why do I have to deal with other people?
I complained as I walked through the corridor drenched in sweat. Finally, reaching the door.
Opening it, I saw a girl standing with two packages in her hand.
....
..Umm, why are standing still?
Why aren't you giving me my delivery?
Please, give me my delivery!?
"Um.. are you okay?"
She asked me a question. Aren't you a delivery lady? Why are you asking me such a question?
Just give me my damn delivery lady.
I nodded to her question albeit reluctantly.
I was reminded, reminded of how pathetic I am when it came to dealing with other people.
I just can't bring myself to speak with others easily.
I am an outcast. A loner. Social skills? What's that? Is it delicious to eat?
"Ah, I am from Dungeon Delivery, your delivery is here!"
I know.
Just give me the delivery.
I quickly took out my pen from my pocket.
Understanding my intention she took out the tablet.
I couldn't help but be thankful.
She is smart. There's no need to communicate.
Only dumbasses need to communicate, smart people can understand everything through actions.
I checked the contents of the delivery and gave my required signature and retina scan.
Oh, finally we are done. Thanks for the delivery. Now shoo shoo~
Picking up the packages I prepared myself to go back in my room.
"Um, you should take care of yourself a bit more. How about visiting a doctor?"
Just as I was about to go inside my room the lady spoke again.
Why are you still here?
Your job is done! Don't you have a boyfriend or anything to spend your free time with? Any other deliveries you have to make?
No, more importantly, why are you talking to me?
How should I reply!? I mean, she looks concerned and that makes her a good person because I do look downright horrendous. I mean, I am screwing myself over so it makes sense.
How many days do I have left to live? According to Noah's diary, 2 weeks or so.
Regardless, how should I reply to her?
Wait... I already got my delivery.
All of a sudden, I felt peace.
Yeah, why do I need to stress over her anyway? I already had my delivery with me. There was no need for this person anymore. I have given my required signature as well.
That's right, screw her.
I turned around shutting the door. Our business was done. Who cares anymore? That's right, no one.
I walked towards the living room once again as I put down the packages and started opening them.
I took out all the items and started to analyze them with my system to check their authenticity.
As I have said if you want to check the description and rank of the artifact, potion, and stuff you gotta touch it with your own hands.
After confirming that the contents were exactly what was written on the website when I ordered them.
Good...
I gulped down the healing potion, a high-grade one.
The reason I drank a high-grade healing potion is because only high-grade potion restores your energy and takes care of your sleep.
What I am trying to say is after drinking a high-grade healing potion you don't need to sleep. You will still feel the wanting to sleep but even if you don't sleep you won't face the side-effects of not sleeping.
Since coming to this world I have been busy... and I have only slept like 12 hours or so...
After a minute passed, the potion started to take effect.
My head which felt heavy started to feel a bit lighter, it wasn't like my headache disappeared but I could feel my concentration increasing and energy surging through my body.
I felt a bit better than before.
As for my fever not much changed but it got a bit better.
Why didn't I recover properly you ask?
Healing potions weren't for diseases to begin with.
Healing potions mainly served the purpose of healing injuries.
It was precisely this reason that Noah is dying and why people simply don't use healing potions or Elixir to heal the brain damage incurred during the experiment. Because it's not possible.
Diseases, natural aging, fever, and stuff like that weren't curable using healing potions. Well, if it's a mild fever you can get better with a good healing potion.
You might wonder what diseases might get to superhumans but just like how humans evolved, bacteria did too.
So yeah, doctors are still in business.
Alright, let's start again.
I started to move my mana inside my brain while I took out the poison and the dagger and short sword that I ordered.
I started to coat the dagger with poison. I plan on coating the bullets with poison as well.
Why am I doing this while also controlling the mana in my brain even though it could be dangerous?
Yeah, true. I am trying to control mana in my brain to control my brain with mana, a tricky process but a delicate and dangerous one too. I should be solely focusing on it instead of trying to multi-task.
But you know inside the dungeon I will fight while having to do it!
Life used to be hard and unfair but now it's even ridiculous.
I wanted to rest but I can't. I didn't have time for it.
And so...
I kept grinding until midnight arrived when I finally decided to move.
.
.
.
.
I also thought back to the person who was staring at me from the distance when I was taking my delivery.
I wasn't like I saw the person himself but more like, I felt several gazes on me, watching me.
The reason I kept myself locked up till now.
Well, I will lose them today
But still, who the fuck are these stalkers?