"Well done, Terrsa! Look at this bounty of loot you've acquired, far more than what I expected for ten goblins, you went above and beyond." Director Jak said as he appraised each item alongside Rosaline at the counter. Nothing remarkable about the items that goblins dropped, but the herbs were used in many medicines, and the weapons could be sold for gold.

  "Killing those pathetic creatures was beneath me, but I needed to move around and relieve some stress." Even though she was trying to be nonchant about the whole thing, I could see a sliver of a smile and pride secretly written on her face.

  Maybe there was some hope after all.

  "Indeed, but we all must start somewhere, my dear. And for your efforts, you will be rewarded with one gold coin." Director Jak said as he pulled a shining coin from his breast pocket and flicked it over to Terrsa with controlled precision. She caught it and looked down at it with a look of frustration on her face.

  "One fucking coin? You'll make way more than that off what I brought you, how's this fair?"

  "Guilds have connections to sell all these things very quickly, Terrsa. Besides, how else would each guild pay its workers? Give awards for bounties? Pay taxes? One gold coin is a good start, it's one week's worth at an inn with food. Most adventurers get between three to seven in a week since they're not too keen on dying delving deeper into the World Dungeon. It's a good living." I expined as Terrsa considered my words, before begrudgingly making the coin vanish with her magic.

  "Perhaps it's time for an early lunch, Kael. Why don't you take Terrsa back home? Get her fed and continue pnning her assimition. If you need me or Rosaline, feel free to come back." I thanked the Director and Rosaline, and I walked back to the inn with a grumpy Angel.

  "Is this all you human adventurers do? Fight for scraps? Do you not crave more than that? I don't know about you, but I intend to delve as deep as I can." Terrsa said with an arrogant flip to her hair.

  "Why do you want to be an adventurer, Terrsa?" It was an honest question; I was genuinely curious why she wanted to go deeper into the dungeon. The farthest humanity has dug was to the fifty-second floor, which also happened to be the floor where most Fallen Angels resided. We have yet to go further than that due to the hostile nature of the Angels. And after meeting Terrsa, I can see why no one has gone farther than that. So, I can't even begin to imagine what creatures exist beyond that.

  "That is for me to know and for you to fuck off about. Let me be clear, human. I. Don't. Need. You. I just need to be with you long enough for that freaky Director to let me live alone, I don't need a babysitter." I sighed at that as we headed into the Inn. I waved over to Agatha, who grunted in acknowledgement. She said that lunch wouldn't be ready for a little while and to come down in a couple of hours if we wanted some. I thanked her for the two of us, and we headed up to our room.

  As soon as we entered, Terrsa snapped her fingers and, covering her body, barely, was the same outfit from the night before. Only this time, I could see it from behind. Her exposed back looked incredibly soft despite how toned it was. And her ass certainly was plump enough and was an interesting sight to see as it bounced before she plopped down onto the bed.

  Before she looked at me, I turned my head towards the floor and took off my boots and outer tunic before going over to sit on the couch.

  "You did well today. Keep up the good work, and you'll hit E-Rank in no time. But before that, I've been going over in my head what steps we need to take next for you."

  "Oh joy, learning."

  "Cute. First, are you literate?"

  "If you're asking if I can read a book and write a letter, then yes," I smirked, getting her attention. "What, you don't think I can? I can speak human nguage just fine." I silently took a piece of paper and a pencil out of the desk drawer next to me, id it on the desk, and got up.

  "Prove it. Write 'Hello, my name is Terrsa.' on that piece of paper." Abruptly, she got up and shoved me aside to take my seat. She quickly picked up the pencil, but after writing 'hello', she stopped writing. I waited a few more moments before speaking up. "Is there something wrong?"

  "N-No, I'm just switching between Angelic and Human script in my head, give me a minute!" She snapped. I nodded and she focused back on trying to write, only for the pencil to tap the paper several times with nothing being written.

  "Terrsa..." I began, and she flung the pencil at the wall in frustration.

  "Fine, you got me! I can't write Human script; I can speak the nguage, but I'm not stupid. I can read and write in Angelic just fine." She huffed. I was put off by her honesty and the clear embarrassment in her tone.

  "Hey, there's nothing to be upset about. This is why I'm here; I can teach you. You won't be able to be a proper adventurer without reading and writing. There are signs in the dungeon you must read, documents to sign at the Guild, and lots of business transactions require that you be literate."

  "Can't I just have you do it for me?" She countered.

  "Oh? Here I thought you wanted to get rid of me." I teased. She reached over and flicked my arm far harder than I thought she would have.

  "Don't get ahead of yourself, I've got things to do and no time to waste. I don't see the purpose of learning this shit if I can get someone else to do it. Besides," she spun around suddenly and I found a knife in her hand aimed at my stomach, "How would you stop me?"

  "We had a deal Terrsa. And by the gods, are you going to threaten to kill me every time I ask you to do something? And does your word mean nothing? If you act like that in the dungeon, you'll get screwed over so fast. You're strong, stronger than me...but even you must admit that monsters among humans exist, the Director is just one out of hundreds." I could see her eyes shift as she processed this information and dematerialized her knife.

  "Hmph. I suppose you did keep your promise of not telling him about my previous actions." Yeah, like trying to kill me. "Fine, teach me how to write my name to start."

  "Really?"

  "Oh, are you deaf now? Yes, really." She chuckled with a cheeky smile and sat back down. "I hope you understand one thing, though."

  "What's that?"

  "I only intend to listen to you for this one day, who knows what will happen tomorrow?"

  Gods, why couldn't I get a dwarf? I'm sure they'd be far less stubborn than her, and that's saying something.

  "Come on, Mr. Assimitor, your student is waiting."

  Kill me.

  ***

  After an exhausting few hours of teaching Terrsa the required letters for her to write her name, the results were less than stelr.

  "It looks like a child did it, but that is certainly your name," I said, trying to fight back a chuckle. Terrsa groaned with her head face down on the desk.

  "If you tell anyone about this-"

  "Yeah, yeah, you'll gut me or choke me, I get the picture. You should take pride in this though; becoming literate in a single day is just not going to happen. At the very least, now you can sign documents?" I offered in an attempt to cheer her up.

  "Enough with the pity, we both know you only want me to do well so that word-casting Director can pay you." I mean, she was not incorrect about my motivations, but at this point, I did want her to change.

  Could you imagine a Fallen Angel letting loose on the surface without any regard for human life?

  I can.

  "The point is that you assimite, what I want out of it doesn't matter compared to that. And it's not pity; teaching is what I do. How do you think I managed to get this job?" I said as I went to get my coin purse, it was about time for lunch. Terrsa raised her head and cocked an eyebrow.

  "You were a teacher? Awfully bad at it, don't you think?" She giggled with a derisive grin.

  "I taught new adventurers survival skills and would guide them through the first few floors of the dungeon. Things like basic magic to start a fire, fill a pouch with water, information on monsters, the floor boss, and more. I'm from the North Gate, so this pce is still new to me, though. Still, every Gate links to the same dungeon floors, just different locations inside them." Terrsa took this in and nodded before her eyes glinted like those of a demon.

  "In other words, you became a teacher because you're too weak to be an adventurer in your own right?" I grimaced, and she ughed. It was true, painfully so. I could spend the rest of my life training, but I would be unable to get stronger. Sure, I could've had a living, killing low-level monsters, but I just felt like I could be so much more.

  And frankly, Terrsa didn't need to know why I couldn't level up. That would be my cross to bear.

  "If you want to put it that way, fine. But the beauty of teaching isn't to enrich oneself, it's to make others better, to uplift them so that they can bring out their potential. It's what I'm trying to do for you." I expined, somewhat defensively.

  "All philosophical nonsense, why should someone trust a teacher who can never grow?" I ignored her and motioned toward the door.

  "Let's go have some lunch. Best to eat it while it's hot." I said while opening the door. Terrsa murmured another jeer at me, but I let it go. All her harassment and constant threats were already starting to drain me.

  And it's only been a day and a half since we met.