Chapter 2

“Assholes…” Taku mumbled as he looked over the crates once more. He did so one by one, each time wishing that he missed a crate. Anything. But to no avail. The crates were opened, with little to no loot left. Except one. Taku already called dibs, proclaiming that the start of his rise to power as a wizard starts with him choosing that specific chest. And trusting the word of others, he promised that the next crate would be Teri’s.

He’s been checking and rechecking the boxes for the past ten minutes. Teri’s best friend pretended not to notice. But the last party in the room wasn't really hiding it. The bastard took their share. And they’re laughing as Taky bares himself, asscrack and all, just to find another chest for Teri to use.

“It’s no use…” Taku kicked one of the empty crates over. “Whoever is in charge of this dungeon probably made a mistake—or that’s what was intended.”

“Can’t be helped…” Teri forced a laugh and faced the empty pile of crates himself. He could at least do something about a bunch of wood here. A weapon or two, maybe. Maybe some armor if he finds some cloth.

“Yeah. Take it,” Taku said, his voice seemed off.

Teri looked at the man, confused.

Taku didn’t face him. “The crate is yours. Open it.” He sat on the floor and fanned his face to stave off the heat. It doesn’t look like it’s helping.

“I’ll manage.” Teri looked over the crates one by one, hoping to find some random items that others chose not to carry. “Besides, you might need it more than me.”

“True.”

“Exactly!” Lucky. Teri got himself a spool of yarn or some thick thread, some rope, and about two handfuls of nails. At this point, the other party got bored of watching them be hopeful and started leaving. Extra lucky. “I really think I can manage, I found some junk here I could use.”

“You can have the chest,” Taku mumbled. He looked nervous, afraid.

Was he afraid of him? “That’s…” Teri sighed. He kept looking for more loot. And following a glint of light in all the clutter, he came across a ring. Upon touching it, he somehow assumed that it was magical in nature. He decided to keep it for now. “You know you could just open it yourself, take the stuff you need, and then maybe give me the stuff you don’t. We can just share. I’d do the same if I were you. It’s not that different.”

“But it is. So I disagree on principle.”

“What?”

“It was supposed to be your loot. I took it. Friends give each other stuff. We’re friends, right?” Taku looked smaller, more afraid of him.

“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Taku shivered and was petrified, his mouth half-open. He met Teri's confused glare. Then, his eyes wavered. He brought his chin down, trying to mumble some words but ultimately failing to speak. Teri paused. He had seen this before, and it cut him deep knowing that this kind of thing would follow him even in another world. He was made aware that normally, he would’ve just left him alone. Taku needs him, so of course this man would need to adjust to him. Though somehow, Teri was compelled to do something different. A fresh start is a fresh start. He can afford to do this now. Be weak.

Teri sighed. He put the rest of his loot in a nearby box, picked up Taku’s, and sat beside him. He clapped his best friend’s shoulder and gave him an apologetic smile. “Let’s look at it this way. We don’t have stuff, so we decided to check out this pile of crates. Then, we got lucky and found an unopened one. Then, as party members—as friends—we are going to share this loot. Since, as you know, this is both ours. When we open this, we will take what we want, one at a time. You’re going to pick first. That way, we’re square. You owe me nothing and I don’t owe you shit. You get it?”

Taku mirrored him. “I like the sound of that.”

Teri opened the chest, and it was so shitty that both of them had to laugh. For some time, they pushed the chest to each other, smiling even more as they did. But promises need to be kept. They split the ration, deciding that both of them should get it. It had a single waterskin, so naturally they were going to share but Taku would be the one to carry it. For the loot, Taku started by picking an unidentified scroll. Teri got the dagger on his turn. Next, Taku got the second unidentified scroll. This left Teri with the dark blue ranger’s cloak. But after thinking about it, he wordlessly handed it over to Taku.

Taku raised a brow. “You don’t want it?”

“We’re friends, right?” Teri cracked an awkward smile, making his words less convincing. “The more I look at it, the more it appears to be a wizard’s cloak to me. Probably because it’s blue. Wanna have it?”

Taku’s eyes beamed. The man tried to hide it, but his energy felt like a goddamn lighthouse. “If you insist.” He snatched the cloak from Teri’s hands, and it happened so fast that Teri didn’t get to pull it back at the last second to tease him. For that sudden sharp display of skin, Teri got to watch a grown man struggle to wear a cloak that didn’t really fit him, run around so both of them could see the fabric flap along the wind, and pose like a model—it got a bit weird when Taku bent his body in a natural way to do a reference of some kind. Teri made a good choice. So, he laughed along, admitting to the fact that Taku was cool despite the cloak failing to cover almost everything other than his neck. By then, he felt compelled to do one last thing.

Teri fished out the ring and tossed it over to Taku, who almost failed to catch it. He posed once again, pretending like nothing happened. Though his straight, serious face broke in surprise… and at some point, confusion.

“You could tell it too, huh?”

Taku’s eyes beamed again. “It’s… magic?”

“I don’t know how I can tell. My brain just tells me that it is, and I’m even sure of it.” Teri cupped his chin. “I picked it up from the pile. Someone must’ve dropped it. You look like a proper wizard now, so you might as well try to be one. Maybe the ring can help you do some magic-type shit.”

“I think it's trying to tell me something.” Taku furrowed his brows. “You think it's safe?”

“Absolutely not.”

“I think it’s cool.”

Teri blinked. He didn’t expect that watching another grown man lick his lips while inspecting a ring would make him feel things. It didn’t make him want to gouge his eyes out. It was just a bit unsettling, especially when the dude is too into it. So instead, Teri inspected his dagger. “I still think it’s weird. You can keep it for now, maybe turn it into a necklace. I’d advise against wearing it, not until we know what it does yet—”

“Oh fuck.”

Taku clutched his stomach. He got on his knees as his body curled. He grunted, keeping his eyes straight at Teri as he fought the urge to fall and bend himself tighter into a ball. Then, his nose started bleeding. He shivered and let himself fall. And before Teri could rush to his side, almost out of instinct, Taku held up his hand and mumbled that he’s okay. It wasn’t as reassuring as Taku thought it was. Catching his breath and almost laughing, Taku picked himself up from the ground.

“What…”

“It spoke to me. I put it on. I could sort of tell what it was. So, I figured that I need to focus and listen to what it was saying.” Taku widened his smile, his eyes gleaming with excitement. “I’m a wizard, Teri.”