As we got some distance away from the Blacksmithing Guild, I turned to Harold.

"So... are we heading out tomorrow morning?" I queried.

"Hmm? No, we are going to leave the city right now" Harold responded.

That's pretty strange...

"Isn't today a night day though?" I questioned.

"Yes, we are leaving during night" Harold replied.

"Ok...ay... but is that really alright? Don't monsters increase when it's a night day? Not to mention can the horses even run properly at night?" I inquired.

"I wouldn't worry too much about the monsters, and as for horses, they have no problems operating at night. That said, we aren't using horses" Harold answered.

We finally made it out of the city, and standing there were Tina, Brian and Saron by a carriage. Not only that, the carriage was also surrounded by many guards, while a few people were loading a crate into the carriage. After they finished loading the crate, they said their goodbyes and moved out alongside the guards.

As I got closer and my view of the carriage cleared up, I noticed something about the carriage which I couldn't take my eyes off... In front of the carriage, were three large wolves! And they weren't just any regular wolves either, there were 2 [Swift Grey Wolves] who by their level seem to be Rank C monsters! And leading them in front was the largest wolf with a horn on its head, a Rank B [Lightning Wolf]!

"Are those going to be drawing our carriage?" I asked as I admired the wolves.

"That's right" Harold confirmed.

"I-Is it... safe to touch them?" I inquired with expectation.

"There is no issue, just don't take too long as we have to get on our way" Harold responded.

I came up to the wolves and put my hand on one of them, it felt really warm and fuzzy... that's right, who needs horses and that darn [Horse Riding] skill when you have awesome wolves! Personally, I never even wanted to ride a horse! And I am not saying this cause I'm feeling sour about the whole thing... no, in my opinion, man kind was never even meant to ride horses! Wolves are definitely where it's at!

As I was petting the wolves and admiring them, I noticed something and inadvertently froze up... [Slavery Collar]... It looked quite different and lot more expensive than the one I had, but I could recognize it instinctively...

From seeing that, I felt a big heartache... of course it isn't like I didn't understand. These were monsters, and there was no monster tamer or anything of the like... so controlling monsters via something like a [Slavery Collar] is not surprising... without it, the wolves would easily tear me to shreds... that said, I still felt a tinge of empathy towards them being forced against their will...

"Hey pipsqueak, first thing you do is ignore your party members and run to mingle with the wolves? You sure you don't want to go live with monsters instead of people?" Brian mocked as he passed by.

"I do not!" I denied while glaring at him.

Stupid hateful dogkin!

"Brian, you're a grown up, there is no need to be jealous of a child" Harold reprimanded.

"I am not jealous Boss, I just don't want that brat getting in our way!" Brian scoffed.

"Ye, ye, everyone get on board, we are going to leave" Harold announced.

Looking around, I again confirmed the presence of Tina, Saron and Brian, but Ariel was nowhere to be found. That said, my [Smell Sense] could pick up traces of her scent around the place...

"Where is Ariel by the way?" I asked, not wanting to be caught by surprise.

"Oh, she is sleeping in the carriage. She couldn't get any sleep the past few days, saying ridiculous things like you might just suddenly disappear and the like. On a few occasions, she almost rushed out of the Inn to go after you. Luckily we ended up stopping her just in the nick of time. Then when she finally came here and took a break, she seems to have just fell asleep" Harold explained.

Somehow I get the feeling that I dodged a bullet there... I mean in a closed space with her is like begging for a death sentence. Though... last thing I want is her waking up and grabbing me out of nowhere...

"C-Can I sit in the front with you?" I pleaded.

"Uhmm... sure, but you have to be careful not to fall off as we are going to be traveling pretty fast" Harold warned.

"Alright, I'll be careful!" I replied and got on.

This way, I can avoid Ariel, and at same time watch the scenery until it gets fully dark. I do have [Night Vision], but since this world has no lighting, it still gets hard to see some times.

"Alright, since everyone is aboard, we are heading out. Head to the next town, this is an [Order]" Harold announced and in response the carriage suddenly sped up.

We began to accelerate rapidly as the wolves gained speed. And before I knew it, it felt like we were already moving as fast as a car going down the highway. The horses that I've traveled with were fast, but not as fast as these wolves... And as to confirm my suspicion.

Your skill [RA][Sprint] has become Level 4

Interestingly enough, despite the high speeds and us sitting in the front, the winds were rather mild. Looking around, I noticed a few strange looking runes slightly glowing by the front and sides of the carriage. Despite my skills and knowledge quite lacking, its pretty obvious that is what is diverting the winds from pressuring us.

I enjoyed the scenery for quite a bit, but as it was getting darker and things were starting to look repetitive, I took out my Sewing and Knitting Kit. I knew these kinds of journeys are going to take a while, and since I can't exactly smith here, I thought about polishing up on my [Threadweaving] and [Tailoring] skills. While I can't exactly get skill levels from this, I can become more familiar with it and maybe open up some class quests for all I know...

So starting with the tier 1 [Wool Yarns], I began to knit.

"What are you making there?" Harold asked shortly after I began.

"Hmm? Oh, I was thinking about maybe making a scarf just in case we come to some place cold, from there I plan on trying to make a few spare socks maybe. Nothing too complex" I answered.

"Is that so... trying to get your [Tailoring] skill to level 1?" Harold inquired.

"Uhm... something like that..." I replied.

I am not exactly going to say my [Tailoring] is at level 6, especially since I am kind of new to this... boasting I am at level 6 and messing up on Wool would be pretty darn embarrassing... that said, with my high [PER], I am doing pretty good if I do say so myself...

Then suddenly, I noticed something way in the distance, if not for my [Sharp Eyes] I probably wouldn't have noticed! I activated [Hawk Eyes to get a closer look.

"There is a bunch of goblins blocking the road ahead!" I exclaimed while jumping out of my seat and pointing forward.

"Sit down, there is nothing to worry about" Harold responded.

"Eh? But... what the..."

* buzz * * buzz * * buzz *

Out of nowhere a bolt of lightning descending from the sky aimed right at the wolf in the front! From there, the lightning flew back up into the sky and descended down upon the goblins!

You have acquired a new skill [RA][Lightning Horn] Level 1

"Wow!" I exclaimed.

In a blink of an eye, the group of 12 goblins were completely turned to charcoal. Now that is the kind of skill I wanted to learn!

I sat there staring in expectations, hoping for more monsters to show up so I could get more skill levels of that sweet skill! Unfortunately, that seemed to have been the end of it... but as it got darker and darker, another blue box appeared.

Your skill [NP][Night Vision] has become Level 3

Your skill [NP][Night Vision] has become Level 4

Your skill [NP][Night Vision] has become Level 5

Well, it is easier to see now in the dark... so I guess that's a plus. But no more [Lightning Horn] skill levels.... *sigh*

After my enthusiasm died down, I got back into making my scarf. Despite it already being pretty dark, with the help of [Night Vision] at level 5, it was already no different from day.

While I was carefully making the scarf, I kept a close eye on the road for monsters. Some did show up here and there, but most of them were small fries like [Dire Foxes] and the like. The wolves didn't even pay them much heed and just swept away as they got close. While I was on the lookout, I did manage to get a few more skills though.

Your skill [NP][Night Vision] has become Level 6

Your skill [RA][Claw Swipe] has become Level 2

Your skill [RA][Claw Swipe] has become Level 3

Your skill [RA][Claw Swipe] has become Level 4

I also managed to pick up this gem from Harold as he took something out.

Your skill [NA][Item Box] has become Level 3

With this, my [Item Box] has expanded even further from 3 cubic meters to 10 cubic meters!

I spent the next few hours working on my scarf. Since it was a no-stats item, it would easily take me less than an hour to make something like this. But my goal here was to learn, so I took it slow, while at same time trying all kinds of fancy patterns I could think of. A lot of it was trial and error, but even then with my high skill level and [PER], I was able to quickly notice any mistakes prior to actually ruining anything.

Finally, my first article of clothing was complete!

[Creationist] quest unlocked!

[Creationist] Clothing Creation

Produce 250 articles of clothing that have no stats with at least a quality score of 1.

Type: Continuous 1/10

Status: 1/10

Reward: 1 [PER]

Ooh! a class ques... 250?! Are they nuts?! That seems like a total grind... I mean sure, if I pick up the pace, I could probably churn them out by the dozens, but I don't have enough yarn for that. Maybe I should try making fabric instead... since I got a few level ups, I should be able to accommodate a few extra stats here and there.

With my mind made up, I took out another ball of yarn, but before I started on making the fabric, I took a short look to the side. Initially, Harold would talk about things here and there as I was working, and sometimes comment on my work. But in the last hour, he has been awfully quiet... so I took a look to see, only to find him sleeping...

Uhmmm... is that okay that the driver is asleep? Well sure, since the wolves are under an [Order] and are handling most of the defense, it isn't a problem. But what if something unexpected happens? Or is it like in the movies where he would suddenly get up and go 'I sense 5 enemies surrounding us, go wake everyone up!'... well either way, I would think he knows what he is doing... probably...?

Only a bit later did I get my answer in the form of a blue box.

You have acquired a new skill [NA][Meditation] Level 1

Oh blue box, you are like my answer to everything! Now then, looking at the skill, it seems to allow you to sleep while at same time maintaining some consciousness... it also improves the speed of recovery as well. The downside though is that it can only be used once every few days... Keeping an eye out on Harold, I managed to get the skill up to level 3!

Interestingly enough, there is a whole ton of monsters attacking us from time to time... nothing strong so far, but I could never imagine roads would be this dangerous... hmmm... is it the whole "hero effect"? or is it simply because it's nighttime... hmm... my unbiased opinion thinks it's the heroes fault, yup!

Oh well, I doubt anything will get past that [Lightning Wolf]... if anything, I'm hoping something worthy shows up so it uses its [Lightning Horn] again...

While thinking that, I began my work on my [Wool Fabric]. As before, I prioritized quality over speed to get a better understanding of the process, but since I already had some experience, it was a lot easier than before. After more than an hour had passed, my first fabric was completed!

Wool Fabric

An average quality wool fabric. Used in the production of clothes

Quality 5.0754/10.0000

Not bad for a first attempt I would say, especially since my [Threadweaving] is only at level 4.

Of course, I got an accommodating quest as well!

[Creationist] quest unlocked!

[Creationist] Fabric creation

Produce 50 fabrics with at least a quality score of 1.

Type: Continuous 1/10

Status: 1/50

Reward: 1 [PER]

Now then... I guess I'll use the [Wool Fabric] make some socks with stats maybe? Probably aim for [INT] and [WIS] so that it will help me in production I guess... bu...t ... be...f...ore... tha... t *yawn* ...

I thin...k I'll clo...se... my... eyes... for... just... a sho...rt bit...

* zzzzzzz *

...