Kane stared at his palm, imagined the drawing, and chanted, “[Unranked fire spell: Flaming Hand]!”

A red magic circle appeared. He did it in one try! It glowed brightly for a moment, but then the flame combusted, creating a wild huge flame. If not for his quick reflex, he would’ve burned his face. He stretched out and shook his hand. It lasted about three seconds before fading away. His hand returned to normal.

“What just happened!?” Kane panicked.

“Hmm, I think you poured too much mana into it at once. And you should’ve let your mana flow into your hand steadily,” explained Liana.

“So, it’s different from casting [Lesser Firebomb].” Kane had to adjust his mana usage better. Once again, he chanted the spell, but this time he focused on controlling his mana. The flame manifested and covered his hand with less intensity than before. It lingered for a while before vanishing into trails of smoke.

“Strange, it was supposed to burn longer,” he said, confused.

“Don’t worry about it. Just keep practicing and you’ll master it in no time,” comforted Liana, smiling.

Afterward, Kane kept casting [Flaming Hand] until he had no spare mana to continue. He parted ways with Liana and left the building through the mirror portal. While strolling, something buzzed from above. It then landed on his shoulder.

“Heh, you're quite popular with girls, aren’t ya? Not bad, not bad at all.”

“Maur? What are you doing here? Were you stalking me?” questioned Kane as he strolled.

“I initially came here to tell you something. But when I saw you together with her, I decided to observe you first! Were you learning a new spell?”

“Yes. It’s an unranked spell called [Flaming Hand].” Kane had been thinking that learning spells would be the same as learning martial arts. “What did you want to tell me?”

“I’m afraid I cannot train you for the next three days. The leader of The Circle has summoned me for an urgent meeting,” said Maur.

“That means I must train by myself, then?”

“Yes, unfortunately.” Maur nodded. “Wait, I have an idea! Why don’t you continue training with that girl instead? She might be weak, but she knows magic more than you.”

“That’s what I had in my mind,” Kane agreed.

Maur turned toward Liana’s house. “That girl has a severe disorder, correct? At least based on my observation.”

“Yeah, she can’t cast any spells because she couldn’t cultivate her mana.”

“Poor girl. Despite having a level 9 talent, she’s basically a cripple. Not my business, though.”

“Level 9 talent… Wait, what?” Kane stared at Maur in disbelief.

“It’s trivial for a great mage such as myself to know someone’s talent when they cast a spell!” Maur gloated.

“That’s impossible. I bet you know her from Reynar, didn’t you?” Even Kane could not determine one’s talent solely based on their vis quality alone.

“Tch, you’re correct. He once told me about her and asked me to teach her. I refused him since I don’t teach a cripple. I mean, what’s the point?” he argued.

“Can her disorder be treated?” asked Kane again.

“Hmm. A skillful physician should be able to treat it… with the right amount of payment, of course. Say, have you taken interest in her, boy?” Maur nudged with his tiny body.

“What? No!” Kane turned away. “I just want to return the favor. That’s all.”

“Is that so?” Maur smirked — at least that’s what Kane imagined when he said that. “That means you also will give me something, correct?”

“If I’m not dead yet when that time comes.” Kane shrugged.

“Ha! I expect a masterwork from you. And about your girlfriend, I suppose I’ll ask one of my colleagues to treat her. With an appropriate price, of course.” Maur then turned around. “If there’s nothing else, see you in the next three days, and don’t forget to meditate every day!” He flew away at breakneck speed.

“She’s not my girlfriend!” yelled Kane at the vanishing ant.

Now that his schedule is free for today, Kane became unsure on what to do next. Should he hone his axemanship? It wasn’t a bad idea if he hadn’t done it in the morning. While pondering, he spotted a couple of people passing by. They were nothing unusual, merely some senior students with a fancy, ornamented sword hanging on their hip.

Kane immediately clasped his hand. That’s it! He should spend his free time finding a smithy instead to create some weapons! He then ran toward the dorm, filled with excitement and inspiration.

He removed his uniform, wore a simple linen tunic, and took 5,000 gold before going to the town. After asking a few people, Kane arrived at the commercial district of Rabrond, the heart and blood of the city. Square-shaped buildings spread across the road in uniform - they were all either shops or services. There were only a handful of people here, yet it didn’t stop ragged kids from crying out their pitch sale for the stores in front of them, only to be ignored by the passerby.

Then, a sound of metal clashing against each other in a fast rhythm faintly echoed nearby. It was all too familiar. He dashed toward the source and found a large but not tall white building with a door slit on the left.

“Firerock Workshop, huh? I can sense some ranked weapons in there.” Kane then pondered for a while. “Becoming an apprentice again isn’t my plan. I must find a vacant shop in this district. I don’t want to waste my time too much just walking from school.”

Kane wouldn’t have time to work following the schedule, so he needed freedom to smith whenever he wanted. He searched further to the edge of the city, into the dark alley where less rich people lived and slept. A sharp contrast from the general appearance of the city, although Kane was not surprised by it. The putrid stench of garbage and rotten food became noticeable as he ventured further. He received passing glances and curious gazes from the occupants as he proceeded further.

The deeper he went, the more dubious the chance of finding what Kane wanted became. He passed through several shady shops, including cheap brothels and bars — based on the price tag listed outside; they were closed during daytime. Some people even slept outside, appearing like a corpse.

“Damn, I can’t find anything here. Looks like I shouldn’t get my hopes up,” said Kane, dejected.

Right after he took a corner, he found a rundown shop in this tight alley. The planks covered the cracked windows. The store sign almost fell, only to be held by a single nail. Kane could barely read the sign due to the text fading away which said, ‘Salev’s Workshop’.

“Workshop? So this is a smithy then?” wondered Kane out loud.

“That’s correct, young lad. Or rather, it was a smithy,” a deep voice sounded from behind.

Kane turned around. The voice belonged to a man in his fifties. He was not the most handsome man in the world, and yet he was easy to look at. Most likely because of his amicable round eyes and chubby cheeks. The man wore a white shirt that had some dirt on his sleeves, paired with long black pants.

When he noticed Kane’s gaze, the man smiled and said, “A half-oni? What a rare sight around here.”

“And you are?”

“I’m Salev, the owner of that rundown workshop. While I appreciate it if you want to visit my humble shop, I’m afraid you can no longer do that. It’s closed until… well, I honestly don’t know. I’m here to pack my stuff there.” He pointed at the cart behind him.

“Let me guess: your shop has gone bankrupt?”

Salev scratched his temple. “I hate to admit it but… you hit the mark. My shop hasn’t been doing well lately, ever since Firerock Smithy opened another branch in this district. How could I compete with such a big name? Not to mention, I have to pay the monthly ‘protection fee’ from the thugs around here. Sigh… I should’ve known when I bought this store back then. The suspicious low price is a huge red flag, and yet I couldn’t see it.”

His eyes trailed off somewhere as he went on, but then he looked at Kane again before stepping forward. “Ah, sorry for this old man’s rant, I didn’t mean to do that. Well, if you’ll excuse me—”

“Wait.”

“Yes?” Salev halted his steps.

“Can I take a look at the inside?”

“For what? Nothing’s interesting there,” said Salev.

“I just want to know the condition. Can I?” pressed Kane.

After a brief pause, Salev sighed and said, “Fine, follow me. Might as well help me with carrying stuff. I’ll give you some coins for the trouble.”

Kane shrugged and accepted the request.

*Creak*

As they stepped inside the shop, Kane looked around. Almost everything in the room was made of wood, including the wall and flooring. It was mostly empty, and the only thing left behind was a worn clerk desk on the corner near the window along with a wood-carved chair. Many planks were either peeled or moldy, though it could be worse considering the outer appearance of the shop. Looking at the back, there was a door on the opposite end of the room and a staircase right beside it.

“What do you think? A good store, isn’t it?” asked Salev.

“It’s more or less what I expected. And tiny,” answered Kane. The shop was even smaller than a restroom in Niflenia Academy, but that didn’t bother him too much as long as the workshop was large and good enough.

“Hah! Can’t disagree with that. That’s because the plot used to be a well. After it dried up, someone built the shop here.”

“So, that’s why.” Kane nodded.

Done talking, they headed upstairs via the ladder. The first object Kane saw was a bed filled with wheat straws. Looking at his west, there was a small table and a stool side by side. Salev then told Kane to move a dozen sacks filled to the brim at the west end of the room. Treading carefully, they began to move them downstairs since the floor creaked upon walking on it.

“Thanks for the help, young lad. Here’s for your trouble.” Salev tossed a 10 gold coin to Kane.

Kane caught it and asked, “Where’s your workshop?”

“Inside that room.” Salev pointed at the door beside the staircase. “Do you want to see it?”

“Yes!”

The workshop was spacious, larger than Bokar’s. Could be due to the lack of everything besides the brick furnace and the anvil. Not too bad. Kane closed the door after he was done checking it and approached Salev.

“Hm? Is there anything else?”

Kane leaned against the counter. “What will happen to the store?”

“It will be auctioned unless there’s a buyer today.” Salev crossed his arms and asked jokingly, “What’s the matter, young lad? Do you want to buy it?”

“Depends on the price you’re willing to offer,” replied Kane.

“Let’s see. I would gladly take 5,000… no, 4,000 gold for this shop.”

Kane fiddled his lower lip. While the price was reasonable considering the store’s condition, the tax should have been very expensive, especially in this commercial district. As long as he kept the store close, he wouldn’t have to pay. Probably.

“Deal.”

“Huh? What do you mean by-”

After taking a few coins, Kane dropped a gold pouch onto the desk. Salev arched his eyebrows when he saw them. With his thumb, he fiddled one of the coins. They were worth 100 gold each. He kept doing that until every coin was checked. “W-where did you get the money from? And how?”

“From tutoring students,” answered Kane. He left out his income from smithing.

“What!?” He was taken aback but immediately regained his composure. “Even in my 10 years of selling equipment, I barely scraped a thousand gold…”

“So do you agree or not?” Kane folded his arm while drumming his foot.

“I… I’ll be more than happy to accept!” Salev beamed a smile.

“Glad to hear that.”

“Err, may I know your name, young lad?” His tone was more respectful compared to before.

“My name is Kane Foxsnove.”

“Kane Foxsnove… that sounds familiar. I’ve heard that name before but I can’t remember,” pondered Salev.

Hearing this, Kane raised his eyebrows. He didn’t completely fade away from common people’s history as it turned out. Whatever the case, he couldn’t care less where or when Salev had heard his name before since it was irrelevant to him. Kane chose to not say anything.

They bid farewell after exchanging and signing some papers. Noticing the lack of sunlight, Kane gazed skyward. Enormous dark grey clouds shadowed over the city. The storms were brewing in the distance.

“Seems like it’s gonna rain tonight.” Uneasy, Kane hurried back to the academy.