After about two hours of waiting, the guy became rather impatient. 'I wonder if he will stay there, try to wake me up or leave?' I thought. A few minutes later, the guy couldn't hold it in anymore, and decided to act. He walked up to my bed, and nudged me a few times. This, had no result for him. I laid there, still "fainted". "Still out cold?" he asked himself, and tried a few more times. With no results, he backed up to his spot. A while later, I heard the doors open and close. 'He is still there' I laughed to myself. I didn't hear him walk outside, he probably wanted to test me. He must've noticed that this brought him no results either, he opened the doors again, but this time walked outside. He returned after a while, and did it again. Then again. 'He is persistent, I wonder when he will get bored' I thought. After a few tries, he left one last time, and didn't return anymore. I "woke up", and sat on my bed. 'All I did was training, work and even more training. I should have some fun too' I thought. My plan was simple. I walked out of the house, where the guy was nowhere to be found, and headed straight towards the village entrance. I didn't intend to leave, I just wanted to freak him out. Just as I stepped outside, I heard someone shout "Oi! Wait!". The guy came running at me, he seemed very flustered. 'Got you there sword boy' I thought and laughed a bit. He cought up with me quickly, and blocked my way. I asked rather politely, "Do you need anything?". He replied, "Where do you think you are going?". I asked with confusion in my voice, "Home?". He didn't expect that answer it seemed. 'I'd say, he probably expected me to curse him or something' I thought. I didn't wait for the reply, and simply walked past him. He woke up from his thought, and blocked my way again. "Wait! We have an offer for you". I played along, and asked confused "What offer?". He continued, "Stay here, and work for us. We will pay you for that work. You will be treated as a part of this village, no longer as, you know a slave". I raised my eyebrows, and asked "Oh, and what does that work involve precisely?". He replied "Only one job, no multiple tasks. You will work as a blacksmith here, and produce ingots. That is all". I nodded, and asked another question, "What type of wages are we talking about?". His mood improved, when I looked interested in that job. He replied, "We will give you 10 Coppers a day. Additionally, we will provide that house for you, as well as food three times a day. All you have to do, is create three Purified Steel Ingots every day. We think you can manage that". I "thought" about it for a while, and replied " I can agree, if I'm allowed to keep any leftovers from the workshop". I could just plainly steal. But if I could take the leftovers, I could steal with an excuse. The guy thought about it for a while, then replied "Hmmm, I think this shouldn't be a problem, but I need to ask Village Chief. Let's got, I will ask him. He should be fine with those conditions". I nodded, and followed him. This guys seemed different than others though. 'I don't know him well enough, but he seems more honest and useful. I wonder why he serves for Rand?' I asked myself. We walked back all the way to Rand's house, where he told me to wait downstairs for a while. He returned not long after, and gave me a smile. "We will agree to those terms. As long as you produce three Purified Steel Ingots a day, you will receive 10 Coppers, leftovers and everything else that was mentioned". I nodded my head while replying, "I shall take this job then. I have a question though". He nodded, and awaited my question. I asked, "Can you pay my wages on weekly basis?". The guy nodded his head while saying "Yes, we actually planned to do that as well". Everything was taken care of. I decided to start my work from the next day, and left Rand's house shortly after. I was a slave no more. Even better, I had access to Blacksmith's Workshop, as well as the leftover materials. 'This means, I will be able to make myself some daggers soon. The rules no longer apply to me. I can carry anything I want with me... Feels a bit weird though' I thought. I was used to carrying nothing on me for a year. It was a weird feeling that I could do anything I wanted now. On that day, I decided to "celebrate". I wanted a proper rest, without training, work or anything really. 'This will be my day' I thought. I just laid in my bed, and though about the year that passed. Throughout that year, I improved a lot. I learned how to judge people, and their behaviours. I developed my own method, to assign percentages to their behaviours and specific events. The method allowed me to figure out the most probable events that would take place. This also allowed me to assess danger. It was an useful skill to learn, and I was glad to have it. Nick didn't show me any new methods of training, nor did he give me any other book to read. I learned to be patient thanks to the training I did, but it was still weird he showed me nothing new throughout that time. Ultimately though, I didn't ask him for anything new. I figured that he knew better than me, when to introduce something. Laying like that on my bed was rather boring, this prompted me to read the book. There were many recipes inside, and a few caught my eye. One such example, was a medicine that could double one's strength. Unfortunately it wasn't permanent, but nevertheless it was something very useful in dire straits. It had side effects as well. When the medicine stopped working, one would experience excruciating pain in their whole body. Although the side effects were quite severe, this could save a life in a hopeless situation. The ingredients required to make this medicine, were quite rare and hard to find. I memorized that recipe well, just in case I encountered the herbs required to make it. It was called Burst Pill, because the final effect was a pill. The process was not that complicated, but I still had no experience making any poison. The day quickly passed, while the moon replaced the sun on that cloudless night. Nick brought me some food as always, but it looked much better than before. He said "Congratulations. You are no longer a slave. This is a celebration meal, lets eat together". It was a first for me, Nick didn't eat with me before. I sat on my bed, while Nick sat on the chair. "How are things? Made any improvements?" he asked. I smiled, and replied " Yea, I can predict what someone will do based on their behaviour. I was able to implement the idea of percentages into that as well. I'm not that great yet with my accuracy, but with time and experience, I should reach at least 95% accuracy". He asked surprised, "That good?". 'I thought he would ask, why not 100%?' I thought to myself. He replied with a laugh, "I'm not that accurate either. If we took your approach, then I'm maybe at 80% accuracy. Sometimes, I'm just wrong". He then continued, "Your idea is actually great. I did it the old fashion way, and never tried to improve it. I told you, each generation can overtake the old one. That is one proof of that statement". I smiled, and we enjoyed our food. The dishes were really nice. The hunted rabbits were cooked very well, especially since seasoning was added, and some vegetables. After the meal, Nick said "So, you are going to work as a blacksmith now?". He made a short pause, and added. "For 10 Coppers a day!", what followed was laughter. He seemed to enjoy my situation again. 'I mean, I didn't really care about the money. It's just an excuse to stay here and train' I thought. When he stopped laughing, he asked "Do you know how much money can a blacksmith make?". I shrugged my shoulders, then replied "How should I know?". Nick said, "About 1 Silver coin per day", and he laughed a bit more. 'Hmmm... That is a bit steep' I thought. But it didn't really matter much. I replied to him, "Whatever. I will also get the leftovers. This way, I can create daggers from Purified Steel". Nick stopped laughing abruptly, and exclaimed "Good thinking lad! But you could've just stolen the materials". I said, "Now I can steal them with an excuse". He smiled, and didn't reply. After a while of silence, Nick cleared his throat and said. "I think it's time for the next stage of your training". I got my hopes up. 'Finally! He will teach me about the Art of Hidden Weapons' I thought. My hopes were shattered, when Nick continued "The next step of your training in the Art of Stealth, is melding". Although I was a bit disappointed, I was still surprised when he said melding. 'Was that the same stuff, he always did?' I thought to myself. I asked, "How am I going to train this?". Nick smiled, and replied "You just have to avoid the light". I was not only confused, I was dumbfounded. 'Avoid the light? Like, what?' I asked myself. If I had access to a shadow, then yea it was possible. But what about places that were well lit, or possess such small shadows, I couldn't hide in them. Nick saw my expression, so he continued. "It is difficult, I'm not going to lie to you. There is a method though. You just have to combine all the previous training you did, and remember to avoid the light". He added, "This will take you some time to master, and that is the final step in the Art of Stealth I will teach you. Don't get discouraged, even if it takes you couple of years to master this. It took me over five years, to master this technique". I asked out of curiosity, "You said you are no master, so is there a next step?" Nick stared at the ceiling, and didn't answer. I guessed that he too was contemplating, about the next step in the Art of Stealth.