"Hmm, why did I feel that Mr. Pervert is in a bad mood?"

"Really? To me, he looks desperate about something."

Mizuha nods her head in acknowledgment. "I'll try to give him a talk."

Seeing Ryu exercising in that condition, the girls can't help but feel concerned for him. Although his injury wasn't that lethal, he should place his health as his priority. Getting permission from Rogue to take a break, Mizuha quickly moves her foot toward Ryu.

"Hey, Mr. Pervert, should you take a rest first?"

"Why did you suddenly worried about me?" replied Ryu apathetically.

"Of course, we are teammates!"

"I know my body the best, this amount of training will not make me faints, in fact, it's still lacking," Ryu responded without looking at Mizuha, his focus solely directed on his practice. In the following seconds, Ryu then added; "That's why please don't worry about me, you should just concentrate on your problem."

"If you get unconscious, I'll not help you at all, you hear it!?"

Mizuha approaches Ryu out of goodwill, yet, he pushes her away like this. It's natural for her to feel pissed at him. Meanwhile, Ryu simply ignores her grumbling and keeps swinging his dagger to further perfect his form.

"Geez! I don't care anymore!" Stomping the ground, she's about to stride out her way, but suddenly an attractive voice entered her eardrums;

"What's wrong, Mizuha?"

"Ayanooo, give that guy your talk, I seem can't convince him with my word." Halting her movements, Mizuha pulled her intention to give up and decided to join forces with the princess. In return, Ayano also nods her head before initiating the talk; "Ryu, can I have your time a bit?"

"Ayano!?" Hearing his crush voice, Ryu soon places the wooden dagger on his waist and shift his attention toward them. Seeing this response coming from the exact same person, Mizuha's anger seems to rises as a pout formed in her mouth.

"This pervert! You chase me out instantly, yet you end your training immediately the moment you heard Ayano call!?"

Doesn't care too much about Mizuha, Ryu only spares a glance at her before redirecting his sight back at Ayano. "What do you want to talk about?"

"YOU DARE TO IGNORE ME AGAIN!?" As her patience runs out, Mizuha finally explodes and snaps at Ryu. She began to walks quickly towards Ryu's direction. Sensing that something dangerous will going to happen, Ayano quickly circles her arm around Mizuha's stomach to hold her movement. "It's probably not his intention, chill your heads, okay?"

"Why're you defending that pervert!?"

"I'm not defending him, as a team, we must minimize intern conflict as much as possible."

"You can relax if you're worried about that because it's not a dispute, it's merely a disciplining!!!"

Seemingly assured with Mizuha's statement, Ayano loosened up her grip a little. "I see, how are you planning to execute it?"

"By slapping him until he's unconscious!"

"You can't do that!" The direct reply makes Ayano strengthen her locks more than before, she got a strong hunch that the moment she lets this one go, a tragedy will happen. Meanwhile, on the contrary, Ryu seems to gradually regain his calm as he began to flows out a fistful breath from his mouth.

'Seriously, every time I think about Ellaine, I keep getting impatient;'

'I cause my teammates to worry about me, and it can also potentially harm my body;'

'Get it together, me!'

Punching his face with its own fist, Ryu instantly bows his head 90 degrees toward the girls. "I'm sorry!"

Because Ryu said this quite loudly, both Mizuha and Ayano that's busy arguing with each other simultaneously look at his direction. They're slightly confused with the sudden change of attitude, especially Mizuha.

"You recognize your mistake now?"

"Sorry, I let my emotion got better of me."

"... Okay, it's also the same for me..." Mizuha answered the moment she began to collect her mind back. Feeling relieved, Ayano finally sets Mizuha free from her lock.

"In the end, what's bothering you actually, Ryu?"

Making a troubled expression, Ryu scratches his head gently with its hand. "Please don't mind it, it has nothing to do with our teams."

"... Okay, I don't have any intention to prey into someone else problem."

"Thanks." Ryu genuinely expressed his gratitude while putting a quick smile on his face. "Well, you guys should have gone back to your task."

"You're not planning to go back to your practice, right?"

"Of course, I'm gonna take an early leave and have a rest."

Following that, Ryu stares at the teal round eyes girl before smiling at her.

"Thanks for worrying me, Mizuha."

"Wh-what are you saying, all of a sudden."

"Is there something wrong with it?"

Ryu tilts his head because of the stuttered response, and somehow, Mizuha's face also can be seen blushing, albeit a little.

"Now, that this matter is settled, let's go back to Mr. Rogue."

Ayano then redirects her gaze toward Ryu.

"You'll also need the instructor's permission to have an early leave."

"Of course, I'm not a mischievous student who leaves as I please."

"You're not!?" Ayano opened her eyes in surprise.

"Actually, how bad is my image in front of you!?"

Ayano gives a light chuckle before giving her explanation;

"Sorry, you seem to appear that way."

'Why did you date and marry me then!?' Shouting inside his thought, Ryu later gives a relieved sigh; 'At least, she seems to be more honest around her teammates.'

"Well, I'll get a talk with Mr. Rogue, you guys can go back to your training already."

"Okay, we'll exactly do what you spoke, see you tomorrow."

Bidding a goodbye with the two of them, Ryu instantly gets permission to have an early leave from Rogue, and also from Mrs. Farroh. Arriving at the outside, Ryu begins to place its hand on his chin.

"Hmm, it will be a waste of time to simply take a rest like this."

"Let's take a stroll around the city first, maybe there will be something that can hook me up."

The moments he wants to continue to walks around, the pain caused by the battle strikes him back, making him groan in pain.

"Damn! Even though it's a wooden weapon, why it can be this annoying."

"Now, I remember how frustrating it is to have a low level and stats!"

Cursing about his weak constitution, Ryu suddenly fell silent.

"... Wait, talking about a weapon, should I go and meet Dartz?"

"After all, I still need to maintain the dagger too."

"Maybe I can even upgrade it!"

Thinking that it's the perfect opportunity to go to the Blacksmith Association, Ryu quickly strides his way toward the place, holding the body pain that he currently has.

***

Dartz was shocked by the youth's appearance as soon he enters his field of vision. He quickly approaches him, leaving the apprentice that he currently teaches. "What happened to you!?"

"I'm okay, it's because of the sparring match I had earlier."

Hearing the response, Dartz quickly puts his hand on his sling bag before throwing a red potion at him. Catching it with one hand, Ryu slowly gulping it down while looking confused about the event.

"Thanks, but do a blacksmith carry this thing too?"

Ryu played the empty bottle with its hand, curious about the role of it for a blacksmith. In response to this, Dartz laughed quite loudly.

"Do you think the potion exists solely for a hunter?"

"Well, yeah, it can tend the wound in a blink of seconds after all."

It's a pretty obvious question, so Ryu didn't hesitate too much answering it. But, this makes Dartz points his finger toward him.

"That's it, it's mainly used for the apprentice that joined recently."

"Did they can get hurt from forging a weapon?"

"Of course, if you're not focused, you can break your own hand with the tool." Taking his hammer, Dartz makes a quick demonstration of the accident that commonly happens to the newbie blacksmith.

"That's why the base potion for us is a normal healing potion."

"Isn't that quite expensive?"

"Yeah, it cost you 100 Disks for one."

"Equals to 10 minor potions, huh..."

"It can't be helped, the minor one can't fix a fractured bone."

Putting its hand on his chin, Ryu calculates the total cost of him if he keeps using the normal one instead of the minor.

"I didn't know that it can be that extreme."

"Yeah, it's definitely not a cheap profession."

Dartz nods his head, It raised his spirit when he gets an acknowledgment of how difficult his job was.

"Well, what's your purpose coming here? Surely you're not coming here for a free potion."

"I want to give this guy maintenance."

Ryu takes out the dagger holder from his waist and turns it over to Dartz. Taking it with his hand, Dartz then pulls the weapon from its sheath.

"Wow, you've really been using it a lot, aren't you."

"I only got a chance to resharpen it myself without giving it proper maintenance." Ryu can only rub his cheek with its finger toward Dartz's remark.

"Luckily, thanks to that, it stops at a slightly rusty level."

Dartz tilts the dagger to the left and right, keenly inspecting it.

"With some process, it can be cleaned perfectly."

"Is the durability usually this low?"

"It's natural, it's the cheapest material after all, having it last for a month was already incredible. Well, I'll go to my workshop."

"Umm, if I can ask how much the price will be?"

"It's 500 Disks, you can do it at the exit later."

Knows that it's within his budget, Ryu breath a sigh of relief.

"Dartz, can I take a look at the process too?"

"Feel free to do so, I already considered you as a half-apprentice."

Filled with joy, Ryu followed Dartz through the workplace. Arrived at the place, Dartz takes his seat near the anvil while Ryu stands beside him.

Putting the dagger on the anvil, Dartz begins to warm up his arms.

"The process was simple, which makes it pricey are the materials required for it." Taking a liquid solution from a barrel with a tool similar to ladle, Dartz then pours it in the dagger, lightly coating it.

"Now, you need to let it stay for around a minute."

"How long the whole process usually take?"

"It's around 5 minutes for a small blade."

"That fast!?" Ryu didn't know that it takes him longer to resharpen his dagger than removing the weapon corrosion that's caused by the monster's blood.

"What takes time was to make the solution, it needs around three days to make the fluid have its proper function."

"Can I have the formula for it?"

"Boy, don't push your luck."

Although Dartz already considered Ryu as a half-member of the association, asking for their secret recipe was really inappropriate.

"Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself."

"As long as you understand, but please, don't bow like that."

Dartz appears to be more allergic to a thing called manners. It definitely makes him feel uncomfortable. "Now, forget about that, look, it's about to set."

The liquid slowly solidifies itself with the weapon, coating the dagger beautifully in silver color. "After this, we need to grind the layer to finalize it."

Standing up from his position, Dartz goes to the rolling stone. In there, he gently tilts the dagger, swiping it up against the tools to slowly remove the silver layer. After some minutes, the weapon finally regains its original color.

Stopping the rolling of the stone, Dartz continued to observe the dagger, making sure that the process was thoroughly finished. "Done, it's good as new."

Dartz unconsciously grins every time he completed his works. Aside from being satisfied with it, he also felt a rush of joy that strive him to be a better blacksmith.

"Here, don't forget to resharpen it occasionally."

"It really looks like a brand-new weapon."

Ryu really can't find any stain of decay, or dried blood through the blade. The solution has dissolved it flawlessly.

"What left is the payment."

"Are you in a hurry?"

"No, is there something wrong?"

Different from Ryu who feels confused by the sudden question, Dartz's face seems to brighten up even more when he answered it.

"Then..." Giving a pause in his sentence, Dartz points out his finger toward the barrel of materials that are lined up in the distance. "How about trying to make your own weapon?"

Ryu suddenly plucks up his ear and leans more closely toward Dartz.

"I'm sorry, can you repeat what you say?"

The offer seems to be too good to be true that his ear suddenly goes deaf. This causing Dartz to hits his shoulder with its big hand before laughing really hard about it.

"Come on, I'm not gonna repeat it."

"But, the fee..."

"For today, it's on the house! So, are you interested or not?"

"Then, of course, I'm absolutely in!"

Confirming that the other party is willing, Dartz proceeds to take iron from the barrel and gave it out to the young boy.

"First is to throw this to the furnace, right?"

"I'll not guide you, I want to see how well your first self-made weapon turned to be."

"You really have a high expectation of me, huh."

Throwing the metal at the furnace, Ryu then proceeds to observe it with a remarkably focused state. He already considered this as a battlefield between him and the metal, so he won't let his focus disturbed at all.

Seeing this, Dartz's little perplexed, this is his first time seeing the boy with that kind of disposition. He slowly takes a distance away from the boy, giving him space to let him stay in his zone.

"Let's see how high your potential is..."

***

Ryu's waiting for the iron to be heated suitably. One thing that he learned from Dartz before was the more accurate the metal is burned, the easier it will be to clean up the impurities within it. But it comes with more risk. That's why he won't dare to take off the metal from its sight even for a second.

After some time, He takes out the iron and slamming it up in the anvil with the magic hammer that Dartz lends him. Observing from afar, Dartz suddenly burst out of laughter. "Damn, he seems to not noticed it yet."

Rubbing his nose, he then added, "Well, it seems I hold too much expectation at him."

An hour after hour has passed, the metal eventually takes a dagger shape, or not. The blade is crooked, there's a lot of edges that the side's thinner or thicker than the others. And for the final blow, the metal can be seen cracked everywhere.

Ryu's still at his first step, but he knows for sure that he had failed. Falling out from his focused state, he approaches Dartz while carrying the defective product.

"What? Are you surprised by the result?"

"Yes..." Dartz can feel that the boy was really dejected by the results. Taking the intended-to-be-a-dagger, Dartz gently strokes Ryu's head.

"The crack was caused because you're overheating the metal;"

"You didn't put an equal force at all sides of the dagger, making the thickness unbalanced like this;"

"Lastly, you didn't have a clear mind of the final shape that the weapon takes, resulting in it curved weirdly like this."

Hearing the explanation point by point, Ryu finally reaches the conclusion of the main problem of his failure. He generalizes the forging too much with a battle. Although he got a strong intuition, it's a battle specialized, not at the creation field. Relying on his hunch was absolutely a wrong move. Ryu sighed loudly, at the same time, releasing his disappointment with it.

"I need to train more..."

Catching the statement, Dartz nods its head firmly. "You're not that different from me in the beginning, it takes a lot of experience to get a keen sense."

"Can I try for one more time?"

"I'm fine with it, but are you sure? The sun has gone down already."

Looking at the outside scenery through the windows, the bright blue cloudless sky, already transformed into a starry night shone with thin lights coming from the crescent moon.

"You're right, I still have another business to attend."

"Well, don't forget to paid first before you leave."

Ryu instantly swift its line of sight back toward Dartz.

"What? You said it's free of charge before!"

"Did you forget that you're also requesting for a dirt removal earlier?"

"I thought you have already forgotten about that."

"Doesn't that mean you did actually remember about it..."

"Damn, here I thought I can bypass that one too."

Dartz unconsciously twitched his mouth, looking at the boy's shameless acts and bold words. Glancing at this reaction, Ryu started to gave in laughter. "You don't need to worry, I"m obviously joking about that."

"Kid, you're making this old man startled by the sudden change of behavior." Dartz gives a light chuckle before putting his arm against Ryu's shoulder. Suddenly, he begins to move toward the exit while not letting the kid escapes from its grip.

"Umm, why I'm being dragged like this? Mr. Dartz?"

"Don't mind it, It's just your imagination."

It's clear as day that Dartz is pulling Ryu toward the exit, making sure he paid before he leaves the place. After having his Disks taken by the same machine that can be found in the magic shop. Ryu waves his hand toward Dartz, bidding him a farewell.

"Maybe I'll go to the Hunter Association directly, there's a high chance that Verdi already waited for me."

When arrived at the promised place, Ryu sights instantly falls on the green-haired boy who's standing nervously near the logs wall. He wears light leather armor, and a short sword can be seen hanging on its waist.

"That's a nice gear you have."

"Oh, brother, you finally come."

Being alone in such a crowded place somehow makes him feels awkward, that's why after seeing Ryu, his mood lightens up considerably. He immediately moves his feet, closing the distance between them.

"Did you wait for long?"

"Yeah, maybe about an hour."

"Sorry, I suddenly got other appointments to do first."

"I'm already used to it, so it's fine."

"... I see." Looking at the sheepish laugh coming from Verdi makes Ryu felt more guilty instead. How can he state such a sad fact without any problem like that?

"So, brother, how're you planning to get me into the Dungeon?"

"Relax, I got my accomplices ready."

Grinning broadly, Ryu points his finger towards the blond receptionist who's standing in the counter that's quite distant from them.