Having finished training under Blacksmith Tang, and gaining the [Blacksmith] and [Repair] skills, I finally was free to search for other quests. I had also managed to level up my [Appraisal] skill from level 0 to level 5 while appraising all the metals and ores I was made to memorize.

“Hey, you’re pretty good at this, say, want to change to Blacksmith class?” Blacksmith Tang asked me when we’d finished.

“Hmm…not for now. I want to take a look at all the classes before I make a decision.” I replied by reflex.

“WHAT’S THE MATTER, GIRL? IS BLACKSMITHING NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU!?” He yelled, his face growing dark. I panicked.

“No, it’s not that, um… I just wanted to look at the other ones to see how they can never measure up to Blacksmithing is all. To be able to make metal soft and mold it into something great and unbreakable is really amazing!” I replied, watching Old man Tang’s face revert back into his Santa Clause smile.

“Ohoho! Why didn’t you say so before, lass? Go ahead and take all the time you need, I don’t mind!”

A blue box popped up.

You have earned the title [Smooth Talker] NPCs are more likely to believe what you say. +5 Reputation

Another box popped up after that.

Congratulations! You have discovered the hidden stat Reputation. Keep up the good work! I’ve got my eye on you, after all.

That sounded more than just a little creepy. I raised an eyebrow, considering if I should address this or ignore it. In the end, I decided to ignore it. So long as it didn’t do or say anything harmful, it was free to say things however it liked.

I stretched, taking in the smell of fresh-baked bread from the nearby bakery, which was a welcome change from the tangy smell of metal in the blacksmith store behind me.

Hmm…now to go to that hunter guy, what’s his name again? Ka…no..Ki..no..er...It’s on the tip of my tongue, I know it.

But before I could use my quest log to find the name, Ryuu all of a sudden says. “Kenneth. Kenneth the hunter.”

“Yep. That’s what his name is, huh?” I pause. Did I just say that out loud? “Uh…” I look at Ryuu, who is smirking terribly. I’m not going to degrade myself by denying what I said, but I can hardly be blamed for forgetting, right? It’s been a week after all right? Rather…is he some sort of mind reader? I looked at him suspiciously.

“I can’t help but see it written all over your face, you know.” Ryuu replied smugly. I refuse to look at Ryuu for the time being. Can’t tell what’s on my face if you can’t see it, can you, oh reader of faces, hmm?

Glancing at my map at the top of my vision, I turn to head towards the forest entrance, walking quickly past Ryuu without looking at him.

Instead, I once more enjoyed the realistic graphics of the game, looking around with delight. The movements of the grass in the breeze, the fluttering of the leaves in the small fruit trees, the crunch of the gravel underfoot: it was too good to be a game! I quickly forgot the reason for my earlier bad mood (Ryuu) and focused on enjoying my game experience. Perhaps Ryuu could read the mood, but he didn’t interrupt me on my way there.

It was simply beautiful. And the blue sky with puffy white clouds quickly put me in a good mood. I could never really be angry for long on a nice day like this. Wherever there is a blue sky and waving grass, there can be found a good mood.

And it sure was nice to be outside after being inside a blacksmith shop for so long.

The sound of crickets in the grass, and birds chirping from the bushes felt soothing to the ears. At some point, I had begun humming a tune, making it up as it went along.

I was always good at coming up with little tunes like that. But when people asked if I wanted to become a singer, or a composer, I’d always refuse.

I mean, seriously, if every time I prepared to create a harmeless little tune, I knew that someone was expecting something of me, it’d turn my tune into work-which wouldn’t be fun anymore. Music is made under the freedom of leisure, and not under the burden of time constraints.

My humming continued up until we reached the forest entrance, where there was a sign.

“Warning:

Beware of Lions”

“Well, that was a bit unexpected.” I said.

“Why?” Ryuu asked.

“Because the usual predator in a forest like this should be wolves. Lions usually live in hot grassy plains like the savannah. They usually don’t take to forests like this, unless…say is there a mountain nearby?” I asked, suddenly remembering something.

“Not only is there a mountain, but there is an entire mountain range.” Ryuu replied.

I knew it. It’s got to be mountain lions. “I see.” Then I remembered that I wasn’t talking to Ryuu, and continued into the forest towards the golden arrow on the map.

Leaves and pine needles rustled underfoot, and twigs snapped when stepped upon. The green leaves blocked out the sunlight, making small spotlights out of sunshine which changed slightly when the breeze blew through the trees. While the birds still chirped, the crickets had been left behind in the tall grass outside the forest.

The air smelled different here than the smell of sunshine and grass. It smelled of cool brooks, of decaying leaves, mushrooms, and pine. It had been a while since I had last been to a forest. After walking down the path for five minutes or so, we came to a small clearing with a log house lodge at the far end.

Several targets were on the trees, with arrows sticking out of them suggesting lots of practice.

Surprisingly, though, an arrow stopped us from entering the clearing.

“Halt! State your name and business, and rank, if you so have one.” A voice echoed throughout the clearing, making me unable to pinpoint where it came from.

“Cut that out, Kenneth! It’s me, Ryuu. I’ve brought the hero apprentice Jade with me. Big Kuma said you needed some assistance, and I deemed it would be good experience for her to learn under your care.” Ryuu replied, with a slightly annoyed voice.

This Kenneth person might not be so bad. I thought to myself. If he’s enough to annoy Ryuu, I might frequently come back here…

“Understood, so you’re the one that the Mayor recommended.” A figure jumped down from the treetops, landing lithely on the ground. Surprisingly, it was an Elf, with lime green hair, dressed in a leather hunting outfit.

“An elf?” I asked.

“Of course, what else would you expect me to be?” Kenneth asked.

“But your name is Kenneth!” I protested. “That’s not a very elf-like name!”

“Not so, not so! The Ke stands for 'wisdom' and Neth comes from the Nyth which stands for 'of the forest'. So, Kenneth is a perfectly good name for an elf!” Kenneth protested. “It’s you humans which stole the name and popularized it.”

Ah. Kind of like how different words from the languages became well known in America.

“Is that so? Then, I apologize. I shouldn’t have assumed.”

He waved it away. “Not at all, I’m used to it. I’m rather glad you weren’t one of the regular rabble that sometimes comes around here.”

“Rabble?” I asked.

Ryuu cleared his throat. “If you two are quite finished, shouldn’t you explain what you need help with, KENNETH?” Ryu asked pointedly.

“Ah, yes… why don’t we head inside, then?” The elf invited them into the lodge.