It was the next day, and he was looking around for potential weapons.

  He wanted to use daggers as his choice first so he could move fast.

  And he knew large weapons would only slow him down right now.

  The shop he was in had lots of weapons stored on the wall.

  Daggers, long swords, katanas, and shields were all present.

  Looking at the dagger the man gave him; he wondered how useful it would be.

  [Excuse me, how strong is this dagger?]

  The dwarf who was behind the counter took it and examined it with an appraisal skill.

  The man was quite short, so he needed a long stool to reach the necessary height.

  “Hmmm. It’s called Armor Piercer. It can easily cut through tough skin and break through armor easily. If you use it enough, you should be able to telepathically control it. It’s very useful for beginners like you. Use it wisely.”

  He looked at the dagger.

  His mind flashed back to the bear.

  On one end, he regretted that he ran away, but at the same time, it’s not like he would have survived if he didn’t.

  He stood in that position for a while.

  [Do you know where I could find the best quality weapons?]

  “Best quality? Well, you would have to go to my hometown, the blacksmith village. They sell some of the highest quality weapons you can find.”

  [I see. Thanks.]

  “Although, if you are looking for strong and best quality, you should look for the weapon spirit that’s inside our village.”

  [Weapon spirit? What’s that?]

  “It’s a spiritual being, in this case, they are half elf and half spirit weapon.”

  [How can I find this village?]

  The dwarf takes a map from under the counter and opens it, marking the location.

  “Go here. We are right here. It’s quite far, but you should be able to get there in half a day if you walk. I recommend a wagon; you will get there much faster.”

  [Thanks.]

  Leaving the shop, he swallows the dagger, placing it in his inventory.

  [1 Message in Message Tab!]

  [Would you like to read?]

  Messages? Yaba said it was a projection of the soul, why would there be messages?

  Sure.

  [Message From: Unknown]

  [Find the weapon spirit in the blacksmith village and obtain a weapon]

  [Failure to complete this quest will result in the loss of one of your Stolen Skills]

  HUH!

  What the hell is this!?

  I can have my skills taken away; this is bullcrap.

  Well, it's not like I intend to fail anyway.

  He left to find the wagon station, hoping to catch a ride.

  As he walked to the station, he saw 3 types of species.

  Humans, demi-humans, and elves.

  It seemed they coexisted in this world.

  Although, there were more male elves, and he only saw about 3 female elves as he walked.

  He thought it may be significant but didn’t dwell on it too much, not really thinking there was much to it.

  He saw a wagon with no passengers and was about to leave. He ran to it and halted the driver.

  [Wait! Sir, I need a ride to the blacksmith village.]

  “-10 gold coins.”

  He spat out 10 gold coins and gave them to the driver.

  “Get in.”

  He enters the wagon, and it drives off.

  He thinks back to the man who saved him as he waits.

  Michael Dragonheart huh, I wonder how strong he is.

  He defeated that bear without effort, he radiates the kind of person who is unstoppable.

  His mind then shifted to the message that had popped up when he was outside the store.

  [Hey, driver]

  The man turns his head, raising his hat.

  [Does the skill frame give you messages?]

  “Messages? It doesn't. Someone may have used a skill to show you a message using your skill frame. It happens.”

  So, someone sent me a message. But why would they take my skills? I haven’t been outside for so long. Who could possibly know me?

  He ponders these questions, unsure of what to make of them.

  He zoned out for a long while, not knowing he reached his destination.

  “HEY!”

  He snapped out of his trance, realizing he was where he needed to be.

  [Thank you.]

  Getting off the wagon, he walked towards the village nearby.

  There was smoke coming from the chimneys and the houses were smaller than an average house.

  A lot of the houses were built with bricks and wood.

  Many dwarves of various designs walked along the paths.

  But a common design among them was they were covered in black dust, presumably from creating weapons.

  [Excuse me.]

  Tapping one of the male dwarves.

  He had dark brown hair, his beard was quite messy, he wore the typical clothes of a blacksmith, and one of his eyes was loose.

  “Ya need something?”

  [Do you know who the best blacksmith is?]

  “The best blacksmith? Well, that would be Sir Dulward. He lives in that house over there. He’s the tallest of us all so you’ll probably have to look up much higher, hehehe.”

  The man leaves.

  Greedon turns towards the large house that the man pointed towards, which was on a hill.

  Walking there, he reached the place, and it was much taller compared to the other houses.

  Knocking on the door, he waits for an answer.

  “Coming!”

  Opening the door, the man was definitely taller than everyone else, reaching him at stomach height.

  The man wore the same clothes as any other resident, but he had light brown hair with a long-braided beard.

  “You need something?”

  [I was hoping you could make me a strong and high-quality dagger.]

  “Kid, I can only make the highest quality. If you want both worlds, you need to ask the weapon spirit.”

  [Well, where can I find her?]

  “She’s at the back of the house. I will warn you though, she’s stubborn and can come off as rude.”

  [I don’t care.]

  “Alright, I warned you.”

  Walking out the door frame, he closes the door and walks to the back with Greedon.

  He finds himself wondering if it will be hard to get some weapons seeing as it was a quest for him and a failure was involved.

  Reaching the back, he saw the woman on her knees with her eyes closed, presumably asleep.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  [Is she sleeping?]

  “No, she isn’t. She’s just waiting for the next person to ask her for a weapon, it's very common.”

  She looked like a young adult and her beauty was the greatest he had seen so far.

  She had long pointy elf ears, and light gray hair with 2 short hair strands over her shoulders.

  She wore a black kimono with the skirt being mid-thigh length, long and big sleeves that covered her hands, a waist belt that’s colored neon pink, black socks and white geta sandals.

  One thing that had him blushing a little was the curvaceous body she had.

  More specifically, her hips which were a bit on the wider end.

  Snap out of it! Slapping himself on the face.

  I don’t need butt right now, I need weapons.

  Walking to her, he tapped her on the shoulder.

  She opened her eyes, revealing her magenta-colored eyes.

  Her face was one of indifference and coldness.

  “What weapon are you demanding?”

  She asked, her voice cold and having an annoyed tone.

  [I would like a poison dagger.]

  “No.”

  Answering extremely fast, without an ounce of hesitation.

  [.......what?]

  “No.”

  [........May I ask why?]

  “You’re already asking for too much. If you asked for a regular dagger, I would have complied, but you chose to give me more work.”

  [But they say you could make weapons of the highest power and quality.]

  “And they are not wrong.”

  [.......fine, give me a regular dagger then.]

  “No.”

  [WHAT DO YOU MEAN!]

  “Asking for high quality and high power for a simple dagger, you must be a moron.”

  She was already becoming unbearable.

  Even decreasing the demand, she's stubborn.

  Her father was right on the mark.

  “Come on daughter, don’t be so rough with the kid. Surely you could spare one weapon for him.”

  She looked towards her father Dulward.

  “I will not give a weapon to someone as nonsensical as him.”

  [Nonsensical? All I’m doing is asking for a weapon, I can wait for you to finish making it if it means I can have it.]

  “-tell me. Why are you so adamant about having a strong weapon?”

  He was confused by the question; he thought it was dumb but answered anyway.

  [Because I’m an adventurer.]

  He said, taking out his card from his jacket.

  “Wrong. The real reason is to get stronger.”

  [-Well even if it is, is that such a crime? Don’t adventurers need to get stronger.]

  “Why do you want to become stronger?”

  Why do I want to become stronger?

  What are these random questions?

  [So, I don’t die.]

  “You know that’s not true. You want to get stronger than the Divine Saint.”

  [You’re actually like that’s a problem.]

  “Normally, it wouldn’t. But people like you are far too naive.”

  Greedon wanted to leave so badly but he didn’t want to lose any skills.

  He looked towards Dulward, desiring some assistance.

  “I can’t help you kid, you got to convince her yourself.”

  He didn’t know what to say.

  He’s calling him nonsensical for no reason and naive.

  She’s acting like she knows me or something.

  Of course, I’m getting stronger so I don’t die, who wouldn’t.

  Yeah, I'm a little naive on the world but that doesn't explain anything.

  [Give me a second-rate poison dagger then, how about that?]

  She stared at him for a while, remaining silent.

  She lifted her arm, and her large sleeve and scarf rolled out, revealing different daggers.

  They were in various shapes and sizes, all sharing the common trait of having green on them.

  “Choose.”

  The hell? How does she have so many daggers in her sleeve?

  Could it be a skill or something?

  “Pick one boy, she’s not very patient.”

  Looking at her, he could tell her face was growing impatient.

  He took out the dagger that looked exactly like the one he had when he was in the dungeon.

  The scarf rolled back up and disappeared into her sleeve.

  “Leave.”

  He took a step back to look at his dagger.

  [1 of 3 Quests Completed!]

  1 of 3?

  [1 Message in Message Tab!]

  [Would you like to read?]

  …fine.

  [Defeat 4 monsters that are stronger than you!]

  [Failure to complete this quest will result in the loss of one of your Stolen Skills.]

  Wait! What happens if I complete the quests?

  [You will be granted a Gifted Skill]

  At least I have an answer.

  “Is that all you need?”

  [Well, she’s not going to give me any more weapons, that’s for sure.]

  “I can still make you a high-quality dagger if you wish.”

  [Can you make me a basic dagger? High quality of course.]

  “Sure, I can, I can finish it in 50 minutes easily.”

  [Thanks.]

  “You can wait with my daughter while I get to work.”

  He walks through the back door and gets to work.

  Leaving both of them alone.

  Greedon looked at her awkwardly, she didn’t seem fazed and looked away from him.

  He walks up to her, looking at her dead in her eyes.

  [Is there something I can do that will allow you to give me a better weapon?]

  “You wait until now to ask? How dumb you must be.”

  [Just tell me!]

  “......if you can kill the ogres that have been harming this village, I will consider your request.”

  [Promise?]

  “I will take back my words.”

  [Do you know where they live?]

  “If you go to the woods that’s over there, keep going straight, you will find the ogre population living there.”

  Yes! A chance for a better weapon, I just gotta kill those damn ogres and in double benefit, I can get more skills.

  He waits for 50 minutes in silence until the dagger is ready.

  A silver dagger with a silver guard and brown handle.

  Nice.

  [Thank you.]

  “You’re welcome. You seem energetic. Like the weapon that much?”

  [Nah, your daughter said if I kill the ogres, she will give me a better weapon.]

  He ran down the hill, excited for all the benefits he could obtain from this quest alone.

  Wait, he said ogres.

  “Ningetsu! Are you trying to kill the boy!”

  She looked at her father, indifferent to what she had done.

  “Oh boy, may god have mercy on his soul.”