The Earth After Rebirth

But he was having a good training here, hitting the sonic rats like a baseball. And like the bumblebees, it was one shot, one kill. It was all thanks to his staff wielder skill, as it gave him an edge, 20% damage.

He felt a little bad that he was bullying the weak, but he was also weak, so he needed them to get strong. 'Alas little ones, be my stepping stones!' he thought while pushing forward. Massacring every single one.

[Congratulations on decimating sonic rats and bumblebees. You've levelled up. You've received 3 Attribute points]

Kiro

Level 2

HP: 100/100

MP 70/70

He looked at his status window with a very satisfied expression, the fruits of his labour. He hadn't expected to level up, so this came as a very nice surprise.

"Time to go back!" He said and walked back to the market, he had collected all the herbs on the list. His protective gear was left forgotten on the field, he had no use for them now that he had this staff. The chances of encountering another bumblebee or a monster like it were very slim.

He noticed more and more players as he went along. Everyone going for the weaker monsters to level up. He let out a big sigh of relief, imagining if they saw him the first time. He was glad it was empty before.

"I'm back Miss and here are your goods, as promised!" He said cheerfully.

"Oh, young man, you may look unreliable but you sure do know your business."

[Congratulations on completing the quest. You're rewarded with EXP, 5 gold coins and a meal. Enjoy.]

'A meal? what is it talki...'

"Here you go, I've packed you a meal. You must be very tired, eat up." She had a very motherly aura about her.

He took the meal, and ate it, sceptical of what might be in it. Surprisingly, it gave him an increase by 1 on all his stats.

Whoa. "Miss, do you sell these meals?"

"It's a one of a kind, it can't be replicated. Go to the equipment's shop, the owner there will want some help."

Kiro thanked and bade her farewell. This low level quest truly was worth it. He not only levelled up, but he also got a rise on his attributes. The embarrassment he suffered was well, worth it now. He walked into the equipment's shop a little chirpy.

The door bell rang as soon as he opened the door. The owner looked up, and his smile broadened.

"You must be the young lad Rosa talked about. Please come on in."

"Thank you, Mister?"

"Harrison. I need you for this work."

"I'll do anything just name it."

"As Rosa said, you're resilient and hardworking. I'll need you to clean up some equipment in the shop."

'ANYTHING BUT THAT...' He screamed internally.

He wanted to fight monsters. They were good practice, he had just gotten the hang of it. He didn't want to sit here, for however long, polishing equipment for customers.

As much as he hated it, he put on an awkward smile for Mr. Harrison, he didn't want him to recognise the disappointment. This was a quest after all, it must have rewards, no matter how mundane.

Though it didn't seem like the old man would have noticed. He was too ecstatic. Kiro shuffled his feet to the back following the old man, the room was full of rusty and dirty equipment, all waiting for him no doubt. He sighed and sat down to get started.

There were a lot of weapons and equipment. From rusted swords to dusty bows. Chipped armour that would need a smithy to fix, Kiro was no expert, so all he could manage was get the dust and rust off.

With weapons, such as swords, spears and arrows, he used a rock to sharpen them, thereby removing the rust. It was a shame a staff was nowhere to be seen amongst the weapons. He was starting to think this game had it in for him. Why was anything related to sagehood so damn difficult?

-------

Hiro was extremely nervous. Seeing the smithy, he knew just how good and experienced the person in front of him was. Although they were the same height, in skill the chasm couldn't be closed even after a few years.

"Want to be my apprentice do you, you think I just take in any greenhorn that walks in my shop? do you think you're worthy?" His voice was cold and uncaring.

"I'm worthy." Albeit nervous, Hiro said without a moments hesitation.

"Good. At least you didn't hesitate. I'd have thrown you out if you had. Craftsmanship requires a mind that's as stubborn and sturdy as the ground you stand on. A hint of hesitation is a great weakness."

"Yes master."

"Look at you, so quick and obedient." He laughed heartily as if he wasn't the cold grouch he met a second ago. "Well kid, you can watch me for now, I'll give you a hammer shortly."

He started, making a shield. He was pounding nonstop. The flame was being controlled at a very steady pace, he knew when it needed a little more or a little less and adjusted accordingly. To Hiro, that was something he saw as a miracle, a mountain to climb if you will. He didn't even have a fire skill yet.

'How does he do that with the fire. How does he pound so quickly at a steady, even pace. He must've pounded the iron hundreds of times yet his pace hasn't slowed or quickened.' Hiro was watching attentively but he couldn't understand anything.

'It's like, he's one with the iron his pounding. He knows exactly what it needs and when.'

After a while, the shield was beginning to take shape. It looked so majestic even though it was yet to be finished, which spoke more of the dwarf's skills.

"Wow, master is so great!" Hiro meant it, it was truly astounding.

"Then, what did you learn from watching the greatest to ever do it?"

"Well, that..." He trailed off, he hadn't learned a thing! There's no way he expects him to be able to learn like this right? right?

"Tsk. You're a slow one then."

"I'm not amazing, but I work hard, so I'll need master to explain things to me."

The dwarf looked long and hard at him. "You'll have to subdue and tame flames in order to be a true craftsman."

"How?"

"Well, you'll know. Work the iron. Here's your hammer."

Hiro was dumbfounded. He had heard that geniuses were crap teachers. But he never expected it to this extent. At this rate, he'll never tame the flame, he'll never be a true craftsman, all because of a bad teacher!

He shook off his inner turmoil. A hammer on his hand he started hammering the iron, mercilessly, as though taking out all of his frustrations.

"That's not how you caress iron. You need to be gentle yet rough. You're only rough!"

"Well then tell me how to!?"

He had been doing this for a few hours now, his arms were about to give out and his so-called master wasn't helping at all. Instead of teaching him what's right to do, he just pointed out what he did wrong. Which made them bicker.

Both master and student were stubborn as mule. Hiro may be the quiet type, but he's also the kind that doesn't take well to bullsh*t. When he's had enough, he has no troubles at all expressing his grievances.

Hiro wasn't scared of him anymore. He was too fed-up to care, so he expressed his frustrations right back. The old dwarf didn't seem to mind his attitude either. He just kept fanneling the flame that was Hiro's obvious lack of patience.

------

Kiro wasn't fairing any better. No matter how much he cleaned them, they didn't seem to lessen. He was starting to suspect that the owner secretly put more equipment as he cleaned along.

He dusted, polished and sharpened for a few days without rest. He worked so hard that his stats were increasing.

Ding!

[Janitor for subclass!]

"Is there no way to turn you off? I've never heard of the system acting like this before. You're starting to creep me out."

The system made snarky remarks, now and then, but then wouldn't reply back when Kiro shot back. He shook his head and made a mental note to ignore this in the future. He wouldn't bicker with a system, he was saner than that.

Ding!

[Pfft...]

A vein popped at Kiro's temple. He promised himself that he'd definitely report this to the devs. There's no way this was legal. Right?

He was finally grinding on the stone his final weapon. A spear. It looked ancient but it felt powerful. It was too bad he couldn't brandish a spear, he would most likely ask the shop owner for this one.

"You've worked tirelessly, thank you. Thanks to you, my business will continue as usual, I won't have to close."

"Mm. Its a pleasure Mr. Harrison. I hope we meet again." NOT. DEFINITELY NOT.

"Great young man, I don't have much to give you."

Ding!

[Congratulations on completing the quest. You've received EXP and 100 gold coins.]

'Guess that'll be it for the rewards.'

"This is something I acquired long ago. I have no use for it, take it."

It was a dirty tattered book. When he took a closer look, it was an actual skill book.

Ding!

[You've acquired the 'Hurricane Punch' skill book.]

'Hurricane Punch? Cringe.'

"Thank you Mister."

After that, Kiro was thrown at NPC after NPC for mundane quests. One woman lost her beast pet, another requested to buy her groceries at the market, another requested their child be accompanied to school.

Kiro did them all, without complaint as they weren't that hard for him. He levelled up to level 3. His stats reached 7. His HP reached 150 and MP 100. He also had 6 AP to spare.

It was finally time to kill some mountain ducks!