The next day, I left the inn early, making my way to the martial arts training ground. As Kelly had asked, the sun hadn’t yet come up by the time I entered the courtyard. I found the bearkin teacher already waiting, practicing by herself by striking at a wooden dummy, her arms alternating between slowly striking at multiple pegs. Before …

First, as it would seem, was torture. Specifically, it was training my new Dull Pain skill. Kelly stood with a whip on one side of the room, keeping her red eyes closed as I sat with my back to her, my shirt off. Her wrist was constantly in motion, the snap of the whip ringing through the air as it …

After sending off the rest of the rings, I asked a guard for directions to the city’s martial arts training ground. The man gave a wry chuckle before telling me where to go, a look of pity evident in his eyes as he sent me off. When I arrived, I found the training hall deserted, the sign in front of …

I looked at the stocky dwarf in front of me, with short,  brown hair and a scraggly beard that went down to the top of his chest. He was well-built and as muscular as one would expect of a dwarven blacksmith, with a wide grin on his face. He wore a leather apron over a black shirt and thick, brown …

After having received Diane’s warning, I made sure to keep my stealth activated the entire way to the city. It took me a little under an hour to complete the trek, as the city was just on the edge of the horizon when I entered the dungeon. By the time I arrived, I saw Diane waiting for me. Perhaps it …

When I once more arrived in front of the boss room, I concentrated on that large door, activating my Detective Analysis in the hopes that I would be able to catch a glimpse of what monsters lay beyond. My guess was that it was some kind of ogre chief, but I couldn’t be sure. Unfortunately, the door blocked my perception, …

Now that the sun had risen, the monsters in the environment had begun to shift. The passive elemental sprites and birds were replaced with wolves and goblins. At the same time, I could see players, or at least chosen, engaging in battles with these creatures. Shaking my head, I put my sword away. There was no point in constantly practicing …

It took roughly an hour after I crossed the bridge before I was able to finally level up my Mass Appraisal to twenty, having been casting it on any clusters of weeds or herbs that I found along the way. Once I did so, I was awarded with the long-awaited system message. Detected possibility for skill fusion! Compatible skills – …

As I walked through the edge of the forest, I began to ponder what the ‘affinity’ attribute was that was mentioned in the charm. As far as I knew, there weren’t any abilities that directly altered the minds of others, as that was considered the realm of gods. Maybe it was more akin to a badge of honor? Regardless, I …

If I were to run at my full speed, as I did when heading to Arcanhide, I would likely be able to make it to the next village in less than four hours, giving enough time to rest along the way. However, I had no intention of doing that. If I did, I would be passing up too many opportunities …