[New Skill Acquired]

"A new skill? Let's check it out… Cold Affinity: Resist. Wow, I guess I gain different skills based on things I do…" Rein thought to himself in amazement. There were other parts of the menu he wanted to explore, but he was interrupted.

"Rein! Hurry up or the breakfast Saphy and I made will be cold!" Emria scolded, with a pout on her face.

"Sorry! I'll be right there." He closed his menu and ran over to the kitchen, where Voron, Saphrilla, and Emria were sitting.

Somehow, Emria had already become friendly with the seemingly emotionless Saphrilla. Their personalities were almost opposite, yet they became friends overnight. He sat down at the kitchen table and wolfed down on the breakfast the 2 girls made. Pancakes and Elven Syrup. A classic Elven breakfast that Saphrilla taught Emria to make.

"This is delicious! Did you two make this?" He asked the two girls sitting in front of him, one of them had a straight face talking to the other with a smiling one.

"Indeed. I normally cook breakfast alone, therefore it was a big help having Emria with me as I had some assistance." Responded Saphrilla, monotone as usual.

"What Saphy meant to say was 'Yes we made it together!'." Exclaimed Emria with excitement, as she hugged Saphrilla, who gave no reaction. Rein smiled at them, as he continued to eat.

"Rein, I didn't see you in the room in the morning, why'd you go to the couch?" Asked Voron, which made Rein go into a cold sweat, and choke up on his food, remembering the horrors of the night prior. He didn't want to be rude and tell him that his snoring was unbearable.

"Father, I believe I can answer that question for him. Your incessant snoring is quite aggravating. Nobody in their right mind would sleep in the same room as you." Saphrilla was finally showing some emotion of aggression towards her father. She seemed like the person to give tough love, blunt as it may be.

"Bah! Straight to the point as always my little Saphrilla!" He said as he broke out into a playful cry, causing Emria and Rein to laugh. Rein composed himself and began to tell Voron about what he saw this morning.

"Mr. Voron, there was a change in my stats when I woke up."

"Oh!? Well? Out with it!" Said Voron with excitement.

"My defense increased by 0.1. It was probably because I slept on the couch in the cold."

"I see, then you'll be sleeping on the couch from now on." Said Voron with no hesitation.

"What?!" Was Rein's initial reaction, but as he thought more about it, he concluded that he'd rather sleep on the couch than get his eardrums blown out every night.

"Alright, when you finish your food, follow me." Said Voron as he exited the kitchen, leaving Rein confused.

He finished all his food and followed Voron outside the house, into the shade of the trees under the beaming sun. Emria and Saphrilla followed as they headed into the bustling town. Everyone recognized Voron and his daughter as if they were local celebrities walking through the streets of the town.

"Um, where are we going?" Asked Rein.

"To get you a weapon! There's a great blacksmith in town, the best in all of Lomia. Those other swords you brought were severely beaten up. And one of them was an army sword! Can't have you use those now can we!" Said Voron while waving at passerby.

"Okay… But why are the girls here?"

"To buy us clothes! We can't keep borrowing clothes! I'll buy some for you too Rein," Answered Emria enthusiastically. They continued walking until they eventually arrived at the blacksmith.

"Hey, Folduin. I need you to make this boy a pair of swords. He'll tell you how to customize them. Okay? See ya," signaled Voron to the blacksmith in a hurry.

"Sure thing Voron!" He responded as Voron left the facility, waving behind him.

"Hey wait! Where are you going?" Protested Rein after Voron left him at the blacksmith.

"Well, I can't let these girls shop by themselves, can I? Have fun kid!"

"Bye Rein! See you in a bit!" Waved Emria, along with Saphrilla who waved silently.

Rein, dumbfounded, was just left in an intimidating man's blacksmith. A large, bald man, covered in scars and scratches.

"Welcome kid. You use a 'pair of swords', meaning dual swords if I understood correctly? Well, I haven't made a custom version of those since the Timeless Blitz." Said Folduin casually.

"Huh? You know da-, *ahem*, The Timeless Blitz?" Announced Rein in a surprising outburst, catching himself as he almost blundered.

"I sure do! Made him a couple of swords last time he was here on a commission. Unfortunately, he died protecting us shortly after. Come to think of it, you have the same color hair as him," remarked the man, inquiring into Rein's white hair.

"Yeah, I uh…. Dyed it white. He's an inspiration to me, it's why I want to train with dual swords like him," Rein made an excuse, so as to not have his identity revealed.

"Haha! So I guess you want to become a Ranger too then? Man, what I would give to be young and full of energy again," said the man, beginning work on the sword.

Rein's dream had always been to become a Ranger, like his father and sister. He loved the idea of helping people in need and fighting ferocious monsters. But now, his reasons for wanting to become a Ranger have been skewed. He didn't want any of that idealistic crap. Now, he was after the freedom and money that being a Ranger granted you. A Ranger would be able to travel anywhere with unlimited freedom and even cross the border between Econica and Orthlys. And after his deal with Voron ended, he'd need a way to support himself and Emria.

"So, you got a Spring then?" Asked the man, making Rein pause and reflect for a second.

"... No not yet. But I'm hopeful since I'm still ten years old." He technically didn't lie, as he didn't have a Spring, he had a System.

"Ah, I see. Well, training is better than any Spring! Speaking of that, I'll let you train by helpin me smith this thing! Maybe a Spring'll manifest if you do a little blacksmithing! Haha!" Laughed the man, but he wasn't joking.

Rein agreed to help, and they got to work on creating the strongest dual swords on the continent. They worked until the sun went down, and using Folduin's magical smithing tools, they managed to finish before it broke dusk.

"Well, I'll be… You're a natural kid. That was the fastest I've ever forged anything, and to this quality as well!" Said Folduin, praising Rein.

"Thanks…" Said Rein as he unveiled the swords from their sheaths, revealing 2 carbon steel swords, professionally forged and customized. Rein had never seen cooler swords before in his life. His eyes lit up just by looking at them. He swung them around to test them, already feeling like they were extensions of his limbs.

"These are incredible. Thank you, sir. How much do we owe you?" Rein asked.

"Oh perish the thought. I wouldn't make my old friend Voron pay, much less such a young talented blacksmith! It's on the house! I'll even throw in these smithing tools! Make sure to use 'em kid," he handed Rein a bag of tools.

"Really? You don't have to…"

"I insist!" After that, Rein accepted the kind man's offer and left the blacksmith. On his way back, he checked his stats:

Health: 340/340

Energy: 87/170

Speed: 68.2

Strength: 73.7

Defense: 65.1

Intellect: 119.2

[New Skill]: Apprentice Blacksmith

"Huh, would you look at that? My strength and intellect went up. And I got a new skill. But man, my hands are really full with these tools and swords… Wait, what's this? Inventory…" He pressed the inventory tab on his system menu, popping up with a large grid full of empty squares.

"Can I store things in my System?" He put the bag of tools into the inventory, and surely enough, they were stored.

"Man, that's cool. Look's like it has a weight limit of 110.55kg. I assume that'll increase as my strength goes up," he sped up as the weight off his hand was lifted, walking back to the house at an accelerated pace.

He arrived, excited to tell Voron about his stat increase. However, the mood in the room was the opposite of his enthusiasm. He saw Voron reading a paper, along with a look of fear etched on the faces of Saphrilla and Emria.

"Rein… Orthlys just declared war on Econica…"