"Oh? John, it seems you have leveled up once more! Congratulations! From now on, you can be considered a true adventurer - a Journeyman of the Realm!" Daedalus praised upon seeing John.

The young man looked up in surprise and quickly checked his status. Indeed, it was as his old mentor had said. He had leveled up to level 5. However, what caught his eye was not the fact that he had leveled up, but rather that there was a new slot under his name. It read: Title(s) - Goblin Killer, Journeyman of the Realm. John scratched his head as he viewed the new text in wonder.

"Daedalus, what is this 'Title' below my name mean?"

"Oh, 'Title' is a form of identification that displays the achievement or achievements you have accomplished. For instance, the Journeyman of the Realm title can only be granted to those who have reached level 5."

"I see. Then, what does this Goblin Killer Title mean?"

"What?! You have another Title already?"

"Yea...."

"Amazing. Oh, yes...Goblin Killer...this Title is usually granted to someone who has killed over twenty-five goblins. I heard from Colette that you went on a raid against some goblins. I bet that's where you earned your Title."

"I see. Are there any benefits for receiving these Titles?"

"Other than recognition...not much. Oh, you do receive some silver and Hero Tokens, but the amount isn't significant. By the way, for the two Titles you earned, here are 350 silver coins and 35 Hero Tokens."

"Ah, thanks."

"Well, don't feel bad. Fame is also an important aspect of an adventurer's life."

John nodded his head before asking Daedalus if there were any new skills he could learn since he had leveled up. The old trainer patted the young man's back and told him that although there were no new skills to be learned, he could spare a few days to train John and help him sharpen his skills and senses. Though John's mastery over his skills had somewhat saturated over the course of his battles, any increase no matter how small was still considered a valuable increase. And so, the young Shadow Walker agreed to his old mentor's proposal and followed him to the sparring yard. Like always, they would first spar with each other in order for Daedalus to get a good impression of John's strengths and weaknesses as those were subject to change after each battle John had gone through.

"Good! Good!" The old trainer praised once he saw John's attentiveness during battle as well as his heightened reflexes and usage of the Ensnare skill. "Your senses are impressive! If I did not know that you were only a level 5, I would have thought that you were around level 7!"

"Thank you for the compliment."

"Your reflexes and your attentiveness during the fight were well honed...different from last time's spar. Was this the result of the raid?"

As soon as John heard this comment, he immediately thought back to the female War Mage who had accidentally wounded him with a stray Icy Grasp. He thought about the clumsy cuteness the young girl had displayed while she apologized to him. A smile danced along his lips.

"What are you grinning about?" Daedalus broke John's daze.

"Ah, yea, I had to avoid a couple of stray attacks."

"Really? Yea, you'll experience these kind of things during team or group battles. Anyhow, I think I know what to improve."

The old trainer pointed out John's shortcomings and where to develop. Then, he told the young man what he needed to do in order to advance his physical prowess and eliminate those shortcomings. Daedalus finished his lecture by handing over a list of exercises John should do in order to improve his fitness.

"Do these exercises for a few days and make sure you don't overexert yourself, okay?"

"Yes sir."

"Oh, by the way, can you visit Majerio and ask him if the explosives are completed?"

"Majerio? Explosives? No problem, I'll head over there now."

"Alright, thanks."

..........

"Welcome to Majerio's Shop...oh it's you." the skinny shop owner beamed professionally when he heard the bell ring from the door.

"What? Am I not welcome?" John stopped abruptly, his brows shook slightly.

"No, that's not what I mean. What can I help you today?"

"How are the explosives? You finished making them yet?"

"Soon. I'll be finished in a day or two. Don't worry about it. I'll send them over to Daedalus the second they're done."

"Okay."

"Oh, I heard you went raiding. How did it go?"

"It went well, which reminds me...can I look at your sigils? I want to know if I have enough Squire's Valor." John pulled out an oval-shaped copper token engraved with a flowery pattern.

"Sure, follow me." Majerio strolled deeper into the shop and approached a small counter. He opened the lid of the counter and pulled out a box. "This here are all the sigils that require Squire's Valor. They are known as Squire's Sigils and can permanently increase your stamina by 2."

"Can I buy more than one?"

"No, once you buy one, that's it. There won't be anymore beneficial increases if you buy another. It would just be a waste of Valor."

"Okay." John peered into the box and gasped at the price. "300 Squire's Valor!? I only have 20. How many more raids must I complete in order to reach 300? You sure this is a good price?"

"Yea, remember you'll be permanently increasing your stamina by 2. This is a good deal in any one's opinion."

"Hmm...if you say so."

"Naturally. You looking to buy anything today?"

John paused for a bit before making up his mind. "Let me look at some new armor."

"Okay, follow me. Since you have leveled up to level 5, you are now able to purchase Tier Two equipment. These are the armor under the Acolyte set. You can check out the obvious increases in Defense with respect to the armor under the Glenfort set."

John reached over and picked up an Acolyte Mask. The hard, tough leather helmet seemed to provide better resistance against attacks compared to the flimsy Glenfort Helm he was currently wearing...an increase of 8 Defense points to be exact. Now 8 points of Defense doesn't seem to be much, but one should know that each point increase in Defense was equivalent to 5 points increase in Health. In other words, an increase in 8 Defense points was equal to an increase in 40 Health points! As the young Shadow Walker examined the equipment, he suddenly gasped at the price. 933 silver coins! That was more than eight times the price of the Tier One helmet! John checked the prices of the other Acolyte armor and couldn't help but sigh at the expensive prices. An Acolyte Cuirass costs 1866 silver, a pair of Acolyte Gloves costs 746 silver, a pair of Acolyte Leggings costs 1306 silver, a pair of Acolyte Shoes costs 746 silver, and an Acolyte Cape costs 1119 silver. Each of these Tier Two equipment were 8-10 times that of Tier One.

John glanced at the helmet in his hands once more and pondered about whether or not he should buy the helmet. He checked the amount of silver coins in his possession and confirmed that he had a little less than 6000 silver coins. Not enough to buy the whole Acolyte set, but enough to buy most of the armor. What should he buy? The leg armor and the chest armor were a given as John had suffered many attacks in those areas. But what about the others? Just with the leg armor and the chest armor would cost more than half of his savings. Should he give up on armor and buy Tier Two Weapons instead? After some careful consideration, he decided to keep using his Tier One Weapons and buy all of the Acolyte armor except for the cape. Currently, John considered the cape to be useless and feared that it would prove to be a hindrance in battle. And so, with around 400 silver coins left in his pocket, John headed to the Temple in his new outfit.

..........

"Hello John, it's been a while. How have you been? How's the war?" Allegra asked while she healed a couple of wounded villagers.

"Good, good. Soon, we will deal a huge blow to the Rath'een army." The young Shadow Walker smiled as he held up his hand, indicating that he wanted 5 small healing potions.

The priestess smiled and motioned for him to wait outside while she entered the Temple to retrieve the potions. Quite a few minutes later, longer than what should be needed, Allegra walked out with a slight frown.

"Is something wrong? Did you run out of potions?" John asked worriedly. These five potions were vital for his upcoming ventures into the tunnels.

"No, sorry for my look. Here are your potions." Allegra shook her head and handed the five potions over to John. However, her frown continued to persist while she stared into the distance as if deeply thinking about a problem.

"...gra...legra...Allegra...Allegra!"

"Hmm? Huh? What?"

"How much for these?"

"Ah, sorry. Um, 375 silver."

"Okay, here." The young man reached into his bag and counted out three pouches of 100 silver and a pouch of 75 silver coins. As he looked at the priestess, he asked her if there were anything troubling her.

Allegra broke out of her daze and grabbed the money. "Oh, it's just that...it's just that.... Ah! Can you help me?"

"Sure! I mentioned this earlier but if you have some trouble and it's within my power, I will definitely help you."

"Great!"

"So, what's the trouble?"

"It's about the materials you brought over last time...."

"What? Was there something missing?"

"Eh? No! Heavens no! You did a splendid job bringing them back...it's just...it's just that even with those materials, we're still running short on some basic ingredients to create our elixirs."

"I see. Must be hard on you."

"Yea, keeping the Temple up and running can be a difficult endeavor. Thank you for helping us before."

"No problem. Speak. What do you need me to do?"

Allegra straightened her back and eloquently proclaimed. "Should you find yourself in The Pit within the Cursed Quarry, we - the Temple - would be most appreciative if you could find us five Savage Wolf fangs."

"Was it necessary to talk like that?" John chuckled when he saw Allegra's actions.

The priestess blushed, "What do you mean? Of course I should act more professionally when giving out quests."

"Haha, but yea.... Anyways, Savage Wolf...fangs? What do you need animal teeth for? What potion would these be used for?"

"That...trade secret." Allegra beamed secretively and stuck her tongue out at John.

"You...fine, I won't delve deeper. Is that all you need?"

"Yes."

"How pressing of an issue is this? I'm not sure if I'll be going to the Cursed Quarry anytime soon."

"Oh, not pressing at all. We do need it by the end of this year however. Don't worry about it. Take your time."

"Then, wait for me. I'll be sure to send some when I given the chance."

John bid the priestess farewell and headed back to the Training Hall. Once he arrived, the young man told his mentor that the explosives will be completed and delivered to the Training Hall in a couple of days. After reporting the situation, John headed home. It had been a few months since he last returned to his house. He tiredly changed into something comfortable and quickly whipped up a sumptuous dinner - three cheese and sausage sandwiches and a pot of warm chicken vegetable broth. It has been a while since he last indulged himself with a full meal. After eating, he collapsed onto his soft bed and fell asleep. As he drifted towards the dream world, an unsettling feeling ached at the back of his mind. But, John ignored that feeling as fatigue overwhelmed him and he finally fell asleep. Whatever that bad feeling was, John will never find out until he felt it once more, but he won't be sure when that will happen.