Chapter 45

"What do you think we need, Roxanne?" I asked, turning my attention towards her.

"Um, Sherry would need a pair of Underwear, socks and maybe a Rucksack for the labyrinth" Roxanne replied after thinking for a bit

"Ah … Mine aren't ragged yet, so you don't need to do that" Sherry hesitantly said to Roxanne

"It's no trouble. On the contrary for today's Shopping I was thinking of filling our wardrobes with a lot of clothes. We all need new clothes for everyday wear and a different set of clothes for the labyrinth, some night wear, and we should buy like 7 pairs of each type so they can last a week at least" I announced while mentally counting how many clothes we would need to buy.

"M-master there is no need to spend this much money on us. Especially new clothes, slaves only wear old and used clothes " Roxanne requested while explaining some more common sense to me.

"Y-yes master, we just need to wash the pair of clothes we have after daily use" Sherry joined in looking flustered by my comments.

"Roxanne, at least you should know how rich we are, this amount of shopping is nothing for me" I reminded her of the amount of Gold coins I have. "And I want to buy you clothes so you can wear new clothes for me every day. Watching beautiful things daily will improve my mood" I said with a smirk.

"Yes Master" Roxanne acquiesced to my 'logical' reasoning.

"O-okay" Sherry too nodded seeing me so adamant.

"We also need to buy new furniture from the Imperial Capital, beds, carpets, cabinets, a dining table"

Now I realize that maybe the whole day would be spent in just shopping.

"But Master, we already bought all of that yesterday" Roxanne said while pointing to the table and chair we are sitting on.

"This is all used stuff and too small for a house of this size. We will buy brand new stuff from the capital. This will be our home for some time now, so we shouldn't shy away from spending money" I am sinking into a Rich person mentality.

"Won't all of this cost a lot" Sherry voiced quietly.

"Master can make money easily!" Roxanne answered with fervor before I was able to reply.

"Is that also one of your Powers?" Sherry asked in shock

"Yes I will explain it to you in the labyrinth" I postponed the crystallization explanation for later

"A-alright" Sherry nodded absentmindedly.

"Before going to Imperial Capital we can shop for Equipment from the Quratar shops, here they must have a wider variety of options"

Quratar has everything an Explorer may need so it's better to shop for Equipment here than in Imperial Capital.

"What kind of weapon do you use Sherry?" I asked the absentminded girl

"Umm I am good at using a spear so if I am in the mid range then I would like a Spear ... If I am in the vanguard then I will use a Hammer. I am strong so I will be able to use it. Hammer is powerful and it's common for allies to be hit by it so its used only by Vanguards" Sherry replied while getting out of her stupor

"So let's buy a Steel Spear and a Steel Hammer. Roxanne we both should also upgrade our equipments to Steel ones"

"Master I don't need steel weapons, copper and wooden ones would suffice" Sherry said quickly hearing my statement.

"Yes Master, we are only on the second floor, the demons can be handled easily by our current Equipment" Roxanne also continued after her.

"I know that, but what's the problem in being Overgeared!"

Both of them just looked at me speechlessly. I wanted to do a Villain laugh but I controlled myself.

"By the way Sherry, do you know about Empty Skill Slots in the Equipment?" With a cough I changed the topic

"A Great Scholar had a theory that equipment has slots, and a skill won't fuse to it from a Skill Crystal if there isn't one" Sherry said with a finger on her chin.

"Knowing the same things as a Great Scholar. Master is very wise. Even the theory about the round earth … and dwarf skill slot … only a small number of Dwarves know about it"

Even while Sherry was praising me, her eyes were still narrowly looking at me in suspicion.

"So is the theory accepted then?"

"No not really, most of the people don't believe in this theory"

"Is proving it not possible?" I ask in doubt

"When fusion fails the Skill Crystal is lost, and the Equipment returns to its original materials. Even though the piece of Equipment can be remade, the people who believe in Skill Slots theory don't believe it becomes the same gear. So there is no way to prove this theory"

"What about you, what do you think Sherry?" I asked her curiously.

"The Skill Slot theory seems a bit far fetched. It blames this and that for failure, but the argument against it is also not very solid" Sherry replies with a logical answer.

"Is that so? You seemed to know a lot about it"

"Sorry I was interested so I asked someone that was well informed." Sherry paused and continued with a sigh "Mainly the theory was disproved because nobody can see these Skill Slots"

"Master can!" Roxanne replied to Sherry with a proud smile.

"Huh? … Eh? Really?" Sherry looked at me incredulously

"Yes, my Bloodline Powers let me see the Intelligence Cards of people and objects with just a look." I said it cooly as if it wasn't a big deal

"That's why when I saw you I could tell straight away that your name was Sherry, you are Explorer Level 10 and that you are 16 years old" I described her Appraisal result.

" …. Really?" Sherry asked again, staring at my eyes to see if I was telling the truth.

I open the Backpack from the side and take out my Iron Sword and Roxanne's Scimitar.

"Yes, so when I see Equipments I could see that some Equipment just has a name like this Iron sword, it is simply Iron Sword" I place the Iron Sword on the table

[Iron Sword: 2 handed weapon]

"But if I look at the Copper Scimitar I could see that with it's name I could also read an Empty skill slot" I place the Scimitar beside the Sword.

[Copper Scimitar: Single handed weapon

Skill:Empty]

"This has a skill slot and this other one doesn't?" Sherry murmured the question while looking at the 2 weapons with a pondering look.

"Yeah I can even read what skill the Equipment has with just a look"

"As expected of Master" Roxanne chimes in with a nod.

"So the Skill slot theory is correct" Sherry said more to herself than to us.

"Yes, So you don't have to worry about your fusion failing. As with me around, it will never fail" I patted my chest with confidence.

"But Master I can't do fusion. I am not a Master Smith, I failed at becoming one" Sherry's head kept getting lower as she spoke in a quiet tone.

Seeing her so pitiful I sigh and get up from my chair. I go to their side and sit on the table between Roxanne and Sherry. Both of them try to get up but I press their shoulders lightly and keep them seated.

Leaving their shoulders I open my palms to them. Understanding my signal Roxanne places her right hand on my palm. Sherry also follows suit and places her left hand on my other palm. I take their hands in my hand.

"We are together now. It means your problems are my problems" I look into Roxanne's auburn eyes and give a soft kiss on the back of her hand. She smiled happily in return. Next I turned to Sherry who was looking curiously at me.

"And your happiness is my responsibility" with a smile I plant another soft kiss on the back of Sherry's hand. I could see her cheeks flushing pink rapidly.

"I can make you a Master Smith" I said softly while tightening my hold on both the hands.

"Eh? … What? How?" Hearing my words Sherry asked in shock.

Satisfied with her reaction, I chuckle and get up from the table releasing their hands and go back to my seat. Meanwhile Sherry looked intensely at me while Roxanne just smiled from the side. Seeing her anxious appearance I speak up.

"There is a well hidden secret among the Ancient Families" I pause for dramatic effect "Every Job has some kind of hidden conditions you need to fulfill. If you can fulfill them then you can get the job, if not then you can't have the Job"

"Hmm so if you have fulfilled the conditions then you can go to the various Guild temples and you can change your job to that. But if you haven't then even the temple can't help you" Sherry said realizing quickly what I mean from my single statement.

"So the saying that you need to be talented in the Labyrinth is false? I was unable to become a Master Smith not because of my lack of talents but because I couldn't fulfill some hidden conditions?" Sherry's spoke quietly with her head down.

"So Master, what are the conditions? Can I still become one or is it too late for me?" Sherry bounces back quickly from her low mood and asks while looking directly at me.

"There are some Jobs out there who have very hard conditions to fulfill. Like the Hero Job if you miss the chance then you can never obtain it"

"Huh? Hero Job? … Master, don't tell me that you have Hero Job!"

"Yes I do" I reply with a smirk

"Master we have to leave the country if they find out that you have the Hero Job, they will hunt you down" Sherry said while getting up and looking at me anxiously

We just met and she is already getting worried for me. I feel extremely happy at that thought. But she should have noticed that Roxanne was still sitting there calmly while watching Sherry.

"It's okay, I have a powerful skill that lets me show whatever Job I want. So today if I wanted I could have shown you Adventurer as a Job. So there is no need to worry about my Job being known" Hearing my calm and confident speech Sherry sits back in the seat with a relieved sigh.

"So Hero is really Job? As there was no Guild existing for it, I thought that the First Emperor having that Job was a Myth. Today a lot of Myths are turning out to be true" Sherry said while looking at me weirdly.

"Before telling you the conditions of obtaining a Master Smith Job. I have to tell you about another of my Blood line power" Hearing my words Sherry takes a deep breath as if preparing herself.

"I can check every Job you have gained and change it without your permission if you are in my party"

"Master your Bloodline gives you Powers which are even better than what the Guild temples have?" Sherry looks at me suspiciously

I add points and open Party Job Settings for Sherry.

[Party Job Setting

Sherry

Acquired Job: Explorer Level 10, Villager Level 3, Herbalist Level 1

Set Job: Explorer Level 10]

As I already knew, there was no Master Smith and just like Roxanne she doesn't have a Thief Job, that is very admirable in my eyes. With a mental tap I change her Job from Explorer to Villager. It was good that there was nothing in her Explorer's Item Box or I wouldn't be able to change her Jobs until she emptied her Item box.

"Try to open your Item Box" I ask Sherry with a smirk.

"Eh? …. Eh??" Sherry looked perplexed at her hands.

She must have tried using the Item box but no chant must have appeared in her head.

"You wouldn't be able to, as I just changed your Job to Villager" I tell her quickly not wanting her to panic.

"So it is true" Sherry mumbled, looking at me in wonder.

"One of the conditions for many Jobs is to have Villager at level 5. And so here comes the second important point" I pause and continue slowly "Every Job has a level not just Explorer, and your Villager right now is at Level 3"

"You can tell this because just as the Empty Skill Slots on the Equipment, your Bloodline Powers allows you to see Jobs and their levels on different people" Sherry again figures it out without me finishing the explanation.

"Yes, correct. I can see their active Job and its level with just a look. But if I want to see the other Jobs that they have, I need them to be in my party" I explain to her the limitations.

"The Equipments having a Skill Slot can be proven by using Fusion and succeeding repeatedly. But if you can't quantifiably see the levels as we do in the case of Explorer and its Item Box then we can't prove that Levels exist for other Jobs" Sherry says analyzing the information with a finger on her chin.

I don't think she will accept that Levels exists just because people get stronger with the experience example which I used while convincing Roxanne.

"Tell you what, we will we will shop for the day and then before dinner we will go to the labyrinth, where you will get your Master Smith Job" I pause and continue with a smile "After becoming Master Smith you will have to believe me"

"Sorry Master, I didn't mean to question you at all" Sherry replied in panic while bowing her head. Her hair wobbles unnaturally with the shake of her head.

"It's alright I am not mad. As I promised, you will become a Master Smith today" I declare with a smile.

"B-but …" Sherry looks at me unsurely.

Roxanne takes Sherry's hand.

"Just trust Master"