The Engineer

For two weeks now, Lilliana has been completing harvest quests every day. She had collected almost a thousand Astels, which she spent only on food and lodging. So she had exactly 738 Astels left, which was a lot of money for her. But...

"Say, Alice. How can I spend all this money?"

Embarrassed, she had no other idea than to ask her advisor. Slightly unsettled by the question, she quickly regained her composure. After all, it was a question frequently asked by novice adventurers.

"Ahem... Well, the most important thing for a beginner adventurer is to find decent equipment. But you're already well-equipped in that respect. Your equipment should be able to help you deal with H and G rank animals and monsters."

"On the other hand, the investment of an adventurer is not only buying new equipment but also maintaining it! You can also buy potions, poisons... But what I advise you to buy first is a dimensional bag!"

Lilliana looked at her, her head tilting slightly to the side.

"A dimensional bag? "

To Lilliana's surprise, her counselor's eyes began to light up.

"Yes! It is a bag with an entire dimension in it! In this way, it is possible to store huge and countless objects inside, depending on the size and quality of the spacial seal!"

What Lilliana didn't know was that before joining the Adventurers' Guild, Alice studied magical engineering. She was passionate about this type of relatively standard item for most people, and her dream was to open the first magic technology store in Avrel.

Unfortunately for her, although her talents were impressive, it took a lot of money to open a store.

So she was forced to work in the guild to save enough money.

But she didn't really like this job, so she spent her time sighing, which made most of her customers go away despite her attractive physic. Lilliana was one of her few loyal customers.

Hearing these explanations, Lilliana's interest grew.

"This is very convenient! And where can I buy this kind of bag?"

Quickly, a big smile appeared on Alice's face, so that it was distorted.

"Hehehe!"

With her piercing gaze, her perverse smile, and her bandit laughter, Lilliana became slightly frightened and took a few steps back. Alice, however, grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Five hundred!"

Lilliana only said that before resuming after a short moment of silence.

"I'll sell you a small one for five hundred Astels! That's a hundred less than the market price! A steal, believe me!"

What Alice didn't tell her client was that the price of these bags at Astels was biased.

Elves were generally more interested in alchemy than in smithing and engineering. As a result, the lack of engineers was greatly felt and most magical items were imported from the human kingdoms.

With each intermediary, the price went up, and in the end, the resellers only made a small margin.

Alice made her bags, so her margins were much higher than those of the street vendors, even though she sold them for 100 Astels less.

"Mmh... All right. I'll buy you one."

Although a little hesitant, Lilliana trusted her advisor and if it would save her some money, she couldn't refuse.

"Deal!"

Alice revealed a beautiful little leather bag. From it, she withdrew another identical bag.

"I attached an invisibility seal to mine. If you want me to customize yours too, it's possible, but I'm warning you, it'll cost you a lot more!"

Lilliana held out her card, a bitter smile on her face.

"No thanks, not at this time."

Those five hundred Astels represented two-thirds of her fortune, so how could she afford to pay for improvements?

A little disappointed, Alice superimposed the two cards. They quickly lit up briefly before returning to their normal state. When her card was returned to her, Lilliana had only two hundred and thirty-eight Astels left.

But she was still happy, she could now take on multiple quests and bring in more resources at the same time, without worrying about weight and space!

She quickly equipped her bag and stared again at her advisor.

"Alice, I have a second question."

Overjoyed, Alice still listened attentively to her client. This sale brought her even closer to her dream after all.

"No matter how much I complete quests and work, my level doesn't improve. In two weeks I've only gained one point in spirit, I'm still far from leveling up, so let's not even talk about the rank."

"Aah, that's normal. According to the data, you've only done harvesting quests. While these quests are handy for a beginner adventurer to get used to the craft, they don't allow you to grow, just earn your first Astels."

"If you want to improve, there are three things to remember: training, resting, and fighting. Indeed training is a good way to gain your first levels, and rest is necessary to replenish your body. But nothing brings more experience than combat."

"It's not surprising, but putting your life on the line is one of the best ways to level up. For most people, it's even the only way once you reach rank B and above."

Lilliana's gaze wandered a bit to the quest board.

"So I should take purge quests, and train every day if I want to improve?"

"Training differs depending on the statistic you want to improve. Strength training improves, well, strength, running improves agility and studying, reading, and meditating improve the mind. To improve vitality, it's a little more complicated, given that you have to put your own body through some damage."

"What if I train with swords?"

"Mmh... In this case, you will improve your strength as well as your agility, but also a little bit your mind. But you can also improve your technique, which will allow you to develop skills."

"Skills?" asked Lilliana, skeptically.

"As you become more proficient with your sword, you will be able to add mana to your strikes and cuts. This will allow you to increase the power of your strikes and cuts and vary their effects."

"Mmh I see." Lilliana nodded, thinking about how she could get organized.

"Anyway... I'll just take a purge quest, for now, I'll think about my training later."

Alice could not help but smile at this time of enthusiasm.

"Well, I'll let you go explore the quest board, the line behind you is getting a little long..."

*sigh*

A bitter smile appeared on her face.

Noticing the dozen or so people waiting behind her, Lilliana couldn't help but burst out laughing.

She waved to her friend, before leaving her in her turmoil.