Training and misunderstanding~ (part 3)

"Well, I am having trouble with the practice. You see teacher had all those undead in the basement to be an easy introduction to the Class, and it wasn't supposed to take me this long. I might be lacking in talent – that's why I need to train harder others!"

The black-haired boy looked down, rubbing the back of his head bashfully before perking up and clenching his fist with a brave smile brightening his face.

"..."

Needless to say, the young necromancer was lost for words. The undead that he created and that gave him such a hard time was merely troublesome enough to work as an introduction for the priest of death class?

Something about it didn't feel right...

"And speaking about clothes, what's up with yours?"

But before the greenish-blond-haired boy voiced his doubts, the young priest of death asked with a curious expression.

"Normally, people don't really like classes that have a lot to do with death... so you know... to not get too much unwanted attention, I will be posing as a fire magician! I will not be registering at the adventurer's guild anyway, so it will be okay!"

Kaipo fidgetted nervously and pointed out, becoming more excited as he spoke, ending up pulling out a short wand with a small red crystal shaped a bit like a lick of fire crowning it and waving it around.

"Ohhh... true. Speaking of adventurers' guild, because of my teacher not showing up, I will also not be registering. Do you think they will buy monster corpses from us regardless?"

"They should... probably...?"

Zorey raised his hand and added questioningly, to which Kaipo hesitated but ended up nodding.

"Umm, then, about your clothes Zorey..."

"What about them?"

Kaipo fidgetted again, putting his bag behind his back, asking, making Zorey raise his brows and blink politely.

"You... you see... I kind of prepared a change of clothes for you, too, so that people would not realize your Class..."

It seemed that the timid boy was really excited about the whole thing and put a lot of thought into it too.

"Only if you want it!"

Kaipo added, awkwardly raising the bag and putting it up as a makeshift shield.

"You did?! Sure! Oh, cool! But I will be able to pay you back after we get our hands on some money."

Zorey gasped, taking the bag without hesitation and pulling out a set of clothes someone leveling up their Monk Class would be getting.

"No, no, no! I could not take money from you after you helped out with cleaning my mess – you even took me to work on our levels! It's a gift!"

"Oh, okay then. Thank you very much; I really like it!"

The greenish-blond-haired boy became flustered and started shaking his head and arms; on the other hand, Zorey quickly accepted the free stuff and smiled with gratitude.

Zorey didn't go hide anywhere and just changed right where he stood, putting his old clothes into the same bag he got the new ones from.

-----

"...Kaipo, are you sure that this is the right shop...? The cheapest thing I see here is ten times more expensive than any ware that the traveling merchants visiting my villager ever had...!"

Zorey, dressed up as a monk, asked his greenish-blond-haired dressed as a fire magician.

The thing he was pointing at was a silver ring with a tiny blue stone.

[MP recovery ring (uncommon)

Recovered amount: 5 MP per use

Number of uses: 5/5]

...was the item description that popped up in Zorey's vision when he was staring in disbelief at the price tag that wasn't even in coppers.

"It is...? But my father always says that they sell the most basic stuff here..."

Kaipo hesitated and made a troubled expression while grasping that almost slipped out of his pocket.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm sure the prices are adjusted for adventurers earning a lot of money by killing monsters. After hunting a few monsters and selling their corpses, those prices won't feel that outra... like that."

Zorey patted Kaipo's shoulder and tried to reassure him – and had to bite his tongue as he almost made a slip of the tongue and spoke his mind.

"And besides..."

[Fire wand (rare)

+10 MAT (Scales with fire magic proficiency)

Alternative use – fire arrow skill (150% of user's MAT)

Number of casts: 10/10]

He wanted to add, but then his eyes landed on the display with a wand just like the one currently in Kaipo's pocket...

"?!?!?!"

...and then his eyes slip down to the pricetag where they widened at the amount not ten, not twenty, but twenty-five times that of the MP recovery ring's worth.

"A! A! Aaaaaaah! You wanted to see a ring that raises the physical attack, didn't you? Miss clerk! My friend would like to see what kind of ATK+ rings you have!"

Before the realization truly settled in, the greenish-blond-haired boy jumped in front of Zorey, blocking the display with his body and hurriedly trying to change the subject and calling out to the smartly dressed bespectacled woman who had greeted them when they first entered the shop.

"Of course. If you may – this is the display."

The woman nodded and moved a few steps, presenting a podium with various rings behind glass augmented with various defensive skills.

[Giant's ring (epic)

+20 ATK

-5 SPD

Class restriction]

[Major Golem ring (legendary)

+40% ATK

-10 SPD

Class restriciton]

[Greater glass cannon ring (mythic)

+50 ATK

-75 DEF

Level restriction]

The first three rings that Zorey saw looked promising – besides the last one that had way too brutal demerit listed.

"..."

But then he noticed the price tags and closed his eyes in hopes that the world that started spinning would stop and someone would tell him that the prices were a joke.

Even the ring that increased the least stats cost more than Zorey's family home.

"This is supposed to be a present anyway, so it's not like I'm in a hurry to buy it right now. How about the weapon shop?"

The black-haired boy's legs felt as if they were made out of jelly, and he quickly came up with an excuse just so he and his greenish-blond-haired acquaintance would leave the place.

---

Well, half an hour later, the two boys were walking through the southern gate... with no new equipment of any sort...

Leaving the city didn't require any inspection, so the guards didn't even look their way.

Grand Herbal was built on the spawning ground of dwarf lesser rats, so if they only wanted to hunt them, there was no need to step outside the safety of the walls – but the two boys were aiming for some additional training on top of it.

"That forest over there is where spawning grounds of dwarf lesser rats and lesser giant rats met, so we should encounter both types."

Kaipo pointed at the cluster of trees that Zorey would never consider worthy of being called a proper forest and said with an excited expression.

"But we need to be careful - spawning ground for stone fang dogs is close enough that a straggler could show up if it was chased off by stone fang wolves. I mean, with this, we shouldn't have any trouble, but still. My dad said it's not good to rely too much on equipment that uses Skills for you."

The young necromancer added, taking out the fire wand and swirling it around in his fingers.

"I'll use the chance to try and level up my unarmed combat Skill... I wonder how much the monster corpses will be worth..."

Zorey breathed out, slightly disappointed; he wanted to get his hands on staff - as it was a Skill that he had a talent for, otherwise it would not show up right as he registered in the World System – but the prices in the weapon shop that Kaipo took him to were so high that he backed off instantly and refused the greenish-blond-haired boy's offer of lending him the necessary amount.

"I'm sure it will be enough for a good weapon! Ah! I almost forgot! Create Party with Zorey!"

Kaipo cheered reassuringly and then called out a command.

*Ta-ding*

[Kaipo wants to form a party with you]

[Accept / Reject]

As soon as that happened, a notification followed a loud ping and gave Zorey two options to choose from.

"Accept."

*Ta-ding*

[You and Kaipo are now at a party. You share experience points from defeating enemies. Your names, Class, levels, HP, and MP are now visible for both of you.]

[Name: Kaipo

Class: Necromancer

Level: 3

HP: 20/20

MP: 10/10

Party leader]

[Name Zorey

Class: Priest of Death

Level: 6

HP: 35/35

MP: 10/10]

The notification showed up in the upper left corner of Zorey's vision as soon as he accepted the invitation, and then his eyes widened when a small window with basic information about himself and Kaipo showed up in the upper right corner.

"Ah...! I'm sorry! You should be the party leader since you're older and stronger, to begin with. I'll..."

"Whoa! You started with less HP than normal, but you got more MP as compensation! That's so cool!"

The young necromancer gasped and bowed his head apologetically but didn't even finish speaking as Zorey interrupted him with excitement.

"Huh? Oh, yes. Necromancer is a rather rare Class; it technically isn't listed as one of the higher-ranked ones, so I should have started with 5 MP at most. But the thing is, many people refer to it as a broken Class. If leveled up properly, it has the potential to go head to head with the higher and even legendary Classes!"

Kaipo couldn't help himself and boasted.

"Tehehe~! That's why we came here today, to level up! Oh, and don't worry about the party leader stuff; it really doesn't matter which one of it is."

"Y-yes...! I will be in your care!"

Zorey laughed and waved his hand dismissively, making Kaipo blush and bow to him again.