Blacksmith Victor

Clir was infuriated by the youngster's behavior in front of him. Initially, he had planned to humiliate and beat the boy to vent his anger, but now he was even more enraged!

"How dare you... khah!"

Clir had already started raising his hand to strike Felix when suddenly a "buzz" echoed, and he felt a sharp pain in his lower region. Stunned, with wide eyes, he looked at his younger brother, and rolling his eyes comically, he collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness.

The onlooker, a bystander, suddenly clenched his legs, protecting his younger brother. He felt a sharp pain and took in a cold breath. With fear in his eyes, he looked at Felix, who nonchalantly walked out of the warehouse.

"Darn... juniors these days are intimidating!"

***

Felix continued working until the evening. By the time he finished, the sky had already painted itself in shades of orange. Catching his breath, Felix thanked his grandmother, who brought him water.

"Kh-a-a... oh, as if reborn. Thank you so much, Grandma!" Felix said with a smile, sighing contentedly after a glass of cold and clear water.

"You're welcome, dear. I saw how hard you were working and decided to support such a hardworking young man," Grandma replied with a smile. Looking at Felix's appearance, she sighed, "Oh my... your clothes are all dirty. Such an ungrateful job for a young man like you."

"Well, don't exaggerate, Grandma. After all, there's no such thing as bad work, and any job will do in times of acute need, that's how society works," Felix awkwardly replied, handing the old lady a cup. He bowed, "Thank you for the water. I need to go home to take a bath and wash my clothes."

"Yes, of course... oh, I remembered! Before you leave, let Grandma ask you one question," the old lady said and suddenly smiled cunningly, whispering to him, "Are you, by any chance, Abraham's son-in-law? He's so lucky!"

"E..."

Felix raised an eyebrow, making a puzzled sound, and remembered Abraham's daughter, Lily. He smiled and shook his head.

"No, Grandma, Sir Abraham just took me in until I find a roof over my head. Besides, there's no need to limit such a charming girl like Lily with someone like me."

"Well... don't talk about yourself like that."

The grandma raised her eyebrows in puzzlement, not quite understanding the reason for Felix's melancholic tone, but she nodded.

After bidding farewell, Felix began walking towards Abraham's house, which took about twenty minutes. During his journey, he began to feel the smell of sweat and discomfort, as his shirt and T-shirt were soaked in his sweat.

"I need to take them off... hardly anyone outside anyway," Felix thought and stopped, taking off his T-shirt and then his shirt. "Ugh... refreshing. Summer evenings are the best thing that could happen to humanity."

A pleasant, cool breeze replaced the heat, which was neither too cold nor too hot. Just what Felix needed after sweating.

During this time, Felix also didn't hesitate to inspect his body. It wasn't the most developed, but at least there was no excess fat, and one could say it was somewhat slender. As for his appearance, he couldn't care less about it. It did not influence his life.

In any case, he had about a year left to live, that's it. Hence, not have the highest demands on himself. On his way home, he passed by the blacksmith's shop. This blacksmith was the only one in the whole village, and they often produced kitchenware, such as frying pans, utensils, and the like. Rarely were there orders for swords.

"A sword... hm."

Felix snorted, reminiscing about the times when he was still in school. In his school, there was a fencing club sponsored by the students themselves. They studied fencing and even participated in competitions.

Once, Felix also wanted to learn fencing because he considered sword fighting something cool. Unfortunately, to his great regret, he didn't have the time, and that was the main requirement. Training always consumed a lot of effort. But there was a problem.

"I don't have that much money."

Felix looked at two coins of 50 Rihms each, depicting images of all races in this world. He shook his head and continued his way. And then...

"Hey, stop!"

A loud shout came from behind him, belonging to a man. Felix turned around in bewilderment and saw a man of 40-45 years old with short chestnut hair, a scar on his left cheek, and brown eyes. His face was wrinkled, creating the impression of a formidable person.

"You're that lad Abraham picked up, right?" the man asked, approaching Felix.

"...Yes."

Felix answered with a strange expression on his face. He didn't like how the word "picked up" sounded, as if he were some stray dog.

As the man approached him, he took out cigarettes from his pockets, lit one, and began to smoke. Exhaling the smoke so that it wouldn't reach Felix, he smiled, slightly smoothing out his wrinkles.

"I'm Victor. I'm the blacksmith of this village. Heard about your circumstances. You don't have to worry; Abraham is a good man and won't leave you in a bad situation. The villagers are also friendly towards you," Victor said, and he lit another cigarette, then exhaled the smoke, continuing, "I heard you need a job?"

"Why does he talk like some NPC?" thought Felix, but he didn't say it out loud. In response to Victor's question, he nodded and said, "Yes, that's right."

"Great! It so happened that my useless son recently went to the city to earn money, and I don't have other workers. Do you want to work for me as an apprentice?"

However, before Felix could answer, a bell-like voice rang in his head.

Ding!

[Mission received!]

"Huh?"

[Title: Victor's problem]

[Description: It seems that Victor urgently needs a new worker, so he offers you a job]

[Reward: 1500 Rihms, 1500 experience points]

[Requirements for completion: accept the task; if the user quits the job without working for a week, rewards are taken back]

"What?"

***

It was closer to night when Felix was heading home. After discussing everything with Victor, he was successfully hired. His job was simply to serve customers and occasionally play the role of a loader, accepting consumables.

He looked stunned—not because of the sudden job but because something was flying right in front of his eyes.

"What is this? Is it some real LitRPG crap?" Felix thought, tiredly rubbing his nose. He felt as if he hadn't slept for more than a thousand years, so tired he was. This sudden event made him slightly wary.

Moreover, when he thought about checking one possibility, this appeared before him:

[Felix]

[Level: 1]

[Class: N/A]

[Characteristics] -> [Strength: 10 ] [Dexterity: 2 ] [Endurance: 5 ] [Luck: 1] [Charisma: 25] [Magic: 1]

[Points] -> [Attribute Points: 0] [Skill Points: 0]

[Strength Rating: You'll be outdone even by a half-dead worm]

System function – view your profile! Was it really that cool? Felix couldn't imagine. He suddenly remembered his youth when he tried to summon a system window after reading a novel about a South Korean hunter with shadow manipulation abilities. He instantly blushed with embarrassment.

"Darn... bad memories of my youth... how embarrassing," he thought and looked away from his profile, grimacing, remembering the last line: "This system is mocking me, a hundred percent. Who else gets outdone by a half-dead worm?!"

Felix gritted his teeth in frustration.

To be continued...