All will know that the elemental form of experience is not shared equally. Some classes gain it quickly but hit the ceiling just as fast, and others, like soldiers, which are more dangerous; one can suddenly see spikes in levels depending on the state of the kingdoms.

Practical Classes like crafters and Merchants gained experience by doing. For most, an apprenticeship lasts five years before one earns their Title and can gain or buy a class item. After ten years with Dell, Lan had yet to acquire a single level, and a Merchant Class item had seemed a distant dream for him for many years now. He hadn't even had most of the merchant-related skills revealed to him yet by the voice of the world.

For years, Lan had debased himself, swallowing his pride under Dell’s constant threats of losing it all and of never being allowed to see Eliza again.

As for the money that had been promised, Lan hadn’t seen a copper. Every time he had supposedly made a mistake, an undisclosed amount had been removed. Although he knew he had occasionally made mistakes, he was never told exactly what he had done wrong.

He was being taught nothing and had pried from the old snake every last bit of what he had learned. As Lan grew older, Dell seemed to become even crueller.

Once, after Dell had messed up a shipment, Lan was made a scapegoat and forced to apologise to the Lord, who had ordered magic beast furs, but the furs had lost all their magic because of mishandling. By the time the noble's men were done trying to beat the life out of him, Lan was down to five life points.

Dell just stood there and watched with a look of total indifference. But the worst part was finding out that he now owed Dell for the penalty he had gained because he had taken the blame. And now he was indebted to Dell as the money promised had long run out.

‘If you had been a better Apprentice, you would have caught the mistake anyway.’ Dell had said, patting Lan on the shoulder before leaving him crumbled in a pool of blood and walking off.

If not for Eliza, Lan was sure he would have choked the life out of the old snake. Even If Dell was at a higher level, all of his points had been spent on his Merchant skills, so strength-wise, Lan was close enough that his anger should have made the difference. At least, that was what he liked to think. But as always… Eliza was the only thing keeping him going and keeping him from lashing out.

For training reasons, the moment Lan had become Dell’s Apprentice, he had been sent on a year-long trade convoy in which he had spent most of the time locked in his room, and when Lan returned, he was not allowed to see his family even though they lived in the same village before finishing impossible tasks that would take days of sleepless nights to even come close to completing and Dell would always find a way to make sure he didn’t finish them.

At this point, even though Lan knew it had all been a trick to keep him away from his family, he didn’t know if he could face them without finally becoming a Merchant.

But as Lan opened his eyes, he knew that all of it was going to be worth it after ten years. He was almost there.

[Name: Landrin Cross]

[Level: 1]

[Title: Apprentice merchant]

[Race: Human]

[Health: 10/10]

[Mana: None]

[Attributes:]

[Strength: 5]

Body: 5

Will: 5

Dexterity: 5

Mind: 5

[Charisma: 5]

[Abilities:]

[Hidden: unranked]

Hidden: unranked

[Hidden: unranked]

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[Skills]

[Bargaining – Level 9]

Speech – Level 10

Research – Level - 10

[Pain tolerance - Level 8]

Just one more day as an Apprentice, and he would gain the Title of merchant. Even if Lan had to buy the Class item himself, he could take out a loan. Just one more day, and he could be one step closer to breaking free from Dell.

With that thought singing in his head, Lan sprung out of bed and dressed, all but gliding down the stairs. Lan found Eliza at the dining table. Over the years, she had grown to look like the image of her mother, only without the cold indifference that only made her even more beautiful. As she turned, She froze, her eyes growing wider.

‘What?’ Lan grinned, leaning in and kissing her cheek. As he moved back, she seemed to wake.

‘Nothing, it’s just that you look different today.’ She finally said. Understandable, it was most likely the first time in years that something other than her had made him smile. Lan was sure that it must have looked odd.

‘It’s nothing, love. I just…’ Lan shrugged. ‘I just have a good feeling about today.’ In the beginning, he had been keeping his progress a secret so Dell couldn’t find a new way to sabotage him. Now he did so, so he could surprise the woman he loved.

Eliza looked away. ‘Oh.’

‘What’s wrong.’ Lan asked, sitting at the table.

‘Nothing, I am just not feeling too well.’ She smiled weakly. After so long, Lan knew when she was hiding something from him and precisely what it was. Whenever she got like this, it meant she had had a word with her father, and Lan was in for a hellish day, but not even that could get him down today.

‘If you say so, but I hope you know if anything is bothering you, I want you to talk to me. I know I owe you that much, at least.’ Eliza smiled a little happier, even though it only lasted for a moment. ‘Now, where is your father.’ She winced the moment Lan asked, and he knew he had been right.

‘He is in the storage house.’ she said.

‘Well, I guess I should go see him.’ Lan smiled, giving her another kiss before leaving.

The Storage house was easy to find. The ugly buildings had grown more numerous and larger over the years and were seen and treated as the eyesore that the rest of the village saw as the source of all their problems.

Plans to have them moved farther from the village had been made, and the building of any new ones had been banned. A part of Lan thought that someone was trying to make the village unwelcoming and was slowly getting their way, And Lan had loved being the one to tell Dell about the move.

It didn’t do much to stop people from glaring at him whenever he headed to work in the morning. Lan had even had people he had known since childhood spit at him when he passed. Far worse were the looks of pity. It always felt like they could see through the walls he had put up. Lan would have rather taken a hundred beatings than those looks. In any case, he wouldn’t have to see it for a while. After today, if everything went well, Lan could head to the city until he got on his feet. Then he could come back or move Eliza in with him.

Lan spent the morning listing items and getting others ready for shipment. In reality, this would not get him the experience he needed. Which was why he was sure Dell had him doing it. However, there was one thing Dell didn’t seem to have taken into account.

The workers either outright hated Lan or didn’t respect him. Getting them to do anything and do it on time slowly levelled his bartering skill. Every time he had to put up with their insults, he only needed to blink to see that it was all worth it. After gaining twenty total skill levels in merchant skills, he would gain the Title.

‘Yeah, I don’t think I’ll do that.’ Corbin, one of the head labourers, snorted. ‘Maybe you should do it yourself if you think it’s so important.’ Sometimes, Lan felt like they were actually trying to help him level up.

‘That’s funny because It says here that a shipment of Gnorg flesh is coming in anytime now. I am sure that Master Dell will want to supervise the team bringing it in himself.’

Although a delicacy in some parts, raw Gnorg had a stench much like the living creature, which simultaneously was covered in fur and always sweating, to the point that brushing against one would leave that part of you soaked. The smell also lingered on those that handled it, which would last for days. Corbin and the other men went pale at the thought.

‘You know, I have heard that the worse the smell, the better the meat if you are into that sort of thing.’ Lan knew they weren’t; no one in their right mind was. So, as one can guess, Dell loved it, and to his never-ending horror, Eliza had let it slip that she, too, enjoyed small amounts of it. ‘I hear that this one comes from the east.’ Lan added offhand as he moved to find another team to assign.

‘Uh, what did you want moved again.’ Corbin and the other said before rushing to look busier than anyone else.

As Lan moved to find another group. He felt that they had been even easier than he had hoped. Perhaps the effects of the Title were starting to set in. Lan thought, even though he knew that wasn’t true. Although there were some attribute blessings in having a title, it did nothing without the Class item. One could not even buy a class item without a title it paired with; for the most part, the item could not be used to its fullest without the Title.

‘Lan!’ Lan winced as a shrill voice called his name. Looking to the second floor, he found Dell literally and figuratively looking down on him, that same look of disappointment plastered on his face.

Fighting down a sigh, Lan headed up the stairs. Soon, so soon. He kept repeating until he was blocked on the stairs by Dell. Without a word, Dell continued forward, and Lan scrambled to not trip down the stairs. Backing up, Lan found himself in the centre of the building where everyone could see them.

When he was going to tear Lan down, Dell liked an audience. Even this, Lan was used to and braced himself. It would take some time to rebuild Lan's little leverage again; every time Dell berated Lan in front of the others, it would become much harder for him to convince them to do anything. But it wouldn’t be the first time he had needed to start over.

For a long moment, Dell just looked at Lan, waiting for him to speak first so he could cut Lan off. Dell liked doing that, watching his son-in-law squirm as Lan tried to think of what he may have done wrong and an excuse for why it wasn’t his fault.

The moment stretched with him looking Lan over as he felt the walls close in on him, his chest tightened, and ice formed along his spine. Lan didn’t know why Dell sometimes had this effect on him, but he did, and it took everything he had to not fall to his knees.

‘Hmm, you can go.’ Dell said and turned to the stairs. For a moment, Lan wondered what he meant before he heard the voice of the world,

[You are no longer apprenticed to Obern Dell.]