After more than a week of travelling by day and resting by night, Pine and Clest finally saw the edge of the thick forest.

They were still a few hours away from the actual edge of the forest, but they could see the area where the trees begin to thin out.

The two could be seen standing beside each other on the edge of a steep cliff. A fall from that height would be lethal for sure. Still, it was a good vantage point.

"The stream winds up into that way." Clest pointed to the horizon in front of them, "If we go along the stream, we don't have to worry about the not having access to water anymore."

"Is it in the same direction as the lotus you found?" Pine asked.

"Pretty much. Once we reach the foot of that hill over there, we stop following the stream, and go behind that hill instead."

"That's still around a day's worth of travelling."

"Yeah, so that's why we have to rest up early. If we go by daybreak, we can probably reach the lotus by tomorrow night."

The two went back to their camping spot, not too far away from the cliff area. They had smoked boar meat with them, so they didn't need to bother with cooking for a while. They just sat by the fire, talking.

"Are you familiar with the Keeper System?" Clest asked Pine.

"...Not really," Pine replied. "I know the common knowledge, like how we craft things, enchant things, et cetera, et cetera. But apart from that, nah, I have no idea."

"Surely, you at least know that keepers can create a Shelter on a lotus bloom?"

"Of course I know that."

"But what about the proficiencies?"

"...I don't really know much about them."

"Let me tell you all about what I know then!" Clest puffed out her chest in pride, beginning to explain things to Pine.

Upon Marriage, Keepers can choose one of the several proficiencies to be their main proficiency: Synthesis, Metallurgy, Enchantment, Inscription and Alchemy.

Synthesis was the go-to for many keepers picking their first proficiency. It allows for advanced crafting skills. Using the strangest and most exotic of materials, the possibilities of crafting were limitless.

Metallurgy allowed keepers to use metals and minerals to create weapons and armor. However, metals were quite scarce compared to the abundance of synthesis materials, so only very few keepers would choose to begin with this proficiency.

Enchantment allowed keepers to infuse abilities and attributes into objects, requiring runes from magical creatures.

Inscription also required runes, which could be turned into special substances to be inlaid into the seeker's body, allowing them to cast a variety of spells.

And finally, Alchemy. This proficiency allowed for advanced potion and elixir brewing, as well as the creation of mystic artifacts.

"So yeah!" Clest finished talking about the five keeper proficiencies. "What's your plan? You wanna be an alchemist? A scribe? An enchanter maybe?"

"...Don't you think the Synthesis proficiency is gonna be the most helpful of all?"

"Hmmm, I mean yeah? There's a reason why so many keepers choose to be a Tinkerer..."

"Then I might go with that."

"Ehhh but it's so boring... I kind of want you to be an alchemist."

"An alchemist?" Pine made a confused face. "Potions and artifacts? That doesn't sound like it's gonna be very useful..."

"Whaaat? It's definitely gonna be useful. Just imagine making hundreds of strength potions and making me drink it-- I'd be unstoppable!"

"I have a strong feeling that's now how it works."

Yes, that's not how it works.

Pine just sighed and allowed Clest to ramble on about what she'd like for him to be.

-----

The past week had been largely uneventful for Pine and Clest, but the following day was full of misfortune.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

They ran into this gigantic spider, which preyed on bullfrogs. It wasn't planning on having them for dinner (it wasn't so big to dare fight a human), but it did spray the duo with its adhesive webbing.

Clest also accidentally stepped on a wasphill, so they had to dive into the river and swim along the current to get away.

When they came out of the water, they also discovered a few leeches attached to them.

...

"Grah!" Clest stomped in anger. "This is all so irritating!"

"Hey, hey, chill out. We're close to the lotus now, aren't we? We just gotta go over this hill, you said."

Clest still looked frustrated. Some bits of her clothes were dyed red from the small, open wounds the leeches left her.

"...Yeah."

"Yup, so let's continue on while the sun is still up."

The reason for the frequency of the creatures was the fact that there was a lotus nearby. For a few good kilometers around the lotus, creature activity and quality of available materials were higher.

Thankfully, for the immediate area around the lotus, most creatures wouldn't go near, so the duo's trip over the hill wasn't as eventful. By dusk, they had gone over most of the hill.

"Hup," Clest grunted as she dropped down from higher ground, before looking back at Pine. "Careful going down."

After Pine slid down after her, the two gathered themselves once again and looked at the area in front of them.

Unlike most of the other areas in the forest, this place was glowing. The trees branches had yellow, glowing specks littering them. The bushes and grass didn't look invasive, which made the area look spacious.

There was a very shallow brook running through the area, winding down into a recessed area behind the hill.

"We just follow this stream and we'll have reached the lotus." Clest nodded at Pine before heaving a deep breath. "I hope it's not occupied."

The two picked up their pace and followed along the stony brook. The brook kept going on, even entering a cave with a wide opening. As it was dark, Clest took out her heartlight.

Just after a minute of careful walking through the cave, the two finally saw a faint, yellow glow.

"We're here," said Clest, looking back at Pine before starting to walk faster.

As the tunnel widened into a large, underground chamber, the brook also joined a shallow, but very wide pool. Numerous vines clung from the ceiling, with what seemed like yellow, glowing berries hanging from them.

The shallow pool also glowed pink from the numerous lotus flowers floating on its surface. But the strongest glow came from the giant water lily sitting on the far corner of the pool. On it was a cylindrical house, almost like a human-sized smurf hut, except the roof was made of thatch instead of a mushroom cap.

"...It's occupied," Clest mumbled, clearly disappointed.

"Can't we just take over it?"

"We can, but--" Clest sighed. "There's an hour-long process when it comes to taking over a Shelter. Assuming they aren't here to stop us, once we start doing that, the keeper that owns this Shelter will know someone's here. We'd be making unnecessary enemies if we did that."

Pine fell into deep thought, and Clest just sighed again.

"...I guess this means we're gonna continue looking for another lotus?"

"We don't have a choice." Clest was looking a little grumpy, but she consoled herself. "Plus, it's okay. Lotus areas are more common here. We don't have to travel for weeks to find one."

Clest chose to be in the forest they were in a week ago, because there were basically no nearby lotuses. Meaning, less beasts and less adventurers.

"Let's find a place to camp now." Pine gently gave her a tap from the back. They then turned around and began their walk back outside the cave.

As they were walking back, Clest sensed someone approaching from outside the cave. It was two people, and they seemed to ba chatting.

Clest made a serious face and gestured for Pine to not make any noise. She then grabbed Pine's belt and started undoing it.

"What are you doing?!" Pine exclaimed under his breath.

"Switching belts!" she answered. "Go take that off and wear mine!"

Ever since Pine gave Clest the belt used to carry the shortsword, she'd been wearing it. He had another belt which had pouches attached on it though.

Pine didn't ask why and just went with what Clest wanted. Eventually, Pine was back with his shortsword belt and sheath, while Clest had several pouches hanging from her waist.

"It might be a good idea if we pretend you're the seeker." Clest finally explained, but giving Pine no time to react, she positioned herself somewhere behind Pine and pushed him to start walking, making him take the lead.

Near instantly, the footsteps of the two people Clest heard started echoing into the tunnel. Likewise, the two from the outside could also clearly hear the two's footsteps.

"Who's there?" a man's thick voice rang into the tunnel, followed by a splash. Something seemed to have fallen into the brook. "Show yourself."

Pine and Clest both gulped, looking at each other as if reassuring themselves. They then carefully walked forward, while Pine took out his shortsword and held it in front of him.

By the opening of the entrance was a middle-aged man and woman. They seemed to be a couple. The man looked battle-hardened and rough, while the woman hiding behind him looked rather scholarly, adorned in glasses and robes.

As the two parties came into view of each other, the man released a sigh of relief. "Phew, they're just kids."

The woman behind him placed a hand over her chest and heaved a sigh as well. The man then let go of the hilt of his sword and apologized.

"I'm sorry if I scared you." He smiled at Pine and Clest, who then in turn relaxed a little. Pine lowered his sword, but didn't put it back to its sheath yet.

"I... we apologize as well. We were just checking if the lotus here was occupied," said Pine.

"Haha, there's no need for you to be so cautious." The man chuckled, bending down to pick up the dead deer on the brook, putting it over his shoulder. It seemed to be his hunt. "It's okay, we don't intend to hurt you."

Pine looked back at Clest for a second, communicating with just a gaze, before relaxing completely. He sheathed his sword and held Clest's hand.

"We're really sorry to bother you, we'll be going now," Pine said, starting to walk out the cave.

The couple outside made space for their exit, but before they could walk any further, the woman suddenly spoke.

"Um, you know, if the two of you don't mind, you could stay the night."

"What???" The man suddenly looked at his keeper, as if against her idea.

The woman only stared back at her seeker very meaningfully. It appeared like she won't back down.

The guy paused for a moment, trying to read the meaning in his keeper's eyes, before going, "Ohhh, right."

He then let out a sigh, before telling Clest and Pine. "You heard 'er. You can stay the night if you want."

Not waiting for their response, the guy continued walking into the tunnel. As for the woman in glasses, she patiently awaited for the two's response with her lips puckered into a modest smile.

"So? Would you mind?"