After about two hours, the blacksmith came back carrying some leather. During that time, I managed to smith 12 armors made of copper, thus increasing my PER by 2 from my class quests. Since I didn't care too much about the resulting quality of the items nor was I particularly interested in studying copper in detail, I just focused on nothing more than speed.

"I talked to Harold and he allowed me to buy 10 Tier 1 leather pelts for you to practice with... hmm?" the blacksmith announced as he walked back in, only to stop mid sentence, "... when did you manage to make so many?" he then queried as he looked around in astonishment.

You call this many? If I were in top shape, I could have made far more than just this...

"Weren't you going to show me how to combine [Blacksmithing] with [Leatherworking]?" I questioned, trying to change the subject.

"Oh, right... well again, to actually get the skill, you need to reach level 20 in your class, but you can for now work on your other requirements. So let's first start with how to make leather pelts into padding, and then we'll move on to combining it with your armor" the blacksmith replied.

He then took one of the leather pelts and began processing it as he went over all the details with me step by step. Once he was done making the padding, he then took one of my copper armors and started putting them together... Shortly after, a blue box popped up!

You have acquired a new sub-skill [CA][Blacksmith: Smithing Adhesion - Leatherworking] N/A

Due to a special action, you have acquired a new skill [CA][Blacksmith: Smithing Adhesion] N/A

[CA][Blacksmith: Smithing Adhesion - Leatherworking] Level N/A

Limits the loss of quality when smithing and working with leather by 50% + 10% for every level in your non-combat class + 5% for every point of [PER]

+1 [Leatherworking] skill when smithing and working with leather

Can only be used once per hour

Interesting... could this be one of the solutions to my current problem? Maybe there is a skill similar to this for [Leatherworkers] where I can put metal armor inside of leather armor and achieve level 9 [Blacksmithing]... In that way, I can probably offset some of my losses in ability... The question comes down to how the system would view it if my [Blacksmithing] far surpasses by [Leatherworking]...

"Now then, you give it a try... and don't be afraid to mess up at first. In the end, it's all about practice!" the blacksmith assured.

From then on, he began to instruct me as I made armor padding from the remaining Tier 1 leather pelts...

"You're really good at this... In some ways, maybe even better than me... Could it be that you already have the [Leatherworking] skill by any chance?" the blacksmith commented.

"Something like that..." I vaguely responded as I concentrated on my work.

A few hours later, I managed to make all 9 leather pelts into padding and affix them to the copper armors. With that came the end of my lessons.

"I guess that will be all for today... but seriously, I'm stunned at how well you are at this... almost makes me question my life choices haha" the blacksmith joked.

"Uhm... thanks... One thing though... can you procure some more leather and maybe a Leatherworking Kit? Oh and if possible, can you also get me some yarn? I'll talk to Harold to be sure he pays for it if need be" I pleaded.

"Well... I'll see what I can do... but leather pelts are also used around the village, so money or not there is a limit to how much we can sell to outsiders... As for the yarn, I'm afraid the only yarn we have around here is what we get from traveling merchants..." the blacksmith informed.

"I see... well do what you can please..." I begged.

And like that, we said our farewells... but my day was not over yet... far from it... I spent the next two hours making 24 more copper armors, bringing my PER up by another 2 points. With that, phase one of my plan was complete...

Next is phase two... as I looked outside, it was extremely dark as today was in fact a night day. It was the perfect time to start my next operation...

"Operation: Midnight Hunting Cat commence!" I muttered with resolve as I cast [Enforce Weapon] and [Enforce Armor] on my gear. I also make sure to swap my Holy-steel Katar to my right hand and move my Mithril one to my left to maximize my EXP intake.

Yes that's right, my goal for tonight is to hunt down some monsters so that I can level up. Since the party I am currently in is way too strong, there is no way they are going to be fighting monsters that I have any hopes of winning against. And even if a weak monster I can beat does show up, they'd probably be killed even before they reach my hit range. But around these parts, there should be easy monsters for me to kill right? If the monsters were too strong, there wouldn't be a village here after all... not that I'm going to let my guard down... If worst comes to worse, I can always run back here and let that wicked hero take care of it... and if the village blames the party for luring monsters in... well all the better.... *evil grin*

Using the outdoor entrance to the workshop, I made my way out of the house and headed into the nearby forest as stealthily as I could... despite it being so dark, it was virtually irrelevant as my [Nightvision] made is almost indistinguishable from day. Once I was out of the house I activated [Smell Sense] and [Presence Sense] and began probing for monsters...

After about an hour of looking... I stumbled upon my first prey...

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[Forest Deer] Level 11

As much as I'd like to see if I can get any skills from it, at this point in time my priority is getting my combat class. Either way, I'll get far better skills from the hero party killing higher level monsters anyways... Now then... let's try out the new strategy I came up with specifically for night days... Personally, I'd like to just sneak up on it or attack it from range, but currently I lack both the skills to sneak up and the damage output from range to make it happen... This is precisely why I came up with a strategy to minimize risk while at same time maximizing my damage...

I sneak up as stealthily as I could towards the deer, once I got within a few meters, the deer finally took notice of me. Thus, I activate [All-Observing-Eyes] and [Charge] straight at the deer at full throttle! Seeing me run straight at it, the [Forest Deer] prepares to fight back with its antlers... In response, I reach out my left hand and faced it towards the deer... but I don't actually plan to attack it... no...

"[Light Magic: Light]!" I cast as a blinding light shines right into the deers eyes!

"Mwhooo!" the deer yells in frustration due to being blinded, and begins to rampage towards me even fiercer than before!

Seeing that unfold in front of me, a smile appears on my face as I melt into the shadows... circling around, I appear right behind the deer! Then with a quick [Plunge] and [Impale], I stab the deer with my Holy-steel Katar right in the weak spot of it's neck!

The deer squirms for a short bit, but before you know it... the deer collapses on the floor motionlessly...

"That went well!" I muttered in delight.

With this strategy, I should be able to kill monsters with minimum risk, especially during night days. By using light to blind the monster, I temporarily take away their vision and at same time use the light to control the position of their shadow... Once that happens, I just appear right behind them and attack their weak spot! Of course I'm not exactly sure how well this will work on higher level monsters, but with practice in getting the timing down, it should at least offer me a decent advantage...

Now then... as much as I'd love to disassemble it for leather and meat... I'm not sure when I'll get another opportunity to hunt like this. And thinking about it in terms of efficiency, it should probably be better to focus on hunting down as many monsters as I can, then worry about disassembling them at a later time... With my [Item Box] at level 5, I have whopping 130 cubic meters of storage, so I should be fine for the time being.

With that decided, I put the entire [Forest Deer] into my [Item Box] and proceed to track down more prey. Since I've already slept for quite a bit, there should be no problem hunting through the night... In the worst case, I'd rather sleep in the carriage where I have fewer options to raise my level.

Like that, I hunted throughout the night... Using this new strategy, I managed to kill 5 [Forest Deer], 3 [Giant Rats] and 2 [Dire Wolves]. Unfortunately, it was not enough to net me a level up... and since people in this world get up early as the sun rises, I had no choice but to head back... still... if I can get a few more days like this, I think I could manage a level up soon enough...

I made my way back into the cottage, and snuck back into the workshop... shortly after, Harold walked in.

"Where did you go tonight?" Harold asked.

Eh? How... I could have sworn I snuck out without anyone noticing...

"It's none of your business! Hmph!" I lashed back, still upset about the other day...

"Now look here... You are now part of an adventuring party, and while you don't exactly have to report every single little thing, you at the very least have to tell us if you plan to go out somewhere... especially right before we plan to leave" Harold sternly warned.

"Just like you told me how Ariel can explode her swords?!" I stubbornly retorted.

"That isn't the same thing..." Harold denied.

"Right, as far as I'm concerned, it's far worse!" I adamantly insisted.

"... Look... I'm really sorry about that... it wasn't exactly intentional by any means, just that Ariel and her abilities are fairly well-known around Hallion. On top of that, the fact that an Intermediate Disciple does not know how to do these basic things is not something anyone would even fathom..." Harold excused.

"You think just a sorry fixes things?! Because of your negligence, I can't smith properly anymore! How are you going to make this up to me?!" I glared with resentment.

"As I told you yesterday... we will visit Shargon Kingdom and find someone to help you" Harold assured.

"Not enough! I want compensation!" I demanded!

In the end, no amount of compensation can ever pay for what they did to me... but there is no way in hell I'm just going to let this go without them offering something in return!

"* sigh * What is it that you want then?" Harold relented.

"First of all, you keep that monster away from me! I don't want to hear any excuses that she is out of your control or the like! At the very least try!" I declared.

"That is..." Harold hesitated.

"I will NOT take no for an answer!" I interrupted, not even giving him the opportunity to reject, " I thought long and hard about the Blacksmithing Guild contract and came up with one conclusion, this most definitely falls under the negligence clause! You aren't helping me restore my ability to smith due to being nice, no one in this world was ever nice to me for no reason... Putting two and two together, if I go to the Blacksmithing Guild in the next town and report this, you will most likely get in a lot of trouble right? While it may not be enough to terminate the contract, it most definitely enough to issue some sort of punishment!... and if even that is not enough, then Ariel's attempt to hug me might as well be considered attempted murder as far as I'm concerned! So don't give me any more nonsense about not even trying! I'm not even asking this of the party, I'm asking this of YOU personally!

Next! From now on, EVERYONE must call me Shiro! Well I don't care about that monster, but other than her, no one is ever to call me Mayo EVER AGAIN!" I then added.

"I guess that could be arranged..." Harold hesitantly accepted.

"And last but not least, I want you to sponsor me getting another production skill leveled. Just in case I can't smith properly ever again" I requested.

"...That request may might be somewhat difficult to fulfill... while we may have some money saved up, as you can see, Ariel goes through it fairly quickly due to her Unique Skill... We simply can't afford to sponsor you getting another production skill leveled" Harold admitted.

"You don't have to sponsor me all the way... all I want is as follows: When we get to town, you will hire someone with at least the skill level of 6 in each production skill plus [Rune Crafting] to provide hands on training for a day. You will also supply production materials for me to use in the form of 100 Tier 1, 2 and 3 materials each, plus 50 Tier 4 and 10 Tier 5 materials for each of those production skills" I demanded.

"Wait a minute, first of all as I told you before, we are short on time..." Harold rejected.

"Then you will provide me with the tutors once we get to the capital, but the materials have to be provided upfront!" I interjected, cutting off his rebutal.

"Even if we get to the capital, there is only so long we can stay there... at best, I can guarantee only two..." Harold compromised.

"Well what about after the capital? I am fine with being trained for two once we get to the capital, and the rest once we have some free time in Shargon" I replied, not willing to give up on this.

"Hmm... that may be possible... but even then, the material costs would be way too much. What you are asking for would easily surpass 10 platinum coins. Considering the contract cost plus that weird sculpture you made Ariel buy, we are already down 7 platinum coins" Harold objected.

"And how is that my problem?" I nonchalantly replied, feeling no pity for their predicament.

"Can we at least compromise at half?" Harold counter-offered.

"Do you even know what it's like to have your only joy, your only future taken away from you against your own will?! I'm not settling for any less! If anything, I'm letting you off easy!" I rejected, not willing to take back a step.

"... At the very least, can we decrease the materials for [Jewelcrafting] and the upper materials for [Runecrafting]? Those materials can get ridiculously expensive" Harold negotiated.

"Jewelcrafting?" I inadvertently asked, perking my ears in curiosity at the mention of a production skill I have yet to see.

Though now that I think about it... wasn't that settlement a gem mine?

"Yes, you know, Diamonds, Rubies, the like" Harold explained.

I hesitated for a bit due to the subtle desire to swim in hundreds of gems... but eventually came in terms with reality...

"Fine, you can do half the materials for [Jewelcrafting] and upper tiers of [Runecrafting], but that's it!" I unhappily relented.

"One fourth?" Harold tried to bargain.

"H-A-L-F!" I dictated.

"*sigh* I'll see what I can do... but I can't get you these materials off the bat, it may take some time..." Harold reluctantly agreed.

"As long as you get me the Tier 1 and 2 materials by... uhm... Mephis was it?" I responded.

"We are not going to Mephis. Since we stopped here for the day, we have to take a shortcut through the mountains to make up the lost time" Harold informed.

"Then what is the next large town?" I questioned.

"Medasis City, the second largest city in the country" Harold answered.

"Okay... then when we reach there, I'll get my materials?" I queried.

"That should be fine..." Harold replied.

"Good! ... wait... there is some leather in this place? Can you buy some here?" I confirmed.

"The blacksmith told me that you were looking for more leather and a leatherworking kit... I'll talk to him and see what we can do... now then... since we have come to some sort of truce... get some rest, we will leave in a few hours" Harold said and walked off.

It's not like I've forgiven them... but... when life gives you lemons, I'll just have to make some lemonade... though... I wonder if lemonade would count towards my cooking class quest?...

Anyways, let's not get too distracted... as much as I'd like to rest, I can do that whenever once I get on the carriage... while I'm here, lets use up all that copper...

And like that, I continued to make armors...