Chain quest.

It was a quest that once you received the quest, it would continue to another quests. The difficulty sometimes becoming hard and, of course, the rewards also much valuable.

I never expected it to be a chain quest. This made me thinking that Mirage was probably only a temporary member until I reached the end of the chain quest. Well, I wanted to travel alone from the start. Even so, I was sincere to help Mirage recover her memories.

'What is this quest about?'

Well, I had played enough MMORPGs to know where this was going. Path to the Astral Artisan sounded like a job quest. Astral Artisan might be Belgram's profession.

The clue was the message from the man himself, and Halton also said about passing Belgram's legacy to someone's worthy enough. However, was I worthy enough? I didn't know. They might be choosing the wrong person.

'I never think myself as a worthy person.'

Being an artisan, huh? I had made blacksmith characters before, but I never used them as my main character. Some players definitely knew this very fact, they had made a blacksmith just to make equipment for their main character or making profit by using the character as vending machine.

Artisan or Blacksmith as main character might as well ended up being a merchant. Still, every job was never useless. They had their own role. So, maybe I could try being one as main.

"Yeah. Of course. It's the only clue we have."

"Hmmm..." His expression was firm yet gentle. And then he smiled. "Well, I hope you find what you seek. And I hope Miss Mirage will regain her memories soon."

"Thank you..."

You have accepted Path to Astral Artisan Quest.

"Anyway, what is this?" I raised the strange cubic on my hand. "Is it some kind of device?"

"Hahaha... I tried to examine that one multiple times. Alas, I still don't know what it is. Sir Belgram's works are full of mysteries. Perhaps, you'll know once you get there."

"I see... We will be going then."

I put everything in my bag and ready to get up, but...

"Before you go... Take this." He put a book on my hands. "Thank you for doing my request."

"What? No... You don't have to..."

I tried to give the book back but Halton opened both of his palms and shook his head.

"It's fine, take it..."

You have earned a Book: The Beauty of Crafting by Halton.

"Well, I wish you luck."

"Thank you, Mr. Halton."

"Thank you very much."

"You're welcome, kids. Take care..."

We bowed and left. Before I turned to the alley, I looked back for a moment while still walking. I saw Halton's lonely figure sitting beside the campfire with a bowl of soup on his hand.

・・・

The sun almost set, I was thinking that I probably still had time to buy Mirage some clothes. When I was in Belgram's workshop before, I found a bunch of clothes inside a cabinet. But they were small and definitely her childhood clothes.

Therefore, I planned to buy her one or two. Even though her white dress still looked good, Uruzak's old tattered robe she was wearing was what I didn't want her to wear when we were in town.

Earlier, some players were laughing as they saw an Aphu being followed by someone that looked like a beggar. Well, if they knew who was behind the old tattered robe they would be surprised.

We arrived to the place I always went when I low on supplies, it was Heiden's Shop. As always, Heiden greeted with his scripted words.

"Welcome to Heiden's! A place where you can get best equipment and supplies! Please loo- Whoa ho ho..."

However, it was different this time. He stopped halfway and whistled instead. He noticed Mirage. He put his arm on my shoulders and pulled me three meters from her.

"Hey, who is that beautiful sculpture?" He looked at me with a grin. "Your girlfriend?"

"She's just..." I rolled my eyes and looked elsewhere. "An acquaintance..."

"I see I see..."

Before I knew it, he was already in front of Mirage and shook her hand.

"Names Heiden! Don't worry missy, that lil Zeroth is a shy type!"

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Mirage looked at me confused. Couldn't be helped, I needed an empty shop where Mirage could show her figure. And Heiden's shop was the only one. It was better showing her to another NPC than players.

Besides, Heiden was becoming really friendly towards me for some reason. Perhaps it was because I always bought supplies at his store. It wasn't like I didn't want to go to another shop. Heiden's was way cheaper and, sadly, didn't had many customers. I didn't know why he didn't bankrupt yet.

"Please be polite to your only customer, or you want to be bankrupt soon."

"Don't be so harsh, lil bro. I still have some customers, y'know." He frowned while turning his face to me. "And I always being polite to my customers!"

"Since when I'm your little brother?"

"Since we met and talked about the story of the cursed Artifact of Melleth."

"Do you mean this ring?"

Mirage surprisingly jumped in to our silly conversation and showed the ring on her ring finger. It was probably because her mother was mentioned. Heiden's eyes widened.

"You found the ring!?!"

I put my hand on my face. I forgot that I got that information from him.

"Please tell me..."

Heiden was staring at me with puppy eyes, I could see his eyes were filled with curiousity. He was a human though, not Aphu.

'This NPC's data probably corrupted. Maybe I should report him to GM.'

I sighed. I actually wanted to go to bed as soon as possible after I bought the clothes. Dealing with Uruzak was draining my body and mind. I barely slept and kept training and hunting monsters for days. Unfortunately, it seemed the day would be longer.

I told Mirage to choose anything she like and try it in changing room. She hesitated for a moment, but then she did as I said. While I was waiting for her, I told Heiden everything I had been through to get the ring.

"That's really amazing! You defeated a Lich by yourself!"

"Yeah..."

"I heard Lich is a strong enemy, you know..."

"Yeah..."

"Oh poor Mirage, she didn't even remember her own parents."

"Yeah..."

"Ahhh... This is why I like to be a merchant. Hearing stories from adventurers while provide them what they need."

"You don't have many customers though"

"You are really a straightforward person aren't you brother... Hahaha..."

"Please don't call me brother..."

The cloth that covered the changing room was slowly sliding, revealing Mirage in her new clothes. Heiden and I turned our head at the same time. Then Heiden was smiling while tapped my back.

"H...How?"

Mirage was asking me how she looked. She was blushing while turning her gaze elsewhere and swirling her thumbs. She was wearing light armor set instead of casual clothes. Still, black cloth and dark brown leather added with silver light metal on it matched her figure in a strange way. I was astonished.

The top was similar to black short-sleeved Victorian shirt with light metal plate on the chest and it was paired with black short pants that looked like a skirt. On her hands, there were black fingerless gloves with leather covered half of them. And lastly, black knee high socks and leather boots were wrapped her legs and feet.

She was gorgeous.

"A-are you sure?"

"I...also want to fight beside you..."

"W-well at least choose one casual clothes."

"O...okay..."

She was right, bought an armor for her would be more effective if she wanted to travel with me. She was technically stronger than me, though. It was good to have someone fighting alongside you, but I got used playing alone. Well, I actually expected her to say that. So I might put her into support role later.

"Don't worry. It's 50% discount for the armor set with the bag."

As I was about to ask him, he continued speaking.

"And also a mantle, right? That wing will draw so much attention." He winked his left eye and was grinning as if he read my mind. "The mantle and casual clothes are free! It's my treat for your story..."

"You will be really bankrupt, you know..."

"I will take back the discount then."

"Wait a minute, I probably don't have enough money..."

"It's okay, I can put it on your tab."

"Ehh!?"

We finally finished our shopping. We went to the inn and I rented two rooms. In front of her room, I told her that we would be training tomorrow morning. After that I went straight to my room.

'I can rest now...'

I sighed as I was entering my room. Then I unequipped my gears and immediately jumped on the soft comfortable bed. I opened my bag and took out the book that Halton gave me.

Book: The Beauty of Crafting by Halton (Unique) It contains three hundred years' worth knowledge of crafting.

The book was so old that all the pages were not white anymore. They were strapped together with white threads and covered with leather.

'Is it a skill book?'

It could be. If it was one then it wasn't as easy as clicking 'learn skill' and the book disappeared. I might need to read it until I learned the skill. I got excited just by thinking about it.

It was 'Unique' rarity.

What kind of crafting skill would I learn from this? Perhaps I would learn identifying items by their aura just like Halton. At the same time I also felt uneasy though, because everything went so smooth. I could sense there would be misfortune later on. I experienced it multiple times in the past sadly. And I actually felt bad to Halton for giving me many things.

'I hope he lives a happy life.'

I opened the book and read it until I fell asleep.

 ・・・

Next day.

I woke up late it was already noon. I hurriedly put my gears and went to Mirage room. She was already prepared to go. I apologized to her as we were walking to Training Ground.

"I-I'm sorry... You must be waiting..."

She looked at me with a smile.

"I also overslept."

Her smile was more captivating than before. Perhaps because I could see it clearly during the day.

"W-well let's eat first before we train."

We were sitting under the tree in front of the scarecrow plots while digging our meals. The breeze was cool and it felt nostalgic somehow.

After we finished, I gave her Uruzak's Staff and explained our role before we jumped in. I knew she was stronger than me, but the problem was her amnesia.

She could be better at fighting than me if she had her memories intact. Her stats were higher and her skills were also at max level.

Nonetheless, it was safe for her to be in a support role for now because she was an NPC. She couldn't be revived if she died. And this training was preventing that to happen.

We were training until we could match our fighting style.

・・・

A door was opened, a woman figure was appeared behind the door. She walked in and closed the door. Then she flipped the switch on the wall. The light illuminated a small apartment room. It was tidy and neat regardless the tenant seemed in a mess.

She fell on the sofa while turning on the TV. Thirty minutes passed, she sat down and leaned her head... staring at her ceiling. She sighed multiple times. Then her gaze turned left. There was a pod-looking bed beside the wall. She sighed again after staring at it for a minute.

"How dumb..." She mumbled. "I really need to relieve my stress elsewhere..."

She put her hands on her head and made a mess of her hair. It became messier than before. Then she stopped and sighed. Her eyes were empty as if she was staring at darkness. Her lips curved forming a faint smile. A tiny voice was heard from her mouth...

"W-well... It wouldn't be hurt if I just try it once..."

She pressed the power button on the monitor. It switched on... Words slowly appeared on it, 'New Life' was flashing.