[Level Up - Farrier Level 28]

He woke up on a bundle of hay, surrounded by cabbage and pastries that resembled charcoal more than edibles. Krom's eyes glittered in glee. That was actually his fourth level up within the past few days. When he met Reiss, he was only Level 24. After that whirlwind of a day, he leveled up twice on the spot. Once more after he left the capital, and now when he was back in his smithy.

Nelson was very accommodating to Krom. He respected Krom's potential and ceded his request to work from his forge in Thorsten. Krom had spent a day among the [Royal Smiths] and decided it wasn't for him. He didn't do well with crowds, and even other gruff-looking smiths found him intimidating and hard to work with.

The other advisors were warier since he seemed to be friends with Reiss, the now [Nine Realm Ambassador]. Krom wished he could thank Reiss for shaking his life up. He enjoyed spending time in his secluded forge and developing his passion, but he had hit a roadblock in the form of customers. No one ever came to him personally, and the only way he ever made a sale was to stare someone down until they handed him money. Later, they would be surprised to receive dozens of top-quality horseshoes on their doorstep.

Almost no one connected him as the man who made them.

Lifting his behind out of the hay and dusting himself off, he looked around proudly. Yes, this place was his home. Familiar sounds, familiar tools, familiar cabbages...

Krom kicked a cabbage with his foot. It rolled across the ground several feet away. A white stallion leaned down, scooping it up. Krom stiffened. The atmosphere became tense as the large equine chewed the cabbage methodically, staring him down. Krom, unwittingly in his momentary fear, glared even harder.

The standoff continued until the horse gulped down the food. That was when Krom remembered that this was the horse that got him back to Thorsten. It was one of the Royal Steeds that moved at ludicrous speeds. It was huge, muscular, and seemed to be always glaring. Someone clearly had a bad taste in jokes.

He relaxed slightly when the horse turned and went to pick up another cabbage. Plenty were lying around.

The second reason the steed was in this side pen was that Nelson wanted to test Krom's abilities on one of the finest horses out there. Rubbing his stomach, it grumbled.

Krom sighed. He couldn't work on an empty stomach. Looking around at the cabbage lying everywhere, he had a thought.

Is cabbage a pastry?

Surely if he cooked it, it would become a pastry, no? Picking up a leafy head, he walked out into the forge proper. It was a dinghy place, but his forge was already attuned to cooking as well as forging. He made sure of it with the skill he gained at level 22, [Diverse Cooking: Forge].

Reiss would be rolling if he ever found out. Somehow, Krom managed to keep it a secret throughout all his lives. Mainly due to his penchant for few words and Reiss' wish to never find out if Krom actually wasted a skill slot on such a pointless skill. Krom wasn't a cook, so he shouldn't have a cooking skill. Especially a useless one which only creates burnt food.

But it was part of Krom. So, the system granted him the skill according to his personality.

Why did Krom enjoy burnt food? Was it because his parents were evil, and he was forced to eat charred food? Was it because Krom spent a long time being homeless and could only accept burnt bread behind a bakery to survive? Perhaps there was some other tragic story behind his penchant for eating the inedible?

Nope. Krom just liked the texture.

Krom hummed to himself as he started up his forge. When it reached a decent temperature, he lobbed in a head of cabbage.

Spontaneous combustion never smelled better.

Taking a huge whiff, he smiled toothily at the aroma. He didn't bother attending to the heat since it would cook naturally. When the fire died down, all that was left were blackened flakes. Krom reached in with a set of tongs and plucked it out. He dipped it in water to cool it off like he would a piece of metal. There was a hissing sound as steam erupted.

Nodding, he set the tiny flake down on his anvil and repeated the process with several more. What he had at the end was about ten flakes of petrified leaves that somehow escaped incineration. Reaching down, his oversized fingers refusing to register the remaining heat, he plucked one leaf and popped it in his mouth. Chewing.

The gravel churning sound that echoed across the forge caused a stallion to peak its head out. If Krom looked over, he could see the miraculous sight of a very confused horse.

Instead, Krom scooped up the remaining pieces and threw them up to catch in his mouth like popcorn. The flakes fell, and Krom managed to catch all but one. He didn't notice as the scorching leaf burned a hole in his overalls and through his undershirt. It took a second of him sniffing to understand that it wasn't the forge he was smelling. It was his chest hairs burning away as the rest of his clothes were set on fire.

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Silently screaming, Krom slammed himself into the wall of the storage, startling the horse. He ran around and tried to pour water on the wound, but it was still hot from reducing his food's heat. It burned more.

Krom dropped and rolled around in silent agony.

Breathing hard. He laid there for a while.

The horse snorted and walked back inside.

After maybe twenty minutes of him lying there listening to the abstract sounds of his remaining chest hair settling, he groaned and pushed himself up. Examining himself, he sighed.

"Ah."

There was a huge hole in the center of his soaking overalls and shirt. Part of his chest was now oddly bare. It was such a shame that these were his only clothes. He would have to wear a potato sack from now on.

A thought occurred to him. Krom scrambled into the storage room, ignoring the peeved creature waiting inside. Krom rummaged around through the hay that served as his bed, emerging with a small ornate box. Opening it, a yellow light illuminated his scruffy beard. Inside was a pile of glittering gold pieces. Closing the box, he looked around conspicuously for someone watching. He jumped at a long face hovering three inches away. It was looking at the box like it contained glorious cabbage.

Taking three steps back, Krom surreptitiously hid the box behind his back. The horse followed him, clopping forward. It seemed to loom over him menacingly.

Krom gulped.

=

He landed outside with a thump.

Unfortunately, the brawl ended with him retaining only three gold pieces. The rest were currently being munched on. Now poor again, Krom decided it was best to use it while he had the chance.

He picked up an empty cabbage sack and threw it over a shoulder before marching off.

=

"Give me your money."

"No~"

The thug reached for the lone woman but stopped when a large shadow enveloped him; both parties craned their head up to see an enormous burly monster carrying a sack, smiling down at them. His white teeth shone menacingly.

Both thug and victim screamed and ran away together, leaving only dust in their wake.

Krom frowned. Why did they both run away? He was only going to ask for directions...

=

"Monster!"

"Kidnapper!"

"Guards!"

"Halt! Stop right there."

Krom huffed as he ran for it. Weaving through back alleys, he knew like the back of his hand; he avoided the pursuing Watch.

=

Krom sat on a stoop, his face in his hands. Depressed.

Every who saw him ran. The shops he entered all freaked out and called the Watch before he could even mention he was a paying customer.

"Are you alright, mister?"

Krom looked up through his caterpillar eyebrows. A young woman was peering down at him. Krom sniffed, but it sounded more like a snort. The woman didn't seem perturbed.

"Do you need help?"

Krom looked down at the hole in his clothes and back up to the kindly woman and nodded. His voice was low and gruff.

"Yes."

She seemed curious by the short reply, but after examining his clothes and noticing the problem, she laughed whole-heartedly.

"If it's clothes you need, I can fix them up. I'm a [Seamstress] after all."

Krom stood to his full height, making the woman stumble back a step. With an intimidating growl, he thrust out a hand.

"Krom."

The woman looked at the huge hand and then back up to Krom. She smiled and took the offered hand.

"Nice to meet you, Krom. I'm Yerali."

=

Krom sat on a large crate in Yerali's shop. His burnt clothes and dangling legs seemed to offset his intimidating impression.

Looking around, the store appeared to be slightly disorganized and ramshackle. There were several crates filled with supplies on one side of the room where Krom was sitting. On the other side were shelves stacked with different colored fabrics and thread. Two mannequins, one male and one female, were lying unused in one corner while another harbored a sewing station. A storefront window allowed light in but was currently covered in dust.

"I apologize again for the mess. Things got away from me for a little while, and I am having some trouble getting everything organized. There was someone who came around to help, but they balked at the amount of work. I sent them home; it's just easier, you know?"

Yerali's voice was strained in places as she moved heavy objects aside and cleared off her workstation.

"Fixing up your clothes shouldn't be an issue. I have a Skill for repairing holes quickly."

Krom nodded appreciatively. Skills were the best.

She dug around for something underneath a counter. Her muffled voice could still be heard.

"What do you do, Krom? Judging from your soot-covered clothes, I would hazard that you are a blacksmith."

"[Farrier]. I make horseshoes."

Yerali bumped her head.

"Ow. That is really interesting! I always wondered where those things came from."

It wasn't a compelling line, but Krom let it pass since not many people know of [Farriers].

Yerali emerged, rubbing her head with a frown. She paused, pointing a finger.

"By the way. Why are you carrying a potato sack?"

Potato, cabbage, cabbage, potato.

Krom looked at the sack that was still propped over his shoulder. He usually took it with him whenever he left to buy more pastries or cabbage. People seemed to like it when he brought his own bag.

"Hm. Habit."

Yerali looked sideways at Krom. She was beginning to realize he wasn't a huge talker. Regardless, she walked over to him and put her hands on her hips.

"Alright, then. You can cut a hole in that sack and wear it while I fix your clothes."

Krom looked at his shirt, then at the sack, then at Yerali. He tilted his head.

"Why?"

"Well, you don't have to wear the sack, but those clothes need to come off for me to fix them."

Krom shook his head.

"No. Why help me?"

Everyone else had turned him away at first sight, but Yerali seemed completely unafraid and calm around him. She even offered to help him without knowing who he was or if he had any money. Krom didn't find someone so nice so often. Meeting Reiss was inexplicable, and Krom thought he wouldn't meet someone like him again. At least not so soon.

Yerali crossed her arms and looked out the window.

"A stranger helped me recently. I didn't even want any help, but he knew I needed it. I figured since I can't find him and repay him, I might as well pass along the favor."

"Who?"

Yerali smirked.

"An idiot who sparkled."

Krom crossed his eyes. A what?

Yerali only snickered.

"Alright, hurry up and take those off. It will be better if I start on this soon."

Krom complied absently, lost in thought.

...Someone who sparkled?