I Need Money to Level Up

Chapter 14: Keen Sight

"We are going to protect a merchant of a nearby village and reach another territory that is filled with beasts. I believe that it will take two weeks for us to return, so don't worry if you don't hear from us for a few more days," Harth explained. "We will depart tomorrow morning."

Beasts... Raiden heard that a few times, but he couldn't imagine the monsters. He had only been reading books about medicine and herbs... he wondered if books talking about them could be found in the Tower of Mastery. While the books for the youngest kids were simpler, it was hard to imagine that they would hide that kind of knowledge from them since it could motivate them to train harder.

The next day, Raiden made breakfast by himself since Harth and Iri were preparing to leave. Iri spent the whole time humming, and her eyes were shining when she showed up once she was ready.

"See you in two weeks, little brother," Iri said and then hugged Raiden.

"Sure," Raiden said while patting her back two times.

"Ouch, the cold shoulder," Iri said.

"Sorry for burdening you, Raiden, but I will leave the house in your care," Harth said and then whispered the rest. "Since Lenore is hopeless when it comes to anything related to it."

"I can hear you... you will get an earful once you return," Lenore declared, and then she left to work.

It didn't seem that she was that worried... she was probably used to seeing Harth leave. Speaking of which, how were the people of the advanced groups trained when he wasn't around? Raiden couldn't tell.

Soon afterward, Harth and Iri left. Iri spent a while waving her hands, and then, eventually, they disappeared into the distance. Raiden had a day off, and he decided to train in his yard; soon enough, Javier and Ruth joined him.

"You are really starting your business... it looks small considering how much you worked," Javier said while looking at the numerous empty vases.

"You can say that again in two months; when the time comes, I will throw gold coins at you," Raiden furrowed his eyebrows.

"As long as they become mine afterward," Javier shrugged.

"It seems that everyone was adopted, but not everyone is heading to the tower of mastery yet," Ruth changed the subject while studying the herbs. "They are having a hard time adapting. Do you think we should help them?"

"No, my hands are already full with you two," Raiden shook his head. "Besides, I am planning to graduate from this level in two weeks, and you two better not fall behind. On the next level, we will start training with wooden weapons; training with those that can't use it yet will only hinder us."

"It wouldn't hurt, you know, if you praised us a bit," Javier said and then sighed.

It looked like they had gained some backbone and could talk back to Raiden, but they still had a long way ahead of them. They had the chance to help the others if they wanted to do so and alone, but they decided that it would be better with Raiden.

Regardless, at that point in time, Raiden found it hard to believe that following the training routine of kids would make him stronger... he didn't even get a single skill yet. They might become able to defend themselves after five years of training. Still, they would only be at the level of average civilians... something must change when the kids become ten and decide to continue with the training.

Until now, they didn't learn anything about magic, and since it was something dangerous that could be used against them, they had to be careful with those they would share the knowledge with.

Regardless, Raiden began to cook dinner after spending the entire day training with Javier and Ruth. Due to the habit, he almost made it to four people.

"The house looks really empty without those two," Raiden thought. "Lenore is also a chatterbox, but she isn't as lively as those two."

Lenore showed up when the dinner was ready, and they ate it in silence. Raiden knew that things would end up like that, but he managed to keep his composure.

"They are starting to change the air around; you did well in making them stay in a place where the wind would make the aroma spread around the house," Lenore suddenly said.

"The healers said that it was better that way to raise at least most of them," Raiden explained. "I am planning to make the ones that can turn into powder and then be put on the wounds. To make money faster and expand things."

"You already said that you won't slack off on the quality, so it is fine by me that you are focused that much on money," Lenore said and then studied Raiden again. "No signs of headaches or of your memories returning?"

"None," Raiden replied.

Things got quiet after that, but not awkward. It was better than trying to force each other to look closer and more friendly than they actually were.

Over the next few days, they talked more about the plants and herbs. It seemed that Lenore was testing his knowledge most of the time, but that was fine. Raiden felt that he needed a reason to recall everything he learned, and that would help him in the long run.

Lenore also explained that she tried to make Iri follow in her footsteps the moment she noticed that she was too adventurous. Still, that didn't work... in the end, Iri only learned magic because it would help her with her goal to explore the world faster. Lenore felt a bit disheartened, but she knew that Iri was a lot like her father in that regard... Apparently, Harth barely could stand still in the village when he was young; he changed when he got married and when Iri was born. Now, he had more reasons to be there than to leave.

It didn't feel like Raiden and Lenore got closer, but they found some common topics to talk about on a daily basis without running out of things to say. During those two weeks, he learned a lot from her.

"This one here seems to be growing a lot better and faster than the others," Lenore said while pointing to the vase that Raiden had leveled up.

She was really sharp... Raiden had planned to level up the others after gaining some more money, and thanks to it, Lenore was able to identify it. He escaped further questions by saying that the plant was of high quality or the soil was, and Lenore accepted. She occasionally would create some that were like that as well.

In any case, around the time for Raiden, Javier, and Ruth to do their test to reach the next level of the tower of mastery, they decided to see how things would be for real, and then they climbed one of the stairs that led to the top of the wall and began to run around it.

As they scampered along the edges of the walls, they couldn't help but marvel at the breathtaking sight that unfolded before them. Lush green fields stretched as far as the eye could see, dotted with colorful wildflowers that swayed gently in the breeze. The distant mountains, their peaks kissed by wisps of clouds, added a touch of grandeur to the landscape.

After enjoying the scenario, Javier and Ruth froze on the spot once they realized how high in the sky they were... the worst thing that they could do in a place like that was to look downward, and they did that. Still, eventually, they got used to it.

With renewed enthusiasm, the trio continued their race along the walls. They ran freely, their worries momentarily forgotten, feeling the rush of exhilaration that came from being on top of the world, even if it was only for a little while.

Raiden didn't make sure that they ran without stopping, but he felt that they were fit enough to pull that off. The only issue was if they could read a section of a book completely. After returning home, Raiden gave them one of the books he borrowed for them to read... while medicine books were complicated, they managed to read quite a bit.

"I guess you didn't slack off... but you should choose easier books to read in front of the others," Raiden said after crossing his mind.