It was an ordinary day. The farmers were harvesting wheat, others were collecting eggs from the chickens, and others were milking the cows.
The blacksmith was hammering steel, the baker was making the bread for the day, and the hunters were returning from their successful hunt.
Vaelor, Selene, and Caelum were training more intensely to become like the hunters.
Vaelor was practicing his only class ability, since if he didn't improve it in a reasonable amount of time, he was determined to achieve 100% mastery.
A little far from the village, a cart could be seen speeding down the road, being chased by some wolves.
"HELP!!" shouted the man in the cart.
Some hunters heard the cry, so they went to investigate and saw the cart.
"Are those Dire Wolves?" said one, looking at the wolves.
"Get ready!"
Some hunters readied their bows and began shooting arrows at the Dire Wolves in an attempt to stop them from continuing to attack the cart, buying time for the cart to get closer to the village and for the wolves to be driven away.
When the cart neared the village fence, the Dire Wolves made a strange sound and then fled desperately while being attacked by the hunters.
"We'll have to hunt those Dire Wolves," said one of the hunters.
"Get ready, everyone!"
The hunters began mobilizing to hunt the wolves, as they were considered a plague since they tore apart all kinds of animals without even eating them.
While the hunters prepared, some villagers went to check on the man who had been attacked.
"Are you alright?" asked an elder.
"Y-Yes, I'm fine. Thanks for helping me," the man thanked.
"Are you injured anywhere?" asked another person.
"No, nothing. Only my cart got damaged," he said.
The man climbed into the cart to check everything he had in case anything had been destroyed by the wolves.
"Some potions broke, but the rest is fine," he said, somewhat relieved.
Some villagers looked at him strangely since it wasn't common for someone to come here, and the only visitors were occasionally priests from the Church who came to heal the sick twice a year.
"What brings you to this remote place?" asked one man.
"I'm a traveling merchant, and I heard there was a village here, so I came to sell some products. But I didn't expect to be attacked by Dire Wolves on the way," said the merchant.
"A merchant? Can you show us what you sell?"
"Of course, but first, I need to check on my horses."
At the training field, the three continued training when Vaelor took a break to check his status.
____________________
Name: Vaelor
Age: 9 years
Race: Human
Title: Reincarnated - Seeker of the Crown of Destiny
Class: Swordsman
Subclass: Alchemist
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Class Ability
--Quick Slash / 7% Mastery
Subclass Abilities
--Create Minor Potion / 75% Mastery
--Create Minor Poison / 31% Mastery
System Abilities
--Minor Poison Resistance / 73% Mastery
--Parkour / 25% Mastery
--Minor Pain Resistance / 19% Mastery
--Minor Bone Enhancement / 29% Mastery
--Minor Muscle Enhancement / 31% Mastery
--Minor Blood Enhancement / 13% Mastery
--Minor Lung Enhancement / 5% Mastery
____________________
"It's hard to level up Quick Slash even when I run out of mana. What could I do to increase it faster?"
Vaelor thought about ways to increase the efficiency of Quick Slash, since, despite doing the same as with his other abilities, it was leveling up too slowly.
He continued using Quick Slash until they heard noise from the village.
"Eh? What's going on?" Vaelor wondered.
A hunter arrived to inform Alonso about the Dire Wolves and the strange merchant.
"A merchant?" Alonso asked.
"Yes, he's in the middle of the village selling some things," the hunter explained.
"That's very strange. Never mind, you need to focus on the Dire Wolves, or something worse than the Little Wolves will happen. Let me know if anything happens."
"Yes."
The hunter left, leaving Alonso with the kids, who were still training.
"Everyone! Come here!" Alonso shouted.
Vaelor, Selene, Caelum, and the other kids approached to see what was going on.
"I have to inform you that Dire Wolves have been spotted near the village, so the hunters have gone to deal with them. Until all the Dire Wolves are exterminated, you can't go train in the forest," Alonso informed them all.
"How long will it take?" asked Selene.
"It depends on how many Dire Wolves there are," he replied.
"That's unfair," Selene said.
Everyone wondered when they could go hunting, since it was the most exciting part, despite being so dangerous.
"Alright, alright. But I have good news. A merchant has arrived in the village, so you can go to the village center and see what he's selling."
As soon as Alonso said this, almost all the kids rushed off to see the merchant.
"They sure move fast," Alonso said.
"I think the same," Vaelor said.
They exchanged looks, and Vaelor followed the others to see the merchant since it would give him a chance to see what the outside world had to offer.
--
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{Pov Vaelor}
When I heard that a merchant had arrived, I became interested, as I could see what he was selling and perhaps hear some stories.
As I was entering the village, I felt like something was watching me, so I started looking around to see where it was coming from.
"Where is that coming from?"
For a while, I had started feeling like something was observing me, but I attributed it to spending more time in the forest, which was full of monsters that tried to hunt me, and I hunted them in return.
I looked into the forest, where I saw a few wolves that immediately ran off.
"The hunters will take care of them."
I quickly walked to the village to find the merchant.
When I was about to arrive, I saw a large crowd of villagers who were carrying many things.
'I guess they're already buying.'
I entered the crowd to get closer, where I saw the rest of the kids looking at some weapons.
"Sir! Sir! Can I see that bow?!" I heard Selene ask.
"Of course," the merchant said.
The merchant handed her a shiny silver bow with green inlays and feathers at the tips.
Selene grabbed it and drew the bow, which was a bit difficult for her.
"It'll be a bit hard for you, since it's made for someone larger, but I assure you, it's the best you'll find in Aldor," the merchant said.
The merchant had black hair and wore a leather armor that seemed more refined than what was made here.
"How much does it cost?!" Selene asked excitedly.
"2 gold coins."
I could see how Selene froze.
'That's too much.'
I approached to see what else he was selling.
There were weapons, armor, a few seeds, and what seemed to be the most important: some potions.
"Interested? You have a good eye. These are..." the merchant began to speak.
"Potions. I know," I replied, continuing to look.
"That's right. You're a smart kid, but I bet you don't know what this is."
The merchant showed me a reddish-orange potion that looked quite nice.
"Red, orange... It's a regeneration potion, but it's pretty bad. If it were mixed a bit more, it would be good, but the colors being so separated show that it was poorly made."
I looked at the merchant, who was speechless.
"Hahaha, it's obvious you know a lot about potions, you almost seem like an alchemist," the merchant laughed.
"That's because he's the witch's grandson," a villager said.
"A witch?" the merchant asked.
The villagers began to explain that she was an old woman who lived on the outskirts of the village and was a very skilled alchemist.
"Is she that good?" asked the merchant.
"Of course. She made a repellent that keeps all the monsters away from our village."
I kept looking at what he was selling while they chatted.
Hours passed, and I was back at my cabin, preparing to sleep.
"Dire Wolves and a traveling merchant, what a strange thing."
I finished changing and was about to go to bed.
"How could I increase the mastery of Quick Slash?"
I thought about leveling it up by draining my mana and then recovering it with mana potions. I also thought that fighting monsters might be more effective.
"Better go to sleep. Maybe I'll think of a better solution."
I lay in bed and closed my eyes, hoping to sleep peacefully.
Just as I was about to fall asleep, I saw a bright light, so I opened my eyes to see where it was coming from.
"Has it already become daytime?"
I looked out the window and was stunned to see a massive wall of fire, and I couldn't see where it ended.