“This is amazing! We've already earned enough for the toll fees of six people with some extra left over!”

Emily exclaimed excitedly as she calculated our earnings in a nice restaurant we went to after finishing our last sale, serving as both a wrap-up and a celebration.

Everyone else seemed unsurprised, as if they had expected this all along, except for me.

I never thought our crafting would be this profitable.

If it had just been me, achieving such results in such a short time would have been almost impossible.

Indeed, the basic principle of business is publicity.

The help of my companions played a tremendous role.

‘More than anything, the new skill was the greatest gain.’

I felt the corners of my mouth lift unconsciously.

The skill called [Rapid Crafting] developed through the process of tens, maybe even hundreds, of repair and crafting attempts.

As the name suggests, it's a skill that completes crafting in an instant.

If materials are prepared, it consumes them to create equipment.

If materials are lacking, it links with the Mana Conversion skill to supplement the missing materials and produces the item.

And the gains from running this street vendor stand weren’t limited to just that.

Previously, while perfectly repairing Aspetra, I discovered something.

If I thoroughly understand and repair the structure of a piece of equipment, I can recreate it.

And owing to the regional characteristic of being near the border, a variety of adventurers gathered here.

Among them, a few entrusted me with special equipment.

Did I put my heart and soul into repairing such equipment because it was precious to its owner?

No, because it would become precious equipment for me.

‘I will use this gratefully.’

I closed my eyes and expressed my gratitude to the adventurer who was probably hunting hard somewhere.

“Ah, Ken is smiling.”

“Well, Ken probably didn’t expect we would earn this much.”

“I thought Ken could do it.”

It seemed my smirking was quite noticeable.

Well, there are still limitations to Rapid Crafting.

For example, weapons of a certain level like Aspetra have a condition, they become single-use items.

Perhaps it's because creating an exact replica is impossible, so they are termed as imitations.

For instance, [Poison Hydra Throwing Knife], which has an extreme paralysing effect, vanishes after one throw.

To use it again, I have to consume more mana.

It feels like some equipment has turned into skills, but still, this is something.

Buoyed by our excellent results, we enjoyed delicious food, laughing and chatting as we celebrated.

With a generous amount of money, we paid the toll fees and immediately headed to our next destination.

Now, we only had to pass through one more village before reaching the city where the Tower of Tarlos stands.

“Doesn’t this place look smaller than Dramon?”

As Raphne said, this place was smaller than a city but quite large for a village, a halfway point in size.

The previous city, Dramon, was surrounded by high walls, and its roads were paved.

However, compared to Dramon, the buildings in this village called Parion are somewhat shabby.

The population, however, was quite large, making it not a small place.

“Well, because it’s not within the country... We'll need about fifteen more days after passing through here."

"Ugh, that long?"

Emily, looking disheartened, seemed more troubled by camping out than the journey itself.

Unfortunately, given the route we've confirmed on the map, this is the best we can do.

I tried to comfort Emily, telling her to hang in there a little longer.

"Then let's register as adventurers here."

I communicated this to the group as I looked around at them.

Only adventurers registered with the Adventurer's Guild can enter the Tower of Tarlos, so we need to register in advance.

Of course, we could have registered at the guilds in previous cities like Dramon or the Academy city.

But it felt a bit risky to register within the Lillias Kingdom.

Given that the border toll fees have recently increased, it seems wise in hindsight not to have rushed to register earlier.

Who knows what kinds of obstacles could have been placed in our way.

If that had happened, it would have held us back.

"Ken, what rank do you think I'll get?"

On our way to the guild, Emily asked, her face lighting up like a child walking into a gift shop.

Emily seemed to have a fondness for these kinds of things.

She’s had the most fun throughout our travels.

"Hmm, maybe a B-rank?"

"...That's pretty realistic. Geez, you could at least say S-rank and hype me up!"

She playfully hit my shoulder and laughed.

I answered reflexively since as a player I could somewhat tell Emily's adventurer rank with her current skills.

Speaking of which, the adventurer ranks...

Excluding Emily, everyone else is sure to be at least A-rank.

Especially Raphne, who recently took down an A-rank adventurer barehanded.

Naturally, I was curious about myself.

'...I wonder what rank I'll get?'

Honestly, my heart was pounding a little.

I've undergone extensive training from Siegfried and defeated high-ranking monsters.

Of course, defeating those monsters was thanks to my cheat-level skills.

'If I use Calorie Burn during the rank evaluation...'

No, let's not go there.

We only need the adventurer qualification to enter the Tower of Tarlos, so there's no need to artificially aim for a high rank.

A sudden high rank might cause a commotion.

Some adventurer might even protest, unable to accept my rank based on my appearance.

'Let's just earn it with pure skill.'

As we entered the village, we headed straight for the Adventurer's Guild.

"Oh! If it isn't Ken! Fancy seeing you here!"

"Ha-ha! Boss Ken! The weapon you fixed is serving me well!"

As we opened the door to the guild, a few adventurers who were drinking in broad daylight recognized me.

They seemed to be adventurers whose weapons I had repaired or crafted in Dramon.

Of course, with the influx of requests, I couldn't remember who they were.

"Oh! It's you! Nice to see you here!"

But Emily, recognizing them as her customers, greeted them warmly.

"Hey, the ladies are as lovely as ever. Ha-ha! Ken, you're lucky to be traveling with such beautiful companions!"

"Ken, are you an adventurer too? Here for a quest? Are you not doing crafting work anymore?"

"We came here to register. The crafting was just a temporary thing back then... ha ha."

"Wow! I'm sure you would have become famous in the kingdom as a master craftsman. That's a shame!"

The adventurers, who treated me with a strange sense of familiarity, kept approaching. Perhaps it was because they were drunk, but they reminded me of the local men at bars I knew from my previous life.

It’s just a simple relationship between a client who entrusted a weapon and the craftsman who made it.

"Ha ha ha! Anyway, good luck! For a craftsman of Ken's calibre, I'd bet on a B-class, no, an A-class for sure!"

"Absolutely! A talent like this deserves at least that level of recognition!"

They cheerfully patted me on the back, clearly in good spirits from the alcohol and seeing a familiar face.

Could it be? A B-class, or maybe even an A-class?

That strange sense of anticipation made my shoulders feel lighter.

With a glimmer of hope, we went straight up to the second floor to start my adventurer registration.

And before I knew it, the results were out.

“Ta-da! It's a B-class! Ken, you guessed it right. Hehe.”

Emily proudly raised her registration card, showing off her B-class rank.

"I got A-class."

"So did I."

"And I’m also A-class."

Mary, Adrian, and Siegfried all naturally received A-class ranks.

Emily, who had confidently flaunted her registration card, carefully put it back into her pocket.

“R-Raphne?”

With an awkward smile, I looked at Raphne, who hadn’t revealed her rank yet.

Raphne smiled broadly and raised her registration card.

She was an S-class.

“S-class?! Well, I guess it makes sense because it's Raphne. Ugh! I'm the lowest rank!”

"Emily, you should start calling me 'big sister' with some respect now."

Caught in a strange sense of rivalry, Emily stomped her feet in frustration, looking toward me with a sulky expression.

“And Ken? You must be A-class too, right? You’re so strong...”

“No, I’m D-class.”

“Huh?”

Everyone was surprised when I raised my registration card.

Why were they so shocked? Did everyone really expect me to be A-class? Haha, there's no way I'd be A-class.

...I didn't expect it either.

Even though my mana had increased significantly, and my crafting skills were quite advanced, the assessment deemed my combat abilities insufficient, resulting in a lower rank.

It's only natural. You can't assign A-class tasks to someone who lacks combat skills.

Since I didn't use Calorie Burn, it was an acceptable result for me.

The problem was that I was the only one who thought so.

"What?! Excuse me, Miss Receptionist?! Is there some mistake?! How could Ken be ranked as D-class?!"

"No, it doesn't make sense! Have you seen the weapons he makes? He even has a specialized crafting skill! This isn't right! I even placed a bet on this!"

The men who were just praising me moments ago started protesting at the reception desk, getting all worked up.

Come on, betting money was their own responsibility.

Maybe they made a wager while drunk.

Thanks to the drunken adventurers’ outburst, the guild became quite noisy.

‘This is not how I expected things to go.’

If I had known this would happen, I would have used Calorie Burn to get a higher rank.

"We should leave quickly. There's no benefit in staying here any longer."

"Y-yeah."

So, I hurriedly led my party out of the guild.

Other adventurers, curious about the commotion, were looking at us, the cause of the uproar.

Why do I always end up being the embarrassed one?

Covering my flushing face with one hand, I bowed my head and walked outside.

"It's okay, Ken. Don't be so down."

"Huh?"

Raphne, who was standing next to me, spoke comfortingly.

"Who cares if you're D-class! Actually, it's fine, I'll protect you. After all, I'm S-class," she said, shyly showing her registration card.

"Wait a minute! If that's the case, I can do it too! I'm B-class!" Emily exclaimed.

"No, Emily. You really need to be at least A-class to protect someone," Mary interjected.

"Ugh! If I knew it would be like this, I would've trained more in attack magic!" Emily muttered in frustration.

Leaving Emily to fume, Mary came up to me.

"I've always wanted to protect you, Ken. So even if you're D-class, don't be too disappointed. I'll always be there for you."

"Yeah, don't worry. You've got me too," Siegfried reassured me, patting my shoulder.

As I received support and comfort from my party, I stared at them blankly.

...Did I really look that gloomy?

No, it was just too embarrassing to lift my head.

Watching the scene unfold, Adrian chuckled beside me, as if he understood my feelings. As I was heading back to the lodging with that peculiar feeling...

“Hey! You there!”

I heard someone shouting from behind, and as the voice got closer, it became clear that they were calling out to us.

When I turned my head, I saw a man who looked thin and agile, with sharp eyes and a distinctive moustache.

“You guys are the adventurers who just registered, right?”

Flashing a friendly smile, he spoke to us with a familiarity.

“Yes, but... is there something you need?”

“Are you perhaps on your way out of town to go somewhere?"

“…We’re actually heading to the Tower of Tarlos.”

I replied cautiously.

A sudden approach. It’s common knowledge that some adventurers could be muggers.

Of course, trying to rob our party would be tantamount to suicide, so it wasn’t really an issue.

“Oh! You're challenging that tower! Perfect timing! Don’t you need a guide? We know a shortcut!”

“A shortcut?”

“Absolutely! Despite how I look, I’ve been an adventurer in this region for quite a while now. I know these roads better than any map!

However…”

The man then carefully formed a circle with his thumb and index finger.

It was a gesture indicating money.

“I’ll expect a small fee as a token of appreciation. What do you say? From what I hear, you’ve been making quite a bit of money. Wouldn’t it be nice to reach your destination quickly without running into any monsters?”

It seems like this guy makes a living by offering directions.

Sure, in the game, hiring such NPCs when visiting a new city allowed players to skip the section of getting lost.

And if making money is his main purpose, it might not be a weird idea…

“Can I consult my companions for a moment?”

“Of course, take your time.”

I then stepped aside and gathered our team to discuss.

“What do you all think?”

“Hmm, he seems a bit suspicious…”

Emily was the first to voice her opinion.

“But Emily, aren’t you tired from traveling? If there’s a shortcut, we could reach the city much faster.”

Mary, confident in her abilities, had a more positive outlook.

She probably plans to retaliate if something goes wrong.

Indeed, as Mary mentioned, the idea of saving time is very appealing.

Although everyone is in good spirits, traveling and camping with uncomfortable sleeping arrangements wears us out.

Reducing such time isn’t a bad choice.

Raphne also nodded in agreement with Mary’s words.

“I’m fine with it. If he tries anything funny, we can just kill him.”

“No, Raphne. We can’t just kill him right away. We should ask for directions first, then kill him."

"Oh! I see! Ken, you're really smart!"

"You two talk about scary stuff so easily."

Emily shivered at the confident remarks of Raphne and I.

Then, I also sought the opinions of Adrian and Siegfried.

"I don't mind either way. It's fine even if it's not a shortcut."

"They don't seem that strong. Even you could take them on, Ken."

Both of them didn't seem particularly worried.

So, it’s decided.

"My companions agree, so let's take you up on your offer to guide us."

"Wow! Excellent choice, sir! I'll make sure to get you there safely!"

After hearing everyone's opinions and accepting the offer, the man clapped his hands with glee.

As a precaution, I informed him of our group's rank, sending the message that he shouldn't try anything funny unless he wants trouble.

"Are those folks your companions?"

"Ah, yes, they are my long-time party members."

"Nice to meet you all. I’m Babidi."

"And I'm Lion."

The man who first approached us is named Eric.

Interestingly, he is an archer missing a finger.

The man called Babidi appears to be a rather overweight priest, likely the healer.

Lion seems to be the most skilled swordsman among the three.

"Then, we'll be relying on you for the journey."

"Lion."

I smiled as I shook hands with Lion.

While Eric initially gave a somewhat frivolous impression, Lion seemed somewhat more trustworthy.

Not long after we left the village following their lead, they predictably betrayed us.

However, it wasn't just a simple mugging as I had expected.

"Hey, fellas. There's a spot we need to check out for a moment."

Eric, who was leading us, suddenly shouted.

"What's going on?"

"There's an annoying monster around here. It looks like we could use your help dealing with it."

Eric continued with a casual smile, as if it was no big deal.

"With our combined strength, it won't take long. The ladies can rest here while we take care of it quickly."

Hearing this, Adrian, Siegfried, and I followed the three guides into the forest.

After all, Raphne and Mary were with Emily. While Emily wasn’t weak, the three of them together would be safe.

The problem was that their true goal was to separate us from the women.

"Hahaha! You fools! You fell right into our trap!"

"Urgh... What is this!"

My body began to stiffen.

As we ventured deep into the forest, Eric suddenly pulled out an object that emitted a blinding light.

It was a Petrifying Magic Tool.

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