[SP–F1] «Earning a Living» (Complete)

[Kira 0]

Arriving in front of Earl's shop, I let out a sigh of relief and walked through the door. There he was working just as diligently as he was when I first met him. He was hammering away at a heated bar of metal, sweat dripping down his face. The droplets of sweat would hit the bar and evaporate in an instant. Trying not to surprise him, I cleared my throat quietly to let him know I returned.

"So...how was the trip? Run into a bit of trouble, I assume?"

Pulling the copper ore out of my inventory, he set his hammer down on the anvil and walked over to inspect the ore. Squinting his eyes, Earl scanned the ore from top to bottom and nodded in approval.

"You know what to do, right?"

Nodding, I walked over to the forge and threw in the copper ore. A bar was added to my inventory. Pulling it out, I set it on the anvil and picked up the hammer that Earl had just set down. Thinking about the adventure leading up to the cave and seeing an image of those wolf pups in my mind, I gripped the hammer tightly and swung down at the bar. It glowed with intensity.

Crafting

Craft Dice: 4

Unfortunately, I felt that my mind was too preoccupied with conflicting thoughts and the materials disappeared into a small cloud of smoke. Feeling completely defeated, I dropped the hammer and fell to the ground, covering my face with my hands from the shame.

"I couldn't keep my hands clean...I couldn't make a damn thing...What am I good for...?" I asked myself pathetically.

Groaning with a heavy heart, I heard Earl's footsteps as they approached the anvil.

"Giving up already?"

I responded with a weak nod.

"Well...what am I going to do with these last two ores then?"

Separating my fingers, I peeked through the holes to see Earl holding an ore of silver in each hand.

"I failed my first time too, sonny. There's no shame in it. Now...why don't you pick yourself up and try again, hmm?"

[Kira 0]

Getting up, I dusted myself off and grabbed one of the ores. Repeating my previous steps, I threw it into the forge, pulled out the silver bar, and set it on the anvil. With the hammer in my hand, I raised it into the air and let out a deep breath. I felt my muscles relax and all of the tension migrated to my grip.

"Concentrate..." said Earl in a whisper. "Concentrate..."

A slight breeze crept through the door and cradled me. It was calming. With confidence in my abilities, I swung my hammer down again, hoping for a successful creation.

Crafting

Craft Dice: 2

As my eyes widened, I looked down to see an even smaller cloud of smoke. In that instant, my materials disappeared right out of existence. Gripping my hammer as tightly as I could, I banged it against the anvil with utter rage.

"Why can't I do this?! What's so damn difficult about swinging a god damn hammer down onto some piece of metal and making something?!"

Out of frustration, I threw the hammer down and grabbed the final ore. Earl looked at me with disappointment.

"You're not concentrating...Clear your mind and focus on what you want to create! You want a sword for that shield, right? Then stop thinking about everything else that doesn't matter and make the damn sword!"

Those words hit home with me, and I found myself thinking about those wolves again.

"You know...I killed some wolves today...Well...let me correct myself." Taking in a deep breath, I said, "I killed one wolf...It looked injured...like someone or something hurt it pretty good before I got there..."

Earl thought about the wolf, trying to picture it in his head. Within a matter of seconds, he snapped his fingers and chuckled to himself.

"Kid...I was the one that injured that wolf! It was me!"

I lifted my head up and stared at him with a surprised expression.

"You injured that wolf?"

[Kira 0]

Earl nodded with glee. "Didn't think the old man had it in him, did you?!" he said, laughing uncontrollably.

I stood there in a stupor because something seemed a little off. I pursued this thought further.

"Wait...then...is that how you knew that there was a den of wolves inside that cave?"

He nodded.

"Then that means...the wolf I killed was a parent or something to those pups then..."

Earl interjected, "The mother to be more precise. I killed the father a while back, but I knew I couldn't take on those three pups and the mother at the same time, especially not in this age! Good job taking care of those leftovers, by the way! Now I can finally enter the cave and mine in peace!" He preceded to laugh again with gusto.

Staring at my hands, I had fully realized by the pups greeted him with aggression. It wasn't just because I entered the cave and invaded their home. No, it was much more than that. I killed their mother, their protector, their provider. My hands shook as I trembled at the thought. Images of the battle rushed through my mind, and I couldn't help but feel disgusted with myself. As I stared up at Earl, I watched him as he was grabbing his stomach and laughing. My disgust turned into anger, and I repeated all of the steps, hopefully, for the last time. Setting down the silver bar onto the anvil, Earl quieted down and wiped away the tears in his eyes. Seeing my hands turn red from the excessively tight grip on the hammer, Earl knew something was not right.

"Boy-o...you okay?" he asked with fear of the unknown.

My eyes focused on the bar, rage filling my hands with power. "Think of a sword for a specific purpose, right?" I asked with tension in my voice. I swung my hammer down and a loud clanking sound filled the room.

Crafting

Craft Dice: 5

The bar glowed with much more intensity than before and it began to take shape in the form of a sword. The blade finally stopped forming, and I picked it up to feel it. It was light and the end result could have been a lot better. Swinging it around, I felt the slight dullness of it barely cutting through the air. It was a bad blade.

"Well, well! I see you've finally made something! And it seems that the something you made isn't that impressive is it!"

My grip tightened at his words.

"You put more heart into it and purpose, but you need to clear your mind more and enter this state of...zen...Yes! That's it! Zen!" he said as he clapped jovially.

Pointing the tip of the sword at his face, he stopped smiling and locked eyes with me in fear.

"What...what are y-you doing, so-sonny?" Earl asked, lips trembling uncontrollably.

"You! It's because of you that I left those pups to die!"

I took a step forward as he took a step back.

"It's because of you that I feel so compromised!"

Taking another step forward, he took another step back, pressuring his back against a table. He moved his hands around to feel for a weapon.

"And it's because of you that I can't make a god damn thing with these bloodied ores!"

Finally grabbing a small dagger, he raised it up at me, hoping it would scare me off. His hands trembled and I gently knocked the dagger out of his hand with the side of my sword. Earl looked back and forth from the blade to me.

"It had to be done! They were finished one way or another! If you didn't kill them, then surely another adventurer would! Or maybe even the one after that!" he pleaded.

I pressed the tip of my sword against his chest, feeling the rhythmic beating of his heart pulsate through the sword and resonate through me. It progressively got faster with each passing second.

"Please! Just forgive me and let me live! I only wanted to try and make a living! It was either kill or be killed! I swear! I was left with no choice but to hire a...a fine champion such as yourself!"

[Kira 0]

Hearing his cries, I pulled back the blade and watched him as he fell to the floor in distress and relief. After a brief moment of recovery, he looked up with me with the same fearful eyes the pups had when I encroached on their territory. The look threw me back into reality, and I finally recognized the gravity of the situation I put myself in. Knowing I had no way of apologizing and turning back now, I decided to push further in this direction, compromising more and more of my morals and beliefs.

"I want a sword..." I muttered under my breath.

Earl looked from left to right, seeing if there was some guardian angel around.

"Didn't you hear me? I said I want a sword! Give me one right now, and I'll let you go! You have my word." I said in a commanding voice.

Nodding incessantly, he crawled past me towards a rack of swords and pulled off a silver blade from the lot. As Earl gripped the blade, I felt hell itself tugging at my soul. I tried my best to hide it. Lowering his head to try and not make any eye contact with me, he cautiously made his way with the sword and presented it with two trembling hands. Throwing down the dull piece of crap I made earlier, I picked up the sword and felt the weight of it sink into the palm of my hand. The handle felt amazing and the blade cut through the air with ease. It was definitely an improvement from my own creation and the copper blade he lent me before leaving for the caves. Remembering that I had his copper blade, I pulled it out of my inventory and rested it on top of a nearby table.

[Kira 0]

"I-is that satisfactory?" Earl asked quietly.

I nodded as I sheathed the blade. Right after, I came to the realization that I had completely my quest.

"It's not the best one that I have, but it's definitely not the worst...I swear it'll be enough to get you by, until you end up replacing it! I just can't part with my prized possessions or I'll lose business completely! Please understand!"

Without any words, I turned my back to him and walked straight out the door. As I left, I could hear Earl drop to his knees and cry. I heard his wailing all the way to the marketplace, the air growing denser with every step. An image of the mother wolf came running back into my mind, and I stopped as I realized my mistake. If I had maybe just let the wolf pass, I might have not needed to fight with it or kill it. Those pups are probably wondering where their mother was. I knew the answer, but I wish I didn't. Shaking my head, I continued to head through the marketplace. My heart ached with the thought of what I had done to the wolves and what I had just done in Earl's shop.

"It's just something I have to do to survive...I can't die here...Yeah...that's it..." I thought to myself, trying to justify my actions.

I felt like the biggest hypocrite Aincrad had to offer. All of this talk of justice and retribution, and I couldn't keep myself from being compromised. My heart grew heavier, and I tried to not think about it anymore and try to focus on the things around me. There was something different about the marketplace this time around. The bread shops were closed as well as the other vending stalls and the once filled cobblestone street was nearly empty, only a piece of parchment paper flowing idly in the wind. I felt so alone. Hiding behind the rooftops, the sun was setting, painting everything in shades of orange, red, and yellow. As my eyes followed the erratic trail of cracks lining the streets, I saw red flowing like a river, crashing and turning around each nook and cranny the cobblestones made. It looked like blood was filling the streets and in the distance, I swore that I could hear wolves howling. They were howling for the lives ended and for the beginning of a path towards the unknown and possibly self-destruction.

[Kira 0]

Kenji has completed «Earning a Living»!