Chapter 21: Light Spear (1)

Over the last two years, Billy learned several types of moves from the instructors. Still, he began to add the use of a bow and sword to his daily routine to make them level up organically. However, he had grown so much that he had plenty of stamina to keep training even at night, but he could only use his spear at home. Archery was especially troublesome to become good at. One needed constant practice, so he wanted a bow. Unfortunately, he had no money… he couldn't find materials lying around and craft His own either since he was in the middle of a big town. His family received money from their work, but now they were using most of it to look after the twins… so if Billy wanted a new weapon, he would have to work, earn money, and buy one. The question was: who would hire a seven years old boy?

"Mother, what can I do to earn money here?" Billy asked.

"... Why do you want money?" Camilla frowned since their tribe only began to use It recently because it was necessary for the town.

"I want to buy a bow to practice at home," Billy replied.

There was no need to lie since she would find out sooner or later. Still, Camilla couldn't help but worry. It was fine for Billy to be interested in other weapons, but he had talent with a spear. He could spar with kids that were three years older, after all. For the sake of the future, it would be better if he were to master a single weapon before he joins the guard. However, that will take at least five years… recently twelve years old kids were helping the guards. Besides, bows ran out of arrows all the time. The redhead tribe wasn't weak, but everyone knows that they don't fare well in long battles.

"... I will see what I can do, but you shouldn't slack off with the training with your spear, all right?" Camilla asked.

"Yes, mother!" Billy said.

Billy was also fully aware of the pros and cons of trying to become used to another weapon. First of all, one might obtain some bad habits, like using the bow when it is only optimal and spears in other situations. While that wasn't so bad, it was a way for a person to escape some difficulties. In order to become truly strong, one cannot act like that.

Billy also knew that he would have less time to train with a job, but he would obtain certain things alongside with. First of all, he would obtain connections with other people that might become handy in the future, and if it is a job based on productivity, he probably could use his system to produce more and thus earn more.

In the end, Billy got lucky… His mother found a job for him in the mornings at one of the blacksmith shops of the town. While most of the weapons are made of some type of stone, some of their tips are made of iron because they are more durable and lighter. Not to mention, while Billy had never seen people wearing them before in the town, the guards used armor on a daily basis. They just couldn't take them to their homes… and naturally, the armor couldn't be made of stone. It would turn everyone into slow and easy targets.

"Listen, Billy," Drew said while he was taking his son to the shop. "The man you are going to work for promised to give you a bow if you do your job right, but he is short-tempered, so don't do anything, you should, got it?"

"Yes, father," Billy said.

Billy wanted to hear more about what kind of job he was going to do before hearing that he would gain a bow. Still, he wasn't in the position to be that demanding or complain about the job. While some kids began to learn their professions around that age, few of the masters usually accepted helpers or students that wanted to be warriors. First of all, they were only diligent when it came to combat and training. Aside from that, there were mostly clumsy at everything else.

In any case, the shop that he had to work at was relatively simple. As one would expect, a lot of smoke was leaving the building three times his home's size. In one of the parts of the building, which was the front, Billy found many pieces of armor and weapons being shown, and a middle-aged man with annoyed eyes guarding and attending the place. He was pretty well-built, and even though he was a blacksmith who had some prominent thick black beard, it was completely free of ashes and dust. It seemed that he hadn't sold and forged weapons in a while. He had light brown hair and a shaved head, and his name was John.

"... Your job is to clean the warehouse," John said.

John guided Billy to the warehouse, and it was as big as his shop… Nevertheless, a lot of gear was gathering dust there. Cleaning everything wouldn't be a matter of skill but of strength and resilience. Billy didn't have time to waste, so he began to work. Some hammers and spears were pretty long, so he increased his strength to help while moving those.

Billy wanted to learn something more practical, like forging. Still, in the end, he decided to do the task he was given before trying anything else. As expected, not a single client appeared in the morning. John was already used to it, so he went to the warehouse and checked Billy's progress. The kid soon would need his help, after all. However, much to his surprise, Billy had already finished half of the job.