The air was crisp as the season started to change. Leko noted the small chill as he run the usual track. In the last three months, he’s made a decent amount of progress. It took two weeks of continuous work for his skills to develop, but after that; they shot off. Gaining a skill took time, but leveling it up for the first while was much faster. It’s only after rank D that the leveling becomes harder.

The weapon shop he stopped by on the first day had disappointed him. He’d intended on getting a good-grade crossbow made for him. The man refused with an excuse of not having the right materials after ‘trying’ to source them. Leko could hear the lie, but he bit his tongue and left, cursing his charisma attribute all the while.

He still popped in at the library every other day. If not there, he usually hung around the Healing House. He studied Galia’s books. Leko locked up a room in the Healer's House for him so he could experiment. He had a lot of fun throwing things together and watching them react to each other. Sometimes he actually created something, which was a bonus.

He hadn’t managed to get the healer's ability but instead; he got a medical skill. Any potions he made were all minor grade ones, useless. It used the mana inside the ingredients to make the potion. Leko needed mana, but it wasn’t something he could just get. There were qualifications or special circumstances that were needed to gain mana, none of which he met. It was still too early, but it grated on his nerves. There were no books on mana for him to study either. Galia’s works were all medical, it mentioned mana but didn’t explain it.

After the miserable sight of the slums annoyed him a few too many times, Leko picked up a random woman and her son. He gave them a room in the Healer's House, one of the top floor rooms, which were meant to be boarding rooms, anyway. The price for their stay was to spread the word about the effects of the Healer's House. This maintained the stream of people that came in for healing. He had a bit of food sent to the house for them to do with what they wanted. He wasn't as cruel as to not make sure they didn't starve. What type of image would that leave him with? He needed his charisma to go up, not down.

Leko played hide-and-seek with the street urchins sometimes to help his perception. The kids were good at making sure they weren’t seen, even with his eyes. After three months, it helped his attribute grow at least a little.

They were eating at his money, though. It was only fair that he helped them as payment for helping him with his perception. It cost him quite a bit, his funds won’t last too long. Plans were already forming in his mind for more. He had a personal fund like the other Hosyn kids that the Duke topped up each month. It had its limits and not enough for his plans. Relying on money from someone else was also a terrible idea. Some of the things he wanted to buy in the future had a high price tag. The Duke might get suspicious. It was better for Leko to have his own source of income. Unfortunately, he couldn’t go around stealing from everyone.

His maid suggested starting a business, but Leko wasn’t keen on it. The amount of paperwork you did when dealing with a business was too much. Faier promised him that he wouldn’t need to do any paperwork. He took a leap of faith in the woman and explained to her a basic plan for a business. She had good connections. Leko poked at her with questions, and she responded beautifully. It was only one business. Before giving her more, he wanted to see how she would handle it. He wasn’t a business-savvy person. He could see a need for something but actually running the business. It would flop. Faier promised him that she would hire people that could do it for him.

“Faier, you understand that I won’t be doing any paperwork?” Leko said.

“Yes, young master. I can hire someone who will do it for you. There won’t be anything for you to do.” Her voice held exasperation, but her eyes had been fond. Leko had repeated the same thing to her several times over their conversation.

“Good, if anyone hands me paperwork to do, I’m closing the business no matter how successful it is.”

She laughed at his words, but Leko had been dead serious. He would close it down in a second. No hesitation, no remorse.

Most of his attributes have gone up by four to five points each. His intelligence and wisdom were thirty and thirty-four. The most notable change to Leko was his charisma. It went up by eight whole points, and it baffled him. Analyzing his own actions over the last three months gave him no clues. He decided to forget about it. It was a good thing, how it happened didn’t matter.

Leko’s level stood at twenty-one. This left him with another seventy-nine before he could rank up to E. Then another hundred before he made D. He had a year and nine months left to complete the training quest. It was a slow pace. Once he manages to leave Baira, he’ll level up much quicker.

Scamming his father and leaving Baira was Leko’s mission today. The plot of The Hero’s start line may only begin in under two years. Some things happened before the start that Leko could interfere with. Not that he wanted to mix himself up with anything that would make his life too complicated. Still, there were a few things Leko wanted to get his hands on before the villains did. He was indirectly helping the hero by making the villains weaker. Wasn’t he nice?

One such thing was an ability that came from an ancient artifact. They buried it in a husk of a village. It was once said to be a lively and beautiful place but got burnt to the ground in a god's rage. The cursed village. The book never mentioned the real name of the place but that the people called it the cursed village. Anytime you try to rebuild, it would burn down again. Leko needed to find that village. He knew its general location. Leko needed to get to Ronte. From there, he could trace the hero’s steps and find it.

The first goal of getting this ability was getting past the Duke. Thankfully, Leko had a god on his side that was willing to help.

New quest.

The first Village.

Head out to the first village located east of Ronte within the Testervia Territory. You must leave in the next day.

Rewards: 100 EXP.

Failure: death.

The rewards seemed pathetic. Considering he asked for the quest, it surprised him that there even was a reward. The failure penalty was something he asked for as well. It wasn’t like he could fail. There was also no time limit for how long it took him. The only time frame he had was for when to leave, which he asked for as well. Unless the Duke wanted Leko dead, he was not keeping him in Baira.

The Duke scowled at the notification window displayed in front of him. Leko didn’t twitch or let his satisfaction show. He kept his expression blank.

“You will take Lance and a private set of guards with you. Buni will also go with. I will prepare a few servants to attend to you on your journey. You may leave after lunch,” The Duke said.

“I’ll take Kurio, Faier, and Tor. No regular servants. They will be in the way. My maid and butler are more than capable of taking care of me alone. They are not defenseless or weak like the other servants.”

It was true. He didn't have a clue where the two got their strength, but they made it clear in the book and his training. He didn’t argue against Lance and the guards. Leko knew when to accept and compromise. Buni was good to have with, both for his skill and Leko’s training. They would tack Tor on as a personal chef and once again Leko’s training. It was enough of a crew for such a simple task, too much in fact, but Leko wouldn’t begrudge a man trying to keep his son safe.

“Fine, but the guards and Buni are not under negotiation.”

Leko bowed his head in acceptance of the man's words.

It was a relief. Knowing he finally had the chance to leave. Leko had been suffocating inside the castle. The trip would take long. There were other ways to travel that would speed it up, but Leko wanted to go by horse. He needed to raise his level. Out there, with the monsters roaming. He had a better chance.