Light slowly leaked through the window onto the wooden counter and walls. Instead of reflecting, the light was absorbed by the wood items, being of the Orlane variety. It was known for the dark brown to look almost supernaturally clean. And it surely was!

It would have been eight cycles ago that the tree was created by a great hero, this one being of the spear. Between the dozens of homes and furnishings he had, the man felt like a color was missing on the spectrum of available trees. So using the genetic manipulation of his weapon the man was easily able to transform a simple Oak tree into Orlane.

Now it populated the realm as the premier tree to build establishments out of, being of superior quality than a majority of trees in the area.

The sounds of metal clicking on what some mistaken as metal rings soon rang, the chain mail being placed around Maple's waist with her steady hands. She soon raised a large tunic-looking set of chains, slipping the assembly over her head to settle on her surprisingly wide shoulders.

The Shield Hero took a deep breath, she could feel how truly heavy each item on her really was, and it was no joke. But, if she wanted to have the maximum defense she could possibly assemble, then she would endure it.

She took a few steps forward and slipped her feet in the new metal boots. With two flicks of her hand the armor made a sharp, snapping sound. All at once, the armor conformed to each other. With a few more flicks, the leg protections were in place.

Technological advancement was something that varied greatly within the realms of this world. Due to the aspects of levels, a simple man could easily outperform the industrial output of entire factories if he focused his life to the craft. It would also be of higher quality than anything found in the mass production sector.

So when certain people found these skills and tricks, practices were invented and abused. Such was the case with Maple's heavy plate armor quick snap. Instead of having to mess with straps and complicated bracers, the armor snapped together with magic similar to magnets. With a few other mechanisms, it would be impossible to take off without the true intent of the user.

Such a making, however, was only wishful thinking of professional soldiers to own since it was very expensive to commission. The hands of a master smith were needed to craft this set in particular.

Maple put the last parts of her armor ( a solid magic-steel torso) onto her body. She raised her gauntlets, placing the spiked set of armor onto her body. With a flick of her hand and a thought, a piece of black metal slid in front of her face from the torso piece to protect her mouth.

Maple moved herself forward in front of the mirror. The sight of a slim black knight stood looking back at her. He stood there menacingly with golden highlights all about the body. Spikes adorned it, all of them pointed at angles meant to latch onto and grapple prey.

I look so cool!

With a small burst of speed (really it was not faster than a sloth) Maple pierced the curtains and stood trumphly in front of the maker of the gear. Head held high and a welt of pride crept into her body as the smith studied over how the armor melded with the form.

"So, does it look good on me!?" She announced with a twirl.

"It does, luckily enough." He announced while walking over. Soon he produced a small hammer to his hand and smack her right on the shoulder!

"Whoa!" Maple announced as she slowly backed up from the strike. While she was not expecting the hit, she did not receive any damage from the attack. The golden trimmed gave off an eerie glow

"Alright, it seems the bludgeoning resistance works," He put the hammer away and examined her form once more, "Do you feel its weight yet?"

"It did at first, but now it's like I'm only wearing a shirt and pants!"

"Then it's fitting you correctly." He announced with a grin, "Alright, and you're not boiling in there?"

The armored girl shook her head, "It's like I'm living in an air conditioning chamber!"

"Alright, guess the runes and metal have integrated correctly." He took one more look over the armor and gave a smile while resting his weapon over the shoulder, "Damn I put too many hours into that thing."

"Thank you for this, and everything else you've helped me with!" Maple cheered while giving the man a massive bow.

"Hey, you paid me so I did my job. Count the rest as customer service."

"This is worth much more than that. Not even an Uncle would give their niece this nice of a set!"

"An Uncle? Isn't that taking it a little too far?"

"Nope, you are Uncle Erhard!"

The man opened his mouth to rebuttal, but the smile on her face was quite an halted the words from forming. While it was obvious she was just pulling his leg, it was something he would admit was quite enduring.

"Alright alright, well we gotta get you going now." He said while lifting a small cage and setting it into her hands.

"Got it!"

And with that the two left the shop as the sun just barely broke the horizon, the rays of light weaving between the many buildings. The nice day would eventually become a grey and dreary day for the people of the town. It was as if the sky itself was saying goodbye to our small hero.

However, that was for later in the day.

As the two passed through the gates, as a pair of guards moved from their position. They gave a curt nod to the smith and Hero before heading their way back to the barracks to whatever they were doing. Maple gave a quick double back to see them heading into a different building.

"Is something the matter?" Erhard asked the little girl.

"Something weird just happened," She admitted.

"Indeed, nothing to worry about as there is your ride."

Upon exiting the gates there was a small carriage slowly being loaded up with supplies. The first thing that caught Maple noticed was the large bird standing at the front, its head held high into the wind and looked to be enjoying itself. This was followed by a sight Maple has not seen yet in this world.

One of the two people lifting the boxes had a small bright red tail steadying itself in the air before the person lifted the box. When she lifted her head up, Maple could easily see a small pair of red raccoon ears popping through her hair!

So cute!

"Hmm?" The one who received all of Maple's attention turned around to see our Shield's staring, "Oh, Nao, I think our passenger has arrived!"

The sound of a box being dropped rang through the air as a black haired man looked towards Maple. He looked kind of Japanese, but it was pretty clear he had some european blood running through his veins. Something akin to a large glove covered his whole right arm, but that was overshadowed by a very unsettling glare.

"So you are the ones who Binket sent over?" He asked dryly before making his way towards them, "So which one is it?"

"Th-that would be me!" Maple quickly moved forward and gave the man a bow, "Uh, so you are the person who Binket wanted us to meet?"

The said man gave pause, his eye scanning over the pair, "I am, but I'm not sure I should be transporting you. Aren't you a little young to be traveling alone?"

"I might be," Maple had to admit to herself, "But I need to do this atleast! If I don't I will never clear my name!"

"Clear your name?" Nao looked over her for one more moment before shaking his head once more, "Hey Raphtalia, her stuff from the old man should be in the crate near the back. Make some room next to it for her to sit."

"Got it!" The Raccoon called out with a smile, soon moving about crates that should have been too large for her to carry.

As the two merchants got to work Maple felt a small pat on her back, "Be careful out there, ya hear."

"Nn, I will!" She responded to the smith before cheerily making her way towards the cart with the egg in hand.

With a little bit of work the three were able to get the rest of the crates loaded, Maple quickly placing herself in the empty spot the racoon lady cleared for her. It was kind of funny looking at the cart from far away, since she appeared to just be a black shape of something hanging out on the back of a cart.

"Come Filo, let's get moving." Called out the black haired man to his beast.

"Kya!" It said as slowly the entire freight started to move. It started at a slow steady pace, but soon it increased to something more of a blissful trot as the creature brought itself up to full speed.

Maple was soon relegated to watching the scenery go by her. There were a great many homes they passed by, each with their own little style. There also pass a few farms with people working the fields.

Those in the fields carried large scythes, each of which sliced the large amount of grain with others making large golden stacks of the stalks. She also saw a good amount of people digging their shovels into the ground, easily bringing up what she could guess was a variation of potatoes from the round shape.

However farmhands and houses were not the only thing she noticed. There was on some occasion a large wall seemingly appear out in the middle of a field. Age and weathering was pretty evident on these constructs. However they looked to be tended by people, large vines growing upward in a controlled manner with some strange things growing along it.

Maple thought to herself for a moment, the idea of plants growing on poles not something she had seen before. Then again, wasn't there plants in other places in the world that did grow on poles ?

Soon enough the morning sun had crawled its way through the sky and became the afternoon. The landscape did not hold Maple attention, so she started tinkering with her menu. She found a good amount of things, like the party system where she was able to move her egg to join her party. There were a great many things as well, even a Guild system, though, there was none listed at the moment. She would need to fix that!

Before she knew it, however, the day had slipped towards night, the disc of light slowly hiding itself behind the mountain range.

"Hold it Filo!" called out Nao as he pulled on the reins, "We need to stop, we are not going to be able to see the road soon."

"Ku?!" Maple looked over to see the bird give something akin to a pout.

"Look, we all need to eat and we also have a passenger." He replied before hopping off the carriage and unhitching the hoisters that held the bird to the wagon, "Head out and eat what you can."

"Kya!" It cried before quickly dashing right into the forest proper, the sounds of entire trees being snapped rang in Maple's ear.

However its owner could only shake his head, "Damn, she's just a walking disaster."

"Don't be too hard on her, Nao. She is a Firoia through and through." Raphtilia said while cracking open a crate.

"You heard the rumors too, about that group of them that went feral. If that's true, it would be bad for business."

"I guess it would." The woman said before shining a smile towards Maple, "Don't be afraid, you can come on out and share with us."

"Are you sure?" Maple said while peering over the carriage.

A small click came from Nao as he gathered the ingredients together and started to mix something in the pot, "Just come on. I'd feel bad if my passenger died of starvation because we didn't stop."

Maple thought about it for a second, then got herself off the edge of the wagon with a modest thump. She took in a breath while moving forward, "I am sorry to intrude then."

Seats were taken, and one of the first things she noticed was the smell of whatever Nao was cooking. It was a nice mix between the smell of meat and the spices, a stew worth every ounce of broth.

Oops, I'm drooling!

A small laugh came from Raphtalia as Maple wiped up her mouth, "I am sorry we forgot to feed you during the day. You see we normally just eat during the morning and evening to get the most distance."

"Oh it's fine," Maple said while flinging her hands, "Though I don't know why I wasn't hungry. Maybe I was just enjoying the sights too much."

"You enjoy the sights that much?" Nao called out from the pot.

"I did! Everything was so interesting!"

"..." The man seemed to stare into the stew for a moment, "I guess it would be."

"Oh come on Nao," Raphtilia called out with a smile, "Aren't we traveling about because you like seeing new sights?"

"It's because I don't really have a place to stay." The man said back before lifting a small bit of broth in front of himself, "But seeing new sights is a bonus."

"Nao, Nao…" The Raccoon simply shook her head before turning towards Maple, "So, why do you need to head over to the Swamp of Oragauhst? It's a bit more dangerous for even seasoned adventurers."

"Well, I, uh," Maple tried to think of something to say, since she was trying her best to be wary and all.

"To clear her name." Nao called out as he gave both Maple and Raphtilia a bowl of stew, "I can guess what happened, but you don't need to tell us anything."

"Really, but it feels rude!"

"Sometimes you need to keep things like that hidden. Hero of the Shield."

"Kuh!" Maple almost fell out of her seat when he said that, "H-how did you know!?"

" Binket was saying you were special." He gave a small wave before tossing her a fork, "You won't be protected by that Smith while you're out in the wilds. Best to keep yourself hidden so that no one thinks to assassinate you."

"A-assassinate!" Maple felt a small shiver crawl up her spine, this one was much more real. The idea of being killed, once a faint musing by Suzie, has gotten quite real.

"Mmhm, you're probably being hunted right now by the crown and possibly the Three Heroes Church. Since Melromarc has the best Assassins, I would hire them to kill you."

Before Maple could feel her heart drop any further a voice of reason spoke up, "Come on Nao, you're just scaring her senselessly."

"So, it's the truth!"

"No it's not, how about when you found me?"

"Tsk." He was silenced with that, soon relegated himself to the stew once more.

"Kukuku." Raphtilia laughed to herself as the group soon joined the merchant in their meals.

Ah, the taste of such a stew was something that Maple could not describe in honesty. It was comparable to great works of art and wonder, almost addicting in how good it was. Even if it reminded her of the magnificent taste of the Horned Rabbit Queen, somehow, this meat was even better.

Maybe she would need to find another monster soon.

All good things, though, must come to an end, and while Maple was really tempted to eat her plate the girl simply placed it into the empty pot to be cleaned up later. She could not help but yawn with a massive stretch.

"Alright, it's time for us to sleep." Nao said while picking up the pot, "I will take first watch, Raph if you can take second. And Maple, can I rely on you to take third?"

"I can!" The memories of keeping watch in New World Online easily coming back to her, "And nothing will get passed me!"

With that Maple went back to the wagon, making herself a nice place to lay down. Looking in her small crate of supplies, she did find a sleeping bag that was plenty big enough for her to sleep in. However, she also remembered what Erhard said.

It's for my safety.

And with that the little girl opened the menus and set a timer to wake her up in time. She needed to work on not being so asleep, since it was one of the things that nailed her earlier.

Yeah, she can't be so defenseless all the time.

Skill Unlocked [Alert]

Without even noticing the new skill she gave in to the throws of the sandman; her armor acting as protection from the wind and cold of Fall.

The night's clouds help block the full moon they were having tonight, which was as good as the merchant could hope. Yeah, his life was not really filled with flowers and sunshine, and seemed to match the sky tonight.

Wary eyes searched the horizon, the fear of assassination giving him a near untempered paranoia. If he steadied his breathing enough, he could hear the countless beating of feet that Filo gave as she trampled whatever indiginous wildlife was in the area.

Yeah, he never really did get that bird.

She would return at some time over the night though, that much he knew. Such beasts were capable of so much work with only a few hours of sleep, so she spent all the time eating. She might be returning when he is still at watch or when Raphtalia takes over. He would not know since again he does not understand those birds.

Yeah, it's one of those things he would never understand.

Just like the Gauntlet that rested on his hand, his bastard brother, or his brother's bitch of a girlfriend.