A few days after their second Forest Creeper mission, Osric and William completed two more of those.
The day after they completed their fourth one in total, the two of them met at the guild again to discuss the next step.
Osric was sitting and waiting for William while lost in thought inside the guild.
'Only my Heightened Senses skilled slightly increased in progress once during the last three missions.'
'But I now have a total of 46 silver and 525 copper crowns. That's basically half a gold crown!'
That was a huge amount of money for a kid from the slums and still a lot for any average commoner.
Osric was very happy about it.
'I can't be satisfied with this though.'
William walked in the building after that last thought.
"Morning boss!"
He had been in an extremely good mood lately.
But Osric couldn't blame him, because their party was doing very well in such a short time.
"Morning William."
The redhead with a bright face but muscular body sat down in front of him.
"So why did you want to meet today instead of tomorrow again for another mission?"
"Because even though we made a lot of money from the same monster four times now, it's time to take on something new."
William frowned.
"Why? Forest Creepers make us the most money considering their rank and size as well."
"Because I don't want us to become stagnant. We can make both money and grow at the same time, but not by doing the same thing every mission."
"We should have experience fighting as a party against any kind of monster."
William sighed.
"Well I honestly care more about making money than becoming stronger, but you have a point."
"I also can't afford to be weak in this disgusting town. And I already knew your goals before joining, so I'll follow your lead."
Osric nodded.
"Good. I have already decided on our next mission. It's a monster we have both face before, just not together."
"What is it?"
"The Thornback Boar. This will be good practice against a bigger and stronger enemy."
"Well shit. Will it be okay with just us Osric?"
"Yes. I have killed one alone before."
"Although it was partly luck and mostly because it's easy to predict its movements."
"Oh right. You've told me about that before."
"That's crazy. I've only helped kill one before, and that was with a party of five."
"But did you even find a mission of a lone Thornback Boar? Because they usually move with their mate and offspring most times."
"Yeah. I found one before and it wasn't even the only one."
"Okay great. So will we do it tomorrow?"
Osric nodded.
"Let's meet here tomorrow after sunrise to talk strategy. But before leaving, let's do some sparring today."
William sighed again.
"You're really obsessed with fighting man."
After sparring for about an hour and William losing every exchange, Osric stopped and spoke.
"Let's stop here."
"And I think you should start using a small shield. Maybe a round iron shield."
William looked surprised.
"But I've never used one before?"
"I know. But right now your abilities are limited in combat, especially if we are to fight something like the Thornback Boar."
"Your axe might not do much damage. So for me to pierce it with my sword, you need to hold it off."
"I think you can only do that without getting killed, by using a shield."
William hesitated.
"It's expensive though, and what if I don't use it right?"
Osric put his hand on William's shoulder.
"It's an investment. And a small iron round shield won't be too difficult for you to handle. You just need to strap it to your arm and get used to moving it correctly."
"Let's go buy one right now. I also plan to buy a new iron sword with better quality."
"It's probably also better to postpone our mission to the day after tomorrow and focus on training today and tomorrow with our new equipment."
"So what do you say?"
William was getting used to sighing.
"Fine."
The two of them left the training yard and walked through the busy streets of Ashbrook.
It didn't take long to reach one of the small weapon shops near the market district.
Inside, the smell of metal and oil filled the air.
A grey-bearded blacksmith stood behind the counter.
He looked up briefly.
"Need something?"
Osric stepped forward.
"I'm looking for a better iron sword."
William scratched his head.
"And I guess I'm buying a shield…"
The blacksmith gestured toward a rack of weapons leaning against the wall.
"Take a look."
Osric picked up several swords before finding one that felt balanced in his hand.
The blade was clean and straight, noticeably better than the cheap weapon he currently carried.
"How much?"
"Eight silver."
Osric nodded.
That was expensive. Much more than his current sword that cost less than two silver.
But worth it.
Meanwhile William stood awkwardly in front of several round shields.
He lifted one.
Then another.
Finally he strapped a small iron round shield to his forearm and moved his arm experimentally.
"It feels… weird."
Osric chuckled.
"You'll get used to it."
William sighed deeply and nodded.
He bought the shield for 5 silver.
They immediately headed back to the guild's training ground to train.
—
The next day, after another couple hours of sparring.
"Clang!"
"Good job William."
"I think you're ready enough."
William was exhausted and sweating profusely, but he was smiling.
"Thanks. Your attacks forced me to get used to it."
Osric nodded.
"That's good to hear. You should go home to rest now."
"Our party is facing a new challenge tomorrow."
Tomorrow they would hunt the Thornback Boar.