Reader Mage 14-A Jack Of All Trades

rlin had tried ditating twice since he’d received its corresponding Quest, but he’d always fallen asleep right after. Perhaps it was because he was not quiet enough, as the Quest had told him to be, or maybe because he was just too quiet. He didn’t know.

What he did know, though, was that he had no idea how the chanics of ditation worked, and Singularity Mage had been of no help with that either. Parts like that were skipped. rlin had never hated tiskips more than now.

He had also tried sourcing the net for sothing, but the thods not hidden behind paywalls were anything but useful—at least, to prevent him from falling asleep. And because of his roadblocks concerning this Quest, he had been unable to progress, and had decided to keep it on the back burner for now, until he had found a solution for that problem of his.

Which had surprisingly been a lot closer than he had thought.

“I didn’t know boxers valued ditation,” muttered rlin as he stared at the ginger-haired young man with freckles all over his nose, seated cross-legged on a mat. This person was Sunny, and he had warned them to not make a sound, by placing a finger over his lips, as soon as they’d entered his…domain?

rlin wasn’t sure what to call the place.

They were not exactly in Sunny’s house, but in sothing of a barely lit studio that slled with the intensity of incense and burning candles, seated alongside a bowl of prosthetic fruits on the only furniture in the room—a low wooden table with a white cloth draped over it. The scenery gave rlin the vibe of a shrine’s, particularly, that of a Shaman’s.

Was Sunny both a boxer and a Shaman? Fascinating. That would explain the hand-drawn talismans pinned crookedly to the walls, and the wannabe ritual-look his robe of mismatched colors and scarf gave him.

“ditation is part of life as a whole,” replied Janeth to rlin’s observation. “At least that’s what Sunny says.”

Despite what rlin thought of Sunny from his first impression, he supported that claim fully. The man wasn’t wrong. rlin did believe that ditating was an important aspect of life, it was just that he felt stronger about sleeping. Maybe that was why he always dozed off.

“You know, I still don’t get why I was dragged along?” Nora grumbled from Janeth’s side, arms folded, nose wrung up, and wildly uneasy.

rlin was well aware of his sister’s troubles. It was not that she didn’t like the sll of incense or being in a shrine, she just wanted to be on her way ho as quickly as possible.

However, what was she doing asking that question?

All he had done was tell her of his plans while they headed to the gym; and after their workout, she had followed him and Janeth of her own accord. No one had forced her or anything.

Was she suddenly out of it?

“What?” Nora noticed rlin’s stare. “Technically, you did drag along. It’s not like I can just let you wander off to a stranger’s place now, can I? No offense, Jane—”

“…None taken.”

“…It’s just the duty of an elder sister to watch over her baby brother.”

They were twins.

“Shhhhhhh!!!!” Sunny placed a finger over his lips, shushing them the sa way he had done as soon as they’d waltzed into his place; this ti, though, with a lot more intensity. His eyes were still closed, so thankfully he couldn’t burn through them with a furious gaze.

Janeth, on the other hand, just had a smile on her face. She was enjoying this, wasn’t she?

rlin didn’t have any problem with waiting for Sunny to conclude his ditation before attending to them. After all, he did want sothing from the man, and he couldn’t be too pushy about it. There was also the fact that he was trying to make use of this opportunity to gain one or two ideas about how ditation worked. But he was not yielding any fruits.

Sunny was doing the exact sa thing he’d done whenever he had tried to ditate. He was sitting loosely cross-legged, his palms placed gently on his thighs, and his breath as even as they could be. rlin had done all that. So what exactly was Sunny doing that kept him from just falling sideways onto his mat and drifting off with a snore?

rlin winced as his arm suddenly ached. His workout today had been intense—and at his request too.

Janeth had been against it at first, but Nora had told her that if that was what he wanted, then she should just go along with it. And, with a sigh, she had.

rlin’s workout had gone on for two hours as usual, however, they had felt like four—if he was being honest—which he part loved and part hated. At least, at the end of it all, he had reaped very good rewards. The usual points he gained from working out for two hours were doubled, and so were his Attribute Points.

In essence, pushing his body to its limit would help him progress faster. But he knew that if he did such consistently, without a mont of rest, he would break down soon enough. Basically cramming a few days' growth into one definitely had its downsides.

rlin had then taken the hour of practicing spell deconstruction to rest. He would have really wanted to take a crack at it once more, but deep down he was scared of things going wrong. After all, Nora was progressing at a faster rate than he was. The two spells she had were now both Novice, Tier II, which was too much for him to handle. And they were well on their way to Tier III. Trying to deconstruct them in his current state was a suicide mission.

With those thoughts rampaging through his mind, no one needed to tell rlin that he had to take one Attribute at a ti, and pour all his ti and energy into it.

Sharing his points was doing him more harm than good—at least at this mont. He had to get his Strength up first, quickly, and then deal with his Intelligence problem. Only then would he suffer little to no damages while deconstructing magic.

At that mont, Sunny’s eyes shot open like he had just heard soone banging violently on his door. rlin had been about to consider the whole ditation charade a sham, but he could see a sort of clarity behind the eyes of the ginger-haired man, and he promptly pushed that thought aside.

“Oh, Janeth, wassup. You’re here?” Sunny started as soon as his eyes t Janeth’s. He rose to his feet in an instant, a smile spreading across his face.

“Acting like you didn’t notice coming in?” said Janeth, with a smile of her own. rlin pursed his lips, jealous.

“I was focused, young lady, and I had purged all distractions from my mind,” said Sunny.

“Oh…” Janeth angled her body, a hand on her waist. “So, I’m a distraction now, is it?”

Sunny didn’t say anything and just turned his gaze towards Nora. His smile changed into a beam. He closed the distance between them and blinked for a few seconds.

“You must be Nora. Nice to et you, and thank you for choosing our gym.”

“Uhm…my pleasure,” she replied indifferently, obviously still wanting to just get the hell out of here and plop down on her bed. Which she honestly could, if she wanted; rlin had never understood why his sister did things in a roundabout manner sotis. She would say one thing and act the other way. It kind of confused him.

“And you must be rlin,” started Sunny with a slight nod. He then tucked his hands behind his back and walked towards him, his robes swaying with every step he took—which was not exactly much. “Janeth tells you wanna learn boxing. That's why you registered for gyming?” He eyed rlin from head to toe. “Because you don’t look like much to .”

Well, thank you. rlin almost rolled his eyes and snorted, but he held himself back. It wasn’t like Sunny was wrong.

Yes, rlin could feel and see his efforts paying off bit by bit, but a few days of tussling with weights and bars weren’t enough to build any significant muscles on him. He still had a long way to go.

But that was not why he was here today.

“Yes,” he replied to Sunny simply. And, then, for so reason, he just felt like he had to say more. “Everyone starts out scrawny, you know? I’m putting in the work, and I’m sure it’ll yield results.” He stole a short glance at Janeth after those words. He couldn’t have himself looking weak around her.

“Haha…” Sunny chuckled, and placed a hand on rlin’s shoulder. “Well said, rlin! Well said! You have potential.”

rlin’s brows furrowed. This ti his glance at Janeth wasn’t a short one. And when she noticed his look, she just smiled, seemingly telling him that he would get used to it.

But he didn’t want to.

“So? Can you be of help?” Nora spoke, her voice not bearing any hint of the impatience it had had before. She was genuinely curious.

Sunny looked at her and nodded. “Of course. But it’ll cost ya.” He made a gesture with his fingers and wore a crooked smile. Nora’s head jerked backward like she’d suddenly developed the ick for the guy. She glanced at Janeth, and Janeth gave her the sa look she’d given rlin. Nora clicked her tongue.

rlin, however, had been ready for it to cost sothing. Nothing in life was free, and free things had to be avoided like the plague. That was the sort of reasoning he always went with. It was better if he knew upfront what exactly he was to pay back with, than being cornered in the near future. And, besides, the boxing equipnt needed to train weren’t made for free, nor was Sunny’s ti going to be.

This part bothered rlin, though.

Was it Sunny that was going to tutor him? A…He eyed the man…Shaman?

And that was why the question that ca out of his mouth next wasn’t concerning the fee he was to pay.

“Will it be you teaching ?” asked rlin. Sunny blinked, his hand still on rlin’s shoulder. Perhaps he had forgotten it was there. “Well, I can’t help but notice that you’re dressed like a Shaman, and not a boxer…”

“Oh!” Sunny looked at his robes like he hadn’t noticed that they were what he was wearing. “This is just a hobby. Of course I’ll be the one teaching you.”

Shamanism? A hobby? What was wrong with this guy?

“Didn’t you say boxing was just a hobby too back then?” Janeth chid in.

Sunny frowned. “Hobby’s change, muscle-woman. You would know that if you tried sothing else besides swimming within the embrace of tals. Goodness, I still don’t get what you enjoy from that. There’s no thrill in doing only one thing for years on end. Live a little.”

“Is that why you keep hopping from one hobby to the other like a rabbit, wasting your ti?” Janeth furrowed her brows.

So a jack of all trades… rlin ntally noted that down.

“It’s not a waste of ti if you enjoy what you’re doing,” Sunny argued back—his hand still on rlin’s shoulder. rlin started to wonder if he should just take it off himself.

“So things are a waste of ti even if you enjoy them!” Janeth argued back, dumbfounding rlin. He had never seen her this eager to bicker. Which shouldn’t be exactly surprising, seeing as they hadn’t known each other for long. It was just that…she always seed cool.

What was surprising, though, was Nora being the one to put an end to the argunt.

“Really? Aren’t you gonna offer us a place to sit?” she said. This mont instantly took the cake as one of the most grateful rlin had ever been to her. After all, her words not only stopped the topic from deviating from what he had co here for, Sunny finally took his hand off his shoulder.

“Ah, sorry about that, young miss.” Sunny cleared his throat, shooting one last fiery glance at Janeth. They were going to continue this later on, it seed. “There are no chairs here, as you can see, but you’re welco to use the floor, if you like. I clean it everyday, rest assured.”

Nora sighed and shook her head. “I’m fine. Then can you please tell my brother over there the details of your arrangent, so that we can get on with our day? Don’t an to be rude.”

That’s just how she talks… rlin considered saying that, but Sunny didn’t look pissed.

“Oh, my bad.” He turned back to rlin, his expression becoming a lot more serious. “I don’t have a problem helping you out, since you’re friends with Janeth and my dear custor. But, honestly, it all depends on what you want to get out of it. If you’re planning on going pro, then I’m not the one you should be having to train you. I never made it pro myself. That’s because it was just a hobby, though. I hit hard, let tell you. Basically, what I’m saying is, if you want the license and all, and want to step into a ring, then you’ll just have to find a boxing gym and register under an instructor. If you’re taking it as a hobby, like I did, then I can help you with that much. Which is it?”

He was taking it so he could be able to protect himself against the monsters in Dungeons and Towers. But, saying that would just elicit a burst of laughter from Sunny, and maybe Janeth as well. They would think of him as foolish, surely. Who practiced boxing to raid Dungeons and Towers? Not a sensible person, that was.

“It’s a hobby,” rlin replied. “Well, not exactly a hobby, but I don’t intend on going pro. I just want to be able to protect myself.”

Sunny smiled and turned to Janeth. “See? I’m not the only one who enjoys taking on different hobbies.”

She snorted and rolled her eyes.

rlin didn’t appreciate Sunny lumping both of them in the sa category. It was obvious that Janeth didn’t like the whole hobby hopping thing; what if she disliked him because of that?

He was about to refute Sunny’s claim, when a hand clamped down on his shoulder. It was Sunny’s—again.

“As for the fee,” Sunny began. “How about two thousand Won a day?”

rlin almost gasped, but then he realized that the currency was in Won not pounds. He quickly pulled out his phone and calculated it, and that corresponded to a pound a day. He exhaled.

Boxing was not really an expensive sport to begin with. Even though he had asked Janeth for help, rlin had still searched the internet for anything he could find about it. It could be learned for free through various videos—just like any other thing in the world—and shadowboxing, which was simply a practice of standing before a mirror and mimicking punches and footworks until one developed a perfect form.

Furthermore, even the ones that required money, were between fifty pounds to about a hundred a month. So Sunny’s price range was reasonable.

rlin wasn’t too surprised about that. The man ran a gym, and the price for its mbership, considering what a ss it was, had been reasonable too. Sunny definitely knew how to set a price tag on things.

However, rlin briefly wondered if he should cut the price down a little. But he was only paying one pound a day already, and he felt any less would make him feel bad. He decided against it.

“A thousand Won,” said Nora, causing rlin to sharply turn her way. Sunny was no different. While Janeth’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“What?! What do you an a thousand Won? Don’t you know how expensive things are?!” Sunny argued, looking like he was on the verge of losing his mind.

rlin could empathize with Sunny. Things were expensive. He had not been born before the cataclysm, but from the few tis he’d overheard his parents discussing, he had realized that ever since the cataclysm, the world had slowly begun to change, and the prices of things were going up with the tis. Nora knew this too, so what was her aim here? Was she trying to scam the dude? rlin, however, kept his mouth shut. If this would help him spend less, then…eh…he didn’t mind.

“A thousand,” Nora stood her ground. “That’s all we can do.”

Sunny frowned. “What’s you talking about? I’m the one who should be calling the prices here.”

Nora heaved out a sigh and glanced around the studio.

“You just started this whole Shaman schtick, didn’t you? I know you said it’s a hobby, but you can’t tell you’re not planning on making so money from it.” Sunny stood silent. rlin could feel a lump in his throat. She was doing it again. “Well, if you wanna earn money from it, then you’ll need to step up your ga. Prosthetic fruits won’t cut it. No bowl of rice either. And your talismans are crappy. To fix all these, you’ll need money. So, I suggest you take what we’re offering while you have soone to exploit, or we’ll leave.” She showed her phone to Sunny, “ I was checking it during your conversation; a boxing gym mbership costs about fifty pounds to a hundred a month. That’s about two to three pounds a day for the cheapest. Why should we pay one pound a day to you when we can just pay three pounds a day at a licensed gym?”

Sunny’s expression collapsed. And to worsen his mood, Janeth was on the brink of laughing, only holding herself back by the power of sheer will. However, that made her face crumple so much that no one could miss it.

“Fine…” Sunny agreed with a deep exhale. “A thousand Won a day.” He cursed under his breath.

Nora smiled. “And free ditation classes, please,” she added. “I actually feel like a thousand is too much, but any lower and I might feel bad.”

“Free what?” Sunny’s brows caved in. “Why would I offer you free ditation classes?”

“Not ,” Nora said; she jerked a thumb at rlin. “My brother. ditation is also one of the things he likes, you see? So, help him out. He’s going to be paying you much more than is required for the boxing lessons after all.”

Sunny tightened his fists, and Janeth couldn’t take it anymore. She burst into laughter.