There was just one problem.

When Raine took the sharp iron blade from Bal, he misjudged its weight. The pull on his right arm sent him stumbling sideways.

The merchant boys burst into laughter.

The scrawny boy had overestimated himself. That was what their laughter said.

Heat rose to Raine's face. He had misjudged the weight, nothing more. It wasn't as though he couldn't lift the tool.

Bal, standing beside him, shook his head. He clearly didn't expect Raine to succeed.

The boy was built like a reed. He simply lacked strength.

"Raine, you..." George thought his friend had acted too rashly and given the others another reason to mock him.

As Raine's only real friend, George felt humiliated on his behalf.

But friendship between boys was straightforward. George said nothing else. He only threw all his strength into holding the horse's hoof steady.

Raine nodded to him. Nothing needed to be said.

Scrape. Scrape.

With George bearing down on the hoof, Raine didn't need to spend much strength securing it with his left hand. The iron blade in his right still moved with some stiffness, but he managed to shave away the rough edges.

An expert could tell the difference at a glance.

Bal's eyes brightened.

*Not bad. The boy may be thin, but he has the knack for it. He knows how to use the blade's own weight and follow the natural curve of the hoof.*

The merchant boys fell silent.

Anyone could see that Raine had truly learned to trim hooves.

His work looked rough only when compared with Master Bal's.

George stared wide-eyed at Raine's hands.

"By the Goddess! Raine, you've only studied for a few days and you can already do it? That's incredible!"

Freckles clicked his tongue. "What's so impressive about trimming a hoof? It isn't swordsmanship."

"Exactly," the other merchant boys agreed.

Seeing Raine take the spotlight only made them resent him more.

Raine ignored them. The system notices had claimed all his attention.

[Practice: Horse Hoof Trimming]

[Hoof Trimming EXP +5]

[Blacksmith Apprentice EXP +2]

*Doing it myself gives this much EXP?*

His theory had been right. Hands-on practice was the fastest route to improvement.

At this rate, leveling the class was within reach. He might not even have to wait another day. Blacksmith Apprentice could reach Lv. 2 before evening.

By the time he had trimmed all four hooves, Raine was drenched in sweat, but his eyes shone.

"Not bad, Raine." Bal nodded in approval. "You can trim hooves on your own now."

"Thank you, Master Bal."

Bal turned on the rest of the page boys, his expression darkening. "As for you lot, if you want one of the blacksmith apprentice positions, start learning properly!"

None of them dared answer back. Instead, the merchant boys directed their venomous glares at Raine.

They had never cared about his diligence before. Their comfortable sense of superiority had made his efforts beneath their notice.

Now he had quietly earned Bal's approval and taken the spotlight from them.

That, they couldn't tolerate.

---

At lunch, the atmosphere around Raine felt oppressive.

Aside from George, even the boys from common families avoided speaking to him.

Were they jealous, or had the merchant boys warned them off?

Raine didn't know, and he didn't care.

He refused to slow his progress because of other people's opinions.

The merchant boys, meanwhile, had decided that Raine's growing prominence was a serious problem.

"They can't stand seeing you do well," George murmured. He had grasped the situation at once.

"I know. Don't worry about me."

The moment Raine began to stand out, this kind of hostility was inevitable. With the system in his hands, he would have faced it sooner or later.

He had seen the same behavior countless times in his previous life.

Schoolyard bullying. Workplace suppression.

The principle was the same.

---

That afternoon, the page boys continued horseshoeing.

Raine trimmed each hoof, and Bal nailed on the shoe afterward. Dividing the work made Bal's task much easier, and his opinion of Raine improved with every horse.

Near dusk, the system notice Raine had been waiting for finally arrived.

[Practice: Horse Hoof Trimming]

[Hoof Trimming EXP +5]

[Blacksmith Apprentice EXP +2]

[Blacksmith Apprentice has reached Lv. 2]

Joy surged through Raine. He flipped to the second page and studied the updated panel.

[Blacksmith Apprentice Lv. 2 (0/300)]

[Hoof Trimming Lv. 2 (255/300)]

[Horseshoeing Lv. 1 (45/100)]

[Remaining Attribute Points: 1]

[Remaining Skill Points: 1]

He had expected the class to level today. Seeing it happen still filled him with excitement.

Hoof Trimming was also close to reaching Lv. 3.

But neither achievement was the true prize.

The two lines at the bottom of the panel mattered most. One attribute point and one skill point. Those were the greatest rewards for advancing Blacksmith Apprentice.

Did assigning points make him stronger?

No. His effort had earned those points. The points merely converted that effort into strength.

He returned the panel to its first page.

Name: Raine Callan

Class: Blacksmith Apprentice Lv. 2

Constitution: 5

Strength: 4

Agility: 6

Spirit: 8

Strength was his obvious weakness. With such a small, thin body, that was only natural.

Now he had a way to correct it.

There was no need to hesitate. He would address his weakness first.

Raine was tired of being a scrawny weakling. He was tired of being bullied. At this stage, raising Strength was the only sensible choice.

One point might not be enough, but it would at least give him the power to fight back.

He assigned the point.

Strength: 5

Warmth welled from his heart and flowed into his limbs and bones. His entire body relaxed in the soothing heat of a hot spring. The exhaustion from the day's labor vanished.

That single point left him brimming with strength. He felt ready to trim hundreds more hooves without stopping.

*Assigning a point restores my condition too?*

*That's incredible.*

Next came the skill point.

Raine was about to spend it on Horseshoeing when he paused.

If each class level granted only one skill point, then every point was precious. Blacksmith Apprentice now required 300 EXP to advance from Lv. 2 to Lv. 3, three times the original requirement.

He also hadn't encountered most of the class's skills. What if he later learned something much harder to improve, such as weapon forging? Wouldn't the skill point be far more valuable then?

After considering it, he saved the point.

---

When Raine returned to the training ground, his condition startled everyone.

With his increased Strength, his trimming movements were at least twenty percent smoother. He remained far below Bal's level, but the improvement from his first attempt was unmistakable.

The page boys nearest him stared with their mouths open.

At dinner, Raine ate three and a half bricks of black bread and refilled his vegetable soup three times. He even licked the bowl clean while the other page boys watched in amazement.

He had discovered that the increase in Strength was real, but so was the hunger. His body was burning through food much faster.

---

Fed and watered, Raine returned to the dormitory and found his path blocked.

Bushy Brow and Freckles were waiting for him.

"Raine!" Bushy Brow stepped close and patted Raine's cheek with an open hand. "Not bad, kid. You put on quite a show today."

*Yesterday, I had no choice but to endure it. Today is different.*

Raine's calm gaze turned cold.

Smack!

He put every ounce of strength into an open-handed slap that struck Bushy Brow square across the face.

Bushy Brow's head rang. He stumbled sideways and nearly fell.

Freckles froze. So did the merchant boys who had gathered to watch.

Only one thought passed through their minds.

*How dare he strike first?*

Bushy Brow was still reeling when Raine followed up.

Thud!

Raine drove his knee into Bushy Brow's stomach, just below the diaphragm. The boy vomited his dinner across the floor.

A sour stench filled the dormitory.

"Get him! Beat the little bastard to death! He actually dared to fight back!" Freckles shouted.

The merchant boys swarmed Raine, fists flying.

Raine ignored them. He tucked his chin, hunched his shoulders, and kept punching the retching Bushy Brow. Every blow landed with vicious intent.

The sheer ferocity of it was terrifying.