Arthur sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Jasmine, I'm trying to help you here," he said, his tone firm but not unkind. "If you keep playing mysterious, I'll just leave, and you can enjoy your secrets all by yourself. I'm not asking because I care about your past—I just want to know if you can stand on your own."
Jasmine hesitated again, her shoulders slumping slightly before she finally answered. "I... I have a healing talent," she admitted quietly.
Arthur nodded, his expression unreadable. "A healing talent," he repeated. "That's good. Healing talents are valuable. You can make a living off that easily."
Jasmine looked up at him, her cheeks faintly flushed. "What level are you?" Arthur asked next.
"Level two," she mumbled, barely audible.
Arthur raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. Instead, he stepped past her into the room, closing the door behind him.
Her eyes widened in surprise, and she stammered, "W-what are you doing?"
Arthur ignored her, summoning a portal with a flick of his hand. The swirling dark energy filled the small space, and from it emerged Lupin, his silver fur gleaming as he stepped forward gracefully.
Jasmine's shock quickly turned into delight. "Oh my gosh!" she squealed, her hazel eyes lighting up. "He's so cute! Why are all your summons so adorable?"
Arthur smirked faintly, amused by her reaction. "Not all of them," he muttered, thinking of the Goblin King and Sunless.
'Sylvaris is kind of cute though,' He thought to himself.
He crouched down next to Lupin, patting the wolf's head briefly before turning to Jasmine. "This is Lupin," he said. "Lupin, this is Jasmine."
Lupin tilted his head slightly, his intelligent eyes studying the girl before nodding once in acknowledgement.
Arthur straightened, addressing Jasmine. "I want you to level up and get stronger. Lupin will help you with that. He'll protect you and make sure you don't get yourself killed out there."
Jasmine's jaw dropped. "Wait, you're letting me keep him?"
"No," Arthur replied flatly. "He's not yours. I'm lending him to you. Once you've reached level 10, I'm taking him back."
Her excitement didn't waver. She clapped her hands together, practically bouncing on her heels. "Yay! Thank you, Fateless! This is amazing!"
Arthur shook his head, a faint smile tugging at his lips despite himself. "Just don't get him hurt," he said.
Even though he said that Arthur didn't believe that anyone could hurt Lupin in the area where he was going to help Jasmine level up.
Arthur crossed his arms as Jasmine hugged Lupin tightly, her face lighting up with joy.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of him!" she declared with such enthusiasm that even Lupin's usually stoic demeanor cracked.
Lupin gave Arthur a sideways glance that clearly said.
Really? This is the person you're entrusting me to?
Arthur smirked faintly, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Alright, Jasmine, listen up. Do you have any skills that can deal damage?"
Jasmine blinked, tilting her head as if the question caught her off guard. Then she frowned, crossing her arms defensively.
"I don't," she muttered. "Heck, I don't even have money to eat! How do you expect me to have a skill to deal damage?"
Arthur nodded thoughtfully, ignoring the dramatic exaggeration in her tone. "Alright," he said, rummaging through his inventory.
"Here, take this." He pulled out a rare bow.
But he didn't stop there.
He continued, pulling out a matching set of rare equipment—a helmet, boots, and chest armor—all with the same distinctive blue aura of rarity.
Jasmine's jaw dropped. She stared at the equipment as if they were treasures straight out of legend. "Y-You're giving me all of this?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, disbelief written all over her face.
Arthur arched an eyebrow. "When did you become so dramatic?" he said dryly, but before he could hand her the items, she muttered under her breath, "When did you become so generous?"
Arthur froze mid-motion, the corner of his mouth twitching. "Excuse me?" he said, his tone flat and entirely unimpressed. "You know what? Forget it. I'm taking these back." He made a show of pulling the equipment back toward his inventory as if reconsidering his decision entirely.
"Wait, no, no!" Jasmine's hands shot out in a panic, waving frantically. "I was just kidding, I swear! Don't be so petty!"
Arthur narrowed his eyes, clearly not convinced. He let her squirm for a few seconds before smirking. "Fine. But keep that attitude in check, or I will take them back."
Jasmine breathed a sigh of relief, holding her hands up in surrender. But as Arthur handed her the equipment, she muttered softly, barely audible, "He's not stingy anymore… i wonder why he changed so much."
Arthur's enhanced senses picked up every word. His eyebrow twitched. "You know I can hear you, right?" he said, his voice carrying a slight edge.
Jasmine froze, her face paling. "Ahahaha, I was just saying you're so generous, Fateless!" she stammered, plastering on an innocent smile.
Arthur stared at her for a moment longer, then sighed, clearly giving up on the matter. "Whatever," he muttered. "Just take the gear and don't get yourself killed."
"Thank you!" she chirped, immediately grabbing the armor with an enthusiasm that made her look like a child on her birthday. She ran her hands over the smooth, glowing surfaces of the gear, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "You're the best, Fateless! My dad will reward you so much for this, you'll be swimming in gold coins!"
Arthur rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "Yeah, yeah. Just don't get too comfortable." He ignored her wild promises, knowing full well she had no way of backing them up.
After a moment, he pulled out one more item—a rare skill book he'd taken from the knight's vault as well as the other items. Its cover shimmered faintly, the title etched in glowing letters.
"Here," he said, handing it over. "It's a skillbook for archery. You'll need it if you're going to use that bow effectively."
Jasmine took the book with trembling hands, her eyes wide. She read the glowing title out loud.