Assimilate All Talents

Underneath the shade of a simple wooden shed with no walls, Sol was impatiently tapping his finger against the wooden support beam. He looked at the man chewing on a long piece of straw and pointed at the horses behind him.

"So none of these are for sale?"

"Afraid so." the man replied with a helpless smile. "Like I said, some rich looking fella came by and bought them all. The only ones left are breeding mares and foals, and I can't sell either of them."

Sol sighed, shaking his head. After parting with Gilbert and completing his escort quest, he and Amber were facing the first hurdle any traveler must overcome when covering long distances: transportation.

He expected something like this, but not to this degree. Not a single horse was available. Though it had only been two days since the vampire attack, many had acted quickly, preparing for their own plans. This caused the supply and demand of many goods and services to spiral out of balance. Horses were quickly bought up, the demand for skilled workers rose and even the price of basic materials like wood that were usually plentiful spiked.

This wasn't the first horse breeder Sol and Amber had visited since arriving at Redwood. It was the third, and also the last. The others had no horses for sale either, all telling a similar story.

Sol glanced at the horses once more, sad that he couldn't purchase any of them, and thought to himself, 'We can't take it slow and walk the entire way to the Sapphire Scale Alliance. The longer we take, the harder it will be to find them…'

Robbing a horse was out of the question, so he began brainstorming other solutions. Without horses, their only option was to travel on foot.

While they were both strong and capable of running long distances at impressive speeds, it wasn't ideal. Tiring themselves out by running through the wilderness would make them vulnerable to attacks from monsters or hostile people. To stay in peak condition, they needed a better method of travel.

The safest and most efficient option was still a horse drawn carriage.

After all, these weren't ordinary level 1 horses. These horses were specially raised, trained, and leveled to at least 25, with plenty of skills in running and endurance. Though they didn't quite match the other transportation animals like the C-Rank hornsteeds, they could run for nearly two days without stopping while consuming far less food. Despite being less expensive than hornsteeds, they were still costly—though that hadn't stopped certain wealthy individuals from buying them all up.

Seeing Sol's plight, the man scratched his chin, seemingly trying to help. "You and the lass are adventurers, right? Have you checked the guild? Maybe there's an escort quest heading where you need to go."

Sol shook his head. "There isn't any. Already checked. The only escort quests are heading toward the capital."

"Then I'm afraid you're simply outta luck. You're gonna have to wait until things settle down."

Waiting wasn't an option. Sol began calculating the distance to the next town or village. The closest one was three days away. He could only hope they'd have better luck there. As he was about to leave, he noticed a small, roofless carriage near the breeding mares and got an idea.

"Say… how much for that carriage?"

...

Ten minutes later, Sol and Amber were on the outskirts of town with the old carriage they'd bought for 30 silver.

Inspecting the carriage, Sol commented aloud, "The front wheel is cracked, but that's nothing that can't be fixed. I'll repair it and make it stronger than before."

With a wave of his hand, clumps of stone rose from the ground and transformed into various tools. They fell gently into his hands, and he got to work.

Amber watched as Sol's hands blurred with speed, repairing the carriage with remarkable precision. Each motion was fluid, deliberate, and backed by the skills he'd combined and refined. The tools in his hands glimmered faintly as he used one of his newly combined skills [Precise Touch], greatly enhancing his precision and efficiency.

First, Sol addressed the cracked front wheel. Using [Rapid Mend], he removed the wheel from the carriage and applied a special glue he'd purchased in town, seamlessly filling the small cracks and reinforcing the structure. Though the process didn't involve any magic, his speed and technique could easily be mistaken for it.

"Not bad." Sol muttered as he finished repairing the wheel and placed it back. His focus then shifted to the bent axles.

Amber crouched near the carriage, silently observing as Sol worked.

"This is surprisingly a lot of fun." he commented, his tone lighter. "I can see why Fabio always got excited working on projects. It feels good to make something with your own hands."

"Like cooking?" Amber asked, relating it to her own personal experience cooking.

"Yeah, exactly like that," Sol replied, nodding.

Next, Sol examined the carriage frame. Some joints were loose, and the wood had warped slightly over time. Using [Precise Touch] and the experience he siphoned from others to level [Intermediate Craftsman], he carefully removed the nails, reshaped the wood with a stone hammer and knife, and secured everything back in place. Each strike of the hammer drove nails with pinpoint accuracy.

Moving to the underside of the carriage, he found cracks similar to those on the wheel, likely from transporting heavy loads. He sealed them with glue, as before. Then, an idea struck him.

Muttering his thoughts aloud, he said, "There's a lot of empty space here… maybe I could fit one or two... Don't know if it can handle it, though."

Setting the hammer down, he took the stone knife and began carving runes into the freshly repaired underside of the carriage.

Amber tilted her head, confused as to why he was undoing his own work, but she remained quiet. As Sol continued carving, what initially seemed like random scribbles transformed into a cohesive pattern of runes.

It didn't take long for him to finish. Once done, he flipped the carriage upright and proudly activated [Analysis] to view the results.

[Enhanced Carriage
Rare

Durability: 280/280

Skills:
[Smooth Ride] Lv 4, [Durable] Lv 3]

"I really outdid myself this time." Sol said, grinning. "Can't believe it became a rare item."

The carriage was now a masterpiece of durability and practicality. Such a transformation was normally impossible for a simple wooden structure, but his repairs and rune enhancements had elevated it beyond its limits. While there was space to add another rune he ultimately decided against it, knowing that overloading ordinary materials with runes would cause them to fail. The outcome of such an event was unpredictable with the carriage crumbling to dust at best or at worst causing a violent explosion with the runes going completely haywire.

Amber, however, pointed out the real issue. "What will pull it?"

"Glad you asked. Hop on." Sol gestured for her to climb into the carriage.

She nodded and complied as Sol followed behind her.

"Since we don't have a horse, let's make our own!" he declared.

Channeling mana in front of the carriage, shadows rose from the ground, forming the shape of a horse. The shadowy steed came with a harness of darkness that attached itself to the carriage. Once fully formed, it let out a deep, resounding neigh and stomped its front hoof.

Sol hummed in satisfaction and explained, "It costs a bit of mana to maintain, but at its size and strength, it's manageable. Plus, we don't need to feed it."

The shadow horse wasn't just a convenient replacement like he explained, it was also a terrifying creature. Though it had no status page, it could be compared to a level 60 creature, something that could easily overpower most C-Rank opponents and even give B-Rankers a run for their money.

Grabbing the shadowy reins that materialized out of thin air, Sol grinned. "Now then, to Brestfol!"