Jin came back to their shared inn room with an exhausted sigh. Lileen had kept him down in the lobby all day, slaving away over symbols and words. He managed to keep a pace, but he knew he was long from done since he had to start writing them too.
"Sup', kid." Marim says as she comes out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her neck. Her body was only clad in black garments. Jin feels his face flush, so he spins around.
"S-Sorry, I didn't know you were changing in here." Jin says as he reaches out for the door.
"Huh, thought you'd be too young for this, guess boys start early, right?" Martin grins as she comes up and wraps her arm over his shoulder, leaning over him with a hand ruffling his hair.
"O-Of course, I've been bathing myself since I turned 6." Jin says, misunderstanding what was said. Marim chuckles and lets him go.
"Don't leave now. I got some good news for you." Marim says as she grabs her tank top and slips it on, leaving her half-clothed. Then she reaches out and pulls a scabbard from beside her bed. She toss it at Jin, who catches it but tumbles back onto his butt.
"Wh-What?!" Jin says half in shock and half in excitement. He looks at the leather scabbard in front of him with a gasping expression.
"You gonna stare at the sheath or will you take it out?" Marim complains as she watches him feel along the scabbard. The sword was just shy of his height, making it difficult to manipulate, but he manages to unsheath the sword with a sharp shing!
"Woah! A… A real sword!" Jin says with a smile. He holds the sword up high but the weight starts to carry over him, pulling him back. Marim grabs the sword by the tip, holding it in place.
"Relax there, kid." Marim says in a shockingly gentle tone. Her vulgar words seemed to fade away for only a moment of time. "Starting tomorrow, you're gonna start training with me and this sword."
Jin's eyes light up at the opportunity to become a real adventurer. Imagining an older version of himself wielding a sword with expert proficiency. He grins widely but quickly stops to think for a second.
"Wait.. Aren't you a ranger? How am I going to train with you? You don't know how to use a sword." Jin says with a frown. Marim scoffs then lets go of the sword, the blade tipping back and Jin collapses with it.
"I can teach you the basics at least, you brat! I used to be a swordswoman before I became a ranger." Marim states with crossed arms and a firm expression. Jin rubs the back of his head with a groan but looks up at her with a smile.
"Good enough for me. I don't know how to use a sword at all. Soon, I'll be able to be an adventurer in no time!" Jin says as he stands up and stuffs the sword back into the scabbard then drags it along the wooden floor.
"G-Good enough?! I'm only good enough for the brat!" Marim says with rage as she tosses her arms up in frustration.
###
The following morning when Lileen hears about Jin's training with a sword, she protests. Marim and Lileen come to an agreement to train him back and forth every day.
Jin then heads out with Marim to the nearby forest. This town was a few days from Uyera Village, so the forest here was not familiar to Jin. It left him slightly scared. Marim guides him to an open clearing where they begin training.
"First things first, strength. I want you to do as many pushups as you can manage." Marim says with a grin and a pointed finger at the ground. Jin complies and starts to do pushups, only managing to give three before his trembling arms give out.
"That's not gonna cut it for the adventurer's test. You won't even be able to kill a child slime with that strength. Well, maybe if you drop the sword on it." Marim complains with a hearty grin across her face. Jin and Marim go through a small training routine and by the time the sun had reached late in the sky, Marim had to carry Jin on top of her shoulder.
"Wh-What happened?" Lileen says with a shocked expression. She takes Jin from Marim and lays him on the bed.
"The dumbass couldn't hold the sword properly and dropped it on top of his own head; knocked himself out cold." Marim says with a grin as she recalls the sight while chuckling. Lileen's jaw drops and she looks down at Jin's spiraling eyes.
"T-Tomorrow, he should rest and work with me on writing. Especially after hurting himself this much!" Lileen says worriedly as she places a slender hand on his forehead and then checks his pulse.
"What? But how is he going to get stronger if he doesn't train every day?!" Marim complains with a furrowed brow. She places her hands on her hips as they borderline argue over the matter.
The next morning, Jin was sentenced to a day of writing symbol after symbol and practicing them with Lileen. Marim went out to blow off steam on unsuspecting slime.
Over the course of a month, Jin learned just enough to satisfy Lileen and could finally hold the sword without hitting himself much to Marim's boredom. His small frame had started to transform into a more average looking child. He no longer was thinned down to his showing ribs. And his body was gaining some weight along with lost height.
One day, Marim burst into their shared inn room with a grin. Lileen and Jin were studying the final few symbols that she thought he might see on the test. When Marim's boot kicked the door open, Jin jumped with a yelp and Lileen turned to look at Marim, having grown used to her demeanor.
"Guess what?" Marim says as she walks over and slams some parchment down on the table. Lileen snatched the parchment from under Marim's hand. She grinned at the two of them as Lileen looked the parchment over.
"What is it? Is it my adventurer's test? Did I pass?!" Jin asked with growing interest. Marim pulled back and knocked him against the back of the head.
"You haven't taken the test yet, you dumbass! How would they have passed you?" Marim grunts out as she grabs Jin, pinning him in a headlock and ruffling his brown curls as he struggled to break free.
"A low ranked hunt quest? What about it? It's just culling some local slime populations." Lileen questioned as she lowered the parchment to the sight of Marim's foot against the table and Jin struggling in her arm.
"Well obviously our little adventurer here needs to prove himself, right? So how about we take this quest and let him come along to see how he does?" Marim says as she finally releases Jin, who pants heavily as he rubs his sore neck.
"I see. That's a good idea, some practical experience can be very beneficial." Lileen contemplates aloud while touching her chin. Marim grabs Jin by the hair and pulls him in against her modest chest.
"Hear that, brat? You're huntin' slimes tomorrow!" Marim says with a fiery grin of excitement.