Overgeared Chapter 13:
Chapter 13
I only had 3 gold and 11 silver . I had to make items and sell them to people in order to earn enough to use the carriage . Once I saved up enough money, I could buy some blue orichalcum ore and make Failure . However, saving money was as hard as plucking the stars from the night skies .
Eh?
The moment I set foot in the smithy,
[The effect of mastering Blacksmiths Craftsmanship Skill is activated . Blacksmith NPCs with craftsmanship skill beyond the intermediate level will treat you in a friendly manner .
[Pagmas Descendant class effect is activated . Blacksmith NPCs with advanced level craftsmanship skills will recognize and worship you . ]
This was a hidden feature? It meant I could readily obtain the desired production methods from blacksmiths .
Wow .
The Pagmas Descendant class, the most I experienced it, the more I liked it . At first, I disliked it because it was a production class . However, it truly was a legendary class . I joyfully entered the smithy and found a blacksmith sweating in front of a hearth .
“I want to make and sell the most profitable item with the greatest demand . What is that item? Please give me a recommendation .
I smiled brightly .
I am Pagmas Descendant, someone who has mastered the Blacksmiths Craftsmanship Skill . Feel appreciation towards me, worship me, and hand over the appropriate crafting method!
But the next development went against my expectations . Instead of the worshipping, the blacksmith gazed at me with cold eyes .
“Bah, a kid wants to talk about this subject . I dont want to talk to a rude and incompetent person like you, so get out .
……?
This was an ordinary NPCs attitude towards level 1 users .
He didnt recognize me?
An intermediate or advanced blacksmith would instantly recognize me, but the blacksmith here didnt know me . It meant that he was a low level blacksmith who hadnt even reached the intermediate level .
Ah, you . I met a lousy person .
I wanted to go to another blacksmith, but this was the only smithy in the village . I expected this to be easy due to the notification window, but it was in vain .
I forgot how unlucky I was . Dammit .
It couldnt be helped . I hurriedly changed my attitude and respectfully spoke to the blacksmith, “You were so passionate about your work that I was afraid to disturb your concentration . Therefore, I wanted to quickly get to the point . Did I sound rude? If so, please forgive me .
“Huh, I see . You have learned strange manners .
The blacksmith looked at me with interest . I stood as politely as possible, like a man engaged in a service job .
I am Grid . I would like to learn how to make items . ”
The blacksmith snorted . “Bah, do you think anyone can learn how to make items? A child like you should start from firewood . No, not even . If you sincerely want to learn how to make items from me, you should go to the backyard and obtain firewood . You should be thankful that I am letting you do this .
“…How expected from a lowly blacksmith .
Huh? Did you say something just now?
No?
I was the one feeling regret now . The only person I could depend on in this village was a lowly blacksmith . If I was kicked out from here without learning how to make items, I would have to save money while doing restaurant chores or working in the fields until I gathered enough for the carriage .
“I’ll chop the firewood . How much do I need?
The blacksmith gave me an old axe and said, “As much as you can .
[Chop Firewood]
Difficulty: E
Blacksmith Smith has given you an errand to chop firewood . If you can finish this task well, Smith will look upon you in a more favorable light .
Quest Clear Conditions: 500 pieces of firewood .
Quest Reward: Affinity with Smith +10, experience +10, 20 bronze .
Quest Failure: Affinity with Smith -10 .
‘Wow, its a normal quest window this time .
After starting Ashurs quest, I only received S-grade or SS-grade quests, so receiving a normal quest felt like my mind was cleansed .
‘I need 20 experience until my next level up… If I complete this quest, my experience bar will fill up by half .
There was no change in the amount of experience needed to level up from -3 or -1 . The amount of experience needed for minus levels seemed to be 20 points . In other words, at the minus level, I could raise my level just by doing these miscellaneous quests .
First of all, I need to escape from the minus level .
I thought positive thoughts and headed to the backyard with the axe . After checking the trees piled up on one side, I looked at the axe in my hand . It was an old axe . Could this old axe be used to chop firewood?
‘Rather, Im worried that the axe will be shattered upon hitting the tree… He might be angry if I break his axe, so I have to be careful…
I decided to use the Legendary Blacksmiths Appraisal skill on the old axe .
Appraisal .
[The blacksmith who becomes a legend that appraises items with an excellent discerning eye . If a hidden feature exists in the target item, it will be found . ]
[Smiths Old Axe]
Rating: Normal
Durability: 6/6 Attack Power: 4~7
An axe that the blacksmith Smith has used since he was young . It was well made and is very old, but still cuts well . The durability is weak so there is a danger that it will be destroyed .
Weight: 40
[No hidden functions exist . ]
It was an ordinary axe, save for the fact that it was very old . I felt relief, rather than disappointment, that the item didnt have a hidden function . I had gone through so many incidents lately that I missed ordinary things .
[You have grasped the materials that make up Smiths Old Axe, the production method, and the intentions of its creator . ]
[Your understanding of Smiths Old Axe is now at 100% . You can use Smiths Old Axe perfectly . ]
[You have learned how to make an axe . ]
Thanks to his passive skill, he perfectly understood the item and new notification windows popped up .
“I got 100% understanding straight away .
It seemed that items with low ratings could reach the maximum understanding just by using Appraisal on them . Indeed, it would be funny if a legendary blacksmith looked at a normal axe and couldnt understand its production method .
“There are no conditions of use, so I dont think an increased understanding is useful . The advantage is that the axe production method is gained .
A penalty would occur if I equipped an item that I didnt meet the conditions of . The understanding of an item was just a skill that played a role in reducing the penalty . Smiths Old Axe was an item that didnt have a usage penalty, so there were no advantages to the 100% understanding, except for the addition of the production method .
I didnt feel much inspiration, but I placed the axe to one side and set up a log . I thought about spitting into my hands and rubbing them together, like the old man in historical dramas .
There is no need for physical power when chopping firewood . I just need to go along the grain .
It was knowledge I picked up from somewhere, but I didnt know exactly what it meant by following the grain . It was simply knowledge that couldnt be applied . However, there was no need to worry . Couldnt I just cut the piece of wood like I would cut a monster with my greatsword?
It is like using swordsmanship on a tree .
I picked up the axe I had put aside . The moment I was about to chop the log… A solid black line was drawn near the center of the log .
What is this?
Strange . I watched it for a moment before putting the axe down, watching the black line disappear like it was a lie . I picked up the axe again . The black line soon reappeared . It felt like the axe was telling me to hit the black line .
This is the effect of 100% understanding .
It was a possible interpretation, but I couldnt be sure . I avoided the black line and hit the middle of the log with the axe .
Beeok!
Although I struck down with all my might, the axe failed and stopped halfway through the log . Chopping it in one go had failed . A notification window popped up stating that the durability of the axe had decreased by one .
“T-This humiliation…
I couldnt even chop firewood… I was useless here as well! I felt frustrated as I barely managed to pull out the axe stuck in the log . Then I threw the half split piece of wood to the side and picked up a new log .
This time…
I gazed at the black line and swung the axe .
Ttaak!
The moment the axe touched the solid line, a light sound was made and an exhilarating feeling could be felt . The log was split in half without any resistance .
Ohh!!
I was forced to admire the effect of understanding the item, finally realizing the importance of understanding .
This is what it meant by handling the item perfectly . The benefit of increasing item understanding isnt just reducing the penalties or learning how to make the item .
There was an expression about treating items as another limb . If I raised a swords understanding to 100%, I could use that sword like it was my own limb . Item understanding could be thought to have the same type of concept as Weapons Mastery .
If I raise the understanding of items I created to 100%…
Invincible! I had played the game for over a year, but now there was the possibility of entering the rankings!
“Okay, earn money quickly and pay off my debt! Then I will become a ranker with the power of items!
Once I became a ranker, I would receive a staggering amount of requests from various media . I could become a rich person just from the TV performance fees . It came with bonus popularity and fame . No one could ignore me anymore and I would be able to gain the heart of my first love, Ahyoung!
My motivation shot upwards!
Haaaah!! Hat! Hat! Hap!
Ttaak! Ttaak! Ttaak! Ttadadak~!
I didnt rest as I chopped firewood for two hours . I couldnt stop because the feeling of success was so thrilling . But the pleasure only lasted for a while . As my level was -3, my poor stamina quickly ran out my sense of hunger came quickly after .
I started getting tired at around the 150th piece of firewood, my breathing became arduous and pained .
Should I take a break and rest?
No, I wouldnt .
The three months I spent on Ashurs quest was exceptionally painful and difficult, but I pressed on without giving up . I had experienced such a thing, so I couldnt take a break while chopping firewood . This exhaustion was nothing compared to everything I experienced before .
This isnt hard work . Dont rest . Finish quickly and proceed to the next quest . I will level up and make money .
I grit my teeth and kept on chopping the firewood .
OG:
Current schedule: Two chapters every day .