TRLGHB12🔐

Chapter 12

Shyaaak—

When Jinwoo drew his shining longsword, the swordsmanship instructor’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“That sword…”

Then, as if entranced, he approached Jinwoo.

Since it was the first time anyone had seen a sword of that quality in the Beginner’s Village, the other users wore puzzled expressions.

“It’s sparkling.”

“Did you buy it from the blacksmith?”

“No, he said he made it himself.”

“Are you crazy? You made that yourself? This is Ryuten, you know? The Beginner’s Village.”

People started commenting one by one.

If this wasn’t Ryuten, such equipment wouldn’t be surprising.

But the problem was this was the Beginner’s Village where only up to level 10 was allowed.

“That’s impossible.”

“Are you maxed out at level 10?”

“No, even so, that just can’t be.”

There were players here raising alternate characters too.

So they knew very well how low level 10 really was, and they understood clearly what was and wasn’t possible at that level.

Just by looking at it, that sword was not something that should exist in Ryuten.

And the one who felt this most strongly was the swordsmanship instructor.

“You… you made it yourself?”

“It’s lacking, but yes, I made it myself.”

“Where did you make it?”

“At Lord Rodrum’s blacksmith.”

“Rodrum?”

As soon as the swordsmanship instructor and others heard the name Rodrum, their faces twisted.

Rodrum was the notorious troublemaker personality famous in Ryuten.

Of course, it was the players who gave him that nickname, but even the NPCs knew how bad Rodrum’s temper was.

“So that explains it. If you’re a foreigner recognized by Rodrum, then you’d be able to make a sword like this!”

The instructor’s face lit up and, without thinking, he reached out his hand.

“Oh, sorry.”

“No, you can try holding it.”

Jinwoo smiled slightly.

“But you want to hold it because…”

“It’s an excellent sword! The finest I’ve ever seen!”

The swordsmanship instructor had seen many swords, but even among them, Jinwoo’s sword was outstanding.

“I want to try swinging it.”

Since you couldn’t tell everything just by looking, the instructor grabbed the sword and swung it.

Shwaek!

“As expected.”

The instructor smiled widely without realizing it.

The other users watching were surprised too.

They had never seen the instructor laugh before, so it was natural to be shocked at seeing that smile.

“Excellent, excellent.”

Jinwoo smiled faintly at the praise.

“Oh, of course, it’s a shared first place.”

“Shared?”

The instructor came back to his senses for a moment.

Although Jinwoo’s sword was impressive, it wasn’t the only sword of its kind.

There was another foreigner like Jinwoo back when many foreigners flooded in.

That time was also quite good. Among many uncut gems, that foreigner already shone like a bright jewel.

The instructor had experienced many foreigners.

Among them, one was overwhelmingly impressive.

“But looking now, yours is even more special. That foreigner’s sword was excellent, but yours has something extra.”

Jinwoo’s equipment was as impressive as that foreigner’s back then.

But there was a difference.

If you had to rank them…

“Yours is better.”

“That’s enough.”

Jinwoo didn’t listen further.

“Just having a rival is enough.”

Then he smiled.

‘Interesting.’

What he regretted most about Eternal Sunshine was that there was no craftsman as skilled as himself.

Everyone had given up competing early and deified Jinwoo, which was boring.

‘They thought from the start that no one could surpass me.’

Of course, crafting was fun.

But it could be more fun.

‘Here, I’m the challenger.’

The time that passed with them was one year.

Though it was called one year, in-game time was much longer.

‘The more time passes, the stronger the motivation to grow.’

Even if Jinwoo followed them for a year, as soon as he caught up, they would run farther ahead.

Jinwoo actually preferred it that way.

‘As the swordsmanship instructor said, skilled people are everywhere.’

“Thank you for the appraisal.”

That was enough.

Jinwoo could roughly gauge the quality of the sword he made.

After leaving the swordsmanship training hall, Jinwoo immediately looked for other blacksmiths in Ryuten.

He had already confirmed the sword quality at the swordsmanship school.

‘Looks like the forging technique Rodrum can teach is very basic.’

Although the instructors at the swordsmanship school all seemed to teach the same swordsmanship, each was slightly different.

‘You can freely choose.’

You could skip learning it entirely, or if you learned it, even the same swordsmanship could differ slightly, leading to learning a different technique.

And this applied to crafting too.

‘Rodrum teaches the technique to melt materials.’

“Welcome.”

A relatively gentle-looking blacksmith greeted Jinwoo.

Because of that, many users were there.

Unlike the rumors about Haram being kicked out, all users here were learning from a quite kind blacksmith.

‘Why did Haram visit Rodrum’s blacksmith? If he wanted to learn forging, he didn’t have to go to Rodrum.’

Jinwoo just entered the nearest blacksmith, but Haram didn’t have to go specifically to Rodrum’s.

‘He seemed to have quite a bit of knowledge. Maybe there was something only Rodrum could give.’

That was probably true.

‘Once you gain Rodrum’s recognition, you really get various support from him.’

Even the sparkling stones were very good materials.

“May I use the blacksmith’s workshop?”

“Of course, but you must prove your skill.”

He said that and told Jinwoo to show his skill.

‘As expected.’

Rodrum’s blacksmith had no materials left.

Because Jinwoo used them all.

“Can I use as many materials as I want?”

“Of course.”

They knew he wouldn’t use much anyway.

Jinwoo smiled slyly at the blacksmith.

“Thank you.”

Truly grateful.

The apprentice of the blacksmith Jinwoo visited hurried into the workshop.

“Th-the foreigner who just entered — master, he says he went to Lord Rodrum’s blacksmith!”

“Rodrum? Hmm. Then he must have been turned away. Poor guy. Crafting is already tough enough; they should be kind.”

“No, that’s…”

The apprentice spoke with urgency.

“Rodrum recognized him.”

“Rodrum recognized him?”

“And my friend says…”

The apprentice continued.

“He said there are no materials in Rodrum’s blacksmith now because they’re all used up.”

“Used up?”

“The foreigner used them all.”

“Wait a moment.”

Clang!

Before the blacksmith could stop him, Jinwoo began hammering.

Among the noisy workshop filled with many foreigners, the clear sound of hammering was added.

Clang! Clang!

Among many hammering sounds, Jinwoo’s was the only steady one.

As the sound continued, even the users hammering alongside looked at Jinwoo.

Clang.

Even though it was the same hammering, something was different.

It was hard to explain with words, but users couldn’t help but be drawn to Jinwoo’s hammering, different from their own.

“How do you strike like that?”

Strength, focus, and sense.

At this level, no one could imitate Jinwoo’s hammering.

Even if they wanted to, they couldn’t hammer like that.

“Huh.”

The blacksmith finally understood why Rodrum gave out all his materials.

“He must have wanted to watch.”

He wanted to keep watching the forging Jinwoo did.

Once your gaze is captured by that sparkling talent, there’s no turning away.

After the hammering, Jinwoo quickly proceeded to the forging process and made a sword.

Using ordinary materials, the extraordinary result made the blacksmith nod unconsciously.

“What do you need?”

“I’d like some materials.”

“Materials? Rodrum must have some hidden ones.”

Jinwoo pulled out his shining longsword.

“I’ve already used them.”

“Huh.”

The sparkling stones weren’t materials suitable for beginner foreigners.

Yet he not only used them but also made such equipment?

When the shining longsword appeared, everyone’s gaze focused again.

“Crazy. What is that?”

“You made it yourself?”

“Wow. Who is that guy?”

“Whose alt is he?”

One-third of the users in this blacksmith were alternate characters.

So if someone had such skill, they naturally assumed he must be an alt.

“The materials I can give you aren’t as good as Rodrum’s, but since you showed something good, I should reward you.”

Ding!

• The blacksmith’s owner, Wund’s affinity greatly increased!

• Due to affinity increase, a quest has been received!

• Quest cleared!

• Rewards received.

“Here you go.”

It was ore darker in color than iron.

• Obtained Black Steel Ore!

• [Black Steel Ore] [Grade: C]
  Description: A beautifully shining black steel ore. Very hard.

“Black steel ore. The grade is low, but it’s something you can’t get here. It’s hard to work with.”

Like the sparkling stones, it was not a material beginners could handle.

“But you’ll be fine. Though it’s less than the sparkling stones.”

“It’s okay, thank you!”

‘This is good.’

He had come to visit the various blacksmiths to find out their characteristics and what he could learn.

‘They all teach similar things, but each gives different materials?’

Of course, like the swordsmanship school, there were slight differences in what was taught, but it wasn’t important to Jinwoo.

He had already mastered everything on his own at Rodrum’s blacksmith.

But it wasn’t without result.

• Beginner forging technique enhanced.

“Huh.”

By going around blacksmiths and defeating each, Jinwoo was able to learn different forging techniques.

After gaining recognition from Rodrum, Wund, and others, his forging technique was enhanced.

“There’s nothing more to teach me!”

When he heard that from all the blacksmiths,

• Achievement unlocked!

• A very few have achieved this!

• Max affinity reached with all blacksmith owners in Beginner’s Village, Ryuten!

• Achievement [Idol of the Artisans] obtained!

• Quest received!

“Idol of the Artisans…”

• [Idol of the Artisans]
  Increases probability of gaining Dexterity stat points.

The achievement [Idol of the Artisans], attained by only a very few, was quite an interesting one.

“Increases the chance to get Dexterity stats?”

The chance of gaining stats wasn’t even quantified or disclosed.

“Increasing the chance isn’t bad at all.”

Besides, the name ‘Idol of the Artisans’ was quite amusing.

“A quest?”

Jinwoo checked the quest he had received.

“Looks like my master is in Synth Village. If I say Wund sent me, he’ll know.”

Ding!

Wund’s Master
Grade: B
Description: Wund has no more techniques to teach you! Find his master and continue learning forging!
Rewards: Rare materials and more.

The next goal had appeared.

“Hmm, seems like my forging journey just started.”