Chapter 4

Receiving a Special Quest

1

“Aah! Is it already this late?”

In Arpedea Online, time flows at a ratio of 1:3 compared to the real world.

Since Yuhan spent the entire night in the capsule, it had been a day and a half in the game.

“Damn! Why is it so hard to become a blacksmith? The guide didn’t say it was this difficult…”

Yuhan grumbled as he stepped out of the capsule. He was hungry.

Looking at the time, it was 5:30 AM.

Fortunately, it was Sunday, so he didn’t have to go to the academy.

Yuhan took bread and milk from the refrigerator, ate them, and returned to his room.

‘Is my compatibility too bad? Should I change my character?’

He thought about creating a new character with better compatibility with the blacksmith NPC.

However, he felt it was a waste to abandon all the hard work he had done.

Moreover, his stats hadn’t improved despite his efforts.

Additionally, he had developed a sense of determination. He didn’t want to give up just because it was difficult.

Yuhan’s stubbornness kicked in.

He gritted his teeth, determined to see how far the blacksmith NPC would push him.

Reconnecting to the game, Yuhan resumed his work as an apprentice in the forge.

Typically, apprentices start by carrying tools, bringing materials and fuel to the forge.

Gradually, they learn more advanced tasks and acquire skills one by one.

Yuhan did some menial tasks before being called by the blacksmith NPC.

“You seem to have gotten used to things. Now, I’ll teach you some work. The first thing you’ll learn is how to smelt ore.”

The blacksmith NPC demonstrated by filling an empty furnace with charcoal and then adding ore.

He then added firewood and lit it, and soon molten metal began to flow from the furnace.

“Smelting is a fundamental and crucial skill for a blacksmith. I’ll give you a task, so make sure you learn it well.”

As the blacksmith finished speaking, a quest window appeared with a sound effect in front of Yuhan.

Ore and fuel could be freely taken from the forge.

Yuhan followed the blacksmith NPC’s demonstration, adding ore to the furnace and lighting the fire. After a while, molten metal began to flow from the furnace’s opening, and Yuhan poured it into a mold to create an ingot.

“Wow, this is pretty easy.”

He thought this until he had to make 10 ingots.

However, making iron ingots was not as easy. No matter how much he stoked the fire, no molten metal came out of the furnace.

“Kid, do you think the iron ore will melt just by burning wood?”

Seeing Yuhan continuously adding firewood, the blacksmith shook his head in disappointment.

“Then what should I do? The temperature isn’t rising at all.”

“What a fool! Do you think the bellows are just for decoration?”

The blacksmith pointed to the bellows next to the furnace.

He grabbed the handle of the bellows and pushed and pulled it, causing the flames in the furnace to roar.

“The wind intensifies the fire. Don’t just stand there; you need to create the wind yourself!”

‘Right! Oxygen supply!’

To intensify the fire, a large amount of oxygen is needed.

Yuhan pushed and pulled the handle of the bellows, continuously blowing air into the furnace.

However, this task was not easy.

It was tedious and tiring, and he had to keep moving his body without rest next to the furnace.

He was drenched in sweat.

“Grr! Let’s see who wins!”

Yuhan clenched his teeth and continued to work the bellows.

After some time, red-hot molten metal began to flow from the furnace’s opening. Yuhan quickly poured it into a mold.

After making 10 iron ingots, a notification window appeared.

-You have gained resistance to fire.

-You can better withstand physical attacks or magic with a fire attribute.

Yuhan was familiar with the fire attribute.

In the past, during the Bartz era, his attribute was fire. Overcoming the fire breath and defeating the Red Dragon, as well as wielding the Flame Sword, were all due to this attribute.

“Phew, finally mastered it.”

After several hours of effort, he managed to learn the smelting skill at rank 9.

Typically, apprentices and lower-level blacksmiths have smelting skills at ranks 9 to 7, intermediate blacksmiths at ranks 6 to 4, and advanced blacksmiths at ranks 3 to 1.

The higher the rank, the more training experience is required to advance to the next rank.

The higher the smelting rank, the more high-quality and larger quantities of metal can be obtained from the same amount of ore.

Therefore, players who play as blacksmiths must learn the smelting skill to a certain level.

‘Wait, why is this so different?’

To advance from rank 9 to rank 8, more training experience is required than when initially learning the skill.

According to the strategy site, making 200 copper ingots and 100 iron ingots would advance the skill to rank 8.

However, the number of items listed in Yuhan’s skill training was 300 copper ingots and 150 iron ingots.

It was 1.5 times more than what was listed on the strategy site.

“Is this a bug? Or a new patch?”

Yuhan paused the game and checked the official website and strategy sites on his computer.

If it was a bug, he planned to report it and ask for a fix.

However, he saw this message:

The amount of training experience required can vary depending on the compatibility between the profession and the character. The better the compatibility, the less training experience is required, and the worse the compatibility, the more training experience is needed.

Yuhan remembered that his compatibility with the blacksmith profession was poor.

He had thought it would just be a lot of menial work, but there was this hidden obstacle!

“Gah! Are they joking?”

This meant that every time he advanced in rank, he would need more training experience than others. While others would need to make 1,000 iron ingots, Yuhan would need to make 1,500.

While it was 1.5 times more, the difference would become significant as the rank increased.

“Man, what should I do… Should I just delete my character?”

In the long run, that would be the right choice. However, he developed a sense of determination.

During the Bartz era, he never avoided difficult opponents or challenging quests.

He faced challenges and moved forward, which was the spirit of Bartz.

If he gave up because of the difficulty, it would be like killing Bartz.

“Screw it, I’ll just do it.”

Yuhan reconnected to the game, lit the furnace, and worked the bellows.

The harder and more difficult the task, the sweeter the reward.

He had experienced this during the Bartz era.

The stronger the monster, the better the item it dropped, and the more difficult the quest, the more reputation it granted.

Even if it was tough at first, there would be good things later. Yuhan believed this.

For several days, he continued to work the bellows.

“Hmm, you’ve finally reached a decent level.”

When his smelting skill reached rank 8, the old blacksmith approached and spoke to him.

“Huh! I didn’t expect you to reach this level. You seemed less capable than that Kaph guy.”

Kaph was a user who had given Yuhan advice while they worked together.

He had already raised his smelting skill to a certain level and was learning production skills.

‘If I seemed less capable than that guy… How bad is my compatibility with the blacksmith NPC?’

Kaph also had poor compatibility with the blacksmith NPC, so Zig might be almost incompatible.

Typically, users quickly reach level 20 by doing various part-time jobs and quests. At that level, they raise their related skills to a certain level and receive recognition from the NPC to become a formal blacksmith.

However, Zig was still an apprentice even as he approached level 30.

He was held back by the need for more training experience.

“Have you been working the bellows and smelting all this time?”

‘Thanks to which I haven’t even learned production skills yet!’

It seemed Zig was not well-suited to be a blacksmith.

“To make good items, a blacksmith needs not only skill but also good materials. In that sense, smelting is important.”

“Yes, I know. I’ve raised it to rank 8, so now I’ll focus on something else.”

Now, he needed to learn and raise the production skills he had delayed.

Yuhan approached the anvil with the iron ingots he had obtained from smelting. However, the old blacksmith grabbed his shoulder and turned him around.

“Wait, I have a special task for you.”

“What? What now?”

Yuhan’s expression twisted.

Why was this blacksmith NPC always trying to trip him up?

‘Is all my effort going to be overturned here?’

He wanted to tear the blacksmith apart.

However, in Arpedea Online, reputation and evaluations are important. If he treated the NPC poorly, his reputation would drop, and he would receive a bad evaluation.

Just as his rationality was about to snap, a special effect sound and a message window appeared.

Yuhan’s eyes widened.

A quest to the Rangkel Mountains!

He had not heard of the blacksmith NPC giving such a quest. It wasn’t mentioned on the official website or in the strategies posted by blacksmith users.

Until now, the blacksmith NPC had only given tasks related to the forge. So, what was this?

‘Ah! Could I have received an unknown quest?’

Could this be a quest given as a reward for overcoming all the obstacles with the worst compatibility?

The quests in Arpedea Online are more numerous than players know, so it’s not strange for hidden quests to exist.

‘The important thing is what reward this Rangkel Mountains quest will give.’

Given Zig’s current low level, it might not be a significant reward. It could be trivial…

However, stepping into an unknown area is exciting.

Especially if it’s something no one else has experienced, it’s even more thrilling.

“What do I have to do?”

“Go to the Rangkel Mountains and find a man named Angelo. Tell him I sent you, and he will give you a job. Bring me 10 minerals you obtain from the job.”

‘What, go to the mine and dig for minerals?’

There was no time limit. Is it not as trivial as it seems?

Feeling disappointed, Yuhan noticed the old blacksmith fumbling with something.

“Don’t think it’s just about digging for minerals. Rangkel Mountains are a dangerous place for a kid like you. I’m giving you this equipment, so be well-prepared.”

“Are you giving this to me?”

His mouth watered.

“I’m not giving it to you for free! You must return it after completing the task.”

‘Tch! It was good while it lasted.’

Yuhan’s lips curled.

The blacksmith NPC handed him a set of armor, a sword, and an item bag.

The blacksmith NPC’s name seemed to be Pabuchi.

Opening the bag, he found some food and expensive healing potions.

They would be useful if he got injured