Chapter 7

Chapter 6

Blacksmith Training

I have 3 gold and 11 silver. I need to repeatedly craft and sell items with this amount to earn enough for the carriage fare. If I had the financial means, I would have bought blue orichalcum and crafted a "failure piece," but for a debtor like me, getting money is as hard as picking stars from the sky.

"Huh?"

The moment I stepped into the blacksmith's shop.

['Master Blacksmith Skill' Master effect activated. Blacksmith NPCs who have learned intermediate or higher blacksmithing skills will recognize you and treat you favorably.]

['Descendant of Pagma' job effect activated. Blacksmith NPCs who have learned advanced blacksmithing skills will recognize you and worship you.]

There was such a hidden feature?

According to the description, it seems I can easily obtain the desired crafting methods from blacksmiths.

"Wow."

The more I experience this 'Descendant of Pagma' job, the more I like it. I feel ashamed of how I initially disliked it just because it was a production job. Indeed, it is a legendary job.

With a joyful heart, I entered the blacksmith's shop and found a blacksmith sweating profusely in front of the forge.

"I want to craft and sell items that yield the highest profit and have high demand. What items would you recommend?"

A smug smile naturally formed on my face.

'I am the descendant of Pagma who has mastered the Master Blacksmith skill. Treat me favorably, worship me, and pass on the appropriate crafting methods!'

However, an unexpected turn of events occurred.

The blacksmith neither worshiped nor treated me favorably, and he even ignored me coldly.

"Hmph, you brat, you're insolent and rude. I have no intention of associating with an impolite and incompetent person like you. Get lost."

"…?"

This is the extremely ordinary attitude of an NPC, as if dealing with a level 1 player.

'Does he not recognize me?'

A blacksmith of intermediate or advanced level should recognize me, but this blacksmith not only fails to recognize me but also treats me rudely.

This means that this blacksmith is a low-level blacksmith who hasn't even mastered intermediate blacksmithing skills.

'Ah, I. What bad luck to meet such a lousy guy.'

I want to go to another blacksmith, but this is the only one in the village.

I had hoped that things would go smoothly when the notification window appeared upon entering the blacksmith's shop, but it was a vain hope.

'I had momentarily forgotten how unlucky I am. Damn it.'

There's nothing I can do. I quickly changed my attitude and spoke politely to soothe the blacksmith.

"Sir, I didn't greet you because I was afraid that I might disturb your concentration. Did my approach seem rude? If so, please forgive me."

"Huh, you have some strange manners."

The blacksmith looked at me with a mix of bewilderment and interest.

I bowed deeply, like someone in the service industry, to appear as polite as possible.

"My name is Grid. I want to learn item crafting methods."

The blacksmith snorted.

"Hmph, do you think anyone can learn crafting methods? You brats should start by learning how to chop firewood. Or, you should be grateful just to be given a task."

"…For a low-level blacksmith, you're quite picky."

"What? What did you say?"

"Nothing?"

Right now, I'm the one who's disappointed. In this village, the only person I can rely on is this picky blacksmith. If I get kicked out by him and fail to learn the crafting methods, I would have to earn small amounts of money by doing odd jobs at a restaurant or farming until I can afford the carriage fare.

"I'll bring back chopped firewood. How much do you need?"

The blacksmith threw me an old axe and said.

"As much as possible."

<Chop Firewood>

Difficulty: E

Blacksmith Smith has given you the task of chopping firewood to gauge your abilities. If you complete this task well, Smith's perception of you will improve.

Quest Completion Condition: Chop 500 pieces of firewood.

Quest Reward: +10 Smith's Favor, +10 Experience, 20 Bronze.

Quest Failure: -10 Smith's Favor.

'Wow, it's been a while since I've seen a normal quest window.'

After starting Ashur's quest, I've only received absurdly difficult S or SS-grade quests. Receiving a normal quest now feels like a breath of fresh air.

'I need 20 experience points to level up… This one quest will give me half the required experience.'

The experience needed to level up hasn't changed whether I was at level -1 or level 3. It seems that the experience required for negative levels is uniformly set to 20. This means that even with such trivial quests, I can level up quickly while at a negative level.

'First, I need to escape the negative level.'

Thinking positively, I picked up the axe and headed to the backyard. After confirming the pile of wood stacked to one side, I examined the axe in my hand.

It's an extremely old axe. Can I really chop firewood with such an old axe?

'I'm more worried that the axe might break on the wood… I should be careful, in case I end up taking the blame if the axe breaks…'

I used the 'Legendary Blacksmith's Appraisal' skill on the old axe.

"Appraisal."

[A legendary blacksmith appraises items with unparalleled insight. If the item has hidden functions, they will be revealed.]

<Smith's Old Axe>

Grade: Normal

Durability: 6/6, Attack Power: 4~7

This is an axe that Blacksmith Smith has used since he was young. Although it is very old, the blade is well-sharpened. However, it is fragile and can break easily if mishandled.

Weight: 40

[This item has no hidden functions.]

Apart from being very old, it's a rather ordinary axe. Seeing the phrase "no hidden functions," I felt relieved rather than disappointed. After experiencing too many incidents recently, I've come to appreciate the ordinary.

[The materials, crafting method, and the blacksmith's intentions for Smith's Old Axe have been identified.]

[Understanding of Smith's Old Axe has reached 100%. You can now use Smith's Old Axe perfectly.]

[You have learned the axe crafting method.]

New notification windows appeared due to the effects of the passive skill, Item Understanding.

"Understanding has reached 100% in one go."

For low-grade or easily craftable items, understanding seems to reach the maximum just by appraising them.

Well, it would be ridiculous if a legendary blacksmith couldn't understand the principles of crafting a mere axe.

"Even if it's an item with no usage conditions, there's no point in having high understanding. The only benefit is that I've learned the axe crafting method."

If I don't meet the usage conditions for an item, I incur a penalty. The skill 'Item Understanding' reduces this penalty.

For an item like Smith's Old Axe, which has no inherent penalty, there's no benefit to increased understanding other than learning the crafting method.

I placed the old axe aside and stood a log upright. Then, I spat on my hands, as I had seen in old dramas, and thought,

'When chopping firewood, it's not about strength but about the technique of hitting the grain.'

It's knowledge I picked up somewhere, but I don't really understand what hitting the grain means. It's just useless trivia.

But there's no need to worry. I've cut down and destroyed large, monstrous creatures with a single sword. Can I not properly cut a mere tree?

'With my sword skills, a tree is nothing.'

I picked up the axe and was about to strike the log when I noticed something.

A black line was clearly visible in the center of the log, which had been clean just a moment ago.

"What is this?"

It's suspicious.

I looked at it warily for a moment, then put down the axe to consider the possibilities. The black line disappeared as if by magic.

I picked up the axe again, and the black line reappeared.

It feels like the axe is telling me to hit the black line.

"This must be the effect of 100% Item Understanding."

It's a plausible interpretation, but I can't be sure.

I struck the center of the log, avoiding the black line.

Thud!

Despite using all my strength, the axe only managed to cut halfway through the log and got stuck. I had failed to chop the firewood.

A notification window also appeared, indicating that the axe's durability had decreased by 1.

"What a humiliation…"

I couldn't even chop a single piece of firewood… Am I really this useless!

I fell into a brief state of self-pity, then struggled to pull the axe out of the log. I threw the half-cut piece of wood aside and set up a new piece of wood.

"This time…"

I aimed for the black line and swung the axe.

Crack!

The moment the axe blade hit the black line, a refreshing sound echoed, giving me a satisfying sensation.

The log split cleanly in half without any resistance.

"Wow!!"

Feeling the additional effect of Item Understanding, I couldn't help but be amazed. I also realized the importance of Item Understanding.

'I didn't understand what it meant to be able to use an item perfectly, but this is it. The benefits of high Item Understanding are not just learning crafting methods or reducing penalties.'

There's an expression that you can use an item like an extension of your body. If I can increase the understanding of a sword to 100%, I can use it like an extension of my body.

Item Understanding is similar to a weapon mastery skill.

'If I can create supreme items with creation skills and increase their understanding to 100%, I will be truly…'

Invincible!

I might even be able to challenge the ranking spots that I couldn't reach despite playing the game hard for a year!

"Great, let's earn money quickly and pay off my debts! And then I'll become a top player through gear power!"

When you become a top player, you get a lot of offers from various media. You can become a millionaire just from TV appearance fees, and you also gain popularity and fame.

No one will be able to ignore me anymore, and I might even win the heart of my first love, Ayoung!

I'm motivated!

"Haaaaaah!! Huh! Hah! Haaaaah!"

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

I chopped firewood for about two hours without stopping. The sensation of chopping firewood was so exhilarating that I couldn't stop halfway.

But the fun was short-lived.

My stamina, which was at a low level due to my negative level, quickly ran out, and hunger set in quickly.

I started to feel tired after chopping about 150 pieces of firewood. My breathing became labored and painful.

'Should I take a break now?'

No, no.

The three months I spent on Ashur's quest were much harder and more painful than this. But I didn't give up and pushed through.

I can't take breaks while chopping firewood. It would be too much of a letdown to be exhausted by such a trivial task, considering all the things I've been through.

'This isn't even a difficult task. I'll finish it quickly without taking breaks and move on to the next quest. I need to level up, learn crafting methods, and earn money.'

I gritted my teeth and continued chopping.

When I finished the 280th piece of firewood, my hunger worsened, and I started to feel dizzy. But I didn't stop.

'If I give up on even this stubbornness, I won't be myself.'

I've never been particularly good at anything since I was young. I wasn't smart, good-looking, or had a good personality. I wasn't even good at sports. I didn't have any special talents or skills in any particular field.

I was envious and often blamed others, making excuses…

I can honestly say that I was the worst person.

But despite that, I managed to build good relationships in school because of my perseverance.

I wasn't smart. I had to study twice as hard as others to maintain average grades.

I had a bad personality. I had to act twice as fake as others to avoid criticism.

I wasn't good at sports. I had to run twice as hard as others to be able to play soccer during physical education.

I knew I wasn't good at anything, so I worked hard. I made countless vows not to give up.

That's how I acquired the ability of 'perseverance,' which became the foundation for getting into college and even completing my military service.

After encountering Satisfy, I became a game addict and a debtor, losing the ordinary life I had barely maintained.

But to put it bluntly, I'm nothing without perseverance.

"Level up… money…"

Driven by determination, I didn't stop chopping.

When I finished the 460th piece of firewood, a notification window appeared.

[The Perseverance stat has been unlocked.]

"Huh?"

Surprisingly, a new stat appeared. I immediately checked what the Perseverance stat was.

<Perseverance>

You don't give up easily. You don't get tired easily. Your carrying weight limit increases. Your sense of fullness lasts longer.

*The higher the value, the greater the effect.

*You cannot allocate stat points to this stat.

*For every 10 points in this stat, your Indomitable stat increases by 1 point.

"Wow!"

A stat that prevents you from getting tired easily, increases your carrying weight limit, and makes your sense of fullness last longer!

It's simply fantastic.

Moreover, the fact that your Indomitable stat increases by 1 point for every 10 points in this stat is an added bonus.

'Do I need to perform persistent actions to increase this stat?'

Reflecting on my continuous chopping, I had a question.

'When I was doing Ashur's quest, I showed much more perseverance than now… Why didn't the Perseverance stat unlock then?'

The only explanation I could think of was the difference between regular and legendary jobs.

'Does the stat growth rate of a legendary job exceed that of a regular job, even with the same actions and efforts?'

Learning about this new benefit of a legendary job, I was so excited that I forgot my fatigue and started chopping again.

Crack! Crack!

The more I chopped, the better I became at hitting the grain.

The durability of the axe, which used to decrease by 1 for every 200 pieces of firewood, stopped decreasing at some point, and the speed of chopping increased.

When I finished the 1,000th piece of firewood, my Perseverance stat had reached 4.

[Your stats have all been reduced to half due to not eating for a long time. You are more susceptible to status abnormalities. If you continue to feel hungry, your health will gradually decrease.]

It was a close call.

I collapsed on the ground.

"Huff huff…"

My limbs felt numb, and my muscles ached as if I had developed muscle pain. I couldn't move.

Even with the Perseverance effect, my stamina at level -3 was still low.

I had only been chopping firewood for 6 hours, but it had left me completely exhausted.

I took out bread and water from my inventory and chewed the hard bread while looking towards the eastern direction where the Gray Forest was located.

'Has the raid party reached the Guardian of the Forest by now? It was a good decision not to join the party… If I had joined, I would have been humiliated.'

With my low stamina at level -3, I wouldn't have been able to keep up with the other party members' marching speed and would have died from exhaustion.

Dying from exhaustion while walking would have been a huge embarrassment.

I shook my head, recalling the few hours earlier when I had rashly considered joining the party.

'Now that I think about it, it was too simplistic to join the party to get blue orichalcum without knowing its drop rate. I need to be more cautious in my thinking and actions.'

I felt a bit more mature mentally.

A little while later, I recovered enough to return to the blacksmith's shop and told Blacksmith Smith,

"I've chopped firewood. You said to chop as much as possible, so I chopped 1,000 pieces."

"What?"

Smith burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! You, a brat, chopped 1,000 pieces of firewood in just 6 hours? You're not only a brat but also a liar! Are you trying to deceive me?"

He laughed as if it was funny, then quickly glared and got angry.

'Is this guy bipolar?'

I pointed to the backyard.

"Chopping 1,000 pieces of firewood in 6 hours isn't a big deal. If you don't believe me, go check for yourself."

"Alright, I was going to do that anyway. If