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nAt some point, Valyr had taken out the metals for the boots and placed them on the anvil, deftly shaping them according to the instructions that were written on the blueprint he was given. With it being somewhat monotonous in nature, he went ahead and allowed his muscle memory to take over at brief moments while his gaze was focused on the other participants.

nCurrently, most of the remaining participants in the area were at the fourth blueprint, with only a scant few still forging according to the specifications of the third blueprint. On the other hand, the three top contenders, as well as a couple more people, were already on the fifth blueprint.

nShrugging his shoulders at the thought that he could’ve continued till the fifth blueprint but chose not to, Valyr eventually finished crafting the Common grade boots, asking a volunteer proctor to come over and check on the quality of his work.

nObtaining a thumbs-up from the volunteer proctor, Valyr responded back with a smile and a nod, thanking the former before asking for a copy of the fifth blueprint. However, before the proctor could even give the blueprint to him, Valyr told the proctor if it was only possible to view the fifth blueprint and not craft it, telling them that he did not have the confidence to successfully forge the equipment specified on the fifth blueprint.

nIn response, the volunteer proctor told him it was fine, understanding where Valyr was coming from as he gave Valyr a copy of the fifth blueprint. While the latter was in the middle of committing the blueprint to memory, the volunteer proctor recorded the progress Valyr had made during the first round, congratulating him on being eligible for the second round soon after.

nHearing words of congratulations escape the mouth of the volunteer proctor, Valyr could not help but let out a chuckle as he thanked the proctor for doing their job. Returning the copy of the fifth blueprint given to him by the proctor, Valyr then left the premises out of his own accord, only to stop in his tracks when the volunteer proctor mentioned something he was interested in.

n“The second round shall begin after a brief respite, making sure that all of the remaining participants in the first round have finished with their attempt,” the proctor said to him. “Also, considering that I’ve already come across a couple participants who asked the question, the bonus reward from this round shall only be given once the entire tournament is finished.”

n“Glad to hear.” Committing the proctor’s words to memory, Valyr resumed leaving the premises, eventually ending up in an area allocated by the town for participants to wait and rest in. Surprisingly, once there, he noticed that there were a few stalls lined up in the area that sold a small selection of drinks, as well as a couple of snacks and light meals.𝒩𝗈𝗏𝐞𝑙xt.𝑐𝗈𝑚

nFinally feeling the fatigue sink into his body, Valyr could not help but wryly chuckle, reminiscing the times in his past life where fatigue was non-existent. Nevertheless, that did not stop him from ordering a small meal and a drink from the stall to recharge his body, being pleasantly surprised that he didn’t have to pay for them at all.

nWith that, he sauntered towards a section of the area that had tables, occupying one of them as he watched the remaining participants progress through the first round while eating. Though most of his attention while eating was fixated on the three top contenders, he also shifted his attention towards some of the other participants from time to time, his interest piqued by the fact that they were only slightly lagging behind the three top contenders in terms of progress.

n‘I wonder what kind of blacksmith classes they have?’ Valyr inwardly muttered, soon attempting to use Analysis from afar. Unfortunately, even though the distance between him and the other participants was far less than the distance separating him from the Lesser Tidemother during the monster tide, the skill failed to achieve its purpose.

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nHowever, rather than lament over it, he shrugged his shoulders in response, throwing the tray and cup he had emptied into a nearby waste can as a related thought soon surfaced in his mind. ‘Either way, I should try and become acquaintances with them at the very least. After all, from what I can see, all of them have the potential to become great blacksmiths in their own right.’

nWith that in mind, Valyr continued to watch the number of participants in the area dwindle down before only one participant was eventually left in the area on their own. Sadly, this participant was neither one of the three top contenders, nor those that somewhat matched the three top contenders in terms of skills, with their progress in the fourth blueprint ultimately ending up in failure.

nNevertheless, the last participant’s failure marked the end of the first round, with the number of participants remaining after the first round cut to half of what it originally was. Knowing how much energy and stamina all of the participants have consumed during the first round, all of the participants, both eligible and non-eligible for the second round, were given access to free food and drinks.

nOf course, such a gesture was positively received by everyone as Hyun announced to everyone that the second round shall start half an hour from now. Hearing that, almost everyone who had passed the first round let out loud sighs of relief before ordering food and drinks from the nearby stalls, intending to replenish their energy before the next round began.

nAs Valyr had finished his first round earlier than the others, he decided to stroll around on his own around town for a bit, sparing a brief glance at Tristan before leaving, only to find out that the latter had fallen asleep. While wandering around town on his own, he could not help but ponder over the possible things he could do after the tournament and the dungeon back at the village.

nEventually, just as the half hour respite was over, Valyr had returned to where the tournament was being held, arriving just in time to be able to hear Hyun discuss the mechanics of the second round.

n“To all of the participants that have passed through the first round, I can say without a doubt that all of you have solid foundations, being able to follow blueprints to the letter.” As Hyun said this, a light smile adorned his face.

nThough, this smile turned into a slightly mischievous grin as he continued. “However, as we all know, most of the skills us blacksmiths have are not meant to be used to follow what the blueprints tell us to do. Instead, we use the blueprints as a guide, allowing us to go beyond the limits of the blueprints and craft enhanced versions of the items on the blueprints.”

n“In fact, that’s what the second round shall be testing in all of you,” Hyun said. “To see if you have the ability to think outside the box and exceed the specifications of the blueprints given to you. With that, this second round is called…”

n“Innovation.”

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