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nApprentice Blacksmiths are unable to create items of their own devising in Rise Online, so it is only possible to forge something if they have a completed diagram or a tutor.

nThis is why Kaizen, despite being a complete novice, was able to complete a Swift Arrow. Therkara Ironstone was tutoring him.

nYes, he refined the final item a bit by including unconventional methods, creating a better item than his master thought possible. However, this only happened after he had already learned the basic diagram of the Swift Arrow. The profession’s system does not prevent an apprentice blacksmith from perfecting something that already exists.

nUnfortunately, for Kaizen, the day off when he would be able to create a completely original item was still far away. He needed to learn a lot about his profession before that happened.

nHowever, he would soon have to walk the path of this arduous profession alone, because Therkara Ironstone could not wait a lifetime to achieve her last goal. After all, she was a spirit who returned to Midgard with only one desire: to make a weapon that surpassed any weapon her father and also master had ever forged. This was the only way she could finally rest in peace.

nLooking at the old, yellowed paper on the table that Therkara had used for much of the day, Kaizen couldn’t help but be awestruck.

n“Therkara, that’s… magnificent.”

nThe smith-lady was a little flushed and embarrassed, but she put her hands on her waist, puffed out her chest, and moved her chin up.

n“I know, I know.” She stated.

n“Absolutely, incredible. The best weapon I’ve ever seen in my life… I don’t even know if I’m confident enough to try to make it.”

n“Apprentice, I told you before that there is nothing that your muscles combined with my mind cannot forge. We will definitely make it. However, there is something that is still bothering me.”

nKaizen stopped staring at the diagram drawings and, prodded, asked:

n“What is it?”

n“I don’t know what it is, but I think something special is missing, an extra element… The thing that will turn this dagger into a sublime item indeed.”

nOn the side of the scroll, there was a table with all the components needed to forge Therkara’s masterpiece, as well as each of the single methods of preparation for them. However, something was really missing. Different and unusual techniques can create good weapons, like what Kaizen did with the Swift Arrows; only extraordinary weapons require extraordinary components.

nKaizen put his hand on his chin and, staring at the diagram, began to think about what he could use.

nAfter a few seconds, he finally remembered that there was actually something in his inventory that fit perfectly with what they needed.

nHe slid his finger down, opened the inventory, and slid his finger along the side of the interface once more until he found the Scarlet Essence, then clicked on that.

nSuddenly, the item that looked like an energy sphere surrounded by a golden ring appeared in his right palm, levitating naturally.

n“How did you do it… or rather, what is it? Wait, that’s what I think it is, isn’t it?” Therkara asked Kaizen, his eyes bulging.

n“I don’t know exactly what it’s for. I just know that it’s ore and that the name of it is Scarlet Essence. I got it after killing the Scarlet Demon Spider.”

n“Ohh~! So, the monster that was here was a Demon Spider… Wow, apprentice, you are even stronger than you looked. But this is perfect, really perfect! With this, we can…” Therkara was about to say something but interrupted her sentence before finishing it.

nSlowly, she looked at Kaizen with an embarrassed face, not wanting to ask directly, only already making her intention obvious.

n“Don’t worry, master, I don’t plan to use this item for anything other than to fulfill your dream,” Kaizen said and smiled at his master sympathetically.

nAlthough he said this to the NPC, Kaizen would rather not have to use a rare item in the Early Game. However, he could see no faster way to continue than this, not to mention that he had no idea what to do with such an ore.𝓞𝒱𝐞𝔩xt.𝗇𝓔t

nShould it melt like iron? Break it down like a walnut?

nThe best way was to use the Scarlet Essence now and learn from a smith master, so he would know how to use it the next time he got something of the same kind. Besides, Therkara’s mission was already at an end, putting this off any longer would be the same thing as putting off any more of the 2 Class Points he would get from completing it.

nTherkara’s eyes sparkled at Kaizen’s response.

n“Really? You’re the best! All right, let’s get started, apprentice!” She spoke enthusiastically.

n“Right!”

nA great momentum grew in both people, and as Kaizen put more iron ores into the fiery furnace to melt, the temperature of the furnace increased rapidly.

nDaggers are items that can be made relatively quickly. However, the smith master and her apprentice would have to spend a long time to create a true masterpiece. Typically, great blacksmiths can complete a dagger in two hours, but it was already almost eleven o’clock at night. Kaizen didn’t even contemplate dawn playing, because the arduous Monday of early winter would be worse than it is usually if he didn’t get some rest.

nSoon, he finished melting the iron and started the following process of making the dagger, following Therkara’s commands. His focus did not allow him to get nervous as he began to strike the steel with his hammer.

nHurry up! I have to complete this mission before it gets too late. No, I mustn’t be rushed… It would be horrible if I couldn’t complete the mission because I failed to make a masterpiece.’

nKaizen was torn about whether to wake up early and work right or continue playing.

nSkillfully, Kaizen repeated the cooling and forging process several times as he tested with the Swift Arrows.

nThe hammer Kaizen was using was old and worn, found in the large mountain of forgotten metal items in the Medullar Forge. A tool like this would normally only hinder a blacksmith’s skill, but Kaizen didn’t care about that and continued hammering for another hour.

nTwo hours had passed since the dagger production began, but Kaizen hadn’t even finished the outlines of the blade. He was still tempering the iron.

n*Ttang! Ttang!

nKaizen was holding the metal with his tenacious hands, involved with the hammering and forging, then a message appeared in his vision.

nThe effects of the title ‘Talented’ were activated. Your Concentration, Stamina, and Agility will increase to the extreme for one hour.

n‘

nKaizen’s blows with the hammer were more powerful and elaborate now, and he could exert an impressive aura of concentration.

n*Kaaaaang!

nAt a certain point, Kaizen stopped paying much attention to Therkara Ironstone’s commands. Everything became quiet. To him, the only thing that existed in this world was iron. The hammer and he seemed totally united, and there was almost no resistance in the hammer’s movements.

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