"Hm… I should try my skills at least," Alan muttered as he walked toward the smithy.
"What do you want?"
Just as Alan stepped inside, a big, muscular blacksmith barked at him.
Above the man's head, a name appeared—
Loyd.
"I'm here to join the smithy and learn the craft of blacksmithing," Alan said respectfully.
"Hah?" Loyd looked him up and down, clearly unimpressed.
"You're too skinny. Can you even forge anything?"
Alan remained silent.
"Tch… fine. I'll give you a chance," Loyd said with a snort.
"Go chop some firewood for me."
He handed Alan an axe and jerked his thumb toward the back.
"The logs are behind the smithy."
Alan nodded, accepting the task without complaint, and walked toward the back while gripping the axe tightly.
[Chop Firewood]
Difficulty: E
Blacksmith Loyd has given you an errand to chop firewood. If you can finish this task well, Smith will look upon you in a more favorable light.
Quest Clear Conditions: 500 pieces of firewood.
Quest Reward: Affinity with Loyd +10, experience +10, 20 bronze.
Quest Failure: Affinity with Loyd -10, getting kicked out of Smithy ]
Coming around to the back of the smithy, Alan easily spotted the shed and piles of logs scattered everywhere. Many of them had already been chopped, yet Loyd still wanted him to cut more.
"Well, he is the boss," Alan muttered as he looked down at the axe in his hand.
It was only a Common-rated piece of equipment.
He placed a log in position, raised the axe, and swung it down cleanly.
Thwack!
The log was cleanly split in two pieces.
[Quest Progress +1]
"Easy," Alan smiled.
He had spent enough time doing this kind of work in the past. He continued chopping without stopping—500 logs passed, then 800… and he still didn't slow down.
Meanwhile, as night began to fall, Loyd frowned when he noticed the newcomer still hadn't returned.
"Thought so. That newbie's unfit to be a blacksmith. Can't even chop some wood," Loyd muttered as he walked toward the shed, fully prepared to kick Alan out.
But when he arrived, he froze.
Alan stood there, bare-chested, sweat dripping down his body, still swinging the axe rhythmically. With a single glance, Loyd could tell—
There were more than 2,000 chopped logs neatly stacked nearby.
"...The hell?" Loyd muttered, disbelief flashing in his eyes.
Alan noticed him and stopped.
"Boss, since there was more wood, I decided to chop it all," Alan said with a smile.
Loyd stared for a moment, then nodded slowly.
"Good job. Wood is the fuel of blacksmithing. Without wood, there's no fire. Without fire, we blacksmiths can't craft anything."
[Quest Completed]
[You have gained extra rewards for over-completing the quest]
[60 EXP gained]
[1 Silver Coin, 20 Bronze Coins obtained]
[Affinity with Loyd +30]
'Nice,' Alan thought, though he didn't let it show on his face.
"However, don't get overjoyed yet," Loyd said, handing him a pickaxe this time.
"Next, you'll obtain your own materials. Go and mine ores for your first forging."
Loyd left after giving his instructions.
Alan nodded.
"Okay, boss," he said quietly as Loyd disappeared from sight.
He then noticed the notifications he had ignored earlier while chopping wood.
"I also gained new skills and stats," Alan murmured.
[ Wood cutting ]
[ Level 2 (passive) ]
[ You have perfectly cut over 1000 Piece of Fire wood ]
[ You can easily grasp the perfect way to cut any wood ]
[ Attack againt wood and wood type enemies +30% ]
It was level 1 but after Alan continued to cut more and more wood it also leveld up to level 2.
[Persistence Stat Opened]
[Persistence]
You never give up, even in the face of difficult tasks.
You won't get tired easily.
Carrying capacity has increased.
The feeling of satiation lasts longer.
The higher the number, the stronger the effect.
Stat points cannot be distributed to this stat.
Indomitable stat has also been unlocked.
Every time 10 points are gained in this stat, Indomitable will increase by 1 point.
[Indomitable]
Has a chance to partially negate incoming damage.
The lower your health, the higher the probability.
The higher the number, the stronger the effect.
Stat points cannot be distributed to this stat.
"Hm… Persistence is useful—it increases weight limit—but Indomitable is basically luck-based," Alan murmured, examining the stats.
He then turned to the next notifications.
[You are the first to unlock a Special Stat.]
[Your name has been listed in the Satisfy Hall of Fame.]
[First Special Stat Player]
[Luck Stat Opened]
[All Stats +30]
[Luck]
Increases the probability of favorable events happening to the user.
The higher the number, the stronger the effect.
Stat points cannot be distributed to this stat.
Alan's lips curled into a small, satisfied smile.
"This just keeps getting better," he muttered quietly, already imagining the advantages these new stats would give him in the forge.
"If I increase my Luck stat, wouldn't the probability of creating Legendary equipment go up?" Alan smiled to himself as he whistled while heading toward the mountain to mine for ores.
The mining area was just outside the city, a place frequented by many miners in search of valuable ores.
Upon arriving, Alan opened his quest log once again.
[Mine Iron Ore]
Difficulty: E
You have passed the first test given by Blacksmith Loyd.
Now, he has given you a second test to evaluate your worth.
Quest Clear Conditions: 80 pieces of Iron Ore
Quest Reward: Affinity with Loyd +30, Experience +55, 20 Bronze Coins
Quest Failure: Affinity with Loyd -30
Loyd will kindly recommend that you become a woodcutter instead of a blacksmith.
Alan nodded, gripping his pickaxe.
"Alright… let's see how fast I can finish this," he muttered, stepping into the cave dug into the mountainside.
Inside, the faint "ting ting" of metal against rock echoed throughout the tunnels. It was the sound of other miners working diligently to extract ores. ]
As Alan walked deeper, holding his pickaxe, a few resting miners glanced up at him, staring him over and down, clearly wondering why such a young-looking guy was here.
Alan ignored them and scanned the cave, searching for a suitable spot.
Unlike Grid's legendary class, I'm not getting any hints, Alan thought.