Strike 46

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Upon entering the rental forge, Hyun-soo had a goal in mind.

“I need to achieve 50% contribution.”

What did he need to do that? It was his own training.

For Hyun-soo, a blacksmith, training meant crafting artifacts for his use.

After speaking with someone named Beckel and finding a way to meet Barad, Hyun-soo decided what to make.

He took out orichalcum and arrows from his inventory.

Orichalcum.

This mineral was unbelievably light, defying belief.

And the arrow. This material was known for its exceptional destructive power.

However, arrows are just consumable artifacts.

Hyun-soo contemplated making these consumables into something more permanent.

“The advantage of the bow is its short bowstring, leading to powerful destruction.”

He theorized that purified orichalcum could be as light as wood.

Even its impure form hinted at its potential to be the strongest mineral.

“Can’t forget this.”

The arrows must not break or be stolen.

Arrows are easily lost once shot.

Thus, Hyun-soo aimed to create arrows that return to their owner and do not break.

It seemed impossible, but not for Hyun-soo.

[Divine Customization begins.]

“I will make arrows that don’t break and return to their owner.”

After deciding what to make, Hyun-soo used his title as a mineral craftsman to examine the essence of orichalcum.

[Orichalcum, composed of silver and black mithril, becomes lighter and stronger as it remains buried for thousands of years.]

“Black mithril and silver…”

He was familiar with refining silver but not with the special mineral, black mithril.

However, he had some knowledge about mithril.

‘It’s made of iron, manganese, oxygen, phosphorus, and silicon.’

If black mithril followed these principles, it wouldn’t be too difficult for Hyun-soo.

He raised the furnace’s temperature and placed the orichalcum inside.

As he waited, he pondered.

“Refining special minerals in Ares is hard and challenging. What does it mean?”

This was Hyun-soo’s second time using special minerals from Ares.

The first was mithril from the beginner’s zone.

The second was this orichalcum.

He had heard that higher-grade minerals were exponentially harder to refine or purify.

Then,

[The orichalcum refining begins.]

[Effectiveness of related skills temporarily reduced by 50%.]

Hyun-soo blinked in surprise.

“What…?”

The reduction in skill effectiveness.

[The automatic refining guide is incomplete.]

It was incomplete.

It would help to some extent but wouldn’t provide all the answers.

‘Interesting.’

Hyun-soo laughed.

The moment he started refining orichalcum, some of the system’s exciting features shut off.

[Warning. Set the correct temperature. Orichalcum does not refine easily. If the correct temperature isn’t maintained, the orichalcum will evaporate in the furnace.]

“Wow…”

Hyun-soo chuckled.

Evaporation meant the loss of materials.

Materials like orichalcum disappearing?

Could there be a more frightening prospect for blacksmiths?

Even the tiny amount of orichalcum could be worth at least 10 million won.

But to have it disappear?

Orichalcum was indeed a tricky material.

Even high levels were no guarantee without courage, challenge, and some knowledge.

Knowledge.

Most level 350 blacksmiths rely on automatic crafting for refining, purifying, and forging.

99% of them would be distracted during this process, or simply staring blankly.

But not the 1%.

They repeat and learn from the process.

Only those with understanding can follow the system even when it partially shuts off.

“Of course, a higher skill level could ignore this.”

But at the current level of blacksmiths, it’s nearly impossible.

He increased the furnace temperature.

It had to be just right.

[The furnace temperature is rising.]

[The furnace reaches 1,850 degrees.]

Hyun-soo found the perfect efficiency point to melt silver and mithril in his knowledge.

How did he know?

Mithril, as a material, resembles iron in its composition. Also, Hyun-soo had refined silver thousands of times before.

A strange, inaudible noise spread from the furnace.

Then,

[The temperature is optimal for melting orichalcum.]

[Perhaps it might yield even better results.]

Hyun-soo felt a thrill as he watched the molten metal flow.

Soon, the orichalcum solidified again after completely melting.

Now, he faced the process of purification, extracting pure orichalcum from the hardened mineral mass.

[If the orichalcum is damaged over 30%, it will disappear.]

Hyun-soo smirked bitterly. It reminded him of an enhancement system in a game.

With artifacts, the first enhancement usually has a high success rate, but the probability decreases with each attempt, and the artifact disappears if it fails.

The difference here was that this material threatened to vanish without even being enhanced.

But Hyun-soo was not worried.

His refining skills were unmatched by any other blacksmith.

[The damage to the orichalcum will be minimized.]

[Perhaps it might yield even better results.]

The orichalcum, when meeting his standards, emitted a faint black light, as if praising his work.

Now, he proceeded to the forging process.

The amount of orichalcum he managed to refine was minuscule.

Ordinary arrowheads were no larger than a finger, and he had to make an artifact from this small quantity of orichalcum.

It seemed absurd to Hyun-soo.

But he kept hammering away.

[Orichalcum does not forge easily.]

[You must achieve at least 60% forging completion within two days.]

[If not, the orichalcum will disappear.]

[Current forging completion is at 1%.]

Hyun-soo hammered for about 20 minutes, but the forging progress was only at 1%.

“Time is short.”

But he was not in a hurry.

Forging involves hammering solid material on an anvil to shape it.

But Hyun-soo had more experience in forging than anyone else, having worked through nights to meet multiple custom orders.

‘It’s like a test.’

Hyun-soo knew the secret to crafting a fine sword better than anyone: it takes time and effort.

Hyun-soo didn’t stop forging. Orichalcum was more challenging and temperamental than any ordinary mineral.

No matter how much he hammered and shaped it, it resisted change.

But he didn’t complain.

The orichalcum had waited thousands of years under the ground, covered in impurities, and now he was transforming it into a weapon in just a few days.

A day and night passed.

[The forging completion is now at 91%.]

Finally, the orichalcum took the shape Hyun-soo desired.

Throughout the process, it kept giving the same notification.

[Perhaps it might yield even better results.]

But when Hyun-soo finished the forging, the notification changed.

[The orichalcum will exhibit its highest potential!]

The arrowhead was complete. Hyun-soo knew how to make unbreakable arrows.

He carved them from high-quality wood, making the shaft shorter.

The shaft was thinner and lighter than usual. He coated it with the remaining orichalcum.

Hyun-soo repeated the cooling and coating process.

Then, he engraved the character ‘Hyun’ on the arrowhead and combined it with the shaft, completing the process.

As he did, a continuous stream of crafting notifications sounded.

Hyun-soo couldn’t hide his excitement as he heard them.

He decided to immediately test the new orichalcum arrows.

Click.

Hyun-soo, holding the newly made orichalcum arrows in a quiver, stepped outside.

There, other users of the rental forge were testing the power of their newly crafted bows and arrows on targets.

As soon as Hyun-soo released the bowstring, something astonishing happened.

***

NPC Falcon runs a rental forge.

Once a highly successful blacksmith, he retired after reaching an advanced level and realizing his limitations.

Early in the morning, he headed to his rental forge. His first task upon arrival was always to replace the targets, used by blacksmiths who crafted bows and arrows overnight to test their creations.

While walking, Falcon noticed a blacksmith drawing a bowstring in front of a target.

He remembered him.

A young man who had paid for two days’ use of the forge just the other day. Falcon was puzzled.

“Can anything substantial be made in just two days?”

Then he squinted in curiosity.

“What’s that?”

He had never seen arrows fitted into bamboo shafts before.

But something else was even more peculiar.

“Are those arrows?”

Were they always that short? What caught Falcon’s eye was the appearance of the arrow itself. Both the arrowhead and shaft were black, almost shimmering.

“Interesting.”

Falcon, who had retired after hitting his limit, crossed his arms and watched the young man.

“A beginner or intermediate blacksmith?”

Most who used the rental forge were lower-level blacksmiths since higher-level ones usually owned personal forges.

“Did he spend two days making that arrow? How unfortunate.”

Because the value of arrows is typically low.

Then Falcon turned to the target.

It was just a piece of parchment drawn on a tree.

Behind it stood nine trees in a row.

Suddenly, the young man released the bowstring.

Whoosh!

“…!?”

Falcon uncrossed his arms in surprise.

The arrow, invisible in its speed, tore through the target.

Crack!

The tree was ripped apart, and the arrow pierced through the trees behind it.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

The arrow finally stopped at the sixth tree.

“What did I just witness?”

These were troll trees, known for regenerating after damage, lined up for the rare arrows that could penetrate them.

But now…

Creak… Boom!

The targeted tree collapsed, unable to withstand the impact and not regenerating.

“An expendable arrow with such power?”

Then,

The arrow stuck in the sixth tree began to move.

Rattle…

The arrow pulled itself out and smoothly flew into the young man’s hand as he reached for it.

Falcon was astounded.

“Unbelievable…!”

The arrowhead was undamaged, as was the shaft.

In that moment, Falcon’s preconceptions shattered.

The notion that arrows are expendable.

And he felt a surge of desire.

The desire to challenge himself beyond the limits he had felt as an advanced blacksmith!

“How exhilarating…!”

Who was this extraordinary blacksmith?

Falcon quickly approached him.

“You’ve made an incredible arrow, and I thank you!”

“…?”

The young man looked puzzled. Why was he being thanked suddenly?

“Seeing your arrow has reignited my desire to wield the hammer again. I’m curious, what’s your name… or should I say, the honorable blacksmith’s title?”

The young man, with the arrow slung over his shoulder, smiled faintly and replied.

“I am Blacksmith Hyun.”

He bowed his head, then disappeared like a beam of light, returning to his own world. And as Hyun-soo logged out, a notification sounded.

[A blacksmith will remember this day for a long time.]

[You have gained 10 fame points.]

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