"Damn... how am I supposed to read all of these?" Razeal muttered, his eyes flicking through the endless stream of item options flooding the system’s display. "There’s no way I can pick the best one out of all this..."
[Host, all of the results shown are already the most optimal outcos that can be created using the two materials you’ve provided. However, they excel in different areas: so specialize in raw damage, others in AoE or status effects, so in penetration or speed. There is no single ’best’ unless you define a very specific use-case.] the system replied.
"Tch. Whatever... just pick any one for ," Razeal said with a shrug. "Choose the highest-ranked one that could sell well on the market. That’s all I care about for now."
[Understood.]
[Random Result Selected...]
[Cinder Howl Bolt – Origin: Post-Apocalyptic Realm]
[Rank: D ]
[Description: Emits a burning whistle as it flies, said to echo the cries of the scorched. Instills dread even before impact.]
[Effects: 5% AoE Fear Chance. Small fire blast upon impact. May induce panic in weaker enemies. Penetration: Low.]
[Would you like to proceed with forging this result using the current materials? Yes or No]
Without hesitation, Razeal answered, "Yes."
The mont the word left his lips, the arrow and the fire elental core in his hands began to glow, as if liquefying and rging together. A radiant white light burst from between his clasped palms.
Levy, standing nearby, instinctively narrowed his eyes behind his glasses. "What the...?" he whispered, confused. He watched the process unfold, trying to sense mana fluctuations yet he felt nothing. Not even the tiniest ripple in the air. How...? How is this even possible? It doesn’t make sense...
And just like that, in under a second, the light faded.
[System Notification: Congratulations, Host! You have successfully forged "Cinder Howl Bolt" (Special Arrow – D )]
Razeal ignored the ssage. His attention was on the new arrow resting in his hand.
Where once had been a basic wooden arrow, now lay sothing entirely different. The wooden shaft had transford its surface charred black with fiery red veins running through it, as if it had been soaked in dragon’s breath. The tip was no longer cheap iron, but a deep crimson crystal that pulsed faintly with stored fla.
"Looks cool," Razeal muttered under his breath, casually flipping the arrow between his fingers.
But the real reaction ca from Levy.
"What the fuck!?" Levy’s voice cracked as his eyes bulged. "What just happened?!"
He stared at the arrow, trying to comprehend. "This... this isn’t just so visual illusion. The mana signature it’s completely different. This thing is radiating energy... Fire mana signaturs. And strong, too. That was a basic F-rank iron arrow, and now now it feels like a rare artifact!"
"Where did fire elental core dissapeared do? did it rged? But HOW?
He stepped closer, his mouth still half open. "Boss... what did you do? No How did you do it?"
Razeal, ever so nonchalant, handed the arrow over. "Take a look yourself. Just tell how expensive you think it would be."
Levy nearly forgot to breathe. He took the arrow gently, as though it might explode if handled roughly. His eyes studied every inch of the weapon the way the crystal tip refracted light, the fine etching along the shaft, the faint warmth pulsing from the core.
"Incredible..." he whispered. "The craftsmanship alone it looks tailor-made. Not sothing you’d find mass-produced. It’s... art."
He turned it slowly in his hands. "It’s a fire affinity arrow, right? I can feel fire mana sealed into the tip, dense and compressed. At the mont of impact, it’s likely to explode brilliantly so."
"This is crazy. I’ve never seen sothing like this in this region... not even among higher-tier craftsn," Levy muttered, eyes still locked on the arrow. "Normally, fire isn’t even considered suitable for arrow crafting. The standard affinities are wind or lightning they enhance speed and piercing power."
Honestly levy had never considered that fire itself could be compressed and sealed inside an arrow shaft ready to detonate the mont it struck its target. The best "fire-affinity" arrows he’d seen before rely super-heated the iron head to around seven-hundred degrees; they scorched, but they didn’t explode.
Now one of those strange new arrows lay in his palm, faintly warm, the scarlet runes along the shaft pulsing like a heartbeat.
This is good no, this is incredible, he thought, already imagining the demand such a weapon would draw on the open market. Yet even as the possibilities danced before his eyes, the awe on his face faltered as he glanced up at the masked figure in front of him. Did the boss just swap the arrows while I wasn’t looking?
In the end he shrugged who cared how it had appeared? The product lay in front of him now.
"Does it work, Boss?" Levy asked, raising his head to et the ghost-white mask. "And, uh... who forged it?" His voice wavered between curiosity and suspicion
"It will work," Razeal replied, so softly the words almost vanished beneath the forge’s crackle. "And didn’t you see? I just forged it."
Levy’s brows shot up. "Really? That’s... that’s incredible! We could make a fortune, Boss. As far as I know, the entire Empire has nothing like this." The rchant rubbed his palms together, but his doubt lingered in the sideways dart of his gaze.
"And boss... are you really a blacksmith?" he ventured. "Look, no need to spin tales. If soone else made it, fine business is business."
"Believe it or not, I’m an Eighth-Rank blacksmith." Razeal said with a cough.
Levy managed an eager nod "Yes, yes, of course. I believe you, boss."
But deep inside, Levy was thinking: Bullshit.. Eighth Rank? At sixteen? Please. There are only two SS-ranked blacksmiths in the Empire and even they forged in secret. There was simply no way this boy sat anywhere near their level... even if the arrow in Levy’s hand special its can never prove its made by ss ranked.. why is he even thinking about that..
"Alright, whatever. Just tell , what’s the price for these arrows?" Razeal asked, getting to the point.
"Uhh... I don’t know, boss. I haven’t tested it yet, but even now I can tell it’s a 3rd-grade item. Its price could range anywhere from 20 gold coins to 100 gold coins," Levy replied, examining the arrow. "I’ll go test it tonight, maybe take so adventurers to see how it performs. If it exceeds expectations, we might even sell it for hundreds of gold coins. There’s literally no other product like this on the market right now."
Damn, that expensive?" Razeal blinked at the evaluation. "A single D-ranked elental core costs only 10 gold coins... and an arrow is going for hundreds? Isn’t that too much? He thought.
Afterall all it’s doing is helping kill a thirdranked monster, right? Maybe normal 3rd-grade arrows don’t cost that much... probably just this one because it’s new and rare.. he reasoned with himself.
"How much does a normal 3rd-grade arrow cost again?" he at last Just directly asked curious.
"Just one to three gold coins, boss," Levy replied quickly, still examining the new arrow with intense curiosity.
"Alright. Whatever," Razeal said. "Sell this arrow for two D-ranked monster cores and two fire elental cores. That’s the price. We won’t be accepting gold coins for this."
He wasn’t sure if the price was ideal, but he reasoned: A normal third-ranked beast’s elental core is worth around ten gold coins. Two of those? Twenty. Not to ntion monster cores are often useless to many. They won’t care. It’s just clutter to them right?
He didn’t show any greed for now, the goal was just to get the business running and get monster cores ad many. And not to say he wasn’t losing anything, only gaining from even this.
"Umm... yes, boss, but do you have more of these?" Levy scratched his head, clearly concerned. "Only one won’t be enough. If you’re serious about trading for monster cores, we’ll need a proper stock at least a few thousand pieces."
He looked hesitant, awkward. "The transition to using cores as currency won’t be easy to convince people. But maybe... maybe it could work. It does seem cheaper in the long run."
Razeal didn’t reply imdiately. Instead, he looked straight at Levy.
"How many fire elental cores do you have?"
Levy blinked, as if the question made him uncomfortable. This guy won’t take back all the cores he gave him right?
Five minutes later...
"I have four hundred... all of them are third-grade fire elental cores.. You had given." He handed over the neatly packed bundle of glowing red crystal spheres.
"Good. Now give 400 normal first-ranked arrows as well," Razeal instructed.
Fuckkkk levy scred in his head..
---
While all of this was happening in the shop, about twenty ters away, on the rooftop of a nearby house, three won with purple hair stood.
"Mother..."
---
User Comments
0 comments from readers