Forging to the Beat
“Whoa.”
He let out yet another gasp of admiration, not even sure how many times that made it.
The room was just that impressive.
One side was lined with all sorts of experimental equipment and reagents, while the other held hammers, anvils, and other smithing tools spread out in neat array.
The room's true nature was a massive workshop capable of both alchemy and blacksmithing.
“This is insane. For real.”
“I'm glad it meets with your approval. What do you think? Since you're here, why not try making something?”
“Hmm... Make something, huh.”
“As the successor to the Magic King's will, my liege must surely have some skill in crafting as well.”
Carpe nodded.
As Tina said, the 8-star skill Magic Engineering included a 'crafting' function.
“Alright. Let's give it a shot.”
Carpe picked up a hammer.
“RaSe does have production jobs, right?”
Yeah, like Blacksmith or Alchemist lines. Tons of jobs branch off from there.
While most other MMORPGs lumped production jobs under 'sub-jobs,' RaSe treated them as full professions, just like Swordsman or Mage.
In RaSe, only production jobs can craft items. No one else.
“Huh? Can't you just buy production skill cards from the auction house and learn 'em?”
Production skills don't drop from regular skill packs. Only from production-job exclusive packs.
And even those were all non-tradable, so they never hit the auction house anyway.
“So that means Magic Overlords with Magic Engineering count as production jobs?”
Yep. Mage, puppeteer, alchemist, blacksmith... insane munchkin hybrid. Makes no sense, right?
“Kuh. That's what makes it mythic. Duh.”
Anyway, they got their merits. Not absolute, but player-crafted gear usually outperforms same-level mob drops. Get a little rep, and big guilds scoop you up.
They fund you big-time in exchange for outfitting the members.
Top blacksmith for a top-10 guild? Salary crushes corporate execs.
“Ooh. Sounds popular.”
Nah, zero popularity. Like, zero. Production jobs are a tiny fraction of RaSe players.
“Why? The benefits are that good.”
Multiple reasons... but two big ones. First, they're weak.
RaSe gives 1 skill point per level. Unless you're a freak like you, no other way to get points. Most players scrape by on combat skills alone.
No room to dump into crafting too. Production jobs end up weak by default.
Of course, exceptions existed.
Like 'The Weed Carver Who Sculpts Sunlight.'
Or 'The Greedy Blacksmith Who Ignores All Equip Restrictions.'
Jobs that aced both combat and production... but those were hidden-class miracles among miracles.
Most folks wanna spit fire from their hands and slash mobs with sword auras. Not hole up hammering metal. Unless you can do both, pick one? Hunting wins.
“Hm. Makes sense. Second reason?”
Crafting's a bitch difficulty-wise.
“Difficulty?”
Carpe's eyes widened at the unexpected answer.
“There's difficulty? Isn't it just prep materials and hit 'craft' for instant item?”
That was how acorn synthesis worked, at least.
Hah. If RaSe was that nice, production players would be 10x more common. Nope—crafting needs manual control.
“Manual? Like mine iron ore, bellows to heat, melt it down, skim impurities, pour into molds... that kinda thing?”
Carpe's eyes sparkled.
He'd read fantasy novels with crafting like that. Sounded fun!
...Sheesh. Tone it down. That's not gaming, that's labor!
“But RaSe chases realism...”
Chase it moderately! Double down and everyone quits, idiot!
RaSe was an unfriendly game, sure.
No info on the official site—you dove in, bashed your head, learned the hard way.
That was part of the 'Another World' slogan.
But slap 'game' on it, and total hostility doesn't fly.
Realism doesn't mean copy-paste real-world pain. It's a game.
Skin a monster for leather? Dagger it up, drain blood, tan it—for hours? No one plays that.
Too convenient kills fun too, but games need baseline QoL.
RaSe walks that tightrope. Not so bad folks ragequit over 'fucking realism.'
No archery experience? You can still Archer. Aim and shoot—hits decent for newbies.
'Dexterity' stat and skill corrections make it work.
Crafting's the same. No melting ore or skimming dross.
“Then why's it hard?”
Try it. Iron ingot over there?
“This?”
Cheonma pointed to a neat stack of exactly 30 iron ingots.
Carpe grabbed one, and an info window popped up.
◈ Basic iron ingot given as reward for unlocking the Room facility 'Workshop.' Low purity—unsuitable for advanced gear.
◈ Higher-level workshop yields better materials as rewards.
“Unlock reward?”
Yeah. Workshop and other Room facilities give rewards on unlock.
“My liege. For reference, the field and orchard unlocks gave 100 acorns.”
“Kyuu! Kyuu!”
“Ah, gotcha...”
So that's where the acorns for planting came from.
Carpe scratched Mukhyang's chin once, then set the ingot on the anvil.
Magic Engineering activated.
Entering 'Crafting' mode. Searching craftable items with material 'Low-Grade Iron Ingot.'
No blueprints registered. Showing only basic craftables.
“Blueprints?”
Can't craft from imagination. Most crafting skills use blueprints—register 'em, craft that design.
“Aha.”
Like, snag the Magic Weapon - Enigma blueprint, register it, then craft Enigma.
“Where do blueprints come from?”
Buy from smithies. Or mob drops, quests.
“Drops and quest rewards beat buying, obviously.”
Bingo. Gamer knows what's up.
Search complete. Craftable items:
• Plate Helm
• Plate Breastplate
• Plate Gauntlets
• Plate Greaves
• Plate Sabatons
“Whoa, straight-up basics.”
RPG as hell.
The classic five slots: head, chest, legs, arms, feet.
Plenty more equip spots existed, but no blueprints meant no list.
“What to make...”
Pass on breastplate—Agile Rat's Armor was solid.
Gauntlets too—Legendary gloves equipped.
“Hmm. Greaves or feet...”
Pick anything. Or make all if stuck—tons of ingots.
“Ugh, c'mon. First craft ever. These moments gotta thump! Where's the romance?”
Romance my ass...
“One sec. Just a minute.”
Carpe, who pondered jjajangmyeon vs. jjamppong for 10+ minutes, decided quick this time.
“Sabatons it is.”
Steel boots might boost kicks a bit...
No damage boost. Barefoot same as booted.
“...Mood, then.”
Selected Plate Sabatons.
Crafting starts in 5 seconds. Prepare.
5... 4... 3...
“Huh? Prepare? For wha—?”
Time ticked down as Carpe flailed.
2... 1. Crafting start!
The countdown ended. A red dot appeared on the ingot—slightly bigger than a 500-won coin.
“Hit here?”
Easy peasy. Where's the 'hard'?
Carpe raised the hammer, thinking that—
“Huh?”
A large ring formed around the red dot, shrinking fast. Sucked toward the center, like.
“Wha—?”
Panicking, Carpe smashed the dot.
Klang!
The ingot crumbled to dust with 'Bad!'.
Carpe blankly lifted the wreckage.
◈ Ruined by an amateur smith's attempt. Melting it down wastes labor costs. Junk shop might not even take it...
“What the...”
See? No more explaining needed.
“This is a rhythm game.”
Nailed it.
Time shrinking ring to red dot—hammer on beat!
RaSe's famed smiths? Rhythm game pros, every one.
“Hah.”
Fresh, right? Blew my mind first time.
“Fresh? More absurd...”
Whatever—RaSe's call. Adapt.
Now he got the mechanic. No more noob fails.
You good at rhythm games?
“Dunno. Barely played any.”
Carpe sampled most genres, but skipped rhythm—didn't vibe with his smash-happy style.
Eh, you'll manage. Reflex-based. Yours are top-tier.
“Guess so?”
Yeah. Just panicked last time. Focus, nail it.
Low-Grade Iron Ingot set.
Starting Plate Sabatons craft.
Countdown over. Red dot again.
Gulp.
Carpe eyed the incoming ring.
“Now!”
Klang!
“That's it!”
Thrilling feedback!
The ring of struck metal was pure music.
Yo, focus!
“Ack.”
Next dot ambushed. Carpe hammered frantically.
Lucky—close enough for success.
But the third dot, paler shade...
“Now!”
Wait—
Klang!
Dust again. Stack 2 ruined.
“Why?!”
Faint color. Lighter tap.
“Lighter how?!”
Yell at RaSe. Calm down, try again.
“Hoo...”
Attempt 3.
“Did you see? Dots overlapped. Cheat!”
Shoulda tapped light. Tatang.
Attempt 4.
“Freckles? What even?!”
Tilt the hammer...
.
.
.
Attempt 17.
This is surprisingly him.
Cheonma muttered from afar—Carpe asked for space to focus.
Weak at rhythm games, huh. Human side showing.
“Is that so? Seems normal to me. Mastering something first-try would be weirder.”
Guy aces most stuff on first go.
“Kyuu! Kyuuu!”
“Indeed. My liege is exceptional, as expected.”
Progress visible, though. Attempt 13 nearly nailed the finale—one hair off.
Soon...
Klang!
Crafting success!
First equipment item crafted.
Acquired title Novice Blacksmith.
“Kaaaaah!!!”
Overcome with emotion, Carpe howled like a transparent dragon, echoing every direction.