Potion Arrows and Legendary Skill Leaps
Making arrows entirely out of metal was simple in theory, yet devilishly tricky in practice. Since forging alone couldn't handle everything, Vulcan had to start by crafting a basic casting mold to shape them—and that mold-making process was a nightmare.
The slightest imbalance could turn them into freakish flying contraptions that wouldn't fly straight, demanding meticulous engraving. And even after that, pouring molten metal into the mold and letting it cool required absolute precision; one slip, and it was ruined. So caution upon caution.
Once the iron arrows were cast, Vulcan reheated them and hammered them in the forge. Casting alone couldn't yield a perfect form or power.
Tsssss!! Followed by quenching.
Arrows were typically seen as disposables, so no one bothered with this rigor—but Vulcan treated each one like a full-fledged weapon. In truth, he had no intention of using them as mere consumables.
"Good."
His production method strayed far from the norm. Usually, you'd quench to boost strength and hardness, then temper to counter the brittleness—but Vulcan skipped the tempering entirely.
Quenching and tempering were near-inseparable, practically mandatory steps, yet he ditched it for a simple reason: he had something better.
◈ Enhanced elasticity and resilience
Instead of water or oil for quenching, he filled the vat with sap from Phumer trees. Absorbing it granted astonishing elasticity—which tempering would ruin, so he stopped there.
His iron arrows emerged strong, durable, and more elastic than wood, bound to propel them farther and harder.
—You, don't tell me...?
But for all that effort and skill, the arrowheads were comically blunt. No, "blunt" didn't cover it—they were flat and rounded beyond salvage by mere sharpening.
Yet Tud caught on instantly. At first, he wondered if Vulcan planned separate tips to attach later, but seeing him finish them like this sparked realization.
"Yep. Gonna hang potions on 'em and shoot."
Vulcan's reason for these odd arrows was straightforward: no archer skills. If the bow he'd made earlier had decent archery skills, maybe—but its power-focused ones didn't change his plan.
"Pop the cork, slot this in as a cap... and it's done."
Uncork the potion, use the arrow's end as a cap to hang it, then fire. Farther than any throw, with Bow Mastery boosting aim.
Absurd? Not really—melee users carried bows, daggers, or throwing stars as sidearms for the same reason: luring stragglers, pre-applying poison or debuffs.
"Alchemy's got some wild recipes, y'know?"
Vulcan planned to leverage his newly ranked-up E-rank Alchemy skill.
—Gonna debuff from range with that? Clever trick.
Truth be told, Vulcan had been underwhelmed by his Legendary Alchemy at first. F-rank felt barely different from basic Alchemy.
'E-rank unleashes this madness...'
But ranking to E-rank flooded him with recipes: Frost Potions that froze foes sluggish; Weakness Potions slashing stats; Blind Potions absorbed in 5 seconds then blinding for 10. Lethal debuffs galore. And risky buffs amplifying stats temporarily before crashing them.
Some ingredients were obscure—auction house roulette—but many were surprisingly simple.
'What comes next? Am I turning bomber? Uhihihihihi!!'
E-rank was nuts; D, C, or higher? Monster wipes via explosions? Poisoning rivers for aquatics? Rare mats, sure, but doable later.
Anticipation bubbling, Vulcan devised potion delivery via arrows. The result: this.
"And these are reusable forever."
High durability meant no constant remaking. Stock a batch, recover post-fight, reuse. No waste on pricey ingredients.
Normal arrows broke after a couple hits, treated as disposables. Ten uses? Worth it. Iron bow + iron arrows = farther, harder hits with enough strength.
Factoring utility, they outshone regulars.
Legendary Item Crafting skill rank has increased.
No. This alone paid dividends. Dozens more arrows pushed Legendary Crafting to rank up.
Uncommon grade, sure—but a longsword or arrow counted as one item. Dozens repeated built proficiency for the leap.
Job Quest: First Steps in Crafting
◈ Designate one skill D-rank or below for instant one-rank up.
"Yes!"
The job quest First Steps in Crafting completed too. Skill Enhancement Ticket in hand, pent-up exp from Spirit Land and Life Guardians exploded, jumping him six levels.
Vulcan's eyes locked on the reward over levels. Rare as hell—job quests or ultra-special ones only—this ticket upgraded any D-rank-or-below skill instantly. No hesitation.
Decision made at quest reveal.
"Use Skill Enhancement Ticket. Legendary Item Crafting."
Legendary Item Crafting skill rank has increased.
Obviously Legendary Crafting first. Fresh D-rank leaped to C-rank. Vulcan grinned, satisfied.
Architecture, Alchemy, Enchantment—all tough nuts. Pure efficiency might warrant debate, but immediate utility? No contest.
'C-rank Crafting matches mid-guild master smiths easy.'
Outstanding results. No official A-rank main Crafting skills across smithing, alchemy, etc.—even rank 1 artisans rumored at A but unconfirmed.
Major guilds' pampered exclusives topped B; mid-guilds C~B; small guilds lucky for C-rankers.
Affiliated nowhere, C-rank in record time? He could chase artisan rankers soon.
'Legendary skill—near B-rank equivalent? Maybe past it.'
Not just vibes. Higher ranks slowed brutally, but Legendary Crafting punched at ranker levels already—item quality-wise. Level limits held him to mid-200s gear, though.
"Any more?"
—What bullshit now?
"Nah, just... looked like extra rewards..."
Grin ear-to-ear, yet unsatisfied. He poked Tud slyly. Quest info mentioned overachievement bonus.
—Extra rewards? For what you did? Gonna overachieve? Back off? Huh?
"Nah, kidding! Joke. More chocolate?"
Tud's roar cowed him instantly. Tempting bonus, but "overachievement" meant 1-2 more ranks? Hell no.
Quest was rank-up based—next hurdles tougher. That shortcut again? Pass.
Quick pivot appeased Tud. Moments later, the tsundere dragon grumbled unexpectedly.
—Hmph. Fine, amusing enough for a simple gift.
"...?"
Success conditions exceeded.
🎁 Additional reward granted.
Tsudere to the end—scorn poured, seeming denial—then tossed the bonus Vulcan's way.