What Should I Do Now?
"What should I do now?"
First, I need to gather the necessary tools. Renting a forge is fine, but considering what I'll be making going forward, having a portable mini-forge might not be a bad idea.
Of course, with a bit of practice, I could probably cobble one together myself, but no point wasting time on that.
Vulcan, back in the village at Tud's direction, headed straight for the forge. He could pay to rent a corner of the smithy, but that wasn't sustainable forever—Tud wanted him to buy tools for a portable setup right away for convenience.
They were basic portable tools, so they had their limitations, but they were decent enough to get started. Once he got the hang of crafting, he could make higher-quality ones himself. Vulcan nodded in agreement.
'Fucking expensive, though.'
The prices weren't for the faint of heart, forcing him to fork over gold with gritted teeth. The portable furnace and anvil alone cost gold—not even silver—for the lowest-grade versions, making his hands shake. Add in consumables like charcoal and repair tools, and over 5 gold vanished in a flash.
'No wonder production classes aren't popular.'
It was pocket change back when he was grinding hunts non-stop, but since switching to gatherer, he'd never dropped that much at once. The massive upfront investment was reason enough production classes got snubbed. Basic tools drained a fortune, and most crafts just burned through materials without breaking even—let alone profiting.
Actually, maybe early game was better. Later, blowing rare mats on Common gear would shatter your sanity. Like pouring into a bottomless barrel.
'That's why guilds are a must.'
Anyone serious about production joined a guild for specialist support to grow. Even then, guilds didn't take just anyone—they demanded Uncommon or higher class, or slave-contract-level binding to prevent jumping ship after leeching support.
That's why some went solo for self-sufficiency or started with Common production, then hunted Uncommon+ paths to qualify for guilds. Stocking all your own mats was insanely costly otherwise.
If you had that kind of cash, better to gear up fat, buy skillbooks, and power-level a combat class for real gains.
'Tough call.'
Vulcan had considered guilds too—especially him, with his money obsession. But first, assess his own skills objectively. Guild support tempted, but revealing his Legendary class from the start? That'd bring chains. They'd bind him tight once word got out.
Worst case, rivals might smash what they couldn't have. Hell, probably would. Big guilds offered protection, but hiding behind someone didn't suit him.
'They'll notice eventually anyway.'
Crucially, Vulcan didn't want anyone spotting his comeback yet. If he could harness this Legendary class's power like Tud said, revenge was on the table.
He hadn't given up hope. 'Just need minimal power. The rest? Grit and spite will handle it.'
Eyes flashing, he grabbed his gear and bolted from the forge.
"Set it down here?"
He'd left the village entirely. Avoid eyes if possible, and public spots weren't ideal for a mini-forge anyway. Beginner zone was vast; he picked a spot low-traffic newbie players ignored.
Compaction
[Legendary][Active]
Hardens designated soil to stone-like firmness.
Rank: F
- Hold up. Use 'Compaction' first. Unstable ground under the anvil means shaky hits.
"Compaction."
Following Tud's advice, Vulcan cast it. Mana drained slightly from the legendary architecture sub-skill, leveling the bumpy ground flat and rock-hard—unshakable under heavy blows.
"Compaction. Compaction. Compaction."
He spammed it, smoothing wide for stable footing. No point in a steady anvil if he wobbled swinging the hammer.
- Not a total idiot, huh. Now set up the furnace.
Tud grumbled approval. Vulcan placed the portable furnace and anvil.
- Toss lowest-grade iron ore, charcoal, and goblin bone meal into the furnace top.
"Goblin bone meal?"
He prepped to smelt ore into pure iron, then froze. He'd seen ore refining selling scraps—coke and limestone boosted heat, separated impurities. Charcoal now, but later pitch coal or mana-infused coke with limestone for slag removal, yielding clean molten iron.
Goblin bones instead of limestone? No deep smithing knowledge, but he'd never heard that. As a pro gatherer, if he didn't know, it wasn't standard.
"Got it."
No arguing with legendary smithing master Tud. He loaded as instructed, activated the furnace's magic. Fixed forges burned steady, but portables had easy on/off for mobility—and easy slag dump. Pricey as hell, though.
- Monster bones often hold special properties or mana. Smelt with ore, and it infuses the metal with power.
Tud addressed his doubts, dropping new info.
- Bellows time. Crank the heat!
Furnace humming, now physical labor. Portable meant low power—body heat required.
Whoosh!
Bellows on the vent, stomping hard blew air in. Furnace roared hotter, melting ore, splitting iron from dross.
"……That's why flame resistance matters."
F-rank 30% resisted the blistering face-heat. Without? In enclosed space, HP would've ticked down live.
"Oh, coming out."
After endless pumping, molten iron flowed—pure, infused with goblin mana.
- Transfer to anvil. Skim slag like soup fat, lop chunks like rice cakes for ingots.
But Vulcan went straight to forging, plopping it down. It cooled slightly, rough-shaping.
"Hoo!"
Clang! Clang! Clink! Clank!!
Hammer away. Before it set wonky, basic form first. Noob stance, but shape emerged fast.
'Even shows me where.'
Simple: Dragon Eye marked strike spots precisely. Augmented reality—perfect hits, ideal form overlaid.
- Hurry! Forge at exact temp for quality! Optimal: 1149°C! Only when glowing true yellow. White or pale-yellow burns material; orange won't shape right!
Tud barked. Tud's yell: Forge at peak heat for real items. Tricky—colors subtle, shift fast in air. Smiths' nightmare; stare too long, all looks same. Pros hammered orange-to-pale-yellow, reheat.
'Cheat mode. For real.'
Easy for Vulcan. Dragon Eye clarified color and exact temp readout.
- Focus! Eyes see all—hit precise spots at precise times!
"……!"
More: Sword half-formed, golden lights blinked in his vision.
'No way?'
Not illusion—pulsing points. He hammered them in sequence.
Dang! Dang! Dang!
Rhythm game vibes. Hit lit spots, gold shattered, absorbed back. Pro secrets, but Dragon Eye guided beats.
- Temp dropping. Reheat!
Temp-point cycles built a proper sword fast.
- Water trough! Quench!
Tud yelled; Vulcan dunked in prepped trough—not plain water, but anima flower paste from quest.
Sizzle—
Cooled harder, anima power seeped in. Goblin mana + anima reacted, granting special force.
- Reheat!
One more heat-cool temper, blade done. Not over—sharpened edge, carved wooden hilt.
"Wooden sword hilt production!"
Luckily, no manual carving. Chant auto-shaved wood to fit, iron rivet secured, leather wrapped.
Over an hour total. Simple recipe + Dragon Eye sped it; normals took 2-3. Complex? Days.
No wonder production got dunked—worse than shop NPC crap half the time.
Thus, Vulcan's first creation complete.
You have completed Goblin Champion's Longsword (Unique).
Vulcan froze, staring.
"……What?"
Unique-grade longsword! Skipping Uncommon, Rare straight to Unique stunned him. Fame and stats sweet, but...
"This is a quest item?"
Goblin Champion's Longsword: infamously uncraftable quest exclusive.