Free Web NovelChapter 8: Chapter 8- The Bazzar.
Notifications about his blacksmithing progress were piling up, he could only scroll through them, his eyes darting across the lines.
[CRAFTING SESSION SUMMARY]
[Iron Longsword (Common) has been forged successfully, +3 XP]
...
[Iron Arming Sword (Common—Good) has been forged successfully, +5 XP]
.....
[Pattern-Welded Sword (Rare) has been forged successfully, +25 XP]
[First Rare item forged successfully, +25 XP]
[Steel Broadsword (Uncommon) has been forged successfully, +10 XP]
[Forgeheart Bracers (Growth/Soulbound) has been forged successfully, +15 XP]
.....
[Ding!]
[SKILL PROFICIENCY UPDATED]
[Forging — Apprentice (121/300)]
Crafting speed increased by +5%. Hidden Attribute Chance increased by +2%.
Two percent. Sounds a bit lackluster. But it’s better than nothing, I guess.
[Eternal Flame — Adept]
Fire damage increased by +25%.
[Forge-Sight — Adept] Passive scan range increased by an additional 5m. Hidden attributes detected without active scan below Rare tier.
Leo’s eyes paused on the Eternal Flame and Forge-Sight updates. Forge-Sight range had jumped from 5m to 10m. This was major progress. He could now appraise items below Rare — meaning common and uncommon items — passively just with a look.
Indeed, a useful upgrade. Handy.
Eternal Flame’s fire damage also increased by 25%, but other properties did not seem to have increased.
Leo wanted to take a breather from the notifications. He was about to dismiss the notification window.
But...
The system wasn’t done.
[Ding!]
[Ancestor’s Echo - Comprehension Surge has been triggered]
You have witnessed the myths of another timeline. A thousand forging techniques now flow within your memory, guiding you and improving your techniques.
[Comprehension increased.]
[All blacksmithing skill proficiency +40%.]
A flood of new information surged into his mind, but before he could even dwell on it, another round of notifications appeared.
Leo’s expression shifted.
This...
He had barely processed the information injected into his mind when the system started spamming again.
[Ding!]
[BLUEPRINT ACQUIRED]
[FORGEHEART BRACERS]
[A detailed blueprint created due to the resonance of your talent and ancestors’ echo. It is a unique blueprint only available to you, and you won’t find it anywhere else. The effects and skills of the bracer can vary depending upon the type and rank of material used for forging along with the skill of the forger.] fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
[Quality: Uncommon (Growth)] [Unique Attribute: Echo of a Thousand Hands]
[Material Cost: 2 Steel Bars, 1 Iron Ingot, 1 Mana Crystal (optional)]
["This recipe cannot be traded, copied, or learned by another."]
Leo stared at the blueprint and couldn’t help but feel something stir in his chest.
[Ding!]
[HAMMER ART UNLOCKED — ANCESTRAL CADENCE]
[A forging technique produced after merging thousands of ancestral hammer-strikes and refinements of the art form from thousands of blacksmiths. Each blow channels stamina, strength, and mana into the metal, allowing the smith to correct hidden flaws as they work.]
Type: Forging Ability
Cost: 20 STM + 8 MP per strike
Requires: 35 STR
No Cooldown.
[Effect: Each activated strike has a 20% chance to repair a hidden micro-fracture, improving the final quality threshold of the finished item.]
Once again, a surge of new information appeared in his mind.
His fingers twitched unconsciously.
He could feel something settling — like a rhythm. A throbbing beat pulsed in his hands like a heartbeat.
This is new... My forging level will go up a notch with this.
He was grateful for awakening the SSS-rank talent — everything had started because of it, and everything he had now was built on top of it.
There were still some notifications he had not seen. He opened them.
[XP: 259 / 250]
[LEVEL UP!]
[Level: 4 → 5]
STR 69 → 79, VIT 58 → 66, DEX 47 → 53, INT 25 → 28, WIS 24 → 27, CHA 26 → 31, MFT 26 → 31, STM 31 → 36
Free Points: 12
He allocated +5 in STR, +4 in VIT, and +3 in DEX.
Leo gathered all his forged items, bid Hugh goodbye, and stepped out of the smithy. He wanted to go to the marketplace to sell the equipment, but it was already night.
Leo left Hugh’s smithy and made his way to the inn. He logged out.
It was already late, almost midnight in the real world, so he closed the smithy and went to his apartment for a good night’s sleep in his old bed.
Leo went to sleep, but his stomach kept growling, so he got up again and searched for a packet of ramen.
The ramen was ready in a few minutes. He slurped the ramen clean.
After having his fill, he fell asleep with ease.
...
Early next morning.
He logged back into the game and directly headed to the district market, toward the main square.
The market was already packed with people — NPCs and players all mixed together.
The Ironhaven marketplace, also known as the Bazaar, was the central hub of trade.
It was a beating heart of trade in the district.
NPC merchants were constantly coming and going through this place.
All the monster drops, loot, and goods from other towns and cities gathered in this location, so it was the best place to look if you wanted to find something cheap.
But you had to rely on fate, as searching for a specific item in this mess would be too difficult.
People set up their stalls and kept a board stating things like "Looking for healing potion" or "Looking for Rare-grade sword..." so that others might trade with them.
The marketplace was a fairly large area.
A fountain sat at the center of the area. The water jet spraying from the fountain shimmered under the morning sunlight.
People were coming and going. Some were setting up stalls to sell their products while others were bargaining.
Leo scanned the surrounding crowd with his new Forge-Sight.
Dozens of items with hidden attributes flickered in his notification panel.
A dagger on a nearby stall carried a concealed [Bleed effect]. A pair of gloves had a dormant [Grip Enhancement]....
As he was searching for an empty stall, he saw an NPC selling weird-looking stones at 80 silver per piece. Somehow, the NPC was able to find customers and even managed to sell off the stones.
Leo also overheard a couple of people talking about the worldwide announcement and the server announcement. People were eager to find the blacksmith responsible for triggering the announcement.
Hearing this, Leo lowered his head, covered his face with his hood, and walked away.
He finally found an empty stall, paid the rent of 5 silver to the NPC attendant, and set up his stall quickly.
He laid out the equipment he was planning to sell — the Iron Longsword, which Leo had forged and thought was a failure, the Iron Arming Sword, and the Steel Broadsword of Uncommon quality.
Leo did not display the pattern-welded sword yet. The Ember-Touched sword and his bracers were not for sale, so he did not put them on display either.
He had barely arranged the display when a player approached, asking about the broadsword.
Male. Early twenties, wearing leather armor with daggers at his hip.
"How much?"
From his looks alone, he was portraying an assassin vibe through and through — but he was asking about a broadsword.
Leo did not question it and replied, "Three gold coins."
The man frowned upon hearing the price. "Three gold? Sorry, did I mishear you? Can you repeat that? You mean three silver?"
"No." Leo said, his face calm. "You heard correctly. It really is worth three gold coins."
The man was shocked. "Three gold? That’s daylight robbery. I can get a common broadsword for eighty silver at any NPC stall."
"Yes." Leo calmly replied, "You can get a common, ordinary sword at that price range. But this sword is a bit special, you see."
Leo activated the system’s Display and shared the attribute panel with the man. "It has an additional self-repair effect, meaning your sword will recover its durability over time, and you won’t have to come back from a hunt just to get your sword repaired. It also has +3 VIT and stagger reduction."
The man’s eyes widened in disbelief as he read. Then he stared at Leo and said, "Two gold."
"No," a firm rejection from Leo.
"Two and a half gold coins."
"Not a chance. You’re already getting it at a good rate. Trust me, you’re not at a loss with this sword," Leo explained.
A hint of reluctance flashed through the man’s eyes, but it soon faded away and he relented. "Okay, okay, you win. Three gold it is."
The man took the sword for three gold coins and walked away quickly.
Leo looked at the gold coins and smiled. This was the first time he had earned a decent amount of money in the game.
The arming sword was sold next to a warrior at 1 gold and 50 silver. Next, the serrated sword — the one which Leo almost threw away thinking it was faulty — was sold to a curious NPC mage for 1 gold and 20 silver.
Leo tallied his gains. He already had 75 silver, plus 10 gold coins awarded during the server announcement. With an additional 5 gold and 70 silver from the sales, he now had a total of 15 gold coins and 145 silver coins on hand.
He was making progress, but the money was far from enough.
He looked at the wrapped pattern-welded sword.
Looks like I’ll have to sell you after all.
Leo placed the last sword on display.
The Rare-rank orange glow rippled through the air. It immediately caught the attention of many passersby, and a crowd quickly gathered.
Leo hoped he could sell it for more than five gold coins. Many people were asking for the price and shouting, bidding against each other.
Around the same time, a figure cloaked in robes was walking by the marketplace. She saw a commotion caused by the crowd and the shining Rare-rank glow spreading in the area, so she walked over curiously.
She pushed through the crowd and arrived at Leo’s stall. When she inspected the sword attributes, she was genuinely surprised to find such a unique weapon in a place like this.
She walked up to Leo and asked, "How much for the blade?"
Leo looked, and his Forge-Sight showed.
[???? — Level ???]
Faction: Ironhaven Royal Family
Status: Incognito
Leo froze.
Royal Family??
The first NPC he had ever seen from the royal family.
Leo replied, "This one is a bit special, you see. So how much can Miss offer me?"
"I can see it’s special. Where did you find it?" the woman asked, thinking Leo must have stumbled onto some fortuitous encounter and obtained the sword.
Leo raised an eyebrow. "I forged it." He felt a bit annoyed for being underestimated but he still managed to stay calm.
A hint of skepticism flashed through her eyes. The woman squinted her eyes and studied his face. She couldn’t help but ask again, "You really forged this?"
"I did." Leo nodded his head and didn’t provide any further explanation.
She went quiet for a while. Then as if muttering to herself, "Our Ironhaven forgers have never made a special Rare-grade sword like this. They can forge Rare-grade swords, but they’re all standard ones without much additional effect."
Leo was impressed by this girl — she knew her city well.
Just as the woman was about to continue, a player shoved her aside and cut in, announcing, "Twenty gold! Sell it to me!"
Another NPC merchant also joined in. "Twenty-two gold."
More and more joined.
"Twenty-three gold."
"Twenty-four point five gold."
"Twenty-six gold."
The robed woman’s eyes narrowed.
"Thirty gold!" she bid.
Everyone fell silent, and nobody raised the bid further.
Leo waited a moment. Seeing that nobody else was increasing their bid, he handed her the sword.
"Okay, Miss. Highest bidder. This sword is yours — you can bond with it."
The woman nodded and handed him a pouch containing thirty gold coins.
[Ding!]
[Transaction Completed]
Pattern-Welded Longsword (Rare) has been exchanged for 30 gold coins.
His in-game wallet showed 46 Gold, 45 Silver.
The robed woman who had already walked away quite a distance suddenly paused.
She glanced back over her shoulder, studying Leo.
She came back.
Looked at Leo in the eyes.
And...
[Ding!]
[Hidden Quest Unlocked — The Citadel’s Invitation]
[Details: ???]
[Reward: ???]
