C14 It Was Time to Level up

"Big brother Rinn, if you give me this sword, won't it cause trouble if John finds out?"

Quinn was thoroughly enchanted by the longsword, yet he hadn't lost sight of the pressing issue at hand.

Rinn reassured him with a smile, "Rest easy, John won't find out. And if by some chance he does, I'll shoulder the blame!"

"Big brother Rinn!" Quinn's face beamed with appreciation.

"No need for formalities, brother..."

Rinn's smile remained warm as he subtly shifted the conversation, his voice dropping to a hush, "About John's blueprint..."

Quinn snapped to attention, glancing outside to ensure they were alone before confiding in Rinn's ear, "Ages ago, after a night of heavy drinking, I caught John admiring a blueprint. He boasted that if he could forge the weapon it depicted, it would be the crowning achievement of his career."

Rinn felt a jolt of excitement.

'No way, that crafty John actually has an advanced weapon blueprint?'

'Could it be blue or purple?'

'What if it's gold?'

"Do you know where the blueprint is exactly, Brother Quinn?"

"Not really."

"And the hiding place for the blueprint?"

"I'm not sure, but my guess would be John's room..."

With this information, Rinn gave a knowing nod. "Got it. Brother Quinn, if I were you, I'd go hide that longsword immediately."

Quinn, moved to the core, his eyes reddening, said, "Thank you, big brother Rinn! I'll never forget your kindness for as long as I live!"

He departed to secrete the sword away in his dorm.

Rinn shook his head in amusement, "To think my discarded junk could curry such favor. This NPC is just too simple."

The sword he had nonchalantly handed over was, despite its fine appearance, merely subpar compared to the multitude of weapons he had crafted.

His eyes then drifted to a corner of the room.

A line of weapons stood there, each surpassing the next in quality—top-tier among the common white-grade arms.

"Such a shame, still no blue weapon."

Rinn returned to the heat of the forge, his attention settling on the freshly crafted hammer.

"Chaos Hammer (White), a two-handed weapon. Attack: 19-28. Passive: 5% chance of unleashing a Chaos Critical Strike. Requires the wielder to have a strength above 2.5..."

Among the many weapons Rinn had crafted, the Chaos Hammer stood out as the sole one endowed with a passive skill. Rinn estimated that even though the Chaos Hammer might not be classified as a blue weapon, it was tantalizingly close to that tier.

"Could it be a white top-grade weapon, just a hair's breadth away from blue?" he mused, his yearning for a blue weapon intensifying with the thought. The remarkable attributes of a white top-grade weapon were impressive enough. But a genuine blue weapon? Its attributes would surely be off the charts.

"No, I must secure John the Drunk's blueprint! But first things first, I need to level up." Rinn was not one to act impulsively. To him, John remained an enigma, an indication of the man's superior strength. Rinn resolved to hold off on pursuing the blueprint until he was on par with John, ready to contend if necessary. When the time came, if stealth failed, he wouldn't shy away from a forceful confrontation.

"Open my personal panel!"

Name: Rinn

Level: 2

Title: None

Profession: Elementary Blacksmith

Attributes: Strength 3.3, Agility 1.8, Intelligence 2.0

Profession Skill: Elementary Forging Technique (3658/10000): "The elementary forging technique boasts a 95% success rate for standard weapons, a 20% chance to craft a blue weapon, and a 1% chance for a purple weapon..."

Combat Skill: None

Skill Points: 1

Attribute Points: 1

Experience Points: 30/1000

Currency: 25 silver coins, 110 copper coins.

Thanks to his recent mission completion, Rinn had leveled up smoothly, with a modest boost to his attributes. His relentless forging had also shot his proficiency through the roof.

"Should I invest more skill points into forging? Perhaps I could immediately craft a blue weapon?" Rinn pondered, but ultimately, he shook his head, dismissing the idea. Skill points were a rare commodity, earned one per level and irreplaceable once spent. Besides, he had yet to acquire any combat skills. In this tumultuous world, blacksmithing alone wouldn't cut it for leveling up—combat skills were essential for that.

"I'll save the skill points for now. I'll allocate them once I've picked up some combat skills."

Grinding proficiency at the blacksmith shop just doesn't make sense anymore. With the recent surge in weapon production, even John's connections aren't enough to ease the sales process.

It's a basic economic principle: scarcity drives prices up, while abundance drives them down.

Rinn's prolific output has even impacted the weapon market in Black Iron City, driving prices lower and lower.

John came by to offer some friendly advice, "Rinn, your forging skills are exceptional, but everyone needs rest. Maybe it's time for a break?"

It was a subtle hint for him to stop forging.

Rinn understood that John probably felt he had made enough money and was concerned about market stability. He agreed to take a break after completing this final batch of weapons.

It's ironic how being too skilled at forging can be its own kind of problem!

After some thought, Rinn resolved to focus on leveling up after delivering the weapons. In the world of online gaming, leveling up is the ultimate goal!

...

After days of meticulous work, Rinn's Chaos Hammer was finally perfected—a truly fine weapon.

Typically, as an employee of the blacksmith shop, he wouldn't be allowed to wield the weapons he crafted.

But John didn't object when he saw Rinn with the Chaos Hammer. After all, Rinn's relentless forging had filled his coffers, and he hadn't shared any of those profits with Rinn.

Consider the hammer a token of goodwill.

Little did John know, the Chaos Hammer was a passive, top-tier white weapon.

Otherwise, Rinn wouldn't have gotten off so easily.

"Master John, I'll be away for a few days. I'm counting on you to hold down the fort!"

With a pack slung over his shoulder and the hammer in his left hand, Rinn bid farewell to the towering figure of John outside the blacksmith shop.

After all the preparation, it was finally time to venture out and level up.

John, standing in the doorway with an innocent smile, reassured him, "Kid, don't worry. While you're gone, I'll keep forging top-notch weapons for the city's warriors!"

"I trust you—yeah, right!

You're probably just going to slack off and daydream in the tavern while I'm gone!

As Rinn internally rolled his eyes, Quinn, who was standing next to John, leaned in with a forlorn expression and said, "Rinn, I'm going to miss you!"

"Ha! I'll miss you too, buddy!"

Rinn couldn't help but feel a touch of satisfaction seeing the NPC who once despised him now looking up to him like a little brother.

John, on the other hand, looked on in astonishment. What's gotten into Quinn?

He's not holding a grudge against Rinn?

"Well, I'm off. Goodbye, you two!"

With a wave, Rinn vanished at the corner of the street.

Tears welling in his eyes, Quinn called out, "Brother Rinn, I'll be waiting for your return!"

John gave the kid another look. Tears, huh? Was his acting that convincing?

Thump!

In an instant, John's fist connected with Quinn's head as he scolded, "Kid, he's gone. Cut the act and get back to work!"

Despite his courteous demeanor with Rinn, John's true, ruthless nature hadn't changed one bit.

Rubbing his sore head, Quinn thought to himself, "I wasn't acting at all!"