LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 44
Chapter 44: The Hideous Witch (5)
While hunting in the Crimson Tower, Yeonwol occasionally checked the community.
This was because, once other players discovered the location of this Crimson Tower, they would undoubtedly swarm to it.
The boss of a field dungeon does not respawn once defeated.
In other words, only one party can enjoy the privilege of defeating the boss.
Yeonwol didn’t want to give that privilege to others, but his level was too low to hunt the boss alone for now.
Although his stats and skills were sufficient, his low level was a significant drawback due to a lack of hunting time.
Therefore, Yeonwol stayed in the Crimson Tower and hunted relentlessly.
Leaving only minimal time for eating, sleeping, and maintaining his body in the real world, he continuously hunted the mages of the Crimson Tower.
A month passed in this manner.
At last, news about the Crimson Tower began circulating in the community.
Some players, through their diligent questing with Dark Elves, obtained hints about the Crimson Tower.
Other players gathered additional information, leading to the discovery that the Crimson Tower was located nearby.
Naturally, it became a hot topic not only among intermediate players in the 150-level range but also among high-level players.
It was exceedingly rare for a magic tower to exist as a hunting ground.
Although hunting mages was tricky, the experience points were abundant.
The field itself was quite spacious, and, above all, the rewards were exceptionally lucrative.
Even Yeonwol, who had monopolized this hunting ground for a month, earned enough from the equipment he obtained to match several months of a large corporation’s salary.
If one person could earn this much from hunting alone, wouldn’t guilds be eager to monopolize it?
The problem was that field dungeons were not infinite.
The number of monsters decreased with repeated hunting, and once the boss was defeated, the dungeon would be entirely “cleared.”
To monopolize the rewards before a dungeon was cleared, some guilds turned to “pro questers,” who solved mysterious quests with incredible speed.
‘If the questers have been deployed, it’s only a matter of time before this place is discovered.’
Their quest-solving abilities were beyond imagination.
Perhaps they had already pinpointed this location and dispatched guild units.
Guilds would have access to faster information than what was shared on the community boards.
‘Which means… hunting here is nearing its end.’
Yeonwol checked his status window.
Lv: 130
Combat Power: 165
Class: Necromaster (Un)
Race: Human
HP: 1,840 (+250)
MP: 3,250
[Fame: 519]
[Strength: 307]
[Agility: 267]
[Intelligence: 87]
[Endurance: 201]
[Life: 154]
[Mind: 100]
[Dexterity: 109]
His level had risen by nearly 30 levels.
At this level, he wouldn’t be intimidated by monsters at level 180, and he could activate the title [Indomitable Warrior].
The boss of the Crimson Tower was estimated to be level 180, so Yeonwol wanted to raise his combat power to match level 180.
However, drastically increasing combat power through repetitive hunting was impossible.
Compared to a month ago, when he was level 100 with a combat power of 150, the gap between level and combat power had narrowed.
But was this entirely a bad situation?
Not necessarily.
Ordinary users took three months to over a year to reach level 130 from level 100.
There were various reasons for this, but the primary one was that players with a combat power of around 100 typically formed four-person parties and split the experience points, resulting in poor hunting efficiency.
In contrast, Yeonwol was monopolizing experience points in a level-150 hunting ground, leading to an unparalleled growth rate.
‘I can’t raise skill proficiency immediately, and leveling up further would take too much time.’
How could he increase his combat power right now?
Obtaining new equipment?
That was an option, but it would be challenging to find gear with significantly better performance than his current level-100 “Relzers Set” at level 130.
Thus, one method remained.
“I’ll have to enhance my weapon.”
It wasn’t an ideal solution and wasn’t a common method among players yet, simply because of its excessive risks.
Failure in enhancement could lead to the weapon breaking, or penalties such as reduced attack power or the deletion of unique skills.
On the other hand, successful enhancement only slightly increased attack power, with extremely low success rates.
As a result, enhancement was viewed as a gambling game for the incredibly wealthy, not a practical means of improving specs.
Moreover, the [Blue Sea Blade] was a unique item, the only one of its kind in existence.
If such a weapon were to break, he wouldn’t have a backup weapon.
‘But…’
This information was based on a few early-game reports that had been released three years after the game’s launch.
In the future, more enhancement methods would be revealed, including techniques like “indestructible enhancement” and “guaranteed success enhancement.”
Of course, these were exclusive skills for hidden-class blacksmiths, not available to all blacksmiths.
‘But such enhancements are mainly for mass-produced weapons and aren’t particularly impressive.’
Enhancement methods with reduced penalties resulted in significantly lower stats after enhancement.
Conversely, enhancement methods with severe penalties often led to significantly improved performance after enhancement.
In some cases, unique skills were added, or a critical success could even upgrade the weapon’s grade.
‘Most of the named blacksmith players active in the future are likely already active now.’
Since the dungeon didn’t allow internet access, Yeonwol logged out from the Crimson Tower’s safe zone and searched for blacksmiths in the community.
[Blayco, ranked 7th among global blacksmiths, succeeds in enhancing an epic weapon to +3 twenty times! The secret lies in a probability-increasing skill!]
[The enhancement target was an epic axe with a level 200 restriction, owned by ranker Lei Weixin. Despite the risk of destruction upon failure, the enhancement was a miraculous success…]
[Blacksmith ranker Colben, with thousands of rare weapon enhancements under his belt, finally joins the Freedom Flight Guild.]
The blacksmith rankers frequently mentioned in the future were already making waves in the community.
While most combat rankers would experience generational shifts in the distant future, production-focused professions like blacksmiths and alchemists wouldn’t.
The renowned production players of today would remain just as famous in the future.
For combat players, growth could stagnate if something went wrong early in their development, but production players only needed to continuously train their skill proficiency.
Of course, some rankers would fall from grace due to poor skill management or foolish actions, while others, currently unknown, would emerge as rising stars in the future.
Yeonwol reconnected to the game and contacted Rapion.
He asked Rapion to find a blacksmith to enhance the Blue Sea Blade.
While continuing to hunt, Rapion soon replied.
[Rapion: The Blue Sea Blade, isn’t it the unique weapon dropped after defeating the tutorial boss? Enhancing such a valuable item…?]
As expected, there was concern.
However, Yeonwol wasn’t overly attached to the Blue Sea Blade, even if it were to break.
After all, there were many excellent weapons in this world, and he knew where to find them all.
The Blue Sea Blade was just a temporary weapon.
[Yeonwol: If it breaks, well, I can just buy a new one.]
[Rapion: If that’s your decision, I won’t stop you. I contacted the blacksmiths about enhancing an epic-grade unique weapon, and several of them responded, asking for the opportunity to handle it.]
Blacksmiths can quickly improve their skill proficiency by working with rare weapons.
No blacksmith would refuse the chance to enhance an epic-grade weapon, the only one of its kind in the world.
[Yeonwol: Even if the blacksmiths are not famous or are low-level, let me know about all of them.]
[Rapion: Understood. Here is a list of blacksmiths. You can choose one from this list.]
Upon receiving the list and reviewing it, Yeonwol noticed that, true to Rapion’s thoroughness, the most renowned and high-level blacksmiths were specially noted.
It was clear Rapion hoped Yeonwol would select a good blacksmith.
As Yeonwol carefully examined the list, he frowned.
All the blacksmiths either seemed unremarkable in skill or had nothing but high levels to their name.
Of course, Yeonwol’s standards were also extremely high.
He closed his eyes and searched his memory.
Someone came to mind—a blacksmith who was not yet mentioned anywhere but whom Yeonwol remembered as one of the best.
[Yeonwol: None of these appeal to me. Could you investigate a blacksmith with the nickname ‘Elgeni’?]
[Rapion: Elgeni? That sounds familiar… Hold on.]
A few minutes later, a direct message arrived.
[Rapion: Found her. She’s currently in a guild called ‘Malphi’s Hammer,’ mass-producing enhanced weapons. That must be tough; impressive.]
Mass-producing weapons?
That’s not something a prestigious blacksmith would do.
It doesn’t yield good skill proficiency and involves extreme physical labor, leading to immense hardship.
It was unbecoming of a craftsman’s pride.
‘Was she desperate for money back then?’
Moreover, Yeonwol had never heard of the guild “Malphi’s Hammer” before.
At this point, Yeonwol hadn’t actively played the game due to frequent hospital visits, so he wasn’t familiar with every guild in detail.
In a world like Elthera, where thousands of large guilds rise and fall like stars, it’s impossible to remember all the smaller ones.
Still, it was enough to know she was active.
[Rapion: Contacting a blacksmith already affiliated with a guild could cause issues at a guild level.]
[Yeonwol: That’s understandable.]
[Rapion: You’d need to make a formal request to the guild, but according to people I asked, they won’t entertain requests directed specifically at Elgeni. In fact, they’ve blocked all direct communication with her. She doesn’t seem to be an extraordinary blacksmith, so no one pays much attention to it.]
[Yeonwol: Hmm.]
Blocking direct contact with Elgeni?
That seemed suspicious.
Guild-level interference usually indicated something was amiss.
‘Malphi’s Hammer… Elgeni never mentioned such a guild when talking about her past.’
Still, Yeonwol wasn’t ready to give up on her.
In the distant future, Elgeni was a master of all blacksmithing techniques.
It was said she had never broken a single weapon during enhancements and had earned the title “Unbreakable.”
‘Not only did she never break a single weapon, but her enhancement effects were also world-renowned.’
Although she had lost the title of “The Blacksmith” to someone else, her supremacy in the field of enhancements was undisputed.
Thinking about it, the fact that a blacksmith of Elgeni’s caliber wasn’t yet making waves in the blacksmith community after three years of the game’s launch seemed odd.
Surely, she had started playing during the early days of the game.
By now, she should already be an exceptional and well-known veteran blacksmith.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’
[Yeonwol: Thanks for the great information. I’ll handle this on my own.]
After thanking Rapion, Yeonwol prepared to set out.
Requesting a guild-affiliated blacksmith to take on work secretly could be seen as unethical.
‘As long as I don’t get caught, it’s fine, right?’
Regardless of the situation, Yeonwol had no intention of giving up on her.
The neutral city of Gelbern City.
The Blacksmiths’ Street.
Deep underground in the smithy of the renowned blacksmith guild “Malphi’s Hammer.”
A young girl with braided hair and large magnifying goggles was hammering away, sweat dripping down her face.
Suddenly, she clutched her right arm and trembled in pain.
A burly man watching her spat on the ground in disdain.
“Ptui! Elgeni, you’re way behind today’s quota. Have you been slacking off?”
Even in a virtual reality game, smithing was no easy task.
If players gave up combat roles because of physical exhaustion, how could blacksmithing be any easier?
Even with investment in strength stats, hammering steel in sweltering heat was mentally draining, even for an adult man.
Moreover…
[The muscles in your right arm are torn! If you do not stop working and receive treatment, you may sustain permanent damage!]
This game was incredibly realistic.
“M-my arm won’t move anymore. I’ve been hammering all day…”
“The handmade equipment you’re producing is selling like hotcakes right now. Surely you understand how much our guild would lose if we missed this opportunity?”
“But…”
“Well, I guess there’s no choice. The contract to repay the master’s weapon you broke through labor will have to be voided.”
“…!”
The price of the weapon Elgeni had broken was astronomical, far beyond what she could repay in cash.
She had agreed to work at the smithy to pay it off, but the labor was so grueling that logging into the game felt torturous.
“If you don’t want to pay off the debt, you can quit the game. But remember, the contract states you’ll have to repay it in cash if you run away to the real world.”
“W-wait!”
“I don’t know how a broke orphan like you plans to repay such a massive debt in reality…”
“I’ll do it! I can keep going!”
Elgeni shouted desperately.
She had started playing this game solely to earn money.
After dropping out of school and being kicked out of the orphanage, this was her only option.
But there was no way she could allow her debt to increase further.
‘If I work and repay it all, I’ll be able to make money with blacksmithing too…’
To some extent, the idea of repaying such a huge debt with mere labor in a game was almost generous.
The problem was that the work involved extreme overexertion, justified by the fact that the body in the game was sturdier than in reality.
“The enhanced weapons you’ve been producing are wildly popular. Even the master is satisfied. Keep it up.”
After saying that, the man left.
Elgeni, clutching her trembling arm, forced herself to pick up the hammer again.
She had started this work to make money, but hammering and completing her creations once made her happy.
That happiness didn’t last long before it turned into pain.
Hammering was no longer fulfilling; it was just agony.
‘I want to hammer for myself.’
Just as she closed her eyes tightly and prepared to strike the hammer, a message arrived.
[A stranger has requested a conversation.]
[Yeonwol#0104]
“…Huh?”
It was such a famous nickname that Elgeni’s eyes widened in shock.