Iron Smithy, Old Town, Arcane

The old man was sitting on the reception desk and was probably dozing off. There wasn't a single customer in the shop.

" Beep! "

" Beep! "

..

..

Suddenly the telephone on the desk rang waking the old man up. The old man wiped the drool dripping from the corner of his mouth before picking the phone.

" Hello, this is the Iron Smithy. May I know who is speaking? ", the old man politely responded.

Max would probably have been shocked if he saw this man's behavior right now. This man was really different when it came to making money.

" Master, it's me. Stark. ", the voice from the opposite end of the phone sounded.

" Tsk..what do you want? ", the old man immediately changed his tone as he replied in annoyance.

" Did Max get there, Master? He is just a kid. But I can guarantee that he is talented.", Stark's voice traveled through the other end of the phone.

" I will know within a few seconds, how much talent he has? ", the old replied.

" Master, don't tell me you gave him something to do already. Even though his current standard might not be outstanding. It doesn't show his true talent. After all, he just started blacksmithing. Within such a small time he has already reached close to becoming a 1★ Blacksmith. And you can't ignore the fact that he wields that hammer.", Stark said in a concerned tone.

" Shut up! I will decide whether he has what it takes to be taught by me. I have already given him a chance considering he is my grand disciple.", the old man grumbled before hanging up the phone.

He already knew how important Max's existence was as he was the wielder of the Hammer. But he knew that potential and talent along could not pave the way to success. Only when it was accompanied by hard work. It would bore fruits.

….

Storeroom, Iron Smithy

Max was sweating profusely. His clothes were drenched in sweat. The heat in the room along with the hard work had made him completely wet.

There were pieces of junk and metal lying around him. It was already his 7th attempt. He had continuously failed. The first three attempts failed as he wasn't able to properly remove the impurity from the ores. It led to the equipment being no different than trash. The next few attempts were a bit better as the more he worked, the better he got. But in the end, he still wasn't able to succeed as he failed at the later stage of molding and combining the properties of the ore and fur of Dragon Silkworm.

If only his skill could have been upgraded. He could have easily understood the process and done it with ease.

As Max was contemplating his mistakes earlier, the hammer in his hands started to give an intense vibration.

" Gr..!! "

Max looked at the hammer only to find the cracks on it glowing with a cyan light. The glow only lasted for a moment before it subsided.

" Thump! "

" Thump! "

Suddenly, Max heard a rhythmic beating sound. It appeared to be a heartbeat. But what was shocking about it was that it was coming from the hammer.

Max brought the hammer close to his face. Only then was he able to recognise the small changes occurring to it. There were light cyan colored lines on the cracks which seemed to be wriggling and slowly healing the hammer.

Max used the system and looked at the hammer to see what had happened to it.

« Name :????»

Grade : ??

[currently damaged: 2-star grade (Recovering) ]

STR +8

VIT +7

Spirit: Dormant [ Awaken (50/100)% ]

Equipment Skill :

«Growth» ( Passive )

20% increase in Skill while crafting equipment.

«???? »

…

...

«???? »

There were several new things that Max had noticed. The awakening of the spirit of the hammer had reached 50%. Aside from that, the grade of the hammer had increased to 2★ and he even had gained a passive skill.

Max felt the connection with his hammer was stronger than before. He could even feel that the hammer was giving a shallow response to his touch. It was as if it had found a long lost joy.

Max smiled in excitement as he moved towards the shelf and brought another piece of ore. With the new 20% increase in his skill, Max felt that his chances had increased.

And so he began again…

"Clang!"

His hammer began to swing slowly as he repeatedly struck the heated ore.

"Clang!"

..

After feeling that he had done enough, Max dipped the ore into the bucket of water to cool it down.

As soon as the ore touched the water, bubbles began to pop as the heat vaporized the water.

Finally, he took a deep breath and pulled the ore out of the bucket. This was the stage where he had failed most of the time.

But this time, the ore came out with a shine and it even had a light yellow gleam to it.

" Phew! "

Max released a sigh of relief. He had succeeded in purifying. This was his best attempt till now. The light yellow gleam showed that he was able to brush out the impurities and to an extent where the earth nature of the ore had started to show itself.

Max carefully placed the ore in the molding device and adjusted it to make the equipment for himself before raising the temperature.

Then he proceeded towards the synthesis of the properties of the ore and the fur of Dragon Silkworm.

Max felt the sweat sliding down his forehead as he carefully carried out the process.

And finally, he opened the lid.

And...it failed!

" F*ck! "

He refused to believe it. He was so close to success.

" I won't give up this easily. ", Max gritted his teeth as he steeled his resolve.

He immediately ran towards the shelf and took another batch of ingredients and began once again.

..

Failed..

" No! "

Failed Again..

" Damn it! "

…

…

…

Succ-...no he couldn't say it to be a success. It was not a totally failed attempt too.

« Trash Silk Jacket » ( 0★ Equipment )

« An equipment made from the combination of the fur of Dragon Silkworm and Yellow jade by an unskilled blacksmith »

+2 VIT »

The equipment was made but the low skill level had degraded its grade. Max wasn't able to perform to his best.

But he still was hesitant to accept it. It had now come to his dignity. He had to succeed.

Max once again went back to the shelf. But he was shocked to see the corner of the shelf which should have been full of ingredients almost empty. The amount of material left was only enough for one more attempt.

" What have I got to lose? " Max murmured as he took out the last batch of ingredients.

He was right. It wasn't him who was losing. Instead, he was the one gaining experience. His skill was increasing. The real person who was suffering was unaware of the situation as he silently dozed off on his armchair.

…

Max took in a deep breath and began. Step by step he calmly carried out the process.

Striking the ore…Done

Cooling it down…Done

Melting in the Mold….Done

Synthesizing….Done

It was all completed. Now he just needed to pull the lid up.

Max took in a deep breath and controlled his trembling hand as he pulled the lid.

And...it was...Success!

« Silk Jacket » ( 1★ Equipment )

« An equipment made from the combination of the fur of Dragon Silkworm and Yellow jade.

+7 VIT

+1 END. »

He finally did it.

Max took the jacket in his hands. The jacket was soft because of the fur yet at the same time it was strong and sturdy due to the yellow jade. He hadn't added any dye to it. So, the jacket had a slightly yellow shade to it.

Max walked out of the room and realised that it had already turned dark with the moon and stars out in the sky.

He entered the store in search of the old man. But his search didn't last long as the old man was dozing at the reception while sitting on his chair.

" Old Man..I am done. ", Max said with a smile as he put his hands forward holding the jacket.

" Waahhh!!! Who's there!!! ", the old man was jolted up by Max's voice as his eyes almost popped out and his heart rate increased.

" Oh! ..its you. Don't sneak up on me ever again. ", the old man wiped of his sweat as he noticed Max standing in front of him and calmed down.

" Here take a look. ", Max put the jacket on his desk.

" Oh! It's a Silk Jacket. Not bad..well done.."

Hearing the praises Max rubbed his nose as he thought that his hard work had finally paid up.

But the old man next word made his face twitch.

" But it's not enough. It's just a low grade 1★ equipment. I just allowed you to take a test at your master's request and am even lowering myself to a high grade 1★ Equipment. But you give me this. Tsk..Tsk.. What a waste of time? "