Resurgence Of The Rogue Blacksmith

The first book, on his left, was still covered in dust, despite his best attempts to clean it up. Its face had an indentation of a small anvil. The book looked as if it had not been touched, its spine in pristine condition.

‖ The Beginner's Guide to Blacksmithing (Skill book) ‖

▸ Upon successful absorption, will teach basic blacksmithing at the apprentice level. ◂

The second book, that was placed between his two outstretched hands, was a shabby little thing, no larger than a handkerchief. It was thin and lacked any distinguishing features. Raphael had almost written it off as another worthless harem novel, until he had opened it and discovered its true worth.

‖ Smelting - 101 Ways to Turn Solids into Liquids (Skill book) ‖

▸ Upon successful absorption, will teach smelting at the basic level. ◂

To last book, which was on his right, could hardly be called a book. It was stained, had no cover and could at best be referred to as a stack of random drawings which had been punctured and tied together with two pieces of string. Surprisingly, this was the most valuable of the three!

‖ Weapons and Shields - Which Goes Where and How to Distinguish Them (Pattern book) ‖

▸ Upon successful absorption, will grant 3 random patterns for blacksmithing. ◂

These three books, which would grant him two skills and three random patterns, could be worth up to 10 pieces of gold in total.

Ten Pieces of Gold!

With that amount of money, a player would be able to comfortably gear himself and buy anything he needed for a few months. Of course, such a sum was impossible to amass even for teams and informal guilds. After all, they had only been playing for three measly days so far. It would be amazing if someone had amassed more than 1 Silver, yet alone 10 gold coins!

What made these three books amazing was the fact that they were a sort of shortcut.

Normally, if for instance Raphael wanted to learn the knowledge offered by these three books, he would have to study under Ziah Bires for a couple of weeks at the very least. And that was only for the first topic! Blacksmithing was hard and it required a lot of physical strength, as well as a keen eye. If one did not properly understand when an item would become brittle and required more tempering, nobody would buy that person's items, as their durability would be laughingly low.

As far as Smelting, he might have to waste anywhere between a few days and a whole month. This was not out of the ordinary, as Smelting was not just about pouring things into a hot space and then pouring them out in a semi-liquid form. The most important part about smelting was getting used to properly controlling the temperature, as different metals required different temperatures to be properly smelted. When you added in the fact that you would have to mix different metals for certain items, it became a very complicated process that could take a long time to master, unless one had a natural aptitude.

In essence, the two guidebooks, would enable Raphael to quickly learn the required skills for the Blacksmith profession. That isn't to say that he would be amazing, quite the opposite - he would still have a hard time, but upon successful absorption of the offered knowledge, he would unlock the Blacksmithing and Smelting User Interface Systems. These two systems would give hints on what steps he would have to take, for an item to be crafted best, based on the experience he had with crafting that item. That is to say, it was not some sort of godly hack-like ability - if he had only ever made a Basic Sword of average quality, then the system would only be able to show him how to replicate that level of quality.

Unlike the two guidebooks, the Pattern book could be considered almost as rare as, well, a Rare-quality item! Being able to have three complete patterns, with detailed instructions on how to properly craft the equipment they showcased, would be a great boon to players at the outset of the game. Normally, players would unlock the Pattern System after they create their first item. This system would allow them to view, manage and improve upon their crafting skills. The only downside was that the 3 patterns he would receive would be totally random, which was not always a good thing. For instance, what if the Pattern book gave him a pattern for an outdated weapon, or for a shield that was so tiny nobody would ever possibly have a reason to use it? This was one of the ways through which Origo had gained notoriety as a balanced game - even when it gave something, there was no guarantee that players would receive something useful.

"Absorb!" Raphael said, as he placed his hand on the left-most book. A faint light was emitted from its cover, as he steadily held his palm in place. The aura-like silvery globules travelled up his arm, seeping into his skin. This continued for a few seconds, until a notification chime rang out.

▸ Absorption successful! New skill has been obtained. ◂

Euphorically, Raphael repeated the process with the other two books. The second book had the same reaction, while the particles from the Pattern book had a golden hue to them. The absorption process was not foolproof, as there was a small chance of failure, but for beginner-level skills like these, the possibility of failure was so small it could be considered infinitesimal.

The notification chime rang out, twice more. Dimples appeared on Raphael's face as he smiled.

▸ Absorption successful! New skill has been obtained. ◂

▸ Absorption successful! Three random patterns have been obtained .◂

'Good news everyone! There's a new blacksmith in town, and he's smoking hot, ha-hah!' he beamed inwardly, as he got up from the chair and did a little victory dance.

Raphael opened up his event log, curious to see what he had gotten.

– – – – – – – – –

▶ Player has attempted absorption of The Beginner's Guide to Blacksmithing (Skill book). Calculating odds...

▶ The odds were in player's favor. Blacksmithing (Beginner) has been added to Skills menu. Blacksmithing system has been unlocked.

▶ Player has attempted absorption of Smelting - 101 Ways to Turn Solids into Liquids (Skill book). Calculating odds...

▶ The odds were in player's favor. Smelting (Basic) has been added to Skills menu. Smelting system has been unlocked.

▶ Player has attempted absorption of Weapons and Shields - Which Goes Where and How to Distinguish Them (Pattern book). Calculating odds...

▶ The odds were in player's favor. Three random basic blacksmithing patterns were added to player's Knowledge Repository. Pattern system has been unlocked.

– – – – – – – – –

'Thank the stars, I can still remember that one time an absorption failed.' Raphael shuddered as he remembered his less-than-good luck.

Curious about what he had gotten from the pattern book, he opened his Knowledge Repository, where three new patterns awaited him. His expression turned sour rather quickly.

‖ Light Throwing Knives ‖

▸ These knives can be used by experienced fighters or amateur circus entertainers. Their balance depends on the crafter's workmanship. Maximum quality - Common. ◂

‖ Hatchet ‖

▸ Useful for cutting wood, but not much else. Maximum quality - Gray. ◂

‖ Miner's Pick ‖

▸ Great at turning big rocks into little rocks, useless for the opposite. Maximum quality - Common. ◂