Chapter 16

[You are now level 1. Your stats, which were fixed to a minimum due to the minus level penalty, have been restored to their normal state.]

[The basic stats of Pagma’s Descendant have been applied.]

These were phrases that made my heart pound in anticipation.

Dugun dugun!

My heart was beating so fast, it found like the sound was coming up to my ears. I was extremely excited and hurriedly opened the status window.

Name: Grid

Level: 1 (45/100)

Class: Pagma’s Descendant

* The probability of adding additional options when making items will increase.

* The probably of item enhancement will increase.

* All equipment items can be worn unconditionally. However, there will be a penalty depending on the rating of the item.

Title: One who Became a Legend

* Abnormal conditions don’t work well on you.

* You won’t die when health is at the minimum.

* Easily acknowledged.

Health: 280/280 Mana: 75/75

Strength: 20 + 5 Stamina: 18 Agility: 12 Intelligence: 25

Dexterity: 50 Persistence: 16

Composure: 10 Indomitable: 11 Dignity: 10 Insight: 10

Stat Points: 40

Weight: 3,035/820

* The weight limit exceeds 200%, so movement speed is reduced by 100%.

The body is heavy and cannot exert any power properly.

The probability of receiving the ‘weakened’ state has become really high.

“A dream?”

Was it a dream? I didn’t panic. If I were in reality, I would’ve pinched myself. However, I just calmly logged out of the game. I lay in the capsule in my room and stared for a few moments.

“I was sleeping without knowing it.”

This was a good possibility because I didn’t have the capsule switched to sleep mode. I went to the bathroom to resolve my bodily needs, poured cold water over my head, and returned to the capsule. I logged in again.

Just like in my dream, I was standing in the smithy.

“Was it not a dream…? No, I shouldn’t anticipate anything.”

If an unlucky person like me started expecting things, the wounds on my heart would also grow. I opened the status window without any inspiration and literally froze.

“…An amazing jackpot.”

There were no changes to the contents of the status window. It wasn’t a dream. My heart started beating quickly again.

“Wow…”

The basic stats of a level 1 character were 6 strength, 7 stamina, 4 agility, and 5 intelligence. In other words, the total number of stats for a level 1 character was 22 points.

However, the basic stats of Pagma’s Descendant added up to 165 points in total. In addition, there were the 16 points in persistence that I grew as well as 1 point in indomitable, making a huge total of 182 points.

Using simple calculations, my stats were higher than level 15 users, which meant that I had an overwhelming advantage. I realized the greatness of a legendary profession.

Besides…

‘These are just the basic stats but…’

I paid attention to the extra 40 stat points I had.

‘Why was I given stat points?’

Stat points were increased by 10 points every time someone gained a level, so I should have 0 points at level 1. Therefore, I pondered upon the reason why I was given 40 points. There were many theories, but there was only one hypothesis that was persuasive.

‘Perhaps… are stat points obtained every time you level up, even at the minus level?’

I was level -3 and leveled up four times in order to reach level 1. This was the only reason I could think of for the 40 stat points. I rubbed my eyes but the 40 stat points didn’t disappear. I was so thrilled that I starting shaking.

‘My experience in the minus level wasn’t in vain!’

All of my struggles were meaningful. Maybe I wasn’t as unlucky as I thought was.

“Kuk! Kukuk…!”

Was there a language in this world that could express this joy? I could only laugh.

“Puhahahahahat ~ ~ ~ ~!!!”

The sound of my laughter was proportional to my joy. The people in the smithy left as I laughed so loudly that my belly hurt. However, I just couldn’t stop. After a while, “He! Keke! Puha…! Urghh…”

Smith stared at me as I laughed through the pain and raised his thumb. “This is a hero’s excited laugh! You are such an outstanding figure that I don’t know how I mistook your identity yesterday. My vision was lacking. I am ashamed and embarrassed.”

I laughed like a madman but he still saw me as a hero? This meant that Smith’s affinity with me was at the maximum. While it was true that I had escaped from the minus level, raised my affinity with two quests, and earned a reputation in Bairan Village of over 200, Smith’s attitude towards me was still overly flattering.

‘Even if my title has the attribute of being easily acknowledged…’

I met Smith’s eyes, causing him to lower his gaze. This was the attitude of a student in the presence of his master!

‘Is this the effect of the dignity stat? It’s only at 10 points at the moment, but is it already having an effect?’

It was possible, considering that Smith’s level wasn’t very high.

‘It might be different with high ranking NPCs. However, dignity seems to have an effect on normal NPCs, even with the number of points in it isn’t high.’

I never imagined that his attitude would change so much in a day. It was an excitement beyond my current excitement.

‘…First, let’s calm down. Let’s calm down and try to figure out how the stat points work.’

I worried about it for a moment. Over the past few days, hadn’t I acted in an impromptu manner without thinking deeply? Now that the situation was getting better, I needed to be more cautious. It felt like numerous threads were tangled in front of me that could be ruined with my rash behavior.

‘I already have a lot of stats at level 1, so there is absolutely no reason to distribute my stat points hastily.’

I thought about the most important thing to me right now. It was…

“Money!”

Yes, money. I needed to make enough money in order to pay for the carriage to move between villages. Smith flinched as I suddenly shouted. I cut straight to the point,

“Didn’t I say it when I first visited your smithy? I want to make and sell high-demand items that will make me as much profit as possible. What is the most appropriate item?”

Smith pointed to a place where arrows were displayed.

“This one.”

An arrow?

Unlike other equipment, arrows were consumables, so the price of it was naturally cheaper. No matter how profitable it was, if the sale price was low, it meant that I had to sell a lot of volume. My spirit deflated.

Smith read my expression and explained,

“This isn’t an ordinary arrow. It is a special arrow made by mixing a small amount of jaffa with steel, allowing it to ignore some of the enemy’s defense and cause damage.”

Ignore defense!

For archers who participated in the Guardian of the Forest raise, these arrows were essential. No, even if it were for players not participating in the raid, the demand would be high considering there were many golems living in the Grey Forest.

“Jaffa…”

Smith saw that I was interested and brought out a light purple mineral from the warehouse.

“Jaffa is a mineral with a low oxygen content, making it easy to smelt, and is remarkably superior to iron. Its weakness is its durability and strength, making it unsuitable to create weapons with jaffa. However, when mixed with steel, the durability increases and the penetration power is maximized. It is normal for cavalry troops to be armed with jaffa-tipped spears.

“It must be expensive.”

“It is two gold per kilogram. Even top-tier iron ore is just cheap stone in front of jaffa.”

“Expensive… Then, how can you produce dozens of jaffa arrows?”

“No, it isn’t expensive. Only a small amount of jaffa is needed to create the arrow. The production cost of a single jaffa arrow is three silver, but the sales price is fixed at six silver. It is double the profit. In addition, this village has a high demand for jaffa arrows. How about it, do you want to learn how to make it?”

If this were yesterday, I would’ve nodded since I could gain a quick understanding through the appraisal skill. But I wasn’t the same. After receiving a recommendation for a suitable item, I needed to learn how to make it myself.

“Show me the arrow for a moment.”

Smith handed me the arrow and I used the appraisal skill.

[Jaffa Arrow]

Rating: Normal

Attack Power: 20~26

An arrow made by mixing a small amount of jaffa with steel.

Due to the effect of combining jaffa with steel, it has extremely high penetration and ignores some of the enemy’s defense.

Weight: 0.1

[A hidden function doesn’t exist.]

[You have grasped the Jaffa Arrow’s material composition, production method, and intentions of its creator.]

[Your understanding of the Jaffa Arrow is now at 89%. You will be able to use the Jaffa Arrow skillfully.]

“……”

Unfortunately, I couldn’t reach 100% understanding after using appraisal on the Jaffa Arrow. Therefore, the production method wasn’t added.

‘This arrow…’

Smith looked at me staring at the arrow and asked again,

“Do you want to learn how to make the Jaffa Arrow?”

‘If I use the item disassembly skill, I might be able to raise the remaining 11%… But one arrow is six silver?’

I would need to pay six silver if I wanted to disassemble it. I couldn’t afford that type of luxury.

‘It isn’t too bad to learn how to make it on my own.’

I nodded in agreement. “I will learn how to make it.”

Smith was happy. “I thought so. First, shall we learn how to smelt the mineral?”

Smith began with the structure of the old furnace commonly used by all blacksmiths in Satisfy, explaining in detail the elements necessary for the smelting process and the principles behind the process.

Blacksmith jargon and chemical terms sometimes popped up, but I didn’t feel confused. While Satisfy pursued realism, it was still a game so the barrier wasn’t set high in order to allow more people to enjoy it. The blacksmith knowledge required by Satisfy was as easy to understand as the other classes.

In addition, I came prepared. I had been unable to connect after receiving a penalty for dying twice in one day, so I used the spare time to research blacksmithing. Smith’s lecture wasn’t much different from the smelting method I read about. Thus, it was easier to understand.

I realized the effect of preparation and review. It was fortunate that one of my friends from middle school had taught me the ‘preparation and review’ method.

‘But that guy wasn’t able to escape the second place ranking all through high school.’

He was a pitiful guy who maintained his second rank in high school, never being able to cross the wall of a classmate who claimed to ‘only study in class.’

On the day the results of the second semester final examinations were released, I was able to understand the feelings of my friend who stood on the rooftop and yelled ‘Why did a genius have to be born in the same year as me?’

There were many talented people that I could never catch up to, no matter how hard I tried.

‘But now things are different.’

I got a legendary class. This time, I would be the outstanding person. I would achieve as much as possible.