At the blacksmith shop.
‘Hu!’
The apprentice pulled the bellows, and tons of air blew into the furnace. It caused the green fire to burn even brighter.
A young man with only one arm stared at the ore in the furnace with a frown.
When the ore was red hot, he immediately took it out with a pair of pincers and placed it on the forging table beside him.
There was a slightly hollow hole in the center, just enough to hold the ore.
The young man picked up the iron hammer on the side with one arm and lifted it.
The moment the iron hammer flew over his head, he used gravity to smash it down.
‘Clang!’
Sparks flew in all directions.
Although he only had one arm, his movements weren’t clumsy. He was so skilled that it shocked them.
Hammer after hammer, the fist-sized ore incessantly shrank. When the temperature dropped, he placed it into the furnace to burn again.
He briskly repeated the process like a mechanical puppet that did not know exhaustion.
He didn’t know how many times he had passed it, but the ore had already shrunk to its original size, but he still didn’t stop.
“Sam, the lord said that the whole city will be on holiday for two days. You haven’t had any rest, so go back and accompany Shanna.”
The young man stared at the furnace fire and turned his head slightly when he heard the voice.
Sam immediately revealed a respectful gaze when he saw the person distinctly.
“Good evening, Lady Adele.”
After he bowed, he shook his head and rejected the other party’s proposal.
“I’m just one step away from success…”
As he spoke, he saw the ore had turned red again and immediately took it out.
His eyes flashed with relief while he looked at the extremely hot ore.
He directly threw the ore into the stone barrel filled with black liquid beside the furnace.
‘Rip!’
An ear-piercing sound rang out. And the black liquid began to bubble as if it boiled.
Its color had even changed from black to a magma-like red.
Excitement filled Sam’s eyes when he saw this. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. Then turned his head and gestured to the scorpion warrior beside him to let him come closer.
After that, he picked up a unique tool and carefully poured the liquid from the stone bucket onto the scorpion’s tail.
The scorpion quickly swallowed the moment the fiery-red rock body fell.
It formed a layer of hard black armor.
When the hard armor covered the entire scorpion tail, an extraordinary power emitted from it, and the surrounding magic power flowed faster.
Red spider web-like marks appeared.
Just from its appearance, one could feel that the scorpion tail had become supremely extraordinary.
Sam turned to look at Adele. His voice choked with emotion when he saw this.
“Lady Adele, I didn’t let the lord down…”
He held an unimaginable respect for the fantastic existence that had given him everything.
Was the research a success?
Adele also showed a surprised smile.
“Lord Richard will be so happy!
“Let’s go. We’ll see Lord Richard. He seems to have a more important task for you.”
After Sam calmed down, he looked at his unkempt appearance with embarrassment.
“Lady Adele, should I go and change my clothes first…”
Dirt soaked in his body since he was forging beside the furnace.
“Go on.”
“Yes.”
A moment later, Sam had changed into a clean set of clothes. He followed behind Adele respectfully and headed to the Lord’s mansion. He didn’t dare to say a word along the way.
In Richard’s eyes, Adele was a cute little girl with a little bit of a research maniac’s aura. However, in the blacksmith shop, she was a queen-like figure who could decide the fate of an apprentice with a single word.
The apprentices respected her well with her forging skills and Richard’s unconditional trust.
Few people in the entire Twilight City could be presumptuous in front of her.
Sam became nervous as soon as he entered the Lord’s mansion.
To him and all the residents of Twilight City, a sacred aura shrouded this mansion.
It was because of the great existence they respected the most and have lived here.
Typically, only some people had the right to enter the Lord’s mansion.
One could brag to others at this point, even if he could enter to deliver food and rice.
The mummy guard looked at him with empty eyes when Sam stepped through the door.
The soul fire seemed to freeze everything.
Sam’s heart trembled. He did not dare to while he lowered his head. He followed closely behind Adele.
He crossed the front yard and entered the hall.
Andrea immediately bowed.
“Good evening, Lord Richard.”
Sam heaved a sigh of relief when he heard the familiar voice and immediately stepped forward.
“Good evening, my Lord…”
Richard, who had just heard the system prompt, saw the two and smiled.
“No need to be so polite, sit.”
When the two sat down, they looked at Sam with appreciation.
“It’s been hard on you guys these past few days, Sam. I’ve seen your hard work. You’ve done well.”
Sam quickly stood up. He saluted again with excitement and with one arm on his chest.
“My Lord, this is all your gift! I’ll give you everything I have, even my soul!”
Richard chuckled and gestured for him to sit down.
“Continue to work hard in the future. I have high hopes for you.”
“I will not let you down!”
Richard nodded and didn’t continue the topic. The scorpion warrior’s elite technology was worth celebrating, but after obtaining so many high-level treasures, he was already immune to such ordinary progress.
He looked at the girl beside him and entered the day’s main topic.
“Adele, you can postpone the forging of the dragon-hunting crossbow.”
“Now, I’ll give you an important task.”
As Richard spoke, he placed the 14 energy crystals on the table.
“These are the most valuable treasures I obtained in the dark plane. Their function is to reinforce the characteristics of troops…”
After Richard explained the function and restrictions in detail, he concluded.
“This mission is of great importance. It can enhance Twilight City’s foundation, so I need you to devote yourself to it.”
Adele’s eyes immediately lit up when she heard this.
To the young lady, nothing was more interesting than research and forging. It was her passion.
“My Lord, I won’t let you down!”
Her tone was clean and crisp without any hesitation.
It was the pride and confidence of a special blacksmith.
It was also the confidence of A-rank heroes.
It is the troop type I want you to research how to reinforce the stone statue of the dead.
Richard said while he gestured at one of the stone statues of the dead he’d left behind.
“This is the new troop type of Twilight City. It has soul-strapping battle power and potential.
Adele’s eyes were like a child who had just found her favorite toy. She looked at the stone statue of the dead while she held the spirit crystal.
“My Lord, I’ll get the results as soon as possible,”
“There’s no need to be in such a hurry. It’s not too late to rest for a few days.”
“Mmm.”
Adele mumbled a few words. But she did not listen.
Richard didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He waved his hand, and Andrea left with the five spirit gems.
Richard kept the rest.
He still had to figure out how much the spiritual gems could improve the troop types before he made any arrangements.
After the young lady left, Richard looked at Sam. He only had one arm.
He admired the blacksmith who he had given the power of a B-rank hero.
Not to mention that the other party had already provided the results of his research and proved himself.
He could still become a blacksmith after he lost an arm and even protected a blind girl.
It was enough to make people look up to him.
He admired those who worked hard and refused to yield to fate.
After he pondered for a moment, he took out the enhancing crystal under Sam’s nervous gaze.
It could reinforce a hero’s skill to reach Beyond A-rank.
Of course, it was worth using Adele, but this girl was already an A-rank hero. Her potential was limitless, and if she continued to level up, there was a high chance that her skill would reach Beyond A-rank.
It was not cost-effective to use it on the other party.
Sam was undoubtedly a suitable candidate.
Perhaps, some people had more potential than him, but he admired him.
As the sole ruler of this land, he could easily change the fate of any resident if he wanted to.
Even if the other party had a broken arm, so what?
Richard opened the other party’s attribute panel while he pondered.
[Sam]
[Heroic Unit]
[Level: 7]
[Potential: B]
[Profession: Blacksmith (advanced)]
[Skills:
1. Natural intelligence (Increases research success rate by 20% when conducting research. And increases attributes by 20% when improving and optimizing equipment.)
2. Tenacious (With a firm will, will not be shaken by any failures during forging.)
3. Striving to Improve (Able to devote oneself to forging for ten years as if it was a day)]
[Hero’s special characteristic: Smithing with one arm can increase the attributes of smithed equipment by 20%.]
[Race Specialty: Able to quickly learn various forging techniques and integrate them.
[Fetter-Childhood Sweethearts: When in the same city as your lover (Shanna), forging speed increases by 35%. The forged equipment has a 10% chance of an additional special effect–love is mightier than gold. It can instantly recover 30% of health.]
[Description: A blacksmith with a broken arm. His eyes are full of determination. No one knows what he can achieve in the future.]
Although Sam’s overall attributes were not as good as that of the Pearl of Twilight City, Adele, Twilight City would still consider him excellent.
Richard didn’t hesitate after he decided. He picked up an enhanced crystal.
He stared at the other party.
“Sam, I will now grant you new power.
“Remember, more power, more responsibilities. Twilight City needs you to contribute.”
Sam Rose to his feet and looked at Richard nervously and excitedly.
He wanted to say something. But Richard didn’t give him a chance.
[Ding~ Do you want to enhance Sam’s skill-innate intelligence?]
“Yes.”
The moment he chose.
The reinforced crystal in his hand turned into a stream of pure energy and flowed into Sam’s body.
In an instant, Sam’s entire body trembled. He felt as if thousands of great rivers ran through his body.
Amid the surging majestic energy…
It reinforced the power in the depths of his bloodline rapidly.
Richard looked at Sam carefully. Other than a bit of pain, there was nothing unusual about his face.
The entire strengthening process lasted for about 20 minutes.
Because it was a lifestyle hero, an overwhelming aura made people breathless. It only fluctuated slightly for a moment before they returned to usual.
When Sam’s new clothes were wet again, Richard heard a notification.
[Ding~ Reinforcement completed. Natural Intelligence (B-rank) — has been upgraded to Unparalleled Intelligence (Beyond A-rank).
[Increases research success rate and speed by 50% when conducting research. It can increase attributes by 30% and reduce material consumption by 30% when improving and optimizing existing equipment.]
The smile on Richard’s face immediately brightened after he examined the Beyond A-rank skill’s attributes a few times.
As expected of a Beyond A-rank skill, it was heaven-defying.
The success of his research only increased her attributes by 60% as an A-rank hero and a special blacksmith even after a series of attribute buffs
Good Lord, Sam’s skill was now at 50%!
A skill of this level was indeed unreasonable.
Moreover–it could reduce research time by 50%. Richard realized that his initial idea of cultivating a hero who specialized in Science and Technology was perfect.
Sam finally came back to his senses. He felt the extraordinary power in his body and looked at Richard with a passionate gaze.
He directly knelt on the ground and saluted most humbly.
“Lord Richard, thank you for your gift. Sam swears on his soul that he will be eternally loyal to you. From this moment on, your wish will be the direction in which I will move forward… We praise you!”
Richard waited for the man to calm down before he helped him get up.
“I’m giving you strength. So you can protect your lover and Twilight City.
“Sam, remember that you’re a member of Twilight City. Everything you do is for yourself and your lover.”
After he finished speaking, he quickly assigned tasks.
“Return and study the scorpion warrior’s high-level attacks.
“I need to see results within half a month!”
Sam said firmly.
“As you wish!”
Richard nodded and didn’t say anything more. He gave the man a few more words of advice before he allowed him to leave.
Adele researched how to reinforce the stone statue of the dead, while Sam researched advanced technology. They advanced at the same time.
The first condition for upgrading Twilight City from a small city to a mid-city was to have advanced technology. It had stuck him on this requirement for more than two months.
Furthermore, if he continued to upgrade like this, he would need more advanced technology.
If they wanted to develop, technology was an indispensable part.
However, he felt much better now that he had two top-tier researchers.
Although their current progress might be slower than the other players.
However, to catch from up from behind was not a problem with the presence of Adele and Sam,
Moreover, one could see the reinforcement of the troops by technology. One could describe the battle power of the bandaged mummies and scorpion warriors as skyrocketing every time the blacksmith reinforces them.
It was because the enemies they had dealt with during this period were too strong that it slightly reduced the presence of these two troops.
And even if he didn’t need to upgrade the territory, he would invest several resources.
A technological powerhouse, this was not nonsense talk.
When Twilight City’s troops became increasingly higher in the future, they could not advance.
At this time, high-level technology would undoubtedly become another option to enhance the battle power of the troops.
******
And even if he didn’t need to upgrade the territory, he would invest tons of resources.