Chapter 61: The Art of Bending Mithril

Having finished fleecing me, the shop assistant seemed to sigh in relief, as if a monumental task had been completed, and a sudden shyness washed over him.

“Judging by your veil, you must have come from the clothing store, right? Say, how has Xiaohua been lately?”

“Xiaohua?”

“You know, the clerk who gave you the veil. She’s in charge of distributing souvenirs at the True New Village clothing store… I haven’t seen her in ages.” The assistant faltered, his words laced with a hint of longing.

‘Couldn’t you simply go see for yourself? The clothing boutique is, after all, right next door!’

“She’s doing quite well, I imagine,” I replied with a faint smile. “They didn’t even bat an eye, brazenly claiming the tattered veil was the store’s prized possession.”

“Phew… that’s a relief, then.”

‘So, you’re relieved because they haven’t grown a conscience?’

“Well then, you’re here to learn fine craftsmanship, aren’t you? Let me warn you beforehand: the jewelry you’re about to create isn’t merely a simple handicraft, but a genuine magic item! Therefore, its creation is exceedingly difficult, and the materials required are far more precious than those for tailoring. Are you prepared for this?”

‘In short, it’s just a money pit of a skill, wasn’t it?’

‘There was no harm in learning it, anyway.’

“I am prepared,” I affirmed with a nod.

The shop assistant nodded back, a look of satisfaction on his face.

“Then take this.”

This time, it wasn’t a book, but a small, exquisite gem.

“Haha, quite a surprise, isn’t it?” The assistant puffed out his chest, hands on his hips, and burst into a triumphant laugh. “This isn’t a book; it’s a memory gem! As a jewelry store, we deal with all sorts of precious stones every day, so naturally, we use memory gems that reflect our profession to store skills. How could a penniless tailor like Xiaohua ever comprehend the art of gems! Hahahahaha!”

‘Just what is your relationship with Xiaohua, young man? I can’t quite make heads or tails of it.’

The gem felt fragile, like a hollow piece of cardboard, and I easily crushed it, instantly gaining knowledge of gem cutting, setting, and the enchantment of magical power.

[Entry-level Fine Craftsmanship skill acquired. Life Skill Tutorial, Second Ring – Jeweler, completed.]

[Life Skill Tutorial, Third Ring – Blacksmith, automatically accepted. Please visit the Weapons Store to learn about forging skills.]

“Ohohoho, what right does a penniless tailor like Xiaohua, utterly devoid of taste, aesthetics, and conscience, have to compete with me for a man?”

I fled as if pursued by a phantom.

****

The weapons store was quite a distance away, and I had to jog for a while before I finally found it.

The atmosphere here was rather different from what I had imagined.

In my mind, a weapons store should have been filled with burly men, stripped to the waist, passionately hammering away at their anvils.

Wasn’t that always the trope in RPGs?

Yet, I had only guessed half right.

Indeed, there were people passionately hammering away, but they were not burly men.

“One, two… hey!”

“Dong!”

“One, two… hey!”

“Dong!”

“One, two… hey! Sisters, put your backs into it!”

“Dong!”

The blacksmith’s shop was a truly dazzling spectacle, with a bevy of voluptuous beauties, clad only in bras and hotpants, uniformly sweating under the scorching sun.

The roads on either side were clogged with a throng of ravenous male players, who were responsible for ninety percent of the weapons store’s orders.

However, because these forging beauties were outside, while the area outside the shop was a sea of people, there weren’t many customers inside.

“Ohohoho, a new customer? Step right in!” A female shop assistant, equally clad in only a bra and hotpants, enthusiastically greeted me. “This is our store’s special gift! And this time, it’s certainly not trash~”

Before I could even speak, the female assistant pressed a box into my hands.

[Commemorative Item Storage Box]

[This box can store complimentary gifts from various shops across different regions of Aethel Continent. It is said that once fully collected, it will evolve into a Super Artifact: Pandora’s Box.]

‘I can now definitively say: the developers of this game must be completely mad.’

“Are you here to learn forging skills?” The vivacious, sun-kissed female shop assistant clapped a hand heartily onto my shoulder. “Forging steel is truly a girl’s romance! Here, a mithril plate inscribed with forging skills.”

‘No girl in their right mind would have such a peculiar romance!’

‘And why a mithril plate? How does this even work? Do I tap it?’

I tapped it, but nothing happened.

“Hahahaha, I don’t know why, but adventurers always have this habit of tapping things! This is a mithril plate inscribed with forging skills, just like the book made of magic cloth that held tailoring skills, or the gem that contained fine craftsmanship skills… This is a mithril plate. You don’t need to tap it, nor do you need to crush it. You just need to bend it!” The female assistant gazed at me with a knowing, almost suggestive, expression.

The mithril plate was incredibly stiff. It took considerable effort for me to bend it.

As I bent the mithril plate, I acquired the forging skill.

However, while I was bending the mithril plate, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the female assistant had revealed a strange, inexplicable look of delight.

“Ohohoho! It’s bent! It’s bent! Amazing! Do you understand now? Do you grasp the true essence of forging?” The female assistant gave me a thumbs-up, revealing a row of pearly white teeth, her piercing gaze seeming to penetrate my veil and fix upon my face.

“Huh…?”

“It means—as long as you have enough strength, whether it’s a steel plate or mithril, no matter how tough the guy is, I’ll bend it for you to see! Especially a naturally devastating beauty like yourself, you possess inherent divine strength!”

‘Though I didn’t understand, I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but the conversation felt utterly wrong!’

I once again fled the blacksmith’s shop as if pursued, only then noticing the quest prompts.

[All equipment manufacturing life skill tutorial quests completed. Please purchase the necessary crafting tools from each of the three life skill shops.]

[Gathering life skill tutorial quests automatically accepted. Please seek out the various gathering skill instructors for assistance.]

Gathering, huh? This seems to be just a formality, explaining the basics of gathering, as every character inherently possesses gathering skills, even me.

Below the gathering skill quest prompts was a new set of prompts.

[Sub-profession tutorial quests automatically accepted. Please select and learn one demon race sub-profession first.]

[Demon Race Sub-professions: Assassin, Musician, Merchant, Escort, Rogue, Diviner, Beggar.]

As for sub-professions… of course, it has to be Assassin!

Since I’ve entered the game, and fighting is unavoidable, I might as well return to my old ways!

Besides, it was, after all, my old profession, and I felt a certain nostalgia for it.

I wondered what assassins were like in this game.

[Selection of Beggar successful. Please consult the Beggar profession instructor, the ‘Little Roadside Beggar,’ for information regarding the Beggar profession.]