As soon as he opened his eyes the next morning, he connected to Satisfy and headed into the smithy. Khan was waiting for Grid.

Grid immediately complained to Khan, “Why did you leave such a task to a stranger like Huroi? Am I worse than him? Huh? You should’ve left it to me!”

Khan looked like he didn’t know what Grid was talking about, before making a belated expression of understanding. “Are you talking about the mission to tell Earl Steim about Winston?”

“Yes!”

Huhu, Khan gave a hearty laugh and explained, “You are definitely a great young man. Despite your young age, you have great abilities and a sense of justice and sacrifice...”

“Huh?”

What was he saying?

“Aren’t you willing to take a big risk for the residents of Winston that you have no ties with?”

“Eh? That wasn’t what I intended...”

“You don’t have to say anything. You are too modest.”

“......”

Khan misjudged Grid and turned him into an incredibly good guy! Grid had nothing to say.

Then Khan placed a hand on Grid’s shoulder. “I know that you are worried for Winston’s residents, but how can I put you at risk? You are already precious to me, just like a son. I can’t ask you to do something so dangerous.”

Khan’s eyes were warm. “The Mero Company knows that you are close to me, so there will be thorough surveillance. The Mero Company won’t stay still if they see you make any movements to leave Winston. I won’t be able to stand the grief if you get hurt by them.”

Finding out that Khan sincerely cherished him, Grid’s heart thumped. He felt bad for misunderstanding Khan.

“Khan... I didn’t know your heart and thought you didn’t trust me.”

“How can that be? I trust you more than anyone else. Isn’t that why I’m leaving the fate of the smithy to you?”

Grid listened to Khan and realized he had no reason to doubt Khan in the first place.

Grid felt ashamed while Khan spoke in a spirited tone, “You have to focus on the game! Show the Mero Company!”

“The date’s decided?”

“That’s right. It’s in two days. We have to hone your skills! Let’s surprise everyone by polishing the legendary blacksmith skills that you have inherited!”

‘Okay!’ Grid’s motivation shot upward.

“I understand. I will win the game!”

“Good spirit! I might not have the techniques, but the experience I’ve accumulated in my life will be a great help to you! I will do my best to help!”

From that day on, Khan and Grid increased his training. Grid repeated the production techniques, causing his skills to become more proficient and polished. He thoroughly learned about efficient movements and reduced any unnecessary movements. His probability of making rare and epic items increased slightly.

[A rare rated item was produced, so all stats have permanently risen by +2 and reputation throughout the continent has risen by +30.

[An epic rated item was produced, so all stats have permanently risen by +4 and reputation throughout the continent has risen by +80.

[Your persistence has risen.]

[Your dexterity has risen.]

It was also fun to raise his persistence and dexterity stats. However, there was one drawback. It was the limitation in the materials. Khan was totally broke, and Grid was saving money, so he couldn’t obtain premium production materials. He only used the materials piled up in Khan’s warehouse, but most of the materials were of inferior quality. Khan couldn’t get good ingredients because he was impeded by the Mero Company. Therefore, Grid couldn’t produce high-performance items.

The higher the level and performance of the items produced, the faster the experience of Grid’s production skill would rise. This was because items with a low-level limit and low performance—even if they had a rare rating—would give him a slow experience gain rate, and the value of the items was cheap.

‘Rare items should be sold to the stores, but I can sell the epic rated items to the users.’

[Usable Iron Sword]

[Rating: Epic

Durability: 19/19 Attack Power: 35~40 Attack Speed: +2%

A sword made by a craftsman with great skill and potential but lacks in experience and reputation.

It is easy to use because it has a perfect balance of length and weight. The user can attack a little faster.

The fact that this type of sword was made with meager materials is amazing.

User Restriction: Level 12 or higher. More than 30 strength. Beginner Sword Mastery.]

[Unexpectedly Comfortable Rat Leather Armor]

[Rating: Epic

Durability: 24/24 Defense: 22 Movement Speed: +3%

An armor made of rat leather by a craftsman with great skills and potential but lacks experience and reputation.

It is designed and created so that the wearer won’t be inconvenienced when moving. The wearer can move a little faster.

The fact that this type of armor was made with meager materials is amazing.

User Restriction: Level 13 or higher. Beginner Leather Armor Mastery.]

“The names are crude, but...”

Level 12 or 13 users would find hunting much easier if they wore this armor and weapon. They were items that low-level users could possess if they had enough gold.

[Legendary Blacksmith’s Craftsmanship Skill] Lv 1 (12.7%)

[Legendary Blacksmith’s Breath] Lv 1 (8.9%)

‘When I made the Jaffa Arrow before, my experience increased by 3.7% and 2%. Instantly.’

Certainly, Grid was disappointed that the experience of his production skills was rising slowly, but he didn’t care much. His skills experience and production experience were still rising, so he was satisfied.

‘I wasn’t mistaken. The Legendary Blacksmith’s Craftsmanship Skill is still only level 1, but I am now able to craft more items than I could before.’

His production speed and degree of completeness had improved. If the skill level of the Legendary Blacksmith’s Craftsmanship Skill and his dexterity stat rose, his production ability would become even better.

‘But realistically, it is impossible to raise the skill level of the Legendary Blacksmith’s Craftsmanship Skill anytime soon. Right now, the best thing I can do is to raise my dexterity stat.’

The higher his dexterity, the higher the completeness of the item. Grid decided to invest his stat points into dexterity for a more solid victory.

“Status window.”

[Name: Grid

Level: 21 (5,350/16,700)

Class: Pagma's Successor

* 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 is 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: 936/936 Mana: 177/177

Strength: 104 Stamina: 52 Agility: 96 Intelligence: 59

Dexterity: 99 Persistence: 60

Composure: 44 Indomitable: 50 Dignity: 44 Insight: 44

Stat Points: 130

Weight: 842/3,080]

Thanks to the steady production of rare and epic items, his stats have risen dramatically. He had a huge 130 stat points. Grid contemplated on how to invest the stat points.

‘If I invest all my stat points in dexterity, will my production skill rise significantly? Obviously, there would be a huge effect. But if I concentrate too much on only one stat, I will regret it later.’

He had to think carefully.

‘I put a lot of points into strength and agility the other day, so I don’t have to raise them anymore. I am currently lacking stamina, so wouldn’t it be nice to raise it? When dealing with strong enemies like the gangsters, it is better to have high vitality and defense.’

Grid decided to start distributing his stat points.

[You have invested 60 points in stamina. Is this correct?]

“Yes.”

[Once the points are invested, it can’t be reversed. Do you want to proceed?]

“Yes.”

[You have invested 70 points in dexterity. Is this correct?]

“Okay.”

[Once the points are invested, it can’t be reversed. Do you want to proceed?]

“Stop asking me and just do it. Status window!”

[Name: Grid

Level: 21 (5,350/16,700)

Class: Pagma's Successor

* 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 is 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: 1,536/1,536 Mana: 177/177

Strength: 104 Stamina: 112 Agility: 96 Intelligence: 59

Dexterity: 169 Persistence: 60

Composure: 44 Indomitable: 50 Dignity: 44 Insight: 44

Stat Points: 0

Weight: 842/3,080]

“Kukukuk!”

He shook with joy. Anybody would be shocked if they could see Grid’s status window. How could a level 21 character have such stats? If he simply calculated the sum of all his stats, he was already beyond level 75. Strength, stamina, agility, and intelligence—if I only calculated these basic stats, it was close to level 40!

‘Now that I see it, isn’t a production class great for stats?’

The benefit of raising all stats every time a higher grade item was made was common to all production-related classes, not just blacksmiths. Those who took advantage of this could overcome the disadvantage of production based job; their insufficient combat skills could be supplemented with high stats. Of course, a large amount of labor was needed!

“I accept that labor is my life. My body is meant for labor! I will show you the power of labor.”

Grid swallowed bread and immersed himself in item production again. He didn’t lose any concentration until the day of the competition. As his character grew, he felt the same mental growth.

[A rare rated item was produced, so all stats have permanently risen by +2 and reputation throughout the continent has risen by +30.]

“Kuhahahahaha!”

He felt a pleasure that had never been felt when hunting and doing quests as a warrior.

“W-What...? Am I dreaming right now? You, how have you improved your skills in such a short time?” Khan was shocked.

Grid couldn’t reply with ‘My rapid growth is from raising my dexterity stat’, so he just said, “I’m not your average genius.”

Khan was thrilled. “Yes, yes! I forgot that you are Pagma's Successor. Huhu, I have a relationship with a legend who was born again. I will have no regrets after dying. Good! Shall I try harder?”

In reality, it was raining continuously. So Grid was always connected to Satisfy except when it was time to sleep. Thus, his growth was steady until the day of the competition.

***

Currently, there were three epic classes in Satisfy. Yet, except for the most recently appeared ‘Blood Warrior’, there were no details about the others. The identity of the first epic class user was unknown, while the second one was said to be obtained by Agnus, who was 7th in the unified rankings.

Satisfy users wondered about the identity of the two classes that were being kept strictly confidential, and the related forums and broadcasters were engaged in a constant debate about the epic classes. Nonetheless, unless the relevant parties disclosed the information, it was only speculation. What type of class were the other two epic classes? Were they as impressive as the Blood Warrior that Katz got his hands on? Perhaps even more than that?

In the Eternal Kingdom: Akero Dungeon that was near Frontier, Earl Steim’s capital...

“There are too many monsters here. I barely managed to come all the way here,” a beautiful blonde girl cried out.

She looked like a fairytale princess, causing male users to approach her.

“Akero Dungeon is a place where even high-level users can’t hunt alone. Would you like to join our party? Our skills are very good.”

“No, you should join our party. We are very familiar with this dungeon and have acquired various know-hows. Our hunting speed is unmatched. You will definitely be satisfied if you join.”

“No! Come to our party! We will give you a lot of items!”

Satisfy’s character wasn’t perfectly fictional. When a character was created, it actually reflected the user’s real appearance. Only the skin tone and additional features such as hairstyle, tattoos, scars, and height could be changed a little bit. In other words, a beautiful person in Satisfy was generally beautiful in reality. That’s why the men favored beautiful girls over anything else.

‘A rare beauty!’

‘My ideal type!’

Hearts burst from their eyes as they looked at the girl. They seemed accustomed to competing over girls.

“Do you really want me to join the party? If so, try to hunt the monsters in front of me. I want to join a strong party. I will judge if your skills are strong and then join the party that I want.”

“What is this? She isn’t that special.”

“I agree. I would be thankful not to have a useless person join the party.”

The female users talked badly about the girl. However, the male users became more attracted to the girl as their motivation shot up.

“Ohhhhhh! Be sure to keep that promise! Heat Wave! Fire Sword!”

“Beautiful girl. I will prove my strength. Swirling Frenzy!”

“Bah, idiots. Can you do this? Steel Skin! One Point Break!”

“Your skills don’t back up your bragging. Thunderbolt!”

The male users ran toward the monsters and fired off their skills.

Kwarurung! Kung kwang! Kwajik!

Strong skills such as a swirling storm, thunderbolts, and flames emerged, causing the walls of the dungeon to shake. Fearsome monsters saw the strange scene and ran away. The blonde girl, who was the cause of the confusion, watched the skills get cast.

‘That wind magic isn’t lacking compared to other magicians in the kingdom. It was indeed worthwhile to come here.’

She used her unusually high insight stat and Skill Observation to detect the Swirling Frenzy skill and whispered, "Skill Duplication.”

[You have successfully duplicated ‘Swirling Frenzy’ Lv.3.]

[The skill ‘Swirling Frenzy’ Lv. 3 is available to use once. You can keep it permanently until it is used.]

[Swirling Frenzy]

Lv. 3

Creates a vortex that deals 1,530~2,380 damage per second for five seconds. The agility of the target caught in the vortex will decrease by 80%.

Skill Mana Cost: 700

Skill Cooldown Time: 300 seconds]

The blonde girl’s name was Euphemina. Her class was Duplicator. As a Duplicator, she used Skill Observation and Skill Duplication to instantly analyze and copy a skill used by the target. Whatever skill she copied, she could use it only once whenever she wanted. There were disadvantages such as ‘the usage frequency of Skill Duplication is limited to three times a day.’ However, it was still a fraudulent skill despite the disadvantages.

‘I can get Piaro with this.’

Euphemina left the men showing off their skills at the dungeon behind. Then she moved quickly and arrived at Kesan Canyon.

“I found it.”

After finding a small cave at the end of the canyon, Euphemina read the contents of the quest once again in order to prepare her mind before entering.