Chapter 219

“Khan!”

Three hours before Piaro was misunderstood as a legendary farmer and feng shui expert.

Grid came to the smithy where Khan was working alone.

“Ohh! You came!”

“I missed you!”

“I haven’t been able to eat, because I wanted to see you!"

"Eh? Should I have missed meals as well?”

“Hahaha!”

Grid and Khan hugged as they reunited after a long time. It was a friendship that transcended identity and age, so they welcomed each other enthusiastically.

“I was worried that you wouldn’t be able to adapt to the warm weather of the west, but you seem fine. Rather, you look healthier."

Khan was in the latter half of his 60’s. He had passed the average life expectancy of the people of the Eternal Kingdom, so it was safe to say that he was at the end of his life. But after returning to being a blacksmith thanks to Grid, Khan worked all day and looked like he was in his 40’s or 50’s.

"You don’t have to worry. I have been working with fire all my life, so how can I be threatened by this heat?”

"You’re a great inspiration.”

Grid smiled. However, he knew that the lifespan of an NPC was finite so he couldn’t suppress the uneasiness in his life.

‘Please live for a long time.’

The first friend in his life, Khan. Grid wouldn’t be able to bear the sadness that would come when he needed to say farewell to the person who opened up his heart. Khan noticed the sad emotions in Grid’s smile and became slightly teary.

‘He reminds me of my son.’

His late son. If he hadn’t become sick and died early, he would’ve been Duke Grid’s age right now.

‘Originally, my son should be the one worrying about me...’

He wanted to see his son. But he could appease that longing with Duke Grid beside him. Khan was thankful for Duke Grid filling his vacancy. Khan swallowed back his tears and bowed his head.

“Thank you.”

“Huh? What?"

Grid didn’t understand the intentions behind Khan’s sudden action. Khan smiled at his puzzled expression.

"Didn’t you come here to help me? So I wanted to thank you! Hahaha!”

“What...? This is originally my work.” Grid brought Khan to Reidan so that Khan wouldn’t be lonely, not for the manpower. “But the situation of the city is a little inconvenient right now, so I am grateful for your help. Let’s work together to solve the problem.”

Grid took off the Holy Light set and changed into old clothing. The dirty novice clothing was what Grid wore when he worked as a blacksmith. The efficiency increased because it was easy to move in the clothing. The only downside was that Grid looked like a complete beggar when he wore it.

“Ohh! You can’t hide your dignity with these shabby clothes!”

Grid’s current dignity and charm stats were comparable to the king of a kingdom, so he was always brimming with elegance.

Grid swept away his hair and revealed his great forehead. He tied a cloth around his head so that his hair wouldn’t flow down, and looked around the smithy.

‘It is unbelievably large.’

A general smithy only had one or two small or medium sized furnaces installed. Usually only three to five people could work at the same time in a smithy.

However, the Overgeared members looked at the future and invested in Reidan’s smithy, giving it a total of eight large furnaces. The sight of eight large furnaces lined up in a row was impressive.

‘Isn’t this at the level of a factory? Dozens of blacksmiths can work at the same time and produce a large quantity of items.’

But that was a story for later, when they had many blacksmiths. Currently, there was only Grid and Khan, so the big size of the smithy couldn’t be taken advantage of.

‘I should look into inviting blacksmith users.’

Grid looked at the smithy before deciding to start working. However, he didn’t have the method to make a rake.

‘I don’t know how to make any farming equipment.’

It was because he never needed to make farming equipment before. But that wasn’t a problem. Grid had the Legendary Blacksmith’s Appraisal skill. Grid held one of the rakes made by Khan and used appraisal.

[Sturdy Rake]

Rating: Normal

Durability: 20/20 Attack Power: 3~7

A farming equipment suitable for digging at the ground.

It is made by Blacksmith Khan who can represent a region, so it is a rake with excellent durability.

Weight: 60

[A hidden function doesn’t exist.]

[You have grasped the materials that make up Sturdy Rake, the production method, and the intentions of its creator.]

[Your understanding of the Sturdy Rake is now at 100%. You will be able to use the Sturdy Rake perfectly.]

[You have learned how to make a rake.]

The rake production method was added. Grid was satisfied and started work.

Ttang! Ttang!

He bent the structure at the end to resemble a trident. It was a simple structure, so Khan was able to produce one rake in just 20 minutes. Yet Grid was different. Just like when raiding boss monsters, Grid was extremely focused as he devoted himself to making one rake.

He carefully shaped the ends like he was making a sword, then he combined it with the handle part. Grid had over 2,000 dexterity, so his hands delicately handled the rake like he was touching Irene’s pale body.

Two hours later.

“Ah, I should take a rest.”

Age didn’t lie. The weary Khan stopped working. On the other hand, Grid had superhuman stamina and wasn’t exhausted. Khan looked closely at his work and was shocked.

“No, what are you doing right now?”

“Huh? What's the problem?”

Grid looked like he didn’t understand, so Khan asked.

"Why are you spending two hours making a rake? I’ve already finished six rakes in two hours... Isn’t this a waste of time?”

“Hrmm.” Grid identified the six rakes made by Khan. Of course, they were all normal rated. The degree of completion wasn’t satisfactory, considering Khan’s skill. “Khan.”

Grid stared straight at Khan. Khan flinched at the sight. Grid’s eyes were as deep as the ocean, like a wise man. It was quite different from the usual Grid.

'Grid can also look like this...!’

Then Grid asked the astounded Khan. “Shouldn’t you always do your best when making equipment? So why are you roughly making the farming equipment?”

“That... Produce as much as possible. Lauel said to mass produce as much farming equipment as possible so that he could put more manpower into the rehabilitation project."

“Mass production? Even lowly blacksmiths can do something like that."

Grid emanated a huge pressure. Right now, he wasn’t a greedy young man or Khan’s valued friend. There was no doubt that he was a legendary blacksmith, Pagma's Successor.

"Your role isn’t to produce average farming equipment for ordinary farmers.”

"Then what is my role?”

Grid replied firmly to Khan’s question. “It’s to make the best farming equipment that will help ordinary farmers become the best. That is your mission as an advanced blacksmith. Please don’t forget your pride as an advanced blacksmith, no matter the situation.”

“Ah...!”

Khan had worked with Grid for a long time and accumulated experience. Thanks to the skill Blacksmith’s Affection, his blacksmithing skill reached advanced level 7. He was one of the best blacksmiths that currently existed, and he realized the truth of Grid’s words.

"You’re absolutely right!”

Khan was highly motivated. Grid handed the rake that he’d just completed to Khan.

"Look at what I created.”

“Truly brilliant...!”

[Ideal Rake]

Rating: Epic

Durability: 50/50 Attack Power: 25~31

* Stamina +7.

* Dexterity +12.

* It will slightly improve the quality of the soil.

A farming equipment suitable for digging at the ground.

An item made by the blacksmith ‘G’ who has a reputation close to a legend. Despite the use of bad quality iron and wood as the material, its function is outstanding.

The three delicate prongs will make the soil finer, improving soil quality.

Weight: 51

‘The one rake that Grid made in two hours is much more valuable than the six rakes that I made!’

He also wanted to make a good rake. Khan pledged before standing in front of the furnace again.

Ttang! Ttang!

"Don’t overdo it.”

Grid was concerned about Khan’s health, but the highly concentrated Khan could no longer hear his voice.

‘Yes, this is like him.’

Grid smiled warmly before starting to make his second rake.

Two hours later.

Grid and Khan both completed a rare rated rake. But once again, two hours later...

“Yes! It can’t be compared to your work, but I have also produced a satisfactory rake!”

Khan succeeded in making an epic rated rake. The performance was less than Grid’s, but it was clearly an excellent rake. Indeed, this was the dignity of an Advanced Blacksmith level 7. Then what about Grid?

“Damn...”

It was a normal rating. Grid was embarrassed. He didn’t know that a normal rating would emerge when he was making such a simple item.

“Are you trying to deceive me with a rake?”

Grid’s pride as a legendary blacksmith was once again wounded. Once again, two hours later. Grid and Khan both completed a rare rated rake.

"Not bad."

Khan was happy. But Grid was boiling with anger.

“Ugh, dammit...!”

A legendary blacksmith was having such a hard time making farming equipment? This wasn’t normal.

“Are you tricking me again? These damn scum!”

Grid yelled at the operators who were watching from somewhere. Then Khan sent him a pitiful look.

“It has been a long time since I’ve seen this...”

It was a frequent phenomenon when they worked together. Khan left Grid shouting alone and started making a new rake.

“Grid!”

Now it was time for dinner. Lauel finished today’s work and ran to the smithy.

“Let’s go eat. Then we need to consult with the guild about the estate management plans... Eh?”

Lauel’s expressions twisted. He wondered how much Grid and Khan would’ve made in half a day, but there was less than 20 tools.

"Surely you weren’t playing around?”

Lauel expected a legendary blacksmith to work like a machine. He was feeling disappointed when Grid threw him a rake.

“I wasn’t playing around. Look at this.”

“...?”

Why did he need to look at the details of a rake? Lauel felt doubts and examined the rake.

“Heok.”

Lauel was beyond shocked.

[Perfect Rake]

Rating: Unique

Durability: 71/71 Attack Power: 49~61

* Stamina +15

* Dexterity +28

* Greatly improves the soil quality.

A farming equipment suitable for digging at the ground.

An item made by the blacksmith ‘G’ who has a reputation close to a legend. Despite the use of bad quality iron and wood as the material, its function is outstanding.

The three delicate prongs will make the soil finer, improving soil quality. The three prongs are bent at the ideal angle to work the soil. Even a child can use this rake to turn a wasteland into an excellent garden.

Weight: 45

The rake was a tool that helped adult males clear a 1,000 pyeong size land in one day. However, the people of Reidan were starving for a long time and their physical condition wasn’t good, so each person could only clear 100 pyeong a day.

‘The people of Reidan will be able to do more than that if they have this rake. The soil improvement means that the land will give a good harvest.’

This game was truly about items. Grid was the truth. Lauel once again thought that it was a good idea to follow Grid. He didn’t doubt that one day, the people of Reidan would be armed with the power of items.

Then he suddenly got an ominous feeling.

‘Don’t tell me that when he becomes a king...’

Surely he wouldn’t name it Overgeared Kingdom? Lauel made a tearful face.