As night fell, the bright moon rose over the sea.

The stars twinkled and the waves crashed against the ship.

Dang, dang, dang…

The sound of striking iron rang across the silent sea.

Ye Jun was sweating like rain, hammering vigorously.

The light bulb hung so high that it lit up the entire deck like it was daytime.

This was the first time since Ye Jun had entered the game that he had worked in the middle of the night.

As expected, electricity was the first productive force.

Because with electricity, there was overtime!

Next to him, Nine Thousand Years Old lay on the side of the ship, stretching its neck out and staring at its master in wonder.

This was because the hammer in Ye Jun's hand would actually become larger and smaller at times.

Forging wasn't that simple. The process of forging wasn't just a matter of swinging a hammer around and smashing it.

A sledgehammer was strong, suitable for forging and shaping, but it needed to be compensated for with a smaller hammer when it came to the details.

Ye Jun was a Beginner Forger so he was well versed in the various forging techniques, and soon, an ax was shaped under his hands.

"+1 Forging Proficiency."

Ye Jun listed the forged ax on the trade channel. The price of it wasn't high, only 100 copper coins.

It was quickly bought.

Ye Jun didn't pay attention to it after putting it up for sale. A small deal like 100 copper coins wasn't worth his time and attention anymore.

Ordinary iron tools weren't worth much because iron was not resistant to wear and tear.

This was different from the ironwork of the modern world.

Iron in modern times was generally a mixture of high-manganese steel, high-carbon steel, stainless steel, and so on, making it durable, hard, and sharp.

Pure ironware, not only rusted easily but was also soft and brittle.

Sadly, Ye Jun didn't have any other catalysts or other metals on hand that would allow him to forge alloys.

Besides, forging alloys wasn't worth it, as the properties of normal items were nowhere near as good as the bronze-grade items the game produced.

The reason why Ye Jun built ironware was that there was too much iron ore that had to be used, and incidentally, he could also earn some money while doing so; any money was better than no money.

Secondly, if he wanted to advance to an Intermediate Forger, he had to work hard and continuously improve his Forging Proficiency.

When he became an Intermediate Forger, he would be able to create silver-grade weapons, and by then that piece of mithril would finally be of use.

Besides, silver-grade weapons were more than 100 times more expensive than bronze-grade weapons.

If he wanted to make a lot of money, he had to improve his skills first.

So there was a question!

Which house was best at forging iron?

…

Ye Jun poured the freshly molten iron ore into the mold he had prepared.

A one-meter square wooden box filled with fine sandy clay.

There were scissors, pliers, tweezers, and other such molds.

Once the molten iron ore was poured inside, he immediately pressed the wooden box tight.

In a few moments, the iron inside cooled and set. He opened the wooden box and peeled away the fine sandy clay, and a pair of scissors, kitchen knife, tweezers, pliers, and other tools had been formed.

These tools were roughly made, and they still needed to be polished and sharpened.

These were essential tools in everyday life.

Under the light, Ye Jun polished off the burrs of these tools and sharpened all the edges.

A brand new set of tools was made.

"Forged successfully, +5 Forging Proficiency."

Ye Jun made more than one set of tools like this. One set was used, one set was kept as a spare, and the rest were all listed on the trading channel.

Such daily utensils were far less popular than tools like machetes, daggers, and axes that could be used as weapons.

However, perhaps it was because of the fine workmanship that his Forging Proficiency increased even more when forging such delicate items.

Once Ye Jun discovered this, he stopped forging axes that required no skills and switched to forging these daily utensils.

In this way, it wouldn't take long for him to be promoted to an Intermediate Forger.

…

Ye Jun was busy until late at night. He wiped his sweat, put the iron pot on the rack, almost exhausted from working all day. He didn't have the heart to do anything fancy today, simply cooking two arm-length lobsters for dinner was enough!

While the water was boiling, Ye Jun turned on the drip irrigation system that was made of bamboo and watered the vegetables on the deck.

The Strange Blood Tree had another Bloodline Fruit on it.

Ye Jun picked the Bloodline Fruit, then carried a bucket of fish blood out of the cabin to feed the Strange Blood Tree.

"This fish blood isn't fresh anymore. It looks like I'll have to find a way to get some fresh fish blood tomorrow." Ye Jun muttered to himself, his gaze involuntarily looking towards the stern of the ship.

Those two couldn't keep eating for free—they had to contribute something!

Would the electric ray, being a Boss monster, have a different effect than normal fish blood?

The electric ray was unaware that it was about to become a test subject, and it was still resting there wobbling its head.

The great white shark also needed to be bred into a Boss as soon as possible. Ye Jun would receive too little EXP from killing it now.

However, there was only one Bloodline Fruit…

Ye Jun made some calculations in his mind, and then he beckoned his hand and called Nine Thousand Years Old over.

Sensing the master's call, the little guy ran over wildly with its short legs, as if it was a breeze of wind, and grabbed Ye Jun's trousers without letting go, seemingly complaining that Ye Jun had only been forging all afternoon and didn't even play with it.

'This guy… even knows how to be angry…'

Ye Jun stroked its ebony head. The little guy nudged Ye Jun's palm contently and turned over to reveal its belly, asking Ye Jun to touch its belly.

Sensing the little one's thoughts, Ye Jun was caught between laughter and tears.

'All right, all right!'

After placating it for a while, the little one was finally happy.

Ye Jun sort of understood that pets were just like children; they couldn't be separated from people.

Then, he took out the Bloodline Fruit and fed it to Nine Thousand Years Old.

Beasts felt a temptation for a ripe Bloodline Fruit in their blood.

Nine Thousand Years Old munched and swallowed the Bloodline Fruit cleanly in a few bites.

And it smacked its lips in a way as if it hadn't had enough.

"Is it good? Feel anything? "Ye Jun curiously stared at its every move with anticipation, apprehension, and nervousness in his heart.

The Bloodline Fruit could stimulate the bloodline of ordinary beasts. The electric ray ate the Bloodline Fruit and turned into a Boss, so what bloodline would Nine Thousand Years Old awaken?

As his spirit pet, Ye Jun naturally hoped that Nine Thousand Years Old would become a bit more powerful.

Otherwise, even though Nine Thousand Years Old had the talent of treasure hunting, its strength was too weak. There were too many natural enemies in the sea; Ye Jun didn't dare to let it take too much risk.

After eating the Bloodline Fruit, Nine Thousand Years surprisingly fell asleep quickly.

Duang, duang…

Ye Jun flicked its head, but surprisingly, it didn't wake up.

If he hadn't sensed that the little one was fine, Ye Jun would have been a bit worried.

It seemed that Nine Thousand Years Old was still too young. After all, it had just come out of its shell. The medicinal properties of the Bloodline Fruit were probably too heavy for it. It seemed like it needed time to digest it.

'Forget it, just let it happen!'

Even if Nine Thousand Years Old didn't awaken a powerful bloodline, Ye Jun would still love this little guy as usual.

The sea breeze was gentle—weariness came unexpectedly—Ye Jun didn't know when he had fallen asleep.

However, tonight, Ye Jun felt a bit depressed in his sleep.

It was as if a huge mountain was pressing down on him, making him unable to breathe.

'What's going on?'

Ye Jun felt it strange. He had never had a nightmare since leveling up. In a state of being half awake and half-asleep, he seemed to see a dark stone pressing against his chest.

'But… why does this rock have horns?'