Chapter 12: System Quest

"Magic arrows?"

Tsubaki repeated the new term in a whisper, scrutinizing Qu Shaoyun in front of her.

"I have to admit... as a blacksmith, you do have the talent for innovation and exploration."

With that said, Tsubaki shrugged.

"If I had that ability, I would be happy to give it a try."

Although she didn't explicitly state it, her meaning was clear.

Even as a Level 5 blacksmith, Tsubaki, the strongest mortal blacksmith in the whole Orario aside from Hephaestus herself, couldn't forge magic swords.

It wasn't due to a lack of forging skill, but rather a lack of qualification to forge magic swords.

Currently, most of the existing magic swords in Orario were created by a forging family called "Kurozo." This family, also a member of the Hephaestus Familia, was a noble family in the forging world.

It was not for any other reason, but because they possessed the bloodline to forge magic swords.

However, with the decline of the Crozzo family, there is currently only one person in the family who can forge magic swords, and that person happens to have a strong aversion to the existence of magic swords.

This has resulted in a situation where no one in the entire Orario can forge magic swords, let alone "magic arrows."

Deep down, Qu Shiayun is aware of this fact.

His inquiry to Tsubaki was merely a hopeful gesture.

As for the idea of finding Welf Crozzo and asking him to help forge "magic arrows," Qu Shiayun never entertained such thoughts.

Because you cannot wake up someone who is pretending to be asleep.

The reason he was willing to spend a week designing and obtaining an internal referral to join the Hephaestus Familia was because joining the Familia was of utmost importance.

If someone were to discover that he could rapidly grow without relying on divine blessings, it would be a major problem.

Therefore, he was determined to waste no time and join the Hephaestus Familia as soon as possible.

As for forging "magic arrows," it was not a necessity.

Qu Shiayun didn't want to waste time trying to get close to Welf Crozzo and help him overcome his psychological barriers regarding magic swords.

Just the thought of it already seemed troublesome.

"Just even the Captain can't forge magic swords..." Qu Shiayun muttered to himself, pretending to be deep in thought, and prepared to come up with an excuse to slip away.

However, Tsubaki suddenly changed the topic, deliberately piquing his interest. "Actually, your idea... is not impossible to achieve."

Since Captain Tsubaki seemed to be interested in teasing him, Qu Shiayun decided to play along and indulge her.

He looked sincerely at Tsubaki and answered earnestly, "Please teach me, Captain!"

After all, who doesn't like flattery?

Since he had pleased her, Tsubaki decided not to keep him in suspense any longer.

"While I don't know if Lord Hephaestus can forge magic arrows, I am certain that Lord Hephaestus can forge divine arrows that are even more perfect than magic arrows!"

"I can request Lord Hephaestus to help you forge a divine arrow, but you have to agree to two conditions." Tsubaki waved her index and middle fingers in front of Qu Shiayun eyes.

"Two conditions?" Qu Shiayun looked slightly puzzled.

He didn't doubt Tsubaki's words. Even though Hephaestus couldn't use divine power, her divine craftsmanship was still capable of forging top-tier equipment in the world.

In the original work,

Bell Cranel dagger is such a growth-oriented "divine weapon" with a value of a whopping two billion valis!

What does two billion mean?

As the top adventurer in Orario and the strongest Sword Princess, even the equipment Warren possesses is worth only around one billion valis.

Qu Shiayun glanced at Tsubaki with a strange expression. He didn't think he was worth two billion valis at the moment, at least not in terms of outward appearance compared to Tsubaki.

"Both conditions are quite simple."

"The first is that you will learn the art of forging under my guidance, and the second is to accompany me to the underground labyrinth to test the equipment."

"How about it? It's quite simple!" As Tsubaki said these words, she reached out and hooked Qu Shiayun's neck.

Under the irresistible force, Qu Shiayun nearly choked to death by her chest, but fortunately, Tsubaki had no such intention.

These weren't conditions, but clearly benefits.

Although Qu Shiayun couldn't understand why Tsubaki was helping him, he could be certain that she wouldn't harm him because he was now a member of the Hephaestus Familia.

However, Qu Shiayun was always curious about Tsubaki's intentions. So he playfully tried to probe from the side, "Are you so boldly offering benefits because you've taken a liking to me?"

"What audacity to flirt with the captain! If you don't finish a hundred hammer strikes today, you won't be getting any food!"

...

Time: The third afternoon since Qu Shiayun joined the Hephaestus Familia.

Location: Adventurer's Guild.

"Ah, finally, I can go to the dungeon today." Qu Shiayun sighed as he stood at the entrance of the guild and stepped inside the lobby.

Because it was around one o'clock in the afternoon, there weren't many adventurers scattered around the guild. Many receptionists were chatting with their colleagues at nearby desks.

"Mr. Qu! You've finally come to the guild!"

As Qu Shiayun just entered the guild, he was suddenly attracted by a voice coming from the resting area on the left.

Because he had been hearing this voice almost every day during the previous week, he was familiar with its owner.

Misha Flott, accompanied by an elf—or more precisely, a half-elf—quickly jogged over to Qu Shiayun. Her tone carried both concern and a hint of relief as she spoke:

"Mr. Qu, you haven't come to the guild for three consecutive days. I thought something happened to you in the dungeon."

Seeing that Qu Shiayun was perfectly fine, Mishia patted her chest and introduced herself while also mentioning that they were good friends.

"Oh, by the way, this is Aina!"

"If I'm on leave and not at the guild, Mr. Qu can come to her if you have any questions."

In fact, as the two of them ran towards him earlier, Qu Shiayun had been surreptitiously sizing up the half-elf named Aina. The reason being that she had the most prominent role in the guild.

"Hello, Mr. Qu. I'm Aina Tulle."

As a gesture of politeness, Qu Shiayun nodded and smiled.

However, at that moment, Misha on the opposite side suddenly exclaimed, "Oh my goodness, Mr. Qu, have you joined the Familia?!"

Seeing her gaze lingering on his equipment and the black bow behind him, Qu Shiayun already understood that it was his attire that gave him away.

There was no help for it, as he had been resembling a beggar not too long ago.

"Mr. Qu must have joined the Hephaestus familia," Aina Tulle deduced, pushing her thin-framed glasses up and identifying the "Ηφαιστος" emblem on Qu Shiayun's equipment.

"Aina Tulle has a keen eye. I came here today to fill out the Familia registration," Qu Shiayun replied.

The adventurer's guild registers the information of every Familia adventurer. Whenever they accept guild requests or exchange mana crystals, the corresponding records are made.

Overall, it serves as a comprehensive statistic for the guild.

"Misha." Aina Tulle happened to have a registration form in her hands, so she directly handed one to her friend.

In just a few minutes, Qu Shiayun completed the registration and proceeded to the dungeon.

These days, Qu Shiayun has been pulled by Tsubaki to the forging room, spending the whole day hammering iron and learning the basics of forging.

And for the next month, every morning Qu Shiayun would go to Tsubaki's place to learn practical forging, and only in the afternoon would he have time to go to the underground dungeon to slay monsters. In the evenings, he would need to study the fundamentals of forging.

The schedule was indeed packed.

As Qu Shiayun lifted his head and glanced at the towering Babel Tower that seemed to reach the sky, he stepped into the entrance of the dungeon. But just then...

[System Prompt: Triggered quest "Teammate"!]