A New Weapon

[Giant Axe]

[Grade: Common]

[Durability: 100/100]

[Weapon Attack: 25]

[Description: An ordinary axe made from ordinary steel.]

[Slime Boots]

[Grade: Common]

[Durability: 100/100]

[Physical Defense: 5]

[Description: Made entirely out of Green Slime Substance]

[Blue Slime Vest]

[Grade: Uncommon]

[Durability: 100/100]

[Physical Defense: 25]

Bai Tian looked at every piece of equipment in the store to see if there was anything that he wanted to buy.

Unfortunately, nothing caught his interest, so he left the store a few minutes later and went back to the training ground.

At the training ground, he could see Jason, who gave him the letter of recommendation, and he appeared to be training a few people.

When Jason noticed his presence, he said a few words to the group before approaching him.

"Hey, have you met with Master Vulcan yet? If not, you should hurry up, as he won't be staying in this city for much longer."

Bai Tian nodded, "Yes, we met."

"Nice. You got a weapon for free, right?"

"Not only did he give me a weapon, he's even crafting one for me. Thank you again for the recommendation."

"Wait… What?" Jason's eyes suddenly became wide open.

"Master Vulcan is crafting a weapon for you?"

"That's what I said." He confirmed.

"Good lord! Do you have any idea what that means?! I'm so fucking jealous!" Jason suddenly exclaimed.

Bai Tian raised an eyebrow, "Is he that famous?"

"He's not just famous! He's one of only four blacksmiths in the entire Human Continent that currently have a Grandmaster title! They call him the Metal Maestro: Grandmaster of the Forge! All of his works are considered treasures, and he personally works for the royal family in the capital!" Jason explained with great excitement.

"Is that so? He does sound important, but why is someone of his stature in this small city?" Bai Tian asked.

"Well, he routinely takes a month off every year to teach other blacksmiths the art, and he just so happened to be in this city this year. He's a role model for all blacksmiths out there."

Bai Tian smiled, "I'm more curious about how you made him owe you a favor. Perhaps you're someone famous yourself?"

Jason started laughing out loud, "Maybe I am, maybe I ain't. I'm not going to tell you that."

Bai Tian merely shrugged.

"Anyways, I am going to practice here until it's time to pick up my weapon," he then said.

"Do as you please. If you need anything, you know where to find me."

"Actually, I have one question."

"Shoot it."

"How does one increase their skills' rank? Do I need to keep using it, or do I need to kill monsters with the skill?"

Jason then responded, "Skills will gain experience either way. Using skills by itself will grant it experience, but you'll earn more experience through killing monsters. Though, not every skill can be used in a fight, so you can only keep using those non-offensive skills to gain experience."

"However, there is another method of earning experience for skills, and that is by using Skill Experience Scrolls. They are quite rare and can only be found in dungeons and elite monsters."

"For future reference, how much do they cost?" Bai Tian asked.

"Even the cheapest scrolls are worth at least 10,000 Gold Coins."

"Ten thousand…" Bai Tian mumbled.

"Anyways, if you've just learned the skill, it'll take around a month or so of grinding to level it up. Half that if you're constantly killing monsters. Of course, higher ranks will require more experience and time. Good luck." Jason gave him a thumbs up.

"Thank you for this information." Bai Tian clasped his hand to thank him before training at one of the iron dummies.

He would then spend the rest of the day abusing the dummies there with Dragon Rush.

The fierceness of his sword technique made those around him nervous, and the more Jason watched him train, the more he understood why Master Vulcan decided to craft a weapon for him.

The following day at noon, Bai Tian made his way back to Crimson Smithy to pick up his new weapon.

However, when he arrived, he was left dumbfounded by the scene in front of the place, where hundreds of people crowded the street, all of them seemingly focused on Crimson Smithy.

"What happened here?" Bai Tian asked one of the people there.

"You haven't heard yet? Apparently, the Metal Maestro, Grandmaster Vulcan, is here!"

"..." Bai Tian was speechless.

Seeing how many people were there, he wondered how he'll approach the building, much less enter it.

In the end, he used White Ghost's Maneuver to navigate the crowd. Once he was near the entrance, he pushed his way inside the building.

"Everyone, please leave! I don't know who spread the rumor, but the Metal Maestro isn't here!"

Bai Tian could hear Robin shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Bullshit! If he's not here, why aren't you letting us see the back?!"

"Let me see Grandmaster Vulcan! I am willing to pay a fortune for his work!"

"Metal Maestro! Metal Maestro! Metal Maestro!"

The crowd began chanting his name.

Suddenly, the back door opened, and a familiar figure came outside. It was Master Vulcan, and he had a furious-looking expression on his face.

"If you bastards don't fucking scram in the next second, I will bash your face in with this hammer!" He roared, causing the entire building to tremble.

The place instantly turned silent, but nobody there moved.

"You think I won't do it?! Then why don't I demonstrate it?!" Master Vulcan suddenly leaped into the air and towards one of the people closest to him with his hammer raised.

When the crowd saw this, they quickly rushed out of the building.

Within seconds, the room became empty except for one person.

"I guess you really want to eat my hammer–" Master Vulcan was prepared to strike this bold individual who dared to remain in the store, but he quickly halted his movement when he saw Bai Tian.

"Oh. It's you." He lowered his hammer and sighed, "I don't know who leaked my presence here, but I won't be able to stay here for much longer. Luckily, I will be able to personally give you the weapon before I leave. Follow me."

Bai Tian nodded and followed him to the back, where he could hear the other blacksmiths arguing with each other.

"Which bastard leaked it?! Thanks to you, our time with him is cut short!"

"It better not be one of you in here!"

"It's definitely Jack! He can never keep his mouth shut!"

"F-Fuck you! I didn't leak anything! I swear upon my hammer!"

"I swear to god I am going to kill this bastard if I ever find him!"

"Ignore them." Master Vulcan said to him. "I visit random smithies once a year to teach the people there how to become proper blacksmiths, and I try to keep this information as tight as possible because as you just saw, things always tend to get rowdy when people find out. When that happens, I will cut my visit short and return to the capital, where I spend most of my time."

"A wandering teacher, huh? I like the sound of that." Bai Tian showed a calm smile.

A few moments later, they stopped in front of a workstation, where a long, black box was resting.

Master Vulcan picked up the box and offered it to Bai Tian.

"Let me know what you think," he said.

Bai Tian didn't say anything and quickly opened the box, revealing the sword that was resting inside.

His eyes immediately shone the moment they graced the sword, and he smiled, "This is perfect."