-356- [ S Rank ]

Inside Lisbeth's Smith Shop, there was not only a storefront but also a dedicated workshop for forging weapons.

In the past, if a customer wanted to commission a weapon, they would typically place an order, and once Lisbeth finished crafting it, they would be notified to come and pick up the item. It was unheard of for players to enter this workshop.

However, Asuna was an exception to this rule.

If it were anyone else, not only would they not be allowed into the workshop, according to Lisbeth, she often barged in on her own, startling Lisbeth while she was working and almost causing her to misstrike with her hammer.

But this time, with Lisbeth's special permission, Rozen was allowed to enter the workshop with Asuna.

"Alright."

Lisbeth switched into blacksmith mode and looked at Rozen.

"What kind of weapon do you want to create?"

Although the performance parameters and names of weapons after forging were generated randomly, players could still choose the type of weapon they wanted to forge and provide specific requirements. Otherwise, completely random results would be unreasonable.

Rozen had never commissioned a player to forge a weapon, but he had at least seen the process many times from NPCs. Thus, he was well-versed in presenting his requirements.

"Single-handed sword, focused on the STR (strength) attribute, preferably with high durability and without affecting attack speed."

These were the kind of requirements that could be presented.

As long as the materials were within the requested range, even if the final performance parameters were unknown, the type and category of the weapon could still be controlled.

For example, as Rozen had requested, if he wanted a weapon that leaned toward STR, he just needed to provide materials suitable for forging strength-based weapons.

The same principle applied to other aspects. If he wanted to focus on speed, he would use metals that favored speed as forging materials. To increase durability, he could add relevant materials. As long as he was willing to invest the resources, there was no way the final weapon's performance would be low.

Furthermore...

"If possible, I hope you can forge the strongest sword up to now."

Rozen locked his gaze onto Lisbeth as he made this request.

"A sword that will not lose to anyone, no matter what."

This request caused Asuna, who was nearby, to momentarily freeze.

"A sword that won't lose to anyone?"

Even Lisbeth was taken aback for a moment, then she looked intently at Rozen.

"You're quite confident." Lisbeth said with a hint of provocation. "Since you put it that way, you must be prepared, right?"

Prepared for what?

Naturally, it referred to the materials for forging.

Wanting a sword that wouldn't lose to anyone?

That should be the dream of every player.

But how could that be easily achieved?

Even if a player's skill proficiency was high and they used excellent forging tools, the most critical factor that determined a weapon's performance was still the materials used for forging.

So, to get a sword that wouldn't lose to anyone, one would need to provide forging materials that nobody else could easily obtain.

Did Rozen possess such materials?

The answer was yes.

"Clang!"

With Rozen's actions on the main menu, a piece of metal was flipped out from his inventory, materializing in a burst of light and landing in his hand.

"Is this good enough?"

Rozen tossed the metal to Lisbeth.

Lisbeth instinctively caught the metal and held it close to her chest.

Only now did Lisbeth get a clear look at the full appearance of the metal that had fallen into her embrace.

It was a piece of metal that shone with a dazzling deep blue, resembling both a crystal and a gemstone. It flowed with incredible radiance, like a crystallization of light.

"So beautiful..."

Seeing this metal, Asuna was the first to comment, a hint of affection appearing in her usually reserved eyes.

As for Lisbeth, the moment she saw the metal, she, as a blacksmith, immediately recognized its significance.

"This... isn't this an S-rank super rare metal?!"

Lizbeth's hands trembled as she held the metal, her voice even quivering.

"S-rank."

In SAO, this term was used to describe the most rare segment of items.

Generally, if an item was labeled as S-rank, it meant one thing.

This item was unquestionably the rarest among items of the same type.

Now, what Rozen brought out was an S-rank super rare metal.

Without a doubt, among all the confirmed existing metal items, there might be items of equal rank, but none could surpass it.

That's why Lizbeth was so excited.

Even Asuna stared at Rozen in astonishment.

"You actually have an S-rank metal?"

Even Asuna, the Vice Commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath, was amazed. This showed just how precious items labeled as S-rank were.

Rozen could even admit that this metal was probably the only S-rank metal in SAO at the moment.

The reason was simple.

"This is an LA reward dropped by the 55th floor boss. There's only one on the entire server."

Rozen explained the source of this super rare metal.

Floor 55's theme was ice and snow.

Because of this, the wilderness of this floor was covered in extensive snowy plains and mountains.

However, the main street of Floor 55, a steel city named Granzam also known as the "Steel City," was filled with iron, steel, and metal-related items everywhere, making it a hotspot for players with production skills in metallurgy and goldsmithing.

Considering this, even the labyrinth of Floor 55 couldn't escape from steel. The monsters within it wore heavy metal armor and wielded thick steel weapons, making them extremely difficult to deal with.

As the strongest monster on Floor 55, the boss was an iron giant. Though slow, its defense was absurdly high, and it had a total of six HP bars. It took a lot of effort for the clearing group to finally defeat it.

At that time, Rozen received the LA reward from the iron giant.

As a result, this S-rank super rare metal was created.

And now, Rozen took out the one and only piece of S-rank metal on the entire server.

"And these, you can add them in too."

Rozen opened his inventory, materializing one item after another.

"Thump—thump—"

In Lisbeth's workshop, there was a continuous sound of heavy items hitting the ground.

Seeing each of these materials fall to the ground one after another, not just Lisbeth, even Asuna gradually grew stunned.

That was because every single material Rozen brought out was of extremely high rarity. Even if they weren't S-rank metals, they weren't items that could be obtained casually.

Asuna could guarantee that, as one of the top players in the clearing group, if it were her, she would find it somewhat challenging to bring out all even a third of these rare materials.

But now, Rozen unreservedly brought out all these rare materials.

"Alright, that's enough."

When the items on the ground had piled up into a small mountain, Rozen satisfiedly stopped his actions, looking at the two girls.

However, what Rozen saw were two dumbfounded expressions. Blinking his eyes, he spoke.

"What's wrong? Is this not enough? Should I add some more?"

As he said this, not only Lisbeth, but even Asuna exclaimed.

"Enough, enough, enough! Don't bring out any more!"

"Where did you find so many rare materials?! Isn't this too unfair!?"

Asuna and Lisbeth simultaneously shouted, causing Rozen to burst out laughing.