An Unexpected Task

Whoosh!

Just as he had finished saying those words, a large screen appeared in front of Tristan, which he turned around to allow Valyr to see what was on his screen. To no surprise, Valyr's mouth went slightly agape at the sight before him, not expecting Tristan to have already gotten so far even though he had just recently ascended to Rank 2.

'Aside from the progress he has made in the Combat Technology Tree, almost all of the necessary Basic advancements he would need until he reached Rank 5 has already been unlocked. On top of that, he's already begun unlock Intermediate advancements,' Valyr could not help but think to himself, wondering how the man before him had obtained so much Technology Points even though he was still at a low rank.

As someone who took the Blacksmith class in his previous life, Valyr knew very well that the progression in the Technology Tree, specifically the Production and Innovation branches of the Technology Tree, was what mostly dictated the limits of a blacksmith. Although it would seem easy to progress through those two branches at first, with each advancement only needing a couple points at most, once one continued to progress further and further into their respective trees, it wouldn't be a surprise if one needed hundreds to thousands of Technology Points just to advance one level. Naturally, the same could be said for the Combat Technology Tree, which also contained its own unique quirks and bottlenecks.

Nevertheless, that was the reason why he looked at Tristan's Technology Tree with a slightly agape mouth, to which the latter misinterpreted as awe and surprise, but mostly curiosity towards what Valyr was looking at. Closing up the screen, Tristan went ahead and explained to him, "What I've shown to you is the Technology Tree, specifically, the Technology Tree that you might have in the future."

"There are three major branches to the Technology Tree: Combat, Production, and Innovation. However, as a blacksmith, you'll allocate most of your points towards the Production and Innovation branch," he continued. "Now, open up your Technology Tree and head to the Production branch."

Lightly nodding in response to those words, Valyr went ahead and did what he was told, prompting a screen to appear before him not long after.

————

[Technology Tree | Production Branch]

Available Technology Points: 45

- <Basic Understanding: Blacksmithing Lv. 1> - costs 1 TP to unlock

- <Basic Understanding: Alchemy Lv. 1> - costs 1 TP to unlock

…

- <Basic Understanding: Tailoring Lv. 1> - costs 1 TP to unlock

————

At that moment, a great plethora of choices appeared before him, forming a long list of things he could unlock if he ever so chose to. Seeing Valyr's engrossed expression as he looked at the screen, Tristan went ahead and snapped him back to reality. "Now, I want you to unlock <Basic Understanding: Blacksmithing>. After that, try to unlock the things that appear after that."

"Alright." Inwardly nodding in response to those words, Valyr did what he told, consuming a Technology Point to unlock the thing Tristan told him to unlock.

Ding!

[You have unlocked the advancement <Basic Understanding: Blacksmithing Lv. 1>.]

[As you have met the prerequisites, you have unlocked the following advancements: <Basic Fire Control Lv. 1>, <Basic Material Knowledge Lv. 1>, <Basic Equipment Knowledge Lv. 1>, <Basic Forging Lv. 1>, <Basic Enhancement Lv. 1>.]

As he read through the notification he had received, he spared a bit of his attention towards the Technology Tree, noticing that five smaller branches had extended out of the advancement he had unlocked, a somewhat surprised expression appearing on his face because of that.

Simultaneously, on the inside, Valyr could not help but let out a groan, feeling that their pace in exploring the Technology Tree was incredibly slow. Of course, he knew that he could setup his Technology Tree to the point that it would allow him to start forging equipment as soon as possible. After all, his memories from his past life were still intact for the most part, including the part where he went through the necessary advancements in his Technology Tree.

However, even though he had shown Tristan that he had the talent and potential, the latter only knew him as that. He did not know that the knowledge and the experience of an expert blacksmith at all. With that in mind, Valyr went ahead and used one Technology Point each on the advancements that had just been unlocked, knowing that these advancements wouldn't unlock as he had to unlock a few advancements on the Innovation branch before that.

Ding!

Sure enough, a notification appeared in front of him soon after, telling him the same exact thing he had in mind while unlocking the five advancements.

[You do not meet the necessary prerequisites to unlock the advancement.]

"Tristan, it says that I don't meet the necessary prerequisites," Valyr said, to which Tristan lightly smiled in response. It was as if he was waiting for Valyr to say those words.

"Now, you might be wondering: What do I need to unlock since there's nothing else to unlock in the Production branch?" said Tristan soon after.

As Valyr nodded, he then replied with a grin, "Well, here's the thing. The reason why I told you that a blacksmith's Technology Tree will mostly focus on progression between the Production and Innovation branch is because… you can't progress in the Production branch if you advance enough in your Innovation branch!"

Knowing what kind of expression Tristan wanted to see, Valyr's eyes widened in surprise as he headed to the Innovation branch of his Technology Tree. Looking at the advancements that he could currently unlock on the Innovation branch, Valyr could not help but look at Tristan and tell him, "But there's only one advancement here."

Ding!

————

[Technology Tree | Innovation Branch]

Available Technology Points: 44

- <Basic Knowledge: Paleolithic Age Lv. 1> - costs 1 TP to unlock

————

Hearing Valyr's words, Tristan lightly chuckled. "Go ahead and unlock it. You'll see."

As a curious expression appeared on Valyr's face, he spent one Technology Point on the only advancement available on the Innovation branch, a notification sound resounding in his mind soon after.

Ding!

[You have unlocked the advancement <Basic Knowledge: Paleolithic Age Lv. 1>.]

[As you have met the prerequisites, you have unlocked the following advancements: <Basic Knowledge: Neolithic Age Lv. 1>, <Basic Fire Making Lv. 1>, <Basic Stone Knowledge Lv. 1>, and more.]

Watching multiple branches extend out of the unlocked advancement in slight shock, Valyr looked at Tristan with faux surprise, giving off the feeling that he was wondering how the latter knew something like that was going to happen.

Although Valyr already knew, Tristan went ahead and explained in a slightly prideful tone. "It may not seem like it, but the advancement you just unlocked is the first advancement every being will unlock in the Innovation branch if they want to progress through the various levels of technology. It's just like how unlocking <Basic Understanding: Blacksmithing> would allow you to progress through the levels of mastery in blacksmithing."

"Anyways, since you now know the basics of progressing through the Technology Tree, go ahead and unlock the necessary advancements from the Innovation branch so you can unlock the ones on the Production branch," he continued. "In fact, that's the reason why I gave out a reward of 15 Technology Points on the quest since there's so much to unlock before we can really start forging."

"Well, you did get triple the rewards from that quest, so it's up to you on how you allocate the remaining Technology Points you have after that." Tristan shrugged his shoulders once he was done. Just as he was about to head to the furnace at the back of the smithy, Tristan stopped in his footsteps before turning to look back at Valyr, who was going through the various advancements on the Technology Tree.

"You know what? Let me give you your next task while you do that." With that, a screen appeared in front of Tristan and interacted with it. A few seconds later, a notification sound echoed in Valyr's mind as he went ahead and opened it.

Ding!

[You have received a new quest: An Experienced Blacksmith's Suggestion (2).]

Just as he had begun reading through the quest's description, his eyes could not help but widen in shock as he could not help but look at Tristan.

"Are you serious?! I don't even know how to wield a hammer properly!"