Actually, it was a natural result.
The S-rank weapon I made was capable of dispatching even a Goblin, which could be considered on the stronger side among the lowest-grade monsters, in a single strike.
And to think I had attacked a Slime, known to be the weakest among the lowest-grade monsters, with such a weapon.
Even so, just as I was feeling a sense of futility at a battle that ended too easily.
“What is this?”
The spot where the Slime was defeated.
Something had been dropped there.
A squishy, light green item that looked like a semi-dried slime.
It was an item that had obviously come from the Slime at a glance.
When I checked it just in case.
[ Squishy Slime Piece ] Form: Material Rank: F Description: A squishy mucus obtained by defeating a Slime.
It was truly a material-type item that came from a Slime.
However, it was strange.
“Did they not say that things like materials do not drop even if you defeat a monster?”
The common sense of an Awakened.
A defeated monster turns into powder and scatters after a certain period of time passes.
Instead, a Mana Stone or an item appears randomly in its place.
The item mentioned here did not refer to something like a material, but a finished product like the 'Goblin Edge' I had seen before.
The 'Orc Warrior's Elixir' I drank must have also been an item obtained by defeating an Orc Warrior.
However, was this not classified as a material right from its form?
“Ah, could it be that this is a place to obtain monster materials?”
The Blacksmith's Hunting Ground.
I thought it was simply a place for a Blacksmith to raise their level.
That was not it.
Just like mining ore in the mine and logging trees in the forest.
This was a place not only for raising one's level but also for simultaneously gathering monster materials.
“This is good?”
Monster materials could be used in various ways.
Parts like bones, horns, or claws could be used instead of ore.
Leather could be used when making tough armor.
In particular, if you made an item using a monster's material, you could imbue the item with that monster's characteristics.
For example, the horn of the Horned Rabbit charging at me right now would…….
Wait a minute.
“Gah?!”
BAM!
The Horned Rabbit that suddenly jumped up struck my body hard.
Thanks to the iron armor, there was almost no damage, but I was so startled that I ended up falling on my rear.
And when I looked around.
“Crazy, what is this! Why is everyone acting like this!”
The monsters that were around the Slime were approaching me, revealing their murderous intent.
Figuring out the reason was simple.
“Conditional aggressive monsters!”
Monsters in games were broadly divided into two types.
Aggressive monsters that attack first just by getting close.
Passive monsters that do not attack even if you get close.
However, this was not all.
There were various types besides these, but given the circumstances, these guys were conditional aggressive monsters.
It was clear that they were the type to react and attack when an ally nearby was attacked.
The guys that approached like that.
CLANG, CLANG! CLAAANG!
Began to attack me one after another.
If there was a fortunate point, should I say it was that my armor was incredibly sturdy?
Then again, it was said to block the attacks of Goblins, which were on the stronger side among the lowest-grade monsters, so there was no way the attacks of these guys could pierce it.
Still, raising my shield just in case, I...
“Uwaaaah!”
Desperately swung my hammer.
However, there was a problem.
Once I started fighting, the number of monsters attacking me was gradually increasing.
This was impossible.
The armor was doing its job well enough, but if the monsters kept increasing like this and surrounded me, I would end up being unable to do anything.
When such a situation approached.
I had only one choice.
The very stratagem known to be the best among the Thirty-Six Stratagems of Tan Daoji.
“Run awaaay!”
Taking flight.
In other words, running away.
The monster's attacks continued even while I was running away, but thanks to the S-rank armor, I took no damage, and...
“Phew…….”
I was barely able to escape the hunting ground.
It was almost genuinely dangerous.
“This is why I hated combat…….”
Feeling stifled, I took off the S-rank Standard Iron Helmet I was wearing and threw it down.
Really now.
It is a relief that I awakened as a Blacksmith.
If I had awakened in a combat class like others, would I not have to fight monsters like this every day?
Just imagining it was terrible.
I felt it during Final Gate as well, but as expected, I do not suit combat.
Especially close-quarters combat.
“Do I have to make a ranged weapon?”
It was not like there was no way.
If I used a ranged weapon, I felt like I could comfortably hunt monsters too.
Since I had raised a ranged alt character in Final Gate to collect materials before.
However, the problem with this was as well.
“If it is a ranged weapon, it would be a bow or a crossbow, right?”
That I did not know how to handle them.
A crossbow would be easier to handle than a bow, at least.
Even if it is a crossbow, would I be able to handle it properly?
Even if I handled it properly, there was a problem.
A crossbow is fundamentally a weapon that takes a long time to reload; could I use such a weapon in the Blacksmith's Hunting Ground?
Moreover, an unskilled person like me.
No matter how I thought about it, it was impossible.
Inside my head as I was blaming myself like that.
“If it were 'that weapon', it would be fine…….”
One of the weapons from Final Gate came to mind.
If it were that weapon, I felt like I could use it well too.
Even if I did not know how to shoot a bow or load a crossbow.
If it were that weapon, since I had already used something similar before.
Compared to a bow or a crossbow, the difficulty of using it was much lower as well.
Well, even so, there was no way I could make that, so as I was thinking about going back into the forge to try making a crossbow at least.
“Is it really impossible?”
That thought occurred to me.
It works in the game, so would it not work in reality?
Furthermore, was my ability not extremely similar to the Blacksmith in Final Gate?
Thinking that way.
“Ember.”
-Please speak. Mr. Jang Gang-cheol. “Can I by any chance make items that are not listed in the codex?”
I asked Ember.
My Crafting skill could only be used to craft if I selected one from the list in the codex.
Just like how I enhanced the anvil to expand the codex to make a bed.
But, what if that was not the limit?
Thinking that way, I asked just in case, but.
-You are quick on the uptake.
-That is correct.
-Although the difficulty is significantly higher compared to regular crafting, it is also possible to create completely new, original creations that are not listed in the codex.
A positive answer came back.
“Great, is that so?”
Immediately.
I began preparations to make 'that weapon'.
After finishing the basic design.
I immediately visited the Awakened Exchange.
The first thing I looked for here was.
[ Flame Stone ] [ Explosion Stone ] …….
It was these.
Flame Stone and Explosion Stone.
Deliberating with the two before my eyes, I...
[ You have purchased an Explosion Stone. ]
Selected the Explosion Stone.
If I were more prepared, the Flame Stone would be good too, but for now, the Explosion Stone seemed better.
Next, searching the Exchange by entering conditions such as 'Heat Resistance', 'Shock Absorption', and 'Crack Prevention', I...
“It is quite expensive.”
Could not help but be shocked at the prices.
Why was everything so expensive?
I did not know what they were being used for to be sold so expensively.
Even though I had earned quite a bit of money, it was not enough to purchase the things here, so while examining them sorted by the lowest price.
“This is good?”
I found one item that I liked.
Its identity was exactly.
[ Dulled Volcanic Axe ] Form: Axe Rank: B Restriction: Level 2 or higher Description: An axe made of precious Volcanic Iron, but its blade has become very dull due to rolling around in a volcano for a long time without maintenance. Attack Power: 20 Abilities: Heat Lv 1
This.
It was the Dulled Volcanic Axe.
In its own way, it was a level 2 B-rank weapon, but its price was listed incredibly cheaply.
It seemed like a weapon that had sold quite expensively until recently.
It appeared the price had dropped tremendously recently.
The reason for that was, as expected.
“……I feel sorry for the seller.”
Because of me.
And for good reason; the attack power of the level 1 A-rank weapons I had been making recently was 21.
But despite being a level 2 weapon, let alone having higher attack power, it was actually lower, so there was no way it could be popular.
Well, thanks to that, I was able to purchase the Dulled Volcanic Axe cheaply, and.
Immediately.
“Disassembly!”
CLANG!
I used the Disassembly skill.
Perhaps meaning it was not a weapon made of ordinary iron, points of a much higher difficulty than when disassembling iron ore popped up, but.
[ You have successfully disassembled the Dulled Volcanic Axe. ] [ Lowest-grade Volcanic Iron has been created. ]
Not long after, I was able to successfully disassemble the axe.
Additionally, I was able to obtain the material I wanted.
Volcanic Iron.
Upon checking, it was said to be a material that possessed strong heat resistance and shock resistance due to the influence of a volcano.
It was an ore of fantasy, quite literally, that did not exist in reality.
Having prepared a few more materials besides that, I...
“Shall I begin?”
I immediately prepared for item crafting.
Originally, the standard method was to select one from the list of items in the codex saved in the anvil to make an item, but.
Not this time.
Instead of the existing Crafting skill, I...
The skill that was newly created on the hammer as the 'Blacksmith's Hammer' reached level 2 this time.
“Special Crafting.”
I tried using the Special Crafting skill.
[ You are using the Special Crafting skill. ] [ Please draft a blueprint for the special creation. ]
Then, instead of the system messages up until now.
A completely new system message popped up.
That was right, Special Crafting.
This was exactly what I was trying to do.
I was a bit nervous, but I had already heard about it from Ember beforehand and had even completely prepared the blueprint.
'That weapon' I desired, which I had made in Final Gate.
And to add realism to it, a blueprint drafted as realistically as possible by comparing it with things that exist in reality.
Even so, it was my first time drafting a blueprint in reality, and I wondered if the system would be able to accept my blueprint well, but.
[ Blueprint Drafting Complete ] [ Please select the materials. ]
Fortunately, it seemed the system understood my blueprint well.
Seeing as the blueprint was completed without any problems.
-Excellent.
-Blueprints for Special Crafting require a great deal of imagination and creativity, so there are many cases of failure when attempting it for the first time.
-Mr. Jang Gang-cheol, you are the only one who has succeeded in drafting a blueprint for Special Crafting on the first try.
Ember even said that.
I also lacked the confidence to make the blueprint any better than this, so I immediately selected the materials.
The main materials were, as expected, the Explosion Stone and the Lowest-grade Volcanic Iron.
As soon as I added the additionally prepared materials to that.
[ Crafting will now begin. ]
CLANG!
I swung my hammer toward the popping points.
Because they were points I had been striking continuously for the past few days, I was incredibly accustomed to them, but.
'It is different.'
I could feel it through the hammer.
That this point was far harder than the ones I had been striking previously.
As proof, the point that had always shattered with a single strike until now was not breaking.
It was only after I put strength into it and struck it twice more that the point shattered.
Following that, without a moment to rest.
VOOOM!
A new point popped up.
As I was swinging the hammer like that, I could feel it.
'The hardness and timing differ depending on the form and color of the point.'
As expected, it is difficult.
It is a difficulty incomparable to the Standard series I had made so far.
Even so, it did not matter.
Was I not the number one ranked Blacksmith user in Final Gate, in name at least?
I adapted to the form and hardness of the points in an instant and swung my hammer.
Accordingly, the materials I had prepared slowly began to change.
The Volcanic Iron turned into a gun barrel, a front sight was made in the front, and six chambers were formed in the back.
Behind the chambers, a hammer made of Explosion Stone was created.
Following that, the moment the grip and trigger, exclusively designed to fit my palm and fingers, were completed, and various structures that would increase stability were finished.
[ Crafting is complete. ]
The item was completed.
[ Crafting Evaluation: S ]
Because it was the work of making an item from Final Gate, I had been worried if it would go well.
Perhaps thanks to my concentration, I was able to receive an S-rank evaluation.
The name of the item I had made like that was exactly.
[ You have obtained the 'Volcanic Revolver'. ]
The Volcanic Revolver.
In other words, it was a gun.