Just as it had been with the Volcanic Revolver.
Since Special Crafting created entirely new items that were not listed in the Codex, it required a perfect blueprint.
Following what Serin had told me, I began entering the blueprint I had designed together with her.
“The bow’s form is a recurve bow, right?”
“Yes, Master.”
“The size will be about this much.”
A recurve bow.
Or the bow known as a Recurve Bow.
It was the same type of bow used even in modern Olympic events.
However, it was definitely shorter than the bows I had seen in the Olympics.
When I asked her why, she explained.
“A long bow is inconvenient to carry. Since I have to move quickly through the mountain range in search of prey, a shorter bow is easier to carry.”
That was her reason.
Fair enough. I had heard that the recurve bows used in the Olympics were usually around 170 centimeters long.
It would be difficult to carry around a bow like that.
“Good. Then we will set the basic structure like this.”
The moment I finalized the shape with her.
[ Blueprint complete. ][ Please select the materials. ]
I was able to complete the blueprint without any particular problems.
By feel, the blueprint seemed to have been written better than the one for my own weapon, the Volcanic Revolver.
After that.
I began selecting the materials.
First was the bowstave.
Since the bowstave was extremely important, it felt like a waste to make it from ordinary wood obtained from the forest.
So, even if it was costly, I bought an item made from high-quality wood on the Exchange and disassembled it.
[ You have successfully disassembled White Scale Wood Armor. ][ White Scale Wood Lumber has been created. ]
That gave me the wood I needed.
White Scale Wood Armor had also dropped in price because of the armor I had made, so I was able to purchase it easily.
Though it was still rather expensive.
A tree called White Scale Wood seemed to have excellent elasticity, making it perfect for use as a bowstave.
In addition, I added a little of the Twin-headed Wolf’s tendon and hide, materials Serin had brought back after defeating the Twin-headed Wolf.
[ Crafting begins. ]
Then I began crafting.
CLANG!
The refreshing sound of hammering rang out.
I could feel it from the very first strike.
The hardness of a Point unlike anything I had ever felt before.
So I put even more strength into swinging the hammer.
Every time I shattered a solid Point, the thrill of it made a smile rise to my face before I realized it.
CLANG!
Each time I swung the hammer, the materials I had used slowly began to transform.
The White Scale Wood bent thinly and formed the shape of a bowstave.
The Twin-headed Wolf’s tendon transformed into a bowstring and attached itself to both ends of the bowstave.
That was not all.
As Serin had told me, I wrapped the Twin-headed Wolf’s hide around the grip of the bowstave.
From what I had heard, wrapping it in hide not only made it easier to hide from enemies, but also improved aiming stability.
Only after I swung the hammer for quite some time did I finally finish it.
[ Crafting is complete. ][ Crafting Evaluation: SS ][ You have obtained ‘Ikaya, the Snowbound Tracker’. ]
I had completed Serin’s bow.
However, there was one thing different from usual.
“SS-grade?”
The crafting evaluation.
Until now, no matter how well I did, S-grade had been the best I could get.
But SS-grade!
It was a grade I had seen for the first time since becoming Awakened.
As befitting that.
[ A Masterwork has been born. ][ A Masterwork worthy of making your name known to the world has been completed. Through the inspiration gained from it, your stats increase. ][ Agility increases by 2. ][ Strength increases by 1. ]
A message similar to the one I had seen after making the ‘Volcanic Revolver’ appeared.
No, that was not quite right.
It looked similar, but it was slightly different.
The system message that had appeared back then had said ‘Masterpiece.’
In contrast, the message that appeared now was the even higher ‘Masterwork (名作),’ and the stat increase was twice as large.
Startled, I checked the item information.
[ Ikaya, the Snowbound Tracker ]Form: BowGrade: SSRequirement: Level 4 or higherDescription: A snow bow created by the Blacksmith Jang Gang-cheol by recreating the memories of Serin, a Hunter of the Ikaya Mountain Range.Attack Power: 60Abilities: Frost Lv 3, Preemptive Strike Lv 2, Fatal Lv 2, Aiming Lv 2, Stealth Lv 2
As expected, it was SS-grade.
The abilities I read afterward were tremendous as well.
First, its attack power.
The attack power of an SS-grade level 4 weapon was normally 50.
That alone was already absurdly high compared to other weapons, yet Ikaya had an additional 10 attack power attached to it.
And that was not all.
“It has five abilities?”
A total of five abilities.
All of them were at least level 2, and ‘Frost’ in particular was a staggering level 3.
Even each individual ability was far from ordinary.
‘Frost Arrow Lv 3’ not only covered arrows in frost and inflicted frost damage, but also formed ice around the arrowheads, sharpening them and raising their attack power even further.
‘Preemptive Strike Lv 2’ was an ability that dealt additional damage when attacking before the enemy at the start of battle.
The rest of the abilities were also perfectly suited to Serin, one by one.
Honestly, it looked like such an excellent weapon that it made my Volcanic Revolver seem shabby.
But I did not feel anything like jealousy.
Instead, I was incredibly excited.
After all, I had created a weapon with my own hands that did not even exist in Final Gate.
“Here. Take it.”
“Are you truly…… giving this to me?”
“Of course. As I said, this is also for my sake. It has not been long since I Awakened, but this is the finest Masterpiece I have made so far, so I will be counting on you.”
“It is I who should…… thank you. From now on, I will do my utmost to assist you through this bow, Master.”
Serin’s voice sounded deeply moved.
Hearing it made an even greater sense of pride well up within me.
However, the work was not over.
Rather, this was only the beginning.
I still had to make her dagger and armor.
“Then shall we make the dagger now? This time as well, I plan to make it as similar as possible to the one you used before, so please take a close look.”
“Yes, Master!”
And so.
Together with Serin, whose voice had grown noticeably brighter.
[ Using the Special Crafting skill. ][ Please draw the blueprint for the specially crafted item. ]
I began making her equipment once again.
The next item I made was her dagger.
Since she was a Hunter, her skill with the bow was outstanding, but her skill with a dagger was no less impressive.
So I paid just as much attention to the dagger as well.
As a result.
[ Crafting is complete. ][ Crafting Evaluation: S ][ You have obtained ‘Snowbound Fang’. ]
I was able to make the dagger successfully.
Unfortunately, I could not obtain an SS-grade evaluation, but that was only because I had been too lucky when making the bow.
An S-grade alone was still an excellent result.
[ Snowbound Fang ]Form: DaggerGrade: SRequirement: Level 4 or higherDescription: A dagger created by the Blacksmith Jang Gang-cheol by recreating the memories of Serin, a Hunter of the Ikaya Mountain Range.Attack Power: 44Abilities: Bleeding Lv 2, Ferocity Lv 2, Fatal Lv 2, Onslaught Lv 1
The item’s performance also came out well.
Serin seemed quite satisfied when she received the dagger too.
Then, after that.
[ Crafting is complete. ][ Crafting Evaluation: S ][ You have obtained ‘Snowbound Fur Hat’. ][ You have obtained ‘Snowbound Fur Gloves’. ]…….
I made her equipment all at once.
Since I had paid careful attention to everything by making it all through Special Crafting, fatigue accumulated quickly.
To the point that I thought I would have to take a break once I finished making all of her equipment.
Fortunately, the Twin-headed Wolf’s hide was fairly large, so I was able to make armor for every part of her body.
And at that moment.
A system message I had never expected appeared.
[ You have created the Snowbound Wolf Set. ][ Set effects are applied to the Snowbound Wolf Set. ][ Set Effects ]1. Movement speed increases by 10%.2. Attack power increases by 10% when making a Preemptive Strike.
“Set effects?”
Set effects, of all things.
Of course, this effect had existed back in Final Gate too.
But I had never imagined Awakened items could have such a thing as well.
Startled, I searched the Awakened Community, but as expected, there was no such thing as a set effect.
In other words, the ‘Snowbound Wolf Set’ was the first set item ever created in the world of the Awakened.
It seemed to be because I had made it through Special Crafting.
Perhaps even with ordinary items, if I used similar materials to make them, I might be able to produce similar set effects.
Well, I decided to verify that gradually another time.
“Would you like to try these on too?”
“Thank you, Master.”
I handed her the armor I had made.
The Snowbound Wolf Set was basically designed as cold-weather gear.
She had said that the Ikaya Mountain Range where she had lived was a snowy mountain range located in the north.
I had asked whether it would not be too hot if I made it like this, but she said this form was the most familiar to her and requested this type of armor from me.
When she put on the Snowbound Wolf Set.
“How…… do I look, Master?”
“Ohh. It suits you incredibly well.”
Only now did it feel as though the character called Serin had been completed.
Her long hair, her pale skin, her bow, and her dagger.
All of it harmonized with the Snowbound Wolf Set and looked perfect.
“What do you think, Serin?”
“I like it very much. It feels exactly as I remember.”
“I am glad you like it.”
“Since this is equipment you have bestowed upon me, Master, I will cherish it for my entire life.”
“There is no need to go that far. If I obtain better materials later, I will make you something even better.”
Seeing Serin so satisfied made me like it all the more.
It was nice to make items, sell them on the Exchange, and have the value of the items I made recognized.
But as expected, seeing someone wear the equipment I had made for them and feel satisfied seemed to make me even happier.
Serin looked at herself for a moment with a wistful expression.
Then her expression hardened, as though she had resolved herself to something.
After that.
“I will carry out my duty at once.”
“Already? It has barely been any time since you defeated the Twin-headed Wolf. Rest a little longer and take it slowly.”
“No. You have gone so far as to prepare such equipment for my sake. I cannot do that. I will carry out my duty at once.”
She immediately ran off to the hunting ground.
Without even giving me a chance to stop her.
I started to follow her for the moment, but then.
“Whew. Let me rest for just a bit.”
I returned briefly to my studio apartment and took out some water to drink.
The bow, the dagger, and even the Snowbound Wolf Set.
Perhaps it was because I had made quite a large number of items in succession, and because they were items for my first assistant, I had made all of them carefully through Special Crafting.
My fatigue was considerable.
Still, it would have been a waste to let the day end like this.
[ Brown Bear Gall Potion ]Form: PotionGrade: B
So I decided to drink a potion.
It was a fatigue-recovery potion I had bought in advance.
In the past, I had considered it too wasteful to buy often, but now that I was earning more money, I had bought several in advance, thinking it would be more profitable to drink one and make a few more items.
Of course, the taste was.
“Blech…….”
The worst.
Why was it so bitter?
It was so unbearable that even after I gulped down some leftover cola, the bitterness remained in my mouth.
Still, because it was a potion, its effects appeared immediately.
My mind cleared a little, and my Health returned.
And then.
[ Your level has increased. ]
A level-up message appeared out of nowhere.
It had not even been long since my level had risen.
It had not even been long since Serin had entered the hunting ground.
How had my level already risen?
Then, with a sudden suspicion.
“Ember, to the Forge of Time.”
RUMBLE—.
I entered the Forge of Time and headed toward the hunting ground.
Then I understood at once.
The Blacksmith’s Hunting Ground.
This place had once been packed with monsters no matter where I looked in every direction.
“What in the world…….”
Not a single monster was in sight.
The only things I could see were materials scattered across the ground.
There was not a single living creature in this vast plain.
No, there was one.
“I have cleared them all, Master.”
“All of them…… by yourself?”
“If it were up to me, I would like to carry out my duty further, but it seems I will have to wait a little until more monsters appear.”
My S-grade assistant.
And the Monster Hunter of the Ikaya Mountain Range.
It was Serin.