A special legendary chain quest. Those were rare. Arthur knew it very well. Few were the players that got the chance to acquire such type of quest.
In fact, during his first life, Arthur didn’t find a single one, though he did participate in one. Players could share the quest with others when said quest was impossible to finish alone.
Arthur had no idea if that would be the case with the one he just got, but it could be.
Anyway, the rewards were enticing. A title wasn’t uncommon to receive in quests, but a passive? That was really rare.
After accepting it, saying yes to Bram, Arthur checked the rewards.
[Title: Scaled Disciple]
[You’re the apprentice of Bram, the Scaled Heart. You watched him use the forge, and acquired some of his knowledge.]
[+20% crafting speed.]
[+20% chance of adding 1 grade to your current crafted item.]
[+10% reduced costs when crafting.]
[Fire Mastery Passive.]
[Fire Mastery (Legendary Grade): You can control and adjust the temperature of the flame perfectly, not destroying items in the crafting process.]
[Fire Mastery is LOCKED. To unlock it, you need to watch Bram forge items, absorbing his knowledge like a true apprentice.]
The title was fucking absurd. Arthur had seen a few players share their title bonuses before, but most didn’t even get close to the one he had just received.
It was all related to crafting, meaning it wasn’t that great in combat, but it didn’t matter. With the title, crafting the best items would be possible, and better items meant power.
As for the passive, it was craft and combat related, which was quite surprising to Arthur.
[Scaled Heart (Legendary)]
[Description: You have the Scaled Heart of a true blacksmith, of a true warrior. It only grows stronger when you truly need extra help.]
[Passive Level: 1.]
[You can upgrade the passive, improving its power.]
[Bonuses:]
[+20% resistance to fire.]
[+10% resistance to all melee physical damage.]
[When below 30% HP, passive will change to Burning Scaled Heart.]
[Burning Scaled Heart: Doubles the current Scaled Heart bonuses, and adds 10% melee physical damage.]
Arthur couldn’t believe what his eyes were seeing. The percentages in that passive were high, and they got even higher when he was at low HP. The damage resistance was insane!
During the early stages, when players already had low damage, having 10% or 20% resistance was just game breaking.
Who the hell was Bram, and how could he give such powers to Arthur? Arthur had never heard of Bram before. The NPC was basically a ghost to him.
Bram smiled when Arthur accepted his offer.
"You know, this is the second time I’ve had an apprentice. The first one was long ago."
Long ago... Bram didn’t look that old, maybe in his forties.
"Are we leaving, then?" Arthur asked, excited when he heard about it.
The current problem he faced was this: it was impossible for him to fight any monsters in the dragon kingdom, so leveling up was impossible.
However, when he’d reached the city, he’d activated the teleportation. Now all he had to do was find another city, and activate the teleport there too! With it, he could travel between the two cities.
It cost money, of course, but it would allow him to enjoy the dragon kingdom as the sole player there, and at the same time, progress with everyone else.
But leaving the dragon kingdom was basically impossible if he wanted to do it alone. It required a flying mount, and those were only unlocked at level 50. Not to mention the powerful flying creatures in the skies leading to the dragon kingdom. Leaving and getting up there was suicide.
Bram nodded.
"Yes. It’s been a long time since I visited the kingdoms below. We’ll visit a friend of mine, bringing a gift for him."
"A gift? What gift?"
"A sword I’ll craft myself. Watch and learn, kid. It’s not every day a blacksmith like myself forges something."
If Arthur hadn’t seen the quest log stating that Bram was a legendary blacksmith, he wouldn’t have believed it.
First because he’d never even heard of him, secondly because the man just looked like a drunk who doesn’t craft anything anymore.
"Follow me," Bram said.
Bram led the way, passing through the area where customers could go, opening a locked back door. Behind this door was his forge.
No one could enter there. That’s where his materials were, the place where he did his thing.
Arthur looked around. The forge was more abandoned than he thought, even worse than the actual shop.
The ores inside already had dust over them, all scattered on the ground. It was the same for his furnace and his anvil.
’It’s been a while since he crafted anything, it seems.’
Bram gestured for Arthur to get closer.
"The first step is to ignite the furnace. We blacksmiths don’t use a normal fire. Well, some stupid and unskilled blacksmiths might, but the best items are forged with the fire you ignite from your heart."
"A true blacksmith touches the furnace, and ignites it using MP and will."
That’s how crafting worked in the game. After becoming a blacksmith, all players acquired a passive allowing them to ignite the flame and control it. It was the same Fire Mastery Arthur received, the one that was still locked.
But his passive let him control the flame PERFECTLY. This level of mastery was only acquired after reaching level 100 as a normal blacksmith. The mastery got better with time, but controlling it perfectly was something only skilled blacksmiths could do.
Flame control was the most important thing during a craft. Making the flame too hot could destroy the materials, and too cold made it impossible to shape the ores into something useful.
Most high-grade materials were fire resistant, so one needed a higher Fire Mastery to craft them. That’s why blacksmiths couldn’t craft items using the best ores during the early stages of the game.
Arthur, though, could maybe break that rule if he unlocked the passive. The only question was how.
"The next step is choosing the right materials for the item you want to craft. I’ll use decent materials, as this is a gift for a friend. But you can craft good items with anything. In the end, the materials are just a part of the process. A skilled blacksmith can use iron and turn it into a powerful weapon. An unskilled blacksmith can have draconic steel and still craft a shit weapon."
Bram wasn’t just crafting the item in front of him, but explaining his thought process. Arthur, being a first-time crafter, listened to his every word carefully.
Bram threw the two different ores inside the furnace. Arthur had no idea what they were, but Bram explained it.
"Obsidian steel, and gold. I don’t know why, but these nobles love gold items to show off."
He controlled the flame, melting both ores at the right temperature. The room was burning hot, but for some reason, Arthur didn’t feel that bad in there. It was his fire resistance helping him.
Bram grabbed his tongs and took the crucible out of the furnace. That’s where the liquid ores were.
Then, with a worn hammer, he hit them on the anvil, each slam molding the sword.
It wasn’t a normal type of forging. The game was magical, after all. Bram changed the shape of the ores in an impossible way, turning it into a long sword, completely black with golden runes written on it.
"These runes are basically dragon tongue. Adding them to the item adds some effects to it, and it’s also my signature, as you saw on the items on the displays," Bram explained.
Bram then grabbed the necessary items for the hilt, and fused them together using his mana. The whole process was really smooth.
After fusing both items, Bram finished the sword. He then showed it to Arthur.
"This is Epic Grade," Bram said. "I could craft a legendary one, but that’s too much for a friend of mine."
’Epic Grade!’
Arthur was stunned. Epic items were really hard to get. Legendary ones were even harder. Yet, Bram was basically saying he could easily craft legendary items...
"Now, let’s prepare the supplies for our journey," Bram said, as he cooled the sword in a water basin.
"How will we get down there?"
"By flying, of course. Come with me."