Broken paused mid-step and opened the email from Starfall.
[Dear Broken,
I have sent most of your loot, especially the armor and weapons from the hunt, to Slumdon Town. I’ve also sold some of it, and here are the results.
I tried to sell at a fairly high price, so I apologize if the value doesn’t match your expectations.
-Starfall.]
[9 Gold Coins]
Broken read through the email with a furrowed brow, but his eyes widened when he saw the final line: “9 Gold Coins.”
Starfall had truly helped him by selling off the gear he no longer needed, and the prices had been more than fair.
“Broken?” Ivana asked, sensing his distraction.
“Ah, yes…” Broken nodded, snapping out of his thoughts.
“I wanted to offer to cook something for you. I’m sure you’ll be hungry after all the work you’re going to do. Would it be alright if I go ahead and prepare something?”
“Ah, yes… Ivana, do whatever you want, I don’t mind,” Broken replied absentmindedly, still holding her hand.
Ivana glanced down at her hand. “Uhm…” she mumbled.
“What? Do you need gold to buy groceries?” Broken asked, looking at her.
“No, it’s okay,” she replied quickly. Taking a deep breath, she offered a different suggestion. “Broken, I just want to cook. I won’t leave. If it bothers you, I can cook at Mr. Fokil’s smithy.” Suddenly realizing he was still holding her hand, Broken let go. “Ah… sorry.”
Ivana smiled warmly. “Bye… I hope to see your weapon at +18 soon,” she said with a soft laugh, then turned and began walking away.
Broken quickly returned to Fokil’s Smithy and got straight to work in the forging area, preparing to craft Enchanting Stones and Blessed Stones. He laid out several Iron Bars and Steel Bars beside him, ready to begin.
“Have a good time, kid,” Fokil said, standing nearby with a wooden cup in hand, offering it to Broken.
Broken accepted the drink with a nod. “Thanks, Mr. Fokil. I’m going to use the smithy’s facility again.”
“Do as you please,” Fokil replied, “just make sure you don’t disappoint me with the results.”
“I won’t, sir. I’ll do my best—and hopefully, luck will be on my side,” Broken said with a grin.
Fokil
I gave a thin smile before turning to leave. “Luck seems to always favor you. I’m starting to suspect your parents were gods.”
“We players all come from the same world, sir,” Broken said, chuckling.
“Less chit-chat, more work.” Fokil waved his hand as he walked away.
Broken began by heating the Iron Bar, pounding it with his hammer to shape it into an Enchanting Stone, following the blueprint’s specifications.
As usual, he became completely absorbed in his work, hammering away relentlessly without taking a break. It had been a while since Broken had focused on blacksmithing-when was the last time he crafted something? It was before his journey to Hell.
He really needed to start his next big project soon, maybe after dealing with the faeries.
After some time, Fokil approached, watching Broken at work.
“Why are you taking so long to finish each stone? And why are you leaving them half- finished, stacking them up like that?”
“Ah…” Broken looked up with a smile. “I like doing the finishing process all at once. It feels more satisfying when you see all the results together.”
Fokil crossed his arms. “Enchanting Stones and Blessed Stones don’t have grades like equipment. They have quality: Low, Medium, and High. The more High-Quality stones you produce, the more valuable they are. But naturally, you’ll need more High-Quality stones than Low-Quality ones if you want higher upgrade values.”
“Yes, sir. Understood.”
Broken focused intently as he moved on to the final stage of crafting, bringing down his hammer with precision to complete each Enchanting Stone. The sound of the strikes echoed through the smithy.
[You’ve successfully forged a Medium-Quality Enchanting Stone.]
“Not bad…” Fokil muttered with a faint smile.
[You’ve successfully forged a Low-Quality Enchanting Stone.]
“Low-Quality… That’s pretty normal, kid. Don’t be disheartened. It’s tough to even get Medium-Quality, let alone High-Quality. It takes time,” Fokil reassured.
[You’ve successfully forged a Medium-Quality Enchanting Stone.]
Fokil raised an eyebrow. “Beginner’s luck, maybe. Don’t expect that kind of result again.”
[You’ve successfully forged a Medium-Quality Enchanting Stone.]
“Damn, something’s off with your work.”
“What’s wrong, sir?”
“Eh, no need to worry. Just keep going.”
[You’ve successfully forged a Medium-Quality Enchanting Stone.]
“Damn, how are you getting more Medium-Quality than Low?” “It just… happened,” Broken shrugged with a grin. “Your luck won’t last forever.”
[You’ve successfully forged a High-Quality Enchanting Stone.]
[You’ve successfully forged a High-Quality Enchanting Stone.]
[You’ve successfully forged a High-Quality Enchanting Stone.]
Fokil stared at Broken in disbelief. “Kid, are you sure your parents weren’t gods? Damn, lucky bastard! No wonder you can craft legendary pieces so easily. Did you have some kind of tragic life before, to end up with that much luck?”
Broken gave a stiff smile, unsure how to respond to Fokil’s words. “Well, I’m not sure, but my life in the other world was pretty miserable, sir.”
“Oh yeah, I bet the gods felt sorry for you. That’s probably why your luck’s a bit higher than most people’s,” Fokil said with a smirk.
Broken continued crafting, managing to produce around 180 Enchanting Stones. The results were astonishing: 63% of them were medium quality, 19% high quality, and only a small
portion were low quality.
“That’s… beyond reason,” Fokil muttered, shaking his head. “How did you end up with the lowest amount of low-quality stones compared to the others?”
“I think the results are pretty good, sir?”
“That’s not just good-it’s ridiculous,” Fokil said. “But remember, upgrading armor is easier than upgrading weapons. The success rate is higher with armor, but if you manage to upgrade your weapons, the reward is greater since it’ll boost your damage. If you’re unsure about your luck, you could start with armor.”
Broken nodded, understanding the strategy but still itching to test his luck with weapons.
“I’m very tempted to upgrade my weapons, sir,” Broken said confidently. “So I’m willing to
use every stone I’ve forged on them.”
“Cool. So, are you planning to do the upgrade now?”
“No, sir,” Broken replied. “I’m going to keep forging Blessed Stones so I can upgrade
everything all at once.”
“That’s too ambitious. You’ve got time, don’t rush everything,” Fokil warned.
Broken smiled and nodded, but in the back of his mind, he knew the urgency. If he had to
return to the Moonlight Fae and face whatever fierce battles awaited him, he needed to be fully prepared. The quickest way to boost his combat readiness was through equipment
enchantment.
“And…” Broken continued, “my Wavebreaker Spear is already at +15, but I want to upgrade all
my gear at once, so I’ll need a ton of stones.”
“In that case, focus on the Blessed Stones and push that +15 spear to +18. But be warned,
you’re going to need a lot of resources for that.”
“All right,” Fokil muttered, before turning back to his work.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Both Broken and Fokil turned their heads in
the same direction.
“Who’s there?” Fokil called out.