A lone man entered the New Leaf village and was instantly approached by a middle-aged man who could be seen trembling all over.
Jack couldn’t help but feel perplexed. Was the mayor personally welcoming him? Had he managed to accomplish a secret quest unknowingly?
He opened his ears wide, awaiting the quest prompt, and so did the Mighty Wolves who had come out of nowhere.
“Where are all the braves? Do you have any idea?! Why did they stop bringing me the chicken feathers that I requested?!” The NPC inquired.
“Eh, they’re all in the plain, so you can ask yourself, I guess,” Jack replied. So much for a hidden title…
“What about you? You’re not busy, are you? Braves like you should be hunting as much as possible. The gods have blessed you! The more you hunt and the stronger you become, so why don’t you—” He enthusiastically encouraged him to work.
“You know what? Sure! I’m pretty good at hunting. Do you need anything in particular? Oh, also, I’m pretty naked, so if you could—” Jack’s meaning was obvious, he needed gear!
“Of course, I understand! Here, follow me.” He then proceeded to bring Jack to his house before showing him a pile of shabby equipment. “Look at this, isn’t this amazing! It’s all a brave could ever need!”
While it was far from impressive, it was better than nothing. Depending on the price, it could be worth it. But that’s when the mayor spoke once more.
“For every 100 fox corpses that you bring me or every 50 wolf corpses, you can pick one. That’s a great deal, isn’t it? Oh, it’s twice for the weapons and non-negotiable. I’m already making a loss!” He looked so kind.
“Eh…sure. If you’ll excuse me, I have to go now.” Jack couldn’t help but grimace before hurriedly taking his leave.
The items from the pile were at the very best level 5 and were worth 1G. The problem was that every fox corpse was worth about two silvers, meaning that 100 foxes were worth 2G instead of 1G. At this stage of the game, a 1G difference was staggering!
Jack couldn’t help but give a wry smile and a silent prayer to the players. As expected of Infinite, the NPCs were as scheming as he remembered.
As soon as he came out of the village chief’s house, he was welcomed by his allies, who excitedly pestered him:
“How was it? What did the mayor tell you? Oh wait, it’s probably confidential, right?”
“I can’t believe you managed to come back alive from the forest! This is gonna become a legend of Infinite for sure!”
“Did you receive a new title? What about New Leaf Hero? Oh, is it something like the indisputable brave, who’s the bravest of them all and showed extreme bravery!”
“Congratulation, Teacher. Still, everyone here needs to be careful. We’re definitely on the hit list of the Mighty Dragons. Just don’t be reckless.” Bubblegum stared at the others as she said that.
“Tch— Them being a pain in the ass is nothing new. Don’t worry too much about them. They’re just like annoying cockroaches. Just ignore them, and they’ll go away.” The CPR dude grumbled.
What kind of shitty advice was that? That’s how one gets a cockroach infestation! He gestured him and his apprentice to follow him to the forge.
The other minions went back to check the perimeter. They seemed to believe it was their duty to protect Jack from fans for some reason. Fans? That would have required fame, and all he had was infamy!
As they reached their destination, Jack was satisfied. The once cold and lifeless forge was now warm with its owner exercising. He was half-naked, and pearls of sweat trickled down his well-toned muscles.
Jack couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. How long before blacksmithing became popular with many young maidens? They would eventually flock to the blacksmiths, having developed a sudden interest in the craft.
As the nameless blacksmith noticed them, he cried out: “Tell me you have the ore this time around!”
“Sorry, I only….” Jack began.
“Goddamnit, please hurry! My soul is hot and pulsating right now. I can feel my blood boiling already. After all this time of being a jobless loser, I’ll finally be a blacksmith again!”
“…I only have three. Hopefully, you’ll be able to work with that.” Jack gave him a teasing smile as he took out the ores.
“What?! Do you really have them?! Show them to me!” The blacksmith grabbed them with both hands as he played with them. “Oh my god, this is the best! So round and so big! This is gonna be more than enough!” The NPC was ecstatic.
The sigh of a half-naked man hugging ores as if a precious treasure was definitely a sight to behold. But, he quickly turned serious:
“Alright, I can make three weapons with this much. What would you prefer? I can make everything you can possibly desire!”
“I want a mechanical golem then,” Jack replied teasingly.
“I can make almost anything that you desire.” The blacksmith corrected himself.
“It will be a shield for me. What about you two, do you want anything? It won’t be free, though.” Jack offered.
“What?! There’s no need!” The CPR dude declined modestly.
“Yep, daggers.” Bubblegum instantly replied.
“Shield and two daggers? Alright, I can do that for sure!” The NPC exclaimed with motivation.
“Do the shield last,” Jack instructed.
CPR dude couldn’t help but glance at Jack and Seraphine. There was definitely something going on between them! He lowly praised: “How chivalrous!”
“Chivalrous?” Jack glanced at him, confused. “This guy hasn’t worked with metal in a long time. If he screws up from being rusty, it won’t be with my shield.”
The CPR dude instantly choked. So much for his clever analysis.
“Here, look at this, does this work for you?” The blacksmith asked.
He waved his hand slightly, and weapons appeared out of thin air.
“It’s possible to preview the crafting in Infinite?!” CPR dude exclaimed.
“It seems to be magic. How can a blacksmith know magic?!” Bubblegum asked.
“Hehe. It’s just a small magic trick. Anything created this way will break with slight exertion, and any professional would see through it in an instant.” The NPC revealed.
Jack wasn’t surprised in the least by this. He was busy observing the prototype. He would twist it around and check every angle for any problem.
“Pretty nice, but the part here needs to be changed a bit. Add a crease to catch and lock enemy weapons in place if required. This part here should be smoother to deflect blows. Finally, the thickness here needs a small change for the overall balance.”
“How?! When did you learn about—” The blacksmith couldn’t help but stare at him jaw-slacked.
“That’s just basic stuff. If I knew blacksmithing, I wouldn’t ask you to craft for me, would I? Alright, get to work.”
“What about your daggers, young lady? Do they fit you?” He inquired.
“Do you have any suggestions to make?” Bubblegum peered at Jack inquisitively.
“I can give advice, but I’ll charge extra.” Jack offered.
She circled around the dagger, carefully observing the dagger prototype. But, she really couldn’t discern any issue. She turned to her teacher, puzzled.
“Alright, what do you suggest?” She asked.
“Oh, nothing, it’s pretty good as is.” Jack serenely nodded with a small smile.
Just like that, he had scammed a naive youngster. The CPR dude was seriously reconsidering the chivalrous part…
Without minding the awkward atmosphere, the blacksmith got to work. He lit the fire in his forge, carefully melted the ores, made a rough dagger shape with it, and hammered it until completion.
Then he plunged the metal into a bucket of water, sending steam all over the place. The last step was to sharpen the blade’s edge and wrap a simple leather string around the handle.
— Ta-da-da! Successfully crafted a dagger!—
The NPC’s face was glowing with happiness. He was akin to a man that had finally found a reason to live. He even closed his eyes for a moment, just enjoying this sensation.
Then he opened his eyes again confidently as he began working on the second dagger, quickly completing it. But just as he was about to start the process for the shield, Jack stopped him.
“Wait a minute.”
“No need to worry. I’m perfectly in shape. I don’t need any rest and— holy shit!” The blacksmith couldn’t help but swear.
Jack had taken out the Bloodstained Chicken Beak he had obtained during the Chicken Onslaught. It looked incredibly sharp and had red streaks on it that seemed to be pulsating.
The NPC couldn’t help but stare at it as he lightly murmured.
“C-can I really?” His voice was trembling.
“How confident are you?” Jack asked.
“T-that….10% at best.” He gave a despondent expression.
“Alright, add spikes on the shield then. Don’t disappoint me.” Jack smiled as he handed it over.
“I-I said 10%….” The NPC reminded him in a small voice.
“Shut up and get to work already.” Jack spat out at the man. Yet, he didn’t get angry in the least.
He instead began crying. Not tears of weakness, but manly tears, tears of gratitude. A second later, he breathed deeply, and his eyes began showing incredible resolve.
Was this brave willing to believe in him? Was he seriously trusting him with such valuable material? He wouldn’t let him down. He would do all that he could to succeed.
He would prove to them all and to himself that he was a worthy and proud blacksmith!…
Creator’s Thought
Finally, I had the ores that I needed! This had been the very first thing I had ever planned for upon entering the world of Infinite. This was going to be the start of a new chapter for me. Funny how I ended up looting them myself.