Eisen stood there with the knife in his hands, reading through the number of notifications he got for its completion. Although he had suspicions about this, only now was he able to actually confirm.
When it comes to production-type skills, the highest Rank an item you create can have corresponds to your Skill's Rank. This fact made Eisen even happer when he considered that his skills were greater than what the developers hoped or planned for. And due to the item's rank being higher than his skill's, his Blacksmith level rose by a whole 14 in one go!
Of course, he was incredibly happy about the free stats he earned as well, since this worked toward the quest he got from that weird cat the night before.
While he was standing there, thinking about what to make next, Denmir came over to him one last time for the day before closing the smithy. "Eh, old-timer, what did ya make right there? You been working yer ass of for that it seems." The smiling dwarf walked over to Eisen, who quickly handed the knife to him so that he could look over it. Just then, he ripped his eyes open in surprise.
"H-Hey, old-timer… Ya reached rank two in a single day?" He asked, full well knowing the quality and amount of knives he made before. If Eisen didn't have some kind of skill that heightened his proficiency-gain, it would be impossible to reach rank two in blacksmithing with just that.
But when Eisen shook his head with a soft smile, Denmir only ripped his eyes open further. "B-But… ye gotta be fucking kiddin' me! Ye're a Limitbreaker!" He yelled out in complete and utter shock. This got the attention of the rest of the Smiths working in there as well as the apprentices. Confused and in disbelief, they walked over to Denmir and Eisen, forming a small circle around them immediately.
"Listen 'ere, old-timer, ye're a fuckin' genius. Ye were obviously a Master amongst masters in yer past ten lifes! Please, I beg ya, work as a Smith. Ye don't even have ta work here, just work as one!"
[It is possible to change your occupation to Master Blacksmith. Do you accept?]
Eagerly, everyone in the smithy was dead-silent, waiting for Eisen's answer. This is something every single one of these these men had been waiting for the moment they stepped into this room for the first time. To be able to become a Master Blacksmith after being acknowledged by Grandmaster Blacksmith Denmir Dimhide.
That's exactly why nobody knew what to say when Eisen next opened his mouth.
"Sorry, Denmir, but how I explained before, it is too early for me to make such an important choice. I haven't even tried working in other professions yet. But you don't have to worry, I will probably never in my life stop blacksmithing." While frustrated to hear that Eisen will not accept becoming a Blacksmith just yet, Denmir was happy that he still had such an outlook on the profession.
"I understand, old-timer… Just so ya know, if ye ever need my help in the slighest, just ask."
[Your Reputation with Denmir Dimhide has risen significantly]
"And what are all of ya gawking at 'ere? Get out already, get out! Ye don't have any work left!" At last, Denmir turned to the rest of the smiths and apprentices, shooing them away.
Eisen followed the group of men exiting the shop with a smile on his face, and the knife in his hand. Right now he may not have any use for it, but he specifically made it with one thing in mind: Cooking.
He would continue Blacksmithing for a while until satisfied, and then continue on to other professions, amongst which cooking may be.
Thus, he would now create things he would most likely need in the future. Like sowing-needles, carving knives and of course weapons. The reason why he wasn't just buying the items he needed in stores, was that he noticed one thing. The effect of Tool Connection was far stronger for items Eisen created himself compared to ones he had just seen for the first time. At the beginning there may be no difference between either of those options, but according to Denmir it made an immense difference in the later ranks of connectivity with the items.
Amongst the bonuses it gives are higher damage, better control, and when used to create other items, apparently even a higher probability of getting a high rating for the item. And maybe even more beyond that. But since the highest connectivity rank that Denmir achieved was rank 7, and usually especially the ranks 8 to 10 would give amazing new abilities when it came to anything ranked, he wasn't able to tell Eisen everything he wanted to know.
"Goodnight, Denmir. I'll see you tomorrow then." Eisen smiled softly as he began walking up the spiraling streets of Melroe.
He went back to the Inn he stayed at the night before and walked up to the front-desk.
"Ah, hello again. You want to stay for another night?" The Dwarven Innkeeper asked when he noticed Eisen walk in. "Yes, that would be great." Eisen answered with a smile and dropped the fee for one night's stay onto the desk.
The Innkeeper turned around and grabbed one of the keys, the one belonging to the same room Eisen stayed in last night, and handed it over to him. "Have a nice stay." He answered.
It seemed to Eisen that he was in a considerably worse mood than yesterday. Maybe it had something to do with the cat. From what Eisen could tell, it completely disappeared after his dream last night.
Well, Cat, or whatever that thing actually was. Eisen didn't think about it too much, since he would find out in an in-game month anyway.
Before deciding that he would log off for the day soon, Eisen sat down at a table in the restaurant, and immediately a waitress walked up, a different one compared to yesterday. She was still a beautiful young girl, but in this case, young truly meant young. She looked to be only about ten or eleven years old and had her bright pink hair tied into twintails. At first, Eisen thought that she was an elf, because she had pointy ears, but this girl's were different to what normal elves seemed to have as ears. While an Elf's ears were still mostly the same size as a human's, the ears of this waitress were maybe two to three times longer than normal, as if one took an ear and stretched it out.
When he imagined this happening, Eisen couldn't help but laugh slightly, although he tried his best to hide it from the young girl.
"Ehh~? What are you laughing at~? I like funny things!" She exclaimed with a bright smile, causing Eisen to laugh even more. The way she acted was a lot like someone else he had not seen in a while.
"Don't worry about it, young lady, you just reminded me of someone I know." Eisen answered, scratching his beard with a grin.
In response, the girl tilted her head confused. "Oh? Ah, I totally forgot! Sorry! What would you like to eat, dear customer~?" She asked cutely and took out a small notepad and eagerly waited for Eisen's order.
Since he liked the dish he had yesterday with Morrom, he decided to order the same again. Ankheg filet with roasted potatoes and beans, as well as a light vegetable soup.
"Okie dokie~. It's gonna be here soon~!" The Waitress answered gleefully and nearly literally skipped away. After only about 10 minutes, she brought him the dish, and he quickly enjoyed the meal.
Eisen tipped the girl liberally and made his way upstairs to his room, to fall asleep and log out.
---
"Argh, my back hurts so much… I'm really fucking old, huh?" Benjamin swore out loud when trying to step out of the capsule. He was laying down for a constant 12 hours, which seemed a lot longer through time dialation, after all.
He slowly stepped toward the Kitchen and poured himself a glass of water, grabbing the container filled with his medication lying next to the sink.
It was pretty much right about then that his phone rang. "Oh just shut up, I'm nearly there!" He yelled at the phone as if it could hear him while he was slowly walking up to it.
He picked it up and was immediately met with a scream. "Dad! Are you okay? I was trying to reach you all day!" Benjamin's daughter yelled, worry deep in her voice.
Benjamin sighed loudly and began to laugh a little bit. "Yes, Melody, I'm fine. I told you I was going to play the game today."
"Yes, but does that mean you can't answer the phone? Even Tony's Kid answers texts while sitting in front of the computer!" Melody explained, her worry slowly turning into frustration.
"Melody, you're about half my age, how can I know more about technology than you do?"
"What's that supposed to mean? Just get off your old butt and answer the phone sometime, Dad!"
"I literally can't hear it, since I am not conscious while playing. Just wait a while, I'm sure you'll understand when there's stuff in the news about it."
"What do you mean you're not conscious? Dad, is that some kind of eastern meditation thing?" Worried, Melody asked what her father was talking about, who once more just sighed. "No, Melody, it's not. I tried explaining it to you so many times. When you're at the east-coast again next time, I'll show it to you, until then don't worry. I'm 70 years old, I know what I'm doing. So why did you call anyway?"
From across the phone, Benjaming could hear Melody click her tongue before she responded. "I just wanted to check on you, can't I do that?"
"Of course you can, honey. But I don't need you to call me to see if I'm alright every single day."
"I'm just worried, Dad! You know exactly that you can't handle yourself like you used to! You can't even use your arm anymore!"
Even though this statement annoyed him greatly considering the actual circumstances, Benjamin simply sighed and stayed as calm as he could. "Melody, it's not like that, and you know it. Listen, I've got to go, I'm pretty tired. I'll call you sometime tomorrow, okay?"
"Yes, but please actually do! And don't forget because you're playing your game!"
"Don't worry, I won't. Goodnight, honey."
"Goodnight, Dad."
Benjamin hung up the phone and looked at his right hand. His skin was covered in burn marks and surgical scars, and he felt a sharp pain when he formed a fist. He decided to eat something in real life, and then spend the night continuing to play, since his body was in a sleep-like state when he would enter the virtual world.
---
"Good morning, Denmir!" Eisen exclaimed first thing in the morning, waiting for someone to open the shop. When he was feeling frustration after talking to Melody, the only thing he could think of was to return and continue swinging his hammer.
The Dwarf looked up at Eisen and released a soft smile, "Ah, ya seem pretty enthusiastic this morning, eh old-timer?"
Eisen simply nodded and entered the smithy together with Denmir. "So, ya need any help, or can I leave ya to do yer own thing?"
"I'm fine for now, I'll tell you if I need your help." With a bright smile, Eisen immediately went to the Storage room and grabbed a large steel ingot. Today, he was going to make himself a hammer, one that would be a lot more fitted to his body type. While the Hammer he was using the day before was alright to use, he still prefered a hammer that was perfectly fitted to him.
While thinking about the steps before him, Eisen grabbed the hot ingot using a pair of tongs and began swinging his current hammer against his soon-to-be hammer, feeling the vibrations move through the metal and into his arm.
This was a feeling he would never want to miss.