HPDBC Chapter 399 Still Striving for a Secondary Profession
Chapter 399 Still Striving for a Secondary Profession
Old Tie walked to the water tank, scooped up a ladle of water, poured it over his head, shook off the water droplets, and continued speaking.
"This place isn't part of the main questline. It's a purely functional city, specifically designed for the blacksmithing profession."
He revealed his side job title.
"Only players who become 'Blacksmiths' are considered human here."
"In the eyes of those dwarf NPCs, players without a blacksmith's badge are all just air."
"Don't even mention giving them gold coins; even if you put a knife to their throats, they won't even glance at you."
Chen You suddenly realized.
No wonder I felt like I was invisible in the city lord's mansion just now.
Should we switch to a different main city?
If other main cities have some strange settings, such as requiring you to know pole dancing to enter, that would be an even bigger waste of time.
"Do you know where to learn forging?" Chen You turned to look at Lao Tie, who had no problem.
"You Shen, you want to become a blacksmith?" Old Tie was stunned for a moment, then quickly wiped his hands on his apron.
"Okay, come with me. But this profession is a real trap; it's a bottomless pit that can never be filled."
"I've been doing this for years, logging in every day and just hammering away, and I'm still stuck at the intermediate level."
Chen You didn't respond.
A bottomless pit that can never be filled?
For other players, they all mine, fight monsters, and farm materials on their own; probably no one would spend money to buy materials to level up their proficiency.
But is he the same as Chen You?
Chen You only worries about having money but nowhere to spend it!
The two walked through two streets and came to a huge rock building.
Above the gate hangs a black iron plaque: East Iron City Blacksmith Guild.
The hall was sweltering, with hundreds of stoves burning simultaneously.
A group of players and NPCs were shirtless and sweating profusely.
Lao Tie, without a problem, led Chen You to a high table at the far end of the hall.
Lying on the high table was an old dwarf whose beard almost reached the ground.
He was fast asleep, holding a wine jug in his hand.
His name is displayed above his head: [Grandmaster Blacksmith - Bronzebeard (LV80)]
"Master Copperbeard, we have a job!" Old Iron No Problem shouted at the top of his lungs.
The old dwarf rolled over without even lifting his eyelids: "Basic forging, ten silver coins. Pay up, take the hammer, and get to furnace number one to forge iron."
Lao Tie, without a problem, turned to Chen You and said, "You Shen, pay up, ten silver coins."
Chen You stepped forward, took out a gold coin, and threw it on the table.
The gold coin made a crisp sound.
Master Copperbeard's ears twitched, and he sat up abruptly, grabbing the gold coin in his hand.
His cloudy eyes lit up instantly, and he looked Chen You up and down.
"Young man, you look unfamiliar. Want to learn blacksmithing?" Copperbeard stuffed the gold coins into his pocket and tossed out a worn-out iron hammer and a thin booklet.
"Here you go, the beginner's forging guide. Come back to me when you've reached the required proficiency level."
Chen You took the hammer and the booklet.
A system notification sounded.
[Ding! Congratulations on successfully assuming the profession of Blacksmith.]
Current Level: Beginner (0/1000)
At the same time, Chen You received a bronze medal on his chest.
Old Tie patted Chen You on the shoulder and said earnestly, "You Shen, blacksmithing is a slow and steady process."
"Go buy some pig iron ore first, and slowly chip away at it. If you find it boring, I can teach you a rhythm for blacksmithing..."
Once I become a blacksmith, I should be able to meet the city lord.
However, the city lord would probably not give a good look to a novice blacksmith.
Since we're already here, let's focus on getting promoted first.
Chen You opened the system panel and directly clicked on the portable shop.
The portable shop sells the same items as the NPC merchant, except that VIP members have this portable shop privilege.
Basic proficiency can be improved by hammering pig iron, with each hammering increasing the proficiency by one point.
You can also improve your proficiency by smelting [Refined Star Sand], gaining 100 proficiency points each time.
Pig iron ore, ten copper coins per set.
[Refined Stardust Sand], 10 gold coins per set.
Chen You didn't even glance at the pig iron ore; he tapped the [Refined Star Sand] ten times with his finger.
One hundred gold coins will be deducted.
Ten pieces of stardust shimmering with blue light appeared in the backpack.
Choose smelting directly.
System notification sounds flooded the screen.
[Smelting successful! Forging proficiency +100!]
[Smelting successful! Forging proficiency +100!]
……
[Ding! Your forging proficiency is full. Please increase your forging level.]
"Master Copperbeard." Chen You tapped his fingers twice on the wooden table. "Proficiency is maxed out. Learn the intermediate level."
The guy was just getting ready to warm up when his wrist jerked, and the hammer almost smashed into his own instep.
He whirled around, glaring at Chen You: "You Shen, what did you say? What's full?"
Copperbeard picked up the wine jug, took a swig, and burped: "Young man, you brag without thinking."
"The beginner level requires 1000 points, and you've only held the hammer for a few seconds? Go back and practice properly..."
His words came to an abrupt halt.
Copperbeard's cloudy eyes suddenly bulged outwards, staring intently at Chen You.
"You..." Copperbeard twitched twice, grabbed the iron hammer on the table and examined it; there wasn't even a speck of ash on it.
He looked up, and the way he looked at Chen You changed.
From viewing a newbie to viewing a monster.
"Two gold coins." Bronzebeard extended his short, stubby fingers. "Intermediate Forging Guide."
Chen You took out two gold coins and threw them on the table.
Copperbeard quickly put away the gold coins and pulled out a slightly thicker booklet from under the table, handing it over.
[Ding! Congratulations on your promotion to Intermediate Blacksmith.]
Current Level: Intermediate (0/10000)
Lao Tie, without a doubt, came over and stared at Chen You's badge, which had changed from bronze to silver, and stood there dumbfounded.
"You're so fast, You Shen! How did you do that?"
Chen You ignored him and opened his portable shop again.
One minute later.
Chen You tapped the table again: "Master, advanced."
Copperbeard's body stiffened.
He sat up abruptly, the wine jug slipped from his hand and smashed on the table, spilling wine all over the floor.
"Say it again?" Bronzebeard's voice was a little hoarse.
Chen You looked at him expressionlessly: "High-end, how much?"
"Ten...ten gold coins." Copperbeard swallowed hard.
Chen You threw out a money bag.
With trembling hands, Tongxu untied the money pouch. After confirming that everything was in order, he took out a thick book with gold trim from his pocket and handed it to Chen You.
[Ding! Congratulations on your promotion to Senior Blacksmith.]
Current Level: Advanced (0/100000)
The silver badge on Chen You's chest instantly transformed into a dazzling golden color.
At that moment, the surrounding noise changed.
The East Iron City Blacksmith Guild Hall was originally filled with deafening sounds of hammering, bellows whistling, and NPCs' profanities.
But now, with the high table where Chen You was located as the center, the players and NPCs around the dozen or so stoves around him simultaneously stopped what they were doing.
They were shirtless, holding hammers, and turned their heads in unison to look at the glaring gold badge on Chen You's chest.
The old man's legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground.
He looked down at the silver badge that had been hanging on his chest for three years, then looked up at the newly created gold badge on Chen You's chest. His lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a word for a long time.
"What...what did he just do?" A random player rubbed his eyes.
"Am I blind? I was just a beginner a minute ago, and now, after only a few minutes, I'm already at the advanced level?"
"He didn't even touch the stove! He must be cheating!"