Blacksmith: The Tempering Begins With One’s Flesh - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Strengthening Potion

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

[Obsidian Sword: A Grade-3 weapon forged from meteor obsidian ore, created with the power of the planets.]

[When swung, it has a medium chance of triggering a meteor shower.]

Lin Feng held the Obsidian Sword with its new hilt in his hand.

The sword was as tall as a seven- or eight-year-old child, almost 140cm in total length and considerably longer than a regular blade. 

The pitch-black blade seemed to sparkle with faint starlight.

Lin Feng sliced through the air with it gently, but to his surprise, the very first time he swung that sword, he saw a faint purple light appear in the sword’s afterimages with every movement of his wrist.

The light was faint, yes, but if it was triggered at a large-scale during a group melee, it might have the same potential for destruction as an AoE firearm. 

Lin Feng played with the sword for a long while before his weariness finally caught up to him, nearly sucking him dry.

He had worked for an entire day and night, carefully controlling his Holy Flame and constantly swinging his hammer with barely a moment’s rest. All of the above factors and more left him at the end of his rope, even though he had repeatedly reinforced his body before.

He managed to drag his body to a wall so he could lean on it, and then he immediately closed his eyes, falling fast asleep.

When Lin Feng next woke up, he saw Brent holding the hammer on the forging table with both hands.

Although the boy was using all the strength in his thin arms and his face was scrunched up with effort, he still could not lift the hammer enough to bring it down on the ore next to it.

Lin Feng quietly got up and walked up to Brent, patting the latter’s skinny shoulder as he said,

“Don’t rush these things.

“You’re too frail now. If you want to lift the hammer and start forging any time soon, you’ll need to put in several times the effort most people do.

“Forging in itself is a boring, time-consuming business. I hope you’ll be able to keep calm and start from zero.”

He had already put the hammer Brent was holding back down. However, under the illumination of the faint sunlight shining into the smithy, Lin Feng could see the tears gathering in the boy’s eyes.

“Master Lin Feng, am I not talented enough to be a blacksmith? I… I’m useless, aren’t I? I can’t even pick up a forging hammer.”

Lin Feng hurriedly patted Brent’s head to comfort him, tussling the boy’s soft golden-brown hair as he said softly,

“Everyone starts this way. You’re still young, and your body is weak because you were hiding out in the Whitewing ruins earlier. However, this is all nurture, not nature. Don’t worry, since you’ve recognized me as your master, I guarantee I won’t waste your time.”

It was only later that Lin Feng realized he had been asleep for an entire day.

He cleaned up and told Brent to continue appraising the ore in the smithy. After that, he wrapped the Obsidian Sword up in some leather and headed to the trade center alone.

The trade center was still relatively empty. When the appraiser saw Lin Feng, he gave the latter a respectful smile.

“Master Lin Feng! Why are you here today?”

Since the appraiser still remembered him, Lin Feng went straight to the point, putting the tightly-wrapped sword onto the counter and saying,

“I want to put this up for Whitestar’s monthly auction. How much do you think it’s worth?”

The appraiser was beaming, of course, peeling away the leather as he flattered Lin Feng’s skills.

When the Obsidian Sword’s blade was well and truly exposed to the sunlight, everyone in the trade center felt as though they saw a flash of beautiful purple starlight shining before their eyes.

“Wait, that’s…”

The trade center appraiser was stunned, and every passerby who saw the light was frozen in place too.

For a moment, the only thing that moved was the starlight sparkling on the Obsidian Blade, leaving symbols in the air.

“It’s Grade-3.”

Lin Feng simply nodded. He put the Obsidian Sword’s hilt into the appraiser’s hand and said,

“Give me a price. I want to exchange it for some strengthening medicines for my disciple.”

As soon as Lin Feng said that, the appraiser immediately recovered from his shock and strode out from behind his counter. He bowed to Lin Feng and said,

“Master Lin, Grade-3 weapons are pretty rare for us at the trade center too. The only such treasure we’ve seen so far was a spear forged by none other than the master forger, Andera from South City, two years ago.

“As such, I’ll need to consult with the trade center’s higher-ups about the auction price of such an item!”

Lin Feng paused and then sighed.

Since the appraiser said that much, that meant that he would not be able to get the money for the Grade-3 weapon today. In other words, he would have to buy Brent’s medicine some other day.

When Lin Feng was about to turn and leave, though, the employee called out to him again.

“Wait, sir!

“I can’t make a final decision about the price of this Grade-3 weapon, but if you want body-strengthening medicine, I can give you some and put it on your tab first! On the sly, of course.”

The employee hastily ran into the trade center and soon reemerged with an entire box of items for Lin Feng.

“Master Lin!

“There are three low-grade Strengthening Potions here, and a few Reinforcement Fruits that can improve one’s body too.

“They pale in value compared to your Grade-3 weapon, though! Think of these as a free gift from the trade center, then!

“Please, if you ever make another Grade-3 weapon, please put them on auction here at our center!”

The appraiser sounded quite sincere, so Lin Feng laughed and said,

“I’m living here in Whitestar, right? Your trade center is the only auction place in the entire city. If I don’t go to you, what am I supposed to do? Sell it on the streets?”

He maintained his smile as he accepted the strengthening supplements from the appraiser, but something occurred to the appraiser and he added,

“One more thing, Master Lin Feng!

“To tell you the truth, at our auction three days from now, we’ll be selling a blue crystal used to forge Grade-3 weapons or armor.

“We haven’t decided on its price yet, but not many people have been coming by the trade center asking for rare materials. If you’re interested, you can come back three days later for the auction!”

Lin Feng’s eyes shone as well when he heard the words ‘blue crystal’.

That was some real Grade-3 material there.

If he had that, with his God-level Forgery, he might even be able to forge a Grade-4 weapon.