The carriage departed in the afternoon and arrived at Winston Village on the morning of the next day. Winston Village was unusually large for its name. Four times larger and more active than Bairan Village, Winston Village was comparable to the fortified city of Patrian!

As I paid the coachman 8 gold and 90 silver, I asked for proper customer service from him.

I have one question.

Ask me. I will tell you what I can.

Why isnt Winston called a city?

Originally, it was a village smaller than Bairan. However, there are many places suitable for beginner and intermediate level travelers nearby. As these places became famous, the number of visitors gradually increased. There is a rumor that it will be upgraded to a city in the near future if this trend continues. I heard that Earl Steims heir will be sent as the new lord It will be called a city by then. But I dont know exactly when that will be.

Earl Steim? Where have I heard that name before?

I was having a hard time remembering since Id experienced so many things at all once.

Well, it has nothing to do with me anyway.

Now, shall I begin?

I headed to the warehouse administration. After I informed the manager of the registration number and password to my warehouse, the administrator extended his hand. It meant to give him a tip.

Dammit. I have to pay just to use the warehouse?

I handed over 30 silver with trembling hands. The administrator checked the amount and started to chant a spell while drawing a small circle with a magic wand. Then a small warehouse was summoned before me using space and teleport magic.

The warehouse was empty. Id had sold all my japtem in order to buy potions for Ashurs three month quest. Since its early days, I had played Satisfy for one year, but there was only dust in my warehouse now.

Ugh in reality and in the game

I opened my inventory with frustration.

[Mamons Greatsword]

[Rating: Epic

Durability: 88/204 Attack Power: 178~301 Attack Speed: -16%

-Additional water damage will be added to all critical attacks.

This is the greatsword patronized by the guardian of Lake Pamian, Mamon. Due to the influence of the lake, this sword has the strong aura of water.

Conditions of Use: Level 65 or higher, more than 260 strength, more than 150 stamina.

Weight: 1,050]

[Mengels Plate Armor]

[Rating: Rare

Durability: 51/180 Defense: 165 Movement Speed: -2%

* Strength +10

This is a work made by the blacksmith Mengel in the fortified city of Patrian. The defense is improved and the weight lowered. The wearer of this work can feel Mengels strong willpower that remained behind.

Conditions of Use: Level 60 or higher, more than 180 strength.

Weight: 1,203]

[Intermediate Potion] (34)

[This is a potion which has been formulated with five or more herbs.

Restores 1,500 health.

The cooldown time is 20 seconds.

Weight: 306]

[Advanced Potion] (27)

[This is a potion that has been formulated with ten or more herbs.

Restores 4,000 health.

The cooldown time is 20 seconds.

Weight: 324]

[Intermediate Strength Potion] (2)

It is a potion prepared by blending a small amount of ogres blood with different types of herbs.

Increases your strength by 50 points for 5 minutes.

There is no cool down time.

Weight: 62]

[Intermediate Agility Potion] (3)

[It is a potion prepared by blending a small amount of harpys blood with different types of herbs.

Increases your agility by 50 points for 5 minutes.

There is no cool down time.

Weight: 90]

[Special Jaffa Arrow] (1)

[Rating: Epic

Attack Power: 35~42

An arrow made by a craftsman with great skills and potential but lacks experience and reputation.

Due to the effect of combining jaffa with steel, it has extremely high penetration and ignores some of the enemys defense.

* Has a certain chance of ignoring the enemys defense.

Weight: 0.1]

[Yaffa] (3)

[A metal obtained from smelting Jaffa ore. The hardness of the ore has such a weak strength that it is impossible to produce a powerful item with it. However, the properties will change when mixed with steel.

Weight: 60]

I wanted to ignore this reality, but this was the full contents of my inventory. So, I tried to put Mamons Greatsword and Mengels Plate Armor into my inventory to reduce my possessions weight.

I havent appraised Mamons Greatsword or Mengels Plate Armor yet.

The Legendary Blacksmiths Appraisal skill revealed the hidden function of items. It was possible to use the appraisal skill on Mamons Greatsword or Mengels Plate Armor, causing my understanding to rise.

I didnt hesitate to use appraisal on the two items.

[A hidden function doesnt exist.]

[You have grasped the materials that make up Mamons Greatsword, the production method and the intentions of its creator.]

[Your understanding of Mamons Greatsword is now at 33%.]

[A hidden function doesnt exist.]

[You have grasped the materials that make up Mengels Plate Armor, the production method, and the intentions of its creator.]

[Your understanding of Mengels Plate Armor is now at 65%.]

My current stats meant I didnt meet the conditions to use Mamons Greatsword and Mengels Plate Armor. Due to the resulting penalty, Mamons Greatsword had a 30% drop in attack power while Mengels Plate Armor had a 20% drop in defense.

However, my understanding had now risen dramatically.

[Due to your class characteristics, you have equipped Mamons Greatsword.]

[A penalty is applied because the item conditions arent met.]

[Attack power of Mamons Greatsword will decrease by 20%. Only half of the option effects will be applied.]

[Your understanding of Mamons Greatsword is high so the penalties are reduced.]

[Due to your class characteristics, you have equipped Mengels Plate Armor.]

[A penalty is applied because the item conditions arent met.]

[Mengels Plate Armors defense will decrease by 8%. Only half of the option effects will be applied.]

[Your understanding of Mengels Plate Armor is high so the penalties are reduced.]

Hoh.

As the understanding increased, the penalty decreased. Mamons Greatsword now had 143~240 attack and Mengels Plate Armor had 152 defense. The options were still only half applied, but it was pleasing just having the penalties reduced.

However, I wasnt unconditionally happy. I had a 100% understanding with the axe and pickaxe, but my understanding of Mamons Greatsword and Mengels Plate Armor was too low. It was honestly disappointing.

I wouldve preferred if it went up higher.

Well, I didnt need to be too hasty. I could raise understanding by disassembling, repairing and using the items, so it would be resolved over time.

Lets try repairing it.

Mamons Greatsword and Mengels Plate Armor both had low durability currently. I could use the Legendary Blacksmiths Repair skill to improve the understanding of these two items.

Then

[A repair tool is needed.]

Ah, a separate repair tool is needed?

What is a repair tool? Fuck! My money! Money! Money!

During my days as a warrior, I didnt have the repair skill, so I always had to repair items at an NPC blacksmith. Therefore, I didnt know something like a repair tool was needed.

Its no wonder why the repairs were so expensive!

I could postpone repairing the items until next time. However, this was a warehouse which I had wasted 30 silver to open. If I closed the warehouse and went to buy the repair tool, 30 silver would fly away!

Ultimately, I shook off my fury and left Mamons Greatsword and Mengels Plate Armor in the warehouse anyway. The equipment storage fee was 10 silver per item. This was a terrifying expenditure.

The world is a thief

Spending 30 silver to open the warehouse and then 10 silver to place an item inside it! Mothers Heart is Happy, the auction house and the warehouse administrators, they were all crooks in my eyes.

My 50 silver My 50 silver!

50 silver was 600 won in cash. That was enough to buy 200 milliliters of milk, which could relieve my thirst and make my bones sturdy at the same time. I stored the two items which weighed a considerable amount.

Kuuack

My hands shook. After glaring at the warehouse administrator who politely said farewell to me, I headed towards the square.

There was a wide range of people in the square, from newbies who had just created their characters to users wearing level 100 equipment.

People were moving around in order to adapt to the virtual reality. There were people looking for a party, buying or selling goods, sharing quests, beggars, couples, and people who simply enjoyed the landscape. All types of people were seen.

I stood still and observed them.

The beginner users were mainly using East Street, while the average-level users were mainly using South Street. The West and North Streets were favored by everyone, regardless of level.

East Street contained NPCs who gave beginner quests and led to the most suitable hunting grounds for them. Meanwhile, the south had the suitable quests and hunting grounds for average-level users. The west and north were areas which covered all levels, or basically, the area crowded with stores.

The blacksmith is likely to be in the west or north.

As I came to this conclusion while observing the people, a notification window popped up.

[Insight has increased by 1.]

The insight stat could be used to detect objects or predict risks. However, I hadnt seen its performance yet, so I didnt know if this stat was really useful.

Well, any increase is good.

I didnt feel much inspiration as I explored West Street and East Street. However, I then found a blacksmith on East Street. The exterior of the building was huge.

It was a two-story building, making it incomparable to the small smithy in Bairan Village. Unlike Smith who worked alone in Bairan Village, this smithy seemed like it would have dozens of blacksmiths working together.

The leader of dozens of blacksmiths should be at least an intermediate level blacksmith?

If so, he would recognize me and treat me favorably. Unlike Bairan Village, I would learn how to make items in a good environment. I entered the smithy excitedly while imagining the energetic sound of hammering and the hot heat.

However, the smithy I entered seemed bleak. I couldnt hear any hammering sounds, and there were no indications of any people about.

W-What? I looked around in a confused manner and saw a pot-bellied man sleeping in a corner with an empty alcohol bottle beside him. I didnt know if he was sleeping or dead, so I approached him quietly and shook him awake.

Hey. Hey!

Eh? What?

Fortunately, he wasnt dead. The pot-bellied man made an expression of annoyance and opened his eyes. Then he turned towards me and asked, What did you come here for?

I want to learn how to make the best selling item in this village. Can I get your help?

The elderly man looked at me with a ridiculing expression. This place ended a long time ago. After the Mero Company bought the blacksmith stores and commercial areas, they bulk sell items at a low price so the customers turned away from this place. Yet you came here to learn how to make items? Are you sure you want to perish with me?

Right at that moment

The smithy door opened, and a group of rough looking people rushed in.

Hey, Old Man! You still havent decided? Will you hand this building over to us? Wont you be able to buy alcohol every day until you die then?

What was it this time? I felt like I was caught up in another troublesome incident.