Chapter 42 Required Fitness Level: 10

[The effects of the title 'Talented' have been activated. Your Concentration, Stamina, and Agility will increase to the extreme for one hour].

Before hearing this message, Kaizen was heavily breathing. His arms were numb, and his skin was hot, but thanks to the effect of the newly acquired title, the fatigue disappeared, and he felt strangely renewed.

Kaizen alternated between hammer and metals for an hour, producing the arrowheads. He was completely concentrated, which became noticeable in his arrows, making them more beautiful than the first ones he had made. At one point, he started using <Telekinesis> to give his muscles a rest from the manual labor, but soon he had to return as his mana reserve was still not large enough.

Sweating in front of the fire was not making Kaizen smile like when he was in battle; however, he was happy. He was also focused to the extreme to avoid wasting time on mistakes.

In the real world, Kaizen believed he didn't have talents as the others did, so he never felt pleasure no matter what he was doing.

At the age of 21, Kaizen watched everyone his age strives for something, while he didn't even know what he was truly great at.

Math, Art, Languages, ...? All these things were just random school subjects that he wished he could forget after his bad experience at the beginning of high school. He wanted to leave all that behind.

He had always worked like a madman, yet he always felt behind other people. Some of his classmates went on to colleges to become doctors, engineers, athletes, and others focused on studying and training for competitions to join the military or the police. Everyone always seemed determined and focused on their dreams.

The more time passed, the more Kaizen felt like a mere viewer in the lives of all the young people his age who were climbing various rungs on the great ladder of life. He felt that time was like the fine sand that moves from one end to the other inside an hourglass, and this sand was slipping through his fingers. The feeling of being left behind in life was lonely.

And at the time, Kaizen didn't know what his true talent was, or what he was born to do, he also didn't know that each person has their own time for self-discovery.

The answer to his talent was in the far past, but for a long time, he rejected this idea until the day it was no longer able to ignore.

[The effects of the title 'Talented' matched the Profession 'Apprentice Blacksmith'].

[You obtained the Profession Skill 'Blacksmith's Will'.]

[Profession Skill: Blacksmith's Will.

Level 1

*When you are focused to the extreme on making an item, all stats of the item crafted will go up by 5%.

*There is a rare chance to give special characteristics to your produced items.

Duration: 30 minutes.

Cooldown: 1 hour].

Although the night before, Kaizen had read an article about the three pillar skills of Rise Online. He still hasn't gained any other type of skill other, none other than Class Skills, because the article said it was rare to get Profession Skills and Title Skills. Still, gaining this new skill was not going against what he read.

Class Skills can only be obtained from the Class Skill Tree with Class Points, while the remaining two types don't have such a strict rule and can be unlocked through instinct, combo, tutoring, and many other methods.

Looking at the description of the <Blacksmith's Will>, Kaizen clenched his eyes, and when he realized how long was the cooldown time, he began producing the arrows with even more eagerness.

Soon, 35 arrows were completed. All the arrows had bright, sharp points, and the shaft of each arrow seemed as rigid as the handle of a sword.

[Item: Fast Arrow

Forged with the sweat and devotion of the last apprentice of the Legendary Ironstone Dwarf Family. This arrow carries the Legendary Mark of the Ironstone.

Rating: Mutant.

Item Level: 1 of 1

Attack: 15

Required Fitness Level: 10]

[A Mutant-rated item was produced, so the continent-wide reputation went up by +80].

[You gained +300 XP.]

Of all the 35 arrows Kaizen had forged that night, only three of them had the Mutant Rating, yet he and Therkara were stunned at these three items.

"Mutant Classification consumables... My apprentice created Mutant Rank items... I have never heard of a Mutant Classification arrow..." The smith-lady muttered, amazed.

Kaizen was filled with an indescribable sense of emptiness. If this were an expensive item like a sword or armor, he could sell it for an absolute fortune. However, arrows were cheap and considered consumable, so the profit from three Mutant Rank arrows was limited. He was overcome with negative emotions.

After a few seconds of admiring those arrows, Therkara Ironstone slapped the rookie hard on the back and congratulated him:

"Today is only your first day, apprentice! And you have already made an item that is Mutant rating!? The Medullar Forge is really a special place, or rather, you are special! This is the first time I have ever considered an arrow beautiful! You are magnificent, Kaizen! Amazing!"

Therkara's praise restored Kaizen's spirits.

Yes, she was right. This was only Kaizen's first day forging, and he had already managed to produce an item that before he could only admire with thick glass separating them. In addition, all 35 arrows carried the Ironstone mark, which appeared on the arrowheads soon after they were produced, so he could charge extra for this.

Arrows are definitely less profitable than other equipment due to their nature, but Kaizen's goal with them was fulfilled. These arrows would be bought by people with twice his level, after all, the minimum Fitness Level to use them was 10.

The Fitness Level is measured by adding and dividing the three main physical attributes: Vitality, Attack, and Agility, whose Health, Strength, and Speed attributes are intrinsic, respectively. The Defense attribute does not interfere with the Fitness Level, although it is also basically a physical attribute.

Kaizen was at 10 Vitality, 25 Attack, and 13 Agility, which added up to 48 Physical Attribute points. Dividing that by three, the result was Kaizen's Physical Fitness Level, which was 16.

So only an archer with physical attributes just a little worse than Kaizen's could use the Fast Mutant-Rated Arrows.

A high-level user would buy the Fast Arrows he made, no matter how expensive they were. It was well worth all the effort.

"Puahahahahat~!"

Therkara crossed his arms as she looked at Kaizen with a smile and inquired:

"Do you still have some time today? I finished the diagram of my masterpiece, so we can finally do it together. You are ready?"

Kaizen stopped smiling, looked at Therkara, and answered her seriously. "Let's do it, master."

...

Edited by: DrHitsuji

If you want to see original illustrations of Rise Online characters, consider helping me on pa treon: Pa treon.com/NandoFalske

More character images in:

https://discord.gg/bpqq9u4gS8

Like it? Add to library!

Don't forget to vote with Powerstone to support the book if you like it...