Chapter 25 - Forging a Sword for a Dog
The next day.
Lu Ran woke up and looked at the time.
Ugh... the sun is already up.
He slept for twelve hours in one go, finally getting his tired body some rest. He hadn't had a good rest since entering the beginner trial. This time was one of the rare instances that he didn't have that strange dream, so Lu Ran slept very soundly.
"Oh, that felt so good!" Lu Ran stretched on his big soft bed.
Even after waking up, he still felt like he was in a dream, but after summoning his black card, he realized it was all real.
After cleaning up a little, Lu Ran found out that no one was in the living room, meaning Fang Lan must not have gotten up yet. However, he didn't go to wake her.
Are all girls night owls like her?
Fang Lan also went through the beginner trial, but she still stayed up late last night to chat online. Lu Ran figured she would sleep until the afternoon or even the evening.
Lu Ran left a message for Fang Lan and quietly headed out. He took a taxi and got home half an hour later.
I have to send over the information that White Dragon needs, and after that, I want to cook something simple to eat.
"Ao!!!"
Lu Ran summoned Captain Doofus after he had finished preparing food. It had been stuck in the black card for a while, which was suffocating. If Lu Ran hadn't given it a warning in advance, this guy might have trashed the black card.
Tomorrow’s local news headline would have been "Transcendent Husky Destroys Contract Card and Devours Its Owner."
As soon as Captain Doofus came out, it saw that there was food, and its eyes lit up. Pushing aside other thoughts, it plunged its head into the food bowl.
"Eat quickly. We’re going to Limitless City later."
Lu Ran planned to return to Limitless City—not to enter a secret realm, but rather to see if the blacksmith was open today.
His meteorite iron ore was still waiting to be forged into a sword.
The stick-wielding Captain Doofus was so strong that it beat up a tiger like it was beating a kitten. If it instead had a magic sword made of meteorite iron ore in its mouth, wouldn't it kill everything in its path?
Even if it faced a tiger of the same level with awakened attributes, it would still have a fighting chance, right?
"Woof."
Captain Doofus nodded and started eating faster.
"Speaking of the advanced energy application techniques—Formation, Acceleration, Compression, and Projection—which would be best to practice first?"
Lu Ran watched Captain Doofus eat as he contemplated.
Captain Doofus' species rank was still low, but it had strong comprehension. If it wanted to fight across ranks, it had to take advantage of this talent and hone its skills as soon as possible.
"Woo~!"
Captain Doofus eloquently expressed that it wanted to train all of them.
It had faith in its own talent!
"That’s also an option. We’ll train in all of them at the same time! However, let’s set a small goal first and develop one skill in each of the four categories."
"Woo, woo!"
Captain Doofus cracked a smile and nodded enthusiastically, indicating that it was on board.
Lu Ran then pondered for a moment and decided something with a clap of his hands.
"But I feel that training in only these four will not bring out all of your talents. I've thought about it. In the future, I'll add some cultural classes to the training schedule."
Hearing this, Captain Doofus’ smile gradually faded.
Cultural classes… Are those the boring things that Lu Ran scribbles about furiously under the desk lamp every day?
The food fell out of Captain Doofus' mouth as it stepped back with eyes wide in fear. He could bear any amount of training that burned off energy and made it stronger, but cultural classes...
Lu Ran sat down.
"I feel like this is necessary."
In fact, what he was most worried about wasn’t Captain Doofus’ combat power, but rather its intelligence—not combat intelligence, but critical thinking skills. After all, this dog hadn’t shown much intelligence in all the years he had known it.
Critical thinking skills were very important. For example, back in the Demon Cat Forest, this idiot had actually drooled over a poisonous mushroom.
How was that acceptable?
If he had not been around, Lu Ran dared assume that this guy would not have survived more than three chapters.
Any college student with a little bit of brains could fool this dog. As a beastmaster, Lu Ran was obviously very worried about its mental capacity.
Lu Ran was a model student who excelled in both academics and athletics. To make Captain Doofus a double threat and avoid getting duped in the future, Lu Ran decided to give Captain Doofus some critical thinking training and cultural courses during his off-time.
"As long as you can learn fast enough, there is no limit on what you can do," Lu Ran said.
"Woo, woo~!"
Captain Doofus looked dejected and lowered its head. Looking at the food bowl, it suddenly lost its appetite.
You want to teach a dog swordsmanship? Fine. But you actually want a dog to read?
It would remember this grudge.
***
[When you wake up, remember to tell your parents about us becoming beastmasters. I'm going to Limitless City later and don't know when I'll be back. If you have anything urgent, find me in Limitless City. Do you remember my ID? I’m Pedestrian A, 9528. Add me as a friend.]
After Captain Doofus dejectedly finished its meal, it was called back into the card where it could rethink its dog life.
After taking another look at his message for Fang Lan, Lu Ran confirmed that there weren't any problems. He then took out his ID card and activated the teleportation function.
[Do you want to spend 5 crystal coins to teleport to Limitless City?]
Yes, Lu Ran thought.
[-5 Crystal Coins.]
Ten seconds later, he arrived in Limitless City again, appearing in his private room. Lu Ran did not plan to stay here for long. He wanted Captain Doofus to learn some skills, but not now.
Before leaving, Lu Ran checked his balance of crystal coins.
Good, I still have a lot. I wonder how much money it’ll take to forge a good weapon.
Lu Ran pushed open the door and walked directly out of the residential district. This time, he didn’t see White Dragon at the gate.
Aside from registering his beastmaster identity, he also needed White Dragon to help solve the problem of attending his high school classes. However, since he had taken a leave of absence from his remedial classes and school was still some time away, it wasn’t very urgent.
"Let's go."
This time, because he was feeling refreshed, Lu Ran didn’t pay for transportation and instead walked towards his destination. He could also take advantage of this trip to get a better view of Limitless City.
Lu Ran saw a lot of people along the way, most of whom seemed just like him—like farm boys entering the city for the first time, stopping and looking around like tourists visiting a scenic spot. He guessed that these were newcomers who had just entered Limitless City a few days ago and were extremely curious about everything.
"It's so much more lively after just one day."
Lu Ran gradually learned how to distinguish veterans from newcomers. Most newcomers wore normal clothes, while the veterans stood out. Those affiliated with the government wore more formal uniforms that appeared to be custom-made, while non-government-affiliated veterans wore all kinds of clothing—armor, wizard robes, animal skins, Taoist robes, and more.
It made Lu Ran a little dizzy. It was like he was in some mixed-up fantasy.
"Most of the ordinary clothes were probably carried over from the Blue Planet, while the more distinctive ones are likely to be custom-made. Just like my Divine Deer Pendant, they are equipment with special functions and attributes."
Walking along the way, Lu Ran soon arrived at his destination: the smithy. He looked up at the sign that said "Forging House" and breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, it was open today.
The door opened before Lu Ran could walk in, making a creaking sound. A young man dressed as a hunter came out. On his chest was a six-pointed star emblem, which should have been a guild emblem. Behind him was a potbellied middle-aged man who only wore a sleeveless white vest and brown shorts.
The man spoke to the young hunter, saying, "I wish you good luck. After you succeed, remember to bring me a bottle of good wine."
"Definitely. I’ll let you get back to work, Old Lin. It seems that there are new customers. I’m heading out."
The young hunter glanced at Lu Ran outside before saying goodbye to the man.
"Hmm."
Old Lin looked at Lu Ran in the doorway and said, "Are you a newcomer? Do you want something forged? Who introduced you?"
"Cat Maid Cafe introduced me. Are you Master Lin?" Lu Ran asked.
"Those information peddlers, huh? Okay, come in.
"Let me warn you, though. The forging prices here aren't cheap, and newcomers may be unable to afford them."
"I brought my own materials."
Lu Ran followed him into the forging room, which was lightly furnished with a counter and a few small round tables and stools. The walls, on the other hand, were very interesting. Various props hung on them, including shields, long swords, bows and arrows, and armor—all of which looked very sophisticated.
There seemed to be another world behind the counter. There was another room separated by a curtain. Even outside, he could feel the hot air coming out of it.
"What materials did you bring, and what do you want to get forged?"
Master Lin walked behind the counter and sat down, motioning Lu Ran to sit down as well.
"I have a piece of meteorite iron ore, and I want it forged into a sword."
"Huh? That’s the best amongst Advanced-ranked materials. Not bad!"
Master Lin was stunned.
"Are you going to use it for yourself? However, meteorite iron ore is generally suitable for forging armor for familiars."
"It is for a familiar," Lu Ran replied.
“A sword for a familiar?"
Master Lin contemplated momentarily before asking, "Is your familiar a monkey or a gorilla?"
Even if it were a monkey or gorilla that could hold weapons, giving them a sword wasn’t necessarily practical. With such high-quality material, wouldn't it be better to make armor? Or, at the very least, gauntlets?
"Neither. My familiar is a husky, so I’ll also need you to customize the sword size. Can you do it?" Lu Ran inquired.
???
Huh?
Master Lin was stunned.
He wants me to forge a sword for a husky?
What a joke. He had been in business for so long, but this was the first time he met such a weird customer!
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