Grid only had 3 gold and 11 silver. He had to make items and sell them to people in order to earn enough to use the carriage. Once he saved up enough money, he could buy some blue orichalcum ore and make ‘Failure.’ However, saving money was as hard as plucking the stars from the night skies.

“Eh?”

The moment he set foot in the smithy...

[The effect of mastering ‘Blacksmith’s  Craftsmanship Skill’ is activated. Blacksmith NPCs with craftsmanship skill beyond the intermediate level will treat you in a friendly manner.]

[’Pagma's Successor’ class effect is activated. Blacksmith NPCs with advanced level craftsmanship skills will recognize and worship you.]

Was this a hidden feature? It meant Grid could readily obtain the desired production methods from blacksmiths.

“Wow.”

The Pagma's Successor class—the more Grid experienced it, the more he liked it. At first, he disliked it because it was a production class, but it truly was a legendary class.

Grid joyfully entered the smithy and found a blacksmith sweating in front of a hearth. “I want to make and sell the most profitable item with the greatest demand. What is that item? Please give me a recommendation.”

He smiled brightly. ‘I am Pagma's Successor, someone who has mastered the Blacksmith’s Craftsmanship Skill. Feel appreciation towards me, worship me, and hand over the appropriate crafting method!’

However, the next development went against his expectations.

Instead of the worshipping, the blacksmith gazed at Grid with cold eyes. “Bah, a kid wants to talk about this subject. I don’t want to talk to a rude and incompetent person like you, so get out.”

“......?”

This was an ordinary NPC’s attitude towards level 1 users. 

‘He didn’t recognize me?’

An intermediate or advanced blacksmith would instantly recognize Grid, but the blacksmith here didn’t know him. It meant that the blacksmith was a low-level blacksmith who hadn’t even reached the intermediate level.

‘Ah, you. I met a lousy person.’

Grid wanted to go to another blacksmith, but this was the only smithy in the village. He had expected this to be easy due to the notification window, but it was in vain.

‘I forgot how unlucky I was. Dammit.’ 

It couldn’t be helped. Grid hurriedly changed his attitude and said respectfully to the blacksmith, “You were so passionate about your work that I was afraid to disturb your concentration. Therefore, I wanted to quickly get to the point. Did I sound rude? If so, please forgive me.”

“Huh, I see. You have learned strange manners.” The blacksmith looked at Grid with interest.

Grid stood as politely as possible like a man engaged in a service job. “I am Grid. I would like to learn how to make items.”

The blacksmith snorted. “Bah, do you think anyone can learn how to make items? A child like you should start from firewood. No, not even. If you sincerely want to learn how to make items from me, you should go to the backyard and obtain firewood. You should be thankful that I am letting you do this.”

“...How expected from a lowly blacksmith.”

“Huh? Did you say something just now?”

“...No?”

Grid was the one feeling regretful now. The only person he could depend on in this village was a lowly blacksmith. If Grid were kicked out from here without learning how to make items, he would have to save money while doing restaurant chores or working in the fields until he gathered enough for the carriage.

“I’ll chop the firewood. How much do I need?” Grid asked.

The blacksmith gave Grid an old axe and said, “As much as you can.”

[Chop Firewood] 

[Difficulty: E

Blacksmith Smith has given you an errand to chop firewood. If you can finish this task well, Smith will look upon you in a more favorable light.

Quest Clear Conditions: 500 pieces of firewood.

Quest Reward: Affinity with Smith +10, experience +10, 20 bronze.

Quest Failure: Affinity with Smith -10.] 

‘Wow, it’s a normal quest window this time.’

After starting Ashur’s quest, Grid had only received S-grade or SS-grade quests, so receiving a normal quest made him feel like his mind was being cleansed.

‘I need 20 experience until my next level up... If I complete this quest, my experience bar will fill up by half.’

There was no change in the amount of experience needed to level up from -3 or -1. The amount of experience needed for minus levels seemed to be 20 points. In other words, at the minus level, he could raise his level just by doing these miscellaneous quests.

‘First of all, I need to escape from the minus level.’

Grid thought positive thoughts and headed to the backyard with the axe. After checking the trees piled up on one side, he looked at the axe in his hand. It was an old axe. Could this old axe be used to chop firewood? 

‘Rather, I’m worried that the axe will be shattered upon hitting the tree... He might be angry if I break his axe, so I have to be careful...’

He decided to use the ‘Legendary Blacksmith’s Appraisal’ skill on the old axe.

“Appraisal.”

[The blacksmith who becomes a legend that appraises items with an excellent discerning eye. If a hidden feature exists in the target item, it will be found.]

[Smith’s Old Axe] 

[Rating: Normal

Durability: 6/6   Attack Power: 4~7

An axe that the blacksmith Smith has used since he was young. It was well made and is very old, but still cuts well. The durability is weak, so there is a danger that it will be destroyed. 

Weight: 40] 

[No hidden functions exist.]

It was an ordinary axe, save for the fact that it was very old. Grid felt relieved, rather than disappointed, that the item didn’t have a hidden function. He had gone through so many incidents lately that he missed ordinary things.

[You have grasped the materials that make up Smith’s Old Axe, the production method, and the intentions of its creator.]

[Your understanding of Smith’s Old Axe is now at 100%. You can use Smith’s Old Axe perfectly.]

[You have learned how to make an axe.]

Thanks to his passive skill, Grid perfectly understood the item, and new notification windows popped up.

“I got 100% understanding straight away.” 

It seemed that he could reach the maximum understanding with items that had low ratings just by using Appraisal on them. Indeed, it would be funny if a legendary blacksmith looked at a normal axe and couldn’t understand its production method.

“There are no conditions of use, so I don’t think an increased understanding is useful. The advantage is that the axe production method is gained.”

A penalty would occur if Grid equipped an item that he didn’t meet the conditions of. The ‘understanding’ of an item was just a skill that played a role in reducing the penalty. Smith’s Old Axe was an item that didn’t have a usage penalty, so there were no advantages to the 100% understanding, except for the addition of the production method. 

Grid didn’t feel much inspiration, but he placed the axe to one side and set up a log. He thought about spitting into his hands and rubbing them together like an old man in historical dramas might do.

‘There is no need for physical power when chopping firewood. I just need to go along the grain.’

This was knowledge Grid had picked up from somewhere, but he didn’t know exactly what it meant by following the grain. It was simply knowledge that couldn’t be applied. However, there was no need to worry. Couldn’t he just cut the piece of wood like he would cut a monster with his greatsword? 

‘It is like using swordsmanship on a tree.’

He picked up the axe he had put aside. Then at the moment he was about to chop the log... A solid black line was drawn near its center.

“What is this?”

‘Strange.’

Grid watched it for a moment before putting the axe down, watching the black line disappear like it was a lie. Then he picked up the axe again, and the black line soon reappeared. It felt like the axe was telling him to hit the black line.

“This is the effect of 100% understanding.”

It was a possible interpretation, but he couldn’t be sure. Grid avoided the black line and hit the middle of the log with the axe.

Beeok!

Although he struck down with all his might, the axe failed and stopped halfway through the log. He failed to chop it in one go. A notification window popped up stating that the durability of the axe had decreased by one.

“T-This humiliation...”

Grid couldn’t even chop firewood... He was useless here as well! He felt frustrated as he barely managed to pull out the axe stuck in the log. Then he threw the half split piece of wood to the side and picked up a new log.

“This time...”

He gazed at the black line and swung the axe.

Ttaak!

The moment the axe touched the solid line, a light sound rang out, and he felt an exhilarating feeling. The log was split in half without any resistance.

“Ohh!!”

Grid was forced to admire the effect of understanding the item, finally realizing the importance of understanding.

‘This is what it meant by handling the item perfectly. The benefit of increasing item understanding isn’t just reducing the penalties or learning how to make the item.’

There was an expression about treating items as another limb. If he raised a sword’s understanding to 100%, he could use that sword like it was his own limb. Item understanding could be thought to have the same type of concept as Weapons Mastery.

‘If I raise the understanding of items I created to 100%...’

He would be invincible! Grid had played the game for over a year, but now there was the possibility of entering the rankings!

“Okay, earn money quickly and pay off my debt! Then I will become a ranker with the power of items!”

Once he became a ranker, he would receive a staggering amount of requests from various media. He could become a rich person just from the TV performance fees. It came with bonus popularity and fame. No one would be able to ignore him anymore, and he would be able to gain the heart of his first love, Ahyoung! His motivation shot upwards!

“Haaaah!! Hat! Hat! Hap!”

Ttaak! Ttaak! Ttaak! Ttadadak~!

Grid didn’t rest as he chopped firewood for two hours. He couldn’t stop because the feeling of success was so thrilling. However, the pleasure only lasted for a while. As his level was -3, his poor stamina quickly ran out, and his sense of hunger came quickly after. He started getting tired at around the 150th piece of firewood, and his breathing became arduous and pained.

‘Should I take a break and rest?’

No, he wouldn’t. 

The three months he spent on Ashur’s quest had been exceptionally painful and difficult, but he had still pressed on without giving up. Grid had experienced such a thing, so he couldn’t take a break while chopping firewood. This exhaustion was nothing compared to everything he had experienced before.

‘This isn’t hard work. Don’t rest. Finish quickly and proceed to the next quest. I will level up and make money.’

He grit his teeth and kept on chopping the firewood.