Broken Rock Empire, Northern Border City.
In a shack-like blacksmith shop.
"Clang, clang, clang..."
The hammer strikes the glowing red sword embryo, sparks flying onto Luo De's oil-slick muscles.
Bead-like sweat flows down his handsome, rugged face, while thick curls cling to his face, wet with sweat.
Luo De pays no mind, his sapphire-blue eyes fixed on the sword embryo, ensuring each hammer strike precisely hits the uneven protrusions.
In this medieval world with antiquated forging techniques, the iron impurities are far higher than those of Blue Star from his past life.
To craft a sword that cuts through iron like mud, Luo De has already spent an entire month, and this is the final folding and forging.
[Hammered the iron a thousand times, unlocking entry: Forge Power]
A semi-transparent text prompt suddenly appears, but Luo De is unperturbed, setting down the hammer and focusing his mind on the prompt.
In the next moment, a window-like prompt appears,
[Forge Power (White): Increase base strength by 20%]
[Load?]
"Load."
With a thought, Luo De's body suddenly releases a warm flow, quickly surging into his limbs and body!
"Hoo..."
Luo De stops his actions, standing still with eyes slightly closed, enjoying the light and pleasant feeling in his body, the morning's fatigue from forging vanishing instantly.
After the warm flow fades away, Luo De picks up the hammer again, feeling exceptionally light.
"The power of the entry is truly astonishing."
The white color represents entry quality, which is the most basic entry.
If basic entries are like this, what about future red mythic entries?
Reflecting on this, Luo De's eyes see another prompt,
[Next entry: Complete the forging of the first sword, unlock: Precision Edge]
Seven years ago, right after attending a graduation banquet, Luo De was hit by a mud-head truck running a red light.
Upon waking, he found himself transformed into Luo De, the illegitimate son of the Earl of the Tulip.
What followed Luo De was the farming simulation game from his past life, Manor Story.
This game allows Luo De to gain entries and acquire various abilities and farming knowledge through planting, raising, forging, mining, hunting, and warring to develop and manage territories.
But how could an illegitimate child like Luo De have any territory?
Thus, the game system has always been locked.
Luo De saw no hope and could only stay in the castle, working like a horse or ox.
Until three months ago.
The emperor's brother, Count Ola, died during his travels in the Northern Wasteland.
His decapitated body was hung on a roadside tree outside the border city.
The Northern Territory is nominally part of the Broken Rock Empire but is actually a desolate land with rampant bandits and alien races.
The emperor was furious, attributing his brother's death to bandits and alien races, vowing to the gods to make them pay a bloody price and avenge his brother.
But the Northern Wasteland is vast, with countless hills and ravines, and large tracts of primitive forests, unsuitable for the Empire's army to wage war.
Even wiping out a few insignificant bandit groups can't change the state of the wasteland, nor can it quell the emperor's fury.
But the dignity of the Empire's Royal Family must be upheld.
Thus, the emperor issued a bloody decree to the nobles, dividing the Northern Territory into sections.
He then commanded the nobles to send their clan members to the Northern Territory as Lords, to wipe out the bandits and alien races.
The emperor exempted these territories from taxes for a hundred years but required the annual tribute of a hundred heads of bandits or alien races.
The nobles all disliked the primitive and barren land of the Northern Territory, and the Tulip Clan was no exception.
Few residents, long cold winters.
Rampant bandits and alien races, none of the noble offspring wanted to risk suffering and adventure.
But the Earl of the Tulip couldn't ignore the emperor's decree.
Just as the count was troubled, the seventeen-year-old Luo De, newly of age, stepped forward.
The Northern Territory was a land of suffering for other family members but a land of dreams for Luo De.
Though dangerous, the Northern Territory was resource-rich; owning a territory could unlock the game system, and the situation was manageable.
Where there is risk, there is wealth.
Luo De didn't traverse worlds to become a workhorse for nobility.
With a cheat ability, he must strive regardless of life and death.
The Earl of the Tulip was delighted, rewarding him with 150 gold coins and arranging ten guards to escort Luo De.
These ten guards were seasoned soldiers, having served on battlefields, and they followed Luo De henceforth.
Additionally, to show the family's regard for the Northern Plain territory, Luo De was adopted by the Tulip Lady as the fourth son, shedding his illegitimate status.
Thus, under the witness of the Empire's emissary, Luo De was granted the baron title, his territory being Black Pine Ridge in the Northern Territory.
And at the moment the investiture document was handed to him, the game system of Manor Story was activated, various entries and unlocking conditions appearing before Luo De's eyes.
The first acre of farming land, the first bag of grain harvested in autumn, building livestock sheds, all corresponding to entries.
Most entries need to be completed within the territory, only a few entries don't need territorial cooperation.
For instance, "Forge Power" through hammering iron a thousand times.
As it happened, heavy snow blocked roads in the Northern Territory, so Luo De patiently stayed in the border city, unlocking Forge Power.
Being fearless of death isn't the same as courting death; preparing more is always better.
After completing the forging of the sword embryo, next comes quenching, tempering, and finally sharpening the blade.
Two weeks later, with the firing of tiny sparks, the blade repeatedly sweeps across the whetstone.
A cold gleam inadvertently flickers across the blade, and Luo De's eyes see a prompt,
[Successfully forged the first steel great sword, unlock: Precision Edge]
[Precision Edge (Green): Weapons personally forged and edged have an armor-piercing effect]