The soft glow of South Glade's forges faded behind him as Kaito exited the Intermediate Forging Room, his gaze drawn to the system overlay.
[Total Session Time: 08:02:17]
Eight hours—gone in the blink of a grind. Between the dungeon, getting the whisper Flames, setting up his stall, and refining every last Ironroot Shard, it had been a relentless push.
Kaito opened his friend list and tapped the group message tab.
[Raen → Genesis Team Chat]:. Still one hour till daybreak. Log out, rest, and grab breakfast while we've got the window. Let's pick up grinding from the same spot later.
Replies came within seconds.
"On it." – Kaede "Heading out." – Hiroto "Same here." – Daichi "See you in twenty." – Mei Rin
With that,
[System Notice: Logging Out…]
Real World – Genesis Studio, Morning
The cabin's seal hissed open, and Kaito sat up smoothly. Despite being awake all night, his body felt light, his mind razor-sharp. The high-end mythic nutrition infusion installed in the Platinum Cabin had done its job. There wasn't even a hint of fatigue in his limbs.
He walked directly to the private shower unit. Warm mist surrounded him as water hit skin.
Refreshed, he moved downstairs to the training dome. Now completed, it held far more than basic mats and free-weights. Kaito dropped into a low stance and began his daily martial routine—controlled breathing of Skyshatter Eternity Manual, precise movements, and internal balance. He flowed between forms, executing shadow strikes and momentum resets with martial rhythm.
By the time he towelled off, the studio dining area was alive.
The cook had already plated a full breakfast spread—steamed rice, root buns, grilled tofu, and nutrient soup. Aika, Kaede, Hiroto, and the others were already seated and chatting. Mei Rin sat among them, flanked by her ten friends, and his cousins all of them bright-eyed thanks to the compound's top-tier nutrient support system.
As Kaito joined them, he noted how relaxed everyone looked despite the all-nighter. No surprise—they'd all been using S-Level nutrition solutions.
While reaching for the tea, he glanced at Mei Rin and said quietly, "After your birthday next week, I'll give you a better technique, to start your martial arts practice."
She blinked looking confused.
He whispered. "Don't worry I'm saying this as the one i'll give will be better than what your family has but you have to keep it a secret even from your family."
Her eyes widened slightly, but she nodded.
Nearby, her friends were deep in chatter.
"Mei Rin, what's it like inside Glory?" one asked.
"It's unreal," she replied. "Like stepping into another life."
"I still can't wait to start," said another. "I want in already."
"You will," Kaito said aloud, voice steady. "Tomorrow, all the players I invited will arrive. Till then Make sure your basic training schedule is completed."
"Also I've invited my aunt to be your instructor and she is very strict about it so you all better be ready by then." Kaito snickered.
After hearing this they fell silent but eagerness still flickering in their eyes.
As everyone finished up, a subtle prompt appeared in Kaito's vision.
[AI: Training Equipment Installation Arriving Now]
He rose. "You all go ahead and log back in. I'll join soon. Let the new equipment settle in first."
"Got it,"
Mei Rin lingered a moment. "About the construction—"
"Is the final handover done?" Kaito asked.
"Yes. I've also completed the final checks."
He nodded and opened a voice prompt.
[Command: Transfer 100,000,000 Credits to Mei Construction Group – Project ID: Genesis Dome]
[Confirmed. Balance Remaining: 612,440,000 Credits]
With the transfer complete, he walked to the dome's main doors.
A convoy of Hover trucks had arrived, unloading high-grade equipment: impact testers, motion-reactive dummies, reflex grid panels, force resonance pillars, and more—far beyond the base set the studio had earlier.
He didn't just build Genesis as a gaming studio but had also included all the advanced training equipment of a martial arts dojo.
It was built to forge masters.
Once the setup was done and diagnostics completed, Kaito returned to his pod, sliding back into the cradle.
[Platinum Cabin – Neural Sync: 100%]
Kaito's vision cleared.
The familiar skyline of South Glade returned — soft lavender clouds drifting lazily above the forge town, streets still quiet in the lingering shadow of dawn. He exhaled slowly and opened his inventory panel. Two Ignistal Alloys gleamed inside their case, still far from the ten required.
This time, he wouldn't waste energy managing the stall himself.
He walked toward the central plaza — a section known for trade permits and merchant booth registrations. While most players only saw a simple booth management interface, Kaito tapped a hidden panel nestled beneath the corner desk. It opened a second option: NPC Stall Operation Contract.
Most would never find this. Not until system updates revealed it months later.
The NPC attendant blinked as the request was made. "Would you like to hire a merchant?"
"Yes," Kaito replied calmly.
"Okay Sir, here is the list of talents you can hire."
Basic Business Talent: 50 copper/day
Intermediate Business Talent: 1 silver/day
Advanced Business Talent: 5 silver/day
For a stall, a basic one would do so,
"Provide me one with Basic business talent." said Kaito.
A small transaction window appeared. Kaito confirmed it, and the NPC bowed slightly. "We'll assign a handler immediately."
In minutes, a well-dressed male NPC arrived — sharp eyes, good posture, an expression of practiced professionalism. Kaito transferred the purchase parameters.
Ironroot Shards, Grainrock Chips, and Flintsteel Cores — purchase at 8,10 and 20 copper coins per stack respectively.
He gave 10 gold coins to the NPC merchants as funds.
This would lure in bulk sellers. More importantly, it wouldn't attract attention. As far as players knew, this was just another NPC doing regular buying. But every item would go straight to Kaito's vault.
He didn't linger. With the merchant set and the materials accumulating passively, Kaito quietly exited South Glade.
This time, he made his way toward the deep-forest region south of the map — a place marked by steep canyons and red-foliaged cliffs. No quests had been assigned here yet. It was off-path. Quiet. Dangerous if you didn't know where you were going.
But Kaito remembered.
Past a decayed stone path and over a dried riverbed, he reached a crumbling arch etched with symbols worn by time. Beyond it lay a half-submerged ruin — the Ashen Hollow Forge. No interface quest marker. No directional cue. Just old stone, ancient heat, and the faint pulse of something... waiting.
He stepped inside.
The ground beneath the ruins was dark slate, veined with cold iron. Broken anvils lay around like scattered tombstones. In the center was an antechamber, and above it, a glowing wisp flickered midair — not a fire, not a light, but a presence. It hovered silently.
As Kaito approached, the soul stirred. Its form took shape — not solid, but defined. A figure bent with age, clothed in spectral robes stained with soot and burn marks. Sparks glimmered faintly in his ghostly eyes.
"You are... a forger," the ghost murmured.
Kaito nodded.
The soul hovered closer. "Few follow the hammer anymore. They chase swords, not the hand that shapes them. Yet here you are."
"I came to inherit what was left behind."
A silence followed, filled only by the faint echo of wind through ruined beams. Then the soul extended a semi-solid hand. "Then listen."
The ghost told a story — of war and flame, of a forge buried by time when the world had still remembered the name of its creator: Kael'thar of Embersteel. The soul was once his apprentice, tasked with guarding the remains of the forge. "But no heir ever came. Until now."
A notification chimed softly.
[Quest – Embersteel Inheritance]
Deliver ten Ignistal Alloys to the Ashen Hollow forge to awaken the legacy of Embersteel.
After accepting the quest kaito bowed lightly to the soul, then turned and left the hollow.
Back in South Glade, he opened the stall record.
The NPC had performed better than expected — already, 120 stacks of Ironroot Shards, 80 stacks of grainrock chips and 25 stacks of flintsteel core had been deposited to his vault. Without wasting time, Kaito retrieved them and then marched into the Life Guild, rented an Intermediate Forging Room, and began the process again.
Batch after batch, he dropped the shards into the Whisper Flame's mouth. The furnace roared to life, each pulse testing luck against probability.
Refine. Fail. Dust.
Refine. Fail. Dust.
Then — a glow. Another Ignistal Alloy.
One down. Many to go.
After exhausting the Ironroot shards first, he returned to the plaza.
This time, the NPC merchant reported a spike in deliveries. Kaito checked the logs — 200 more stacks of Ironroot shards, 155 stacks of grainrock chips and 30 for flintsteel core were collected and processed. Word must have spread — likely due to the higher payout and the ease of NPC transactions.
He returned to the guild and repeated the process.
Again. Again. Another alloy. Then another.
The next visit yielded 123 more stacks of IronRoot shards,200 for grainrock chips and 30 more for flintsteel core . The stall had bought over 323 stacks of Ironroot Shards in total —. But that wasn't the point.
After hours of refining, his inventory glimmered with crimson ores.
[Item Acquired – Ignistal Alloy ×10]
Finally.
He issued a new directive to the merchant NPC: cease Ironroot Shard and grainrock chips purchases. Focus now solely on acquiring Flintsteel Cores.
With his inventory set, he returned to the Ashen Hollow.