He tapped the Inspect button.
Three words appeared across the translucent interface.
[Identification in progress...]
The red progress bar ticked forward, one slow notch at a time. Kaito stood motionless, heart calm—but his anticipation crept higher. No matter how experienced he was, failure always had a price.
Even with the Codex of Embersteel, forging wasn't automatic. It only stacked the odds in your favor.
After three seconds, the panel chimed softly.
[Item Grade Evaluation: Complete]
Kaito exhaled quietly.
The item's data loaded in a clean rectangular panel before him.
[Echocore Emberplate] [Bronze]
Type: Plate Armor
Level Requirement: 10
Durability: 30 / 30
Defense: +54
HP Bonus: +180
Fire Resistance: +6%
Strength: +4
Endurance: +3
Restricted to Knight and Warriors
[Forging Success]
[Forging Proficiency +2 | Experience +180]
Kaito's eyes lit up as he scrolled through the armor's stats, stopping on one line that brought a grin to his face — Fire Resistance: +6%.
"That's exactly what I needed," he muttered, his tone edged with satisfaction.
It wasn't just a random bonus. This effect was the one that would drastically improve survivability in the Echoing Deep Dungeon, where players constantly took residual flame damage from ambient heat and fire-type monsters. With even a modest 6% resistance, it would become easier for players to push deeper into the Normal and Elite levels, even clearing them easily was possible if they followed his guide.
And also currently, Common gear was still the mainstream equipment for players. Even if players were to reach Level 15 in the future, it would not be a surprise to find them wearing only Common gear. As for the Elite parties, just having one to two pieces of Bronze gear was considered being blessed.
This was the armor can also be equipped by all the tank classes, hence would get a easy welcome by the various teams and guilds.
"If I put this up in the auction now, I could easily fetch four or five silver coins for a single piece," he mused. "Maybe more once the crowd realizes what it does."
He glanced at the crafting log. Just 10 Copper Ore and 8 Bronze Ore went into the forging — barely 1 silver coin even if he added the other 2 materials. The return on investment was undeniable. With Whisper Flame cutting down his failure costs and Codex-enhanced forging success, he was turning the materials into coins — and far more than most players would dare to imagine this early.
Kaito didn't stop at one.
He still had plenty of copper and bronze ore, along with the fire-infused and molten ember.
After clearing the forge and letting the embers settle,
He began the process once more. Each movement was sharper now, more confident. The rhythm from the previous forging still echoed in his limbs. His timing had become precise, nearly mechanical, with every swing of the hammer falling perfectly into place.
Dang… Dang… Dang…
As he delivered the 73rd strike, a faint shimmer rippled across the ore's surface—a barely noticeable golden hue flickering just beneath the red glow.
A moment later, the interface reacted.
[System Notification: Passive Talent Triggered]
Embersteel Heart: Additional Effect Slot Enabled.
Kaito paused, startled for a second. His eyes narrowed in anticipation.
He finished the final hammer strike and clicked the [Complete] prompt.
[Forging in Progress…]
[Please wait…]
[Forging Complete!]
You have successfully forged:
Echocore Vanguard Emberplate
+2 Proficiency | +220 EXP |+2 Proficiency (Embersteel Heart triggered, Forging Proficiency has been increased by an additional 2 points.)
And then, the item panel appeared:
...…
Echocore Vanguard Emberplate [Bronze]
Type: Plate Armor
Level Requirement: 10
Durability: 30 / 30
Defense: +60
HP Bonus: +200
Fire Resistance: +6%
Damage Reduction +5%
Strength: +4
Endurance: +3
Restricted to Knight and Warriors
...
At that moment, Kaito wasn't even thinking about the bonus Forging Proficiency granted by his Embersteel Heart talent. His full attention was locked onto the newly crafted armor sitting on the rack.
The Echocore Vanguard Emberplate gleamed with a subtle crimson sheen, and its stats were no joke. The attributes easily rivaled those of a Level 10 Mysterious Iron-grade chestplate — something that would normally only drop from elite raid bosses.
Its value?
Easily worth 10 silver coins, minimum. Maybe more once word got out.
It was exactly the kind of gear that teams would fight over—an early-game armor piece with not just one, but two major defensive properties.
After seeing the properties of this enhanced armor he had decided to reserve one for Hiroto.
Four hours passed in the blink of an eye.
Inside the Intermediate Forging Room, Kaito had been working nonstop, hammering away under the persistent glow of the Whisper Flame. By the time the heat began to settle, He had made 40 attempts of which he had successfully produced 28 Echocore Emberplates, including five vanguard ones.
Still, the result left him more than satisfied. With the demand of an armor, even a single success could easily compensate for four to five failures — especially now with vanguards included the rare 5% damage reduction effect.
Meanwhile, his system notifications had quietly stacked up in the corner of his interface.
He had gained enough experience to half-fill his experience bar of level 11 putting him only a short grind away from the next advancement bracket. His Forging Proficiency had also jumped to 76 points, a rate of growth that far outpaced most guild-affiliated Forgers.
Letting out a calm breath, Kaito finally exited the forge chamber and made his way toward the Auction House.
He immediately listed the 28 standard Echocore Emberplates—the ones without the Defensive Power bonus—for auction, each with a starting price of 4 silver coins. As for the Vanguard versions that did include the damage reduction trait, he held them back for now. He wanted the guilds and elite parties to first get a taste of the base model's utility. Once demand began to surge and word of their effectiveness spread, the enhanced versions would fetch an even higher price—and he intended to make the most of it.
After doing this he decided to log out first before continuing with the rest of the forging as his second Uncle had told him to go to the villa today, this morning.
[Logging out…]
The cabin door slid open with a soft mechanical chime, releasing a faint hiss of sterilized air as Kaito stepped outside, stretching his limbs. The sky above the Genesis Dome was painted in soft hues of lavender and gold, the rays of afternoon sunlight casting long shadows across the quiet training grounds outside.
He messaged Jin to ready the car to go back to the villa.
After only ten minutes he reached the villa, Every one had already sat at the table for lunch.
After having a warm lunch filled with small talks, he made his way towards the study with his Second Uncle.
"So How's the studio coming along?"
"It's finally done," Kaito said, his voice calm but edged with quiet satisfaction. "The entire Genesis Studio—fully constructed, fully equipped."
"We've got everything in place now. Gravity-adaptive sparring floors, reflex-tuning walls, mana resonance modules, forge dummies, tension analyzers—every tool we'll need to train, test, and push beyond limits. Honestly, it's more advanced than what most martial dojo's have access to."
"What are you going to do with this much setup" asked his Second Uncle
"Well, Glory is very different from other games, here the more we train the more beneficial it would be and martial artist can easily adapt to this game and become elites in a very short time"
"This is what I have summarized from my experience till now."
"And I would even prefer for the whole family entering it."
Kaito was not just talking nonsense because in his previous life high level martial artists had created a big gap between themselves and ordinary players after a period of time.
At that time even some of the recruitment conditions of major guilds included one's martial rank.
For this Second Uncle only said " Well we'll discuss this afterwards for now I have something else to tell you."