A full month passed.
Alan worked silently as an apprentice, handling all kinds of odd jobs in the smithy—lighting the furnace, refining ores into purified blocks, organizing materials, and assisting whenever needed.
Only after an entire month did Loyd finally allow him to forge a longsword.
"You've seen me do it many times now," Loyd said calmly.
"Show me how you would do it."
Alan nodded.
He had memorized every movement, every rhythm of Loyd's forging. Even the heat of the furnace, which had been unbearable at first, now felt manageable—thanks to his steadily increasing Persistence stat.
This would be his first real craft.
Alan worked carefully.
Painstakingly.
He didn't rush.
For the first five hours, he focused solely on shaping and balancing the blade, using his high stamina to maintain absolute concentration.
Then came refinement.
Hammering.
Reheating.
Tempering.
Time passed.
After seven full hours, Alan finally stepped back.
Loyd widened his eyes.
A longsword rested on the anvil—clean, balanced, and perfectly formed.
A moment later, the system notification appeared.
[Rare-Rank Longsword Created]
Loyd stood frozen.
"…Rare?"
That was Alan's first craft.
Most apprentices struggled to produce even a Normal-rank weapon on their first attempt.
Yet Alan had created a Rare-rank longsword.
For the first time, Loyd felt a strange, unsettling certainty settle in his chest.
And for a fleeting moment—
Loyd couldn't help but wonder if he was witnessing the birth of a genius who would one day shake the entire entire continent.
Meanwhile, Alan was grinning—but not just because he had forged a Rare-rank longsword.
It was because of the flood of notifications appearing before his eyes.
[A Rare-Rank item has been created.]
[All stats permanently increased by +2 and Reputation throughout the continent have risen by +30.]
[You are the first player to create a Rare-Rank item.]
[Achievement Acquired: First Rare-Rank Item Maker]
[Dexterity +200]
Alan opened his Blackmith skill as he looked at the notofications.
[Blacksmith Craftsmanship Skill]
Lv: Master
Produce equipment items that you know how to make.
There is a certain probability of creating rare rated items.
There is a low probability of creating epic rated items.
There is a rare probability of creating unique rated items.
* Due to the effect of mastering the skill, the attributes of all items are increased by 10%.
* When rare rated items are produced, all stats will permanently rise by +2.
Reputation throughout the continent will rise by +30.
* When epic rated items are produced, all stats will permanently rise by +4.
Reputation throughout the continent will rise by +80.
* When unique rated items are produced, all stats will permanently rise by +12.
Reputation throughout the continent will rise by +300. ]
It was because of this that Alan had received such generous rewards.
"…You," Alan heard.
He turned back to see Loyd staring silently at the longsword resting on the anvil.
"You have talent," Loyd said at last. "So much talent that I'm not even sure I have the right to teach you anymore."
"My highest achievement is an Epic-rank sword," he continued. "But your first forged item is already Rare rank. It won't be long before you surpass me."
Alan smiled.
"Still, you taught me," he said sincerely. "And I intend to keep working here until I surpass you properly."
Loyd stared at him for a moment—then nodded.
[Affinity with Loyd increased by +30]
"Alright then," Loyd said. "Go and acquire much better materials. Steel can only reach Rare rank, no matter how skilled a blacksmith is."
He hesitated, then added in a quieter voice,
"You should also learn how to defend yourself. It would be a loss for someone like you to die so easily."
Alan felt the weight behind those words.
A notification appeared before his eyes.
[Hidden Quest Acquired: Become Stronger]
Rank: S
Description:
Your master, Loyd, has advised you to become stronger.
In his younger days, Loyd had a wife.
On their way back to the village, they were attacked by bandits.
Loyd could only watch as his wife was killed before his eyes.
From that day on, Loyd vowed to become strong—strong enough to protect what mattered.
But he soon reached his limit.
Unable to grow stronger through combat, he returned to his roots and became a blacksmith instead, believing that forging powerful equipment to help others was his true calling.
His ideal is Pagma—a man who was both a legendary blacksmith and a great swordsman.
Quest Clear Conditions: ???
(This quest can be submitted at any time, as long as the user feels they have become strong enough.)
Quest Reward: ???
Time Limit: None
"What is this?" Alan muttered as he stared at the quest window.
The quest was S-rank, meaning its difficulty was extremely high, yet it had no clear-cut conditions.
Still…
"I will," Alan said firmly.
Loyd nodded, then added, "I have some friendship with Lord Ashur. If you want, I can recommend you to him. You could join his soldiers, and perhaps even become a knight one day."
Alan shook his head.
"No, it's fine. I'd rather walk my own path."
After a brief pause, he continued, "For now, I'd like to craft more longswords using steel blocks."
"You can," Loyd replied. "I'll just add them to the shop."
With that, he left.
Alan nodded to himself and continued working.
Five more months passed as he tirelessly crafted Rare-rank longswords.
Then, after forging his hundredth Rare-rank longsword, new notifications appeared.
[You have created your 100th Rare-Rank item.]
[You have mastered the crafting of Rare-Rank items.]
[Rare-Rank item creation will no longer grant rewards.]
It was a harsh nerf.
But it made sense.
If Satisfy allowed infinite rewards for repeatedly crafting the same rank, the game's balance would completely collapse.
Still, Alan didn't regret it.
Before the rewards were cut off, he had gained over 200 extra stat points across his attributes.
That alone made the grind worth it.
Back at the Satisfy Headquarters, Lim Cheolho let out a deep sigh as he reviewed the newly implemented nerf.
"It wasn't intended from the start," he muttered.
But after witnessing Player Alan repeatedly exploit the system's reward mechanics, they had been forced to impose a hard limit on how many rewards could be gained from crafting items of the same rank.
"The Pagma class was already nerfed… and yet we never imagined a player who didn't even have Pagma's class would mass-produce this many Rare-rank items," Lim Cheolho said with disbelief.
Once again, Player Alan had broken Morpheus's predictions.
"And now there's another one…"
Lim Cheolho shifted his gaze to another screen.
A young swordsman could be seen single-handedly wiping out an entire troll camp, moving with such precision and overwhelming strength that it felt almost unreal—like watching a superhero wielding a sword.
"Kraugel…"
Lim Cheolho smiled faintly.
"Both of them are absurd players."