"When will you return?" Loyd asked, standing at the doorway as he looked at Alan, who was ready to leave.
Alan was wearing a full warrior set, along with a Rare-rank longsword at his side.
Every piece of equipment he wore—
He had crafted them himself.
"I don't know," Alan replied. "First, I'll train myself against other soldiers and knights. After that, I'll hunt monsters to acquire their materials and craft better equipment."
"Hm, that's a good idea," Loyd said with a nod. "Best of luck."
Alan smiled, then turned and left.
He soon arrived at the library of the Patrian.
"Let's see if I can find anything related to Albantino's family," he muttered.
After a full day of research, Alan finally uncovered a lead—
Albantino's birthplace.
The village of Winston.
What was once a small village had now grown into a large, bustling city.
"okay next stop is Winston" Alan mumbled as he booked an carriage and begun to go towards the Winston.
On the way he opened his status screen and looked at his current stats.
Name : Alan
Class : Albantino's Successor
Level : 21 (9266/16700)
Title : Prodigy , First Hidden class, First Unique class...
Health : 4,505/4,505 Mana : 1,536/1,536
Stats
Strength : 411
Stamina : 409
Agility : 408
Intelligence : 512
Dexterity : 600
Persistent : 400
Indomitable : 400
Luck : 400
Stat Points : 210
Weight : 1,893/15,632
Skills :
Master Blacksmith's Craftsmanship
Master Blacksmith's Appraisal
Master Blacksmith's Patience
Master Blacksmith's Disassembly
Master Blacksmith's Repair
Master Dwarf Craftmanship
Basic Sword Mastery lvl 1
Basic Spear Mastery lvl 1
Basic Bow Mastery lvl 1
Basic Shield Mastery lvl 1
Wood Cutting Intemediate Lvl 1
Mining Basic levle 8 ]
Alan smiled as he looked at his status screen.
"Hah… who would believe I'm only a level 21 player after seeing these stats?" he said with a chuckle.
Almost all of his attributes came from titles and achievements, not levels.
"It's a pity that the Common and Uncommon first achievements were already taken," Alan muttered. "If not, I would've gained even more Dexterity."
He still remembered when he crafted his first Uncommon-rank item.
There had been no notification.
No achievement.
Meaning someone else had already claimed it.
"Well, I did start crafting relatively late," Alan reasoned with a shrug.
After all, Satisfy had already been running for nearly three or four months in real time.
It wasn't strange that other blacksmiths had already secured the first Common and Uncommon crafting achievements.
After another half day of travel, Alan finally reached Winston.
It was a beautiful city—far more peaceful than Patrian. There were noticeably fewer guards as well, which was only natural. Patrian was a frontier city, constantly threatened by monsters and neighbhouring Kingdom, while Winston lay safely within the heartlands.
Alan observed his surroundings calmly.
Now, if I remember correctly… there are two named NPCs I can recruit here before Grid arrives, he thought.
The first was Northern Nova Leo—a talented but reckless individual who died prematurely due to his own stupidity. He had used a fire skill in a closed underground area, which caused a massive dust explosion and killed him instantly.
The second was Rabbit, a shady merchant with a silver tongue—someone who could sell sand as a rare commodity if given the chance.
Alan's lips curved into a faint smile.
Both of them are worth getting ahead of time.
As Alan walked through the city, observing his surroundings, his thoughts returned to them.
Leo, The Northern Nova—a named NPC who could have grown extremely powerful in the future, but died prematurely due to his own recklessness.
And then there was Rabbit—a shady merchant most likely working under the Mero Company at this point in time.
Along the way, Alan overheard various rumors.
One in particular stood out: the new lord of this territory was also the head of a massive merchant company. In short, he had bought his way into nobility and become the Baron overseeing Winston.
"Now then… Albantino's descendants would most likely be blacksmiths," Alan murmured as he headed toward the city's smithy.
However, the shop was closed.
"Excuse me?" Alan stopped an old lady passing by.
She looked at him. "What do you need, young man?"
"Could you tell me when this smithy opens?" Alan asked, pointing at the building.
The old lady shook her head slightly. "It seems you're not from around here."
Alan nodded.
She adjusted the bags in her hands and began speaking.
"This was once a great smithy. Blacksmith Khan was a master craftsman. Even the previous lord praised his work many times."
Her expression softened with nostalgia.
"But Khan's son fell ill. He got an terminal illness."
She smiled faintly.
"I still remember Khan bragging about it, when Khan once said how his son will surpass everyone in his family."
Her smile faded.
"Alas, His son died due to terminal illness leaving him devastated."
She shook her head slowly.
"From that moment on, Khan shut down the smithy. He started drinking every day."
Alan listened quietly and nodded.
"Thank you for telling me," he said sincerely.
He handed her a silver coin, which made her eyes widen in surprise.
After thanking her, Alan turned and walked toward the silent smithy—
It's just like in the manhwa
Alan knocked on the door, but no one answered. After a brief pause, he pushed it open himself.
Inside, he found Khan sprawled on his bed, a half-empty bottle clutched in his hand.
"Who…?" Khan muttered as he stirred awake, his eyes unfocused.
Alan walked in calmly.
Khan squinted at him for a moment before waving his hand dismissively.
"I'm no longer making any equipment. Leave."
His gesture was careless, as if shooing away a stray puppy.
"Are you Albantino's descendant?" Alan asked.
Khan's gaze sharpened slightly as he looked at him.
"And what if I am?"
"I am Albantino's successor," Alan replied coldly. "I came here to see his descendant, but it seems I expected too much from you."
Khan's expression darkened.
"So you're using this kind of lie now?" he sneered. "Is this some new trick by the Mero Company bastards to make me work for them?"
He pointed accusingly at Alan, his voice thick with bitterness and alcohol.