However, during those five months, Alan's greatest gains were not his levels or equipment—
They were two extraordinary titles.
[ Sword Saint Candidate ]
Stage 1 — Transcendent
All stats are increased by 1.3 times.
Rapidly detects the target's weaknesses.
High probability of predicting the target's movements.
'Super Sensitivity' will be unlocked.
Cost: 100% Mana
Cooldown: 24 Hours
And the second—
[ Great Swordsman ]
The closest individual to becoming a Sword Saint in this era.
When a blade-type weapon is equipped:
Attack Power +40%
Attack Speed +10%
This effect is applied separately from Sword Mastery skills.
Upon reaching a certain threshold, the Sword Energy resource will be unlocked. ]
There was also new quest for Sword Saint Candidate.
[ Sword Saint Candidate ]
Difficulty: ???
Objective:
Defeat other Sword Saint Candidates or powerful beings to claim the throne of Sword Saint.
Quest Clear Condition:
Defeat any one powerful being or Sword Saint Candidate.
Quest Clear Reward:
Unlock Stage 2 of Sword Saint Candidate.
Time Limit: None ]
However, at present, in the City of Grey, inside a smithy, Alan was working tirelessly—crafting arrows.
They were Jaffa arrows.
Jaffa possessed exceptional flexibility and elasticity, making it unsuitable for forging heavy equipment. However, it was perfect for crafting arrows, allowing them to absorb force without breaking and maintain excellent flight stability.
Alan focused intently on his work. While crafting equipment earlier, he had discovered something important—
Arrows also counted toward his crafting quests.
Because of that realization, he began producing arrows in large quantities. Compared to other equipment, the process was incredibly fast. A single arrow, if everything went smoothly, took about an hour to complete.
That was nothing compared to other equipment, which often required more than twenty hours just to forge a single Epic-rated item.
[ You have crafted an Epic-rank arrow ]
[ All stats increased by 4 ]
[ Reputation throughout the continent increased by 80 ]
Alan smiled as he looked at the arrow, then immediately began crafting another.
One after another, the arrows piled up.
He continued working tirelessly, and without even realizing it, another month passed.
[ You have crafted 100 Epic-rank items ]
[ You have mastered the art of crafting Epic-rank items ]
[ You will no longer gain any stat points from crafting Epic-rank equipment ]
Alan let out a long sigh as he looked at the pile of newly forged arrows before him. There was no disappointment—only a sense of completion.
Then he submitted the quest.
[ You have completed the 2nd part of the Albantino Lineage Test ]
[ Return to the Albantino Family Grave to receive your reward ]
Alan clenched his fist slightly.
"Finally…"
"But I can't leave yet." Alan shook his head. The passage to the Siren Kingdom would only open in another two months. Even if he left now, reaching Winston would take a full month, and the return trip would take another month—causing him to miss the opening yet again.
"Big brother, are you done?"
Just as he stood up, a small girl came running toward him. She had light violet skin and bright violet-pink hair.
It was Ohong.
After living together for months, she had grown deeply attached to them.
"I'm done. Where is Uncle Piaro?" Alan asked.
"Uncle is helping the villagers," she replied.
Alan nodded.
Grey City lay near the shore, but the fertility of the soil here was extremely poor. As a result, fish made up most of the common food. However, powerful monsters often appeared near the coast, making it dangerous for fishermen to go out to sea.
Alan and Piaro helped whenever such situations arose.
During their travel, Alan had also met another named NPC—her name was Shona. While traveling, they had passed through many villages and sometimes stayed in one place for days. Shona was from one such village, and after spending time watching Alan and Piaro train, she had asked them to teach her swordsmanship.
Alan had shrugged at the time. Ohong needed a nanny anyway, and who would have thought Shona was a Named NPC—one with great potential.
She began learning swordsmanship from Piaro and had already reached the Advanced stage, even gaining the Great Swordsman title.
Compared to players, NPCs grew faster. Alan felt extremely lucky to have encountered her. She was now their rear support partner, and although her level was still low, Alan often helped her gain experience.
So, from that point Alan begun to appraise every single npc to where ever he stays and in the end gained two more Named npc and some A grade npc.
The named npcs are those which can grow infinitely like a Player while A grade npcs are those with higher limit compared to other NPC like 2000 stat limit or something like that.
Though only Shona have accompanied them while he sent others back to Winston where he have established the company with Khan smithy as its center, And have taken Rabbit to his side too, it was easy he just have to show some of his craft and Rabbit the merchant was in his pocket, though he was not able to take Leo who was also an A grade npc of magic Swordsman type as he was already a Knight at Winston.
"And where is Big Sister Shona?" Alan asked.
"She's cooking the big fish Uncle Piaro caught," Ohong said with a bright smile.
Alan nodded.
The four of them were well-known in Grey City now—quietly becoming local celebrities. Soon, they returned home together.
It was a house they had purchased to live in while staying here for the time being.
As Alan entered, the delicious aroma drifting from the kitchen greeted him.
"Alan, you're back earlier today?" Shona asked, glancing over her shoulder.
She had pale white skin and dark raven hair, and her build was very athletic—giving her a striking, healthy beauty.
"I was done faster today," Alan shrugged with a nod.
He then opened the auction tab to check if there were any new good items for sale. But there wasn't any so he just closed it. It was an habit to see if there are new crafting materials on sale.
Closing the tab, he turned his attention back to the house.
Soon, the cooking was finished and Piaro also returned. Unlike his previous beggar state, he now looked like a handsome middle-aged man—completely different from before. His body had fully recovered, and the traces of his past hardships were gone.
As they ate, Alan suddenly said,"By the way, I'll be leaving to move around for some time. I'll return just before the passage to the Siren Kingdom opens."
Piaro looked at him."Are you going to kill Asmophel?" he asked.
Alan shook his head."No. The empire is too far away from here. If I leave now, I won't be able to return in time."
Piaro nodded.
If only he could let go of that obsession… Alan thought, shaking his head inwardly.
"So… where are you going then?" Shona asked.
"Hm," Alan replied calmly. "I'm going to find some powerful people to fight."
He didn't bother hiding his goal.