The Blacksmith Shop

"System, sign in!" Roland opened his eyes in the morning, performing his daily ritual of a happy sign-in. Although the system didn't offer much useful stuff at the moment, it was still better than nothing.

"Sign-in successful. Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Lava Forge (Small) *1."

"Lava Forge? What use is this thing to me? I don't have the ability to forge magical equipment right now... Wait, forge!" Roland, who had been complaining, suddenly's eyes lit up.

The next second, Roland rushed out of the tent and headed towards old man Ladyl's residence. Old man Ladyl was currently fiddling with the five Griffon Eggs. Since no one knew how to hatch griffons, the eggs had been entrusted to the mage, the embodiment of wisdom, for care.

As soon as he saw Roland running over, the usually cheerful Ladyl was startled so much that his face turned ashen. He spoke with a cold expression, "Your Highness, even if you're in a hurry, couldn't you wait until I finish my meal? It's not even dawn yet, and you're already here rushing me to work?" Old man Ladyl revealed an unhappy expression.

Roland awkwardly scratched his head and quickly explained, "Esteemed Ladyl, you've misunderstood. I just happened to acquire a small Lava Forge..."

"My Prince, you must not aim too high... With our current resources, we can't afford to play with magical equipment..." Roland was interrupted by a terrified Ladyl before he could finish. In Ladyl's opinion, the last king of Lagrange had gone mad! The country was in such a sorry state, yet he was still thinking about magical equipment. Did he really think it was the empire's most prosperous era?

"No, I mean, could we build a blacksmith shop centered around the Lava Forge? What do you think?" Roland said with a fawning smile.

"Pfft!" Ladyl pointed at Roland with his finger. He had completely forgotten that this was an act of extreme disrespect. Roland, from modern Earth, didn't pay attention to this behavior that others would consider disrespectful.

"Your Highness... are you crazy... Do you even know what a Lava Forge is for?" Ladyl, thinking Roland didn't know its purpose, asked timidly.

"I do. Isn't it just a furnace for creating all sorts of magical equipment? I believe if it can forge magical equipment, it should have no problem forging ordinary equipment, right?" Roland said nonchalantly.

"Do you know that activating the forge requires magic crystals or a mage's magic power every time..." Ladyl thought Roland was simply fantasizing. Using such a high-end forge to craft ordinary equipment... Was this the royal family's "money power"?

"Mainly, I just remembered that many of the warriors' equipment is worn out. Although we don't have the conditions to replace their equipment now, we can at least repair it, right?" Roland said.

"Is it really appropriate to use a treasure like the Lava Forge for blacksmithing?" Ladyl looked at Roland with a strange expression. In his eyes, it was like a child selling his father's land without a care.

"But we can't let the soldiers go into battle with blunted weapons and damaged armor, can we? We can't rely on the Dwarves... It's better to have the lifeline of equipment in our own hands." Roland didn't care about the consumption of the Lava Forge. He was a man who had fought his way through the Old Forest Road. Along the way, he had collected nearly a thousand magic crystals from Shadow Giant Spiders. The consumption of a small Lava Forge wasn't high; one magic crystal would last a long time.

"Sigh..." After hearing Roland's words, Ladyl no longer insisted, only letting out a sigh. He understood that Roland was right; sending soldiers into battle with such equipment was practically a crime.

"Then, since Your Highness has already decided, why are you looking for me?" Ladyl asked Roland, confused.

"I just wanted to ask you to set up a professional blacksmith shop..." Roland said sheepishly.

"..." Ladyl's eyes twitched, and he suppressed the urge to draw his staff and hit Roland in the face. Good heavens, was a Geomancer really reduced to a construction worker? Were mages living such lowly lives now?

The mental suggestion left by the system made Ladyl unconditionally loyal to Roland. Even though this was truly humiliating for a War Mage, Ladyl responded and went out to choose a location.

"Next are the series of supporting facilities... We can manage with the tools, but this anvil is a bit tricky... Should I go borrow some from the Dwarves?" Roland pondered.

"Caslo! Go to Erebor and ask the Dwarves there to lend us a few anvils. And buy some steel while you're at it." Roland finally decided to ask the Dwarves for some anvils, as Erebor had plenty of them and they weren't worth much. He casually tossed Caslo a storage ring that could hold 100 cubic meters of dead items. This item was also a sign-in reward from the system. For others, a spatial ring was a rare find, but for Roland, it was as useful as a chicken's feather. Wasn't the Ring System's vast space more convenient?

As the sun rose, people gradually emerged from their dwellings. The 50 Bannaria Archers, after hastily eating some black bread, grabbed fishing nets and went to catch fish. The fish in the Swift River had become the source of life for Flowing City. The remaining archers were responsible for vigilance and sentry duty. The Knights of the Holy Radiance Knight Order and the Lagrange City Guards prepared to begin a new day of construction work. The less than a hundred residents also busied themselves making food at home, and soon, wisps of cooking smoke rose, filling the small town with the atmosphere of life.

"Your Highness, the blacksmith shop is completed. As long as you gather all the necessary tools, it can be used normally." Ladyl appeared beside Roland with a flicker, startling him.

"Oh! Alright, thank you." Roland expressed his gratitude.

"Reno, go investigate among the residents to see if anyone knows blacksmithing. We need a blacksmith." Roland glanced at Reno.

The newly arrived Lagrange City Guards were fine, but the swords and lances of the knights who had followed Roland the longest had all shown varying degrees of wear. Although the arrows of the Bannaria Archers had been replenished several times, there was still a huge shortage. And their initial Star Silver Steel Armor-Piercing Arrows... they were used one by one and never replenished. The Battle of Smaug had completely depleted their stock. Although Roland later sent people to collect them, only a few were recovered. However, the more than four hundred arrows stuck in Smaug's corpse within the Ring System were preserved.

"My King, this citizen used to be a blacksmith." After a while, Reno returned with someone behind him.

"What is your name?" Roland looked at the timid, ragged man in front of him.

"Reporting to Your Highness... My name is Ren Xiaoqiang..." the man stammered, his teeth chattering.

"Don't be afraid. You know how to blacksmith, right?" Roland reassured him.

"Yes..."

"Then do you know how to repair and forge weapons?" Roland asked the question that concerned him the most. If he could manufacture weapons, then Roland's Swift River Infantry would have a reliable source.

"Yes, yes, yes." Ren Xiaoqiang nodded repeatedly like a kowtowing bug.

"Good, excellent. When Caslo gets back, take him to the blacksmith shop to repair the knights' equipment," Roland instructed Reno.

He turned and walked towards the blacksmith shop. He was going to install the precious Lava Forge. The advantage of this thing was that it didn't need fuel. The Hellfire Lava contained within would automatically release Hellfire when stimulated by magic. The high temperature of Hellfire was enough to forge most materials.

While Roland was busy installing the forge, the archers who had been fishing returned in a hurry.