The Mystery of the Dagger

Roland's body trembled violently, cold sweat pouring down like rain.

The silver liquid writhed like living things, burrowing into his pores, only to seep out of his skin in the next moment, carrying some dark red substance with it.

With each cycle, the silver in the liquid faded a little more, gradually returning to a murky, grayish-black state.

During this process, he could clearly feel something within his body being forcibly extracted.

Muscles, bones, blood, even some deeper impurities were being torn away by this bizarre liquid.

The searing pain surged in waves, almost crushing his consciousness, yet his body was held rigidly in place by an invisible force, denying him even the right to collapse.

At the same time, lines of golden text flashed before his eyes.

[Mithril Body Tempering Method learned, current level: Lv.1]

[You have successfully practiced Mithril Body Tempering Method once, gaining one experience point]

[You have successfully practiced Mithril Body Tempering Method once]

[You have successfully practiced.]

But Roland had no time to pay attention to them now.

"Urgh!"

The sound that escaped his throat was hoarse and broken.

His eyeballs were bloodshot, his vision began to darken, but his consciousness grew clearer, refusing to pass out.

As his fingernails dug deeply into his palms, blood dripped down his wrists, only to be completely devoured the instant it touched the grayish-black powder.

After an unknown period, the liquid finally lost all its silver, transforming into dry, grayish-black powder that flaked off his body. The restraining force also vanished abruptly.

Roland's legs gave out, and he collapsed heavily onto the ground.

"Hahaha."

He gasped for air, his throat burning as if seared by a hot iron.

The cold sweat soaked through his entire body, forming a small puddle on the ground.

After a long while, Roland finally regained his senses, his gaze refocusing on the Profession Panel before him.

"Just one practice session and I gained thirty-four experience points? And..."

His gaze shifted downwards, his voice trembling slightly with shock.

"My Strength attribute actually increased by 0.7!"

This number was hard for Roland to believe.

He knew that before, even with conscious Strength Training, he could barely increase his Strength by 0.1 in a month.

Later, even with the additional bonus effect from [Tempered Steel], which sped up his progress, it still took half a month of hard training to gain 0.1 Strength.

Now, a single practice of the Mithril Body Tempering Method was equivalent to more than three months of sweat and effort.

This vast difference in efficiency made Roland take a deep breath and slowly exhale, trying to calm the surging excitement in his chest.

Once his heartbeat gradually returned to normal, he lowered his head to examine his body carefully.

The muscle lines that were previously faint were now sharply defined, each muscle exhibiting a firm and powerful contour.

Even more astonishingly, his skin had become as fair and delicate as a newborn's, radiating a healthy glow.

Even the minor scars left from his fight with the Kobolds last night had completely vanished, as if purified by some mysterious power.

"This is still with the lack of a Breathing Technique, which significantly reduced the tempering effect."

Recalling the text on the parchment, Roland felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

"If I could cultivate it in conjunction with a Breathing Technique, then..."

But a moment later, he calmed down and slowly shook his head.

Although his access to information was very limited, he had heard of the legendary Knight Breathing Technique.

At least within the Golden Valley Kingdom, the Knight Breathing Technique was a core secret of the noble class, strictly controlled by the major families and never leaked unless under special circumstances.

With his current status, there was no way he could get his hands on such a precious item.

"Never mind, obtaining the Mithril Body Tempering Method is already an unexpected joy, and besides..."

Looking at the number behind Mithril Body Tempering Method in the Skills section, Roland's lips curved slightly.

"An experience cap of one hundred means I can still practice Mithril Body Tempering Method twice more. And I'm only one step away from the four Strength attribute points required to transfer to the Blacksmith profession. However..."

Feeling the slight stinging sensation as the breeze brushed against his body, Roland recalled the text on the parchment and pondered.

"Given my current physical condition, I'll probably have to wait a few more days before I can practice it a second time."

With that thought, Roland changed into his spare clothes and pushed the door open.

Only a few days remained until the deadline for the Knowledge Test.

He didn't want to miss the assessment opportunity a month later by failing the test.

The blacksmith shop was still filled with the sounds of forging, but the firelight from the village last night had clearly affected everyone's mood.

Marco and several apprentice youths were silently working, heads bowed, none of them noticing Roland's arrival.

Only Hawk, leaning against the wall, raised his eyes and gently placed a large hand on Roland's shoulder.

"Kid."

A flicker of surprise flashed in Hawk's eyes, and his rough fingers unconsciously rubbed the fabric of Roland's clothes.

"I didn't expect you to come back alive."

After a sigh that seemed to hold back more words, he didn't press for details about last night. Instead, he raised his grayish-white eyebrows and asked.

"Can you read all the words?"

"Yes, Mister Hawk."

"Good."

Hawk turned and said a few words to Marco and the others before beckoning to Roland.

"Come with me."

Leather boots made a muffled sound on the stone path.

They walked through a yard piled with farming tools and arrived at a spacious storeroom.

Sunlight slanted in from the high windows, illuminating the floating dust.

Hawk took a yellowed piece of cloth from an oak cabinet and placed it in Roland's palm.

"Read."

Hearing the brief instruction, Roland lowered his head slightly, his gaze falling on the yellowed cloth. The knowledge in his mind began to flow rapidly.

After quickly reading it silently and confirming there were no errors, a clear reading voice echoed in the storeroom.

Hawk's previously calm expression gradually softened, his brows unfurrowed, and surprise appeared in his eyes.

When Roland finished the last section, even correcting a few grammatical errors, the old blacksmith finally couldn't help but clap his rough hands together, making a dull sound.

"Good kid!"

Hawk's voice carried unconcealed admiration.

"I thought your extraordinary talent in forging was surprising enough, but I didn't expect your literacy to be..."

He paused, recalling that half a month ago, Roland could barely read a contract smoothly. Now, he could read so fluently and even point out grammatical flaws. He couldn't help but smack his lips and decisively announced.

"Alright, you've passed the Knowledge Test. From today on, you can come to the blacksmith shop for training as usual."

After speaking, he took a step forward, placed his large hand heavily on Roland's shoulder, and his tone turned serious.

"However, Marco and those other boys haven't been slacking off. They've been training harder than anyone else lately. If you want to win the assessment a month from now, you'll have to put in a desperate effort, understand?"

"Yes!"

Seeing the determined look in Roland's eyes, Hawk nodded with satisfaction.

"By the way, Mister Hawk."

Remembering Bronson's request from before, Roland spoke softly. He omitted the details of the Silver Dust transaction and simply explained the matter of helping forge a dagger.

After listening, Hawk let out a helpless chuckle.

"That guy is still so stubborn. Fine, since he asked you for help, I'll let it slide. But..."

The old blacksmith suddenly stopped speaking, his brows furrowed into a deep groove.

"Because of the war in the Black Fir Forest, the ore supply is tight. I can only give you enough for three iron billets."

He held up three thick, short fingers and waved them in front of Roland's eyes.

"If you mess it up, you'll have to pay the market price. Got it?"

"Understood, Mister Hawk."

Roland nodded without hesitation.

He still had five silver coins on him, which was more than enough to buy some ore.

The two returned the way they came and arrived back at the blacksmith shop.

When Hawk announced that Roland could re-enter the blacksmith shop to train his forging skills, the continuous sound of hammers suddenly paused briefly.

Marco and the other apprentice youths exchanged surprised glances.

None of them had expected that this kid, who couldn't even read a contract document smoothly before, could actually pass the Knowledge Test in less than a month.

However, soon the rhythm of the hammers resumed its original cadence.

The youths wore faint smiles on their lips, their hands moving without pause.

In their view, what if Roland was back?

Before this, they had already considered their forging skills to be on par with Roland's.

Not to mention the relentless training day and night over the past month, their forging skills had already advanced by leaps and bounds.

As for Roland, who had neglected his training, they feared he had even forgotten the most basic forging techniques.

Of the few people present, only Marco frowned slightly.

But seeing the increasingly exquisite forging skills of the people beside him, he didn't say much more and continued to swing his hammer with his head down.

Roland ignored their somewhat mocking gazes and went to the anvil in the corner on his own.

He skillfully pulled the bellows, fired the ore, and forged the tools.

After confirming that his skills had not become rusty, he did not continue to accumulate experience by forging finished products. Instead, he took out the blueprint that Bronson had given him earlier from his pocket.

Anyway, in a few more days, he would be able to increase his Strength by practicing the Mithril Body Tempering Method and officially take up the profession of Blacksmith.

At that time, he could see what additional Traits the Blacksmith profession would grant and then train accordingly. It wouldn't be too late.

For now, he might as well try to complete the dagger forging commissioned by Bronson and see if he could conclude this transaction as soon as possible.

Emotionally, he disliked owing others.

Logically...

Thinking of Bronson's mysterious other side that day, Roland frowned slightly and lowered his head to examine the blueprint in his hand carefully.

"Tsk."

Even though he had studied it repeatedly, the forging difficulty of this dagger still made him click his tongue.

The dagger Bronson requested was completely different from ordinary weapons.

The overall shape resembled a short sword. The tip and tail were unremarkable, but the middle part was concave inwards, narrowing into a cylindrical shape.

This peculiar structure was a great test of both forging and ore firing skills.

Not only that, but a file would also be needed to carve dense lines onto the cylinder in the middle.

With the slightest carelessness, the middle part would break.

And those lines...

Roland's fingers gently stroked the patterns on the blueprint, his frown deepening.

He vaguely felt that these lines were not as chaotic as they appeared but followed some peculiar pattern.

Some areas were as dense as a spiderweb, while others were sparse and open. The turns even showed subtle arcs, as if guiding something.

"This thing... doesn't look like mere decoration."