Evil Lash

The Kobold Leader exploded, scattering items and copper coins across the floor. The shimmering copper light illuminated the entire mine, as if celebrating Shi Feng's victory.

Heizi was already slumped on the ground, drenched in cold sweat. It felt as if every ounce of strength had been drained from his body, leaving him with no desire to even look at the loot. This battle had been too grueling; it hadn't offered a single moment to catch a breath, with every passing second serving as a heart-stopping, eye-straining ordeal.

Every second of the fight had been a gamble with his heart; without nerves of steel, one simply couldn't endure it.

It was hard to imagine what kind of heart Shi Feng possessed, having fought the Kobold Leader head-on the entire time.

"That was amazing! We won! Brother Feng, you're officially my idol," Heizi shouted, overcome with excitement. He looked at the calm Shi Feng, his heart filled with admiration.

Although Shi Feng had been quite skilled in the past—his technique far exceeding that of an average player—he had still been just an ordinary professional player. His skills hadn't felt unattainable, and his personality used to be volatile; he would get worked up over the smallest things or argue endlessly over a piece of common gear, much like a blade drawn from its scabbard. But the current Shi Feng was completely different, as if he had become a new person. He remained unruffled and incredibly composed, radiating a sense of stability, like a dormant dragon that would either remain silent or shock the world with a single roar.

"Heizi, isn't Bai Qingxue your idol?" Shi Feng asked with a faint smile.

"Bai Qingxue is my idol, of course, but you're amazing too, Brother Feng! You're usually so quiet, but now you've soared to the heavens. You even took down such a powerful Kobold Leader—even the true professional experts are no better than this. How could I not worship you? As the saying goes, it's easy to enjoy the shade under a big tree. Brother Feng, please teach me how to play a Cursemancer; I've dreamed of becoming a gaming expert." Heizi looked at Shi Feng as if he had discovered a mountain of gold. At the same time, he felt happy about his choice; had he gone to Shadow Studio, he would likely still be an obscure gold-farming member without even the chance to meet an expert, let alone become one himself.

"Sure," Shi Feng replied with a wry smile. Heizi's personality was just that straightforward.

In his past life, when he was fired, Heizi had resigned without a second thought, giving up a job with an annual salary of a million to share in his hardships. Naturally, he wouldn't let Heizi down. He would teach him everything he could. Although he hadn't played a Cursemancer himself, he had seen many experts who did, and he knew the general development path for the class well enough to guide Heizi.

"Brother Feng, how should I allocate my attribute points in the early stages? Should I put everything into Intelligence?" Heizi asked.

Shi Feng shook his head, thought for a moment, and said, "Putting everything into Intelligence early on isn't bad, but if you want to be a formidable Cursemancer, Agility is essential. Besides increasing movement speed, Agility also boosts casting speed. Cursemancers have few survival skills, are slow, have many long-chant spells, and their raw spell power isn't high—most of their skills rely on curses to drain health. To maximize your damage, you need time. You aren't like an Elementalist, who acts as a stationary turret. So, once you hit 20 points in Intelligence, you should split your free attribute points and put half into Agility. This will ensure your safety while allowing for more output."

In his past life, there had been a very powerful Cursemancer who broke the traditional build by adding a massive amount of Agility. Not only was his output fierce and rapid, but he was also terrifying in PvP, leaving the Assassins who countered magic-users completely bewildered. Those Assassins would die without ever touching the Cursemancer once, shattering the rule that magic-users were guaranteed to die if a melee class got close. Afterward, many Cursemancers began adding Agility, much to the frustration of Assassins who were bullied by them daily.

Heizi nodded, finding Shi Feng's reasoning sound. He laughed, "Alright, once my Intelligence hits 20, I'll put everything else into Agility."

After discussing the Cursemancer's build, Shi Feng and Heizi began picking up the loot.

The Kobold Leader lived up to its title, and with the first-kill bonus, the drops were incredibly rich.

There were 8 pieces of Bronze-rank gear: 1 Dull Great Axe, 2 pieces of Plate Armor, 2 pieces of Leather Armor, and 3 pieces of Cloth Armor. In addition, there were 273 copper coins and three skill books: Taunt for Shield Warriors, Silent Step for Assassins, and Evil Lash for Cursemancers.

"Heizi, your luck is incredible. This Evil Lash is a rare skill with a very low drop rate. It's one of the few crowd-control and damage skills for a Cursemancer; once your level is high enough, it's a god-tier skill for grinding mobs." Shi Feng didn't hesitate to toss the Evil Lash book to Heizi, along with the two pieces of Level 2 Bronze cloth armor.

Evil Lash had a 3-second cast time and used five thorns to bind a target within a certain range. If the target moved out of range, the thorns would snap, with each thorn dealing 20 base damage plus 30% spell damage. The cooldown was 20 seconds.

Heizi was ecstatic when he saw it and quickly learned the skill. With this, his combat efficiency would increase significantly. Changing into the two pieces of gear was like upgrading from a bird gun to a cannon; his spell damage increased to 48, and his Intelligence reached 20, unlocking the hidden basic Intelligence skill: Casting Vitality. This allowed players to skip the incantations for spells with cast times under 1.5 seconds, requiring only the physical gestures, which helped the caster focus better on attacking the target.

The two pieces of plate armor were the Recruit Heavy Armor and Black Iron Gauntlets. However, among these Bronze items, Shi Feng only cared about the stats on the Black Iron Gauntlets.

Black Iron Gauntlets, Plate Armor, Bronze-rank. Equipment requirements: 9 Strength, Level 3. Defense 14, Strength +2, Stamina +2, Agility +1, Durability 20/20.

As for the Recruit Heavy Armor, it was quite mediocre; the Level 5 Recruit Heavy Armor couldn't compare to the Sky Armor at all. Still, plate armor was precious and could fetch a good price.

The two pieces of Level 3 Bronze leather armor could be sold off.

The most valuable item among the gear was undoubtedly the Dull Great Axe, which was a Berserker's dream.

Dull Great Axe, Bronze-rank. Equipment requirements: 15 Strength, Level 5. Attack Power 21, Strength +5, Stamina +2, Durability 30/30. It was an absolutely brutal weapon; if a Berserker got their hands on it, their output would be terrifyingly violent.

"If I hype up the Dull Great Axe a bit, it'll definitely be worth a lot." Shi Feng smiled faintly, a plan already forming in his mind to make a fortune from the axe.

Afterward, Shi Feng and Heizi returned to the Blacksmith Workshop.

"Master Jack, I have slain the Kobold Leader. Here is its head." Shi Feng produced the Kobold's head and said respectfully.

Master Jack, who was busy forging, glanced at the head to confirm that Shi Feng had indeed succeeded. He then said with satisfaction, "Young man, you are quite good. You truly have the qualifications to inherit my forging techniques."

System: Hidden quest 'Path of Forging' completed. Player has learned Forging, become a Primary Forging Apprentice, and gained the forging talent 'Forging Genius'. Reward: 10 pieces of Hundred-Refined Steel.

Forging Genius: After a successful forge, there is a certain chance to gain an additional 2 points of proficiency.

Don't underestimate those 2 points. One must know that a Primary Forging Apprentice only has a 20% success rate when crafting common gear, and even upon success, there is only a 40% chance to gain 1 point of proficiency. Now, every successful forge offered a chance to gain an extra 2 points, increasing the promotion efficiency several times over.

Moreover, becoming an Intermediate Forging Apprentice required 1,000 proficiency points. An ordinary player would need at least ten days to reach that level, provided they had a constant supply of materials. The terrifying failure rate would waste a massive amount of resources, but with this talent, one could save a significant amount of materials and money.

Hundred-Refined Steel was an excellent auxiliary material for crafting Bronze gear, increasing the success rate by 10%.

With the forging talent and the Book of Forging, Shi Feng was itching to start crafting gear immediately. However, materials were essential and required in large quantities. Gathering them himself was a waste of time, so he would have to buy them in bulk, which required a fair amount of money. Furthermore, crafting common gear wasn't worth it—it was a guaranteed loss. Only Bronze gear could be sold for a profit, but he lacked the blueprints.

"I have to go to the Dead Silence Forest." Shi Feng thought of the Bronze gear design in the Dead Silence Forest. The gear crafted from that design not only had low production costs but also excellent stats. Back then, many blacksmiths had made a fortune from that very design.

Just as Shi Feng turned to leave:

"Young man, you truly surprise me. I've been forging weapons for so many years, yet this is the first time I've seen a Magic Weapon." Master Jack called out to Shi Feng, his gaze fixed on the pitch-black longsword at Shi Feng's waist. Even though the sword was covered in rust, looking like a fire poker, it hadn't escaped the eyes of the master blacksmith.