Morning light washed over Riverrun when Timos, the city's armorer, finally noticed the absence of the materials he had left outside his forge. He frowned, doubting his own memory, and called for Jaran—the boy who had accompanied the strange merchant the day before and helped arrange the order.
The two stared at the empty stretch of ground as if the dirt itself could explain what had happened. Jaran understood even less than Timos; he simply shrugged, uneasy, glancing at the faint rope marks on the floor.
"Taken at dawn?" Timos murmured, though he didn't sound convinced.
As the sun climbed toward its zenith, the armorer accepted the only reasonable conclusion: the merchant had come back during the night, somehow taken everything, and vanished before sunrise. Relieved he wasn't at risk of losing the payment—but cautious—he decided to report the incident to Lord Hoster Tully to avoid any misunderstandings later.
Lord Hoster returned from a patrol around Riverrun, flanked by guards, when a guard captain approached him.
"My lord, the armorer Timos requests an audience."
"The armorer?" Hoster raised a brow. "What could he want?"
After a moment's thought, he said, "I'll be in my solar this afternoon. Bring him to me. If it's something simple, I'll handle it at once. If not, we'll set a proper time."
When Timos was escorted inside, Lord Hoster was already waiting.
"Timos, what brings you here? Speak."
"My lord, I need to register certain events that took place yesterday and today in my forge. I also seek guidance regarding a… delicate commercial situation."
Hoster leaned back. "Is that so? What happened?"
"Yesterday, a strange merchant came to my workshop."
"A strange merchant?" Hoster echoed.
"Yes. He appeared at my door asking for the full list of tools and materials required to build a functional forge—one identical to mine even. He claimed he had been commissioned by a caravan to build a smithy elsewhere and needed instructions as well as supplies. And… he paid extremely well. In emeralds and other precious stones."
Timos opened his pouch and placed the gemstones on the table. Hoster's eyes narrowed at their familiar gleam.
"What was the merchant's name?" Hoster asked.
"I regret, my lord, I did not get his name. He stayed only a short time—stated what he wanted, paid for the goods, and then… settled one more thing beyond the materials and instructions."
"One more thing?" Hoster repeated.
"He paid me to take in a boy from the streets—a lad with no parents—and train him as an apprentice. In exchange, he gave me these additional gems." Timos pointed to the second set. "I'm here to inform you of all this and request guidance in case anything needs to be recorded officially."
"And there is something else, my lord," Timos added. "The materials I left outside this morning for him to collect—they're gone. I fear he might return and claim I never delivered what I was paid for. But everything vanished during the night, without a trace."
"Hold a moment, Timos," Hoster said, raising a hand. "I need to confirm something. Guard, fetch the maester."
One of the guards hurried out and soon returned with the maester—a man wrapped in robes with tingling small chains.
"Maester, inspect these gemstones—especially the emeralds. Do they look familiar?" Hoster asked.
The maester examined one closely. "Indeed, my lord. Their cut is remarkably similar to the emerald we traded with the Lannisters last year. It seems the same merchant has returned to the city."
"As I suspected," Hoster said. He looked back at Timos. "Listen carefully. That merchant is unlikely to return demanding anything. He came here last year, bought horses, and disappeared for over a year. Now he reappears, makes another deal, and vanishes again. If he does come back and causes trouble about the missing materials, call a guard and bring him to me. I want to speak to him personally."
"Yes, my lord."
"And keep an eye on the boy," Hoster added. "It is peculiar that he paid so much merely for the child's training. The boy may know who he is."
"I'll be watchful, my lord. I spoke to him already, but he claims not to know the man."
"We shall see," Hoster murmured.
Back at the inn, Twig and Aron worked shoulder to shoulder building the forge. After returning before dawn, Twig ate something simple in the hideout and waited for the others to wake. While Jenny helped her father with the chores, Twig and Aron began unloading the materials from Riverrun, assembling the workshop piece by piece beside the stable.
The first day vanished in measuring, fitting, and reinforcing. The forge took shape, the anvil found its place, tool racks lined the walls—but the mission did not complete.
The next day, following the notes he had brought, Twig disassembled half of what he had built, repositioned the hearth, raised the chimney, and shifted the anvil to prevent floor vibration. Still nothing.
A full week passed in trial and error. Each morning, Twig reviewed airflow diagrams, adjusted the distance of the fume hood, altered the height of the bellows, and refined the spacing between workstation and quench trough. Aron, patient and methodical, sawed, hammered, reinforced, and leveled the ground with packed stone to support the weight and shock of the tools. At dusk, the two teleported to the dungeons for grinding, returning at night to correct more details.
By the seventh day, the workshop looked—and functioned—like a real forge: proper draft, steady fire, stable anvil, aligned quench bench, tools within reach. Only the final detail remained—the perfect "breath" of the fire. Twig inhaled deeply, looked at Aron, and said:
"One more round of adjustments. If the bellows sings right this time… it's done."
Aron nodded, already adjusting the lever.
[Ding!] Mission complete.
[Ding!] "Congratulations, Host. You have advanced to the Blacksmith class."
"Finally!" Twig threw his arms up, exhausted but triumphant. "A whole week of headaches—but look at this place! It's beautiful!"
[Ding!] "Host, the workshop is… mediocre. But it meets the minimum requirements."
"What do you mean mediocre, System?! This is perfect! How is this mediocre?!"
[Ding!] "Host. Once your blacksmith skills evolve, you will notice the structural and functional deficiencies yourself. For now, it is merely useful."
Twig sighed. "Fine, fine. Whatever. Show me the skills. Activate Blacksmith Skills."
[Ding!] Blacksmith Skill List…
🔮 [Enchanted Stone Craft] (Passive)
Allows the Blacksmith to create elemental stones by consuming 10 elemental ores.
Level 1: Success Rate 25%
Level 2: Success Rate 50%
Level 3: Success Rate 75%
Level 4: Success Rate 100%
Level 5: Success Rate 100% + 50% chance of producing 2 stones instead of 1
⚙️ [Iron Tempering] (Passive)
Enables creation of Refined Iron by consuming 2 Iron Ore.
Level 1: Success Rate 25%
Level 2: Success Rate 50%
Level 3: Success Rate 75%
Level 4: Success Rate 100%
Level 5: Success Rate 100% + 50% chance of double iron production
🔩 [Steel Tempering] (Passive)
Enables creation of Steel by consuming 5 Refined Iron and 1 Coal.
Level 1: Success Rate 25%
Level 2: Success Rate 50%
Level 3: Success Rate 75%
Level 4: Success Rate 100%
Level 5: Success Rate 100% + 50% chance of double steel production
🔥 [Skin Tempering] (Passive)
Increases resistance to heat and fire.
Level 1: Insignificant resistance
Level 2: Small resistance
Level 3: Medium resistance
Level 4: Considerable resistance
Level 5: Great resistance
🗡️ [Smith Weapon] (Passive)
Allows forging of class weapons. Higher levels improve quality, rarity, and might.
Level 1: Skill equal to a novice forger
Level 2: Well-rounded novice forger
Level 3: Journeyman forger
Level 4: Artisan forger
Level 5: Master forger
Level 6: Elemental forger
Level 7: Elemental grand master forger
Level 8: Apex master forger
Level 9: Apex grand master forger
Level 10: Divine forger
🛡️ [Smith Armor] (Passive)
Allows forging of armors with increasing quality and refinement potential.
Level 1: Novice armorsmith
Level 2: Well-rounded novice armorsmith
Level 3: Journeyman armorsmith
Level 4: Artisan armorsmith
Level 5: Master armorsmith
Level 6: Elemental armorsmith
Level 7: Elemental grand master armorsmith
Level 8: Apex master armorsmith
Level 9: Apex grand master armorsmith
Level 10: Divine armorsmith
💎 [Oridecon Research] (Passive)
By studying the magical mineral Oridecon, the Blacksmith gains the ability to forge elemental weapons and armors and to embed Enchanted Stones into metal during forging.
🧪 [Research, Refine and Combine] (Passive)
Increases knowledge in weapon/armor enhancement. Allows refining and, at higher levels, combining equipment to raise rarity.
Requirements:
• Rank 1: Phracon
• Rank 2: Emveretarcon
• Rank 3–4: Oridecon
• Armors: Elunium
Level 1: Refines Rank 1 weapons
Level 2: Refines Rank 2 weapons
Level 3: Refines Rank 3 weapons
Level 4: Refines Rank 4 weapons
Level 5: Refines Armors
Level 6: Refines Rank 1–2 Elemental weapons
Level 7: Refines Rank 3–4 Elemental weapons
Level 8: Refines Elemental Armor
Level 9: Can combine equipment (small chance)
Level 10: Can combine equipment (higher success chance)
⛏️ [Ore Discovery] (Passive)
Increases the chance of obtaining ores from defeated monsters.
⚔️ [Hilt Binding] (Passive)
Adds:
• STR +1
• +0.1× melee physical damage vs all enemies
• Increases duration of Adrenaline Rush and Power Thrust by 10%
💥 [Power Thrust] (Active)
Temporarily increases the weapon's physical damage. Affects party members as well.
Small chance for the weapon to break from overuse.
Level 1: 30s, +0.1× damage, 18 SP, 0.1% break chance
Level 2: 90s, +0.2× damage, 16 SP, 0.1% break chance
Level 3: 180s, +0.25× damage, 14 SP, 0.1% break chance
Level 4: 240s, +0.3× damage, 12 SP, 0.1% break chance
Level 5: 300s, +0.5× damage, 10 SP, 0.1% break chance
🔧 [Repair] (Active)
Repairs damaged weapons and armor by consuming materials.
Cost: 5 SP
Requires Anvil + Iron Hammer in inventory.
Materials consumed:
• Rank 1 weapon → Iron Ore
• Rank 2 weapon → Iron
• Rank 3 weapon → Steel
• Rank 4 weapon → Oridecon
• Armor → Steel
⚡ [Adrenaline Rush] (Active)
Boosts Attack Speed by 30% and increases party Attack Speed by 20%.
Level 1: 30s, 20 SP
Level 2: 90s, 23 SP
Level 3: 180s, 26 SP
Level 4: 240s, 29 SP
Level 5: 300s, 32 SP
🛑 [Hammer Fall] (Active)
Creates a shockwave by striking the ground, dealing damage and inflicting Stun.
Requires Mace-type weapon.
Cost: 10 SP
Level 1: 30% stun chance / +10% AoE damage
Level 2: 60% stun chance / +25% AoE damage
Level 3: 80% stun chance / +50% AoE damage
Level 4: 100% stun chance / +75% AoE damage
Level 5: 100% stun chance / +100% AoE damage
"Oh hell yes. Now we're talking. Look at all these skills. I can definitely forge a broken weapon like a Excalibur or an overpowered lance like Gungnir out of this!"
[Ding!] "Keep dreaming, Host. But to craft artifacts of that level, you will need both mastery and materials far beyond your current reach."
"So is possible system…? Hmm, that's exactly the kind of motivation I needed."
With the forge complete, Twig poured everything into leveling his Blacksmith class. As his skill level increased, proficiency grew, his technical understanding sharpened—and he realized the system wasn't lying. The workshop truly needed to be improved, and through sheer repetition: replacing the hearth, enhancing the anvil, adjusting airflow, reorganizing the place, optimizing every tool.
Weapons took shape next—the same spears they had before, but now with blades forged with Water-property materials, enhanced with specific cards to deal extra damage to Dragons and Fire-type monsters. Parallel to that, Twig focused on crafting armor. His goal: a full plate reinforced with Fire-resistant alloys and runic coatings. On a run inside a pharaoh's tomb, he found a monster called [Pasana], whose card imbued armor with Fire enchantment—exactly the resistance he needed. He began hunting it relentlessly.
Combined with his passive Blacksmith resilience skill [Skin Tempering]—Twig felt his confidence crystallizing. Water-infused weapons, Fire-resistant armor, and a forge finally worthy of his craft… Volcano Lair would no longer be a death sentence.
And he was right.
When Twig, Aron, and Jenny returned to Volcano Lair, fully equipped from head to toe with tailor-made gear, the dungeon felt like a stroll through a shopping mall. Aron and Jenny even doubted Twig's warnings—reasonably so. Anyone who had faced lightning-fast monsters, flame geysers bursting from the floor, fireballs streaking through the air, and massive wingless red dragons called [Ferus] patrolling the corridors should be afraid… but now they walked without fear.
With Water-element weapons and stacked resistances, enemy blows barely scratched them, and monsters fell one after another.
Even the little shapeless flame elemental called [Gajomart]—living fire—was extinguished instantly the moment their cold-forged spears touched it.
The dungeon that once posed lethal danger had become a daily grind spot. Only on days when they revisited lower-level dungeons to complete monster collections—or when the weekly bosses spawned— the trio skipped their Volcano Lair routine.
And in this rhythm, they grew stronger than ever.