Chương 47: Refining the Silver Fire Seed

Afterward, Ryan made a trip to the blacksmith's.

"Boss, how much for a decent forge?" he asked the stubble-jawed, sinewy man swinging his hammer in a ceaseless clang of iron.

"Honored Mystic Spirit Envoy, what grade of forge are you after?" The man paused, wiped the sweat from his brow, and looked over.

"Silver will do." A forge's grade set the ceiling on the gear it could craft—generally one grade above the forge itself. So a Silver forge was enough for Ryan to craft gear up to Gold. For now, that sufficed. Besides, this was a tier-three main city; a higher-grade forge was unlikely to appear here.

"You've come to the right place! We've just one Silver forge left to sell!" the man said.

"Tell you what—if you're buying, I'll give you a discount. A thousand gold and it's yours!" A thousand gold? Pricey. But it mattered to Ryan, and when it was worth spending, he didn't pinch. He just didn't have that much gold on him at the moment, so he went back to the shop and found Jade, who managed it.

"Jade, how's business today?"

"Business is wonderful!" Jade beamed.

"Your dungeon clears drew loads of adventurers to buy gear, Boss. So far our revenue's already topped ten thousand gold!"

"Ten thousand gold?!" Ryan started.

"Yes! Ten thousand! And barring surprises, by the end of tonight we should take in twenty thousand!"

"Twenty thousand?!" His mouth twitched. Is everyone this rich now?

"I hear they're mostly adventurer-guild leaders—they all spend lavishly." Jade's face was wreathed in smiles. Running the shop for Ryan and turning a fine profit made her very happy.

"Wonderful!" Excited, Ryan couldn't help pulling Jade into a warm hug.

"Boss…" Jade flushed faintly.

"Sorry—got a little carried away." Ryan was a touch embarrassed. But there was no helping it; he hadn't expected his shop, barely open, to draw so many players—including big shots from other guilds crossing mountains and rivers by teleport array to snap up gear. Add Jade's deft management and fair pricing, and the shop had posted fine numbers from day one.

"Keep running it well!" Leaving the words behind, Ryan took a thousand gold from the shop, hurried back to the blacksmith's, bought the Silver forge for a thousand gold, and installed it in the shop's backyard. Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. A bright moon, sparse stars, a quiet, lovely night. Under cover of it, Ryan cleared his mind, stood before the forge, lit the fire, worked the bellows, and began refining a Bronze Fire Seed.

Breath held, mind still, he felt out the flame's leaping rhythm, hands quick and sharp, drawing the bellows again and again in concert with the fire. One, two, three… The motions flowed, steady and forceful in their alternation. Thirty-four! Thirty-five! Thirty-six!

Hmmm— On the thirty-sixth successful match of the flame's breathing rhythm, a ball of green flame formed in the forge; under his control it slowly condensed, drifted out, and settled on the worktable beside him as a green Fire Seed, crystal-clear as a glass bead and glowing with flame. System: [Ding! Bronze Fire Seed successfully refined!] Phew— He let out a long breath and checked the time, a satisfied look crossing his face. Twenty seconds!

Against the one minute it had taken under the System's acceleration before, his refining time per Bronze Fire Seed had dropped by a full two-thirds. With that, replenishing Sunward Town's drive-core no longer felt so impossibly distant. One million energy points needed a full ten thousand Bronze Fire Seeds—roughly fifty-six hours of work. If Ryan spent four or five hours each night refining, in under two weeks he'd gather the million energy needed to restore Sunward Town's core.

"With a Silver forge, it's time to try refining a Silver Fire Seed!" His gaze sharpened. The Firegold Set required Silver Fire Seeds as a material, so now was the perfect chance to see how long one took. A Bronze Fire Seed needed thirty-six flame-matches; a Silver Fire Seed needed a full forty-nine. And the more matches required, the more unpredictable the flame's breathing rhythm grew—no small challenge. Let's begin! His gaze sank, and he started on his first Silver Fire Seed. One, two, three…

Eyes, nose, and mind as one, he gave it his whole focus. Forty-three, forty-four, forty-five… Fine beads of sweat broke out on his brow. By now his mind was beginning to flag; one slip, and the refinement could fail at any moment. Forty-six! He gritted his teeth, sweat the size of beans dripping to the floor. Forty-seven! His hands had begun to tremble, but he held on through clenched teeth. Forty-eight! Agony. Torment. Pain.

In mind and body both, Ryan was near collapse; were it not for his iron will holding him up, he'd have slumped to the floor long ago. Hold on—just one more! Just one! Almost there! Veins bulged at his brow, sweat pouring, his whole body shaking violently. His eyes blazed, fixed on the dancing green flame—now slowly taking on a faint silver-white sheen. Now! Seizing the moment, Ryan poured his last shred of strength into drawing the bellows wide, then pushing it shut.

Hmmm— A strange ripple rose from the forge, and a look of profound relief finally crossed the face of the collapsed Ryan. A Fire Seed glowing silver-white settled slowly onto the forge—crystalline, a delicate silver-white flame dancing within. System: [Ding! You have successfully refined a Silver Fire Seed!] System: [Ding! Analyzing… please wait!] System: [Ding! Analysis complete! The 10x acceleration module has been installed! Use with confidence!]"What does that mean?" A flicker of confusion.

"Don't tell me refining Silver Fire Seeds enjoys the 10x acceleration now too?" System: [Correct!]"Then nothing could be better!" Ryan leaned against the wall to rest, a smile at his lips. A single Silver Fire Seed had cost him a full hour and a half; with 10x acceleration, he'd refine one in just ten minutes. Tremendous news.

"Now let's see what a Silver Fire Seed's stats are like." After a short rest, Ryan dragged himself up from the floor, his gaze falling on the Silver Fire Seed.