"And so..."
"I guess you ran into the Red Tide Corpse Queen and a bunch of her subordinates while collecting herbs, and then, you killed them all?"
At the North of Pumpkin Field, Dorothy placed her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows slightly.
Roger smiled, directing the two guards of the garrison to carry his spoils home. He then explained, "I just want to test my strength."
Dorothy snorted noncommittally.
But she didn't insist on this topic.
"I had known for a long time that you are strong, but I still didn't expect that you could kill these monsters by yourself."
"This is really surprising."
"But it's good, this way we will have more certainty in defeating the Corpse Demon."
Roger nodded gently. "Then, I'll leave you with the recruitment order and the paperwork with the Lord's Mansion."
"I still have other things to do..."
The girl became alert immediately. "Are you intending to push me away again, and then go off to deal with the Corpse Demon alone?"
Roger laughed and said, "I'm not so big-headed."
"When you are done with the paperwork with the Lord's Mansion, you can go to Miller's to find me; if I am not with him, then I'll most probably be at Amuel's grocery store, or in my home."
"Furthermore, the assault against the Corpse Demon is not an overnight feat, is it?"
Dorothy hesitated as she stood on tiptoe. She wanted to say something, but Roger left directly after speaking, giving her no chance to continue pestering him.
"What a rude person!"
Dorothy was slightly annoyed.
Until Roger's back completely disappeared out of sight, the blond girl dressed as a cook beside her asked enthusiastically, "Dorothy, aren't you curious?"
"Curious about what?" Dorothy asked back.
"Roger! From my impression, he seems to be an incompetent adventurer, he used to hide every time the Lord's Mansion headed out to slaughter monsters! How has he become so powerful now?"
The blond girl grabbed at her black and white skirt, and analyzed seriously, "Do you think it's possible that someone else had killed the Red Tide Corpse Queen, and then Roger happened to pick it up?"
"Or, maybe he made a deal with the devils in exchange for strong power?"
Dorothy gently squeezed the tender pinkish face of the cook. "What are you thinking, Telia?"
"I never doubted Roger's strength."
"Kane once said this to me--"
She paused, seeming to be reflecting on details, and then continued, "He said, 'You can't just look at the appearance when looking at people. In particular, don't take others' low-key as cowardice.'"
"He was referring to Roger while saying this."
The little cook revealed a look of sudden realization. "Is that so?"
"Oh, I always thought he was just a weirdo who has an unusual addiction to frogs!"
Seeing her silly look, Dorothy couldn't help but pinch Telia's face with both hands. "You are the weirdo!"
"You are the lord's daughter, so why are you dressed like a cook?"
"It hurts, it hurts..." Shimmering tears appeared in Telia's eyes. "I just want to learn to cook."
"After all, I'm getting married soon..."
Dorothy was taken aback for a moment, then she felt a little down. "You're right."
"Gem City is so far away!"
...
Crossing the cobblestone path, Roger came to the cross street at the center of Tongma Town.
Most of the stores facing the street on both sides had a long history.
One of the stores had a narrow storefront and was dimly lit. A wooden sign carved with a hammer and sword pattern was hung on the outside.
Before Roger walked in, a blast of hot wind plunged onto him.
Within the store, the smell of phoenix tree oil and metals were mixed together, and the sounds of clanging and bonging were nonstop.
Two apprentices were pulling the bellows with all their might.
A sturdy but elegant half-elf man was wielding a huge hammer, hammering incessantly on a sharp blade.
Roger did not say a word but waited quietly from the side.
After half an hour, the half-elf man put down his work and waved at the two apprentices to allow them to rest.
The apprentices walked away in relief as if they had been given an amnesty.
"I've guessed that you will be coming today."
The half-elf wiped the sweat from his face gracefully.
"At least three people came here to tell me that you killed the Red Tide Corpse Queen in the morning."
"What a big fuss they are making."
"As an adventurer with a profession heritage, what's so strange about killing an elite monster that hasn't yet reached the 2nd Circle?"
Roger chuckled. "You have prepared everything that I wanted, right?"
"Of course." The half-elf man dropped his towel into the basin. "Come with me, they're in the warehouse."
After that, he took Roger to the back room.
This guy was called Miller, the best blacksmith in Tongma Town.
In the beginning, it was difficult for Roger to associate a tall, elegant half-elf with the concept of "Master Blacksmith".
But after witnessing the entire process while Miller was crafting an unusual weapon, Roger immediately realized that this guy was the one he was looking for!
The profession Hermit Ranger had its own type of specialty weapon!
In Hermit Ranger's profession model, different stages of growth correspond to weapons of different qualities.
And Roger had the blueprint of all these weapons.
The only things he needed to consider were how he could gather the materials needed to build these weapons, and whether the blacksmiths of this world could meet the harsh standards for crafting these Hermit Ranger weapons.
Not to mention the materials, which cost him almost half of his savings in the past ten years.
As for the selection of candidate blacksmiths, Roger visited Miller with the blueprint with the mentality of trying his luck.
Fortunately, Miller was different from ordinary blacksmiths, and he had been passionate about forging all kinds of strange weapons for years, so he had rich experience in this area.
As soon as he saw the drawing, Miller froze in his path.
He firmly believed that Roger was an adventurer with an inherited profession, unlike most adventurers who came from the northern plateau.
For this reason, he was not only willing to build the Hermit Ranger specialty weapons for Roger for free but also gave discounts every time Roger's weapons were sent for maintenance.
Due to this kind of contact, the two became close friends.
Two months ago, Miller had informed Roger that the new weapon was almost finished.
But Roger never went to collect it.
This was also part of [accumulating energy].
A good weapon should be reserved for strong monsters.
He wanted to leave the first kill of this new weapon to the monster that had troubled Tongma Town for a long time.
The Corpse Demon.
...
In a dry warehouse.
Clink Clang Klonk!
Miller took out three boxes, and after opening them, the straws within scattered out, revealing what was hidden among them.
They were three weapons that correspond to the three weapon specializations of [Hermit Ranger].
Every specialty weapon corresponded to a set of Hermit Ranger specialty skills.
Roger stroked each weapon lightly, and the Qi Divination Technique quietly activated——
...
[Red Moon (Saber)]
[Rating: S+]
[Sharpness 9, Hardness 6, Weight 5, Balance 7]
[Special Skill: Slashing Eye]
[Slashing Eye: Speed of energy and stamina drainage doubles, attaching a layer of saber intent onto the blade, greatly enhancing the power of each move, and come with defense penetration effect.]
[Restriction: Once a day]
...
Except for this Red Moon Saber with a slender blade and thin edge, the other two Hermit Ranger special weapons are [Green Beetle (Sword)] and [Violet Wind (Bow)].
...