After being greeted by the young man, Bai Tian walked straight to the counter, dismissing the glinting weapons and gleaming armor lining the shelves beside him.
"Hello, can you help me out with this?" He retrieved the letter of recommendation he received from Jason and placed it on the counter.
The young man looked at the letter with raised eyebrows. After staring at it for a good second, he picked it up and unsealed it with a small silver knife.
"Oh, this is meant for Master Vulcan. Unfortunately, he's a little busy at this moment. Can you wait a bit? He should be finishing up with his business by now."
"I understand."
Bai Tian turned to look at the equipment on the shelves. Since he had spare time, he might as well look around.
When he focused on one of the equipment, a piece of silver armor, a window with its information would pop up above it.
[Silver Platebody]
[Grade: Uncommon]
[Durability: 100/100]
[Physical Defense: 40]
[Description: Crafted by an Apprentice Blacksmith using Common Silver.]
He shifted his glance to the silver shoes beside it.
[Silver Boots]
[Grade: Uncommon]
[Durability: 100/100]
[Physical Defense: 15]
[Description: Crafted by an Apprentice Blacksmith using Common Silver.]
After inspecting several more items, all crafted by an Apprentice Blacksmith, Bai Tian turned to look at the counter, where a bulky man just walked out of the large metal door in the back.
This man had a short stature with a stocky and bulky build. He was wearing a black bandana just like the young man, but it covered his entire head and even his eyebrows.
"Robin, what the heck do you want?" The bulky man said in an annoyed tone.
"Ah, Master Vulcan. Here, this is for you. It came with that customer over there." Robin said while his eyes were pointed at Bai Tian.
Master Vulcan glanced at Bai Tian with a cold gaze before snatching the letter out of Robin's grasp.
"Hmph." Master Vulcan sneered in a displeased manner a moment after reading the letter, before crumbling it up and tossing it behind him like trash.
He turned to look at Bai Tian again and said, "Take whatever you want from this room and quickly scramble out of here. It'll be free of charge, and you are limited to one."
Bai Tian swept the store with a nonchalant expression on his face, and without saying anything, he approached a medium-size sword that was hanging on the wall.
[Silver Sword]
[Grade: Uncommon]
[Durability: 100/100]
[Weapon attack: 45]
[Description: Crafted by an Apprentice Blacksmith using Common Silver.]
"Do you mind if I give it a feel first?" He looked at Master Vulcan and waited for an answer.
"Do as you please, but if you break it, you won't get another one."
"If a sword breaks that easily, it shouldn't be called one," he showed a slight smile as he grabbed the sword handle.
The moment Bai Tian and the sword physically connected, the atmosphere around him changed.
Master Vulcan's keen observation skills did not fail to notice this phenomenon, and his eyes narrowed with a mix of curiosity and interest.
As soon as Bai Tian had some space in front of him, with a graceful fluidity that spoke of years of dedicated practice, he began moving the sword through the air with a profound and captivating elegance. Every motion was imbued with a sense of purpose and precision, as if he were engaged in a meaningful conversation with the blade that was trembling in excitement.
The way he wielded the sword was as if it were an extension of his own body, and the way he moved was almost like a dance, with a rhythm and flow that was both powerful and elegant.
The two watching from behind the counter were transfixed by the profound display of skill and mastery before them. In other words, they were completely speechless.
Bai Tian's sword dance eventually came to an end.
"This sword is… good enough. I will take it." He said with a somewhat satisfied look on his face.
He faced Master Vulcan and bowed with his hands clasped, "Thank you for this gift. I will treasure it."
Just as Bai Tian turned around and prepared to leave the store, Master Vulcan shouted in a hasty voice, "Wait a minute!"
Bai Tian quickly stopped walking and turned around to see what else he wanted.
"That sword won't do." Master Vulcan muttered in a voice that was barely audible at first.
"Excuse me?" Bai Tian raised an eyebrow.
"That sword won't do!" He repeated, this time in a booming voice.
"Are you saying that I cannot have this sword?"
"That's exactly what I am saying." Master Vulcan spoke as he passed through the counter and approached Bai Tian.
And he continued, "Don't misunderstand. I simply cannot let a Swordsman of your caliber wield such a boring sword– my ethics won't allow it."
"B-Boring…" Robin suddenly became dejected for some reason.
Master Vulcan grabbed Bai Tian's hand and stared at it intently, "Your hands are a work of art, almost as if it was created with the sole purpose of wielding a sword, and as such, it would only make sense for you to wield a weapon of the same quality."
"Perhaps it was fate that brought you to this place– to me…"
After a moment of silence, Master Vulcan said in a resolute voice, "Alright, I have decided– I am going to craft you a weapon myself."
"Really?" Bai Tian was pleasantly surprised after hearing such words.
He didn't know the extent of Master Vulcan's skills, but he was certain that it was better than the Apprentice Blacksmith that crafted his current sword.
"Yes, but due to your lack of level, I can only craft you a low-level sword. Don't worry, even a low-level sword from me will be stronger than any mid-level sword you can find in this city." Master Vulcan spoke in a boastful manner.
Not minding that it would only be a low-level weapon, Bai Tian nodded. After all, he never expected to acquire anything too powerful so early in this game's lifespan, especially when he is still in the starting city.
"I also won't charge you any money for this service, as this is a passion project. However, I will need you to collect some materials for me. All of these materials can be easily found on the outskirts of the city, so you don't need to worry about venturing too far."
'Oh? Is this a quest?' Bai Tian wondered inwardly.
"I know this is a lot, but I will need 10 Green Slime Cores. What do you say?" Master Vulcan asked.
Ding!
"I accept." Bai Tian accepted his first quest without hesitation.
"Oh, can I borrow this sword to gather the materials? My other weapon is on the verge of breaking." He showed off his Wooden Sword.
"What? You used this piece of trash as a weapon? Unbelievable!" Master Vulcan had a repulsive expression on his face, even feeling a little offended for some reason.
"Whatever, you can borrow it for as long as you like, since you will throw it in the trash once you wield my weapon."
And he continued, "Oh, right. I will only be staying in this city for another thirty days, so you need to finish collecting the materials before then, or I won't be able to craft you the sword."
"Thirty days? That is more than enough time to kill a few slimes." Bai Tian said, unaware of his own ignorance.
"A few slimes?" Master Vulcan looked stupefied at first before laughing out loud, "Good luck– you'll need it."
"Thank you." Bai Tian left the store and made his way to the city's outskirts.
Meanwhile, Robin asked Master Vulcan, "Why didn't you tell him about the Green Slime Core's insanely low drop rate? Hell, even getting one from a hundred slimes would be considered great fortune."
Master Vulcan shrugged, "Why ruin the fun?"
Sometime later, Bai Tian arrived at the city's northern edge, where an imposing, 30-meter-tall metallic wall stood majestically.
There was also an open gate located at the wall, where four guards were inspecting every individual that sought to enter the city.
The moment Bai Tian walked out of the city and into the open field, he could immediately see over a hundred people currently fighting what are obviously Green Slimes, and they were only about 200 meters away from the city walls itself.
After walking two hundred meters towards the field of Green Slimes, Bai Tian halted when he noticed a spherical entity hopping in his direction.
When he focused his gaze on it, a window popped up.
[Green Slime] [Level: 3]
He retrieved the Silver Sword from his inventory and waited for the Green Slime to move close enough.
"Let's see how this works…" He mumbled to himself with a calm smile on his face.
Once the Green Slime was only three meters away, its movements halted for a second before it sprung itself at Bai Tian's face.
Bai Tian wasn't surprised in the slightest by the slime's sudden attack and gracefully dodged it with perfection.
As he dodged the slime, he also swung his sword at it, precisely cleaving through its liquid-like body that felt like he was slicing tofu.
[47]
A number appeared on top of the Green Slime after it was struck.
'That must be the damage it took from my strike just now.' Bai Tian thought to himself.
And before the Green Slime could even land on the ground, he swung his sword again.
[49]
When the Green Slime landed on the ground, its body flattened, looking like someone had spilled green juice.
[Green Slime Substance]
[Grade: Common]
[Description: A slimy substance left behind by Green Slimes.]
[Green Slime Core]
[Grade: Rare]
[Description: Rarely dropped by Green Slimes.]
"One down, nine to go." Bai Tian picked up the marble-shaped slime core and tossed it into his inventory, thinking nothing of it.
He also picked up the slime substance since he still had plenty of room left in his inventory.
After that, he went to hunt more Green Slimes.
Several minutes later.
Bai Tian received his second Green Slime Core after defeating his third Green Slime. He also decided to only use normal attacks against these slimes, as it felt like a waste to use his skills on such weak monsters.
"As expected of a quest meant for newbies. This is too easy." He mumbled, unaware of his insane luck with the drop rates.
After defeating his seventh Green Slime, all defeated with just two strikes, Bai Tian received his third Green Slime Core, even gaining a level.
[SP: Used to increase your character's base stats]
Bai Tian decided to stop hunting for a moment to distribute his SP.
After opening his character status, Bai Tian began pondering.
'Since Spirit is basically spiritual energy, then it would only make sense to prioritize this stat as a Cultivator.'
Without hesitation, Bai Tian used 3 SP to increase his Spirit. Then, he increased his Strength and Agility by one point.
In his mind, Endurance and Resistance could be neglected as long as he doesn't get hit at all, and if he really needed them, he could rely on his equipment.
After distributing his SP, Bai Tian returned to hunting Green Slimes.