*In the middle of the night, when everyone from Lizhi Village was already fast asleep.
With only a cloth as the Lizhi Village group used the other cloth, Elio seemed to still be not asleep. He looked up at the ceiling of his house in reflection, trying to recall the village chief's explanation.
"This forest, called the Black Forest, is one of the most dangerous forests because there are many monsters in this forest. Of course, this forest is taboo and forbidden in Lizhi Village. For generations, villagers have been forbidden to enter this forest.
"This forest is divided into 3 parts. Outer, Inner, and Core were the closer to the Core of the forest, the more high-level monsters there would be. I think this house is still in the Outer part because earlier, we only met monsters with levels around level 50." Said the village chief explaining to Elio.
"Apart from being one of the most dangerous forests, this forest is also one of the largest. I don't know the details, but this forest covers up to 3 border areas of a country. The three country borders are Aragon Empire, Turias Kingdom, and Norman Kingdom." The village chief added.
"Then, which country does Lizhi Village belong to?" Elio asked the village chief.
"Lizhi Village belongs to the Norman Kingdom." The village chief answered Elio's question. "I think the forest around here is also still within the territory of the Norman Kingdom."
After that, Elio returned to his senses because he had just remembered something.
"Oh right, now I can check the system feature that just opened." Elio then opened his system. "System window open."
[System Window]
[System Level: 0]
[Host: Elio Vukan]
[Age: 15]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 140]
[Title: Craftsman]
[Skills: One Heart Flame, Swordsmanship, Hand-to-hand Method]
[Item: Ring of Aura Concealment, Renunciation Blade]
[System Point: 99]
"Heyy, system, what does this Title column mean?" Elio asked his system. "Does that mean I'm a Craftsman now?"
[Yes, you are right, Host. As the name implies, you are now a Craftsman]
"Then what does this feature do? Am I now able to create accessories according to my own preferences?" Elio asked his system again. "Isn't there an Item Mall feature in the system itself?"
[Creating magic accessories with your own preferences is possible]
[But Host, that's not the critical point]
[In addition to creating a magic accessory, a Craftsman is also able to repair it if the magic accessory has been damaged]
[In this case, you, Host, since you have obtained the Craftsman Title then you can also see the durability of a magic accessory if you look at it with the system]
"Hhhmm... so that's it." Elio immediately glanced at his finger where there was the Ring of Aura Concealment.
[Name: Ring of Aura Concealment]
[Level: 150]
[Accessory Class: Ring]
[Accesory Type: Magic Item]
[Special Ability: Aura Concealment]
[Durability: 80/100]
"Oh, this durability is what you mean, system? Then what if the durability hits 0/100?" Elio asked back to his system.
[Then the accessory will be damaged and cannot be used again before being repaired by a Craftsman]
"Okay, since the durability of this ring has decreased, I will probably repair it. The system, how can I repair this ring?"
[Host, you can just press the durability text in front of you, it will show the repair cost]
"Huh, cost?" Elio was a little surprised. "Heyy, system, I thought it would be free?"
[Host, you're kidding me]
[Repairing a Magic Item takes resources, of course, it won't be free]
"Well, let's first see how much the repair costs." Elio pressed the durability text in his system window.
[Repairing Ring of Aura Concealment 80/100]
[Cost 50 system points]
[Yes/No?]
"What, just repairing that 20% durability cost 50 system points?" Elio was surprised to see the cost of repairing his ring.
"Well, forget it; arguing with this damn system is pointless." Elio sighed and submitted.
He finally pressed Yes on his system window screen. The durability of his ring returned to 100/100, and his system points were reduced by 50 points.
"Well, since the matter with the system is settled, I guess I'll sleep too." Elio then closed his eyes, and soon he was fast asleep.
***
*In another place in the Black Forest at the same time.
"Eat.. just eat.. my precious monster pet." A young man dressed all in black and wearing a hood shouted excitedly at the monster in front of him.
The monster in front of him seemed to be eating many other monster corpses scattered around. It appeared that this young man was feeding that monster.
Next to this young man was a slightly tall figure who was wearing all-black clothes and a hood on his head.
"Is everything ready?" The young man asked this tall figure.
"Yes, everything is ready, Young Master." The tall figure replied.
"Good, prepare yourself; tomorrow, a festival will be waiting for us." The young man looked happy by showing a grinning smile at the monster before him.
***
*The next morning
Elio and the group from Lizhi Village had arrived near the forest exit.
"Alright, I think this should be enough." Elio immediately stopped at the distance of a step toward the forest's exit.
"Uh, Mr. Elio, didn't you agree to help yesterday?" Avlis, the village chief, looked confused at Elio's sudden stop.
"Today, I have other things to do," Elio explained. "But don't worry, you won't come back empty-handed."
"Mr. Reeve, you are a dagger user, aren't you?" Elio turned his gaze towards Reeve and asked him.
"Yep, that's right, Mr. Elio," Reeve responded to answer Elio's question. "If I may know, what is it?"
"System help me to choose the most suitable dagger for Mr. Reeve." This time, Elio permitted the system to select weapons more freely.
[Host, I recommend you choose the Snow Tiger Fang Dagger]
[As the name implies, this Dagger is made from the fangs of the Snow Tiger, which originates from the frozen land and has the power of the ice element in it]
"Alright, I'll go with that." Elio immediately made his choice and then summoned the dagger.
The dagger appeared in Elio's hand. That dagger is curved and serrated, resembling the tooth that gave it shape. It glows with a faint blue light and emits a chill that can freeze its enemies' blood. The hilt is wrapped in white fur, providing a comfortable grip and a touch of elegance.
Elio then gave the dagger to Reeve. Reeve, who received the dagger, then tried to check and inspect that thing.
"Mr. Elio you... Are you also a Blacksmith?" Reeve was surprised after he checked the dagger given by Elio.
"Uh... Blacksmith?" Elio, who was hearing the word for the first time, was confused by Reeve's words.
Avlis, the village chief standing beside Reeve, also noticed the dagger.
"Well, after being surprised several times by your abilities, I guess something like you being a Blacksmith won't surprise me anymore, Mr. Elio." Said Avlis, the village chief
"Even if you claim you are a god, that wouldn't surprise me either." Said Avlis, the village chief adding.
"Well, briefly, a Blacksmith is just like a Craftsman," Avlis explained a little to Elio. "But the product they make is a weapon."
"See that pommel?" Avlis pointed at the hilt of the dagger. "A Blacksmith will usually leave a mark on the weapon he makes to signify that the weapon is his creation."
"And this dagger has a mark like this." Avlis brought the hilt of the dagger closer to Elio.
"Hhmm... a letter V." Elio seemed to be thinking about something. "Ah yes, that is my last name because I rarely use it, so I kind of forgot."
"Ah, you have a last name, Mr. Elio?" Avlis asked Elio.
"Yes, I do, Mr. Village Chief; what's wrong with it?" Out of curiosity, Elio asked the village chief.
"Well, because it's rare for ordinary people to have a last name." Avlis, the village chief, explained to Elio.
" Alright then, since Mr. Elio seems to have other business, we all want to say goodbye first." Avlis, the village chief on behalf of the Lizhi Village group, said goodbye to Elio.
They then left the Black Forest and soon disappeared into the distance.