Serena watched with rapt attention while her brother worked. She was amazed to notice the dagger taking form bit by bit.
Sparks sprayed, falling on the perfectly smooth stone floor. Serena would flinch from time to time feeling the heat hitting the back of her hand.
Soon Liam heated the iron again. He used different tools to cut off some of the material before continuing to hammer with precise strokes.
A short while later a hot, glowing dagger was lying on the anvil.
Steam rose with a loud hiss when Liam doused it in a cauldron of cold water.
Now as a last step Liam sat down on a large whetstone. Different colors indicated the quality of the dagger's edge. Liam worked carefully to guarantee a perfect sharpness.
It didn't take long for the dagger to be completed. A notification popped up, asking the veteran if the weapon was ready for evaluation.
There was still a lot one could add to the weapon. Imbuing it with magic, beautifying it, or coating it with various substances. But for now, Liam was satisfied with the most basic configuration. Most of the other processes couldn't be done in this novice smithy anyways.
[Produced: Basic Iron Dagger
Quality: 4 Stars
Bonus: 0 Stars
Reward: 8 EXP; 9 EXP for profession blacksmith]
Serena's eyes lit up looking at the ordinary but sharp dagger Liam twirled between his fingers:
"You did it! It looks so good. Just like the ones sold by the smith grandpa."
"Haha, don't let him hear this."
"Now it's my turn!"
"Go for it."
Liam retrieved a piece of iron, handing it over to his sister.
Copying her brother's earlier actions the young girl held the material into the furnace.
Twenty seconds quickly passed. She put the iron on the anvil, readying the heavy hammer.
Serena felt the strain. Without the stats in the game, it would be difficult for her to build up enough force to deform the iron.
But she gritted her teeth, drawing strength from the joy of creating something.
Soon, a dagger had been formed. Serena wiped the sweat from her hand, looking somewhat unhappily at the crude weapon.
But even when she tried to correct something, she only made it worse. Thus, Serena could only accept it and move on.
After spending a few minutes using the whetstone, the result was revealed.
[Produced: Basic Iron Dagger
Quality: 2 Stars
Bonus: 0 Stars
Reward: 6 EXP; 5 EXP for profession blacksmith]
Serena pouted her lips.
"It's a failure."
"Don't be discouraged. You did really well for the first time!"
Liam patted his sister's head. His words were meant to cheer her up, but it wasn't a lie. However, Serena looked at him skeptically:
"But you were much better."
"Of…"
Liam wanted to say something but quickly held himself back as he understood the meaning of Serena's words. He smiled wryly, changing his words:
"You're right. But this isn't my first time."
"It's not?"
"No, no. I trained before."
"Oh…"
Serena's look softened. She gazed at her dagger, not finding it as ugly anymore.
"Then I need to train too. I want to become as good as you!"
"I'm sure you will become even better!"
"You're right."
Serena giggled mischievously. Looking at Liam's baffled expression she couldn't help but break out into laughter.
Afterwards the siblings stayed in the smithy together, crafting daggers. After a while they even tried to create their own weapons.
However, without instructions those turned out in all kinds of weird shapes.
When Serena produced a sword crooked like a snake, the siblings' laughter even startled a few elven players walking by the smithy.
After a few hours Serena had an exhausted face, but her eyes were bright. Just as she was about to hold another iron bar into the furnace, a commotion suddenly broke out in the global chat.
"A world boss appeared! Everyone! Come, come, come!"
"What? Where?"
"A world boss? What level? Can we beat it?"
"Don't spout baseless rumors here, we demand proof!"
"What proof?! Either you come or you don't, why would I care?"
The global chat was filled with fierce discussions in seconds. Serena didn't quite understand the significance of a world boss, looking at Liam for answers.
But her brother was strangely stunned. Chaotic thoughts whirled in Liam's mind. He couldn't calm down.
Reading the global chat Liam's thoughts were in disarray. Simply because… there should be no world boss in this stage of the game!
A mix of emotions hit Liam. He was anxious, confused, even nervous. But soon excitement broke the barrier in his mind.
He recalled the days when the game was still new and full of secrets to explore. When nothing had been figured out yet.
Liam's expression slowly brightened, turning expectant.
Seeing this change, Serena understood that her brother was eager to go. She tapped Liam's shoulder, which finally brought him out of his stupor.
"Oh sorry, Serena. I was distracted."
"It's alright. Don't worry about me. Go beat up that world boss!"
"No… no. I promised to play with you today."
"I'm already happy to spend time with you. I also understand that this game is like your work. How can you miss such a big event?"
Liam felt his heart throb looking in Serena's clear eyes which showed maturity and understanding. He couldn't help but take a step forward and hug his little sister.
"I will make up for it."
"Don't say that. Aren't you already doing your best?"
Liam let go of Serena. The siblings exchanged gentle smiles before Liam waved goodbye and left the smithy.
Only after her brother left did Serena's smile fade. She absentmindedly played with the dagger in her hand, dreaming of a life free of responsibilities and struggle.
Liam was unsure how to feel at the moment. On one hand he was excited about facing an unknown world boss. On the other he was indignant as he didn't have much of a choice.
Thus, he only dropped one sentence in the party chat before ignoring it.
However, his mind quickly cleared up as he traveled through the sky on the royal hawk. A desirable free and easy feeling filled his heart.
It didn't take long for Liam to arrive back at Luphenour City. He was surprised for a moment seeing the many busy players.
However, it was only logical. Over the last few days, a large wave of players finally reached level 10. Not only through clearing the first dungeons but also through pure leveling and quests.
Now, the large cities gradually began to fill up. Although holy elves made up the largest part of the player population in Luphenour, some other races could also be seen.
A few stout dwarfs, glorious godspawn, and serene wood elves roamed the streets.
In all the excitement Liam didn't draw attention.
Or so he thought.
A shaking voice filled with obvious admiration suddenly spoke behind his back:
"You are Bleary Mirage! Wow! I never expected to find you here!"
Liam was startled, turning his head and looking over his shoulder. He found a male dwarf with braided grey hair and a prominent beard inlaid with wooden pearls following his every step.
The man's surprisingly youthful face was at the height of Liam's chest, forcing him to look upwards. The name displayed above his head was Braag the Virtuous.
"Nice to meet you, but I'm in a hurry. Sorry."
"Don't worry. I'll follow you."
"No thank you."
Liam smiled apologetically, turned around, and continued towards the teleportation platform.
But a few steps later he stopped, his brow twitching.
"Please, could you leave?"
"No. If I leave who knows when I might find you again."
"Why would you want to find me?", questioned Liam with an exasperated expression.
"I want to learn from you!"
"Sorry, but I'm not in the mood to teach. Maybe Fortune will upload something someday."
"But I don't think I could learn much from that. I want to observe you."
"Don't worry you'll learn a lot from videos. Goodbye."
With those words Liam swayed his body. Before Braag could react, he disappeared into the crowd. But the determination in the dwarf's heart didn't diminish.
[Braag the Virtuous wants to be your friend.]
Liam declined with a sigh before stepping into the teleporter.
With a flash of light, he appeared in another city. It was a human city called Brobrity but the number of players present drowned out any inhabitants.
Only the fierce soldiers, which were obviously highly alarmed, could be made out. Most of them were positioned on the massive city wall, worry apparent on their faces.
The city was located in the south of the central plains and was the capital of the Southern Light Kingdom. They had the unfavorable fate of bordering the vast southern wasteland, which had been occupied by the forces of hell.
Therefore, Brobrity followed an obviously militaristic style. The houses weren't fancy and many blacksmiths and workshops for war supplies existed.
However, despite all this the city was surprisingly tense at the moment. It was obvious that Brobrity, located in the north of the kingdom, wasn't used to trouble knocking on its doorsteps.