Chapter 64 { I’m a Blacksmith! }

  Work continued until midnight. Rose was completely drained, and almost a quarter of Ian’s items had been sold here—a huge haul.

  12,000 Energy Stones.

  With this, I’ll take the next step and build the flying defense tower, Ian thought of something from the reputation shop and smile.

  "Sir," Rose said weakly, she worked so hard today” Did you prepare the food?"

  "No need, just make some tea—for me and my guest!" Ian said as he entered the side room.

  Guest!!

  Rose didn’t understand but obeyed. The tea was prepared and poured, and soon a man in his fifties arrived. His aura alone lit up the entire shop, and the moment Rose saw him, she paled and trembled.

  The… Ge… General!!!!

  Rose froze in place. This was one of the city’s three generals and one of the top ten most influential and powerful individuals in the entire city, even surpassing the other two generals.

  General Kyos.

  "Greetings, General. Glory to the Forgotten City," Rose said, her body shaking.

  "Where is your master?" General Kyos asked—a man in his fifties, face marked by battles, eyes like stone, a triangular face with a small white beard.

  "He is inside, sir," Rose replied fearfully.

  General Kyos entered and sat with Ian.

  Ian didn’t stand or bow. He simply served him tea gently.

  Kyos accepted it and drank calmly. "I fulfilled my part of the deal. Where’s your side?" he said forcefully, without beating around the bush.

  He deliberately kept his aura hidden, but he was a man born on the battlefield, tainted by its foul blood, so unconsciously his aura radiated.

  Noble / Level 4.

  A level of strength capable of shaking mountains themselves.

  "Here," Ian brought out a common sword and handed it to General Kyos.

  Kyos inspected it and brought it close to his skin, then cut.

  Normally, weapons of this level could not scratch him—and that was the case here—but Kyos felt pain, and at the same time saw something astonishing. He saw a wound forming and growing.

  His eyes turned golden, a powerful skill activated, and then he saw what was in his hands.

  Tiny skeletons, almost the size of atoms, with small bodies and large heads, devouring his finger where the sword had cut, enlarging the wound gradually until it became visible to the naked eye.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  "It’s truly the Death Curse. "This sword is from the World of Death, a weapon forged with the Aura of Death and its powerful curse. Its use is simple—devouring life energy.

  Every form of life—whether flesh and blood, mineral and stone, or even water—is fundamentally life energy, and the Death Curse is its deadliest enemy because it consumes it relentlessly.

  "How many of these do you have?" asked General Kyos.

  "As many as you can carry," Ian smiled.

  "And where’s the discount? I sent all the nobles and city merchants to buy from you."

  Ian smiled wider. "Sir General, this is normal. I wouldn’t have sold this to you if you hadn’t helped me. The deal was to sell it as is, not for a discount! So I hope you grant me some real benefits here without using your authority."

  "Fine, I trust you don’t want Energy Stones, but something rare, like your weapons," said the general.

  "Of course," Ian replied, a hint of anticipation in his voice.

  "Good, take this." The general took out a fruit and placed it on the table.

  Ian examined it, astonished. "You must know it," the general smiled. "What do you think? One of my elements for one of yours."

  Ian felt a surge of happiness. "But this isn’t the original element."

  "Original?" Kyos scoffed. "Do you know what ‘original’ means? The Dao Tree is legendary—hasn’t appeared for a million years. Every true fruit, drop of dew, green leaf, or even branch is a treasure that kingdoms would fight over, and you want it in exchange for a few weapons? Forget it. Even this entire city isn’t qualified to touch the tree, let alone see it or possess anything from it."

  - Dao Tree Fruit (Artificial)

  - Special Item

  - Description: A fruit from the Dao Tree (artificial).

  Eating it allows the mastery of skills to advance to the next stage and destroys the bottleneck across all major levels.

  (Of course, the higher the level, the more fruits are needed.)

  "The original tree’s fruits can elevate all mastery, create new skills, forge a personal Dao, plant seeds, build pillars, increase talent, and prolong life!" Kyos spoke with awe and excitement about this legend. "But… it’s still a legend."

  "Doesn’t having this fruit mean that the legendary tree actually exists, and isn’t just a story or a myth?"

  "I don’t know, and I don’t care. All that matters to me is what I possess.

  So, what do you say—are you agreeing?" General Kyos asked.

  Ian paused for a moment. "How about you sell me the tree itself?"

  Kyos looked at him for a moment with a scoff. "The greed of merchants knows no bounds. This tree is the foundation of the city; how could I possibly sell it? Honestly, even the city’s founder, Sir Arthur, wouldn’t dare sell it—it would destroy the city."

  "Because of the Light," Ian guessed.

  Kyos nodded. It was general knowledge anyway. "Yes, because of the Light. As you know, we use it to produce some Light trainees so we can fight the demons, but it’s difficult, and we only have a handful of Light trainees. The price of obtaining each of them is extremely high, not to mention knights like me or Sir Arthur himself."

  "A fake Light Knight!" Ian exclaimed, surprising Kyos.

  "How do you know that?"

  "Obviously. If you possessed the Light properties in their pure form, you’d withstand the Death Curse," Ian said, recalling Yassin’s words.

  "You’re right. Only Sir Arthur is a true Light Knight. But what can we do! Our talents are insufficient. Well, let’s return to the matter at hand—what have you decided?"

  Ian agreed, "I’ll agree, but I have two conditions."

  "And what are they?" Kyos asked.

  "First, I want a branch from the Dao Tree, and second, I want to see it."

  Kyos was silent for a moment. "Fine. A reasonable request. Tomorrow, someone will come to escort you, and I’ll be waiting for you there."

  Ian nodded and produced a large pile of items.

  Kyos also took out a batch of Dao Tree fruits from his ring, and the exchange was made.

  After Kyos left, Ian called for Rose.

  "Sir, what is your order?" she asked, her face sleepy.

  Seeing her drowsiness, Ian laughed. "Bring me some water—more the better—and then go rest."

  The girl nodded, and when she returned with the water, she nearly dropped it. "Sir… this… this… you!!"

  Ian laughed and tapped the metal. "Yes… I am a blacksmith."

  The quiet room instantly transformed into a forging workshop. Ian brought out large quantities of yellow and red iron, along with a huge amount of metals dropped by monsters.

  The Titan soldiers were using Death weapons now, and there was a massive stock of other weapons and metals from mines and monsters. How could he let them rot? Especially now, with the market so large, how could he not make use of all of it?

  It was time for Ian to gain endless resources for his village and take it one step further forward.