Sword Among Us

The level of a forgemaster determined their success rate when they wanted to increase a weapon’s echelon.

For example, beginner-level or middle-level forgers could not be known as forgemasters. At most, they could only be considered as ironsmiths, and they could only create normal equipment. They did not have the right to refine masterpieces. Only people who were high-level forgemasters could increase the echelon of a masterpiece!

However, normal weapons would also have a certain effect on the echelon.

If the materials used to create the weapons were not good, the failure rate to increase the echelon would grow higher than 80%. Hence, only masterpieces created by master-level ironsmiths could be used for refinement.

Only high-grade ironsmiths could refine weapons and make them reach the first echelon.

To increase the levels of their forgemasters but also not waste ingredients as well as lose a huge sum of money, sects could only use low-grade masterpieces to accumulate experience.

It was a publicly known process among forgemasters.

Mu Clan had attacked the market with a force as great as a thunderbolt! They did something that all merchants in the game found unbelievable, and they earned a large sum of money from that.

The remaining masterpieces and the ingredients in the clan storage were enough to push dozens of forgemasters into Skilled Level.

Once they managed to make a weapon reach the second echelon, they were considered to be real forgemasters!

Everyone knew that as long as an ironsmith managed to become a forgemaster, no matter what they refined, an additional 5% success rate would be added, thereby increasing their capital to refine weapons and armor. Whoever was lucky enough to reach that stage would be showered with love and attention by Mu Clan, and they would receive the right to refine high-grade masterpieces to the third echelon.

They could also use the resources that were reserved for the third echelon in the clan storage, such as the unakites that cost millions, obsidians, and Vajra Stones, which were all items required to make three-echelon weapons.

All forgemasters were filled with pride once they managed to create a three-echelon masterpiece, since that was the greatest glory for ironsmiths.

*****

Reaching the second echelon might not be something major, but having many ironsmiths challenge refinement in one go and spending nearly one hundred million taels of silver still made Thunderous Battle slightly nervous. Once he gave an order that his most outstanding men could obtain more resources and priority to them, he personally supervised the hot workshop.

Clang… clang!

Clang… clang!

The sounds of metal clashing against metal could be heard nonstop. Thirty or so forgemasters held different weapons and armor while holding red metal hammers to do their work with all their heart and soul.

Thunderous Battle’s eyes sparkled. While he walked, he paid attention to everyone’s level of progress.

In the beginning, everyone’s progress was the same, and no one was ahead of anyone else. However, as time passed, different results gradually showed.

Some people were fast, and some people were cautious.

Refinement was meticulous work, and the forgemasters were working on getting rid of impurities from a masterpiece while leaving it in perfect condition. At the same time, they fused higher-grade metal ores into them to increase the quality of those masterpieces.

But even if someone was fast, it did not mean that their abilities were great!

The five people who completed their refinement first saw their first-echelon weapons or armor shattering.

However, refinement was in itself a very dangerous gamble. The forgemasters needed patience and tolerance. With their newfound experience, those who failed recomposed themselves and brought out their second set of ingredients.

Thunderous Battle nodded in his heart.

Since they were capable of standing out from the large group of ironsmiths, it meant that they had potential and a great level of comprehension. On their second try, all of them became steadier and much calmer.

Even though the sounds of weapons and armor shattering often appeared in the workshop, the atmosphere inside was pretty good.

After half a day, with the success rate of 40%, the forgemasters destroyed more than one hundred and twenty first-echelon low-grade masterpieces in exchange for more than eighty second-echelon low-grade masterpieces.

Thunderous Battle could still accept this result.

However, what caught his attention was that not everyone’s results were the same among his people.

Some of them were better than the others.

There were a few people who had slightly inferior results. Their success rate was only around 30%. The overall results had been dragged up by someone who had a slightly higher success rate than the others.

That person had stayed silent since the start, and his actions followed the standard for refining equipment. He seemed to pour all of his heart and soul into it, and the sounds of his hammer striking metal were very continuous and rhythmic.

He had refined six pieces of equipment and only failed twice. His success rate was actually at 60%…

Heartless Iron was that forgemaster’s name.

Thunderous Battle calmly put it to memory.

*****

“Heartless Iron?”

When Happy returned to the game in a foul mood, he received a letter from Thunderous Battle. It had a name that surprised him a lot.

He remembered that it had reverberated like thunder through the game in his previous life.

Its owner had been very famous!

Heartless Iron was the first person to have pushed his refinement level to the level of a Forgemaster, and he was a legendary person who was the first one to create a fourth-echelon divine weapon.

It was said that he had an abnormally good refinement talent. He was very skilled in refining equipment, and his success rate was at least a level higher than that of other forgemasters. There were many powerful players in Happy’s previous life who had competed with each other for Heartless Iron to create a fourth-echelon weapon for them.

But unfortunately for Happy, he had not been fated to meet that person.

Once Heartless Iron became famous, he was known to have three rules.

He would not refine normal equipment and would only touch divine weapons and demon vessels.

He would not refine equipment for those who could not give him the money and ingredients required. After all, he relied on it for a living.

He would not refine equipment for those who were known to have a horrible personality. He never left the city anyway, so no one could bother him about that. Not a single big shot in the game could enter his sights.

And such a person had actually joined Mu Clan?

Happy was not just surprised, but full of sincere happiness that rose from the bottom of his heart!

Mu Clan had truly managed to get itself a treasure!

The thirteen staff-using monks had introduced the merchant Akin to Jade, and within two weeks, she had helped Mu Clan earn billions of taels of silver. On top of that, the future legendary forgemaster, Heartless Iron, had also joined them.

Even if Mu Clan did not want to get rich, it was impossible for them.

“Thunderous Battle, give priority to developing Heartless Iron and show him the best treatment possible. Let him choose all the materials he wants. Even if he asks to refine high-grade masterpieces now, give them to him.

“I will continue staying in the royal mausoleum to provide high-grade masterpieces for him with everything I have. Also, tell him that once he becomes a true forgemaster, I will give him the chance to refine grade one masterpieces,” Happy wrote resolutely.

“Okay!” Thunderous Battle could understand the reasoning behind Happy’s orders in the beginning, but when he heard that he would be providing grade one masterpieces, his expression instantly changed. “Isn’t this too much of a risk though? There isn’t anyone who can provide grade one masterpieces for sale in the market right now…”

Everyone knew that not only was the damage of grade one masterpieces incredibly astonishing, they also had unique attributes attached to them. Nation Protecting Divine Sword and the parts of Golden Armor Set were all rare items that were worth more than ten million.

It was too much of a risk to use such valuable equipment as refinement material!

“It’s fine. Riches can only be obtained if we take risks. If we fail, we can give up, but if we keep them, they will only end up as junk.”

Happy knew very clearly that if they were not refined, even divine vessels might not be as strong as equipment that had been refined. The third-echelon Clear and Far was a perfect example of that.

“Alright, I’ll tell him.”

Thunderous Battle pondered it for a moment before he answered in a serious tone. He paused for a moment, then added, “But there has been news lately that quite a lot of people are not pleased with you monopolizing the royal mausoleum, and that includes Class One Hall and Towering Palace. You’d best be careful.”

“I know.”

Happy knew all too well that some people would become restless if he continued to occupy the huge gold mine by himself and refused to give it up.