Garrick Forge stood there with a smug grin plastered across his face, arms crossed, chest puffed out like a victorious rooster.
After all that running around, he thought happily, he still ends up learning from me in the end.A Violet-Gold willpower prodigy. Hah. I'll be able to brag to my kids for the rest of my life—"Even geniuses have to call your father 'Master.'"
Jasper stared at him, puzzled.
Garrick's eyes had gone unfocused. His lips twitched. He was even starting to drool.
"…Uncle Garrick?" Jasper waved a hand in front of his face. "Uncle Garrick?"
Garrick snapped back to reality.
The way he looked at Jasper next made Jasper's skin crawl—like a wolf spotting a fat lamb.
Jasper instinctively took several steps back.
Wait. That look…Don't tell me Uncle Garrick swings that way?!
Seeing Jasper retreat, Garrick's face darkened. "You brat, get over here. I'm not going to eat you."
He paused, then added irritably, "And I'm not into men either."
Jasper hesitated, then shuffled closer—though he still kept two steps' distance.
Garrick snorted. "Two steps? I could grab you in the blink of an eye."
Jasper clutched his chest defensively. "U-Uncle Garrick… please… yamete—"
"Enough nonsense," Garrick said flatly, turning away.
He pushed open the door to the forging room and walked inside. "Listen carefully. Weapon refiners are divided into three main levels: Refining Apprentice, Refiner, and Refining Master. Each level has beginner, intermediate, and advanced stages."
He gestured around the room as he spoke. "These correspond directly to willpower grades. Refining Apprentices require Grade C willpower. Grade C (Lower) is a beginner apprentice, Grade C (Middle) is intermediate, and so on."
Jasper followed closely. "Then how does that match cultivation tiers?"
"Same structure," Garrick replied. "Refining Apprentices correspond to the Bronze Tier. Whether you're beginner or advanced mainly depends on how much qi you can support during the process."
Jasper frowned. "Then what about Grade A willpower? What level does that correspond to?"
Garrick's expression shifted—reverent, almost dreamy. "Grade A willpower… that corresponds to Creators."
Jasper's eyes widened.
"But don't get ahead of yourself," Garrick said, snapping back to reality. "Weapon refining is far harder than cultivation. Control is everything."
He raised a finger. "As a rough example—out of a hundred people with cultivation talent, maybe one has willpower talent. And out of a hundred of those, maybe one has exceptional willpower."
He waved his hand. "Just an example. Talent has grades too. Now—enough talk. Let's start with the basics."
Jasper raised a hand. "Basics? Isn't refining just… throw ore into a furnace, melt it, then hammer it?"
Garrick stared at him like he'd just insulted his ancestors. "If it were that simple, anyone could do it. We wouldn't need refiners—just grab a bunch of blacksmiths and be done with it."
"…Right." Jasper scratched his head. Definitely not like the game.
He glanced around. "Then, Uncle Garrick… what level refiner are you?"
Garrick thought for a moment. "Me? Mm… I'd say a pseudo–advanced Refining Apprentice."
Jasper gave him a sideways look. So… not advanced.
Garrick immediately bristled. "Hey, don't look at me like that! My qi reserve meets the advanced standard, but my willpower is only beginner-level, and my cultivation is intermediate. That's why it's pseudo advanced!"
"Uh-huh," Jasper said dryly. "Then can you make a Bronze Tier, Rank 7 weapon?"
Garrick puffed up proudly. "Rank 7? No. But Rank 6 is no problem."
He pulled the massive axe from his back. "This axe is Bronze Tier, Rank 6. My sword is only Rank 4."
Jasper yawned. "Are you teaching me refining, or just showing off?"
Garrick shot him a wounded look. "It is Rank 6. I'm teaching you for free and you won't even let me brag a little?"
He walked over to a large table made of dark, glossy wood and placed both hands on it. Then he pushed outward.
The table split open.
Jasper froze.
"…That's a crafting table."
Not a crafting table.
The crafting table.
Massive. Majestic. Covered in intricate lines and grooves. Nothing like the ugly little one-block table from the game that took four planks to make.
This thing looks like it could forge gods.
Jasper's eyes shone.
Garrick noticed—and smiled smugly. "My ancestors passed this down for generations. It's made from Scorched Ironwood."
He tapped it affectionately. "A single ten-year-old Scorched Ironwood tree is worth a hundred silver coins—that's one gold coin. And this table can produce Bronze Tier, Rank 7 items… even Arcane Tier items."
Jasper sucked in a breath.
"Only my great-grandfather ever succeeded in forging an Arcane-tier weapon," Garrick continued. "No one else managed it."
He leaned closer. "The wood releases a subtle fragrance that sharpens the mind. Makes willpower engraving far less prone to mistakes."
Then he pointed to a dark, heavy furnace nearby. "That furnace is made from Black Iron Stone. While heating materials, you use willpower to remove impurities."
"If ordinary fire isn't enough, you can replace fuel with qi. But remember—this furnace can only handle up to Bronze Tier, Rank 6 qi. Any more, and it explodes."
Garrick turned back to the crafting table. "Now, the most important part—construction."
"You place the materials on the table, then use willpower to engrave the weapon's model. Sounds simple. It's not. One mistake and the materials are ruined."
"Once the model is complete, you get a basic weapon—good materials, but still mundane."
He raised a finger. "Then comes rune engraving. Similar to enchantments. This consumes massive willpower. Fail midway and it becomes scrap."
He smirked. "Well—scrap to us. To ordinary people, even a failed weapon is priceless. Against them, it's like chopping firewood."
"Imagine it," Garrick said casually. "One swing. Their weapon snaps. What do they block with? Their fists?"
He took a sip of tea and continued, "Runes and enchantments are similar but incompatible. There's attack-type, support-type, defense-type, and useless ones."
"People who use enchantment tables are Enchanters. Those who engrave runes directly are Runesmiths. Rune books also exist—similar to enchanted books."
"But remember—you can't have both. An enchanted item can't have runes, and a runed item can't be enchanted. Forcing it destroys everything."
He set the cup down. "Your willpower isn't strong enough yet to engrave models. Focus on cultivating the Raging War Method first. Strengthen your body."
"When you reach Bronze Tier, Rank 1, you can start hammering metal. I'll train you personally."
Jasper stared at the crafting table, fists clenched, heart burning.
"Uncle Garrick," he said firmly, "I'll reach Bronze Tier, Rank 1 as soon as possible. I'll become a great refiner."
Garrick looked at him, satisfied, and smiled.
"Good," he said. "Don't disappoint me."