The Great Thief

System: Production of the Soldier’s Long Sword has failed.

F…Failed!

How could it have failed? Weren’t the initial stages of Forging supposed to be easy to get through? The hammer should have also increased the success rate by 20%...

He had been so focused on the end-result that he had failed.

In his previous life, a strong Trade Profession Player had once said that Trade Skills required ‘heart’!

After gathering his thoughts, Lu Li focused all of his attention onto the sword base that was before him.

Of course, in-game Forging was nothing like Forging in real life. In reality, forging a sword required fanning the flames, smelting ore, casting and other kinds of machinery. On the other hand, the game would skip over the first few steps. Once the Trade Skill was used, a certain amount of ore would be consumed and the sword base would be formed. Players were only required to hammer the sword into shape, temper it…etc

System: A Soldier’s Long Sword has been successfully produced. Forging EXP +1.

Soldier’s Long Sword (Bronze): Damage 12-18, Strength +3, Equipment Requirement: Level 5. Durability 20/20.

It seemed to be a little different…

Lu Li opened up the Forging panel and found the blueprint that he had learnt.

On the blueprint, it said that the Forged Soldier’s Long Sword would be:

Soldier’s Long Sword (Bronze): Damage 10-16, Strength 1~2, Equipment Requirement: Level 5. Durability 20/20.

This definitely wasn’t what he had in his hands.

Not only was its upper and lower bound of damage increased by 2 points, it also now had three attribute points.

Even low-end LV5 Steel-Grade equipment would only have three attribute points.

One could doubtlessly say that Lu Li was holding was an exquisite weapon.

Exquisite LV5 weapons couldn’t be sold for a heaven-defying price, but they could still be sold for at least 10 or so silver coins in the Exchange Hall

Presumably, this was the effect of the Grade +1 property.

Lu Li then continued to make another 13 Swords. Two of them had +3 attributes, while the rest had +2 attributes. There wasn’t a single sword that only had Strength+1.

He felt like a large mountain of coins had fallen from the sky and buried him.

From Forging 14 Swords, he had gained a total of 10 EXP. He now needed to find a new blueprint to increase his EXP more rapidly. Because of this magical hammer, he wouldn’t lose as much money.

“That is…”

Lu Li had long since noticed a person standing at the door who seemed to have something on his mind. After hesitantly approaching someone else, he would immediately retreat, as if he was too embarrassed to speak.

“What are you looking for?” Lu Li looked at him calmly.

The person before him was wearing cloth armor and had a Warlock-style Steeple hat. In one hand, he held a LV10 Steel Magic Staff; he was probably a Warlock. Lu Li couldn’t see his level, but based on his equipment, it probably wasn’t very high. He was unlikely to be higher than LV15.

Perhaps it was because Lu Li’s gaze didn’t carry the same alertness that most players did, but the Warlock mustered up the courage to ask, “My equipment is critical but I have no money. Can you lend me some money for the repairs?”

Before Lu Li could respond, he hastily added, “My name is Iron Sword. I will definitely return the money to you. You can note it in the system…”

“Don’t trust him,” a player nearby interjected. “There are plenty of people in Astrana who are begging like him. They have all kinds of reasons for wanting money. Even if you give him money now, the next time you see him, he’ll still be asking for money. As for the system note, you have to pay for that.”

“I’ll pay for the system note,” Iron Sword responded.

“Hahaha, then why don’t you exchange some real-life money at the Trade Platform for some coins, you fool.” The passerby smiled impudently, proud that he had debunked a liar.

What he said was true – the Trading Platform was quite advanced and could credit the coins to your account in under half an hour.

“I… nevermind, excuse me.”

Iron Sword bowed his head in humiliation and was about to leave.

“How much do you need?” Lu Li called out.

“Just 1 gold. No, 80 Silver. I don’t need a full repair,” Iron Sword said eagerly.

“How did you get to a point where you don’t even have money to repair your equipment?” He couldn’t even pay for 1 gold? Lu Li was now a little skeptical. Dawn’s repair costs were notoriously high, but regular players should still have been able to support themselves.

“I transferred all my money yesterday and today, I died a few times while trying to kill a quest monster,” Iron Sword sighed helplessly.

Lu Li finally came around. He now understood why Iron Sword was unable to even pay for the repair costs for his equipment.

He had the same experience in his past life. Any money he made in-game, he would immediately convert to real dollars. He would never have enough money in real life to exchange for in-game currency either.

“Here is two gold. You can have it,” Lu Li said as he transferred two gold.

He wasn’t a tycoon, but he wasn’t that charitable either. This was in spite of the fact that he had just received a few hundred gold from the other members of the Mercenary Group for creating the bombs.

“Thank you so much, but 1 gold is enough,” Iron Sword refused.

“Just keep it – you’ll probably need it. Use the rest on potions.” Lu Li said as he confirmed the transaction.

“Thank you.” Iron Sword hesitated momentarily before quickly closing the window.

“Yet another person who has been cheated.”

The passerby saw that Lu Li had given the money and bitterly left, shaking his head.

“What monsters were you fighting that caused you to die over and over?” Lu Li didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he asked a few more questions about him. Now that he had helped him, Lu Li didn’t want him to die again and end up on the same path as before.

“The Fire Elemental Lord Magmasa. It’s a rare monster. I always come really close.”

Iron Sword had nothing to hide.

“Oh, is it a huge Fire Elemental Monster?” When Lu Li heard the name Magmasa, his eyes lit up.

The Fire Elemental Lord Magmasa was not a Boss. However, it was a rare monster with an irregular refresh time and place. Only players who had received the relevant quest could find it.

“Yeah, it’s a really big Fire Elemental. The lower’s its HP, the higher its defence,” Iron Sword exasperatedly replied.

“Let’s go. I’ll help you kill it.” Lu Li sent a party invite.

“Isn’t that too much trouble for you…”

He had just borrowed some money and now he needed help to fight a monster. Iron Sword felt like he was asking for too much.

It might drop something that I need,” Lu Li explained bluntly.

“Alright. If it does drop, then it’s yours.”

When Iron Sword heard that Lu Li needed something, he accepted the party invite without a second thought. He didn’t even ask what the item was.

“Oh, you’re Lu Li!”

“Yep, let’s go.” He had forgotten to make himself anonymous, but it didn’t really matter.