章 24: Chapter 24 - Mine Iron Ores

[You've got a new quest]

"What's this?" Broken exclaimed as he saw something appear before him when the dwarf shut the door.

[Become an Apprentice of Fokil the Blacksmith]

[Rating: B]

[Embark on a journey to become an apprentice of Fokil, the renowned blacksmith known for his exceptional skills in metalworking and forging. Immerse yourself in the intriguing art of transforming raw metal into magnificent tools, weapons, and other objects.

In order to gain Fokil's recognition, you must showcase your aptitude for the craft and prove your worthiness.]

[Clear Conditions: Gain Fokil's Acknowledgment]

[Clear Rewards: Raise in Affinity with Fokil the Blacksmith, Receive Blacksmith-related Class.]

[Quest Failure: Negative Affinity with Fokil the Blacksmith.]

He paused for a moment, reading the quest that appeared before him. "Huh?" he murmured. "B Rating quest? Is the Quest Advancement skill not working? Why can't I get a rating upgrade?" He exhaled slowly.

But then, a quest appeared just when Broken had tried to communicate with the blacksmith dwarf. This showed that he could indeed grant players the blacksmith class. It confirmed Broken's suspicion that learning the Blacksmith class directly from a dwarf would be more beneficial.

Knowing he had gotten the quest for the class he wanted, he just needed to focus and gain Fokil's acknowledgment to achieve the Blacksmith class.

"All right," he continued, "at least now I know what to do. Usually, there are many ways to complete a quest, but this time it seems I'm stuck with a quest that has clear conditions, yet it's not clear what I have to do to complete it."

Being asked to gain acknowledgement from someone he didn't know was certainly annoying. Therefore, he decided to explore the area first, looking for opinions from the locals about the blacksmith dwarf named Fokil.

In an RPG, if someone got a quest where it wasn't clear how to complete it, one way to proceed was to seek information from nearby NPCs, who might provide useful clues.

Broken quickly walked around the smithy, extending an invitation to each NPC he encountered along the way, hoping to collect enough information to finish the task given to him.

"Excuse me," he said to an adult woman strolling along the side of the road. "Can you tell me about Fokil, the Blacksmith?"

The woman glanced at Broken and then, appearing flustered, hastily departed. "Sorry, I can't help you," she replied.

"That's really useful information," Broken clicked his tongue.

As he strolled by a group of children snacking on candy next to a merchant. He approached them and asked, "Hey, kiddos, can you tell me about Fokil, the Blacksmith?"

"Fokil?" one of them snickered. "That grumpy, hot-headed dwarf? Ha ha ha!"

"Yeah, him," another child chimed in. "He's always drinking. Useless, hahaha."

"I heard his family abandoned him because he was so useless," the first child added. "They probably couldn't stand his short size."

"Um, excuse me," the third child interrupted. "Dwarves are naturally shorter than humans, you dummy—that's just how they are."

"Ah, I see, that is really very important information," Broken muttered, pretending to be interested. He took a few steps away from the children.

"Hey, buddy, don't you have something to say?" one of the children called out, holding out his hand. "We just gave you some valuable information."

Broken tossed three bronze coins onto the ground, then continued on his way. "Tsk, this game really makes the NPCs into robbers just to make the players even poorer," he grumbled under his breath.

Despite the unhelpful and somewhat infuriating interactions, Broken remained determined to complete his quest. He resolved to find another way to impress Fokil and gain his acknowledgement.

Broken continued to gather information about Fokil, conducting a diligent investigation. After much research, he began to conclude that Fokil was a blacksmith who seemed to have difficulty selling his products in this area. His items were expensive, and he did not use auctions for advertising. Broken wondered if it was the quality of the items or simply the fact that the players around here couldn't afford them.

Besides that, it seemed that Fokil lived alone, surrounded by the bustling crowds of humans in this area. Perhaps that's why he didn't seem to enjoy interacting with other people. He also had a habit of drinking too much and engaging in activities that garnered him a bad reputation.

Broken then walked to the center of the merchants' area and approached a stand selling ore and mineral raw materials for blacksmithing.

"Hey, you know Fokil, right?" he asked the merchant.

The merchant quickly replied, "Why, of course, I know Fokil—how could I not know a blacksmith as talented as him? Are you thinking of becoming a blacksmith too? Hahaha!" He continued without pause, "I think it was a wise decision to come to me. Hahaha. So, do you want to pursue a career in blacksmithing? If so, why don't you start by mining? I'm sure if you do a good job, Fokil will take notice of you!"

"What does mining have to do with blacksmithing? Mining is for miners, and blacksmithing is for crafting weapons," Broken replied.

"Then why bother asking about Fokil if you won't listen to my suggestion?" the merchant retorted.

"And your suggestion is to mine ores?"

"Here," the merchant said, gesturing to a pickaxe. "I can offer it to you at an affordable price. With it, you can start mining right away at the nearest cave near the forest. Once you're done, bring your results to me, and if I'm satisfied, I'll write you a letter of recommendation for Fokil. Sounds good, doesn't it? It's only 30 silver."

Broken considered the offer, weighing his options.

[Mine Iron Ores]

[Rating: C]

[In order to demonstrate your commitment to blacksmithing, it is necessary to gain the approval of the Irons. One way to do this is to obtain high-quality Iron Ore by mining.]

[Clear Conditions: Mine 30 Iron Ores.]

[Clear Rewards: Recommendation letter from the Mining Association.]

[Quest Failure: None]

Broken was given another quest that was connected to the one for Fokil. He had no other option but to accept the offer from the merchant. At least now, he had a new opportunity to move forward with his quest.

He clicked his tongue in disapproval. "Mr. Merchant, why is the pickaxe so expensive? Can you give it to me for 5 silver? I'm still a beginner. I don't have that much money."

"For you, 10 silver! That's a good deal," the merchant replied.

Broken thought to himself, "I feel like I've been scammed." He then replied, "5 silver coins!"

"Okay, 5, take it," the merchant reluctantly accepted the offer and threw the pickaxe at Broken.

[Common Pickaxe]

[Grade: Common]

[Durability: 97/100]

[Weight: 45]

[Nothing too special. It's just for mining. So get to work, and don't read too much into the description.]

[Skills:]

[Increases the chance of getting higher quality ores by two percent.]

He let out a slow exhale after taking a deep breath. He had no choice but to make sacrifices in order to complete the quest, and money was one of them.

"Money's getting tighter and tighter," he grumbled as he turned away. "But you know what they say, no pain, no gain. Let's head to the mines, come on."