Chapter 9: Weird System
At the dining table, Rewen ate the meat in front of him and felt a gaze upon him. "What's wrong, mother?"
His mother frowned. "When you exit from this world, remember to not offend people."
"I know, I know."
"Know my ass. You fought a deathmatch with a stranger you bumped upon on the very first day in that world. How unstable are you?"
"It's not my fau-"
"Also, bring your cousins here. Tell them you are in NPC mode."
"Sure…"
"If you get yourself a girlfriend, bring her to me."
"Hm…"
"She shouldn't be too bad, you understand me right?"
"Yes."
"Don't trouble your father and mother too much. Since they work overseas, they have their own difficulties. Although how irresponsible…"
"I understand."
"Keep your hair shorter. What's with the bangs? Don't they cover your eyes?"
"Why my hair…"
"Make few but trustworthy friends. Don't act like a social outcast."
"Of course."
"Now answer me, what did I say till now?"
"Mother, I remember-"
"I know you remember. So say it."
After a long session, Rewen was finally released. When he came out of the room, he stretched his arms and legs as they became stiff and wondered about the future. "What should be my goal now? I have achieved what I wanted to. Although I'm happy, I also feel a bit empty. On the last day, I was motivated, willing and determined to get what I want. I felt that I could do anything.
"Do I want to become strong? It goes without saying, yes. However, strength is not exactly my ultimate objective. I want control. I want enough control to turn my fantasies into reality. All my life, I have been lying to myself that I am better off leading a normal life while secretly feeling proud that my lifestyle and thoughts are humble but who doesn't have ambition?
"Perhaps this is just a short-time adrenaline rush but I want this feeling to be remembered. Also, no matter what, my family and friends are still virtual. I can't deny that I want to make them real. Hm… still not enough pressure. Call me crazy but I want to feel pressured like the main character to grow strong."
[Ding! Checking initiated!]
[0…1… 14….76….90...97...100%]
[Ding! Hidden feature "Mission to doom" discovered!]
---
Information: Automatically makes the Host's luck negative when activated. Completing missions under this feature, in turn, gives the Host a boost of luck stats for a short period.
[Missions]
Note: Missions will be given only when the feature is activated.
---
Rewen was merely spouting bullsh*t after he was angered by the long interrogation session with his mother. He absolutely had no intention of making his life harder than it already was. Now, reading the words displayed in front of him made him feel extremely vexed.
"Well, whatever, never mind." Repeating the words in his mind to remind himself that he didn't do anything excessively stupid, he made his way to the basement, the room exclusively made for smithing.
Reaching the door of the basement, he found that the light was lit and the door was open. Going inside, he found Master Kaf sitting in a chair reading a book. Upon noticing his arrival, Master Kaf raised his head.
"It's already late. Why don't you come here tomorrow?"
"I have a mission which can help me increase my experience in smithing. Is there any immediate materials to make a Rank 1 peak-grade weapon?"
Master Kaf thought for a moment, then replied. "There is enough to make a lance."
Within a few minutes, Rewen got the materials needed to make a standard lance. He took out a two-metre hard metal from a container containing forging heat and started to shape it into a shaft.
*Clang*
*Clang*
*Clang*
It was a long and boring process. Smithing doesn't care about your strength, aptitude or talent. It only needs one thing - perseverance. Rewen, by profession, is a blacksmith and naturally, he held extreme respect for the job. He liked using a hammer. Sometimes, it acts as a let out vent to the stress in his daily life. Other times, he simply loved forging. It fills him up with pride and satisfaction.
Forty minutes later, he looked at the roughly round two-metre-long shaft. "Should be enough, eh?" He asked himself. After hammering it a few more times, he picked up another block of metal and started hammering it. This time, he was creating the sharp pointer. Unlike with the shaft, making the sharp pointer is a bit more complicated.
Repeated heating and hammering with different temperatures and intensities are required. On top of that, the measurements must be extremely accurate. However, to Rewen, this wasn't difficult. All of this is attributed to the passion and hard work. In ten years, he had made more than three hundred Rank 1 peak-grade weapon.
*Clang*
*Clang*
*Clang*
Time passed by slowly and dawn arrived.
Rewen at this time was sweating bullets. He had finished making the sharp pointer and is now forge welding. In other words, joining the two parts by heating them occasionally hammering and chiselling.
[500 EXP gained!]
"Hidden Profession 'Blacksmith' unlocked!"
"You have gained a 'Tier 1 Upper-Bronze Ranked Unnamed Lance'."
Rewen heard a series of voices in his ears. "Alright, one by one." He looked at the "Blacksmith" feature in the system.
---
Stage: Rank 2 middle-grade (2887/5000)
Proficiency: 45%
Expertise: Spear
Best Product: Rank 2 unnamed Spear
---
'The proficiency didn't change.' Rewen knew that his skill wouldn't be so easily enhanced but he still wanted to see some changes. "System, can you change the percentile to three decimal places?"
[Ding! Processing request… Initiating request….Done!]
[Proficiency: 45% → Proficiency: 45.546%]
Rewen was about to praise the system when a sudden thought entered his head. After a moment, he abruptly asked. "System, what is the depth of your capabilities?"
[Replying to the Host, if you could use me well, becoming the God of Thirteen Continents within a millennium isn't necessarily a fantasy.]
This time, the system replied in a loli voice.
"Not that impressive, if you ask me. In a hundred years or so, I can control the entire Earth with my properties." Rewen bragged.
[Does the Host really think everything is so simple? In fact, when the Host was speaking with the Chief Instructor Venitt today, a man secretly filmed the Host and uploaded the video on…]
"Enough! I know! I know! I was merely joking. Who knew that people in this day and age couldn't understand sarcasm." Rewen was shocked but why would he let anyone know that he was shocked. While smiling outwardly, he could only pray he didn't go viral.
[The Host's popularity skyrocketed. So much so that people have started calling the Host the Future Strongest Man on Earth.]
Rewen felt all his senses go numb but again, didn't let it show to his face as he coolly smirked. "Glad they know it." After a moment, he completely shoved the thought at the back of his head and asked seriously.
"Tell me, how can I get stronger?"
[Replying to the Host, there are many ways but the most effective is definitely to complete Quests. They can increase stats, give amaaaazing~ rewards annnnnnnd~ mhmmmm~ why don't you guess it?]
The system replied in a playful loli voice which Rewen had no intention of entertaining. "System, terminate!"
[WAIT!! Geez, what an impatient boya… Why don't you come here, hehe? Elder Sister will tell you a secret… hey! Matte! Where are you going?]