Chapter 271: Getting a Profession and $10,000
Caelus didn’t immediately stand up after closing his Status Window. Instead, he looked back at the man in the white shirt. The suited man noticed his hesitation.
"Is there anything else I can help you with, Mr. Kross?" he asked politely.
Caelus nodded. "I’d like to purchase a profession."
The suited man’s expression became slightly surprised.
"A profession?" he repeated.
"Which one?"
Caelus answered without hesitation.
"Blacksmith," he said.
Becoming a blacksmith felt strangely nostalgic. In the Abyss, blacksmithing was one of the things he was most proud of.
He had forged countless weapons throughout his time over there. Even many powerful players sought him out personally.
Compared to fighting, blacksmithing was what truly made him feel at home.
Although the worlds were different, the feeling of creating something with his own hands remained exactly the same.
Caelus also realized something important.
’This can make a fortune,’ he thought.
Instead of relying entirely on hunting monsters, he could eventually open an online equipment shop. As players became stronger, demand for equipment would naturally explode. Blacksmithing could become one of his largest long-term sources of income.
The suited man opened the profession catalogue on his tablet.
"A Rookie Grade I Blacksmith Profession Card costs fifty thousand dollars," he explained.
Caelus nodded. He confirmed the purchase without hesitation. His remaining Contribution Points decreased as the transaction processed.
The suited man noticed the remaining points after the purchase.
"You still have one thousand Contribution Points left," he said.
"Would you like to convert the rest into cash?"
Caelus thought about it briefly.
"Convert one thousand," he replied.
The suited man nodded.
"Understood," he said.
A system notification appeared.
[Contribution Points Converted.]
[$10,000 has been transferred into your registered bank account.]
Caelus immediately transferred half of the money to Sylvia. Sylvia blinked, seeing the notification on her phone.
"...You didn’t have to," she said.
"We’re partners," he replied.
"What’s mine is yours."
Sylvia smiled cheerfully hearing this.
Neither of them kept track of who contributed more anymore. Their trust had naturally reached that point.
A government employee returned carrying a beautifully crafted card. The card was entirely metallic with a black hammer engraved in its center. The employee respectfully handed it to Caelus.
[Blacksmith Profession Card obtained.]
[Would you like to use it?]
[Y/N]
Caelus immediately chose Yes.
The card dissolved into countless streams of light before entering Caelus’s body. Warm energy spread through him. His hands tingled with an unfamiliar sensation.
Memories and instincts related to forging began flowing into his mind. It felt as though he had spent years standing before a forge. The knowledge settled naturally into place.
[Profession Acquired.]
[Blacksmith]
[Current Grade: Rookie Grade I]
The system explained the grading system naturally through additional text.
Rookie Grade I allowed him to forge Rookie Level 1-10 equipment. Grade II covered Level 10-20, Grade III handled 20-30, Grade IV managed 30-40, and Grade V reached 40-50.
Every profession advanced through grades as proficiency increased.
Then more notifications appeared.
[Profession Skill Acquired.]
[Forgery]
At the exact same moment, another hidden notification appeared that only Caelus could see.
[Abyssal Template Resonance Achieved.]
[Secret Skill Acquired.]
[Chaos Forge]
Caelus’s attention immediately locked onto the words. Secret Skill.
Caelus remained outwardly calm despite being extremely surprised internally.
The suited man smiled seeing Caelus’s profession activation complete.
"Congratulations," he said. "May I ask..."
"What rarity of Forgery did you obtain?"
He explained naturally without being asked.
"Every profession skill is randomly assigned a rarity," he said.
"They have the same rarity as items and other things in the domain. Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary, Transcendent. Higher rarity greatly influences a blacksmith’s future potential. Many famous blacksmiths became famous simply because they awakened a Legendary or Transcendent Forgery Skill."
"Basically, the better the rarity, the more chance you have at succeeding as a blacksmith. They even say it is directly related to your own physical talent. The more talent you have at blacksmithing, the higher the rarity of the skill will be."
Everyone in the room became interested. Caelus closed the hidden system notification.
"Uncommon," he lied deliberately.
Nobody questioned him. Meanwhile, internally, Caelus was still staring at the words displayed privately.
[Chaos Forge (Secret): The ultimate forge technique. It can only forge the highest grade weapons and armor. You can also reduce the grade of it as you please.]
If he wasn’t wrong, this came out after his rainbow forge from the Abyss merged with the skill in here, and the secret rarity skill was born, making it extremely better than before.
’With this, things will be even better.’ Caelus smiled.
As for mentioning Uncommon, revealing a Secret Rank skill now would only create unnecessary problems.
The transaction finished. The suited man stood up from his chair.
"It was a pleasure doing business with you," he said.
He extended his hand. They shook hands firmly.
"My name is Adrian Pierce," he introduced himself.
He handed Caelus a business card. It contained his direct government contact number printed cleanly.
"If you ever require anything..." Adrian said.
"Feel free to contact me directly."
"Likewise..."
"There’s a chance we’ll contact you in the near future."
Caelus raised an eyebrow.
"For what?" he asked.
Adrian smiled apologetically.
"Nothing has been confirmed yet," he said.
"I can’t reveal the details."
"But if it proceeds..." he added.
"There will be generous rewards."
Caelus and Sylvia exchanged a glance. They both nodded toward Adrian.
"We’ll consider it," Caelus replied.
The two left the private reward room. Freya immediately rushed over from where she had been waiting.
"Big Brother Origin!" she called out.
"What took so long?"
Candy lazily blew another bubble.
"Probably bought something expensive," she said.
Caelus smiled without elaborating. They exchanged a brief conversation while walking toward the exit.
They stepped outside the headquarters. Evening had begun settling over New York. Emergency vehicles were gradually disappearing from the streets.
The city was slowly returning to normal. Caelus looked toward Freya.
"We’re heading somewhere else," he said.
Freya pouted hearing this.
"Already?" she asked.
Sylvia patted her head gently.
"We’ll meet again soon," she promised.
Candy raised her hand casually.
"See you around," she said.
Freya reluctantly said goodbye. The two girls headed in the opposite direction.
After watching them leave, Caelus remembered the unfinished phone call with his parents. He looked toward Sylvia.
"Let’s visit my parents," he said.
Sylvia immediately nodded.
"Of course," she replied.
They walked toward the roadside. Caelus raised his hand. A yellow taxi slowly pulled over.
"Astoria," Caelus said.
The driver nodded.
"Hop in," he replied.
Caelus opened the passenger door for Sylvia first. She smiled before getting inside. Caelus followed after her.
As the taxi drove away, New York passed by outside the windows. Emergency crews continued cleaning debris from the streets. Police barricades were slowly being removed.
Civilians cautiously returned to the sidewalks. The city survived the invasion. But everyone knew this was only the beginning.
The taxi entered Astoria as evening light painted the buildings orange.
