Chapter 14: Midnight Blacksmith
The heavy wooden doors of Oakhaven’s commercial plaza creaked open as Asher stepped inside.
It was past midnight, and the bustling crowds of the afternoon had thinned out into a few late-night traders and tired guards.
The stone street was dark, lit only by the glowing embers of a massive stone forge at the end of the alley.
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.
The rhythmic sound of a heavy hammer hitting raw iron echoed through the quiet street, perfectly matching the slow, deep bass of a new track starting up in Asher’s mind.
[Current Viewers: 6,450]
[User_Tim99]: Bro, look at the blacksmith’s forge. The heat distortion in the air looks crazy. If this is a rendering trick, my graphics card would literally explode.
[LootGoblin]: Sell the tower shield! Let’s see how much silver a bricked tank’s gear is worth.
[MinMax_Andy]: A damaged Rank F tower shield should fetch around 15 to 20 silver coins depending on the vendor’s reputation modifier. Since Asher has +200 Oakhaven Guild Reputation from the elite hunt, he should get a premium price.
Asher walked up to the open-air workshop.
Behind the stone counter stood a massive NPC blacksmith with arms as thick as tree trunks and a leather apron covered in black soot.
A floating green name tag hung above his bald head: [Master Blacksmith - Vulcan].
Vulcan didn’t look up from his work immediately.
He brought his heavy steel hammer down one last time, sending a bright cascade of orange sparks flying into the night air, before plunging a glowing red dagger into a barrel of cold water.
SPLASH. SSSSSS.
A thick cloud of white steam rose from the barrel, veiling the workshop in a damp mist.
Vulcan wiped his sweaty brow with a greasy cloth and finally looked at Asher.
His eyes lingered on Asher’s bare, grimy chest, then dropped to the iron guard boots on his legs.
"You’re out late, rookie," Vulcan grunted, his voice sounding like grinding stones.
"And you look like you’ve been dragged through a swamp. What do you want? If you’re looking for a cheap copper chest piece, come back in the morning."
"I’m not buying yet," Asher said smoothly, his silver eyes catching the dim orange glow of the forge.
He reached into his virtual inventory and pulled out Boran’s massive dark iron tower shield, letting it drop onto the wooden counter with a loud, hollow thud. "I’m looking to sell."
Vulcan leaned forward, his thick fingers tracing the deep, buckled dent in the center of the iron face, the exact spot where Asher had slammed into it with his [Unstoppable Momentum] tackle.
The blacksmith’s eyebrows shot up. "An Iron Vanguard guild shield? This is heavy infantry gear. The structural reinforcement is ruined, but the raw iron alloy is high quality. Who did you strip this off of, kid? And what the hell hit the center of it? It looks like it was rammed by a siege engine."
Asher gave a casual shrug, resting his steel vanguard sword over his shoulder. "Just a vanguard who didn’t want to hold the line. How much for the scrap?"
Vulcan let out a deep, rumbling chuckle, shaking his head.
"You’ve got brass balls, kid. The Iron Vanguard boys are going to be looking for this. But business is business. With your guild reputation badge, I can give you 25 Silver Coins for the metal. Take it or leave it."
[System Transaction Prompt]
* Offer: 25 Silver Coins for [Iron Vanguard Tower Shield (Damaged)]
* Accept? [Yes / No]
Asher tapped [Yes] mentally.
The heavy shield dissolved into a brief flash of blue digital pixels, and a heavy leather pouch of coins materialised on the counter.
Asher swept the silver into his pocket, his current physical currency balance jumping up cleanly.
[Current Wallet: 105 Silver Coins]
[LootGoblin]: 25 silver! That’s an absolute scam for a giant shield, but hey, it’s free real estate.
[NoobSlayer]: Streamer is rich now. Over a hundred silver in the starter zone is insane. Normal players are still counting their copper pieces.
[User_Tim99]: Look at the ’Premium Gacha Token’ in the stream shop, Asher! It costs 500 SP, but you have 1,160 SP from our donations! Reroll something! Let’s see what a premium pull looks like!
Asher leaned against the wooden counter, away from Vulcan’s line of sight, and focused his mind on the floating blue stream shop interface.
The suggestion from the chat was solid.
He had a massive surplus of Stream Points thanks to the gate-camp donations, and he was about to head into the higher-level sectors of Oakhaven tomorrow. He needed a wildcard.
He selected the [Premium Gacha Reroll Token (Rank F - E)] for 500 SP.
[Purchase Successful. 500 Stream Points deducted.]
[Current Balance: 660 SP]
[Item Obtained: Premium Gacha Token (Rank F - E)]
Description: Allows the host to instantly trigger a high-tier talent or skill roll without needing a fresh monster soul carcass.
"Alright, chat," Asher whispered directly into the blue lens of the camera drone, a sharp, excited grin cutting through the dirt on his face.
"This one is completely on you guys. Five hundred points down. Let’s see if the Earth luck multiplier is real."
He crushed the virtual token in his mind.
BOOM.
The entire dark alleyway seemed to freeze as a massive, dark purple slot machine descended from the digital ceiling of his vision.
It wasn’t standard iron or spiked steel; this machine was wrapped in glowing, crystalline runes that pulsed with a heavy, unstable magical pressure.
The three reels began to spin at a velocity so high that the symbols looked like solid lines of white, blue, purple, and a sharp, blinding crimson.
CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK!
The viewer count in his peripheral vision spiked again, hitting a new peak as the late-night algorithm back on Earth began to push the stream into the trending tabs.
[Current Viewers: 6,800]
[GamerGuyX]: RED SYMBOLS! Look at the red lights on the edges!
[MinMax_Andy]: Wait, Rank F to E token shouldn’t have a crimson tier drop. Did he trigger a critical system mutation because of his high Intelligence stat?
[User_Tim99]: SPIN IT! SPIN IT!
The crystalline reels began to groan, slowing down with heavy, echoing thuds that vibrated directly into Asher’s soul.
Clack... The first reel stopped on a deep purple sword icon.
[Unique Variant Attribute Table Locked.]
Clack...
The second reel locked into place, a bright surge of crimson lightning arcing across the digital glass frame.
[E-Rank Cap Broken. Higher Dimension Link Stability: 100%]
Clack!
The final reel slammed shut with a sound like a clap of thunder.
The entire interface violently glitched, the purple lights snapping into a brilliant, deep violet-crimson aura that completely flooded Asher’s night vision.
[SSS-Rank Gacha Success! Mutation Event Triggered!]
[Extracted Higher-Tier Active Skill: Soul Fracture (Rank D - Active)]
[Description: Consumes 40 MP. Your next basic physical strike inflicts a spiritual rupture on the target.]
[Deals 150% base physical damage and permanently locks one random active skill of the target for 24 hours upon a successful hit.]
[If the target is an NPC or Monster, it applies a ’Wither’ effect, reducing their maximum health pool by 20% for the duration of the combat.]
[Cooldown: 90 seconds.]
Asher’s breath caught in his throat.
His silver eyes widened as the raw, cold data of the skill wove itself directly into his character profile.
A Rank D skill in a Rank F starter zone.
"A permanent 24-hour skill lock on players," Asher whispered, his voice dropping low as he looked at his open palms, which were now pulsing with a faint, barely visible violet smoke.
"And a 20% maximum health reduction for bosses. This isn’t just an early-game item... this is a competitive assassination tool."
[MinMax_Andy]: RANK D?! At Level 6?! The system literally let him roll outside his tier bracket! That’s a 150% damage scaling modifier!
[LootGoblin]: Soul Fracture! The name is terrifying! If he hits Gideon with that, Gideon won’t be able to play the game for a whole day!
[NoobSlayer]: Streamer is officially a raid boss now. You can’t tank him, you can’t stun him, and if he touches you, your skills get deleted for 24 hours.
Asher turned away from the blacksmith’s forge, the heavy drill music hitting a slow, victorious outro in his mind as he walked back toward the main plaza.
The dark sky above Oakhaven was beginning to shift from black to a deep, royal blue, signaling the approach of dawn.
"The gate camp failed tonight, and they lost their best shield," Asher said, looking straight into the camera drone with a calm, lethal confidence.
"Tomorrow morning, we head to the inner district for the Level 10 advancement quests. If the Iron Vanguard guild wants to bring fifty men to stop me... they better bring fifty backup characters."
