Infinite Realm

"That's cool!" The boy exclaimed with glistening eyes.

"Then you must be here for the Apprentice Blacksmith competition."

"Hmm? What's that?" Sato asked as he felt that he had unwittingly discovered a hidden quest.

In most VR games, to motivate players to explore and adventure, quests and missions could be unlocked just by having a random discussion with some NPC or stumbling upon a notice. Just like how Fudo had gotten his first mission just by having a conversation with a drunkard and getting him wine, there were so many ways of getting missions from NPCs. It was to the point that in advanced VR games like IR, just by asking an NPC whether they needed help, a player would receive a mission if the NPC did indeed need some help. 

However, most of the missions gotten this way had very poor rewards, and only with good luck would one stumble upon a good mission with satisfying rewards. 

Since he had just arrived, Sato decided to try his luck and see if he could hit the jackpot.

"Huh? You don't know?" The young boy glanced at Sato with a confused expression..

Sato didn't reply him but simply stared the young boy in the eye.

Seeing Sato not answer him, the young boy remembered their difference in status.

"Oh. Uhm, the apprentice blacksmith trials is a competition for apprentice blacksmiths to test out their skills in front of the judges as well as the people. Depending on their performance, they could even get promoted to a quasi-blacksmith rank or even straight up to a professional blacksmith. There's also an impressive reward for the winner, though I don't know what it is. Also, even if you don't win, there's still an advantage."

"Oh? What's that?" Sato developed an interest in the boy's words.

"You should know that the service of a professional blacksmith isn't cheap neither is it easy for those like me to get their help. Therefore, apprentice blacksmiths are actually the busiest in the entire industry. However, people are still a bit apprehensive about them. The title 'apprentice' obviously has to do with this." The young boy explained.

"So the advantage of this competition would be for the apprentices to display their skill. As long as they could get a good ranking or their technique is found satisfactory by the judges, they would be able to receive more customers and might even become a bit famous."

"I see." Sato replied with a contemplating face.

'So the Apprentice blacksmith competition is like a public display of skills but in a tournament-like format. It would be useful for players who focus more on their subclass but not for me.'

Though he found the competition to be interesting, Sato didn't feel like participating. He didn't want to be recognized as a blacksmith as he intended to keep that identity of him a secret. At the same time, Sato was more of a combatant than a lifestyle class player so he didn't have much interest in furthering his career as a blacksmith. 

However, to a blacksmith player, the advantage was indeed impressive. 

As one had just arrived in town, there was a very low possibility that they would be patronised by NPCs. They would have to work at the blacksmith guild for a while and build some fame for themselves before they could finally open a shop or a stall. Otherwise, if they did so first, they won't make any profit and would simply incur losses. However, the existence of the contest helped change this. Thanks to it, players could build a bit of fame for themselves without having to 'slave' at the blacksmith guild. Of course, this was on the condition that their skill was impressive and they got a good ranking in the tournament.

"If I'm correct, one of the rewards should be a copy of Savir's manual." The young boy suddenly said with an emotional tone.

"Savir?" Sato widened his eyes in surprise as he stared at the boy.

"Hmm. The legendary scribe, Savir. While it's true that he was a rune-forger, he was said to have dabbled in many of the other arts including blacksmithing. He had even made a special manual for apprentice blacksmiths which is the reward for the contest this time around. Sadly, it wasn't publicly circulated so it can only be gotten in events like this. However, even then, the owner would have to return it later and not make a copy of it else they would suffer some heavy repercussions that could even be deadly." The young boy explained, not knowing why Sato was surprised.

Partly paying attention to the boy's words, Sato focused the other part of his attention on his ring. Inside of it was a silver coloured card with bronze edges and a mystical pattern engraved on the centre.

[[ System interface :

[Savir's card : Unknown : 

Can be used to unlock Savir's Mansion. 

System description : With this, you might get something good.]]

'I almost forgot about you.' Sato smirked.

Sato had gotten the card right after killing his first monster in the game, a Common ranked level 2 wild saber. He had originally thought that it was an item with a low drop rate since it looked a bit special but after seeing that there was not much information regarding it, he kept it in his inventory and didn't bother bout it again. Even when he came back to the exact spot to hunt down another wild saber, Sato didn't get a similar card making him suspicious of the card's value.

After that event, Sato had pretty much forgotten about the card. It was only just now when the young boy mentioned the name Savir did Sato find it familiar and recalled the card tossed away in his ring.

'If I want to learn more about Savir and the value of this card, getting the book would be much better than visiting an appraiser.'

Sato placed the book on a higher spot in his to-do list over searching for an appraiser to aid him because from the very short introduction the young boy had given about Savir, it meant that the value of this card was something he shouldn't underestimate. If there was a possibility that it would attract the malice of some NPC, Sato would rather leave it to rot in his inventory than take that chance.

'Looks like I will need to participate in this competition.' Sato thought as he slowly began to make up his mind.

"Where's the competition held and how do I register? What do you know about it?"

"Uh, uh," 

Stumped by the barrage of questions, the young boy was confused as to which question he had to answer first so he ended up stammering.

"*sigh* Just take me to the blacksmith guild building." Sato said after seeing the young boy's confused face.

"Alright." 

Secretly breathing out a sigh of relief, the boy lead Sato once again but this time on a different road as their destination had now changed.

Meanwhile…

At a teleportation array somewhere in Black Rock city but different from the one Sato arrived at, a blue light flashed, signaling the arrival of another batch of individuals. A majority of them were NPCs but among the 'passengers', 2 were players.

"So this is the city huh?" One of the duo, the player by the right, said.

"We're still inside the teleportation station and you're already astounded." The player by the left mocked.

"Because we're still inside the station doesn't mean anything. The difference between a town and a city could easily be noticed here too. The fact that you can't see that just proves to show why I'm the smart one." The player by the right countered.

The player by the left snorted before he spoke up again,

"Tch, whatever. Let's get going. We need to take advantage before the others arrived."

The other player didn't say anything else but walked together with his partner as they exited the building. Unlike Sato, they didn't pay for a guide but decide to explore the city themselves.

3 hours later…

At the teleportation station Sato had arrived at, another batch of travelers had 'descended'. Among the group was one player who had a cold face. If Sato were here, he would recognise the player, after all, he had traded blows with him before.

'Sky Blade was it? I heard you've already arrived here 3 hours ago. I hope I can find you and complete our match.' the King of the Hill, Han Otoki looked ahead before stepping off the teleportation array.