Chapter 49: Crafting Weapons

Locke was defeated, and so decisively that even Sola did not expect it.

At this moment, she reevaluated Leo, the student who had participated in the adventure internship from the beginning, and was surprised by his strength.

She had thought Leo would be the kind of person with some strength but overly arrogant, who would eventually drop out of the adventure internship to focus on self-improvement after encountering true strong opponents.

Now it seemed that Leo was hiding his strength very well; even she had not noticed. If Locke had not suddenly challenged him, she might have remained oblivious.

“Leo, so strong!”

The other students in the class felt as if they were meeting Leo for the first time.

“Winning so easily, how powerful would he be if he used magic sword techniques?”

“No, no, he didn’t even draw his sword. Maybe he isn’t good at magic sword techniques and is just hiding it. But his combat ability is indeed impressive; Locke was completely toyed with by him.”

While others were still immersed in the shock of what had just happened, someone proposed a new perspective.

“Although Locke has decent talent in magic sword techniques, he started learning too late and lacks depth. Leo is very smart; he didn’t use magic sword techniques to fight him. After all, Locke is ranked among the top in the class, so it’s normal for Leo to crush him.”

“That’s true. Although Lady Delisa lost, she is skilled in magic. If she fought using magic, she would definitely win. If we don’t use magic sword techniques to fight, maybe we could also defeat Locke.”

Leo did not expect that defeating Locke would restore the confidence of the students in the class; it had nothing to do with him, as he had already slipped away.

Suddenly, two girls blocked his path; they were Delisa’s attendants.

“My lady wants to see you.”

Leo initially wanted to refuse but decided to see what she wanted.

“Lead the way.”

Leo was taken to a small room where Delisa sat in the center, sipping tea, while several maids attended to her.

From the window, he could see the training ground outside, likely where Delisa had witnessed his earlier performance.

“What do you want?”

Leo sat on the sofa, and a maid brought him a cup of tea.

The tea served to nobles tasted quite good, but he wasn’t used to it and set it down after taking a small sip.

Delisa slowly put down her teacup, and a maid handed her a napkin to wipe her mouth before she said, “I want to ask you to teach me swordsmanship.”

Having been defeated by Locke, Delisa was very unconvinced and wanted Leo’s help after witnessing his strength.

“I didn’t defeat him using swordsmanship; it was due to other abilities.”

Leo would never teach her swordsmanship; after all, he had even refused Michelle, so how could he teach someone unrelated?

“Don’t be in a hurry to refuse.”

Delisa clapped her hands, and a maid immediately brought in a box. When opened, it was filled with shiny gold coins, roughly estimated to be tens of thousands.

“This is your monthly teaching fee, a total of one hundred thousand gold coins. And I’m not asking you to teach me swordsmanship; I just want you to be my sparring partner.”

“Sparring partner?”

“That’s right. You were able to easily counter Locke’s moves because you saw through his techniques. I need your skills as a sparring partner.”

The young lady’s insight wasn’t bad.

“Okay.”

Leo naturally agreed; as long as he didn’t have to teach swordsmanship, being a sparring partner was completely fine. It was also a good opportunity for him to learn some magic sword techniques, which he hadn’t fully grasped yet.

With one hundred thousand gold coins in a month, that would amount to over a million in a year, enough to gather the gold needed to craft weapons.

The only uncertainty was how long Delisa would ask him to be her sparring partner.

Now that he had the one hundred thousand gold coins, he could invite Master Jekes to help.

“My time is tight; I have to participate in the adventure internship, so I won’t have much time to train with you.”

“That’s not a problem; an hour a day is enough. I will send someone to call you when it’s time to train.”

After discussing the specifics, Leo left the room.

With one hundred thousand gold coins in hand, he felt more confident.

He hurried outside the academy towards Master Jekes’s shop.

“Leo, you brat, you’re here! Did you bring good materials?”

Seeing Leo, Master Jekes flashed a bright smile.

“Strange, it’s just you. Where’s Michelle?”

He looked behind Leo but did not see Michelle.

“Just me. I’m here to ask you to craft a piece of sub-legendary equipment. Can you do it?”

Leo asked. If it didn’t work out, he would have to ask Michelle to find Master Ruden for help.

Jekes hesitated for a moment, “What materials do you have?”

Leo took out a pile of dragon horns, dragon teeth, dragon bones, and dragon scales and placed them on the ground.

“Materials from a giant dragon; judging by their condition, they should be from a young dragon.”

Jekes was somewhat surprised, “I heard that Nidlan Academy recently hunted a young dragon; these must be the materials from that young dragon. Not bad, you managed to get them. Although they are enough to craft a sub-legendary weapon, but…”

As he spoke, his brows furrowed.

“But what?” Leo pressed.

“Although sub-legendary weapons are not legendary weapons, they still possess spirituality. If combined with legendary materials, they can grow into legendary weapons, but the crafting conditions are very strict. I only have a ten percent chance of success.”

Jekes’s expression turned serious.

A ten percent chance was a bit low.

After a moment, Jekes continued, “But since you came to me for crafting, I won’t let you down. I will take out my treasured materials, which can increase the success rate several times.”

“Have you heard of secret steel? The crafting process only requires a few grams of secret steel to enhance the strength of the weapon and minimize the chance of failure. I obtained a piece during my adventures, and adding it can raise the success rate to forty percent.”

After all, it was a sub-legendary weapon, and a nearly fifty percent success rate was already quite good.

“I want to craft a bow, a sword, and a set of armor. As long as the sword reaches sub-legendary class, that’s fine. Also, my gauntlets and greaves don’t seem to be very effective for training; I need to craft a heavier pair. How much will the forging cost in total?”

One hundred thousand gold coins were definitely not enough; he could only pay a deposit first.

“A sub-legendary weapon costs at least a million. Since you provided the materials, the sword will cost you three hundred thousand gold coins. The bow and armor are also of decent quality, around one hundred thousand. The greaves and gauntlets will be a gift from me. In total, it adds up to four hundred thousand. I’ll give you a discount and charge you three hundred fifty thousand gold coins.”

“Is that okay? Secret steel is quite precious, right?”

Crafting sub-legendary weapons is time-consuming and labor-intensive. During this period, Jekes wouldn’t be able to do other things, and considering he provided the secret steel, he probably wouldn’t make much profit.

Jekes looked generous, “Having the opportunity to craft a sub-legendary weapon is one of a blacksmith’s dreams; it’s the biggest challenge for me at this stage. Such opportunities are rare; I might even have to thank you.”

It was clear that Jekes was somewhat excited. Having the chance to craft a good weapon was very meaningful for a blacksmith, and he would do his best to create it.

If successful, it would significantly enhance his reputation, bringing great benefits in the future.

Leo now had one hundred thousand gold coins, which he handed directly to Jekes as a deposit.

“I’ll pay the rest within three months. Is that okay?”

Next, he would be working for Delisa for three months, turning into a laborer.

“No problem. I will also take some time to prepare; the fastest I can probably finish in a month.”

“That’s a bit slow.”

Leo was somewhat impatient; he had thought it would only take two or three weeks.

“Do you think crafting a sub-legendary weapon is that easy? The actual crafting time is about a week, but to ensure the success rate, I need to make various preparations, so it naturally takes longer.”

Jekes shot him a sideways glance, implying that an outsider shouldn’t say too much.

“That’s fine; as long as it succeeds.”

Leo wasn’t particularly concerned; he had always managed to get by.

“It seems you have some extra materials. If there’s any left, I can craft a few arrows for you for free.”

Jekes rummaged through the pile of materials, finding that there was a bit more than he had estimated.

“Then I’ll trouble you with that.”

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