MMORPG: Rise of the Primordial Godsmith

Chapter 1450: Myriad Prodigies: Offers

”…Whew.”

Wiping off the sweat on his forehead, a relieved smile appeared on Valyrʼs face as he gave the item he just forged to the proctor assigned to him.

Receiving the item with both hands, the proctor went ahead and looked at the item from every angle possible, even going so far as to use various identification skills to make sure he didnʼt miss a single mistake.

Nevertheless, by the time they were done, the proctor gave Valyr the verdict that his item was of superb quality, which allowed him to obtain a grade of Platinum for his third and final area.

Considering the overwhelming dominance the young man had showed during the first two areas, almost everyone in the audience wasnʼt surprised that heʼd be able to do the same for the last one.

After all, the first two areas he chose werenʼt really something he was known for. On the other hand, the fact that he was a blacksmith eventually became known by everyone thanks to the Rise to Prominence tournament.

However, that did not mean that they didnʼt have any reactions to the young manʼs achievement whatsoever.

If anything, their interest towards the young man was focused on something else entirely.

The item he just forged.

”Is that… an arquebus?”

Just like a pebble being thrown into a calm body of water, once this question arose from the audience, a great majority immediately went into a frenzy, especially since they knew what the arquebus was capable of.

”This…” Even Julian could not avoid reacting the same way the audience did, his eyes glistening as he continued to look at the arquebus Valyr just forged from afar. ”To think the design of the weapon can be further improved…”

”Iʼve passed the first round, right?” While Julian and the audience were still thinking about the arquebus he just forged, Valyr decided to ask the proctor if his grade was recorded.

”Ah… yes.” Slightly flustered, the proctor took a while to respond, though he still answered what he was asked.

Giving the man a nod of gratitude in return, the young man decided to return to the underground town for now, only to stop in his tracks the moment he heard distant whispers start to echo near his ears.

”Er… excuse me. Are you planning to sell the item you just made, Ylvar?”

”On behalf of the Windrider War Squad, we would like to buy the arquebus you just forged, Ylvar. Name your price.”

”The Alliance of Artificers would like to buy the weapon youʼve just crafted. Not only will we agree to any price you set, but weʼll also give you the position of Honorary Elder once you accept!”

Although the status of the people sending him whispers varied from person to person, all of them talked about one thing.

Their desire to obtain the arquebus he just forged.

Scratching the back of his head as more and more whispers continued to echo near his ear, Valyr eventually shifted his gaze towards Julian, shooting the latter a message on what he should do.

Unfortunately, the response he got from the man did not help him in any way whatsoever.

”Are you… planning to sell this arquebus? The Blacksmith Guild is willing to give you 200% more than the highest offer youʼve gotten so far.”

”…”

…

”Haah…”

”Reputation is a double-edged sword.”

Clutching his head as he arrived at the underground town, Valyr briefly thought back to the solution he came up to resolve the situation heʼd gotten himself into.

Making use of the reputation he had garnered, the young man decided to hold an auction then and there where everyone in the tournament could participate.

Fortunately, the tournamentʼs organizers supported him in this endeavor, swiftly coming to an agreement with him on certain terms as a platform was hastily built to accommodate the sudden request.

Considering the quality of the weapon, as well as the identity of the person that made it, it was no surprise that the price swiftly broke past 100 gold coins, forcing the majority to give up as the remainder increased the price with platinum coins.

Yet, even those with large reserves of wealth did not last any longer, especially once the large organizations decided to join the fray and make a bid using platinum cards.

In the end, the young man sold the arquebus for 37 platinum cards, giving 3 of them to the organizers as apology for the sudden request.

ʼHonestly, it should have ended there,ʼ muttered the young man to himself inwardly, only to then let out a sigh as he headed to the tavern where Ataraxia was.

ʼBut who knew the organizers were highly supportive of the auction idea?ʼ

As the thought came to mind, he recalled how the auction for his weapon turned into a full-blown auction of sorts, with the organizers even going so far as to ask if he could forge another weapon for the auction.

With an agreement that he would obtain all of the profits from the sale, the young man eventually acquiesced and poured a bit more effort into crafting two more arquebuses, each of them being higher rarity than the one he just casually forged.

”At least I wonʼt have to worry about funds for quite some time,” said Valyr softly with a slight smile, arriving at the tavern Ataraxia was in a couple minutes later.

”…How did it go?” Having split his attention apart beforehand, Ataraxia looked at Valyr with a slight smile on his face as he waved for him to come. ”Poorly?”

”As if,” replied the latter with a chuckle, taking a large gulp of the drink Ataraxia bought. ”Youʼre underestimating your teacher too much.”

”Well, you did switch it up and choose magic and mentality for your first two areas,” answered Ataraxia with a slight shrug, ordering another drink from one of the servers. ”I thought youʼd pick weaponry and combat like what everyone else thought.”

”Letʼs just say I chose them with a good reason in mind,” replied Valyr with a smile, continuing to keep up a bit of banter between the two of them as they indulged in the drinks they got.

After a few more minutes of waiting around the tavern, the two soon heard that the next batch was finally tackling the first round, prompting both Valyr and Ataraxia to look at each other with calm expressions.

After all, that meant Valyr was going to be bombarded with invitations.

However, just as he began to wonder which organization would approach him first, one of the tournamentʼs organizers entered the tavern they were in and did just that.

”Er… Azure Mage and Azure Spear, right?”

”The tournament director wants to see you.”