Chapter 58: Refining and Upgrading

The two of them teleported to the lumber yard, which had now become bustling and exceptionally lively.

Human newcomers coming and going to turn in quests could be seen everywhere.

"It's way livelier here than it was the first two days. It looks like everyone is slowly catching up in levels," Qin Yumao remarked with emotion.

Fu Chen nodded in agreement: "Indeed. After all, it has already been a week since we entered, and the initial climb up to level ten is still quite easy."

Qin Yumao nodded in deep agreement, turned around, and asked about the matter at hand: "What should we craft first?"

"Let's craft weapons first. Prioritizing leveling up the blacksmithing skill is best, since weapons increase attack power," Fu Chen suggested.

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Yumao had already summoned her Mercury Wyrm in advance, and Fu Chen naturally sat down right behind her.

In just three short days, riding together on the same mount seemed to have become a matter of course.

Neither Qin Yumao nor Fu Chen bothered to show any more politeness or shyness.

As more and more people reached level 10, various kinds of mounts could be seen everywhere around them.

Naturally, due to price reasons, over ninety percent of them were ordinary horses.

Medium-tier mounts like tigers and leopards weren't entirely absent, but someone like Qin Yumao directly riding a top-tier divine beast mount was currently the only one.

Everyone seeing it for the first time, especially those who knew the price, could not help but express astonishment and envy.

The two arrived at the lumber yard's blacksmith shop and selected the weapon manufacturing service.

A smelting furnace then appeared before their eyes. After each of them chose tier 1 or tier 2 weapons, they placed the required materials inside and began crafting.

Advancing from level 1 blacksmithing to level 2 only had a requirement for weapon-crafting proficiency, set at 20 points.

Crafting a tier 1 weapon increased proficiency by 1 point, while crafting a tier 2 weapon increased proficiency by 2 points.

As for what kind of weapons to make—whether magic artifacts, melee weapons, axes, hammers, or bows and crossbows—they could choose whatever they pleased.

This was the first time in her life that Qin Yumao was crafting weapons herself. Even though it merely involved putting materials in, she was still full of enthusiasm.

She chose one of each type among tier 2 weapons, whether they were magic artifacts, crossbows, or melee weapons, and began crafting them all.

Especially the four categories used by martial artists—sabers and swords, long weapons, axes and hammers, and gauntlets—she left none of them out.

However, most of the finished products turned out to be 1-star, with only two pieces of 2-star blue quality.

In contrast, Fu Chen, sitting right beside her, casually chose a tier 2 long spear.

After placing the required materials into the furnace, he set the quantity to "10" and directly started production.

The long spears were manufactured like an assembly line, and the entire process took less than twenty seconds.

Fu Chen didn't even bother to look at the quality and attributes of the weapons, directly turning around to sell them all to the blacksmith's shop.

By this time, Qin Yumao was still carefully checking the materials and quantities for the next weapon she was going to craft.

Seeing this, Fu Chen didn't rush her either, patiently waiting by her side until she completed the required proficiency.

After finishing the smelting, Qin Yumao said excitedly with a beaming face: "Hongchen, I actually crafted two blue-quality weapons!

Each of them has two extra bonus attributes; they're definitely better than the ones bought from the shop.

By the way, how did you handle all those white ordinary-quality weapons?"

Fu Chen replied casually: "Never mind the quality, just sell them all to the shop. Tier 2 weapons are completely meaningless."

Qin Yumao was left speechless by this attitude, only to realize that she had indeed gotten a bit too excited during her first time crafting weapons.

Tier 2 weapons, regardless of their inherent stats, were ultimately too low in tier.

Once anyone leveled up, they would inevitably choose higher tiers. The elimination rate was simply too high, so there was indeed no need to keep them.

Having figured this out, Qin Yumao also sold all ten weapons she had just crafted to the shop.

The two of them then went together to the tailor shop, selected the "armor manufacturing" service, and began raising their level 1 tailoring proficiency.

With the experience from just now, Qin Yumao and Fu Chen acted the same way this time.

They casually chose an armor top, put all the materials into the furnace, set the manufacturing quantity, and directly produced them assembly-line style.

When manufacturing finished, the required proficiency was met, and the newly crafted armor was immediately sold straight to the shop.

Afterwards, they found the artisan shop and completed the level 1 artisan proficiency requirement using the exact same method and process.

Finally, the two arrived at the apothecary shop. Before crafting pills, Fu Chen gave a special reminder:

"Unlike equipment and weapons, the utility of pills is actually quite good.

Choose one or two kinds of useful pills to make, and decide the quantity based on materials and demand."

Seeing this, Qin Yumao nodded. After selecting the "craft pills" service, she checked the pills available for crafting at level 1.

As an experienced veteran, Fu Chen merely swept his gaze over them and determined the types of medicines to brew.

They were [Taixu Powder] for restoring health, [Chengfeng Powder] for increasing self-movement speed, and [Huoxue Powder] for boosting health regeneration speed.

He placed the required materials for the three types of medicines into the alchemy furnaces respectively, directly selected the maximum quantity, and started the brewing process.

In the end, he brewed over one and a half hundred of each of the three pills, concluding this round of pill-making.

The level 1 apothecary proficiency had already met the requirement right at the very beginning of the first brewing batch.

Waiting until Qin Yumao beside him also finished her brewing, the two returned to Sword Immortal City together.

They found the Elder once again to learn various level 2 production skills.

Once production skills are upgraded to level 2, they can already brew the equipment and weapons needed at the current stage.

Fu Chen first prepared all the armor materials he needed.

Then, while casting the [Seize Heaven] skill, he immediately began manufacturing various pieces of armor.

First, he continuously manufactured four sets of heavy armor, leaving less than ten seconds remaining for the one-minute duration of [Seize Heaven].

There was no time left for the light armor and mage robes needed by the rest of the team; those would have to wait until the skill's cooldown ended.

However, Fu Chen eagerly checked the four sets of heavy armor he had just finished making first.

Opening his inventory to inspect the quality and attributes of the equipment, Fu Chen's heart blossomed with joy at a single glance.

Every single piece among the four sets of equipment turned out to be of 3-star purple quality.

He then began examining the equipment attributes; almost all of them granted bonuses to "Strength," increased physical defense, or boosted physique and critical strike rate.

Heavy armor is generally worn by martial artists and beastmen. As for the bonus attributes, as long as they didn't add to "Spiritual Power" or spell attack, any other bonus attributes could be considered a net gain.

Depending on the stat-allocation build, equipment requirements varied slightly.

However, adding "Strength" equates to increasing attack power, and adding "Physique" equates to increasing maximum health.

These two bonus attributes are definitely needed by everyone.

There were also bonuses to Five Elements defense because heavy armor has the lowest spell defense among equipment of the same level.

Therefore, adding Five Elements defense could also be considered making up for shortcomings; although not the most ideal, it was still useful.

None of this was the most important part. The crucial point was that with the capability of a level 2 tailor,

the probability of normally producing a piece of 3-star purple quality armor is extremely low—less than one in fifty.

Yet under the effect of [Seize Heaven], Fu Chen crafted four sets of heavy armor in one breath, and every single one turned out to be of 3-star purple quality.

Facts proved that the effect of this innate talent skill was exactly as Fu Chen had deduced earlier.

It ignored so-called probabilities and chances, capable of forcibly reversing outcomes.