When I woke up the next day, I still felt some of the residue feeling from yesterday. To throw that feeling away, after eating a serving of INT and WIS food, I began smelting the [Holy-steel Ingots]. During the process, I used Angelica’s option to grant it 200 Holy Power. It took me about 3 hours to smelt the [Holy-steel ingot].

 

So far the quality did not seem to suffer too much, I then did the same and created a second ingot using the Angelica’s remaining Holy Power.

 

Then I began to work on the simplest part of the set, the bracers. This took me about 7 hours of hard excruciating work, if not for Angelica it would have been much harder though.

 

From my experience working with Holy-steel, I noticed that the magical ability that I grant an item is strictly tied down to the properties of holy and light. So as long as it is within the abilities of that magic system, I should be able to transfer it to my item. And that is what I did.

 

Holy-steel Power Imbued Bracer of Minor Strength   An average bracer made out of holy-steel that has been specialized by its creator to fit a young child.   +15 STR +10 AGI +10 DEX +5 VIT +5 INT +5 WIS +250 DEF [Imbue Holy Power] Surround your arm in holy power protecting your arm and at same time imbuing your arm attacks with holy damage. Weight is reduced to 0 ( 50 Holy Power per minute )   Bonus: +3 STR   Holy Power: 200/200 Restrictions: Minimum Level: Level 15 - Bonus: +2 STR Level 20 - Bonus: +3 STR   Owner Restriction: Creator (Shiro) Benefit: +1 STR   [Made by Shiro] Durability: 1000/1000 Quality 5.0014/10.0000

 

Luckily both bracers came out the same with minor difference in quality, both surpassing the quality score of 5. I also took advantage of what I learned from the Grandmaster and made some minor room for growth as well. Unfortunately, I lacked the skill to make it fully adapt to level like he did. That said, I’ll worry about it when the time comes.

 

From then on I went to eat dinner, put mana inside some [Coal Ore] and went to sleep.

 

...

 

The following day, I again repeated the same process of eating INT and WIS food, and putting mana into [Coal Ore]. The difference this time around is I used a [Lesser Mana Potion]. Then I began on working on the next item.

 

This time around I got a little bit of insight on how to approach things more efficiently. The item I decided to work on is the helmet. But unlike my previous items, I decided to focus more on the magical portion of the item.

 

The results overall were pretty good.

 

Holy-steel Shifting Coif of Knowledge   An average coif made out of holy-steel that has been specialized by its creator to adapt to its owner.   +5 STR +5 AGI +5 DEX +5 VIT +15 INT +15 WIS +250 DEF [Light Shift] Expand and contract the item to the desired size, weight becomes proportional to size ( 50 Holy Power – activation, 1 Holy Power per hour - maintenance ) [Weightlessness] Reduce weight of the item to 0 (1 Holy Power per minute)   Bonus: +3 INT   Holy Power: 200/200 Restrictions: Minimum Level: Level 15 - Bonus: +2 INT Level 20 - Bonus: +3 INT   Owner Restriction: Creator (Shiro) Benefit: +1 INT   [Made by Shiro] Durability: 1000/1000 Quality 5.0002/10.0000

 

Yes, I thought about this very carefully. What I am lacking is [IPR], [INT] and [WIS] to offset my high [PER]. With the creation of my bracers it suddenly came to me, why not just offset it by prioritizing the gear that gives those stats? Even without knowing offensive magics, being able to utilize my [PER] better in itself is worth it to an extent.

 

The second idea I came up with is spending the option into form changing. This might seem like sacrificing fighting prowess for convenience, but far from it! It allows me to turn the helmet into something like a hairpin so that not only does it not stand out, it also creates a false assumption of weakness. Which I may be able to take advantage off in certain situations.

 

The downside to such flexibility though is the maintenance. Whenever I don’t use it as a Coif, after form changing I have to constantly feed it holy power. Considering I plan to use it as a Coif in general combat situations, it shouldn’t be a problem.

 

And like that I began to work on my other pieces for the next 5 days, that of course included spending a part of one day working on my quota as well. I focused on dividing up the stats between gear maintaining an overall balance. Another thing I tried to keep consistent is reducing the weight of the armor during activation, this allows me to make full use of my high speed when necessary while still having solid protection. Usually speed types go for leather after all, due to it being light and flexible.

 

In my case, I will have high armor when standing still, while at same time being able to move fast without restraint. Of course I do sacrifice some protection in adding these options. But overall, I think it is well worth it, because my goal is not to fight monsters who are stronger than me with my equipment, but those that are weaker than me. Which means I should be able to end the fight quickly, if not, run away. Hence the point of this configuration. Luckily, things like making it light is a cheap option for the holy attribute.

 

I also account for the flexibility by use of chainmail at the joints, while using plate to cover my vitals.

 

Holy-steel Rejuvenation Imbued Boot of Minor Agility   An average boot made out of holy-steel that has been specialized by its creator to fit a young child.   +15 AGI +10 STR +10 DEX +5 VIT +5 INT +5 WIS +250 DEF [Imbue Holy Rejuvenation] Surround your leg in holy power protecting your leg and at same time reducing stamina consumption. Weight is reduced to 0 ( 25 Holy Power per minute )   Bonus: +3 AGI   Holy Power: 100/100 Restrictions: Minimum Level: Level 15 - Bonus: +2 AGI Level 20 - Bonus: +3 AGI   Owner Restriction: Creator (Shiro) Benefit: +1 AGI   [Made by Shiro] Durability: 1000/1000 Quality 5.2826/10.0000

Holy-steel Protection Imbued Breastplate of Minor Vitality   An average breastplate made out of holy-steel that has been specialized by its creator to fit a young child.   +15 VIT +10 STR +10 AGI +5 DEX +5 INT +5 WIS +250 DEF [Imbue Holy Protection] Surround your entire body in holy power protecting you. Weight is reduced to 0 ( 50 Holy Power per minute in activated mode, 1 Holy Power per minute in automatic mode )   Bonus: +3 VIT   Holy Power: 400/400 Restrictions: Minimum Level: Level 15 - Bonus: +2 VIT Level 20 - Bonus: +3 VIT   Owner Restriction: Creator (Shiro) Benefit: +1 VIT   [Made by Shiro] Durability: 1500/1500 Quality 5.3707/10.0000

Holy-steel Enhancing Legplates   An average legplates made out of holy-steel that has been specialized by its creator to fit a young child.   +10 STR +10 AGI +10 DEX +10 VIT +5 INT +5 WIS +250 DEF [Holy Enchance] Allows you to transfer Holy Power and/or enhance the Holy Power of other items   Bonus: +1 STR +1 AGI +1 DEX   Holy Power: 300/300 Restrictions: Minimum Level: Level 15 - Bonus: +1 STR +1 AGI Level 20 - Bonus: +1 STR +1 AGI +1 DEX   Owner Restriction: Creator (Shiro) Benefit: +1 DEX   [Made by Shiro] Durability: 1000/1000 Quality 5.5908/10.0000

 

After those 7 days I was dead tired. Not only did I manage to make myself 7 new pieces of gear, I also managed to smelt 50 [Iron Ingots] during that time. Granting me +3 [PER] from my [Creationist: Ingot Creation II] quest and +1 PER for finishing my [Creationist: Armor Creation] quest.

 

But regardless I was super thrilled!

 

My total bonuses from these 7 pieces plus my mithril arm-blade katar end up as:

 

STR: +101

AGI: +124

VIT: +68

DEX: +72

INT: +58

WIS: +52

 

With this, I am pretty close to 2-3X my stats.

 

Yup, I have become totally OP! And white… totally white… white gear, white hair… all white…

 

I am just missing some wings and I can pass off as an angel hehe

 

Anyways… Now that I finally got all this awesome gear... it is time to proceed to the next step!

 

But before that… sleep… I am dead tired so I collapse on the bed and retire for the day.

 

...

 

The next day, I visit the Adventurers Guild to see what quests are available and give my new equipment a field trial.

 

Looking at Rank E quests which I can now take, I see [Collection: Dire Wolf Pelts] which gives 7 silver coins + market price aka 35 iron coins each for 5 pelts, [Subjugation: Ravenous Coyotes] which gives 5 silver coins for 5, [Subjugation: Forest Goblins] which gives 8 silver coins for 1, and [Subjugation: Kobolds] which also gives 8 silver coins for 1. It also seems some of these Subjugations give bonuses if you bring more people, but since I am alone I don’t qualify for any.

 

Now then… which quest should I take?

 

Logically speaking, it is best to be efficient and do multiple quests at once. In that sense the [Subjugation: Kobolds] is out of the question despite me wanting to stock up on some [Red Cave Moss]. It’s not like I am in a hurry or anything, so I can do it later if need be.

 

On the stuff I can double down on is the [Ravenous Coyotes] and [Horned Rabbits] since they are around the same areas in the plains. And also the [Forest Goblins], [Dire Wolves] and [Dire Foxes] at same time since they are all in the forest.

 

The only downside with going for the goblins is that according to what I remember, they are pretty deep into the forest. So unless I happen to find a strangler scout, I would need to spend the night outside the town which I have no plans on doing. To begin with, these quests seem to be aimed at specifically to encourage adventurers to take out the scouts if they meet any.

 

Thinking about it, I decided to go for the [Ravenous Coyotes] and [Horned Rabbits]. My reasoning is that [Dire Wolves] can sometime be in packs, which may be more troublesome. It is probably not an issue since I have my new armor, but again I don’t want to end up dead just cause I got careless and full of myself. So first I’ll see how strong a level 15 monster really is.

 

The other benefit is that [Subjugation: Ravenous Coyotes] has a special marker on it for today, which indicated that this quest has some urgency. Usually due to outbreaks and the like, this meant that the rewards for this quest would be increased by a whopping 50%!

 

On top of that, since both the monsters I’ll be hunting are new monsters, I may be able to get some new skills as well.

 

With my mind made up, I set out towards the plains. Since my [AGI] has increased so much, despite my heavy armor, the rate at which I move has also increased by quite a bit, so it did not take me long to get there.

 

From then on, I used my usual [Smell Sense] and [Presence Sense] to try to locate the monsters I was looking for. Which interestingly enough was much easier than in the forest. Probably because the open field lets smell travel easier.

 

The first thing I found was a level 7 [Horned Rabbit], of course unlike a forest there was pretty much no cover so it spotted me virtually instantly. It then rushed straight at me and quickly accelerated at me with its horn!

 

You have acquired a new skill [RA][Thrust] Level 1

 

Of course with my improved stats, it was nothing more than a joke. I used [Evasion] to dodge it to the side like it was nothing. Then wanting to test the sharpness of my mithril katar, I used [Slice] right at the base of its horn cutting it cleanly off.

 

The [Horned Rabbit] didn’t even realize that its lost its horn as it again tried to stab right at me… or would it be more accurate to say it tried to head bash me since it was missing its horn?

 

I quickly spun around and beheaded the [Horn Rabbit] like it was nothing.

 

Hmmm… despite my more than stellar performance, I noticed a caveat… It seems that there are side effects to unnaturally raising my stats so much. My control seems to suffer quite a bit, if it wasn’t for my high [PER] and the accuracy improvement of [Slice] I wouldn’t have been so accurate. While [DEX] does help a bit as well, the issue is more of getting used to it, so it should not be a long term problem as long as I get enough practice.

 

After storing the [Horned Rabbit] and its horn, I continue on traveling through the plains. It takes me only 10 minutes to find yet another level 7 [Horned Rabbit] who attacks me the instant it sees me in the same way the previous one did.

 

You have acquired a new skill [RA][Plunge] Level 1

 

I smile due to the torrent of new skills that just keep pouring in! Though this time instead of dodging I instead chose to [Parry] the attack with my katar. Then I used my [STR] and [POW] to push the [Horned Rabbit] back and while it was in mid air swung my [Holy-steel Healing Dagger] imbued with [Slice] at the base of its horn. Like with the katar is easily separated.

 

Hmm… it seems these opponents are just too weak to even test the sharpness of my blades…

 

I put away the dagger and activated [Punch], smashing the [Horned Rabbit]’s head, thus killing it instantly.

 

Yup, too easy… lets see if I can find myself a [Ravenous Coyotes], maybe they will prove more of a challenge… Not that I actually want more of a challenge, easy wins are my favorite wins! But I do want to know where exactly I stand. Generally speaking, Enchanted Steel is at a level of a Rank B adventurer. Of course they also have all 25 pieces most likely, but I am pretty confident that I could probably measure up with a low tier Rank D adventurer at the very least.

 

Once I got further out from the town, it did not take long for me to find my first [Ravenous Coyotes]. It was level 12 so about mid-range as far as they get. Once it noticed me I activated [All-Observing-Eyes]. While I am 99% sure that I won’t need it, I plan to pay special attention to its movements and weak spots which I will use as a reference going forward.

 

It tried to lunge at me which I easily dodge with [Evasion]. To which it turns around and quickly tries to attack yet again. I continue to evade but so far no skill came up... Growing a bit irritated at not gaining anything, once it lunged at me again, I decided to finish it off and slice off its neck with my katar. And like that the [Ravenous Coyotes] fell to its death.

 

I continued to farm [Horned Rabbits] and [Ravenous Coyotes] until I got 5 of each. And to be honest, it was a piece of cake. I got [Plunge] to level 2 and even a level 15 [Ravenous Coyote] was pretty helpless against me. Not that it is surprising since they are only Rank G and F monsters respectively.

 

The only reason why Rank F monsters make Rank E quests is because Rank F adventurers don’t have a combat class. Even among Rank E adventurers, many don’t have a combat class. This is partly why Rank D is considered a cut off point.

 

Either way, with that I decided to retire for the day and headed back to the Adventurers Guild. I also managed to find 2 [Blue Hoya] and 2 [Sleepy Jasmine] on the way, despite not exactly actively looking for herbs. These herbs seem to be more common around these parts from my observation. I decided to store the herbs for now since they don’t take up much space anyways.

 

After cashing in the quests and materials, I made a decent 9 silver and 70 iron coins, plus 4 Guild Points. I then head back to the Blacksmithing Guild to eat dinner and get some rest.