"It can't be…"
A little girl was trying to comfort the depressed young adult wolf. Paia was patting the sad back of the knelt down Richi like she was telling him 'it's okay.'
Brian on the other hand went over to look at the finished product of the C grade kind. He has the heart of a knight so he was curious what kind of dagger Richi made that the System graded far from his expectation.
Glancing at the typical but well-made appearance of a weapon, he can already see what was wrong with it even without the Appraisal skill.
He grabbed the weapon to test its weight. Brian can still somehow swing the dagger-like how it should be despite his body condition. After testing a few swings, he can say this about the dagger.
It was a bit heavier than your average dagger because the density of the blade deceived its short-length blade. This also means that there was no flexibility on its blade at all. Hard it may be, but limits what a dagger can be. There are daggers that could be created like this although Richi was not able to achieve the desired result.
Brian may not have the eyes of a merchant, but he knows what a good weapon or armor would look like. Although he was waiting for what the System would say because the dagger in his hands can still be sold easily for a specific price.
"There are 11 things in which you can improve on. From your careless control of flames to striking the mold with your hammer."
"But why is it only C grade at most?" Brian asked as the mistakes the System's avatar pointed out did not explain all of it.
"There are a lot of things to point out but to summarize it, a mediocre product will never be the first choice of potential customers… Please push the button again to enable guidance mode."
Brian nodded and went over to the red button once again. This time, in the hands of the System avatar, appeared a hammer used for forging. It then picked the same kind and amount of materials Richi used when making his dagger.
From an outsider's point of view, the System's avatar moves exactly like how Richi did a while ago. However, from a professional standpoint, the avatar moves with fluidity while no mistakes can be found in any of the processes.
Richi who has somewhat recovered, observe intently the avatar's motions like his life was depending on it. It did not take a genius to understand that the System was teaching him.
The forging process for the same dagger ended in a significantly shorter span of time. When the avatar placed it on the grading table, this showed on the board.
<Steel Dagger>
<Creator: The Amazing One>
<Potential: S->
The name which was supposed to be written in normal black ink is now dazzling with subtle gold. Brian does not know if that what happens whether an item of high quality is placed or simply the System's gimmick, but he compared and thought how similar the display looks like from the RPG games Brian once played back on Earth.
Nevertheless, it makes anyone who sees it want to achieve the Potential grade of S.
Brian wanted to check out the same dagger of supposedly higher selling potential. The first obvious difference was the appearance. Not only does the blade of the dagger gleamed better, but also the hilt or the handle was significantly more appealing compared to the previous one.
Grabbing it also felt better for the user. Just a few swings and Brian can tell how the dagger easily became a part of his limbs. Not to mention, even without stabbing someone with it, Brian can already tell it was sharper and more durable compared to Richi's creation.
The same materials were used but somehow the final product was very different. Now Brian understood why Richi's dagger was graded a measly C.
The wolf whose finest creation was being ridiculed did not feel hopeless. Instead, he was invigorated and inspired to achieve what the avatar just achieved. Richi immediately picks up his tools and heads to create another one.
Brian was happy looking at his employee. He was lucky to hire someone who was dedicated to their craft. Richi's dedication must be the reason why he did not hesitate when signing the contract.
He did not bother to disturb the serious blacksmith any further. He knows he will be taking a long time before Richi can reach anything closer to what the System's avatar just did so Brian brought Paia to leave the room.
'He should be able to improve significantly inside the workshop.' Brian looked at the sun that barely moved before they came in. He has no clock or something that tells the time directly but he can tell it should be past noon if the time follows at the same rate inside the workshop.
Since it was still quite early in the morning, he decided to go to the neighboring District 8 for his quest. He wanted to do it as soon as possible because the system told him,
<System: Trial period will end three days in real-time. All resources should be provided by the User after that>
Brian was hoping he the workshop will be sustainable by itself although it will not make sense after the System gave him the quest of searching for a supplier. He also needs to find a clerk along the way.
District 9 and 8 might be neighboring district but because of how large the city is, it still has some considerable distance although not as much when he went to the Auction House in District 1.
Brian understood how the city was structured after going to the Association. Soleil City was divided into 9 districts, each one was distinct from one another.
For example, District 1 is what you call the center for business because it is the most accessible part of the city since it was located right in the middle of Soleil where everything intersects. Meanwhile, District 9 being the farthest to District 1 has the cheapest lands. Almost all of the properties in it are for residential purposes.
The district he will be going to was almost identical to them except for the fact District 8 has two famous restaurants people are willing to wait a long line for. So non-residents visitors can more often be seen compared in District 9.
Brian already knows there is a single humble blacksmith situated here. He can go and inquire about other places but he also wanted to try the food in one of the famous restaurants with her daughter.
"You want to know where I get my ores?" An old dwarf looked at the blonde human with his daughter laughing loudly on his shoulders.
Like Auzeweth, there are also dwarves living in here. Their descendants may be different but they are still famously known to be the race in terms of blacksmithing. The old dwarf in front of him is one of them.
"There are a lot of goblins in District 6 whose job ranges from collecting herbs to mining ores. You can probably find what you are looking for." He gave him the information Brian wanted.
Not only that, Brian was also able to see how normally a blacksmith in Soleil should look like. His shop was really different. The dwarf's blacksmith captures the essence of how a blacksmith should feel like. Nova's Blacksmith feels more like a shop you can find in one of the malls back on earth.
However, Brian believes that this aspect of his store has will be a unique experience for customers. It may greatly increase his shop's attractiveness, or it may shoo them away. Only time will tell.
Brian's afternoon schedule was now filled with a plan to visit District 6. But before that, he still promised Paia that they would be eating in 'Pharo Restaurant'.
Unexpectedly, the specialty of where they were eating was noodle dishes. Noodles was not even invented in Auzeweth as how Brian remembers it. He was happy to discover a treasure in their journey although compared to Paia who's trying her hardest in using the homemade chopsticks to slurp as much noodles as possible, he can only smile at it.
'She might not remember that much before because she was too little, but her three baby meals a day were more extravagant compared to anything we have eaten here.' The way Paia enjoyed eating made Brian recall something.
He remembers that one of the rewards in the System's game wheel was a restaurant. Maybe if it landed there, he was able to provide System-approved delicious food for her every day.
