Alliah led me to one of the spacious rooms in her penthouse. The room was beautifully decorated and had a bit of a girly touch to it, but I didn't mind. As long as I had somewhere to sleep, I couldn't care less what it looked like.
"For the time you're here, this is where you'll be staying,"
"Thank you," I replied, giving a small bow to show my appreciation.
After she left, I immediately collapsed onto the bed to think about what had happened. I still couldn't believe it; I had managed to awaken a system and get rid of my father in one fell swoop. I was a bit giddy, to say the least.
"Status," I said, eager to see what would happen next.
Status
+-----+
System: Blacksmith System
Name: Liam Morningstar
Age: 14
Height: 5'9
Weight: 45 kg
Health: D
----Skills
+Enhancement
++Level: Apprentice
[System Vision: A jack of all trades is a master of none]
[Note: To unlock more skills, you must master the previous skill]
+-----+
I opened the status, and that's when I noticed something I hadn't seen before due to the heat of battle: System Vision?
What does that mean?
It indicated that in order to gain more skills, I must first master my Enhancement skill. But how do I master my Enhancement skill?
[Ding!]
[You master the Enhancement skill by upgrading basic grade weapons to a divine grade materials.]
That's right; systems are deeply connected to your mind once you've awakened, allowing you to ask questions without speaking out loud. Still, it's a bit concerning.
"What are the different ranks?" I asked.
[Weapons have seven ranks, and so do the materials that make them: Basic grade, Epic grade, Premium grade, Divine grade, Supreme grade, Legendary grade, and Godly grade.]
[Weapons above Divine grade are considered a rarity. Without the proper skill, it is nearly impossible to unlock them.]
My knife is a basic grade weapon, which means if I upgrade it to divine grade I'll unlock a new skill.
"You mentioned that the materials used to craft weapons are also separated into ranks. Does that mean I can craft a weapon using just the materials?"
[No. At the moment, you haven't unlocked that skill yet.]
I could feel the mana emanating from the materials they were taking out of the dungeon. First, I need to master my Enhancement skill.
"Open weapon stats,"
+-----+
[OPENING WEAPON'S STATS]
WEAPON TYPE: KATANA
LEVEL: PREMIUM GRADE
SHARPNESS: 35
DURABILTIY: 50
WEIGHT: 45
+-----+
I gained 30 skill points after defeating those goblins. It wouldn't be wise to use all of them on a single weapon, so I decided to allocate just 10 skill points for the katana. I didn't think I had to worry about sharpness since it was nearly three times sharper than the knife. The durability was high too; the only issue was the weight.
Having a lighter weapon would increase my speed, and since the katana was a weapon I wasn't familiar with, I needed to take every advantage I could get.
[ENHANCEMENT]
+-----+
WEIGHT 45->35
+-----+
I stood up from the bed and took a practice swing.
SWOOSH
There wasn't as much of a difference as I had expected, but it was lighter nonetheless. Next, I picked up my knife. It was just a simple kitchen knife that I had kept under my bed since the incident with my dad.
[ENHANCEMENT]
+-----+
SHARPNESS 11->15
DURABILITY 7->10
WEIGHT 5->2
+-----+
As before, sparks started flying off the blade, but then something strange happened; it began to get hot—so hot that I was forced to drop the knife. When I dropped it, it took on the shape of molten steel, as if it were reconstructing. Then, in a flash of blinding yellow light, its form changed completely.
It transformed from an ordinary kitchen knife into what looked like a hunting knife. I picked it up from the floor, and the first thing I noticed was its firm grip; it was much easier to swing. It felt weightless, as if I were holding a piece of cloth.
The blade shone brightly, as if it had never been used. The steel itself looked unlike anything I had ever seen before, with a bluish tint that shimmered in the light. The handle was carved with intricate patterns I couldn't recognize—symbols that resembled ancient runes.
[DING!]
[YOU HAVE OBTAINED A EPIC GRADE BLADE.]
[OPENING WEAPON'S STATS]
WEAPON TYPE: HUNTING KNIFE
LEVEL: EPIC GRADE
SHARPNESS: 15
DURABILTIY: 10
WEIGHT: 2
[THE WEAPON IS ELIGIBLE FOR REGISTRATION. WOULD YOU LIKE TO REGISTER IT] [Y/N]
[NOTE! REGISTERED ITEMS CAN BE STORED IN INVENTORY]
"Yes"
[GIVE YOUR WEAPON A NAME]
What should I name this one? I'm terrible at naming things. Maybe something cool. There was this one weapon from a game I played once. What was it called again…
"Blade of Calamity? Yeah, that sounds about right."
[CONGRATULATIONS! THE BLADE OF CALAMITY HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY REGISTERED.]
After I finished, I climbed onto the bed to get a couple of hours of sleep before daylight. It was currently 4 a.m. As my head hit the mattress, I started to doze off; my body was barely keeping up after such a draining night. It wasn't long before I passed out completely.
GRRR!
GRRR!
The next morning, I was awakened by loud, vulgar snores. I opened my eyes to see a beautiful girl lying almost on top of me, her chest pressed closely against me and her arm slung across my chest.
The first thing that caught my attention was the revealing nightgown that seemed to be slipping off her shoulders, leaving her cleavage exposed. I instinctively reached for my knife; with an inventory system, it felt like I was pulling it out of mid-air. I didn't know why she had decided to sneak into my bed, but I didn't want to find out without a weapon in my hand.
With my weapon in hand, I gently began shaking her to wake her up. She slowly opened her eyes, moaning softly as she did. Her emerald eyes stared back at me until she cracked a small smile.
"Good morning! Did you sleep okay?" That was the first thing she asked me.
"What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I thought you'd get lonely since your father just died. I thought I'd keep you company if you needed a shoulder to cry on."
I looked at her with a blank expression, unsure of what to say.
"You know, you don't seem sad about your father's death."
Is she testing me?
"I hope I'm not being a bother." A slight blush crept onto her face.
When she saw that I didn't react, she started giggling.
"You're a strange boy, you know that, Liam?"
"I've heard people say that frequently, yes."
Though more people put it more harshly rather than say I'm strange.
"Don't worry; I happen to like strange men."
Another test, but I still didn't react. That's when her expression and tone shifted completely.
"Did he hit you? I saw the bruises on your body while you were sleeping."
That frightened me the most. I was seconds away from stabbing her in the throat.
How the hell did she manage to sneak up on me while I slept?
"A normal kid wouldn't pull out a weapon if he saw a beautiful lady sleeping behind him," she teased, moving even closer, unconcerned as the strap of her nightgown slipped down to her elbows.
I tightened my grip on my weapon and stared at her intently, wary of even the slightest movement.