There is Something Wrong with This Game

As Hecate walked, she realized something important.

The scenery of the city looked different than what she remembered yesterday. But it doesn't mean that the city had changed overnight during her absence. The one was truly changed is the view reflected in her sight.

There is a lot of objects that let out a noticeable glitter everywhere.

Items that were sold in the road stalls, dropped coins in the road, even a few of the shop billboard let out this conspicuous glint. Those items have something in common, that they were rare and valuable items.

'The billboard of that shop is gilded with silver and gold... That tattered armor has one or more Soul Essences in it...

That boxes, there is something valuable inside.'

Hecate could guess the reason behind this phenomenon, it was the effect of her newly enhanced skill.

; ;

Skill Name:	Treasure Sensor
Requirements:	Collector
Type:	Passive
Effect:	Shows lootable valuables in around 10 meters in the minimap. The user must define the valuable list manually. Lootable valuables will have noticeable glitters in the user's vision.

Thanks to this skill, the valuable items that Hecate had defined will be shown in her Minimap. Now the skill was leveled up and the marks also show directly in her vision. She didn't need to open her Minimap to utilize this skill anymore.

Well, since she noticed, it will be a waste if she did not take it. She approached the merchant and inspected the armor.

Spoiler ; ;

Item Name:	+5 Ebony Armor
Requirement:	Warrior, Thief, and Archer Job-classes, STR 10
Type:	Armor
Rarity:	★★★★★★
Durability:	2/400
Crafter:	Unknown
Effect:	VIT +20, DEF +200 Upgrade Bonus: DEF +250 If STR < 40: AGI -20 Heavily Damaged: Effect Nullified.   [★] Soul Essence: Orc Pirate General         <del></del> Max HP +100%, DEF -50%, MDEF -50% [★] Soul Essence: Fierce Fang Wolf         Gives STR +5 per Upgrade Lv.
Details:	An armor made of a metal called Opcidium. The decoration of the black crystal looked very profound. Unfortunately, this armor is damaged by a powerful acid and the power inside was lost.

The armor itself is not in good shape. Almost half of the armor was slightly melted and deformed. A single stab of a knife can surely penetrate the armor and make a hole in it.

But with her Blacksmith skill, she should be able to somehow recycle it.

As for the boxes...

; ;

Item Name:	Mysterious Box
Type:	Misc
Rarity:	★
Durability:	-
Details:	Safety box that was locked with a powerful rune. Who knows what is the contents inside this box.

These boxes dropped occasionally from a golem or machine type monsters. Nobody knows the exact contents inside the box and the description doesn't say anything useful. In the market, they sold untouched as it is and the contents inside depend on the buyer's luck.

Hecate began to negotiate with the merchant.

"Mister, I want this armor. How much?"

"It's

400.000, dear little Lady."

"That's too expensive for a junk."

"Lady, this is not junk. You can see it for yourself. This armor was compounded with 2 Soul Essences."

"Mister, did you really take me for a fool? This armor's durability was already in 1 digit. It was sprayed with corrosive acid and already in the brink of destruction. To hire a skilled Blacksmith and repair this thing would cost about 5 million.

I'll take this junk for

40.000 or just forget it!"

STAB!

"Huuk...! But... but... It has Orc Pirate General and Fierce Fang Wolf Essence...

It can double your Max HP and increase your STR by a huge amount! At least...

350.000?"

"What's the use of those Soul Essences if the armor is unusable? They will break during the repair anyway."

Hecate paused for a bit, before continuing.

"Now that I think about it, 

40.000 is still too expensive!

35.000!"

STAB! STAB!!

"Huuk...!! Huuk...!!"

For some reason, the merchant looked like he was suffering from constipation.

"Are you okay Mister? You should go to the doctor if you sick. Should I press the emergency button for you?"

"...No need!...I understand,

35.000 it is... (*cries*)

Damn spiders destroying my precious armor... I wouldn't sell this if not because I urgently need golds...!! (*cries*)"

"Thank you. Oh, I also want this, this, and this... total 3 boxes."

"That will be

12.000." (*dead eyes*)

Hecate finished the negotiation and bought the items. The merchant cried as he handed the ragged armor and 3 small boxes. He looked like he had lost his beloved wife to another <del>man</del> loli.

; ;

You have traded 35.000 for a +5 Ebony Armor. You have traded 12.000 for 3 Mysterious Boxes.

She received the items with a satisfied face. Even though the armor was heavily damaged, it still feels heavy with her 1 STR stat. She quickly put them into her inventory.

As for the boxes, Hecate required a special instrument belonged to the Mage Association to open them. She had no choice except to store them away for now. But since these boxes triggered her Treasure Sensor, the contents definitely not something worthless.

Hecate didn't stop there, she approached another stall.

"Uncle, can I buy that crate? I only want the crate."

"Huh? Did you really want to buy the crate, not the fruit?"

"Yes. I'll buy it for

1.000... Ah, forget it. I'll buy this crate as well as all of the fruits inside."

"Sure! Sure!! The total of thirty apples is 

30... And this crate..."

"I know, 

1.000 for the crate, so the total is 

1.030. Here is the gold."

With that saying, Hecate handed out the gold coins to the seller.

; ;

You have traded 1.030 for a Wooden Crate and 30 Apples.

The fruit seller looked very happy as he received the gold since he suddenly got a big profit. Who would think that someone will buy a mere wooden crate with 

1.000?

'That uncle is a native. He perhaps didn't understand how much worth this crate is in the real world.'

Hecate didn't say anymore and left the place as soon as she put everything to her inventory.

; ;

Item Name:	Wooden Crate
Type:	Misc
Rarity:	★
Durability:	15/15
Details:	A wooden crate made of Sandalwood.

A Sandalwood, or more commonly known in Japan as Byakudan (白檀), is a type of wood that produces a distinctive fragrance that can last for decades. Currently, the global price of Sandalwood reached more than $3200/lb¹ [This is not Earth 2020, okay. The real price of Sandalwood is not that exaggerated yet.].

It was the second most expensive wood in the world.

'If I use this wood in my craft, I can raise its price even further.'

She couldn't help but grin. To think that she met this good stuff easily...

It feels like she had really become a treasure radar.

♠♠♠

A few minutes later, Hecate arrived in front of a small house building. Hecate took out a key from her inventory and opened the door.

This house was her personal property and she used it as her workshop. The front room was decorated similar to any normal house. A living room with stairs that led to a bedroom on the second floor, a kitchen with a bathroom that never used even once, and lastly, the Blacksmith workshop area in the back room.

Entering the house, Hecate locked the door once again before walking to her workshop room.

"Now then, time to work!"

Then, she turned the furnace on.

Without further ado, she opened her inventory and take out all of the cheap weapons and armors that she did not auction. Excluding those that compounded with Soul Essences, she dropped all of them into the furnace.

Spoiler ; ;

You have turned on the Furnace.

Please supply the Furnace with MP to keep it functioning.

Current Temperature: 0° ➾ 800° C (Max 1000°) MP Consumption: 800 per hour.

Your skill, Mysticallurgy Lv7, has reduced the melting time by 70%

Metallic Extraction (20/25) :

+4 Short Knife ➾ 50g Iron | Estimated time: 15 minutes. +4 Silver Bow ➾ 200g Silver | Estimated time: 35 minutes. +3 Iron Boots ➾ 3kg Iron | Estimated time: 58 minutes. +4 Rod of Wind ➾ No metallic substance. +3 Tribula Shield ➾ 9kg Gold, 6kg Iron | Estimated time: 228 minutes. ▽ Other 15 items.

Extraction Result when Finished: 12kg Gold, 10kg Silver, 20kg Iron ▽ Other 8 items.

The Blacksmith furnace in this game did not conform to the rules in the real world. It was system-assisted, very easy to use, and only used mana to operate. As long as the players, or natives have the Forging skill, they can use the furnace.

Well, this is fundamentally a game world after all.

If the Blacksmith process was too complicated, it would deter the players to play this occupation.

♦♦♦

While waiting for the furnace to finish melting the items, Hecate took out the 10 Slot Enchant Cores that she purchased previously and placed them into the table. She also took out her +8 Eldritch Bone Wand, +7 Mask of Serenity, and +7 Cloak of the Fallen.

At that moment, an interesting phenomenon happened.

In her vision, some Slot Enchant Cores she bought gave off a blue aura that slowly extended to the 3 pieces of equipment.

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Hecate let out a grin. She knew of a similar phenomenon that had occurred not too long ago.

'Fortune Instinct!'

It was the skill obtained from combining "Sense Crisis" and "Sense Fortune".

This blue aura must have come from the Fortune Instinct skill. It told Hecate indirectly that the slot's enchantment process would be successful if she matched the items according to the blue aura. A mismatched pair will most likely fail and destroy both items.

With a wave of her hand, Hecate unequipped her necklace.

"Let's test it further by using this to my necklace."

She tested her hypothesis further by using one of the Cores that had a blue aura connected to her Saintess Necklace. It was stolen equipment so it didn't matter to her if it broke.

Spoiler ; ;

You have unequipped +4 Saintess Necklace.

; ;

Are you sure you want to use Slot Enchant Core to +4 Saintess Necklace?

Success Chance: 65%. Warning: Failure attempt will destroy both items.

▶ Yes         No

As soon as Hecate clicked the Yes button, the core suddenly turned into a ball of light and fly into the necklace. The glow lasts for a few seconds before the light fade away.

And then, a system window appeared.

Spoiler ; ;

The slot enchantment was successful. The Slot of +4 Saintess Necklace has been increased by 1.

; ;

Item Name:	+4 Saintess Necklace
Requirement:	Mage, Cleric
Type:	Necklace
Rarity:	★★★★★★★
Durability:	240/253
Effect:	Immune to Silence, Charm, Confuse STR +6, AGI +2, VIT +4 Halves stamina consumption [  ]
Details:	A Necklace that was bestowed to a Saintess. Has a protection from Ashera, your soul won't be defiled.

Hecate let out a satisfied smile as she looked at the success notification. It proved that her hypothesis was right.

Fortune Instinct can help her detect the probability of success in advance. This was equal to obtaining a clairvoyance ability that lets her see the future.

While other players have to take a gamble as they took a risk of failure when upgrading or slotting equipment, Hecate only had to look if the blue aura exists in the items or not. If it exists, then it was a guaranteed success.

It was truly a broken skill.

'Since it proved to be true, then I don't have to hold back.'

She continued to enchant a few of her equipment.

Spoiler ; ;

The slot enchantment was successful. The Slot of +8 Eldritch Bone Wand has been increased by 1.     The slot enchantment was successful. The Slot of +7 Mask of Serenity has been increased by 1.     The slot enchantment was successful. The Slot of +7 Cloak of the Fallen has been increased by 1.     The slot enchantment was successful. The Slot of +5 Shadow Walker has been increased by 1.     The slot enchantment was successful. The Slot of +7 Moon Glacier Armguard has been increased by 1.     The slot enchantment was successful. The Slot of White Silk Panties has been increased by 1.

Unfortunately, the last 3 cores were just plain cores, they didn't let out any aura whatsoever. If she used these cores to slot her equipment, she would likely fail.

"Oh well, Got 7 out of 10 is already good."

Without any other choice, she stored the items back to her inventory.

♦♦♦

More than thirty minutes had passed unknowingly. The furnace already finished melting the scrap items and the inside has changed into a hot metal liquid. The hot liquid metals were magically separated from the other element and each contained in a different container.

If this were in the real world, it would take more than 10 hours to melt iron to liquid metal.

"Now that the metal has become liquid, it's the time to cast the metal."

Hecate carefully poured the hot liquid iron into a sand mold.

This method is called the Sand-casting method. It is one of the most popular and simplest types of metal casting, because it is cheap, using only sand bonded with clay or resin as the mold. Sand can be recycled many times in most operations and requires little maintenance.

She used this metal casting method for two years and did not have any doubt that this method was the simplest and easiest.

...until today.

; ;

The necessary knowledge of the skill Mysticallurgy has been updated.

One of her newly gained passive skills, Mysticallurgy suddenly activated.

Her game interface spammed with a lot of new tutorial windows that she never saw before. These tutorial windows contain information about the basic utilization of mana control, such as shaping and condensing.

"Oh, what is this?"

Hecate carefully read the tutorial with a bright mood.

This passive skill seems to allow her to control her mana to more complex operations. Now, she could use her thought to condense mana in mid-air to create temporary objects out of thin air. Of course, those things were basically made of mana and required her concentration to maintain their condensation. But that's more than enough.

"Wait, looks like I can use this to make molds for my metal casting!"

Metal casting now becomes easier and subsequently, her crafting speed becomes faster.

And that's not the end of it.

; ;

You now can carve Glyph and Runes to your craft.

Not only that, her Blacksmith skill also seems to extend to other professions.

"Now, that's awesome!"

Carving Glyph and Runes to equipment should've belonged to Artificer and Runemaster Sub-class. The Glyph can endow the equipment with limited functionality, making it into a pseudo artifact. Meanwhile, the Runes can add bonus stats to the equipment.

This equals of having 3 production Sub-classes in one Sub-class slot!

'If I use this correctly, I can create some ultimate equipment by myself!

Not only that... If this can be applied to my craft...'

She can create magical items that use black technology in the real world!

However, that is only if she had completely mastered the knowledge. Right now, she did not have any Artificer or Runemaster related information.

What can she carve if she did not know anything about Glyph?

Hecate opened her browser and looked about the Artificer guide. There are lots of guides made by various Artificers about their class, as well as the shape of the Glyph that must be carved and their effects.

"This is definitely not information that can be crammed in one night."

Hecate sighed and closed all notification windows. She decided to put off reading for now and practice this new metal casting method instead.

There are only a few hours left before the guild meeting.