The Kobold Leader exploded, scattering loot all over the ground. Copper coins lay everywhere, their metallic glint lighting up the entire mine shaft as though celebrating Shi Feng's victory.
Hei Zi had already collapsed into a seated position on the ground, cold sweat soaking his entire body. It felt as though all his strength had been drained away — he was completely limp and had no desire whatsoever to check the drops on the floor. That battle had been far too grueling. It hadn't offered even a moment to catch one's breath; every second had been a heart-stopping thrill.
Every moment of that fight had been a test of nerves. Without a heart of steel, one simply couldn't endure it.
It was hard to imagine what kind of heart Shi Feng must possess, having gone toe-to-toe with the Kobold Leader for the entire duration.
"We won — Brother Feng, you're basically my idol!" Hei Zi shouted, buzzing with excitement. Looking at Shi Feng's calm expression, he was filled with nothing but admiration.
Shi Feng had always been fairly strong, his skills far beyond those of an ordinary player — on par with a typical professional gamer. His technique had never felt out of reach to Hei Zi. Moreover, the old Shi Feng had been the type to get riled up at the drop of a hat, even arguing endlessly over a piece of ordinary equipment, like an unsheathed blade. But the Shi Feng of today was utterly different. He seemed like an entirely new person — unshakable no matter what happened, unfailingly calm, radiating a sense of security. He was like a slumbering dragon: silent when dormant, but when he roared, the world took notice.
"Blackie, wasn't Bai Qingxue your idol?" Shi Feng said with a faint smile.
"Bai Qingxue is definitely my idol, but Brother Feng, you're amazing too! You're always so quiet and unassuming, and now you've shot straight to the top. You took down a Kobold Leader this tough — real professional gamers aren't any better than this. How could I not look up to you? They say it's good to rest in the shade of a great tree, so Brother Feng, why don't you teach me how to play Warlock? I've been dreaming of becoming a top player." The way Hei Zi looked at Shi Feng, it was as if he were staring at a mountain of gold. At the same time, he felt a surge of happiness over his own choice — if he had gone to the Shadow studio, he'd probably still be a nameless gold farmer, with no chance of even meeting strong players, let alone becoming one himself.
"Sure," Shi Feng said with an amused smile. Hei Zi had always been this straightforward.
In his previous life, when Shi Feng had been fired, Hei Zi had quit without a second word, giving up a job that paid a million a year to share the hardships alongside him. Shi Feng would never let Hei Zi down — he would teach him everything he could. He had never played a Warlock himself, but he had seen plenty of expert Warlocks in action. He knew the general direction a Warlock should develop, which was more than enough to guide Hei Zi.
"Brother Feng, how should I allocate my stat points early on? All into Intelligence?" Hei Zi asked.
Shi Feng shook his head and thought for a moment before answering. "Dumping everything into Intelligence early on isn't a bad plan, but if you want to become a truly formidable Warlock, Agility is also essential. Agility doesn't just boost movement speed — it also increases casting speed. Warlocks have very few survival skills, their legs are short, and most of their abilities require long chant times. The raw spell power isn't that high either — most of the skills revolve around curses that drain HP over time. To wring out all the damage, you need time. It's not like the Elemental Mage, which is basically a turret. So after you get Intelligence to 20, split the rest of your free stat points equally into Agility. That way you'll have enough safety while still pumping out solid damage."
In his previous life, there had been a particularly fearsome Warlock who broke the conventional build by pouring a massive amount of points into Agility. Not only was the output brutal and fast, but in PvP the Warlock was devastating — beating Assassins, who were supposed to counter magic classes, senseless. Those Assassins died without ever landing a single hit. It shattered the long-standing rule that melee classes could always crush mages once they closed the gap. After that, many Warlocks started adding Agility, driving Assassins to despair, as they got bullied by Warlocks day after day.
Hei Zi nodded, finding Shi Feng's reasoning very convincing. "Alright then — once my Intelligence hits 20, I'll go all in on Agility."
With the Warlock stat discussion out of the way, Shi Feng and Hei Zi began collecting the drops.
The Kobold Leader truly lived up to its title, and the first-kill bonus made the loot even richer.
A full eight pieces of Bronze Equipment had dropped, along with one Dark Great Axe, two pieces of plate armor, two pieces of leather armor, and three pieces of cloth armor. On top of that, there were 273 copper coins and three Skill Books: Taunt for the Shield Warrior, Silent Step for the Assassin, and Evil Thrash for the Warlock.
"Blackie, your luck is unreal. Evil Thrash is a rare skill — the drop rate is abysmally low. It's also one of the few Warlock skills that deals both crowd control and damage. Once you level it up, it becomes a god-tier mob-farming skill." Without a second thought, Shi Feng tossed Evil Thrash over to Hei Zi, along with two pieces of level-2 Bronze cloth armor.
Evil Thrash — cast time: 3 seconds. Binds the target within a set area using five thorny vines. If the target moves beyond the range and breaks the vines, each vine deals 20 points of base damage plus 30% of spell power. Cooldown: 20 seconds.
Hei Zi's eyes lit up with wild excitement, and he learned the skill in a flash. With this ability in his arsenal, his combat effectiveness would jump dramatically. Swapping in the two pieces of gear was like upgrading from a shotgun to a cannon — his spell power shot up to 48, and his Intelligence reached 20, unlocking the hidden Intelligence base skill: Spellcasting Activity. It allowed the player to skip the 1.5-second chanting portion of spells, requiring only the gesture instead, letting the caster focus far better on attacking the target.
The two pieces of plate armor were the Recruit Heavy Armor and the Black Iron Gauntlets. Of all the Bronze gear, though, only the Black Iron Gauntlets caught Shi Feng's eye for their stats.
Black Iron Gauntlets — Plate armor, Bronze Rank. Requirement: 9 Strength. Required Level: 3. Defense: 14. Strength +2, Stamina +2, Agility +1. Durability: 20/20.
As for the Recruit Heavy Armor, it was quite mediocre — a level-5 piece that couldn't hold a candle to the Sky Armor. Plate armor was still valuable, though, and would fetch a good price.
The two level-3 Bronze leather armor pieces could be sold off as well.
The most valuable piece among all this equipment had to be the Dark Great Axe — it was an absolute favorite among Berserkers.
Dark Great Axe, Bronze Rank, requires 15 Strength, level 5, Attack Power 21, Strength +5, Endurance +2, Durability 30/30. An absolutely brutal weapon — if a Berserker got their hands on it, their damage output would be terrifyingly violent.
"If the Dark Great Axe gets hyped up a bit, it'll definitely fetch a high price." Shi Feng smirked slightly, a plan forming in his mind to make a killing off the Dark Great Axe.
After that, Shi Feng and Hei Zi returned to the Blacksmith's Workshop.
"Master Jack, I've killed the Kobold Leader. Here is its head." Shi Feng produced the Kobold's head and spoke respectfully.
Master Jack, who was busy hammering at his anvil, glanced at the Kobold's head, confirmed that Shi Feng had indeed accomplished the task, and then said with satisfaction, "Young man, you're quite impressive. You are indeed worthy of inheriting my blacksmithing techniques."
System: Hidden quest "Path of the Forge" completed. Player has learned Blacksmithing, becoming a Junior Blacksmith Apprentice. Acquired blacksmithing talent "Forge Prodigy." Reward: 10 ingots of Hundred-Refined Steel.
Forge Prodigy — after a successful forging, there is a chance to gain an additional 2 points of proficiency.
Don't be fooled by the mere 2 extra points of proficiency. Keep in mind that a Junior Blacksmith Apprentice's success rate when crafting ordinary equipment is only 20%, and even on success, there's just a 40% chance of gaining 1 point of proficiency. Now, as long as a forging is successful, there's a chance of gaining an extra 2 points of proficiency — boosting advancement efficiency several times over.
Moreover, becoming a Intermediate Blacksmith Apprentice requires 1,000 points of proficiency. An ordinary player would need at least ten-plus days to reach Intermediate Blacksmith Apprentice, and materials couldn't run out during that time. The horrific failure rate would waste tons of materials, so having a blacksmithing talent could save a massive amount of materials and quite a bit of money.
Hundred-Refined Steel — a top-tier auxiliary material for crafting Bronze Equipment, increasing the success rate of crafting Bronze Equipment by 10%.
With the Forge Prodigy talent and the Forge Mastery book, Shi Feng was itching to start crafting equipment right then and there. But to craft equipment, materials were absolutely essential, and the demand was enormous. Gathering them himself would be a huge waste of time, so the only option was to buy in bulk — which required a lot of money. On top of that, crafting ordinary equipment wasn't worth it at all; it was a straight-up money pit. Only Bronze Equipment could actually sell, but he needed blueprints, and he didn't have a single design drawing to his name.
"The Silent Forest is a must." Shi Feng thought of the Bronze Equipment blueprint from the Silent Forest. The equipment crafted from that blueprint not only had low production costs but also exceptional stats. Back in the day, quite a few Blacksmiths had made a fortune thanks to that very blueprint.
Just as Shi Feng turned to leave — "Young man, you've truly impressed me. In all my years of forging weapons, this is the first time I've ever seen a Magic Artifact." Master Jack called out to Shi Feng, his gaze falling on the pitch-black long sword at Shi Feng's waist. Even though the blade was rusted and corroded, looking more like a fire poker, it had not escaped the eyes of a Master Blacksmith.