novelraw Chapter 276-1: Imperial Swordsmith, Competing in Forging Skill (1)
Chapter 276-1: Imperial Swordsmith, Competing in Forging Skill (1)
[…]
[The two attendant girls dripping with sweat, finally managed to quell your fury…]
[After a bout of deep ‘communication,’ you also came to understand what it meant to have the Master of the Forge craft blades.]
[The Master of the Forge was the Imperial Swordsmith appointed by the Great General, who normally forged weapons only for the Great General and the direct samurai under his command.]
[When the prestigious families of Kyoto wished to commission the Imperial Swordsmith to forge weapons, they often had to expend many rare treasures and repeatedly humble themselves in pleading, yet even so might not succeed in persuading the Imperial Swordsmith to act.]
[The Imperial Swordsmith’s skill was already such that he could forge divine weapons (Legendary-grade Equipment), but the materials required to forge a divine weapon were exceedingly rare in this world. If an outsider did not bring their own sword materials, the Imperial Swordsmith would only agree to forge a fine weapon (Epic+ grade equipment).]
[And to persuade the Imperial Swordsmith to forge a fine weapon still required spending at least one million Spirit Essence. If one wished to commission a divine weapon, it was also one million Spirit Essence, but all materials had to be provided by the client!]
“…Truly exorbitant.”
After purchasing the group-attack skill Judgment Lightning for the Valkyrie, Lin Xun still had 700,000 left in his savings, insufficient to meet the threshold to engage the Imperial Swordsmith.
Ordinary Apostles had extremely low chapter ratings, so naturally their earnings were nowhere near Lin Xun’s. They usually had to clear several chapters to accumulate enough Spirit Essence to buy or commission equipment.In normal chapters, an Apostle needed to attain an A-grade Interpretation Rating to advance to the next difficulty. If the rating achieved was too low, three lower-tier ratings could count as one higher rating.
If an Apostle always cleared chapters with the lowest D-grade rating, they would have to complete 27 chapters at the current difficulty to advance…
However, Nightmare chapters lowered the advancement requirement to B-grade, while Hell chapters lowered it another level.
But even if enough ratings were accumulated to progress, Apostles often would not immediately enter the next difficulty.
After all, rashly increasing the difficulty carried a high risk of hitting a bottleneck, and stalling out incurred the punishment of the hellish game, not only would the monsters’ power increase, but their drop rates would decrease.
If one stalled repeatedly, it was very easy to fall into a death spiral, ending up unable to defeat even the initial small monsters, an experience tantamount to having the account permanently sealed.
Most ordinary Apostles chose to remain in the current difficulty, continuing to clear other chapters.
Even if staying at the same difficulty reduced earnings, they would rather accumulate more Spirit Essence and experience, improving their equipment, skills, and attributes before entering the next level.
Apostles like Lin Xun were exceedingly rare, achieving top ratings all the way, pressing ever forward, advancing in difficulty while reaping tremendous earnings every chapter.
Returning to the matter at hand, Lin Xun, even if he had the funds, did not intend to spend a fortune to hire the Imperial Swordsmith.
[You furrow your brows tightly and question loudly, “The four words ‘divine weapon, fine weapon’ sound glib enough, but are such things truly so simple, something that can be forged just because one claims they can forge it?]
[In your homeland, you were already the most elite swordsmith, yet you would never lightly boast that you could forge divine weapons or fine weapons… You must see the Imperial Swordsmith in person, verify that he truly possesses such skill, before you can agree to pay the forging fee.]
[The two attendant girls exchanged glances. If any guest heard the name of the Imperial Swordsmith and came seeking to have weapons forged, even if it was their first visit and they did not know the rules, after their intimate soothing, they should already understand how exalted the Imperial Swordsmith’s status was.]
[Even after paying the exorbitant forging fee, one would still need to beg repeatedly, and might have to wait years to finally receive a weapon personally forged by the Imperial Swordsmith…]
[The attendants explained to you that even for those fortunate enough to qualify after paying the fee, meeting the Imperial Swordsmith in person was exceedingly difficult, not to mention you hadn’t even paid any Spirit Essence yet…]
[Before they had finished speaking, you let out a cold snort, stood up, and strode out of the sliding door back to the reception hall.]
[The two attendants hurried to dress and followed you back, only to see you, in front of a whole assembly of Kyoto nobles, raising your iron hammer and loudly demanding…]
[As a swordsmith from a distant Western land, you had long heard of the supreme renown of the forging skills of Sakura Falls.]
[You had come from across the world solely to witness the unparalleled skill of forging divine weapons and fine blades…]
[And today, heh, truly meeting them was not as good as hearing their reputation, Sakura Falls’ finest swordsmith, the Imperial Swordsmith, was cowering like a rat, unwilling to show his craft, lest you expose his true level.]
[In that case, you declared your challenge here and now, inviting Sakura Falls’ Imperial Swordsmith to compete in forging skill.]
[If the Imperial Swordsmith truly possessed the skill said to verge on the Dao itself and craftsmanship reaching the realm of the gods, you would represent the entire Western land, acknowledge your own inferiority, and humbly learn forging from Sakura Falls.]
[But if the Imperial Swordsmith dared not appear out of fear, then Sakura Falls must admit that their forging skill was inferior to that of the Western land, and never again shamelessly flaunt the title of Imperial Swordsmith to the world’s ridicule.]
[Let the Great General bestow the entire Ishimaru Sword Forge’s swordsmiths as your disciples, to follow you back to the Western lands, only after studying the superior techniques of other nations before returning to boast would they not be a laughingstock!]
[At these words, everyone present gaped in shock, then erupted in fury.]
[The title of Imperial Swordsmith was conferred by the Great General. By questioning the Imperial Swordsmith’s skill, you were questioning the Great General himself!]
[Someone immediately pointed at your nose, cursing you, and others reached for their blades, intending to teach you a severe lesson.]
[The commotion drew the guards outside, who raised powerful crossbows and encircled you, preparing to drive you out by force.]
[A stern man in a military official’s garb suddenly rose to his feet. A sword hung at his waist. His bearing was formidable, one could tell at a glance that his strength was tremendous and he possessed extraordinary martial skill.]
[He raised a hand to stop the assembled guards, and solemnly said that this matter concerned the forging skill of the Ishimaru Sword Forge, as well as the prestige of the Great General.]
[If you were to be forcibly thrown out without any explanation, you would likely return to the Western lands and loudly spread word of today’s events, damaging the reputation of both the Imperial Swordsmith and the Great General.]
[As one of the Supreme Sub-Generals, he could not stand by and let such a thing happen. If the Imperial Swordsmith still had any leisure at this time, it would be better to let you witness the forging skill of Sakura Falls yourself, so you could proclaim Sakura Falls’ might in foreign lands and increase the Great General’s prestige abroad.]
[The Supreme Sub-General’s rank and status appeared extremely high. The guards obeyed his command and hurried off to the sword forge, it seemed they were going to report to the Imperial Swordsmith.]
[…]
[Before long, the guards returned, announcing that the Imperial Swordsmith had agreed to your competition and invited you to the sword forge to exchange skills.]