I am different from ordinary heroes.
I was aware of that fact. The system logs that appear as the Master controls the game were visible only to me.
There's one more thing.
Summoning the status window. Seeing the logs could be overlooked, somehow, but this changes the story.
It means I can interfere with the system by my own will.
Even if just slightly.
I recalled the conversation I had with Isel last night.
Isel said the status window I bring up doesn't display on the Master's screen.
A being half-Master, half-hero.
That was me.
'If that's the case.'
It should be possible.
To encroach upon the domain permitted only to Masters.
I picked up the wooden shield and bow inside the Armory.
"You wait here."
I took the cart filled with materials from Jena.
[Blacksmith Lv.1]
I opened the small iron door located on the left side of the Armory. A wave of intense heat washed over me. Inside the blacksmith, a small furnace burned brightly, accompanied by an anvil and various tools for crafting.
[Finally making something!]
Isel appeared and circled above my head. Perhaps due to the furnace's heat, her cheeks were slightly flushed.
"Let's give it a try."
[So Loki! What are you making? Laevateinn? Or Brionac? Stormbringer? Fragarach?]
"Here?"
No materials, low facility level. No assistant craftsmen either. Conversely, if the conditions were sufficient, I could indeed make those 'ultra-special weapons' Isel mentioned, but it wasn't the time for that yet.
"Equipment crafting window, bring it up."
"[Okay!]"
A corner of my vision flickered, and a hologram window appeared. It was the exact screen that appears when tapping the equipment synthesis tab in Pick Me Up.
[Begin Equipment Crafting!]
I pressed the craft button at the bottom of the screen.
The screen changed, displaying a window asking for detailed conditions.
'It works.'
Type, Normal.
Form, Longsword.
Method, Casting.
[You have selected Casting. Is this alright? Penalties will be applied.]
"Yes."
There are three equipment crafting methods: Enhancement, reinforcing existing weapons; Casting, creating new weapons from materials; and Commission, entrusting the entire process to an artisan.
[Please insert materials.]
I put 2 Iron Ore, 1 Leather, and 1 Plank into the furnace. The flames within the furnace roared intensely.
"This is how you put in materials, right?"
"[Right. Just do it like that.]"
I tapped 'Start' at the bottom of the equipment crafting window.
[Insufficient Facility. Penalty applied.]
[No Artisan. Penalty applied.]
[No Blueprint. Penalty applied.]
[Success Chance: Extremely Low - Failure is likely unless blessed by extreme fortune! Try again with better conditions. Are you really sure?]
[Proceed with Synthesis?] (Note: Likely a translation inconsistency, should probably be "Crafting")
[Yes(Selected) / No]
I brushed my hands together.
It's been a while since I crafted, but the feeling remains at my fingertips. Low facility level, no artisan, and no blueprint – a triple penalty. But this much is nothing to me.
"[Crafting is naturally...?]"
"Manually."
"[Greaaaat!]"
What are you so happy about.
A hologram screen appeared in the center of my vision. The screen consisted of thousands of lines, laid out like a Go board. In the center of the screen, the longsword I intended to make was visible. The image of the longsword was rendered in pixels.
[Ting!]
[Insufficient Facility!]
Part of the horizontal axis rotated, distorting the sword.
[Ting!]
[No Artisan!]
Part of the vertical axis rotated, blurring the sword's shape.
[Ting!]
[No Blueprint!]
The intact sword vanished, and the screen became a mess of white and black dots.
It resembles a toy cube puzzle. You rotate the screen horizontally or vertically to solve the puzzle. The only difference is that the puzzle object is a polyhedron. A kind of mini-game. Of course, most Masters don't bother with such tedious games. If the conditions are met, doing it automatically is fine.
[Select Puzzle Difficulty. Higher difficulty increases rewards!]
"Super Hell."
"[Super Hell? With a triple penalty?]"
"Just do it."
[You have selected Super Hell difficulty. Do you really want to waste materials like this? I won't stop you!]
15X15.
15 horizontal rows.
15 vertical rows.
For Super Hell, the time limit is 3 minutes.
The image on the screen flickered and rotated once more.
Now, its shape was completely unrecognizable.
[Puzzle Start!]
Why did they create such a useless function?
Only a few hardcore addicts even do this.
'Is there another meaning to this puzzle?'
Since it's not an ordinary game, there might be something more.
But I couldn't know now.
Time taken: 27 seconds.
[★! Super Great Success !★]
['Han (★)' crafted 'Well-Honed Longsword (C-)'!]
A single sword popped out from the bottom of the furnace.
[Well-Honed Iron Sword]
[Grade: C-]
[Masterpiece!]
[Sturdy yet light and sharp. The base materials are exceedingly crude, but this has been compensated for with unbelievable skill.]
Only C-.
Given the materials, it can't be helped.
This time, I tossed the crude bow into the furnace.
As I added the materials needed for enhancement, I thought.
Bows can be divided into two types.
Shortbows, prioritizing portability and rate of fire.
Longbows, prioritizing range and penetration power.
'It's not time for a longbow yet.'
Longbows will become necessary starting from the floors where large monsters appear.
I selected Type: Normal, Form: Shortbow, Method: Enhancement. The weapon to enhance: the E- grade Crude Bow. The mini-game started.
[★! Super Great Success !★]
['Han (★)' crafted 'Balanced Shortbow (C)'!]
I decided to make a spear too.
[★! Super Great Success !★]
['Han (★)' crafted 'Sharp Longspear (C-)'!]
Finally, I enhanced the shield.
[★! Super Great Success !★]
['Han (★)' crafted 'Sturdy Iron Shield (C)'!]
"[Th-this is the Hand of God! The legendary Thousand Hand! Kyaaaa!]"
I pushed away Isel who tried to rush me. Isel let out a cheer and vanished.
'This far.'
If I had my way, I'd make other items too, but what I've already done is conspicuous enough.
I don't want unnecessary misunderstandings from the Master.
Even if I'm an independent entity, I'm still just a mere hero.
Core functions like summoning or synthesis probably won't be permitted. Equipment crafting was also impossible without Isel's help.
I put the crafted weapons onto the cart and exited to the Armory.
Jena's jaw dropped when she saw the weapons.
"What did you do?"
"Don't try to know. You'll get hurt."
To be precise, I used cheats.
The crafting method I just used isn't allowed for heroes. Observing artisans crafting equipment shows an analog process – carving wood, treating leather, melting iron – not this kind of cheat. I was half-doubtful, but glad it was possible.
Jena picked up the bow from the cart and drew the string.
"The tension..."
"The tension?"
"Is amazing."
Jena grinned and placed the bow on the display rack.
Subsequently, the sword, spear, and shield were also placed in the Armory.
"Won't people who come later steal these?"
Using the 'Dedicated Weapon' function prevents that.
Returning to the plaza, the Armory door closed with a clunk.
The sky was a dim grey. Though it's always grey, morning or evening, the scenery changes slightly with time. For instance, light grey in the early morning, dark grey late at night.
"Back to potatoes again."
"Tired of them?"
"Of course! Potatoes, potatoes, potatoes for all three meals! Just seeing potatoes makes me want to throw up now."
['Jena (★)' expresses dissatisfaction with the dormitory!]
I was starting to feel the limits of a ramen-based diet myself.
Maybe I should try thinking about wanting to change the dorm.
['Han (★)' expresses dissatisfaction with the dormitory!]
[Tips/ Improve facilities to create a comfortable environment! Hero morale will increase.]
There.
The message just now will be reported to the Master in report format when they log in. They might ignore it, but then I'll just have to endure, what else can I do.
Parting ways with Jena, I returned to my room and looked over the strategy guide I had written.
Checking for any errors, figuring out the direction of progress. It was going well.
The next afternoon, Aaron finally learned Low-Grade Spear Arts.
It's true he's still clumsy, but he's no longer worse than useless. I was also able to move beyond just fighting scarecrows and practice more diversely against a human opponent.
"S-save meeee!"
['Aaron (★)' feels Favourability towards 'Han (★)'.]
[Affinity Bonus generated.]
Is this guy a masochist?
And the next day.
[Welcome to Pick Me Up!]
The sky shone white.
I knew even without seeing the message. I closed the notebook detailing my action plan and stood up from the chair. Out in the plaza, Aaron with a nervous face and Jena with a nonchalant expression were waiting.
"Relax."
I chuckled and patted Aaron's shoulder.
From the Master's perspective, Aaron is on the edge, but if he just performs as practiced, he can avoid the worst. If he shows even minimal contribution, they probably won't dispose of him. The current 'Party 1' wasn't even at full capacity.
"Come to think of it, I don't have a spear...!"
"There's a spear."
"There's a spear."
[Open, Rift of Time and Spaaaace!]
[Han, Jena, Aaron!]
"Going even without being called."
Are they planning to progress with just three people?
That was one way. The tower's difficulty isn't high yet, and adding level 1, 1-star heroes at this point would obviously just hold us back. I went into the Armory and picked up my sword and shield. Then I tossed the spear I brought to Aaron.
"This is..."
"Don't ask, just use it. If the hellish effort of the past two days wasn't for nothing."
"Th-thank you!"
"Just don't hold us back."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Why are you being so formal?" (Note: Aaron used a very formal way of addressing Han)
"Then, Hyungnim!" (Note: Hyungnim is a respectful term for an older male, often used in gangster contexts or showing great respect/subordination)
"..."
Judging by his face, he looks older than me.
"Hyungnim, I'll work hard!"
"Yeah, whatever."
"You two get along well. Let's all do our best."
We entered the Rift of Time and Space. The mirror on the left glowed, and the location changed. A refreshing breeze carrying the scent of greenery blew through the lush trees stretching everywhere.
'A forest.'
[Floor 4.]
[Mission Type - Extermination]
[Objective - Annihilate all enemies!]
[Goblin Lv.4 X 3]
[Harpy Lv.6 X 2]
Above the now familiar goblins.
Upper body of a woman, lower body of a bird. Harpies. Just as expected, they look nasty.
The annoying thing about harpies is that they fly and primarily attack from above, which is difficult to deal with.
I said to Jena.
"You handle those harpies."
"Figured as much. Good timing, I wanted to try out the bow Oppa gave me properly."
"You protect Jena. The harpies will focus on her."
My sword can't reach the harpies up in the air.
Aaron, with his long-reaching spear, was perfect.
I gave my iron sword a twirl.
Good grip, appropriate weight. The blade shone dazzlingly blue. Indeed, a weapon I made. Incomparable to the old iron sword. The solid iron shield also gleamed smoothly.
No ranged attackers this time. The goblins, armed with swords and shields, accompanied the harpies as they approached us. This battle, I decided to wait for the goblins to come. Charging out to meet them is fine, but the moment I move out, the formation breaks.
Principle one of Close-Mid-Range.
The swordsman fights the enemy within the spearman's reach.
An arrow shot from Jena's shortbow.
It hit the wing of the harpy on the left.
"Kiyaa!"
The harpy, arrow stuck in its wing, dived towards Jena.
"Aaron!"
"Uwaaaaaaagh!"
Aaron swung his spear wildly.
['Aaron (★)' feels Fear! All stats decrease by 30%.]
"This bastard..."
I stepped forward. The spear shaft swept past where I had been.
That guy, too agitated. At least in the training ground, he didn't use the spear so recklessly.
"Get a grip!"
Jena slapped Aaron hard across the cheek.
A trickle of blood ran from Aaron's nose.
This battle was Aaron's first real fight. Until now, he had only observed from behind as a spectator, not a combatant. Understandable. Both Jena and I experienced fear status effects in our first real fights. But Aaron didn't have a second chance.
"Fail this time and you die! Are you okay with that?!"
"..."
"Don't freeze up."
"I-I'll try!"
Aaron's spear began to find direction. The fear didn't dissipate, but he was at least serving as a hindrance to the harpy attacking Jena.
After that, it was smooth sailing. Aaron and I prioritized defending Jena, holding our positions, while Jena, unimpeded, shot down the harpies and goblins one by one.
[Stage Clear!]
['Aaron (★)', Level Up!]
[Reward – 10,000G, Leather(C) X 3, Iron Ore(C) X 2]
[MVP - 'Han (★)']