Chapter 144: Unyielding Force

Chapter 144: Unyielding Force



The next morning, Ryan woke up and the first thing on his mind was reflecting on his response to the Iron Maiden Dummy's attack the night before.

In his previous life, an ancient ancestor had a famous saying: 'Examine yourself three times a day.'

Although the content of his introspection was different, the principle remained the same.

"First, my strength compared to the last time lies in having an additional means of combat—the Hammer Technique."

"So, after grasping the enemy's resonant frequency, I can quickly use the powerful shock force of the heavy hammer to deal significant damage to the Iron Maiden Dummy, an enemy with extremely strong defense!"

Ryan's eyes sparkled as he pondered continuously.

"However, the drawbacks are still significant. My means of engaging the enemy are still limited to physical attacks."

"No, to be precise, it's close-range physical attacks."

"Because whether it's the greatsword or the heavy hammer, they don't break free from this limitation."

"Of course, this is a constraint of the Knight (Extraordinary) profession itself. At most, it would involve practicing throwing or improving archery skills to gain long-range physical attack capabilities."

"But in this extraordinary world, this is still far from enough!"

"So, the next step is to seek more means of countering the enemy as much as possible, such as delving deeper into the only sorcery I currently possess, 'Scorching Touch,' and trying to collect more sorceries."

"There's also the question of the origin of the Iron Maiden Dummy that appeared last night."

"According to Hamilton, it seems he intends to classify it as a mysterious incident."

"But the fact that the enemy almost directly targeted my home for the attack doesn't seem like a random mysterious incident. In terms of remoteness, Anna's house is even more on the outskirts of town than mine. It doesn't make sense for the enemy to bypass Anna's house and directly attack mine."

"Additionally, the human skin hanging on the inner wall of the Iron Maiden Dummy gives me a strong feeling of some connection to the Black Flame Church, like the skin armor on that Apostle."

Ryan was highly suspicious of this.

"However, if the Black Flame Cult is indeed targeting me, then the safety of my family becomes a serious concern."

With that thought, Ryan immediately left home and headed to the town's Administration Hall, where he found the Night Watch captain, Matteo, still busy dealing with the aftermath of the attack from the night before. Matteo was a short man with a cheerful demeanor, and despite being up for most of the night, he seemed full of energy, perhaps due to the Night Watch's habit of working through the day and night.

Ryan smiled and nodded at the familiar figure, saying, "Matteo, do you know of any vacant houses near the Administration Hall?"

Ryan had just been considering whether moving to a new house would be a good idea.

Firstly, his original house had suffered damage from the Iron Maiden Dummy's attack, and secondly, and more importantly, there were safety concerns. Therefore, Ryan planned to purchase a ready-to-move-in house near the Administration Hall in Shangjin Town.

This way, at least the security would be much better.

After all, the area near the Administration Hall was already the safest part of Shangjin Town.

"Hmm? Deputy, are you planning to move?" Matteo asked curiously.

"Yes, the attack last night caused significant damage to our house, and I feel that our current location is a bit too remote and may not be safe enough. I'm thinking of buying a ready-to-move-in house in the town center."

After listening, Matteo nodded and said, "What a coincidence, Deputy! After the last attack by the heretics, there are a few vacant houses in the town center. Some are empty because the entire family perished in the church attack, and others are being sold by the sole survivor due to safety concerns, planning to move to the county city."

Indeed, for these trivial matters, Matteo was undoubtedly more familiar than Hamilton, which was why Ryan sought out the Night Watch captain instead of the sheriff.

The county city was clearly not suitable for Ryan's family to move to at this time, given Ryan's current position as the deputy sheriff of Shangjin Town.

"Alright, Matteo, please help me find a ready-to-move-in house with a larger area. The total price shouldn't exceed three hundred imperial gold coins." Ryan thought for a moment and said.

"Three hundred gold coins? Don't worry, Deputy, with that budget, you can almost buy the best house in Shangjin Town," Matteo assured him, patting his chest.

"Then I'll go check out a few vacant houses right away and report back to you later."

"If you find a suitable house, Matteo, you can find me at Borris's blacksmith workshop."

"Will do, Deputy!"

After settling this matter, Ryan headed home.

Upon arriving, he discussed the move with his parents.

"Ryan, moving to the town center is certainly a good idea, but won't it cost a lot of money to buy a house there?" his mother, Emma, asked with a furrowed brow.

"Mother, you and Father don't need to worry about the money. I've already made the necessary arrangements."

"But, Ryan, your income as a Night Watchman shouldn't be this high, right? Where did you get this money?" Mother Emma seemed to think of something, looking at Ryan with a slightly stern expression.

"Mother, what are you thinking? These are all my spoils of war and mission rewards. You should remember the scene when I killed the heretics," Ryan said with a hint of helplessness as he looked at his mother, Emma.

Mother Emma paused, seemingly recalling the scene, and nodded.

"Ryan, regarding this matter, I'll leave it to you and your mother to decide!" Father Old Ryan, after listening for a while, managed to blurt out these words, but it was enough to settle the matter.

"Brother, when are we moving?" Mint, his younger sister, asked curiously from the side.

For a child, as long as the family is together, moving to a new home is an exciting event.

"I've already asked Matteo to look into it. If everything goes well, we can move the leaf stalks this afternoon. Mother, in the morning, you can pack your things, and I'll go to the blacksmith's workshop later."

"We'll move after I return. Ryan patted Mint's head affectionately.

"Mm-hmm, then I'll go and harvest the winter rapeseed with Anna. It's a pity that they haven't grown yet." Mint remembered the winter rapeseed she had planted in the yard with Anna, and she seemed quite reluctant to leave them.

After discussing with his family, Ryan went to the second floor and informed Anna and Ragle about the move, and both women readily agreed.

For Anna, being with Ryan was naturally a good thing, and she had no reason to object.

As for Ragle, she didn't have a house in Shangjin Town, so she could only follow Ryan or Anna.

After arranging the move, Ryan called out to Ragle and headed towards Borris's blacksmith workshop, carrying a large bag of metal fragments from the Iron Maiden.

Just as they took a few steps, Ragle stopped Ryan, frowning, "Ryan, I may have overlooked an issue, and this problem might not be easy to solve."

"This hardened steel is difficult to melt, and the required temperature is very high. If it's the blacksmith workshop from the small town last time, I think I wouldn't be able to melt it."

But the next moment, a flash of inspiration struck Ryan.

"Perhaps I have a way to solve it." Ryan smiled. "I'll try it later, and if it doesn't work, there's another place with a high furnace that we can go to."

Ragle glanced at Ryan and didn't question him. Instead, she nodded in trust.

It seemed that the words of a strong person carried more credibility.

Soon, the two arrived at the blacksmith's workshop.

As Ryan entered, he noticed that there were several fewer blacksmith apprentices than the last time he visited.

Upon seeing Ragle behind Ryan, Borris's expression changed, and he said, "Ryan, long time no see! Are you here to borrow my blacksmith's workshop again?"

"Uncle Borris, you guessed it right. Today, we'll have to disturb you again." Ryan smiled.

Borris let out a bitter laugh and shouted at the blacksmith apprentices, "You brats should thank Ryan! Today, you can take a break! Scram!"

After sending the apprentices away, Borris walked up to Ryan and whispered, "Ryan, I heard that a new deputy sheriff has arrived in town, and he looks very similar to you. Have you heard about this?"

Hearing Borris's words, Ragle couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Uncle Borris, that's me!" Ryan said, slightly embarrassed.

"You?" Borris looked Ryan up and down in disbelief, patted his shoulder, and said, "Don't joke with your uncle. But it's good that you have such ambition!"

Ryan was taken aback and shook his head helplessly.

At that moment, Borris seemed to remember something, closed the blacksmith's workshop door, and hung up a sign.

Then he turned back to Ryan and said eagerly, "By the way, what are you forging today? I can help."

As he spoke, he kept glancing at Ragle, who was standing next to Ryan.

"Uncle Borris, today's forging might not allow you to watch from the sidelines." Ryan glanced at Ragle.

"Oh? Well, I guess not then!" Borris assumed that Ragle, who was standing silently, didn't want him to watch, so he said with a hint of disappointment.

However, when Ryan handed Borris a small piece of hardened steel, Borris's expression changed, and he said with a hint of excitement, "This is a rare material! I'll do my best to forge it!"

After Borris left, only Ragle and Ryan remained in the blacksmith's workshop.

"Ryan, did you say you have a way to melt this?" Ragle pointed at the large bag of hardened steel fragments and asked curiously.

Ryan nodded.

"Then, you take care of the melting, and I'll go make a clay mold for a two-handed great hammer."

"Okay, I'll try first."

"Oh, right, Rain, what style of warhammer do you want?" Ragle, who seemed to have remembered something, turned back just as she was about to take a step.

"What are the usual styles of hammers?" Rain suddenly realized that he didn't need to follow the design of the bronze warhammer he had before. His previous bronze warhammer had a flat head on both sides, relying mainly on its massive impact force to deal shock damage to enemies.

"Generally, knights often use morningstar hammers or spiked warhammers," Ragle said after some thought.

"Morningstar hammer?" Rain couldn't picture this type of hammer in his mind.

However, he was familiar with the spiked warhammer, which had a flat head on one side and spikes on the other, with the pointed end designed for piercing armor.

"Hmm, a round hammerhead with multiple metal spikes, something like a mace," Ragle explained, gesturing with her hands.

This description quickly made Rain understand. He concentrated, deep in thought.

Considering his secret hammer technique, 'Earth Splitting Hammer,' he realized that a morningstar hammer wouldn't be the most suitable choice.

Instead, a warhammer with a flat head and a pointed end would be the best fit.

The pointed end could unleash the spinning power of the secret technique 'Dragon Ascending Hammer' to enhance armor-piercing attacks, while the flat head could be used for the 'Earth Splitting Hammer' technique to further intensify shock damage.

"Ragle, let's go with the spiked warhammer," Rain decided.

"Okay!"

Just as Ragle was about to turn and leave again, Rain called out to her.

"Wait!" Rain suddenly thought of something.

He picked up a charcoal pencil and quickly sketched something on the parchment.

Then, he handed the parchment to Ragle, saying, "Can you make a warhammer like this? It's a variation of the spiked warhammer."

"The flat side of the hammerhead remains the same, but on the pointed side, it's similar to a morningstar hammer, with multiple spikes." Rain explained.

"It's possible, but..." Ragle glanced at Rain with a peculiar look in her eyes. "Don't you think that the hammerhead of this design looks a bit like a boar's head?"

"The pointed end with all those spikes resembles the bristles on a wild boar's head."

Ragle seriously doubted Rain's aesthetic sense.

Hehe!

It seemed that Rain's sketching skills were not bad at all.

Indeed, this was the classic design of a boar head hammer! Rain thought to himself.

"A boar head hammer, very imaginative! It's the perfect combination of a morningstar and a spiked warhammer, isn't it?"

"Well, I have a better name for it. But if it makes you happy, I'll go prepare the mold." Ragle rolled her eyes at Rain and said with a hint of exasperation.

At the very least, she couldn't comprehend Rain's unique sense of aesthetics.

As Ragle went to work on the mold, Rain placed the hardened steel alloy ingots into the blazing blacksmith's forge.

However, it was clear that the forge, which struggled to melt even ordinary iron ore, had no chance of melting the hardened steel alloy ingots.

Even with Rain working the bellows frantically, it was to no avail.

The solution Rain had in mind was not this.

Instead, he focused his attention on the Apprentice Mage (Extraordinary) panel and allocated a skill point to the sorcery 'Scorching Touch.'

These two remaining skill points were originally reserved for increasing the breaking limit value to deal with powerful enemies.

But Rain considered that once he successfully forged the warhammer, his blacksmithing profession level would likely increase.

With that level-up, the remaining skill points would be restored to two, causing no harm.

Of course, the primary purpose of allocating the skill point was to validate Rain's previous speculation—to test the power of the sorcery 'Scorching Touch' and its correlation with mental strength.

As Rain invested that single skill point, fragments of memories of practicing the sorcery 'Scorching Touch' flooded his mind.

It was as if Rain had been diligently practicing the sorcery for months.

Soon, Rain discovered that he could omit several syllables from the original incantation.

In other words, he could cast the spell faster!

As Rain snapped back to reality, he refocused his attention on the icon of the sorcery 'Scorching Touch.' The small text below the icon quietly changed.

Scorching Touch lv2 (5/300)



Scorching Touch lv2 Effect: Consumes a certain amount of mental strength to activate a specific sorcery model, drawing upon the surrounding fire elemental energy to generate high-temperature damage within a certain range in front of the user's palm.

(Note: Casting time is 2.4 seconds. The power is proportional to the duration and the user's mental strength. Contact damage is effective within 0.5 meters.)



Huh?

Rain noticed that the casting time had decreased from the original 3 seconds to 2.4 seconds, a reduction of nearly 20%, likely due to the compression of the incantation syllables.

However, Rain's primary concern was the power of the spell, which seemed to have no changes in the description.

The edited photo made Rain a little sullen.

It seemed that the power of sorcery was indeed dependent on mental power, while proficiency affected the speed of casting.

Upon careful consideration, Rain found this to be quite reasonable.

Since the model of sorcery was fixed, it was impossible for the power of sorcery to increase with improved proficiency while the consumption of mental power remained unchanged.

If a Level 1 Sorcerer Apprentice with entry-level mental power could cast a powerful sorcery through long-term practice, it would be absurd.

Of course, there might be other ways to enhance the power of sorcery.

But for now, the only thing Rain could do to increase the power of sorcery seemed to be improving his mental power.

Indeed, mental power was the foundation for sorcerers and sorcerer apprentices!

However, the speed boost from the attribute point allocation was indeed valuable in practical combat.

What did it mean to cast a sorcery nearly half a second faster in actual battle? It was self-evident!

After some thought, Rain decided to first verify if the sorcery 'Scorching Touch' could be used in conjunction with the blacksmith forge to smelt tempered steel.

Rain lifted his hands and held them about thirty centimeters away from the forge, then began to softly chant the incantation.

This time, he cast the sorcery much faster than before. In just over two seconds, a red glow appeared on Rain's palms.

Rain could clearly sense the surrounding stray flame energy particles rapidly gathering in front of his palms.

Suddenly, the flames in the already blazing forge surged upwards! The temperature of the forge was evidently rising rapidly due to Rain's sorcery 'Scorching Touch'.

It worked! Rain's heart rejoiced.

Since 'Scorching Touch' was a guiding-type sorcery. By maintaining a stable guidance, he could continuously gather the stray flame energy particles around him.

Soon, the temperature inside the forge exceeded two thousand degrees.

The tempered steel fragments, initially glowing red, gradually brightened and softened. Then, like a candle, they began to melt.

So, when Ragle entered with two clay molds, she witnessed a shocking scene that left her astonished.

However, Rain had already finished casting the sorcery 'Scorching Touch' by then, so Ragle did not see him in action.

Of course, this was intentional on Rain's part.

For now, it was better to keep his knowledge of sorcery a secret.

"Rain, are you there?" Ragle asked, snapping back to reality.

She immediately placed the prepared clay molds into the forge, allowing the molten tempered steel to slowly flow into them before gradually solidifying and cooling.

Rain glanced at the system prompt during this process:

[You have performed the tempered steel smelting work, and your related understanding has improved!]



[You have learned the skill: Tempered Steel Smelting]



[Your Tempered Steel Smelting skill has improved, gaining +76 experience.]



[You focused on tempered steel smelting, gaining +48 Blacksmith experience.]



Indeed, the experience rewards were substantial!

Soon after, Ragle removed the clay molds, revealing a crude tempered steel warhammer.

However, the pointed spikes on one side of the hammerhead needed to be reinstalled.

At this moment, the pointed side was filled with holes, while the flat side only required some light hammering to be considered complete.

Ragle had also cooled the two-to-three-decimeter-long metal spikes in another clay mold.

She then took the metal spikes and inserted them into the holes on the hammerhead, placing it back into the forge for integrated smelting.

Next came the finer details.

Tasks like polishing, adding handle patterns, and increasing grip friction were among them.

Generally, if the user of the warhammer was below the 'Extraordinary' level, a wooden handle with a metal head was often used to keep the weight light and manageable for ordinary people.

However, for a warhammer used by a 'Knight (Extraordinary)', it was naturally an integrated metal handle and head. Although this increased the weight, it primarily enhanced the weapon's durability and strength.

[You have performed the two-handed warhammer forging work, and your related understanding has improved!]



[You have learned the skill: Two-Handed Warhammer Forging]



[Your Two-Handed Warhammer Forging skill has improved, gaining +1 experience.]



[You focused on two-handed warhammer forging, gaining +2 Blacksmith experience.]



[Congratulations! Your Blacksmith level has increased!]



Gazing at his Blacksmith level, which had been stagnant for a long time, Rain couldn't help but smile as it rose to Level 4 (0/1000).

Both his remaining attribute points and skill points had also recovered to two points.

At this moment, a familiar voice called out from outside the blacksmith shop.

"Matteo, is anyone there?"

It was Matteo at the door.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end