Chapter 87: Genesis

“Skyline Rush!”

Max unleashed a powerful skill and propelled himself forward. Dozens of Black Maria members were sent flying, landing several meters away from him.

“Huuu…” Max released a long breath.

He then looked at the Black Maria members lying on the floor in front of him, groaning in pain. They had attacked him while he was returning home after buying medication for his mother. And Max had decided to beat them before they could discover where he lived.

“They’re starting to send their people to search for us. I hope Lars and Ryuken are alright.”

After confirming that all of them were defeated, Max immediately made his way home. Suddenly, as he was crossing the road, a speeding van screeched toward him and nearly hit him before stopping abruptly.

“Hey! Watch out!” Max shouted.

But then, his eyes widened as he noticed a familiar design on the van. It had the Mazeltov Company logo.

“Max?!”

Oscar suddenly leaned his head out of the driver’s window and looked at him.

“Oscar?” Max was shocked as well.

“Please give way, Max. I need to get to the hospital now!” Oscar said urgently.

“What happened, Oscar? You look terrible,” Max asked.

“Denis… he… he was injured while fighting an enemy,” Oscar said.

Hearing Oscar’s words, Max immediately jumped into the back of the van. There, he saw Denis lying in pain, clutching his injured hand. The wound looked severe, and the darkened injury had already begun spreading upward toward his shoulder.

“Denis!” Max shouted as he quickly moved closer to him.

“Urghh!” Denis groaned as he endure the excruciating pain from his wound.

“I’m moving now!” Oscar shouted from the front of the van.

“Wait!” Max suddenly shouted.

“Huh? What are you doing?” Oscar asked.

“The hospital is about an hour from here. I’m afraid it will be too late if we arrive there. Quickly, go to District 21 instead. There is someone who might be able to help,” Max said.

Right now, he was thinking about Lars. He also remembered his conversation with Lia. Lars had a powerful healing Class called Divine Ranger, which had once saved himself from a fatal injury. If Lars could heal injuries like that, Max believed he might have a way to save Denis.

“Just trust me. We need to get there as fast as possible!” Max said.

“Okay! I believe in you!” Oscar then made a sharp U-turn before quickly driving toward Lars’s place.

Meanwhile, the person they wanted to meet had just arrived at his rented building. Lars immediately brought out all the materials he had obtained today. There were dozens of iron ores and a large amount of Mana Ore.

“Hehehe! I can’t wait to play with all of these!” Lars said excitedly.

“But Madam Jenn already warned me that she will kick me out if others complain about me again. I think I need to find a better place nearby.”

He then looked around to see if there was any place suitable for crafting. He wanted somewhere spacious, preferably with a roof to protect his equipment and materials. After failing to find a suitable place in front of the building, he went around to the back. Then, he spotted an abandoned garage.

“I never knew there was a garage here.”

The garage contained old and rusted motorcycles, outdated machinery, and various other junk. Everything was covered in dust and rust. The roof was made of zinc sheets, while the structure was supported by four wooden pillars. Despite its neglected condition, the garage was surprisingly spacious and quiet.

“I think this is a good place. But I don’t know who the owner is. Still, I think all of these are just trash anyway. If someone comes and says this place belongs to them, I can pay to buy it from them. But first, let’s start by cleaning it.”

Lars then began cleaning the garage and removing the junk outside. He swept the floors and cleared away the dust and debris.

“Hmm…this place looks too open. I will put some zinc sheets up to cover it first as walls.”

After nearly an hour of cleaning, Lars finally finished. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled satisfactorily. The garage now looked like a much better place for working. He also added a small opening along one side of the roof to allow the smoke to escape.

“Now everything is set. It’s time to get started.” Lars looked around his newly cleaned workspace with excitement. He felt like he finally had a proper place to unleash his Master Blacksmith Class.

He summoned the Master Forge, Master Anvil, and Master Hammer before quickly processing all the materials.

“Let’s try the Purification skill on these metals first.” Lars cast the skill on the Mana Ores.

The ores shone brightly for a moment before their shape became more refined, while their contents appeared much clearer and purer. Lars quickly checked their information.

—

[Purified Mana Ore]

Effect: Increases the chance of creating better equipment when using this material.

—

“Wow… so this is the result of Purification?” Lars said as he examined the Purified Mana Ore in his hand. His eyes gleamed with excitement as he realized just how useful this skill could be for his future crafting.

He then planned to make a new sword. However, he had no idea what type of sword he wanted to create. The only blueprint he currently had was the Steel Sword.

“What if…I tried to create my own design? Yes, let’s do that.”

Lars then used Purification on all the Mana Ores before throwing them into the Master Forge. Then, he planned to create a mold for casting the hot metal.

He had watched the blacksmiths in the Smithing Area of the Dungeon Hub use molds to quickly create weapons, so he wanted to try it himself.

He used the steel he had collected and began creating a mold for the casting. As he worked, he imagined the shape he wanted in his mind.

“Hmm…the problem with the Steel Sword is that it’s actually quite thick. I want to make something thinner and lighter.”

He started shaping the mold, carefully forming it according to the design he had imagined. He wanted the new sword to be lighter, faster, and more comfortable to wield than the ordinary Steel Sword.

After that, the mold was finally finished. Lars suddenly frowned as he looked at the casting mold.

“Why does it look quite similar to White Feather’s sword?”

He scratched his head. Because he had been thinking about Black Maria, he had unconsciously created a design that was quite similar to Kay Sung’s weapon.

But Lars simply ignored it and quickly poured the hot metal into the mold. After the metal hardened, he used Tempered Strike on it and began shaping the blade.

Ting! Ting! Ting!

The garage became increasingly hot as he repeatedly went through the process of tempering and hardening the metal. Nearly thirty minutes later, he finally finished.

The sword had a sleek design with a slight curve toward the tip. Its surface shone with a blue-white color as it reflected the sunlight entering through the garage roof.

—

[Great Long Sword] (Name can be changed)

Grade: B-

Effect: Enhances the effects of elemental skills used with this weapon.

Crafting Success: 100%

—

Lars’s eyes widened as he read the details of the weapon. The weapon Thom used was only able to enhance Earth-based skills, but Lars’s weapon didn’t specify any particular element. That meant it might be capable of enhancing any elemental skill.

“The grade is also higher than anything I’ve ever created before. As for the crafting success… I think it must be 100% because I created this weapon completely by myself.”

He then raised the long sword and swung it. The weapon felt light, but not too light. It was just perfect.

“I think the name I will give it… Hmm, what should I call it?” Lars thought for a moment before his eyes lit up.

“Alright, let’s go with Genesis. Yeah, because it’s officially the first weapon I’ve created by myself without blueprint.”

[Genesis Blueprint has been stored in the Blacksmith Archive.]

“Very good! I can’t wait to test this against that Kay Sung guy. All of them are messing with the wrong person.”

After finishing the crafting and cleaning up the garage, Lars suddenly heard the sound of a vehicle stopping near the building. He immediately went to check who it was, just in case it was a Black Maria gang member.

He saw a van parked outside, and the Mazeltov Company logo was clearly displayed on its side.

“Mazeltov?! What are they doing here?” Lars said.

But then, he was surprised to see Max stepping out of the van.

“Max! Why are you here? Did you join the Mazeltov Company now?”

“Lars! Thank God you’re here. Come on, we don’t have time!”

Max immediately ignored Lars’s question and grabbed his hand, dragging him toward the back of the van.

There, Lars saw Oscar sitting beside Denis. Oscar was surprised to see that the person Max wanted to meet was actually Lars. However, upon seeing Denis’s injury, Lars’s eyes widened.

“This is horrible! Please, hold on.” Lars immediately got down on one knee beside Denis before giving a signal to Max.

“Oscar, you need to leave. Let Lars and me help Denis,” Max said.

Oscar hesitated for a moment before climbing out of the back of the van. Max then closed the doors.

“Can you help him, Lars?”

“I will try. Class Change, Divine Ranger!”

Lars immediately brought out about fifty arrows that he had purchased earlier that day. He gripped one of the arrows tightly, his expression becoming serious as he prepared to use his healing skills.

“This will be really painful.”