MMORPG: Rise of the Primordial Godsmith - Chapter 1660 1660: New Discussions, New Agreements (1)
“Surely you must be exaggerating, right?”
Arriving at the entrance of the Blacksmith Guild, a look of slight disbelief adorned Alvin’s face as he looked at the two people that greeted him.
“Of course, it’s not that I don’t believe that you have the capability to do so,” the old man continued, his gaze shifting towards Valyr. “However, for you to claim that it has the possibility to improve our side’s chances in the war is…”
“Wait… that’s what you told him?” As he listened to the words that left Alvin’s mouth, Byron soon looked at the young man beside him with slightly widened eyes, only to then let out a chuckle in amusement.
“Then again, that kind of message would indeed catch their attention.”
Valyr let out a bit of laughter in response. “It wouldn’t make sense if I were to tell them it’s an urgent matter, so I just decided to be frank.”
“…It seems you two have concocted a scheme of sorts.” Taking in a deep breath to compose himself, Alvin eventually looked at the two with a serious expression, faintly giving off a feeling of a father admonishing his sons.
“I hope there contains at least a hint of your truth in your message, Ylvar,” he said. “If not, even your master wouldn’t be able to help you avoid receiving a punishment from the Imperial Production Guild.”
“Rest assured that we’ve asked you to come here for a good reason, Elder Alvin,” said Valyr in response, understanding that now was the time to stop joking around.
“I do apologize if the prior conversation between Sir Byron and I made it seem like the entire thing is a joke of sorts.”
“Don’t worry.” Elder Alvin faintly shook his head, his expression slightly easing up. “It would be petty of me to be angry at you two just for that.”
“However, do keep in mind that although I’ve come here to the empire at your request, I’m also acting in official capacity as a representative of the Imperial Production Guild.”
“I understand.” Briefly looking at each other for a bit, Byron and Valyr eventually nodded back at Alvin’s words.
“Since that’s the case, then I shall not beat the bush any further,” said the latter, turning around as the three of them entered the main hall. “Let us head to my workshop.”
Hearing those words, a few possibilities began to pop up within the old man’s mind. “Have you crafted a new piece of equipment that could be used in the frontlines?”
“It would be more accurate to say that I’ve improved upon the design of one,” replied Valyr, his tone a mix of calm and confidence.
“As far as I remember, you’ve only contributed two items that have been widely spread throughout our side on the frontlines.” Mulling over the young man’s words for a bit, Alvin briefly scrunched his eyebrows. “Which one of the two is it?”
“The arquebus,” the young man answered, which unsurprisingly caused the latter to look at him in surprise.
“The arquebus?” The old man could not help but repeat as he asked for confirmation, feeling as if his entire world was being shaken to its very core at the moment.
To him, it was already a monumental feat for a prodigy like Valyr to be able to invent the arquebus. After all, with the current state of technology throughout Veldanyr, the fact that the young man could use far more advanced technology to that level was already astounding.
Yet, in just a bit over a year, Valyr was able to improve upon the design of the arquebus even further?
‘Whenever someone upgrades an item they’ve made themselves, it usually takes them a few years to make massive improvements on it,’ thought Alvin to himself, recalling the various blacksmiths he had met that did the same thing.
‘After all, one would need to accumulate both experience and knowledge to be able to improve upon it.’
‘Has the Herald actually accumulated a lot of knowledge and experience over the past year?’ The old man felt a hint of doubt as he asked this question to himself. ‘Or has he only made marginal improvements to the arquebus?’
‘…’
‘…Well, whether the former or the latter turns out to be the case, it’ll all come to light once I set my eyes upon it.’
…
“We’ve arrived.”
Leading both Byron and Alvin to his private workshop, a faint smile adorned Valyr’s face as he allowed the latter to gaze upon the massive number of copies he still had conjured around his workshop.
“This…” Stopping in his tracks as he looked at some of the translucent entities within the workshop, Alvin eventually noticed that their build and structure was quite similar to the young man in front of him.
“Are those… a result of your skills?” asked the old man after looking at them for a bit more, feeling a slight sense of awe at the sheer number of copies he could see within his vision.
“They are.” Valyr nodded, slowly making his way to the pile of firearms that failed to meet the empire’s requirement. “Though their placement makes it obvious what I use them for, it took a long time for me to get them to work to that degree.”
“Is that so?” Alvin faintly nodded in understanding, briefly imagining in his mind how the copies would help the young man during the forging process.
However, just as he was beginning to wrap his head around what Valyr was currently capable of, the old man’s thoughts seemingly came to a halt the moment he set his eyes upon the pile of Epic and Epic+ grade snaplocks in front of him.
“Are these… the improved arquebuses?” Giving himself some time to regain his bearings, Alvin soon pointed at the pile of firearms before them, looking at the young man for confirmation.
“Yep.” The latter nodded, a faint smile adorning his face. “Though, considering that I’ve omitted the most tedious mechanic an arquebus has while forging them, I’ve given these firearms a different name.”
“A different name?” Elder Alvin raised his eyebrow in curiosity. “Also, what mechanic have you omitted, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“The need to lit a flame before using it,” replied the young man, the smile on his face widening as he grabbed one of the better quality snaplocks in the pile.
“As for its name…”
“It’s called a snaplock.”
