The Almighty Ring

Thankful for the unlimited tries, Jiang Fei knew that the only thing holding him back would be time. 0.001% success rate was so low that even with his immense Luck, four hours would not be enough! He could not even muster any confidence in crafting a piece of equipment that ascends twice.

Without wasting time, Jiang Fei immediately contacted Happy Drunk.

“I want two hundred sets! Right now! Immediately! Bring it to XXX,XXX workshop!”

“No problem! I will be there instantly!” said Happy Drunk. From his tone, Happy Drunk could sense there was a sense of urgency with Jiang Fei. Although he did not know what was the urgency was, it was good news for him, since he would be benefiting from Jiang Fei’s sudden rush order!

To save as much time as possible, despite it being in the city, Jiang Fei summoned the dragon and made a beeline for the workshop.

Once at the workshop, he sat down, drew in a deep breath and started hammering away. Isabella was there to help — tasked with carrying all the completed swords to the temporary storage.

“I’m here!” cried Happy Drunk when he saw Jiang Fei already hammering away.

“I’m in a rush now! Have your men stand by the entrance, with the materials in hand. I will send Bella to fetch them for me!” said Jiang Fei without looking at him as he continued his hammering.

“No problem!” Happy Drunk did not say anything else, as he knew whatever driving Jiang Fei must not be stopped. The faster Jiang Fei made weapons, the more weapons Happy Drunk would have.

“You guys, stand by the entrance. Someone will come fetch the materials for Verdure Glider. Gather 100 men from the second group and have them surround this area. Do not allow a single player to get past the line!” said Happy Drunk to his followers.

To ensure Jiang Fei’s safety, as well as safety of the swords he produced, Happy Drunk had ordered a parameter to be set up. Although they were being rude to the others, it was only a natural sight to see. No one would complain that much, since it was a common thing.

“Ding… Ding…”

Jiang Fei was sweating fast as he hammered away. Sweat was dripping from his hair down to his chin. Without knowing what instigated it, Isabella took out a handkerchief and quietly wiped away his sweat without intruding Jiang Fei’s crafting.

“Ah… Thanks,” said Jiang Fei as he smiled at Isabella. His mind was then fully concentrated on crafting. Even though he did view as Isabella as a proper girl, he could not spare any moment to give her the attention she needed.

“Em,” Isabella acknowledged that, and kept her feelings towards herself. Her face grew redder by the moment, unsure if the glow of the furnace had anything to do with it.

There was no one but Jiang Fei and Isabella in the workshop. The sound of metal banging against each other echoed as the little girl came to the man and wiped away his sweat. She would walk away with the swords on the ground when they started to take up too much space. The rhythm they shared was perfect, like the dance of a blacksmith, it was a touching scene that no one was present to admire.

Jiang Fei’s muscles tensed up with every strike of his hammer on the sword. Everything handed to him was turned into a sword.

“Ding…”

“Ding…”

…

The chime of the system notification rang in Jiang Fei’s ears, every time he completed a sword. Some were notifications of a successful craft, and others were failures. The one that Jiang Fei had hoped for did not appear.

By the timeJiang Fei grew numb to the sound of the chime, it was already an hour since the start of the crafting session. 60 sets of materials were used up, and he could only craft 22 swords. Jiang Fei could not be bothered to even look at the sword, quickly tossing them aside when it was not the intended result that Jiang Fei wanted.

Another hour went by swiftly, and he had made more than 20 swords. Wrinkles of frustration started to furrow up on his forehead when all he saw were Blue and Violet lights, not the golden light that he wanted! Even Isabella was starting to grow concerned.

Three hours since the start of the crafting session, and there was still no sight of the golden light.

At the three-hour and the thirty-minute mark, Jiang Fei had started to worry.

“Shit!”

“What is going on?”

“What the hell!”

“GRAH!”

“What’s the use of having 50 Luck points when they could not even give me actual luck!”

“WHAT KIND OF QUEST IS THIS!?”

“Am… I destined to fail this quest…?”

As the deadline started to crawl closer and closer, Jiang Fei grew frustrated as he continued failing to produce the Golden-grade equipment. Alas, the clock ticked at three hours and forty-five minutes, and Jiang Fei had not yet managed to craft a second Ascension Rainbow Blade!

“GRAH! I’m done! I’m so done!”

Jiang Fei yelled furiously. Jiang Fei flung the hammer to the ground with such power that it left a minor dent on the ground.

“What’s wrong…?” said Isabella, worriedly.

“0.001% success rate… What kind of f*ckery is this! The rate is understandable, but four hours is ridiculous! I can’t even make 200 swords in that period! What the f****!”

Jiang Fei was already at his limit, and when Isabella had asked about it, he had snapped and vented out his frustration at her.

“Verdure Glider. You musn’t be too frustrated. A test is meant to be hard. I believe in you!” said Isabella as she pulled out her handkerchief and wiped away the excess sweat that was raining down from Jiang Fei’s face.

“You believe in me?! Not even I believe in myself!” Jiang Fei snarled when Isabella’s fair hands touched his face.

Startled and shocked, Isabella retracted and was saddened by it. However, she did not give up hope and pat his shoulder gently.

“Since there are only a few minutes left, might as well make use of all the time!” said Isabella as she picked up the last set of materials on the ground and handed it to Jiang Fei with both her hands.

“Leave it. I’m tired of everything!” Jiang Fei barked.

“They’re already in front of you. If you don’t want it, I’ll just throw it into the fire. I’m also tired of taking it back!” said Isabella a little snarky but despite what she said, she held it closer to Jiang Fei.

“You–!” Just when he was about to slap the materials in her hands, Jiang Fei finally came back to his senses. When he saw Isabella’s eyes staring into him, filled with hope and care, he felt remorse and regret about the way he had yelled at her. She was there only to support him, yet he had unfairly yelled at Isabella. If he had slapped the materials out of Isabella’s hands, he would never have forgiven himself!

Instantly, Jiang Fei went and cupped her hands. She was being very nice to him, and she deserved to be treated in kind.

“Very well. This is the last one. If it fails, so be it! But, this is the last one! I won’t be crafting anymore, even if you shove them into my face!” said Jiang Fei, half-jokingly. Part of him had fallen hard for Isabella as she gazed at him with those puppy eyes! No one could say no to that!

“Em. Good luck!” Isabella smiled.

“HERE GOES NOTHING!” said Jiang Fei when he saw that he had less than five minutes left on the timer. Even though he could technically craft four more swords, he was determined to give up if the next one failed.

“Ding… Ding…”

The sound of metal banging returned to the workshop and this time, it was louder, more determined.

Jiang Fei prayed hard when the last of the materials melted and was poured into the sword’s mold.

“Come on! Come one! Please!”

Ice Burst!

Psssh!

A blast of cold air engulfed the red-hot sword, and the iron started to cool down, revealing a grayish blade…