From the booklet he read, the equipment in Gloria is ranked for its quality. From lowest to highest; there are Uncommon, Common, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Dark Gold, Ancient, and lastly Archaic.
This badge is an example of a high quality equipment.
However, Blue noticed this badge is marked as a quest item.
"Go look for Blacksmith Hermit. Ask him to make the finest sword for you. With this badge he'll know that you're my squire." Sigurd commanded.
*Ding!*
[System Announcement: Because of your bold interaction with Elite Commander Sigurd, you are acknowledged by the NPC, and received the title "Squire" and earned +10 Fame points.]
Another system announcement pops into his view.
System Announcement: You received the Prologue Quest [Ready For Battle! Part 1] (Quest Level: S)
Quest Description: Look for Blacksmith Hermit and receive his finest works.
Sigurd's Badge of Honor (1/1)
Rewards:
??? (Random Sword)
[Note: With Sigurd's Badge of Honor, Blacksmith Hermit will be able to recognize your "Squire" title.]
It's a Prologue Quest! And a Level S Quest too.
"When you're done, meet me at the city gates. You're better than those other recruits." With that, Sigurd left, not in the slightest rush, leaving Blue who is watching him disappear into the sea of soldiers.
System Announcement: You received the Prologue Quest [Ready For Battle! Part 2] (Quest Level: S)
Quest Description: After requiring the weapon, meet with Elite Commander Sigurd at Gondraw City Gates.
Weapon Required (0/1)
Sigurd's Badge of Honor (1/1)
Rewards:
??? (Random Skillbook)
Almost many games have main storylines, especially RPGs. Sometimes, there are other games where you need to find a main story quest but the rarity is just as scarce as hen's teeth.[1] It is the same with Prologue Quests, only it isn't that difficult to find. They are just hard to gain, because they are also considered Hidden Quests. In the beginning of the game, the Prologue Quest you take are only around levels -F to D. The Prologue Quests above Level D can only be triggered, depending how you performed the lowest versions. Sometimes, you have to gain them through means of interactions with the NPC. Once you got the quest with either Level A, or S, or SS, or SSS, not only they represent its difficulty they can bring bigger rewards, even better than gold coins. You can also receive a main story quest after completing all the courses of the Prologue Quest. In other words, high quality Prologue Quests are better to start with despite its level of difficulty.
It is no wonder why Blue spawned in this city in its tragic state instead of a beginner village.
Anyway, these quests are just simple. Too simple. Although both are ranked in Level S, the rewards are random. The chances of getting priceless treasures are slim.
Blue will be fine with any weapon from the first quest. But for the skill book... he'll need to pray harder to luck out[2].
With no time to waste, he looked for Blacksmith Hermit. Finding that dwarf wasn't that hard. The base camp is just about one-eight of an acre, so it is basically smaller than an actual plot of land. The downside is that the place is crowded, but not too much. Other than the guards, doctors and the wounded, and a few spawned players, everyone else have already went to the outside walls.
Slipping through the crowd like a slithering snake, Blue sees a cloud of smoke rising up from what seems to be an iron chimney, connecting to a large igloo made of stone.
Then, a small group of people came out from the igloo. Random names pop out above their heads, allowing Blue to identify them as players.
Maybe they took the same quest as him, he thought. But what level?
He didn't want to dwell into others business. He did, however, notice their unpleasant expressions.
This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.
"What a narcissist! I've never met such an NPC!"
"And he said he was the greatest blacksmith alive. He was just bull***ing!"
"To think he gave us useless shi***!"
"A beginner sword with ATK 0-1? Fu*** my a***! Who would need such a weapon with that less damage?!"
They walk passed Blue as if they didn't see him. Even if they did, they would think he is just another unlucky guy meeting a huge disappointment.
After overhearing their talk, he frowned.
A beginner sword with ATK 0-1? And Blacksmith Hermit made that?
It is true that Black Smith Hermit, is indeed the greatest blacksmith alive in the Middle-Earth Era. Although the booklet doesn't have a complete coverage of the game's lore, Blue did read about this guy.
Hermit was born from the surviving dwarf family lineage, the Oakenshields. When some of the royal family escaped from their home after it was taken by a greedy dragon, they resided in a small village and there, they have found peace after all the running and near moments of death. Living in that quiet life style, the dwarves have a change of heart. Nothing is said about Hermit's biography except his achievements. He works dutifully towards King Talion and makes the finest weapons as preparations to fight against the Dark Army.
But now that time has finally come to this day, yet Hermit is giving out useless weapons like he is selling old chinese jars.
Blue could hear random NPCs nearby, rambling and sighing at their misfortune.
There's got to be an explanation for this, he thought.
Although this is just a game, Blue is starting to believe that it somehow works by comparison to actual reality. Be it appearance and actions, the NPCs in Gloria all act and talk like regular people. Take it with Sigurd for example, when he interacted with him, not only did he feel the sense that he was talking to a real figure, the NPC also understood him and may have emotions.
It will be the same with Hermit's case.
As for low quality weapons, blacksmiths can encounter many setbacks in their works and Hermit is not an exception, despite his overall greatness. They need to look over what they did wrong.
Thinking it over, he came with only one conclusion. There may be a hidden quest. There is no doubt it.
He'll just have to find out by meeting him.
Without hesitation, Blue enters the igloo.
Red flames spark in an iron fireplace. A few sets of weapons and armor were set aside in shelves, while some hang on the inner walls.
A short, muscular, red bearded man with a blue apron, is hammering a weapon glowing in white light.
---
Blacksmith Hermit
Rank: Grand Blacksmith Master
Level: 100
HP: ???
MP: ???
---
He is on par with Sigurd in levels. Usually, blacksmith NPCs would just have only their name and rank of their life job. But the system interface also included his HP and MP which both amounts are unknown. Well, Hermit came from the Oakenshields whom were considered traditional warriors, so it is reasonable for him to be a combat NPC.
Hermit pauses in his work when he heard soft footsteps. He continues hammering the white glowing sword, he didn't bother looking at Blue's direction.
"Another recruit has come to finally meet me' old self. I am Blacksmith Hermit, the greatest blacksmith and Grand Master alive in Middle Earth. Fancy meeting ya weak scum," he said begrudgingly.
The people who met him would have think of him as very rude and narcissistic. But to Blue, he knew he is just being sarcastic. Probably from all the stress he is getting from the soldiers' complaints, especially the invasion of the Dark Army.
After hammering a few times, Hermit puts his hammer aside on a table. He arches his back before sitting on a chair. His bearded face looking somewhat tired, as he let's out a heavy sigh. He forgot that Blue was still standing there like a firm statue.
Blue didn't complain though. He just kept quiet. Although he is considered an anti-socialist, he can still speak like a normal person. Know when to start and when to stop talking, this is Blue's principal and it helped him in a lot of serious talks.
Seeing the dwarf finally relaxed a little, he starts to speak, "Was the attack too sudden, Respected Grand Master?"
"You don't need to sweet-talk me with that voice. But you're right on one thing lad. While I was half done with making weapons, the invasion came in like Thorgrin's lightning! It was indeed too sudden!" Hermit shaking his head solemnly, sighing.
"As the war started, I keep smithing weapon after weapon as fast as I could, but I have actually ran out of the best quality ores! So I was left making low quality weapons with useless scraps!"
So that's the reason. He is running out of materials. "Shouldn't the miners bring you more iron ores as usual?"
"I wish it was usual as they can be. Sadly, they do not. When the Dark Army made their sneak attack, as if it was the right time, the whole mine collapsed! Because of that, the miners weren't able to get those valuable iron ores. What a waste!" Hermit finally turned to him, his lips forms a bitter smile.
"I bet you lads haven't heard of these news, am I wrong?"
"No, I haven't heard of anything regarding to the mines. But this is indeed a terrible problem. Without those iron ores, you won't able to make good weapons as you originally do." Blue said, shaking his head.
His speculations are confirmed. There is indeed a hidden quest. But the real problem is how to trigger it. He can't simply claim that he'll look into the matter of the mines' collapse. The alliance may have already check it over, plus, the city is already in war and there is no time to investigate.
While he was pondering, Hermit stares at him with an attentive manner. Then he mouths with a weird look on his face.
"You're Sigurd's squire?"
---
1. (as) scarce as hen's teeth - Incredibly scarce or rare; extremely difficult or impossible to find.
2. to luck out - to be very lucky.