Finally, it is time to forge.

Adam has been looking forward to this. He is eager to use his blacksmithing skills to the test.

Vetius, upon seeing that his apprentice was back, immediately gestured for him to approach.

"You... are... back..."

"Let... us... begin... your... next... lesson..."

"We... will... forge..."

[Blacksmithing Chain Quest: Learn the process of forging a dagger from Vetius]

Description: Your next lesson begins. Observe how your teacher works the forge.

Adam is struck with deja vu; this quest is near-identical to when he had to observe his teacher forge Vetius' Dagger.

The difference, of course, is that this time Adam had a direct hand in preparing the materials needed.

Using the forge that Adam built, Vetius set it on fire to let it reach the ideal temperature for forging.

This process would take a couple of hours.

Afterward, he walked back to his smithy where he placed some of the iron that they smelted the day prior.

He placed it again in the mortar and pestle mechanism.

When it comes to the quantity of iron they have, Adam couldn't help but notice that there is enough to forge at least over a hundred daggers.

This is much more than the ore he procured; the only explanation is that Vetius smelted more iron ore from his supply while he was away.

Vetius used the mortar and pestle mechanism to pound at the lump of iron.

With the same purpose as before, it is to remove the non-iron element that formed outside the lump of iron. These are the remaining undesirable materials for smithing.

After a few rounds of grinding, he once again used a magnet to separate the metallic components from the undesirables.

Then he asked Adam to do the same.

Vetius placed a set amount of iron in the mortar and pestle system and told Adam to remove the slag. His task is to remove as much undesirable material from the iron as best as he could.

Adam did so obediently, and with some effort, he succeeded. It took him a few tries before Vetius became satisfied with the results.

When he was done, Vetius returned to Adam's smithy. Adam followed suit.

For the first time, Vetius spoke and explained before doing something.

"Iron... is... not... good... weapon..."

"We... need... to... turn... it... to... steel..."

Indeed, steel is far superior as a weapon than iron. Vetius' Dagger, one of Adam's best weapons, is made of steel.

Fortunately, turning iron into steel is a fairly straightforward process. Iron plus a type of coal called coke, while under 2,800 Fahrenheit is the recipe for making steel.

"I... see... you... made... coke... already..."

"it... looks... like... you.. have... enough... charcoal..."

His foresight in preparing these materials beforehand had saved him some time. Adam is certain that Vetius would have asked him to prepare those if he deemed that there was no sufficient fuel for the forge.

"Very... good..."

"Then... I... will... begin..."

To turn iron into steel, a certain amount of carbon needs to be added to separate the oxygen content of iron. This is where coke comes in.

Now, the next step is to melt the iron and add the coke. To achieve this, the temperature must reach approximately 2,800 Fahrenheit.

Vetius demonstrated the process, and then he made Adam do the same. Not long after, they had molten iron with the coke mixed in and successfully produced steel.

Ding!

[You have learned Steelmaking.]

[Trait Metallurgy has been updated.]

[Blacksmithing proficiency has increased.]

With the molten steel ready, Vetius immediately poured it into several molds. Most of the molds are rectangular- with some being longer than others.

The mold was formed with the shape of daggers, longswords, and greatswords in mind. Once it cools down, these are now fully processed steel ingots.

In Adam's previous life, he knew many players who focused on nothing but smelting as there's a huge demand for all sorts of metal ingots. It is a good job to have to earn some money. It belongs to the same category as workers who carry items and equipment for players- just like the team of workers that Adam met during his fight with Chang Yichen's group.

While smelting is a very useful skill set, it's technically not an essential one for smithing as it is far more practical for blacksmiths to just order ingots than smelt them themselves as it saves a lot of time and effort. The reason Vetius does it himself is because he has no one to trade with.

Charcoal Making, Mining, Ore Processing, and Smelting.

Typically, these are tasks that a specific person would do, not necessarily a blacksmith. But since Vetius is by himself, he has to learn to do them.

With Vetius' instruction, Adam took care of turning the rest of the iron the had into steel.

After an entire day of melting iron, turning it to steel, and pouring it into several molds, all the iron they processed was successfully turned into steel ingots.

Now, all that they need to do is wait for the steel to cool down and harden. Then they can use it to forge weapons.

In reality, the cooldown period for steel ingots is just a few minutes.

But Vetius needed to continue working on designing his store so he dismissed Adam for the rest of the day.

And since he had some free time, Adam decided to use the time productively.

First, he chopped some wood for charcoal. He will need to replenish what they used before he runs out of charcoal.

At this point, he had become experienced in making it so it didn't take him as much time to set everything up. After the blocks of wood have been set and the fire has spread, he'll just have to wait until it's been burned out.

Thanks to the furnace he built specifically for charcoal-making, the process didn't take as much time.

Now he just needs to wait for it to cool down.

Aside from charcoal, he also took the opportunity to craft more potions.

Since stamina and mana potion net him more profit, that's what he focused on. Plus, he can earn more ore by trading it with Hao Wei.

Judging that this was a good time to conduct an exchange, he decided to visit Hao Wei at the cavern.

***

Adam tore a teleportation scroll and he arrived somewhere near the cavern.

Unlike the last time, Hao Jun told him that he'd need to move the tether to another spot a little further away from the cavern.

This is because he has already fulfilled his end of the bargain by teaching and showing Hao Jun all nine recipes they agreed upon.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

Now, if he wants to conduct business with Hao Wei, he will need to go through security protocols.

The Hao Wei guards who saw him immediately noticed his mask and gave him a courteous greeting.

They saw that Adam had 3 bulging bags of holding. Since they had heard from Hao Jun directly about the business Adam would be trading potions with them for the foreseeable future, it didn't take long for them to guess what the contents of the bags were.

A few Hao Wei workers guided him to a warehouse they built where they stored the ore they'd been mining.

Such is Hao Jun's confidence that Adam would stick to their agreement that he did not bother to hide where the ore was located. And indeed, Adam sees no reason to break his arrangement with Hao Wei by committing petty thievery.

Sticking to their deal is more beneficial in the long run.

First, he traded three hundred Mana Potion (Notable Grade), which equates to 375 kg of ore according to their agreed-upon exchange rate. This is a formula that he did not disclose to Hao Jun so he managed to acquire these ingredients by diligently buying every ingredient put up for sale in small increments.

If he were to go by this quantity of trade, then he would need to conduct this same trade 26 more times.

Aside from this, he also traded two hundred Stamina Potions (Notable Grade). Just like the mana potion, this is a recipe he did not disclose to Hao Wei and he used ingredients he purchased himself.

Unfortunately, he can't realistically sustain this kind of quantity of raw materials. He simply can't afford to stalk the auction house for several days straight like he did last time.

Next, he traded five hundred Health Potions (Notable Grade). This one is at a reduced ore exchange rate as he asked Hao Wei for ingredients to craft it.

But it's still a win for Adam as he can maximize the yield of the ingredients he requested.

For every one hundred bottles he's giving to Hao Wei in exchange for ore, there are 20 bottles he's putting up for auction. 20 bottles may not be much, but it would still net him a few hundred to a thousand bucks extra regularly.

In this regard, Hao Wei is giving him ingredients so he can get ores from them and at the same time sell potions to the auction house for a small profit.

To other players, this may be a very tiring task. But Adam can craft this much quantity within just a few sessions.

Of course, this is under the assumption that he has all the ingredients that he needs.

The player who handled the transaction for him was surprised at the sheer amount of potion Adam gave.

Since there were too many ores, it would not fit the three bags of holding that Adam carried with him.

And even if it's emptied of all the potions, there still won't be enough space to accommodate 725 kg of ore- this is the total he gained from the transaction. Adam has no intention of letting it known that something like the Spatial Ring is in his possession.

Instead, the worker presented Adam with an option to simply transfer the items to him via the auction house- to which Adam accepted. Of course, Hao Wei will take care of all financial fees to facilitate the exchange.

With his transaction more or less completed, Adam decided to ask for more ingredients. He handed a list of ingredients for stamina and mana potions.

The player responded that his request for material would need to be reviewed by Hao Jun first before it could be issued to him. However, he was assured that it would not take long and that it would most likely be sent to Adam along with the ores via the auction house.

With his business with Hao Wei concluded, he teleported out.

As soon as he left, the player sent word to the guild master regarding the exchange that just transpired.

***

"I see. So he is capable of creating this much potion in such a short time," concluded Hao Jun thoughtfully.

"Very well, Approve the ingredient he requested and give him double what he asked for. You can send it along with the ore."

Several guild managers stand in attention, ready to follow Hao Jun's instructions.

"Yes, sir!" said one of the managers.

"Then, send him another $10,000 gift. Thank him for producing such high-quality potions within such a short period."

"Understood, sir," a second manager responded.

"And also, I want to increase our auction surveillance team. From this point forward, you are to purchase all herbs put for sale- the purchasers will be given a generous line of credit to accomplish this. You don't need to seek my approval for every small purchase."

"It will be done, Mr. Hao," a third manager said.

Hao Jun was about to dismiss the manager tasked with giving Adam a bonus when he had a change of mind.

"On second thought, make that a $25,000 gift for our potion maker instead. I will keep on throwing money at him until I sway him to my side."

"He's well worth the price."

With that, the guild managers he spoke to all logged out to carry out his orders.

If one were to scan these managers, one would discover that they are all Level 1. This is because their main job is to handle the guild's day-to-day administrative tasks.

They are not players, per se, as their responsibilities focus more on a guild's internal and external affairs such as the kind of orders that Hao Jun just issued.

For the past few days, Hao Jun had been working on re-creating the recipes that Adam taught. He's learning firsthand that it was one thing to watch it and another to craft it entirely.

It's like watching a world-class chef cook a difficult dish and make it look easy. But when an amateur tries to follow the steps, the outcome is disastrous.

He has yet to craft a single average-grade potion; the best he managed to do so far is a poor-grade potion earlier but the initial attempts had ended with the ingredient being ruined mid-crafting.

What's more, this is just the first out of the nine recipes he has to learn. Unfortunately, he does not have as much time as he wants despite the time difference in Pangea. A man of his wealth and achievement can never have enough time for everything. After all, he's still running a global company.

Adam handled the processing of the ingredients so expertly that he made it look easy. Of course, Hao Jun had watched the recording many times over in hopes of gaining a breakthrough.

Every single time he watched the recording, he couldn't help but think that Adam was a beta player for the game because he was leagues above other crafters. It's almost as if he's been doing it for years.

In his eyes, if a player can craft even a single potion this well, he would offer that player a fifty-thousand-dollar signing bonus on the spot.

But what if a player can craft not one, but at least nine potions at this level?

"No, he can craft more than nine recipes."

And didn't Adam show him a superb-grade potion when they first met?

Hao Jun concluded this upon checking the quality of the potions that Adam traded.

He realized how basic the potion recipes Adam shared were when he checked the description of the potions they received from him. Over seven hundred notable-grade potions are far more potent than anything currently available in the market.

Yet this man merely traded it for some iron ore? Adam is treating the potions like bottled water!

'He's well worth being paid at least at least six figures a year,' calculated Hao Jun. 'Possibly more.'

'If only he can be swayed by money.' sighed Hao Jun.

As a businessman with a decade's worth of experience, he can tell that the World of Pangea will become a huge source of income for those who play their cards right. For as long as people care about it, there will be profit to be gained.

After gaining a certain level of understanding of the World of Pangea, Hao Jun realized how crucial the crafting classes are. This is because a single craftsman's work can be beneficial to the entire guild. The proof of that is the enormous number of potions Adam just traded.

With this number of potions, he can order his guild to aggressively explore higher-level areas of the Undead Regions.

However, he knows that Adam is not the kind of man that can be easily swayed by money or fame. After all, the man took the trouble to wear a mask in each of their interaction. Anyone else would have made their name and face known all over the internet for publicity and business opportunities.

The only method he could think of was to slowly gain Adam's trust and favor by making it clear that Hao Wei Guild appreciated his value.

The $25,000 bonus is nothing compared to what he can gain by having a potion maker of Adam's caliber. Had Adam decided to put a price tag on each bottle on top of the ore, Hao Jun would have agreed with little resistance.

He then turned to the remaining managers. All of them are standing still as if they're military personnel awaiting the command of an officer.

"That man needs far too many ores for this to just be a random quest," said Hao Jun thoughtfully. "He may have Blacksmithing as his second class."

"Wait, he also used fire spells in his fight with my Little Ling."

"So, we know he has at least three classes: Alchemy, Blacksmithing, and either Elemental Magic or Pyromancy. And didn't Yichen say he uses a dagger?"

All the managers are just nodding at every statement he made. They did not dare speak unless they were directly spoken to.

Right now, it is clear that Hao Jun is thinking out loud.

None of them would do something disrespectful as interrupting the head of the Hao Wei Global Company while he is expressing his thoughts verbally.

"You, check with the fortress and ask around. See if there's a Blacksmithing quest that requires thousands of ore. If anyone has that quest, offer them money to get them to share the details."

"Yes, sir," replied the manager he directly addressed.

"Next, check if there's a method to track someone teleporting. I want to know where he is when he's not trading with us."

"Also, make sure to hire pretty girls and assign them to directly handle Adam's transaction moving forward. Make it a pretty woman from every ethnicity. Let's cast a wide net just in case to capture all his possible preferences."

"He might slip up and maybe even show his face when he flirts with a beautiful woman. If he does, make sure to record his face and we can try and track him in the real world."

"What's that amateur guild, Magick Maidens? See if you can poach some of their members."

"Keep on monitoring the activity of other guilds. If he's making a deal with us, he might be making a deal with other guilds too."

"I also want..."

"Also, make sure to..."

"Then, do this..."

Hao Jun issued several sets of orders for all guild managers to attend to. It mostly boiled down to gathering more information and tasks that would help Hao Wei Guild expand, such as investigating Adam's identity or at least his activity, finding out possible quests that require a lot of ore, discovering alchemical ingredients and recipes, recruiting more people, and looking into other crafting classes that can help Hao Wei Guild grow.

After a few hours, every guild manager received an assignment from Hao Jun.

But Hao Jun's meeting did not end there. This was only for the Hao Wei Guild affairs.

The other, more important matter as the head of the Hao Wei Global Company still requires his attention.

After finishing his meeting with the guild managers, the next batch of managers logged in. They are also Level 1, but they are only here because Hao Jun is here.

None of them are players but are high-ranking executives of the Hao Wei Global Company. At the end of the day, he's still calling the shots on one of the biggest conglomerates in the world.

After all, Hao Jun is still running the company. The guild is just a side business he's taken upon himself to oversee.

This is the other reason why he hasn't mastered any of the potions yet. He simply doesn't have the time to dedicate himself to crafting when he's running a global company.

Without any greetings, he immediately started the Hao Wei Global Company meeting.

"You, what do you have for me?" he barked at one of his secretaries.

"Mr. Wei sends his regards," the assistant immediately answered. "He expresses his desire to ease your burden as you recover and would like to handle the day-to-day affairs of the Hao Wei Global until you have fully recovered."

"Did he?" scoffed Hao Jun. "Tell him he can go fuck himself."

Hao Jun's second meeting took much longer than the first.

'If only handling a company is as easy as running a guild,' thought Hao Jun.