The Gentleman at the End

Chapter 79: Chapter 78: The Blacksmith

Under the guidance of Qian Bosen, Yi Chen followed him to the middle layer of the street district, a street known for selling and forging weapons–Metalwork Street.

A large number of blacksmith shops with various designs were established here,

huge metal chimneys,

an oppressively hot environment over 10 degrees Celsius higher than in other districts,

the ceaseless sound of hammering iron and hawkers’ calls,

yet a large number of gentlemen were accustomed to strolling here, in search of more suitable materials or weapon equipment.

Gun users like Edmund often required custom special-effect bullets from modern blacksmith shops.

While walking down the street, Yi Chen noticed that Professor Qian Bosen also seemed indecisive, unsure which blacksmith shop to choose.

“Professor, is this your first time here?” @@novelbin@@

“Sort of, I came here with my teammates when I was young, but I rarely come now… after all, I don’t need weapons. For a Magic Gentleman like me, I make more use of ‘Magic Mediums’.

For example, casting gloves made from special skins,

accessories like rings and necklaces crafted from Pathological Crystals with magical traits,

or, even higher-end, using a large amount of skin combined with secret inscriptions to create Magic Books and so on.”

“I see, can I use such things?”

“Of course… Crafting a pair or a single most basic pair of Casting Gloves can effectively enhance your control over plants.

If you don’t plan on using ‘Gentleman’s Skin’ to upgrade your clothing, you might as well start by making gloves.

It’s up to you to decide.”

“Let’s sort out the weapon issue first.”

“Hmm… this shop looks pretty good… a two-story structure that deals with both material sales and weapon forging. Let’s go in and take a look, try to get it all done at once.”

Vulcan’s Forge

A fiery, hot sign hung at the door,

upon entering, one could see a group of stout youths in black leather aprons, their bronze muscles sweating as they hammered the hot iron.

After a brief explanation to the attendant, the two were invited upstairs.

They were personally attended by an older blacksmith with more experience,

unlike the apprentices downstairs hammering iron, this old blacksmith preferred to stay in the quiet room on the second floor, reading books and tending to flowers.

Disappointed upon learning it was only the newcomer gentleman Yi Chen who wanted to forge a weapon,

“There’s no need for a newcomer gentleman to find me for forging. My apprentices here can handle that job.

If it doesn’t meet expectations, or there’s a mistake during forging that damages the material, we will compensate with a double refund.”

“Can your apprentices handle this?”

At Qian Bosen’s signal,

Yi Chen passed over the sealed box containing the tumor-like Crystal of the Moon Night Rat – Jesmin Lee.

The old blacksmith received the box with his calloused hands, squinting as he slowly opened it,

a sliver of moonlight instantly penetrated his eyes, gradually widening his squint gaze, revealing a new moon in his pupils.

Amidst the seemingly moist new moon lay a flesh-like embryo.

Not disgusting at all,

instead, the otherwise lifeless moon was touched with a hint of vitality.

“Ah, this is a fine item!

Professor Qian Bosen is actually giving such high-quality Crystals to a newcomer gentleman? With material like this, the weapon forged will be difficult for a newcomer to handle.”

“He personally killed the Patient, and the Crystal was refined from the relatively intact body. It has nothing to do with me. I’m just here to help him forge his weapon.”

“This is a Crystal of a Severe Patient, isn’t it? Moreover, judging by its form, it must have belonged to quite a tough character.

No wonder Professor Qian Bosen has the time to bring a newcomer. Turns out, he’s a rare talent… Fine then! I, Ben Gusi, will take on this task.

Please fill out this forging intention form carefully.”

Yi Chen had pretty much figured out what he wanted along the way, and quickly completed the form.

Ben Gusi, the blacksmith, read the intent form with ease:

“Hand Axe, slightly heavier weight, material not specified, length adapted…hoping it will be suitable for various situations and against different types of enemies.

The conditions you’ve set are quite loose, but are you really sure you want to go with an axe?

With your build, choosing a sword, a long knife, or a spear might be a better option.”

“I’m already used to an axe, swords, and the like I find rather awkward to use.”

“Alright then.

But if you want to handle all sorts of situations, you’ll need to combine the traits of both short hand axes and long-handled axes, and our shop just happens to have a technology that can accommodate both traits.

Here is a technology sample; you can try it out.”

The old blacksmith fetched an iron rod, barely a meter long, and handed it to Yi Chen.

The seemingly ordinary rod felt unexpectedly heavy in the palm.

“This length is suitable for close combat in confined spaces…if you want longer range combat or to make broader attacks, you’ll need to increase the length of the weapon.

You must have felt the metal clasp on the rod by now, right?

Press it down with your thumb,

then give a short, quick pull.”

“Okay.”

Yi Chen, following the blacksmith’s instructions,

pressed firmly on the barely noticeable clasp and then yanked the iron rod backwards.

Clang! Sparks flew

In the short pulling distance (

“If you want to revert it to the original length, just repeat the action we just did.

This sample only demonstrates the change in length, but we can also realize a certain degree of shape transformation, depending on your personal needs.”

“How much does it cost to use this technology?”

Yi Chen was still worried about the cost, after all, he hadn’t yet fully repaid Edmund’s money.

“Adding the shape transformation, the price will exceed ten thousand.”

Just as Yi Chen was about to refuse,

Qian Bosen directly placed his business card down,

“Go with the highest standard. As long as the final product is flawless, deduct the payment directly from my account.

I consider this technology quite impressive, and it’s worthy of this precious Crystal material. I’ve got some materials here too, in case you find them useful.”

“Okay.

In that case, we need to determine individual intentions in detail next, the weapon’s transformation modes and shapes, and address feasibility issues.

Once we finalize the design, we’ll need to select materials and also measure the user’s body parameters.

After all these preparations are completed, we’ll need more than two weeks of crafting time, and we’ll notify you as soon as it’s done.”

“That works for me. Then, William, you can stay here to further confirm the weapon design details, I’ve got other matters to attend to.”

As Qian Bosen left,

the preliminaries for forging the weapon officially began,

and while proceeding with Yi Chen’s body measurements, old Ben Gusi was surprised to find that this seemingly slender young man actually possessed an odd but strong physique.

“Your body…it wasn’t formed through regular training, was it?”

Yi Chen answered with a smile: “I can only say it was very painful.”

“No wonder you could slay Severe Patients, and Professor Qian Bosen thinks so highly of you.

As someone who might help humanity out of its plight, I too will do my utmost to forge the finest piece.

To ensure the final product matches you well, we may need you to come in for trial use at any time during this period. Stay in town for now, and don’t go running around.”

“No problem, I’ll mostly be at the academy this month and won’t be going out, thank you, Mr. Ben Gusi.”