Chapter 15: Would I Spoil a Damn NPC?

[Mimic’s Shell: A deformed monster that lurks in dark corners, waiting to “warmly welcome” unsuspecting visitors. This Mimic’s rear end is drenched in blood, having died from a brutal “Backstab.” Compatibility: 43% (+25%).]

“What a shame. The Mimic’s compatibility is too low. Otherwise, possessing its shell and invading other Apostles would’ve been hilarious…”

Lin Xun’s imagination ran wild—he pictured other Apostles spotting a treasure chest, overjoyed at their luck, only to have their heads bitten off the moment they opened it.

“Wait… since when did I become so twisted?”

He opened his Inventory to inspect the loot he’d just obtained.

[Intermediate Forging Stone: A mystical ore containing unknown power. Can be used to enhance intermediate-grade equipment. Requires knowledge of forging-related skills to utilize.]

[Moonlight-Infused Sandpaper (Item): A tough polishing paper imbued with the pure power of the crescent moon. Rubbing a weapon against it will trigger a miraculous effect. Upon use, temporarily enchants your current weapon with the “White Moon” attribute. The enchantment disappears upon killing a monster or the Shell’s death.]

A White Moon enchantment? Interesting.

From the memories of his initial trio of Shells, he knew this world’s lore revolved around the schism of the Church of Divine Light, leading to the eternal conflict between the White Moon Church and the Blood Sun Church. The two forces opposed each other—one corrupt, the other pure.

Using a White Moon-enchanted weapon against Blood Sun monsters would probably be devastating.

Next, he checked his stockpile of Basic Forging Stones, which had reached an astonishing 15.

“Even if I have to pelt him with Forging Stones, I’m gonna pry open that damn blacksmith’s mouth.”

After exiting the mine, Lin Xun re-entered the blacksmith’s shop.

[You enter the makeshift blacksmith’s workshop.]

[The Corrupted Blacksmith swings his hammer, ignoring you.]

He opened his Inventory, selected a Basic Forging Stone, and clicked “Gift.”

[The Corrupted Blacksmith accepts the Forging Stone, raises his crimson eyes to glance at you… then lowers his head and continues hammering.]

Oh, so you’re a gold-digger, huh? Well, I’ve got plenty to spare.

Lin Xun gifted another.

—

[The Corrupted Blacksmith accepts the Forging Stone, raises his crimson eyes to glance at you… then lowers his head and continues hammering.]

—

[The Corrupted Blacksmith accepts the Forging Stone, raises his crimson eyes to glance at you… then lowers his head and continues hammering.]

—

[The Corrupted Blacksmith accepts the Forging Stone, raises his crimson eyes to glance at you… then lowers his head and continues hammering.]

—

[You have run out of Basic Forging Stones. The blacksmith continues his mechanical hammering.]

[Will you gift an Intermediate Forging Stone?]

“#$*&%#@!!”

All the Basic Forging Stones he’d spent hours mining were gone. He’d scoured every inch of the mine—there was nothing left to collect.

Which meant he couldn’t obtain any more Forging Stones at the moment.

Now, Lin Xun felt like a desperate gambler who had lost all his capital, with only one last chance to turn things around.

And this Intermediate Forging Stone was his final bet.

“Should I go all in? If I don’t, all the stones I gave earlier are wasted. If I do, I might lose this last one too.”

Gritting his teeth, he clicked “Gift.”

The next line of text made his heart sink.

[The Corrupted Blacksmith accepts the Intermediate Forging Stone, raises his crimson eyes to glance at you—his gaze filled with profound meaning… then lowers his head and continues hammering.]

!!!

What the hell, man? You take my stuff and still won’t help me?!

Lin Xun was furious. All his hard work had been for nothing.

In total, the Corrupted Blacksmith had taken 16 Forging Stones from him and still refused to cooperate.

Rage surged in his heart, and malice darkened his thoughts.

“Did your mom never teach you that taking gifts means owing favors? You think I’ll spoil some damn NPC?!”

Staring at the blacksmith’s greedy, ugly face and that mocking “profound” gaze, Lin Xun opened the Blood Sun Cultist’s skill menu and unleashed a brutal Backstab straight to the backside, sending the blacksmith to the afterlife.

[You carefully circle behind the blacksmith and draw your greatsword…]

[A bloodcurdling scream echoes through the workshop.]

[You have defeated the ‘Corrupted Blacksmith.’ EXP slightly increased.]

[You obtained Basic Forging Stone ×16.]

[You obtained Intermediate Forging Stone ×1.]

Lin Xun, now thoroughly avenged, felt as if every pore in his body had opened up in satisfaction.

All the Forging Stones he’d given away had been returned to him.

[You examine the ‘Corrupted Blacksmith’s’ Shell before you.]

[Corrupted Blacksmith’s Shell: A blacksmith who, for unknown reasons, appeared outside the castle. Now, its rear is utterly destroyed, having died from an inhuman ‘Backstab.’ Compatibility: 92% (+25%).]

“Who needs a blacksmith? I AM the blacksmith now!”

His Shell Slots were full, so he decided to discard the White Moon Church Guardian Knight’s Shell.

That Shell’s level was too low, and its quality couldn’t compare to the Blood Sun Paladin of Discipline’s. It couldn’t keep up with Lin Xun’s progress anymore.

Before abandoning it, he shrewdly stripped the Guardian Knight of all its equipment and stored it in his Inventory, then possessed the Corrupted Blacksmith’s Shell.

[You have possessed the ‘Corrupted Blacksmith’s Shell.’]

[You have taken control of this unfamiliar Shell. Fragments of the blacksmith’s memories remain within it.]

[The blacksmith was born into a family of master weaponsmiths, the most renowned in Moonlight’s Hometown—Saint Rance. He was later conscripted by Lord Fox to forge weapons and armor for his soldiers. Unfortunately, the castle’s sturdy metal gates proved useless. The corrupting power spread from within, and the blacksmith was not spared.]

He opened the blacksmith’s Shell Panel.

[Shell—Corrupted Blacksmith]

[True Name: Unknown]

[Compatibility: 92% (+25%)]

[Shell Quality: Common]

[Shell Level: 6]

[Shell Equipment: Family’s Fine Steel Forging Hammer (Fine-grade+): A treasured hammer passed down through generations of the blacksmith’s family. Tempered by countless strikes over the ages, it carries a trace of bloodline power. Only a member of this family can wield it. When used in forging (crafting, enhancing, repairing, reforging, enchanting, etc.), there is a small chance of triggering a mutation effect.]

[Shell Skill: Master Forging Art (Rare+): A forging technique passed down through generations of the blacksmith’s family, refined through millions of hammer strikes. This skill can be used to perform forging processes on equipment of Epic-grade or below.]

Lin Xun was stunned. This blacksmith was way too overpowered.

If he’d known how strong the blacksmith was, would he have wasted time mining? Hell no—he’d have killed and possessed him immediately.

From the blacksmith’s stats and quality, he could roughly deduce the game’s quality tiers:

From lowest to highest: Ruined → Common → Fine → Rare → Epic…

Anything beyond that was still unknown due to limited information.

His Inventory still held crafting materials like the Wolfhound’s Fangs and Hide.

He tested the Forging Skill, but the game text indicated that the materials were too limited—forcing a craft would lower the resulting equipment’s quality.

Next, he tried enhancing weapons and found that Basic Forging Stones could only enhance Ruined or Common gear, while Intermediate Forging Stones were needed for Fine-grade and Rare equipment.

He immediately used the Intermediate Forging Stone on the Dragonhunter Lance.

[Will you consume one Intermediate Forging Stone to enhance the Broken Dragonhunter Lance (Fine-grade+)?]

[Enhancing…]

[Enhancement successful. This weapon’s enhancement level +1. Slight increase in power.]

Lin Xun admired his newly upgraded Dragonhunter Lance +1, though he was slightly disappointed that the hammer’s mutation effect hadn’t triggered. He wondered what would’ve happened if it had.