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SERIES: Regression of the Cursed Blacksmith
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Chapter 18 - Upgrading the Secondary Trait
He immediately checked the skill information.
[ Quick Repair ]
- Type: Trait Skill
# A class-exclusive skill derived from the Blacksmith class's exclusive Repair trait.
# Consumes mana to repair a target much faster than Basic Repair.
# The amount of mana consumed varies depending on the target's condition, and repair may fail under certain circumstances.
It was information that he already knew.
Quick Repair wasn't all that different.
At most, it was just a bit faster than Basic Repair.
However, upon gaining the Quick Repair skill, the repair speed was noticeably more than twice as fast as before.
“And as the trait level increases, that gap will only widen. Now then…”
Choi Hyun's eyes gleamed.
The time had finally come to distribute the stats he had been saving up till now.
Choi Hyun brought up his status window again.
[ Choi Hyun ]
- Lv : 1
- Class: Blacksmith
- Traits: <Demon's Eye> <Repair> <Curse of Memory> <Nameless Art> <Heavenly Martial Body>
- Strength: 6
- Stamina: 6
- Mana: 6
- Sense: 6
- Dexterity: 1
- Unallocated Stat Points: 14
The Dexterity stat had appeared.
Dexterity was a stat that could be obtained when one of a production-class player's primary traits reached 2-stars. The higher the Dexterity, the greater the efficiency and power of all production-class skills.
“And to raise the level of a production-class trait, you need a corresponding amount of Dexterity.”
But the true power of the Dexterity stat wasn't something so simple.
The true use of the Dexterity stat, discovered much later, was none other than “stat combination'”
“When a production-class player reaches level 100 and masters one of their primary traits, they gain a trait that allows them to use Dexterity just like any other stat.”
For example, if a player with 100 Mana and 100 Dexterity used that trait, their Mana stat would temporarily become 200.
Of course, their Dexterity would drop to 0, reducing the efficiency of their existing production-class traits, but that didn't matter.
Stat combination could be used strategically whenever needed.
“That's when you become a true Fighting Blacksmith.”
So now, having already obtained the Heavenly Martial Body and unlocked Dexterity, it was the perfect time to allocate the bonus stats he'd been saving.
Choi Hyun invested all his stat points into Dexterity and then refreshed his status window.
[ Choi Hyun ]
- Lv : 1
- Class: Blacksmith
- Traits: <Demon's Eye> <Repair> <Curse of Memory> <Nameless Art> <Heavenly Martial Body>
- Strength: 6
- Stamina: 6
- Mana: 6
- Sense: 6
- Dexterity: 15
- Unallocated Stat Points: 0
A Dexterity stat of 15.
An absolutely overwhelming number.
If he had leveled up normally, even after accounting for bonus stats along the way, he would have needed to be at least level 10 to reach such a figure.
But Choi Hyun was still level 1.
Furthermore, he was in the perfect environment to start seriously leveling up his Repair trait.
Choi Hyun immediately resummoned the Hammer of Repair and picked up a junk weapon lying nearby.
He happened to spot a Tutorial Sword.
[ Quick Repair has been activated. ]
[ Deft Hands has been activated. ]
[ Super Focus has been activated. ]
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
[ Repair complete. ]
[ You have succeeded in repairing the item. ]
The speed was definitely faster.
Choi Hyun checked the information of the repaired sword.
[ Tutorial Sword ]
- Type: Item
- Requirements: None
- Durability: 90/90 (100-10)
- Attack Power: 9 (10-1)
- Options: None
# A sword supplied in the Tutorial Tower.
# It has been used to its limit, causing some of its performance to degrade and making complete repair difficult.
# However, it has been slightly improved by a skilled blacksmith.
The durability, which had been 80, was now restored to 90.
The attack power, which had been 8, was now 9.
Its condition was slightly better than when he had used Basic Repair.
A pleasant phrase had even been added to the item description.
“This is what makes repairing so satisfying.”
If he reaches the next stage, the sword would probably be perfectly repaired.
Choi Hyun smiled and picked up the next piece of junk.
From now on, it was truly a battle of time and effort.
“The goal is to obtain the 5-star Repair skill.”
With a glint in his eyes, Choi Hyun raised his hammer again and began the repetitive work.
[ Quick Repair has been activated. ]
[ Deft Hands has been activated. ]
[ Super Focus has been activated. ]
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
[ Repair complete. ]
[ You have succeeded in repairing the item. ]
Fast, repetitive, mechanical repairs.
When he felt dizzy.
[ Super Focus has been activated. ]
[ Nameless Heart-technique has been activated. ]
He would immediately sit down and recover his mana through the Nameless heart-technique.
Once his mana was fully restored, he would rise like a machine and begin to repair junk again.
After repeating this for a long time, oblivious to the passing hours, more good news arrived.
[ Your skill has become more proficient and precise. ]
[ Your repair ability is fast, meticulous, and flawlessly excellent. ]
[ Conditions have been met. ]
[ You have acquired the skill, “Precision Repair.” ]
[ The trait has grown one level higher. ]
[ The skill, “Hammer of Repair”, has grown, and some of its information has changed. ]
[ You have acquired 3 Dexterity stat points. ]
His trait had reached 3-stars.
Now, in addition to increased repair speed, it had also become precise.
The Hammer of Repair only had a single line of text change, just like the last time it grew, but Precision Repair was different.
But the notifications didn't end there.
[ New Record Achieved! ]
[ You are the fastest player in history to reach the third trait level. ]
[ For achieving this outstanding feat, the system gifts you 1 bonus stat point. ]
He had obtained one more bonus stat point for achieving a new record.
“This is paying off in more ways than one.”
Choi Hyun invested the acquired bonus stat points into Dexterity, then immediately picked up a junk-grade Tutorial Sword lying nearby and repaired it.
[ Precision Repair has been activated. ]
[ Deft Hands has been activated. ]
[ Super Focus has been activated. ]
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
[ Repair complete. ]
[ Due to the effect of Precision Repair, you have succeeded in completely repairing the item. ]
He had seen similar notifications until now, but the result message for Precision Repair was different.
It wasn't just “Repair complete”, but was “succeeded in completely repairing the item”.
He immediately checked the sword's information.
[ Tutorial Sword ]
- Type: Item
- Requirements: None
- Durability: 100/100
- Attack Power: 10
- Options: None
# A sword supplied in the Tutorial Tower.
# It had been used to its limit, causing some of its performance to degrade, but it has been perfectly repaired by an outstanding blacksmith.
The degraded durability and attack power had been perfectly restored to their original values.
The corners of Choi Hyun's mouth lifted.
It reminded him of the old days.
“I remember how happy I was back then when I raised my Repair level to Precision.”
Most blacksmith players make a living with the Repair trait rather than the Crafting trait.
This was because, compared to Crafting which required many different things, it was easier to raise the trait level for Repair. Plus, once you reached 3-stars and could use Precision Repair, you could live comfortably and be well-treated in most places.
“From this point on, you can live what they call a civil servant's life, with a stable iron rice bowl.”
To put it bluntly, you could at least make ends meet by picking up junk, repairing it yourself, and reselling it.
Nevertheless, the reason most junk items were discarded was that the value of repaired junk was far lower than the cost of hiring a 3-star repair blacksmith.
It was then.
Vrrr-
His phone rang.
It was Jin Hyun-geun.
What's going on?
As he thought this and picked up his phone, he realized why he was calling.
He had been so engrossed in repairing that morning had arrived, and it was time for Jin Hyun-geun to start work.
Surprised for a moment, he quickly answered the call.
“Yes, Mr. Jin.”
- Good morning, Consultant. Shall I come to your residence to pick you up?
“No, you don't need to come for me today. I'm still at the warehouse; I haven't gone home.”
- What? You don't mean you've been repairing junk this whole time, do you?
“Yes.”
- Gasp. Then I'll at least bring you something to eat.
“No, it will disturb my concentration. Don't come to work today, just take the day off.”
- …Understood.
That's Jin Hyun-geun for you.
Like the competent Secretary he was, he didn't make him repeat himself.
After ending the call, Choi Hyun picked up his hammer again.
The amount of junk itself had decreased significantly.
But there was still a lot left to repair.
For example, the items he had crudely repaired before reaching 3-stars.
He figured that if he repaired them again with Precision Repair, he wouldn't need to bring in any more junk.
“Alright, let’s get back to it.”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of metal striking metal echoed through the warehouse once more.
* * *
[ Precision Repair has been activated. ]
[ Deft Hands has been activated. ]
[ Super Focus has been activated. ]
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
[ Repair complete. ]
[ Due to the effect of Precision Repair, you have succeeded in completely repairing the item. ]
The sun was high in the sky.
And he had just finished repairing another piece of junk.
It was then.
[ Perfect display of skill. ]
[ Your repair ability is now beginning to show a level beyond simple repair. ]
[ Conditions have been met. ]
[ You have acquired the skill, “Reinforcement Repair.” ]
[ The trait has grown one level higher. ]
[ The skill, “Hammer of Repair”, has grown, and some of its information has changed. ]
[ You have acquired 4 Dexterity stat points. ]
[ New Record Achieved! ]
[ You are the fastest player in history to reach the fourth trait level. ]
[ For achieving this outstanding feat, the system gifts you 1 bonus stat point. ]
Another level up.
Choi Hyun had finally reached the fourth level of the Repair trait.
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