Chapter 5: Unknown Threat, Weapon Forged!

Plop!

Golden slime dripped from the black curtain.

One blob.

Two blobs.

Three blobs… dripping down continuously.

Eventually, they merged into a single, dome-shaped, golden pudding-like mass.

The strange substance quivered a few times, then began to move slowly.

Despite having no eyes, it seemed to be observing its surroundings.

Finally, it began to slither in the direction where Ye Lian had gone.

And its speed was gradually increasing!

“What a barren place.”

It had been over ten minutes since Ye Lian left the starting point, and he hadn’t made any effort to catch up to the others ahead.

Along the way, he kept exploring while staying on high alert for any danger.

‘There’s not even a single large rock around. Was everything picked clean, or was there nothing here to begin with?’

Looking at the relatively flat, gray-black ground, Ye Lian sighed in disappointment.

Starting late definitely came with some disadvantages, but he didn’t regret it.

After all, he had already gained a god-tier skill at the beginning—putting him far ahead of the others.

Now, the only problem was the lack of materials nearby to test it on.

During this time, he had basically figured out how to use [Infinite Alchemy].

Theoretically, this skill allowed him to decompose, reconstruct, and synthesize most substances in the world.

The higher the proficiency, the more powerful its effects.

Right now, [Infinite Transmutation Alchemy] was at level zero—proficiency, also zero.

So far, Ye Lian hadn’t found any materials to experiment with.

‘I can’t just try to alchemize the ground, can I?’

Obviously, that wasn’t something he could do at the moment.

With no other choice, Ye Lian continued forward.

***

Finally, after walking for another ten minutes or so, he found his first material.

A massive boulder—so large it would take three people holding hands to wrap around it.

Pitch black, it looked more like a chunk of solid iron.

“Something this big… there’s no way I could successfully alchemize it with my current strength.”

He placed his hand on the boulder to feel its texture, then shook his head.

Even if he drained all the energy in his body, he wouldn’t be able to process even one-tenth of it.

‘Am I seriously going to have to run around naked all the way to that place?’

He looked toward the distant silhouette—a massive shadow that resembled a city.

A sense of unease filled Ye Lian.

The deeper he ventured into this land, the more intense the sense of danger became.

There was definitely something unknown up ahead—something that could threaten his life!

He had to find something for self-defense.

“If I had some rubble, I could probably forge some small weapons… Huh, what’s this?”

Circling around the rock, Ye Lian noticed a large crack in the stone.

At its widest point, it was big enough to fit a hand through.

He crouched down for a closer look and saw a faint glow emanating from within.

A soft green light shimmered inside, giving off a refreshing, springlike feeling.

There were some fresh marks around the crack, likely from other players trying to get whatever was inside.

Apparently, they had also tried to retrieve the item within.

After a brief pause, Ye Lian’s expression turned resolute as he reached in and gently touched the object.

Its surface was smooth, without any roughness.

It was most likely a gem or some sort of crystal.

[You have discovered a Basic Wind Crystal.]

At the same time, a system notification chimed.

‘A Wind Crystal… I can definitely use this to forge something!’

Focusing his thoughts, Ye Lian began channeling the special energy he had cultivated within his body directly into the crystal.

***

After a dozen seconds, he felt as if his entire body was being drained.

Just as he was about to stop, the Wind Crystal finished breaking down—now ready to be reforged into the weapon he had in mind.

“I want to forge the king of all weapons—a spear!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the image of an ancient, legendary spear formed clearly in his mind.

[Step one: Deconstruction complete.]

[Step two: Structural alignment complete.]

[Step three: Shaping complete.]

[Step four: Forging in progress…]

A burst of green light flared from his arm as he withdrew it, lighting up the entire area.

Finally, the forging process was complete.

A long spear, over nine feet in length, now lay in front of him.

Its design resembled that of a classical Chinese spear.

The blade alone was more than a foot long, gleaming with a chilling brilliance.

“Phew… forging this thing was exhausting.”

Ye Lian let out a long breath, his face weary, but his eyes sparkled with pride as he gazed at his first crafted weapon.

There was no doubt—it was a spear that couldn’t be called exquisite, but it was solid.

Its design was plain and straightforward, with no unnecessary lines or ornate carvings.

The entire spear shimmered in a soft jade green, exuding a refreshing aura.

Surprisingly, it felt very light in his hands.

[You have obtained an unnamed spear. You may now name it.]

The system chimed again.

“This game… should I praise its open-ended freedom, or complain about how incomplete it feels?”

Ye Lian sighed at yet another notification, feeling slightly speechless.

Still, he followed the prompt and gave the spear a name.

“Swiftwind!”

[New mechanism triggered: Equipment Ranking System unlocked.]

[Equipment Ranking System successfully loaded.]

[You have received a reward for unlocking the Equipment Ranking System: 1 Low-Grade Mental Recovery Potion.]

[Your weapon ‘Swiftwind Spear’ has reached the #1 spot on the Equipment Leaderboard. Special reward granted: 1 Low-Grade Mental Recovery Potion.]

“…”

Ye Lian was completely speechless after hearing the series of notifications.

Just moments ago, he had his doubts, but now it was confirmed beyond a doubt—

This game was definitely still in beta!