There's a big problem with dreams in this world.

There were no diagrams in the notes, only text, and the more she looked at them, the more confused she became; all she wanted to do was sleep.

Having memorized these theoretical concepts, Lu Qing closed her notebook and prepared to go out and check on the old blacksmith's progress.

After leaving the room, Lu Qing locked the door and returned to the blacksmith's side, turning her gaze to the mithril ingot that had already taken shape under his hammer.

The mithril ingot was now glowing red-hot. Due to being continuously hammered, it had become much thinner, but it was still far from being thick enough to cut a wound.

"Found it?" the old blacksmith asked after hearing Lu Qing's footsteps.

"Hmm, I found it, but I can't understand it at all," Lu Qing said, walking to the side and taking out her notebook.

"If you don't understand, think about it more. You'll figure it out eventually. If you don't have any basic knowledge, your weapons will cry."

"I tried my best..."

After watching the blacksmith's movements for a while, Lu Qing reopened her notebook and continued reading from where she left off.

Read it once first, and then read it carefully again. That way, you might be able to figure out many of the questions that were unclear at the beginning.

"clang!"

"clang!"

"clang!"

Under the scorching roof, only the crisp sound of hammering remained. Lu Qing sat there for the entire morning, studying the notes in her hands.

When she got tired, she would stop and watch the blacksmith work for a while. After resting, she would continue her research. After a morning, she felt that her understanding of daggers had improved a lot.

Of course, this is only an understanding at the knowledge level.

"laugh......."

White mist rose from the pool, and the piercing sound made Lu Qing, who was studying the notes, turn her head.

The blacksmith held a black iron clamp in his hand. After waiting for a while, he took the clamp out of the pool, revealing a glint of silver-white light.

"Alright, it's finally taking shape."

The blacksmith removed the dagger from the iron clamp and wiped the water off it with a piece of clean leather.

"Here you go, your dagger," the blacksmith said, handing the dagger to Lu Qing.

"It's finally finished!"

Once she came to her senses, Lu Qing perked up and quickly took the dagger from the blacksmith's hand, examining it carefully in her palm.

Like the priest's longsword, it was silvery-white, gleaming slightly in the glow of the fireplace. The hilt of the dagger was wrapped with a piece of fine leather to prevent it from slipping out of the hand, and it felt quite nice to the touch.

However, what attracted Lu Qing the most was the pure white blade of the dagger.

Its refined appearance and smooth blade reflected Lu Qing's face, with a glint of cold light dancing on the edge.

My fingers lightly traced the blade, and a cool sensation traveled through my fingers to my brain.

Item Name: Mithril Dagger

[Item Quality: White]

[Description: Forged by an experienced blacksmith using mithril, this dagger possesses a hardness and toughness surpassing even steel. While maintaining this combination of hardness and toughness, it is also significantly lighter than a typical steel dagger. Under moonlight, it emits a deep blue glow.]

[Skills: Armor Penetration, Wounding, Evil Exorcism.]

[Armor Penetration: The sharp blade allows the mithril dagger to penetrate enemy armor more easily, making it particularly effective against leather and cloth armor!]

[Trauma: Cut wounds are more painful and harder to heal!]

[Exorcism: The Mithril Dagger deals increased elemental damage to evil-type creatures!]

[Note: Break evil!]

“So beautiful…” Lu Qing couldn’t help but say, looking at the dagger in her hand.

"It's more than just beautiful! This mithril dagger is just as deadly as a steel dagger, and while possessing such power, it weighs only half as much!" the old blacksmith said from the side.

"In fact, weapons made of mithril are all very beautiful, but some people don't like that. They think mithril weapons are too white, and a deeper black looks better. Also, some weapons are better when they are heavier, such as maces..."

Without listening to what the blacksmith was about to say, Lu Qing gripped the mithril dagger and made a few movements that weren't quite standard, just like the ones recorded in her notes, and then casually waved them around in the air.

"Not bad, it looks somewhat decent now," the old blacksmith said, watching Lu Qing's movements.

Hearing the blacksmith's words, Lu Qing put down her dagger and looked at the blacksmith, saying:

"Thank you, boss, I really like it."

"If you like it, practice more. I hope you won't let your weapon get dusty," the old blacksmith said.

As he spoke, the other person picked up a red wooden scabbard from a table not far away and handed it to Lu Qing, saying:

"This is a scabbard made of redwood. Use it to store this dagger. Don't expose the dagger casually, as some greedy guys might target you."

"Thank you." Upon seeing this, Lu Qing accepted the scabbard and expressed her gratitude.

She felt somewhat embarrassed, after all, first the mithril dagger, then the notebook, and now the blacksmith had even given her a scabbard.

If all these things were just ordinary game NPCs, that would be one thing, but the old blacksmith gave Lu Qing the feeling of being a real person.

"Well, how about I pay a little bit?" Lu Qing suggested.

Shaking his head, the old blacksmith pointed outside and said, "I don't need that little bit of money. Hurry up and get out of here. After that, stay in the church and leave as soon as the fog dissipates. If the evil spirits really come knocking, fight them with the holy water and mithril dagger the priest gave you."

"As long as you can stay calm, evil spirits are not actually difficult to deal with."

"I understand, I will do as I say," Lu Qing said.

Despite saying that, Lu Qing was certain that the evil spirit would eventually come after her, because this was a dream game, and she was the one responsible for breaking the dream.

If dreams can be solved on their own without doing anything, then this dream game wouldn't need to involve players like ourselves to solve dreams at all!

She squeezed the dagger hanging at her waist; the cool touch brought Lu Qing a sense of security.

"If I encounter evil spirits again, I should be able to fight back by now," Lu Qing thought to herself.

------------

Chapter Thirteen: The Survivors Returning from the Mist

"Alright, everyone disperse. I'll take him back and heal him."

As soon as Lu Qing arrived at the church entrance, she noticed a group of people gathered there for some reason, and from among the crowd came the voice of a priest.

Without struggling to squeeze into the crowd, she went up behind a townsman and gently patted him on the back.

"Um... why is everyone gathered here?"

The townsman who had been photographed turned around and met a pair of deep blue eyes. After a moment of surprise, the other person replied:

“Some members of the expedition team that went into the mist have returned, but they collapsed on the ground as soon as they arrived. The others just carried him over. We hope the priest can treat him.”

"Oh, thank you, Uncle!" Lu Qing replied.

After saying that, Lu Qing left, leaving the townsman standing there in a daze.

"What an adorable little girl, is she from out of town?"

Completely unaware of what the townspeople were thinking after she left, Lu Qing found a random spot and waited quietly.

About five minutes later, after the priest carried the unconscious person into the church, the people who had been surrounding the church slowly dispersed.

After feeling that most people had left, Lu Qing entered the church through the main entrance and immediately saw the priest coming out of one of the rooms.

"Father, I'm back from the blacksmith's shop," Lu Qing greeted.

The priest nodded upon hearing Lu Qing's words, his gaze lingering on her waist.

"Is it a dagger being forged?"

“Well, because I don’t know how to use most weapons, the blacksmith said that if it’s just for self-defense, a dagger is more useful.” Lu Qing pulled out the mithril dagger and held it in her palm as she spoke.

The old priest looked at the silver-white dagger in Lu Qing's hand and nodded:

"The dagger is also good. If other materials are added, the toughness of the finished product will be affected to some extent, and the damage to evil spirits will not be as pure. As for the technique, you can practice slowly. Anyway, you don't need these things right now."

“I will practice hard, but I just heard outside that some of the people who went to investigate in the mist have returned. Is that true?” Lu Qing asked.

Upon hearing Lu Qing mention the survivors, the old priest's brows furrowed involuntarily, and he said:

"It's true. I fainted as soon as I reached the outskirts of the town. I checked me over and there were no fatal wounds, just some abrasions. The main reason I fainted was weakness caused by hunger and thirst."

"I just had John give him some water to swallow, hopefully he'll wake up."

"Can I go inside and take a look?" Lu Qing asked.

The priest was definitely more experienced than Lu Qing. Since even the priest couldn't see anything, Lu Qing certainly couldn't either.

However, Lu Qing still had a notebook and a quill pen, so she might discover something, and therefore wanted to go in and take a look.

"of course can."

The priest granted Lu Qing's request. He turned around, opened the door, and went inside. Lu Qing followed behind him, looking at the wooden bed in the room.

The person lying on the bed was a young man, whose face was pale, perhaps because he was too weak.

"This is the innkeeper's son. A few days ago, when the expedition team was being formed, he joined without hesitation because of his father's business."

As the priest spoke, a trace of sadness appeared on his face.

“I had no idea that the townspeople were forming an expedition team, otherwise I would definitely have stopped them.”

“This is not your fault, Father. All we can do now is wait for him to wake up and then ask him what happened in the fog,” Lu Qing said.

“You’re right. Anyway, let’s wait for him to wake up. I’ll have John watch over him. He has to eat as soon as he wakes up, or I’m really afraid he’ll die.”

After chatting with the priest for a few more minutes, Lu Qing parted ways with him. Instead of returning to her room to rest, she wandered around the church at her leisure.

It's only early afternoon, and there's still a long time before she rests. She needs to take this time to carefully look around and see if there are any hidden items inside the church.

Well, actually, she was just too afraid to leave the church, but she had nothing to do in her room, so she could only wander around the church area.

"?"

A figure appeared in Lu Qing's line of sight, and the notice board in her mind trembled, displaying a line of information.

A man suddenly appears near the church, and you are surprised to find that he is the bakery owner. Judging from the cold sweat dripping down his face, he is clearly doing something that would make anyone nervous.

[A sharp blade appears to be concealed in the sleeve of the opponent's right-hand garment.]

What's the bakery owner doing here?