Whose world-class drama are they criticizing?

The butler looked at the old blacksmith's empty eyes and the bones protruding from his body.

If one copper coin isn't enough, then use two...

Even though Ryan pulled out all the copper coins he had, and even laid out his silver coins, the old blacksmith remained unmoved. He just glanced at Ryan expressionlessly and continued hammering away.

Faced with a huge amount of money, he showed no joy whatsoever; his face was as empty as a dead man's.

Ryan could no longer see his entry.

With his money power failing for the first time, Ryan had no choice but to resort to his trump card.

He told ten of his treasured dwarf jokes.

The old blacksmith couldn't help but laugh; he was delighted by the dwarf's joke.

Taking advantage of his moment of joy, Ryan quickly glanced at the fleeting entry. Was it really as sinister as rumored?

He initially dismissed it, thinking the blacksmiths were just ignorant.

"?"

"This is?!"

Ryan was completely stunned at first glance.

What kind of situation haven't I seen?

I've never seen anything like this before.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing; his breath caught in his throat. It was the forbidden of the forbidden, the evil of the evil, the remnant of the remnants—the very answer Ryan had been searching for.

The Craftsman and the Curse of Fire

[The first curse is that there is a chance of failure each time you try to enhance your equipment, resulting in the complete destruction of the equipment.]

[The second curse: the higher the equipment enhancement level, the easier it is to fail.]

[Dispelling Conditions: Depending on the equipment's grade, different amounts of blessing can be offered in advance to offset one instance of damage.]

Holy crap, my equipment broke during enhancement! I have to spend money to keep my gear!

I was so scared I cried.

Chapter 21 Ryan is a god

Enhancement can fail, and failure will result in destruction. You can prevent destruction by spending money.

In just a few words, Ryan seemed to have glimpsed the most evil corner of the world.

Thanks to his perseverance, he finally found Shi.

Wow, there's even a browser game strategy.

This is the purest malice, the purest curse. Perhaps even so-called evil gods and outward gods are no more than this.

He never imagined that in the world of 2062, such a terrifying entity still existed in the market.

Even beasts like the Quick and Slow Blades are like floating specks in the sky when they see it. Even the one who cancels his divine power is as innocent as a little girl in front of the esteemed web game master.

He's practically an ancient god within a private system, an indescribable legend born in an indescribable realm.

After the initial shock, Ryan was overjoyed, feeling a sense of accomplishment, like finding gold dust in a sea of ​​manure.

There was never any mention of a 'curse of the craftsman and fire' in the original work. Ryan guessed that this was probably a scrapped design, but Eden couldn't bear to part with his xylophone and shelved the scrapped design.

Unexpectedly, I was able to unearth this talent in the scrap metal alley. I must recruit this person into my ranks.

Ryan's love for talent became unstoppable.

[Dispel Conditions: Depending on the equipment's grade, a certain amount of 'Blessing' can be offered in advance to offset one instance of damage!]

This dispelling condition is a stroke of genius.

In this world, the so-called 'blessing' is experience. For example, when Ryan defeated Helen, he received a first-tier blessing, which allows him to level up (up to level 10).

To prevent your equipment from being destroyed, apply a certain amount of blessing beforehand.

If you fail, your equipment will not be destroyed; the Blessing Shatter will negate the damage.

The absurd thing about this mechanism is that it doesn't prevent forging from 'failing', but rather from 'destroying'. It will still fail if it's meant to fail, it just won't break anymore.

What's even more inhumane is that if the forging is successful, the blessing applied beforehand will not be returned.

Where did it go?

Of course, it went into the blacksmith's pocket.

Ryan was the owner of the blacksmith shop, so naturally the money went into his pocket.

The butler and Jasmine observed Ryan's expression. Seeing his reaction—first shock, then thoughtfulness, and finally sudden realization—they felt a sense of foreboding. Could it be...?

"Mr. Blacksmith."

Ryan smiled, his smile as bright as the sun even in the dim alley. The boy's eyes were incredibly sincere as he extended his hand to the old blacksmith, inviting him, "Come with me to the ends of the earth."

Jasmine's face darkened.

You're just trying to fool everyone like this, aren't you? Is this a standard script used by your pyramid scheme organization?

Women are one thing, but men are coming too?

Men are one thing, but why is this old, smelly geezer even here?

Miss Jasmine glared fiercely at Ryan, feeling somewhat hopeless about his fetish.

After staring for a while, she felt her eyes getting tired, so she blinked and patted the butler on the back, signaling him to take over the staring for her.

The butler was also devastated. Ryan had met so many talented young men, but he hadn't taken a liking to any of them.

The butler simply thought Ryan had good taste and high standards; who would have thought he would choose such an expensive item?

Although he couldn't see the old blacksmith's status bar, his instincts as a fifth-tier warrior were enough to sense the ominous aura emanating from the man before him. He was a sinner abandoned by the gods, an unblessed being.

Who knows, one day he might just suddenly die at home.

If you get close to him, your family will also suffer the same misfortune.

"Young Master Ryan, you mustn't!"

Although the master had instructed the steward to cause as much trouble as possible for the young master.

But his conscience and loyalty couldn't stand it any longer, and he knew he had to say something.

The young master's idea was sound; a sufficiently convincing suggestion was essential. The butler's mind raced. What was Grand Duke Lawrence thinking at a time like this...?

Immediately, he found the perfect problem.

"Young master, this old man looks to be in his seventies or eighties. According to Eden Labor Law, he can retire after working for a year or two..."

The butler said confidently, "At that time, you will have to pay an expensive pension every year!"

“It’s alright, I’m the lord.” Ryan quickly gave a perfect answer. “No Light Leader has us postpone retirement. Eighty years old is the age to strive. By the way, are you planning to have children?”

“I won’t retire…” Just then, the blacksmith, who had been silent all along, spoke in a hoarse voice, “And I’m not an eighty-year-old young man anymore.”

He's a veteran.

Perhaps because he hadn't spoken to anyone for a long time, the old man's voice was hoarse and intermittent.

"But I will not serve mortals, nor will I have a companion—"

Those murky eyes glanced at Ryan once before turning to his empty forging table.

The old blacksmith's withered arms continued to swing the rotten hammer, striking again and again.

The eerie clanging sound continued to echo at the end of the alley.

"I will only keep swinging the hammer forever..."

Clang, clang, sparks fly.

He murmured hoarsely and in a low voice, as if from another time, “In this age of darkness, I will make a coffin for the world.”

"This is my atonement."

The old man's rambling, seemingly prophetic pronouncements, made the butler feel uneasy; his words sent chills down his spine.

It's best to stay away from him after hearing such ominous and crazy talk.

An age without light? The world as a coffin?

This is clearly the golden age of Eden.

What exactly does it mean?

After hearing these words, Ryan keenly grasped the key phrase 'endlessly swinging the hammer...'. As a top player, Ryan instantly understood the essence of it.

Never-ending, never-ending... This means, this means!

That old bastard never rests while he's working!

This means that he doesn't need to be given a holiday.

996? Just give him the maximum 007 work schedule!

Ryan was even more delighted. He had to recruit this hidden dragon into his ranks. If he could bring this talent to his side, he would be willing to search Blacksmith Street three times.

“I am not a mortal,” Ryan said mysteriously. “I am a god.”

That's really amazing.

Jasmine rubbed her forehead and sighed. Only a mentally ill person would attract this crazy old man; it was a case of fellow sufferers meeting fellow sufferers.

Ryan had a knack for communicating with this delusional old man. After all, who hasn't been crazy in their youth? He also learned from the old blacksmith, lowering his voice and mimicking his fragmented way of speaking:

"The old man wielding the hammer—"

"If the light is about to go out, I will hold this lamp in my hand."

Wow, that's pretty embarrassing.

Ryan resisted the urge to scratch his toes and continued in this manner, spouting nonsense he himself didn't understand. He believed that as long as he was more riddle-like than the Riddler, he could defeat him.

All you need to do is pile on all sorts of dark, gritty, and disturbing elements, along with some obscure and flowery language.

Ideally, it should also be paired with a touch of classical Chinese style.

In his previous life, Ryan was a silk-playing pigeon!

So it's clear that he had the upper hand in this battle of psychiatric defiance.

The Curse of Ignorance and Delusion

Clearly, the old blacksmith was drawn in by his words, stopped hammering, paused, and looked up at Ryan again.

"If the world were a coffin, I would nail this coffin down."

Ryan spoke in an aria-like tone, as if setting an epitaph for a great undertaking.

"Old man wielding the hammer, you cursed one!"

"Your curse, forsaken by the gods, is the blessing I seek. I will ignite your sins to burn away this dark age. This is the final radiance!"

In layman's terms: I'm going to use this discarded, useless design of yours to disgust all the players!

The old blacksmith remained expressionless, but his brown eyes twitched almost imperceptibly.

Ryan, having laid the groundwork with riddles, finally extended an invitation.

"Come with me to the ends of the earth."

The old man looked up at Ryan, and after a long silence, he slowly asked, "Where are you going?"

"No light collar."

Chapter 22 "Pick a Rose and Give It to Me"

The following day, there were three days left until the players arrived.

Ryan got up before dawn; he hadn't slept well the night before.

He pushed open the window. The entire Lu Ming Manor was still shrouded in a thin mist. The night frost in the courtyard had not yet melted, and the sky was gloomy. Occasionally, a gentle breeze would lift the entire curtain, making the thin gauze resemble mist.

Ryan is heading to the Land of No Light today.