Money Can Buy Everything

029 Dark Elf Blacksmithing Skill

Aincrad, First Floor, Starting City - Tolbana.

The second day marked the official beginning of the death game for the players. However, it was still morning, and the time spent in the game had not yet reached 24 hours. Nevertheless, this short time was already enough to make people despair.

No one had managed to log out of the game.

Kayaba, the developer of SAO, had declared it to be a death game, stating that anyone who died in the game would die in real life as well. Although most people found this absurd and unbelievable, no one dared to take the risk.

There was one player who dared to take that risk, and his name appeared on the Black Iron Memorial Monument with a line drawn across it, indicating that he died from a fall from a high place.

After witnessing this adventurer, no one dared to repeat the same mistake, and instead, they chose to wait. Waiting seemed to be the best option for now.

Just imagining the chaos that would be happening in the real world was enough to understand the situation. With thousands of players trapped in the game without any means of escape, even though it hadn't been 24 hours yet, it was already a massive kidnapping case.

It was believed that the real world was in an uproar, and the entire Japanese government must have been in a state of panic. All experts and scholars were probably working together to crack the NERvGear that players wore on their heads.

In such a situation, it was only a matter of time before the players were rescued, right?

Everyone subconsciously overlooked Kayaba's capabilities, assuming that no matter how talented he was, he was just one person. They forgot that Kayaba was the person responsible for the technological advancements of their era and that he had opened the door to the virtual world in such an extreme way.

Perhaps, this era had burdened him with his genius, forcing him to use this game to open the gateway to the virtual world.

In this line of thinking, almost everyone waited, and a considerable number of people took refuge in inns. However, more people huddled in corners, gathering in small groups of three to five, or just alone, trembling under the sunlight.

Only a few had the courage to venture out to the Starting City and confront monsters, risking their lives to level up.

Amidst this atmosphere, there was one bizarre character who stood out.

This person was actually familiar to everyone. When the chaos first erupted, he calmly eased everyone's mood with a mysterious question, "Do you know me?" This prevented the players from panicking.

Afterward, a recognition ceremony unfolded, with many players finding familiar faces or teaming up for various reasons, such as being of the same age, living nearby, getting along well, or having similar preferences.

At least, most players had someone by their side, and having companionship was much better than being all alone.

Thus, everyone remembered the handsome and reassuring Momo, who stabilized everyone's emotions with just one sentence. Many thought that this guy might be a big shot in the real world as well.

Unfortunately, Momo's actions made everyone gasp in surprise, and many even suspected that he had gone crazy!

Momo was hitting on the NPCs!

He was flirting with them!

Okay, maybe it was understandable if the NPCs were sweet-looking vendors at their stalls. But when you hit on a rotund bakery lady, what's your taste like? Is it too peculiar?

Fine, even hitting on the bakery lady could be overlooked, after all, she was a woman. But when you flirt with the burly NPC guard holding a spear on the street, ignoring their gender, what's that all about? Can't even the race stop you?

Now, among the strange gazes of everyone, Momo always had a radiant smile on his face as he walked through the streets and alleys of Tolbana, hitting on every NPC.

"Hey, that's enough! I'm exhausted; they all think you're crazy," Reimu said, lying sprawled on top of Momo's head. She had been endlessly trying to persuade Momo but, despite doing nothing, she had exhausted all her subtitles for the day, which had already surpassed a thousand times.

However, Reimu still admired Momo because, apart from the countless "Please specify a trade partner" messages, there were also two "Trade successful" messages!

Yes, Momo had succeeded in two trades. One was at a loss when he bought a black bread from the bakery lady for 10 Col. The other one was a genuine success when he triggered a hidden quest and sold his wild boar meat to a butcher at market price.

Momo didn't make much profit with the bakery lady, but he earned a lot with the wild boar meat. Although it was just the market price, it was still double what he could have made by directly selling it to the shop!

With 17 pieces of wild boar meat, each worth 20 Col, Momo's funds had exceeded 300 Col. At this moment, Momo could proudly claim that he was the wealthiest player in SAO!

"Well, just a little longer. There's only this corner left. Not to mention the butcher's daily hidden quest, which can already provide us with a massive amount of resources."

"I'll listen to you, anyway. Since you've lost all your shame, I don't care if people see me; I won't lose my integrity."

"You had integrity to begin with?"

"I'll bite you!"

"Oh, yeah! How about biting my face? Ouch, don't pull my hair..."

The two of them playfully arrived at the last corner of Tolbana, where the blacksmith shop was located. The blacksmith was an elderly man with a long beard, sitting casually in his chair without any other expression.

"Hey, sturdy boss, how about we make a trade! I'll buy your Fang Tooth Short Sword for 100 Col, that's a double premium!" Momo proposed cheerfully.

"No trade partner," said Reimu, completing the final task with no energy, and she hid in Momo's hair, as if covering herself with a golden blanket. "I'm going to sleep, so tired, so exhausted."

"Unfortunately, Reimu, you can't sleep just yet!"

Momo's lips curved into a mysterious smile as he turned to the corner of the blacksmith shop.

There, a woman with a cloth wrapped around her head, with dark skin, looked puzzledly in their direction. When Momo met her gaze, she quickly turned away and continued with her work.

"Even the butcher and the bakery lady never showed curiosity like this. I feel like we hit the jackpot!"

Reimu also became interested, staring at the woman. "Ding," the woman dropped the hammer and tongs in her hand. She finally turned around, looking shocked at Momo.

"Trade... failed! Momo, Momo! She rejected your trade!"

Although it was a failed trade, Reimu exclaimed in excitement. At this moment, the woman turned back and glared at Momo with an unfriendly expression.

"Outsider, you are not welcome here. I am not one of those women who roam at night seeking pleasure and will sell for Col. I am a legitimate worker here."

Her voice was light and soft, giving an impression of weakness, but she took out a hammer and began to strike a piece of iron on the anvil.

Trade failed, but Momo's smile became even more radiant.

"In that case, Miss Dark Elf, may I learn your blacksmithing skill in exchange for keeping your true name a secret? I promise to listen to your guidance and fulfill your request. What do you think?" Momo proposed.

Reimu was taken aback, looking at the woman in front of them. "Ding," the sound came again as the woman dropped her tools and turned to face Momo with astonishment.

"Trade... succeeded!"

Reimu muttered as she displayed the subtitles. She then looked at Momo and then back at the woman in front of them, puzzled.

"Hope you can keep it a secret. I just want to survive here as a human. But since it's just a trade, I will teach you my skills as a blacksmith. However, I despise you, so every time your blacksmith skill levels up, I will demand double the reward of the previous level. Now, give me 100 Col, and I will teach you the basic blacksmithing skill and forging recipes!" the woman said.

Momo did not hesitate and agreed.

Unlike the leveling system, SAO's secondary profession skills had ten levels: LV2 for entry-level, LV4 for proficient, LV6 for mastery, LV8 for grandmaster, and LV10 for legend.

Each level had corresponding proficiency and recipe requirements. If the proficiency and recipe proficiency were enough, you could level up to the next level and obtain more recipes. However, this was a difficult process, as proficiency grew slowly, and each practice required materials with a risk of failure.

Thus, secondary professions were not something players could afford to learn at present. But Momo was rich and used his trading ability to forcefully purchase the reward for a hidden quest.

"You have obtained Enhanced Blacksmithing Skill: Dark Elf Forging Technique."

"You have obtained the skill recipes: Level 1 weapon forging, Level 1 armor forging, Level 1 mining skill. Please check the detailed recipes and ingredients by yourself."

Momo immediately opened his skill panel and checked the recipes, nodding in satisfaction. Although the forging skill was only at level 1, it could already produce level 10 weapons, and even the highest-level recipes were exceptional weapons. However, they required high-quality materials and proficiency, with no guarantee of success.

Seeing Momo's happy expression, the Dark Elf weighed the money in her hand and nodded in satisfaction. Although she disliked Momo, Col was tangible, and since she had left the Dark Elves, she had long abandoned the so-called elven honor.

"If you need materials, you can mine them or get them from monsters. However, most of my materials are difficult to obtain on the first floor. You can buy them from me, but my stock is limited, and the price will be high."

"But it seems like you're not short of money. We have no friendship, just one hand to pay and one hand to deliver, purely business."

Listening to these slightly indifferent words, which strangely made Momo feel close, Momo voluntarily extended his hand and said to the Dark Elf pretending to be human, "Deal!"