Chapter 121: Master Syndra

It took a full five minutes for the adventurers to recover from their shock, then they swarmed around Li Si, their expressions filled with excitement, as if they were watching some blockbuster film.

"Li Si, are you telling the truth?"

"No, that can't be true, I don't believe it. That was a quasi-S-rank mission. If the Feiyang Group couldn't finish it, they would have been promoted to the S-rank tier. Although the Feiyang Adventure Group is an NPC team and not very large, every one of them is a top-tier powerhouse; B-rank and C-rank members are a dime a dozen. If they couldn't complete the mission, how could some mysterious powerhouse do it alone in just 20 seconds?"

"Exactly, I don't believe it either. 20 seconds? Why don't you say he's going to heaven while you're at it?"

The group spoke with agitation, doing their best to deny it, but seeing Li Si's composed demeanor, it seemed as if it were indeed the truth.

"Damn, are you guys going to eat me alive?" Li Si spat, and the others smirked as they backed off a little.

"This is absolutely true. I swear on my cousin's reputation as a D-rank adventurer and on my own life. If I'm lying, I, Li Si, will commit suicide right in front of you."

Li Si's tone was grave and steady, and with such a lethal oath, the group had no choice but to believe him, no matter how stirred up they were.

"Is that mysterious powerhouse a player or an NPC?"

"I don't know, but according to my cousin, he should be a player. The captain of the adventure team he's currently in is a quasi-A-rank powerhouse who was in the area around Loch Ness at the time, not far from the Feiyang Group. He said he thought he saw a blur, an outsider," Li Si said earnestly.

"By the way, the matter of the mysterious powerhouse was even acknowledged by Feiyang, the leader of the Feiyang Group himself."

Following Li Si's explanation, the group finally believed it completely. Their eyes glowed with excitement, and they clicked their tongues, filled with envy for that mysterious person.

At this moment, someone quick-witted seemed to make a connection.

"Hey, hey, hey, do you remember the person who unlocked the adventurer branch? He's the one currently ranked first on the adventure leaderboard, the only C-rank adventurer. Do you think it could have been him who finished it?"

Hearing this, the group's expressions changed; their eyes widened instantly, and they gasped.

Analyzing it this way, it actually made sense! Others had to grind through hard missions bit by bit to reach D-rank, but he reached C-rank just by completing one unlocking mission. Clearly, that unlocking mission must have been much more difficult.

If it was 100% certain that the mysterious powerhouse was a player, then he was the only one with such strength.

Li Xin had wanted to listen a little longer to see if any of his own information had leaked out. However, the broadcast station happened to call his number, so he had to stand up and head toward window 005.

He pulled out his orange C-rank badge and handed it over. The clerk, a young woman, was clearly stunned. She had the appearance of a standard Oriental beauty with a classic oval face. Li Xin felt she wasn't Chinese, but Korean.

It turned out he was right. The girl always ended her sentences with "simida," "simida"...

"Sir, you have cancelled three missions in total. A-rank mission fine is 1000 gold coins, total of 1; B-rank mission fine is 800 gold coins, total of 2. You need to pay a total fine of 2600 gold coins, simida."

"Sir, you have paid the fine in full, simida. Would you like to accept a new mission, or come back next time, simida?"

"Sir, this is the mission slip, please choose carefully, simida."

Every window was separated by grey explosion-proof glass, so there was no need to worry about others overhearing their conversation. Li Xin flipped through the list for a while and selected a B-rank mission: help the master blacksmith Cinder find his smithing hammer.

After thanking her and preparing to leave, the clerk called him back.

"Is there something else?"

"Sir, you are a powerful adventurer. Would you be willing to do me a small favor?" Park Sam-soon's expression was sincere and earnest, dignified and poised.

Li Xin smiled to himself; he had become much more charming lately. Whether in the game or in reality, beautiful women always seemed to appear in droves.

"Of course, Miss Park. Please, tell me. As long as it is within my power, I will certainly help."

Park Sam-soon beamed like a flower and explained her predicament. Li Xin agreed readily. They agreed that after he completed the mission for the blacksmith master Cinder, Li Xin would come to help her.

Just as he stepped out from the isolation window, Li Xin saw that the spot where Li Si had been was surrounded by a massive crowd of players. He didn't need to think twice to realize that the story Li Si had told must have spread.

He walked nearby and listened for a moment; there was no information related to him, which made Li Xin feel much more at ease, and he set off to leave.

108 Qianjin Road, West District, was an old-fashioned blacksmith shop. It wasn't large; the storefront and the backyard combined were only 200 square meters, not even as big as the courtyard Li Xin had in reality. However, within a radius of several hundred kilometers, no one dared to underestimate this place. Even though the surrounding area was filled with high-rise buildings, this small courtyard remained perfectly preserved.

This was the blacksmith shop of the master blacksmith, Cinder.

In today's era of rapidly advancing thermal weapons, the cold weapons held by soldiers were all standardized. Adventurers, however, were different; they primarily relied on cold weapons, supplemented by low-lethality thermal weapons. There were two ways to buy cold weapons: weapon shops and blacksmith shops.

Weapon shops offered exquisite designs, a wide variety, and reasonable prices, making them the first choice for adventurers.

Blacksmith shops were different; they were expensive and required advance booking, which deterred a significant portion of customers. Only high-profile clients with strong strength and deep pockets would choose to come here.

Of course, the weapons from a blacksmith shop were far superior in quality to those found in stores.

A master blacksmith was a high-level existence among smiths. In the entire main city of Xiangzhou, there was only Master Cinder. The weapons he crafted went without saying—each one was a masterpiece.

For a while now, the blacksmith shop had been closed to visitors. Everyone knew that Master Cinder's smithing hammer had been lost. Many people found it amusing—it was just a hammer, and one could just get another one if it was lost—but only a very few people understood the profound significance of that hammer to Master Cinder.

When he arrived at the location, he knocked on the door for a long time without receiving any response. Li Xin looked at the sign left and right, but there was no contact information.

At this moment, a young waiter came out of the old-fashioned teahouse that had also been preserved next door.

"Brother, don't bother knocking. Master Cinder isn't here."

"Oh?" Li Xin frowned. He followed the waiter into the teahouse, ordered a pot of tea, and began to chat with him.

It was noon, and business was slow, so the waiter was happy to chat.

"Brother Yiran, I can tell you're here to take on the mission. To tell you the truth, Master Cinder hasn't been back for several days. Many adventurers have come to take the mission before, but they all returned empty-handed."

Li Xin suddenly realized why no one had taken such a good mission. One had to know that building a good relationship with a master blacksmith could bring immense benefits. So that was the reason.

"Do you know where he went?"

"I don't know. Nobody knows," the waiter said honestly.

"Uh..." Li Xin was speechless. It seemed his clever plan was going to fall through.

"However..." the waiter suddenly spoke up again.

"I heard the owner say that Master Cinder most likely went back to his hometown."

"His hometown?" Li Xin became interested. "Since it's possible he went back, why did the previous adventurers all cancel this mission?"

Hearing this, the waiter's face instantly drooped, filled with helplessness and sighs.