Chapter 210 - Blacksmith Insignia (1) (2/2)
”Your task is to craft a sword. I will observe the process from the start until the end. I will score you based on your activity during the test and the sword you make.”
”There is a three hours time limit. You only had one chance to do this. If you failed, you have to wait for 6 hours before you can reattempt the test.”
”Before we start, do you have any questions?” The intermediate blacksmith asked once more, which, followed by Auron, shook his head.
”Great! Then, let us start the examination. Three hours starts now!” The intermediate blacksmith began the test.
As soon as the test began, Auron moved to the material's table and looked over it. During a crafting process, there were two crucial steps needed. First, was the material selection and second, was the making process.
The material selection phase was also vital because it could determine the item you were making. The material you used will define the item's attributes. If you used a common grade material, then the item's attributes obviously would be lower compared if you used higher-grade materials.
When making an item, one needed a minimum of five materials, and more if they made a higher grade item. There was also one most important item when one was crafting an item, which was the blueprint.
If the other materials determine the item's attributes, then the blueprint will determine the item's max grade. It also would determine the item's material's minimum grade and the crafting's difficulty. When one used a common grade blueprint, then they could use materials with common grade up to legendary, even mythic grade. However, the item could only have a common grade even though if you used legendary or mythic grade materials.
On the other hand, if one used a rare grade blueprint, then they needed to provide material with a minimum of rare grade up to mythic grade. If the blacksmiths used a higher grade material, their chance to get the max grade, which in this case was rare grade, would increase.
Since a blueprint was necessary when making an item, the price of it was not low. Fortunately, the blacksmith's guild sold the blueprint, and the one with blacksmith insignia could buy it with a discount. However, the blacksmith's guild only sold a common grade blueprint up to epic grade blueprint. For the above grade, one needed to buy it from another player or looted it from the monster.
On top of the table, there were several blueprints, and there was not only the common grade blueprint, but there was also a rare grade blueprint. For someone to pass the test, they only need to create a common grade sword. These blueprints were deliberately left there to check whether the test taker knew which blueprint to use. If the test taker accidentally selects the rare grade blueprint, they would fail since the other material could not support a rare grade blueprint.
That was why the material selection phase was essential and complex. Even among the same grade materials, they could give different results when used. Auron carefully select the materials.
There were around 100 types of materials on top of the table. However, since Auron was an intermediate blacksmith before, he could easily discern which blueprint to use. Auron immediately took the common grade blueprint and the other materials. This test was to easy for him as one who had the experience of intermediate blacksmith.