After closing the chat, Victor was ready to see exactly what his talent was capable of. There was just one problem: he was empty-handed.
The only thing he had on himself where his clothes and for a moment he briefly considered trying the enhancement opportunity on his clothes but he quickly got rid of that thought.
He only had one free enhancement opportunity and wasting it on cotton clothes was a free ticket to an early grave.
If he committed a blunder that massive, he'd be a generational retard.
It was one thing to die because you were unlucky and rolled a trash talent like the guy with the 'Enhanced Smell', but it was something else entirely to die after being handed an SSS-rank and you were too stupid to use it. Victor wasn't going to be that guy.
[ Attention, Survivor. To claim your Novice Starter Weapon, please report to the Blacksmith in Stormgate City. ]
Just when Victor was thinking of rummaging through trash or a scrapyard he saw the notification from the System which was a godsend.
The archive was really useful as it was equivalent to him having access to a high tech virtual assistant
'System, give me the location. Do you have a map?'
[ Loading City Atlas... ]
[ Navigation Active. Optimal route to 'The Iron Hearth' has been calculated. ]
A translucent mini-map flickered into the corner of his vision, a glowing line tracing a path through the crowded streets.
Victor didn't waste a second. He wove through the clumps of players and headed toward the northern district.
Following the navigation line, Victor spent a few minutes navigating the back alleys before arriving at a soot-stained stone building in the north of the city. There was a dingy sign on the building ' The Iron Hearth' which confirmed that he was indeed at the right place.
A burly man, bare-chested and glistening with sweat, stood by the forge entrance hammering a piece of red-hot iron. He didn't even look up as Victor approached, he was clearly a native of this world, and he looked like he'd already dealt with a few 'Chosen Ones' today.
"Here for your weapon?" the blacksmith grunted, finally pausing to wipe his brow with a grimy forearm. "Show me your proof."
Victor reached into his inventory,a mental space every player had been granted upon arrival, and pulled out the novice certificate.
The blacksmith snatched the parchment, gave it a cursory glance, and tossed it beside a pile of scraps. Without a word, he reached into a barrel and pulled out a weapon, handing it over in a completely businesslike manner.
[ Item Received: Rusted Iron Sword (Grade: Trash) ]
Victor looked down at the 'weapon' in his hand. It was notched, the hilt was wrapped in fraying leather, and the blade was covered in a thick layer of rust. The grade 'Trash' was the most apt description to describe the weapon in his hands if you could even call it that.
"Don't you have anything better than this?" Victor asked, a little speechless. 'Is this thing even lethal?'
The blacksmith let out a short, gruff laugh and picked up his hammer again. "You're too weak to handle a real blade, lad. Level up, get some meat on those bones, and maybe I'll show you the good stuff. For now? That's all you're worth."
The blacksmith was going to go back to his work but he paused as a sudden look of realisation formed on his face."Wait, almost forgot!" the blacksmith grunted, reaching into a dusty crate by his feet. "Take this too. You won't last ten minutes out there if you can't tell a rabbit from a razor-cat."
He tossed a thin, leather-bound volume toward Victor.
[ You have obtained a Skill Book: 'Appraisal'. Do you wish to learn it? ]
'Learn' Victor thought inside his mind without any hesitation as appraisal was a skill that was a truly useful ,especially in a world where he barely knew anything.
A warm sensation coursed through his mind as the book dissolved into shards of blue light as he felt the knowledge being imprinted directly to his mind.
[ Congratulations! You have successfully learned the active skill: 'Appraisal'. ]
[ Skill: Appraisal ]
Grade: Common / Ordinary
Description: The most fundamental identification skill used by explorers and merchants alike.
Effect: Allows the user to inspect a target's basic attributes, grade, level, and equipped gear.
Restriction: Cannot be used on other Players. (Analysis depth depends on the level gap between user and target.)
Victor gripped the hilt of the rusted iron sword and focused.
[ Item: Rusted Iron Sword ]
[ Grade: Trash ]
[ Attack: +1 ]
[ Durability: 3/10 ]
[ Description: A discarded training sword that has seen better decades. It might cut butter, but it's more likely to snap on impact. ]
Victor stared at the pathetic stats. A measly +1 to his base Attack of 10. With this weapon he had a higher chance of giving the monsters
Tetanus than kill them.
He felt like the residents of this world didn't really care about them otherworlders , because a metal pole would have been better than the rusted scrap he was holding in his hand.
Either it was that or they really couldn't spare weapons and where ill prepared for the advent of the Players...