[Forging Success!]

[Reinforced Steel Boots (B) have been deposited into your inventory.]

[Novice Equipment Mold (S) has earned 1,000 Experience Points.]

[Congratulations! Your [Novice Equipment Mold (S) has leveled up to 43.]

Daru stared in slight disbelief at the notification in front of him.

He...actually managed to secure a level forty-five B-tier Armor Set, despite having to learn and do everything himself.

Although there were no special bonuses, the total of +65 vitality and a few other smaller attribute bonuses surpassed those provided by the Triumphant Novice Set by a significant margin.

He was speechless, finally realizing how the B- and A-rankers were progressing so fast.

Money and background do play a huge role…larger than what his limited mind could have imagined before gaining experience in auto-forging.

The privileged youngsters didn't need to spend as much time as he did and only had to wait for a courier to deliver this exact same set to them — possibly one with even larger bonuses.

Daru shook his head, snapping himself out of the creeping negative thoughts.

Envying the rich wouldn't get him anywhere.

It was better to focus on himself and use every single second to close the background gap.

Besides, he still had around seventy attempts left, and Daru couldn't help but think that maybe he could try going for a piece or two of A-tier equipment?

Checking the level 43 mold's success rates, he decided to give it a go.

Just one or two would already be a win that would increase his leveling speed and chances of survival in the underworld.

Measly as a 17.12% chance of a successful forge was, it wasn't too low, given that an A-tier item at this stage of the game would probably cost a staggering amount of Neo-dollars or Swordcoins — a price he would never be able to afford.

Daru couldn't help but appreciate his S-tier Novice Equipment Mold even more.

What a treasure he had found!

Without it, he would probably have to settle for random level forty-five equipment drops from random spawns, thanking the gods if he somehow lucked out and acquired a B-tier piece.

That or he would have to spend all of his Swordcoins to purchase a mediocre E- or D-ranked set from the Muscle Mommy of Agaron.

As for what he would do after outgrowing this mold, Daru wasn't someone who liked to think of such matters too early.

He would deal with the problem as he encountered it.

Daru leveled up to forty-five a few successful forges earlier.

So, with great enthusiasm, he was able to swap out his level forty C-tier Steel Armor Set for the level forty-five B-tier Reinforced Steel Armor Set, not realizing that someone was behind him — watching, intrigued as the simple metallic sheen changed into one with a soft luster of bronze.

Only once he was done did Daru proceed with his attempts to secure a few pieces of A-tier equipment.

But then, before he could tap on [Start Forging], he noticed that the material requirements suddenly doubled, reducing his seventy-one attempts to only thirty-five.

Daru paused for a second before deciding to continue.

While he could sell them in Neo-Earth for money, he still had a lot on him — at least according to his standards.

He valued the addictive progress more.

Unfortunately, he realized he was being way too optimistic after fifteen attempts:

[Forging Failed…]

[You've lost (2) Processed Hide.]

[You've lost (2) Bronze Chitin.]

[You've lost (1) Steel Horn.]

[Steel Horn (1) has been deposited into your inventory.]

[Novice Equipment Mold (S) has earned 100 Experience Points.]

The same set of notifications rang and appeared continuously, as though an accursed messenger of Goddess Fortuna was reminding him to know his place.

That he was not loved by luck.

A 17.12% success rate? Yeah, sure…

Still, divine intervention was limited in the Sword Trials, and after thirty-three depressing attempts, his bad luck finally ran out:

[Forging Success!]

[Reinforced Steel Helm (A) has been deposited into your inventory.]

[Novice Equipment Mold (S) has earned 2,000 Experience Points.]

Daru eagerly closed the notifications and the Auto-Forge window, focusing on a certain slot in his inventory.

Aside from the faint orange aura surrounding the A-tier helmet, nothing else differentiated it from the rest of the Reinforced Steel Equipment he had forged, though even this distinction — visible only in the system-like windows — vanished the moment he equipped the piece.

The soft aura that allowed others to see what tier a piece of equipment was is disabled by default, and it often remained that way for advantageous reasons.

Of course, toggling the Tier Aura setting had its uses — mostly for intimidation, though there were a few individuals who simply loved to flaunt their high-tier equipment, prioritizing fame and image over combat efficiency.

As for Daru, he preferred to keep the tier of his equipment to himself.

He didn't believe that his measly four remaining attempts would allow him to obtain another piece of A-tier equipment.

Thus, he decided that he would sell the rest of the crafting materials to Starter Yield Traders this coming weekend.

Daru proceeded to close all the open windows, in the midst of decluttering his vision, when, suddenly, someone spoke.

The voice was strangely familiar.

"Hey, you have a mold, don't you?" asked a young man.

Daru's brows curved upwards as he turned to look, his brain instinctively attempting to recall where he had heard the voice.

The moment his eyes fell upon the short, gray-haired young man, Daru instantly recognized him.

Fritz Camry, the third heir of the Camry Group — at least he had been.

Daru met the bespectacled young man's gaze before responding:

"Yes, what of it?"

"Sell that to me. Swordcoins, Neo-dollars, your call. But give me that. I need it."

Daru's brows furrowed in displeasure at the commanding tone.

"No, go find your own. This is mine," he refused, starting to walk off.

But then, he felt a weak grip on his wrist — her left wrist, in this case, as he was disguised as Otsuna.

Daru stopped, glaring at the gray-haired young man.

The bespectacled F-ranker truly had balls to dare and grab a young woman without hesitation, especially an A-ranker.

"Wait," Fritz called out with an irritated tone. "Tell me what you want. I know you know me, but even at my current state, I can get you anything you need."

"I don't need anything from you," Daru said with a flat tone, easily removing his wrist from the gray-haired young man's grip.

It was then that he heard an exhausted sigh.

"Fine, you win…I apologize for my rude approach, okay? Now, please talk to me, I could really use a high-ranker's help."

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