I am the Arcane Archer, and all my skills are self-created.

Li Wu and Hua Zitong walked into the shop and stood there for a while, but the dwarf blacksmith named Barton seemed not to see them at all. He didn't even turn his head and continued to frantically hammer the iron blank in his hand.

He seemed completely immersed in his own world, and nothing around him could disturb him.

Li Wu was a little confused. This NPC's temper was too strange, wasn't it?

When you open your shop for business, customers come in, but you don't even greet them?

He glanced at Hua Zitong beside him and noticed that she didn't seem surprised at all, as if she had expected this to happen.

Hua Zitong didn't disturb the dwarf who was concentrating on forging, but instead took Li Wu and slowly strolled around the shop, carefully looking at the equipment hanging on the wall.

Li Wu also started watching.

He discovered that the equipment sold in this shop was indeed much better than that sold at other players' stalls.

Although most of them are of ordinary quality, you can occasionally see a few pieces of excellent quality equipment that emit a yellow glow, and their attributes are quite good.

"Boss, we want to have a piece of equipment crafted."

Hua Zitong noticed that Barton paused slightly in his actions, as if he had completed a stage, before finally stepping forward and speaking softly.

Patton picked up the water ladle next to him, scooped up a large ladle of water, and gulped it down. Then he wiped his mouth with his thick arm and still didn't turn around.

"What are you building?" His voice was rough, like two stones rubbing together, which was very unpleasant to listen to.

"A ring," Hua Zitong said directly. "My friend needs the best ring."

Li Wu's heart skipped a beat. A ring?

He then realized that, apart from the [Devouring Fortune Jade Pendant] and the [Fragment...a little bit], he didn't actually have a single proper ring.

The drop rate for this piece of equipment seems to be really low. He's killed so many people and fought so many monsters, but he's never actually seen it.

Upon hearing the word "ring," Patton visibly paused.

But he quickly picked up the hammer again and clamped another red-hot iron blank onto the anvil.

"I won't answer."

He coldly uttered two words.

"roll."

Then came another cold, impersonal word.

Li Wu was stunned on the spot.

Holy crap! This NPC has such a bad temper! He tells people to get lost without a second thought?

Moreover, just as Barton uttered the word "get lost," Li Wu felt a powerful aura emanating from him, making him feel somewhat uneasy.

This is definitely not the kind of imposing presence a typical blacksmith in a beginner village should have.

What kind of place did Hua Zitong bring me to? Is it reliable?

He began to have doubts.

Hua Zitong seemed to have long been used to Barton's attitude. She wasn't angry; she just turned her head and glanced at Li Wu.

The meaning in his eyes was clear: It's your turn.

Li Wu was a little helpless. Well, it seemed he couldn't count on her.

However, unlike ordinary players, he didn't get angry or slink away when he was scolded by NPCs.

He encountered setbacks, but he did not give up.

His gaze began to carefully observe the small blacksmith shop.

He believed that Hua Zitong must have her reasons for bringing him here. This blacksmith named Barton must have something that could help him improve.

Furnace, hammer, anvil, weapons on the wall...

Li Wu's gaze swept quickly across every corner of the shop, not missing a single detail.

Suddenly, his gaze was drawn to something hanging in the corner.

It was a set of exquisitely crafted, yet small-sized, girl's armor.

The armor is beautifully designed and decorated with exquisite patterns, showing that the maker put a lot of effort into it.

But that's not the point.

The key point is that Li Wu sensed a faint aura emanating from that small suit of armor that was extremely similar to the one emanating from the village chief earlier.

That was... a taste mixed with sadness and longing.

The village chief...daughter...Lina...

A bold idea instantly popped into Li Wu's mind.

He felt as if he had grasped something crucial.

He took a deep breath, stopped looking at the equipment, and didn't mention money or crafting equipment again.

He slowly walked to that corner, his gaze falling on the small suit of armor. Then, in a very soft voice, he spoke to the dwarf's back, who was still frantically forging iron:

"Master, your work is filled with regret and longing..."

"Just like the village chief, with his unyielding longing for his daughter Lina."

Li Wu's voice wasn't loud, but it reached Barton's ears clearly in the clanging blacksmith shop.

The moment the words fell.

Clang!

A loud bang.

The huge iron hammer in Patton's hand slipped and fell to the ground with a piercing sound.

The entire blacksmith shop fell silent instantly.

The sound of the hammer hitting the ground echoed in the cramped blacksmith shop, sounding particularly jarring.

The dwarf Barton, who was frantically forging iron, froze completely.

The next second, he suddenly turned around.

Li Wu finally saw his face clearly.

It was a weathered face, marked by smoke and fire, with a tangled beard that almost covered half of his face, but his once cloudy eyes now blazed with a light that was a mixture of astonishing anger and extreme shock.

"you……"

"How do you know Lina?!"

Barton's voice was no longer cold as before, but had become hoarse and filled with disbelief and trembling.

He stared intently at Li Wu, his gaze as if he wanted to see right through her.

Standing to the side, Hua Zitong was even more shaken than Barton.

She was completely stunned.

How...how is this possible?!

How did he know that Lina and Barton were connected?

How could he know that Patton was filled with remorse?

Hua Zitong's mind was buzzing.

She remembered clearly that in her previous life, the hidden forging quest involving the blacksmith Barton was something that a top guild in District 21 had spent nearly a month asking countless NPCs for information before finally uncovering Barton's secret bit by bit.

They learned that Barton was the lover of the village chief's daughter, Lina.

Knowing that Barton was a dwarf while Lena was human, this racial barrier made him feel inferior and cowardly, and he dared not make his relationship with Lena public.

He also learned that Lina's death had become an indelible pain and regret in his heart.

At the time, this questline was hailed as one of the most secretive hidden quest chains in the entire Origin Realm.

But now...

Li Wu, how long has it been since he walked in?

Three minutes? Or five minutes?

He didn't go to any NPCs.

He found the key to the mission by simply observing and observing the unassuming girl's armor!

This... this can no longer be described as merely perceptive.

This is simply monstrous!

Looking at Li Wu's calm profile, Hua Zitong felt for the first time that she, as a reborn person, seemed to have no advantage whatsoever in front of him.

How is this guy's brain structured?