Chapter 72: Unexpected Popularity and the Bizarre Blacksmith

Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Unexpected Popularity and the Bizarre Blacksmith

"Is this what you meant by... ’The child is dying’?"

Yu Zhun’s mouth twitched as he looked at the long line of players snaking outside the guild. Terrified that his wealthy backer might be in danger, he had teleported back immediately.

"Yeah!" Ji Xiaoyu sighed, her face etched with worry. "These are all players who want to join our Godslayer Guild. I’m just an ordinary member. I don’t have the authority to decide who gets in.

"I had no choice but to call you back."

"Alright." Yu Zhun’s gaze swept over the queue. There seemed to be over a hundred people already.

"Why would so many people suddenly apply to join our guild?" Yu Zhun couldn’t figure it out.

"I actually asked about that," Ji Xiaoyu said, looking helpless. "Our guild achieved two consecutive perfect first-clears of a Dungeon, and even completely conquered one until it disappeared. The news has already spread all over Divine Strategy City.

"Because the two Dungeons we cleared were Lv20, the players coming here are mainly below Lv20. They want to join our guild to piggyback off our perfect-clear strategies."

Yu Zhun couldn’t help but shake his head. He figured there had to be quite a few opportunists in the mix.

However, the guild’s lack of manpower was a reality. Just a moment ago, he had been thinking about recruiting a Blacksmith.

"Let them in for an interview. Does the wealthy lady have time to help me?"

"No problem!" Ji Xiaoyu puffed out her ample chest, an excited look on her face.

She thought, "HEHEHE, I’ve managed to become an HR manager too! I have to show off to my grandpa when I get back!"

After the two of them tidied up a bit, the Godslayer Guild’s very first recruitment interview officially began.

The first interviewee was a heavily muscled brute.

"Take off your Concealing Mask and let me see your level," Yu Zhun said slowly. He glanced at the man once the mask was removed.

A Lv18 Warrior... Yu Zhun thought, "Why is his Armor such a flamboyant pink..."

"How high is your Life Attribute?" Yu Zhun asked casually, pulling out a pen and paper.

"Over eight thousand!" The muscular man puffed out his chest confidently. At his level, having a Life Value of over eight thousand made him a highly qualified Warrior!

Yu Zhun nodded and wrote down the man’s name, adding a "4" in the notes section. It meant that the wealthy lady could wipe out four of him with a single Blast Flame.

"What is your Life Profession?"

"Chef!" Like a magic trick, the macho man whipped out an apron, put it on, and declared proudly, "Food and I are inseparable!"

"Alright, turn left on your way out." Yu Zhun didn’t even look up as he raised his voice. "Next!"

Soon, the second player walked into the guild. It was a Lv11 female Archer. Her sweet, delicate voice made Yu Zhun look up—and then he took a second look, and a third...

He thought, "Those black pantyhose are nice. Definitely worth ’criticizing’."

"Next!"

The third... the fourth... Yu Zhun’s expression shifted from initial anticipation to numbness, eventually settling into an emotionless deadpan.

In all fairness, there was no shortage of players among these hundred-odd applicants who would be considered excellent elsewhere, but none of them managed to satisfy Yu Zhun.

"Next!" Yu Zhun called out with practiced ease once more.

For a good while, no new interviewee came in.

"Guild Leader, there are no new applicants for now." Ji Xiaoyu, who had been maintaining order outside, walked in.

"That’s good." Yu Zhun nodded slightly and checked the time. "It’s getting late. If there’s nothing else, let’s log..."

"Excuse me... Is this the Hand of Slaughter Guild?"

A figure recklessly barged into the guild and asked the question. It was a young man wearing a Priest Robe. He had long green hair draped over his shoulders and a very sunny, cheerful smile.

[Lv19, Salas]

Yu Zhun glanced at him and calmly replied, "You’ve got the wrong place. This is the Godslayer Guild."

"The wrong place..." Salas scratched his head awkwardly and couldn’t help but mutter, "What the heck? That old man just heard me say the word ’Slaughter’ and immediately pointed me here. I actually thought he knew the way.

"Sorry to bother you. Goodbye!"

With that, the young man turned to leave the Godslayer Guild, spread a pair of white wings, and took to the air.

Yu Zhun thought, "Flight capabilities..." His pupils shrank slightly as he abruptly called out to stop him. "Hold on!"

"What’s wrong?" Salas hovered in mid-air and looked back at Yu Zhun and Ji Xiaoyu.

"Those wings of yours..." Yu Zhun was a little curious. "Where did you get them?"

"Oh, oh, you mean these." Salas chuckled. "This is an item I researched and developed myself called Angel Wings. It grants players the ability to fly, but it’s a single-use item and only lasts for one minute.

"Are you interested in it?" His eyes suddenly lit up. He hurriedly landed and briskly walked over to Yu Zhun and Ji Xiaoyu. "It only costs one hundred and twenty... no! One hundred thousand per pair!"

Yu Zhun was left speechless. An item that granted flight was indeed interesting, but one hundred thousand for just a minute of airtime was a bit steep.

"Give me ten of them!" The wealthy lady waved her hand grandly.

"HEHE! What a generous boss!"

Salas’s smile grew even more radiant, though it suddenly took on a somewhat sly edge. "Boss, do you want to take a look at the other items I have here? For example, this one."

Salas pulled a brick out of his backpack. "The single-use item Self-aiming Brick! It automatically locks onto an enemy and deals 1,000 Physical Attack damage!"

"Give me five to play with!" She transferred the funds.

"And this!" Salas fished out another small, rat-like gadget. "The Taunting Rat! It can move at high speeds while continuously holding the aggro of a designated target until it is destroyed!"

"This one’s not bad. Give me twenty!" The wealthy lady continued wiring money.

"There’s also..."

Salas acted like a passionate salesman, pulling out item after item with absurd designs and effects. Coincidentally, the wealthy lady was throwing money around like it was nothing, taking on the posture of someone going on a massive shopping spree at a mall.

By the time Salas had consecutively produced over twenty different items and finally had nothing new left to show, Yu Zhun finally found an opportunity to speak.

"Are all of these... your own inventions?"

"Of course!" Salas nodded emphatically. "Small business, honest prices!"

A thoughtful look appeared in Yu Zhun’s eyes.

If he remembered correctly, a Blacksmith’s Initial Profession skills were Forging and Forging Inspiration. The former allowed a Blacksmith to use materials to craft items, while the latter gave them the ability to independently research and develop different items.

Although they had Forging Inspiration, a Blacksmith’s independent research capability varied from person to person. It involved an element of luck and heavily tested their imagination.

Furthermore, a Blacksmith’s method of gaining experience was completely different from that of an Enhancer. They gained experience points based on the variety and effects of the items they invented. Some powerful items could even grant a Blacksmith hundreds of thousands or even millions of experience points.

Yu Zhun thought, "This guy’s Combat Professional Level is only Lv19, yet the number of items he’s invented is this massive..."

"What level is your Life Profession?"

"Oh, that..." Salas scratched his head. "Lv27."

Yu Zhun was utterly floored.