Second World Online

The morning sunlight in the real world felt incredibly refreshing. After shutting down the Game Capsule last night, I spent time eating a nutritious dinner prepared by my mother, taking my routine medication, and sleeping very soundly. My real body might still have to rest in a wheelchair, but my mind felt much sharper and more fit compared to previous days.

As soon as the clock struck eight in the morning and my oatmeal breakfast was finished, I didn’t waste any more time. I immediately lay back down inside the Game Capsule, letting my consciousness be pulled back across the quantum ocean toward Second World Online.

Syuuuuttt...

I opened my eyes, and the view of the wood-themed inn room ceiling in the city immediately greeted my sight. The aroma of cinnamon and toasted bread from the NPC tavern downstairs wafted in through the door gap. I got out of bed, stretched my body which felt exceptionally light and energized, and then put my boar leather cloak back on.

"Alright, first agenda today: liquidating assets," I muttered while patting my crammed dimensional storage bag.

Stored inside that bag were piles of mid-tier materials from yesterday afternoon’s hunt in the northern forest dozens of Orc skins, scrap iron plates from Hobgoblin armor, and rusted bone weapons. As a wood-specialist craftsman, I possessed neither the ability nor the tools to process those metal and hard leather-based materials. The only way to turn that monster trash into capital was to sell it to someone who knew how to utilize it.

Naturally, the first name that popped into my head was Kitsuna.

I exited the inn, walking along the city’s stone streets which were already starting to bustle with the activity of newly logged-in players. I strolled casually toward the Crafter’s District square where Kitsuna usually set up her makeshift stall.

However, when I arrived at the street corner, usually crowded with players queuing to buy the fox girl’s crafted leather armor, I was instead greeted by an empty sight. The stall with its shabby fabric tent wasn’t there. That empty space was now occupied by two fruit-selling NPCs.

"Where did that sly fox go? Has she not logged in yet?" I wondered inwardly.

I quickly opened the system interface panel and selected the friends list menu. The ID [Kitsuna] was glowing bright green, indicating that the girl was online and active. Without hesitation, I typed a short message through the Direct Message feature.

[To: Kitsuna] Yo, Kitsuna. Where are you? I’m at your usual stall spot but you’re not here. I brought a lot of Orc leather materials and scrap iron from the north here,

It only took a few seconds for her reply to come in with a cheerful notification chime.

[From: Kitsuna] Syl! Hahaha, of course I’m not on that dusty street anymore! I moved out last night, guess what? I rented a physical shop building! Open your city map and look for the ’Kitsuna Shop’ point, the location isn’t far from the square. Hurry over here!

My footsteps automatically stopped reading that message. My albino eyes widened slightly.

"Rented a physical shop?!" I shrieked, stifling my voice.

In the early economy of Second World Online, renting a daily street stall alone cost 1 Silver Coin. Meanwhile, renting a permanent shop building from the city-managing NPCs complete with an NPC cashier, display racks, and a private workshop room in the back was rumored to cost an absurd monthly rent, said to reach 5 to 10 Gold Coins per month!

"That girl is so rich," I muttered, shaking my head in amazement.

However, thinking about it again, it actually made perfect sense. Kitsuna wasn’t just a skilled Tailor, she also possessed the business instincts of a top-tier Reseller. By capitalizing on yesterday’s market chaos, she must have managed to sell her protective gear at highly profitable prices, or perhaps even hoarded cheap materials and resold them when prices normalized slightly. The stereotype of a fox’s cunning in trade affairs was apparently truly ingrained in her character.

Following Kitsuna’s instructions, I summoned the transparent mini-map in the corner of my vision. Sure enough, there was a bright blue shop icon point labeled [Kitsuna Shop] located just about a hundred meters from my current position. Its location was on a branching street connecting the Crafter’s District with the upper-class NPC residential area.

I started walking along the route indicated by the map. As I walked past rows of two-story stone buildings with medieval architecture, something very peculiar slowly drew my attention.

Thanks to the rare [Eagle Eye] passive skill I had just activated yesterday afternoon, my visual perception sharpness and spatial depth were now at a level far exceeding normal players.

When I stared toward the narrow alleys between two large buildings, or looked toward the end of a circular street that appeared to be a dead end, I noticed a very subtle visual distortion. It was as if there was a layer of fog as thin as glass, or some kind of spatial light refraction disguising the existence of a secret entrance!

"Wait a minute..." I murmured softly, pausing my steps briefly in front of a stone wall that looked ordinary.

My eyes, adorned with a thin gold ring around their red pupils, narrowed in focus. The Eagle Eye skill worked to dissect the anomaly. Behind the wall that appeared solid to ordinary players, I could see the glow of transparent magical rune lines diverting the gaze of anyone looking at it. It was a kind of high-level illusion magic, a perception barrier!

I looked left and right. Several other players were passing by around me, but every time they approached the distorted wall or alley area, their bodies would subconsciously veer away, changing the direction of their steps away from the area without them realizing it at all! Their minds were being manipulated by the system to ignore that space.

"So... the spatial layout of StoneBrook city is actually much larger and more expansive than the map size shown in the interface menu?" I hissed in amazement, touching my chin with great interest. "No wonder a city supposedly designed to accommodate tens of thousands of players felt a bit cramped in some districts. The developers intentionally hid secret areas, perhaps advanced Guild headquarters, Special NPC zones, or even access to hidden quests that will only unlock in future system updates."

This discovery was incredibly valuable. I tucked the locations of these distorted areas into my memory. However, for now, I had to set aside my curiosity and continue my short journey to the coordinates of Kitsuna’s shop.

I stood in front of a two-story shop building made of polished red pine wood. Above its double entrance doors hung a beautiful signboard shaped like a fox tail silhouette with elegant writing: "KITSUNA SHOP - Adventurer Gear & Tailoring".

As soon as I pushed the entrance door, the silver bell attached above the door chimed loudly. The shop’s interior made me click my tongue in admiration. The floor was covered with a thick carpet, there were glass display cases showing various sets of very neatly stitched leather armor, and a long wooden counter table in the center.

The atmosphere inside the shop was currently rather quiet, with only one or two players browsing items in the corner of the room. Behind the counter table stood a fox girl figure wearing a work apron and a measuring tape draped around her neck. Her orange ears immediately stood up the moment she saw me enter.

"Syl! You finally came!" Kitsuna exclaimed joyfully, jumping from her chair and jogging over to me. Her bushy tail wagged left and right very rapidly.

"Gosh, Kitsuna. Your shop is truly incredible," I praised sincerely while sweeping my gaze around the elegantly arranged interior. "How much gold did you have to spend to rent a luxurious place like this from the system?"

Kitsuna grinned widely, revealing her small fangs. "Only five gold coins per month! Very cheap compared to the profit prospects I’ll get during the server expansion next week, right? Besides, I got a little ’windfall’ from yesterday afternoon’s market chaos."

We both chuckled remembering the tragedy of yesterday’s raw material market crash. I walked over to the counter table, then started taking my looted items out of my dimensional bag and piling them onto the teak wood surface.

"How’s the market situation today? Do those big clans still dare to monopolize and hoard?" I asked while organizing the thick sheets of Orc leather.

Kitsuna shook her head while starting to sort through my items with sparkling eyes. "They’ve learned their lesson, Syl. The massive loss they suffered yesterday truly broke the clan leaders’ mentalities and wallets. Today, the market prices for wood, herbs, and metal have stabilized according to the market."

Kitsuna picked up a piece of scrap iron from a Hobgoblin’s armor from my pile and examined it. "Thank goodness the market is back to normal. Now independent craftsmen like me can breathe easy and start receiving material supplies again. By the way, where did you get this many mid-tier (Uncommon) materials? This Orc leather is in perfectly smooth condition, as if your arrows only pierced exactly at vital points that didn’t damage the main surface area of the leather at all!"

"Let’s just say I was very lucky hunting in the north yesterday," I answered with a wink, not wanting to detail my terrifying Eagle Eye and Wind-infused Power Shot tactics.

After a quick wholesale bargaining process since we were mutually beneficial friends Kitsuna gave a very fair final offer.

"Thirty sheets of Orc leather, forty-five scrap iron pieces, and these leftover monster bones... I’ll buy them from you for 1 pure Gold Coin," offered Kitsuna while placing a glittering precious metal coin on the counter.

I smiled in satisfaction and accepted the coin immediately.

[System: Transaction successful. Your balance has increased by: +1 Gold Coin.]

I opened my virtual wallet. My total wealth had now reached a truly fantastic figure for a player in the first days of the server’s opening: 2 Gold Coins and 15 Silver Coins. This money was more than enough to fund whatever experiments I desired for weeks to come!

After bidding farewell to Kitsuna and promising to supply her with high-quality materials again in the future, I exited her shop with a thick wallet and a dimensional storage bag that felt spacious once more.

While walking casually back toward the heart of the Crafter’s District, my brain started formulating investment plans. "I have plenty of money, and I can definitely buy wood materials easily thanks to the stabilized market. But... what should I do with these accumulated SP (Skill Points)?"

I checked my status panel. Although I had spent 10 SP yesterday to activate the Eagle Eye passive, I still had a remaining balance of 50 Skill Points.

"As a Carpenter, I can craft bows, arrows, and wooden accessories. But in the future, high-tier bows will surely require mechanical components made of metal, like copper pulleys for a compound bow, or armor-piercing plated arrowheads," I muttered, analyzing the direction of my progression. "I can’t constantly rely on NPCs or other craftsmen to process metal ore into small components. Maybe I should learn blacksmithing."

In Second World Online, players were not restricted to just one production sub-class. As long as a player had enough Skill Points and could meet the physical attribute requirements of those production skills, they were free to take on any profession.

I directed my steps toward the Public Blacksmith Workshop, located opposite the woodworking shop where I usually worked. The atmosphere in this place felt incredibly hot, filled with the deafening sound of clanging iron hammers and thick black smoke billowing from glowing red furnaces.

I stepped closer to the Blacksmith instructor NPC, who was short, stout, and muscular.

"Excuse me, Master. I would like to purchase the basic [Blacksmithing] skill and rent a forge," I said, getting straight to the point.

The dwarf NPC stared at my tall, slender, and fragile Elf physique, then snorted gruffly. "An Elf like you wants to play around with molten steel? Suit yourself as long as you have the money, Miss. The basic skill license fee is 5 Silver Coins and consumes 2 of your SP."

Without hesitation, I paid the silver coin fee and confirmed the deduction of 2 SP points from my balance.

Ting!

[System: You have successfully learned a New Production Skill: [Blacksmith] (Level 1 - Novice)!]

"Great. Quite cheap too. Now, let’s try shaping something out of scrap iron," I said enthusiastically, walking toward the empty forge number seven.

Beside the massive iron anvil, a set of basic forging tools was provided that could be rented for free by players, including a standard forging sledgehammer.

I rolled up the sleeves of my leather cloak, picked up long iron tongs, and heated a piece of leftover Hobgoblin scrap iron that hadn’t been sold to Kitsuna in the glowing embers of the furnace. Once the iron glowed bright red, I pulled it out and carefully placed it on the iron anvil.

"Alright, time to show off the art of metal sculpting!" I said confidently.

I extended my right hand, grasped the wooden handle of the forging sledgehammer, and tried to hoist it into the air to swing my first strike.

However... something incredibly embarrassing happened.

The hammer’s handle didn’t budge an inch from the ground.

"Eh?" I blinked, tightened my grip, and then pulled the hammer’s handle with all my might using both hands. "Nnnngghh!"

Clank... srreeekk.

The iron sledgehammer merely dragged a few centimeters across the stone floor, making a pathetic scraping sound of metal. The weight of the object felt like a chunk of a mountain cast into the floor! My hands trembled, and my stamina bar instantly depleted by a quarter just from the sheer effort of trying to lift the production tool waist-high!

Several muscular Human and Dwarf players at the adjacent forge who were busy hammering swords immediately stopped their activities. They turned toward me, staring at a beautiful albino Elf girl whose face was flushed red, out of breath just trying to lift a beginner’s hammer, and then muffled laughter began to be heard from the corner of the room.

Panting heavily, I released my grip on the hammer and wiped imaginary sweat from my forehead. I quickly opened the information window of the cursed hammer.

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[Novice Forging Hammer] (Common)

Type: Blacksmith Production Tool

Minimum Requirement: STR 10

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"A minimum requirement of 10 STR?!" I shrieked internally.

I immediately opened my own character status panel. The numbers displayed there were a truly painful slap of physical reality: [STR: 2 (+1.5 Bonus) = Total 3.5 Points].

The cruel rules of Second World Online’s VR physics engine were laughing at me again. Sigh, my innate Trait: [Albinism] was truly annoying! The 50% penalty deduction on raw physical stat growth made my character one hundred percent crippled in any activity that required brute muscle strength.

"Damn it... the illusion of my strength when drawing that longbow made me forget myself that I actually have muscles as thin as tissue paper," I cursed softly with a sour face, blushing red, holding back embarrassment.

I quickly put the now-cooling iron plate back into my bag, then turned around, speed-walking out of the blacksmith workshop like lightning while keeping my head down to avoid the amused stares of the muscular fighters there.

"Forget it... maybe I need to find another way, or wait until I can craft hydraulic mechanical assistive tools. For now, let the muscular dwarves handle that dirty metal," I grumbled, finding excuses to console myself on the street.

After my humiliating escape from the blacksmith area, I immediately crossed the street and returned to the comfortable and peaceful embrace of the Public Carpenter Workshop.

Unlike the noisy and hot iron workshop, this place was filled with the fragrant scent of pine shavings, resin, and the harmonious, gentle sound of handsaws. There were no 15-kilogram tools here. Whittling knives, small chisels, and precision saws were the king’s elegant tools dictated by my own grace.

I sat down on my usual wooden corner stool, let out a sigh of relief, and opened the virtual market menu on the crafter’s tablet mounted on the side of the workbench. Because my money was now very abundant, I wanted to create extremely and buy out the stock of wood materials available on the public market.

When I browsed the wood material sales catalog at the server auction house, my eyes immediately locked onto a new supply entry that had just been listed a few minutes ago.

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[Wood Raw Material Catalog - City of StoneBrook]

[Oak Logs] (Common) - Price: 3 Copper Coins

[Pine Logs] (Common) - Price: 2 Copper Coins

[NEW!] [Whispering Ash Wood] (Uncommon) - Drop Area: East Area 2 (Whispering Forest).

Stock Available: 15 Logs | Price: 10 Silver Coins per unit.

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"A new type of wood from the second-tier eastern area?!" I muttered, my eyes sparkling with enthusiasm, instantly forgetting my embarrassment at the blacksmith workshop earlier.

Yesterday, I had cleared out the outskirts of the Eastern Forest and defeated the giant bear area boss. The Grizzly King’s death had apparently unlocked the barrier seal for deeper exploration areas to the east, namely the Whispering Forest. Players with levels above 13 seemed to have started venturing into that new area and harvesting new types of trees!

I read the detailed description of the Whispering Ash Wood.

It stated that this wood possessed very unique silvery-white fibers. The material’s weight was three times lighter than Oak wood, yet its density was almost equivalent to soft iron. The most extraordinary thing was: this wood possessed an innate property of "Mana Resonance" , a natural conductor capable of naturally absorbing, storing, and multiplying elemental magic circulation, especially the Wind and Sound elements!

"Perfect... this is truly a god-tier material dropped from the heavens for a Magical Archer like me," I whispered, my heart pounding fast with explosive creative desire.

Without delay for a single second, my fingers danced across the virtual screen, entering the money amount and immediately buying out all fifteen logs of the exotic Whispering Ash Wood available at the auction without negotiating the price! The transaction automatically sucked 1 Gold Coin and 20 Silver Coins from my wallet, but I didn’t feel at a loss at all.

Just seconds after confirming the purchase, a dozen silvery-white wood logs emitting a faint magical blue glow were automatically teleported onto my workbench. The fragrant aroma of this wood was similar to the smell of clean air after a heavy rainstorm.

I retrieved my advanced whittling knife from my inventory, swiped my thumb across its sharp surface, and stared at the magical wood logs with a smirk full of ambition.

"Forget that stupidly heavy sledgehammer," I muttered while regulating my breath, focusing my entire visual nervous system concentration supported by Eagle Eye to see the microscopic flow of the wood’s magical fibers. "Today, I will prove that art born from a whittling knife blade and nimble fingertips is far more deadly than any steel weapon forged from furnace fire."

With movements flowing as light as water and as fast as wind, the carpentry session that would birth a new generation of magical weaponry on the StoneBrook server officially began.