Ashen God
Chapter 164 - 163: 【Crimson Iron Heart】

Chapter 164: Chapter 163: 【Crimson Iron Heart】

[Item Two]

[Option One: 7 Soul Points]

[Option Two: Refined Crimson Iron (500 grams), Blue quality, Material]

[Option Three: 70 Soul Points]

"Sure enough, there’s Blue quality Refined Crimson Iron, but it’s a pity that I’m not in much need of Refined Crimson Iron at the moment."

Previously, when Zhang Yanhang was conducting experiments in the Ashen World, apart from embedding some Crimson Iron into the Anti-riot Shield, he had also embedded a portion of Refined Crimson Iron.

The Refined Crimson Iron mainly served as a control group; he wanted to know if embedding different items would change the embedding ratio, and the conclusion he reached was that the embedding ratio remained fixed regardless of the item, which was the previously mentioned 30% to 70%.

However, whether it’s an issue with the excretory system of the Crimson Iron Flying Ant or not, compared to the spherical Crimson Iron produced by the Crimson Iron Worker Ant, the Refined Crimson Iron produced by the flying ants was oddly elliptical, appearing very strange.

So, when Zhang Yanhang first encountered Refined Crimson Iron, he actually disliked it a bit, suspecting that this elliptical form of Crimson Iron was a low-quality product produced by ants with upset stomachs, but what he didn’t expect was that this oddly-shaped Crimson Iron was actually superior.

"Although I really don’t need much refined Crimson Iron now, perhaps I should still acquire some material that can be taken out of the Ashen World normally. But even if there’s a real need, just a little would be enough." This time, Zhang Yanhang decided to unusually forgo the option of Soul Points and choose Refined Crimson Iron instead.

Of course, he was only choosing it this once. He would still continue picking the Soul Points option for another treasure box from the Crimson Iron Flying Ant, because having too much Refined Crimson Iron was useless.

[Item Three]

[Option One: Crimson Iron Piercing Sword, White quality, Weapon]

[Option Two: Crimson Iron Short Sword, White quality, Weapon]

[Option Three: Crimson Iron Heart, Blue quality, Equipment]

"I didn’t expect to actually get a Blue quality piece of equipment, but what exactly is this ’Crimson Iron Heart’? I can’t tell at all from the name..." Zhang Yanhang checked the thumbnail of the Crimson Iron Heart and discovered it was actually a necklace.

"So it’s a necklace, no wonder it has such a strange name. Previously, I got a Green quality Crimson Iron Ring from a Crimson Iron Worker Ant’s treasure box, and now a Blue quality necklace from the Crimson Iron Flying Ant’s box. Could it be that the treasure boxes of Crimson Iron Ants tend to contain such jewelry-type items?"

If that were really the case, Zhang Yanhang hoped that the treasure boxes of other higher-level Crimson Iron Ants wouldn’t contain offbeat jewelry like nose rings or tongue piercings. If such equipment were acquired, he definitely wouldn’t wear it, no matter how good the effects, as he absolutely couldn’t accept such styles of jewelry.

Even if these pieces of jewelry could be switched to a hidden state to be invisible to others, he would still feel quite awkward. His main issue was not wanting holes in places like his nose or tongue. If he really had to have holes, he could only accept them in his ears.

After all, wearing earrings might make one look effeminate, but nose rings and tongue piercings, or even more outrageous other rings and piercings, would be completely non-mainstream. As a person with normal values, he definitely wouldn’t engage in such things.

Of course, if the added attributes of the jewelry were very appealing to him, he might consider using Alchemy to modify these distinctive accessories to see if he could transform them into equipment for other body parts while retaining the original enhancements, like turning a tongue piercing into a dental brace, for example.

So, being truly delighted by them was out of the question, unless the nose ring or tongue piercing possessed some sort of powerful ability that could revive him on the spot. If he had such equipment with powerful effects, Zhang Yanhang would perhaps endure wearing them as a necessary burden.

Unfortunately, this was just wishful thinking. Given the power of the Crimson Iron Ants, they couldn’t produce equipment capable of resurrection, so even if he wanted to, he wouldn’t have the chance.

"I just remembered something, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a proper Blue quality piece of equipment before. This should count as my first Blue quality equipment, right?"

Although Zhang Yanhang currently had Blue equipment in his hands, that piece was upgraded through fusion to a +4 Waist Bag. As a spatial storage piece, it didn’t really fall into the normal equipment category.

"I hope the enhancement effects of this Blue equipment will be as useful as possible, after all, it’s my first piece of Blue quality equipment." Zhang Yanhang said as he opened the attribute list of the Crimson Iron Heart.

[Crimson Iron Heart]

[Quality: Blue]

[Type: Equipment]

[Origin: Ashen World, Crimson Iron Ore Vein, Village-level Crimson Iron Ant Nest Dalagu, Nameless Blacksmith.]

[Durability: 46/46]

[Defensive Power: 30]

[Additional Attributes: Flame Resistance +4%.]

[Additional Attributes: Acid Resistance +4%.]

[Additional Attributes: Charm +1.]

[Usage Requirements: Charm 10 points.]

[Score: 40 (The score for Blue items ranges from 31 to 70.)]

[Introduction: My Crimson Iron Equipment is well-known for its excellent quality and affordable prices. With word of mouth spreading among my customers, my reputation has gradually increased. One day, a Brave Apprentice who had just started his journey came to me, asking for the best sword in the village, but he said he had no money at the moment and promised to repay a hundredfold on the day of his achievements.

The words of the Hero made it clear to me that he wanted to freeload a sword, but I am only a humble Nameless Blacksmith, not someone who can provoke a star about to rise to fame. As the price of his freeloading, I deceived him by saying that I needed to fuse his body fluids in order to forge a weapon that would be perfectly suited for him.

The apprentice happily agreed to my terms, and so, under my guidance, he licked clean all the slime off a freshly made Crimson Iron ball.

Watching him earnestly lick the Crimson Iron ball, I smiled happily. Then, I kept my promise and really made him the village’s best sword with that very Crimson Iron ball mixed with other metals.

However, I didn’t really understand why, faced with an advanced blacksmith like myself from a big city, he would only need a village-level Crimson Iron sword, especially when I could forge a much higher-quality Refined Crimson Iron sword. I guess it’s because the Hero also had some self-awareness, knowing his face was only worth a village-level Crimson Iron sword and couldn’t obligate me to a higher one.

But if the Hero was willing to lick a few more Crimson Iron balls, I could actually consider the idea of lending him a higher-level Refined Crimson Iron sword. — From a Nameless Blacksmith who only wants to earn money quietly.]