He typed out a message:
"With so many people to recruit and materials under tight control by studios and major guilds, training all these secondary classes is going to be tough without a steady supply."
...
The reply came back almost instantly:
"Leave the material problem to me."
The older man raised a brow but didn't push further.
....
Back in the forging room, Kaito's mind was already moving ahead of the present. A good place for gathering materials… yes, I remember one. In his past life, it had been an area, rich with rare resources for secondary professions. If they could secure it early, training the new recruits would no longer be an issue.
But there was a condition—before heading there, he wanted to clear the Level 15 Team Dungeon. So that would still require some time as that would not be a small feat, and he had no intention of rushing it while still traveling.
For now, he would keep his focus. First, reach the ancestral estate. Then, the dungeon run.
The clang of hammer on metal echoed in the small room, each strike carrying him one step closer to the day's goal.
…
After three straight hours at the forge, Kaito had produced an impressive haul—thirteen Shadow Fangs, more than a hundred pieces of level 10 bronze equipment, over fifty pieces each of level 11 and level 12 bronze gear, and more than fifty pieces of mysterious iron equipment. If any other forger had seen these numbers, they might have collapsed on the spot. His forging speed was nothing short of monstrous. Of course, the real secret behind his output wasn't just speed, but his incredibly low failure rate. Every strike of his hammer, every infusion of mana, was precise and efficient, wasting almost nothing.
By the time he finally set his tools down, his experience bar had surged well past the halfway point of level 15, leaving him only a sliver away from reaching level 16. Without lingering, Kaito left the intermediate forging room and made his way toward the forest where the Black Market's hidden teleportation array was located.
After leaving South Glade Town, Kaito deliberately refrained from using Wind Veil Steps or Mana Steps. There was no need to waste stamina—he still had over two hours before he needed to log out, plenty of time to reach the Black Market and finalize the deal with Selvera.
His route took him into a dense forest where monsters roamed freely, most between levels 11 and 12. He would have to cross it to reach the secluded area where the Black Market's teleportation array lay hidden.
Just as he stepped past a massive tree trunk, a sudden wave of icy dread swept over him. His entire body froze mid-step, as if invisible chains had bound his limbs. Even worse, every skill in his arsenal was grayed out—completely unusable.
This…! His pupils narrowed. A Tier-1 magic array—Soul Shackle.
Kaito's many years of combat experience told him instantly: this wasn't the work of any forest monster.
"Not bad… this is something I prepared especially for you. You can rest easy now—your journey ends here."
A black shadow materialized soundlessly behind him. The moment the figure stepped into the faint light, Kaito recognized him—the expert assassin he had crossed paths with before. Nightshade Vale.
In the same heartbeat that he revealed himself, the assassin's silver dagger plunged deep into Kaito's back.
A crimson number flashed across Kaito's vision: -357.
A single ambush instantly devoured nearly a quarter of Kaito's HP—such terrifying damage. Seeing his health plummet so drastically in an instant, Kaito was inwardly shaken.
Previously, when he had faced the Level 14 Berserker Grudge Howl from Everhold Dominion, the highest single hit he had taken was just over -100 damage. Yet here, with one strike, Nightshade Vale had dealt more than -300.
This wasn't just stronger—it was on a different level entirely.
Assassins were known for their blistering attack speed, but their per-hit damage was usually lower than that of Berserkers. They compensated for this through sheer attack frequency, landing blow after blow in rapid succession. But Nightshade Vale's strike had shattered that convention—his single-hit power had already surpassed that of Grudge Howl.
If an Assassin could match a Berserker's raw damage per hit, their total output would easily double or even triple that of the latter. In Nightshade Vale's case, his overall damage potential was at least three to four times greater than Grudge Howl's.
Although Kaito was stunned by this revelation… Nightshade Vale, in that very moment, was equally surprised.
When Nightshade Vale had used his Ambush on a main tank of the same level—fully geared in a complete Bronze set—his strike would normally rip away at least two-thirds of their HP. Yet now, against Kaito, that same attack had only removed a quarter of his health. Compared to those so-called well-equipped MTs, Kaito's defense and HP were on an entirely different level.
Without hesitation, Nightshade Vale twisted his wrists, the silver flash of his dagger slicing across Kaito's neck. At the same time, his off-hand dagger drove into Kaito's back once more—
Garrote
Backstab.
Although startled by Kaito's resilience, Nightshade Vale knew that an Assassin's true lethality didn't come from a single strike, but from an unrelenting chain of skills. From the moment Kaito had first appeared at Echoing Deep's entrance, right up until his clash with Gravemind's team, Nightshade Vale had been shadowing him.
He had waited silently, biding his time, searching for the moment when Kaito would be at his most vulnerable. Only when Kaito had no active skills available would there be a real chance to eliminate him. But that moment had never come.
After Kaito's first battle with Gravemind's squad, Nightshade Vale was forced to retreat. The reason was simple—Kaito's speed. When Kaito had combined Wind Veil Steps with Mana Steps, he had moved so fast that Nightshade Vale, an Assassin who are known for speed, couldn't even keep up. That alone had shocked him.
Now, however, he had finally trapped his target.
[Soul Shackle]
Disables all skills of the target, temporarily preventing the target from using any skills. Also disasbles the target's movements for a duration of six seconds.
And even with Kaito's monstrous defense and HP, a six-second burst from a top-tier Assassin was more than enough to kill him.
In such close quarters, Kaito could feel every shift in the air, every inch of the two daggers closing in on him. If he took the full brunt of Nightshade Vale's burst, he would be finished.
At that razor's edge between life and death, Kaito's instincts flared. In the same instant, he triggered Mirror Phantom Blade which he had been using before to traverse the forest so as to bait the monsters. His figure blurred—and in the blink of an eye, his position swapped with that of his Doppelganger.
The Soul Shackle could suppress a player's learned skills, but it couldn't touch abilities bound to equipment. That loophole had just saved his life.
Nightshade Vale's twin blades struck home—into the Doppelganger's chest instead of Kaito's. Two damage numbers burst above the decoy's head: –212 from a bleeding strike, followed by –260 from a skill hit.
But the Assassin didn't stop. His daggers became a storm, stabbing again and again in a lethal rhythm. Ten rapid streaks of silver light pierced the Doppelganger's vital points, each blow laced with poison and precision. In seconds, the decoy's HP was shredded to nothing.
"A Doppelganger?"
Nightshade Vale had already been savoring the victory, convinced he had killed Kaito. Realizing all he'd done was destroy a decoy, his expression hardened. His eyes narrowed to slits as he scanned the area.
It didn't take him long to find his target—Kaito stood a short distance away, calmly watching.
Nightshade Vale spun on his heel and launched himself forward, blades gleaming as he closed in for the kill.