Ronan had another five minute break before the next stage of the nightmare tutorial. The first thing he did was open his notifications to see if killing all eight of the sea monsters had pushed him over the level 50 mark. He was eager to see what the class evolutions for Gambler of Fate were.

  The class was already exceptionally powerful from the get-go and he was hopeful he might get an evolution that went beyond even the celestial rarity. Admittedly he knew that was a naive hope, but it would mean another big injection of chronos merits.

  …

  You have leveled up to Lv.49!

  Unfortunately he hadn’t quite hit the evolution mark. The fact that all of the monsters were a lower level than him after a certain point must have really hampered his gains. Even so, the extra seven levels gave him another big chunk of stat points for the next stage of the tutorial.

  The stage 2 reward was another endless treasury token. Usually he didn’t place many expectations on the tokens that came from the earlier tutorial stages, but with the sheer quantity of the luck stat he had at that moment, he was wondering how ridiculous the reward might be. He considered if he wanted something cultivation related or just a regular loot roll, as his Blessed Dao Child class ability was a toggleable effect.

  In the end he decided not to use his sub-class skill. Ronan was curious to see just what the endless treasury would give him without any outside interference, simply relying on his absurd luck.

  [Endless Treasury Token (Epic)] x2 has been consumed!

  You have received [Survivalist’s Portable Forge (Epic)]!

  Survivalist’s Portable Forge (Epic)

  First invented by a person stranded on a planet where everything was trying to kill them, the survivalist’s portable forge is the go-to solution for all-in-one crafting on the move. The spatial enchantments allow the portable forge to store an anvil, quenching bucket with chosen fluid, a working forge with mana-powered bellows, and any other items that fall under the scope of crafting, provided the storage limit of the enchantment is not exceeded. The portable forge itself is a usable blacksmith’s hammer that is enchanted to take the form of any crafting tool that it has been fed by the user. The Survivalist’s Portable Forge can be upgraded in rarity by upgrading or replacing the equipment it contains.

  You have received [Serum of Rabid Randomness (Epic)]!

  Serum of Rabid Randomness (Epic)

  Upon drinking the serum of Rabid Randomness, the consumer will gain one completely random result.

  Ronan was exceptionally satisfied that he hadn’t used Blessed Dao Child to influence the drops. The Survivalist’s Portable Forge came in the form of a hammer, with a sturdy wooden handle made from a dark wood and a hammer-head that looked like a slab of unworked steel, stained an odd purplish-grey. He gave it a few test swings and was pleased to discover that while it was heavy, it barely strained him with the physical stats he had at that point.

  There were strange symbols carved into the hammer across the head and the shaft. He didn’t recognise any of them but suspected they were the spatial enchantments that powered the Survivalist’s Portable Forge. When he sent a little of his mana inside that suspicion was confirmed.

  Ronan could sort of feel the inside of the space. There were all the objects that had been described in the description of the item as well as quite a bit of empty space that he could fill with his own additions. He had nothing to put inside at that point, but he was sure he would accumulate things over his iterations.

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  Ronan was also very happy that he had a free Brand of the Temporal Artificer. Losing such a perfect item right after he had started his crafting journey would have been a permanent black mark. Ronan didn’t brand it immediately. While the description was tempting he did want to test the function of the items inside to make sure he wasn’t getting scammed. While they were replaceable there were potentially more powerful items he could keep around forever. The brand tiers are still pretty cheap though, I can probably invest in one or two more. Two more tiers would give another mutation and make all six better, too.

  There wasn’t much time left until stage 3 which left him in a predicament. Testing the forge would be hard but he could utilise the crafting tools and equipment that didn’t require heat. He took out the remaining crab leg that he had and started pulling the meat out of it. Once that was done he then held the hammer and tried to see if there were any tools it had already been ‘fed’ and could transform into.

  There were a couple, but none of them were fit for what he had in mind. Ronan simply turned it back into a hammer. He then conjured a shortsword and used it to start carving away at the crab shell, utilising the hammer to make other adjustments to the leg until it resembled more of a walking stick shape. Then he used some of the jelly-like substance he got from killing the urchin to seal any joints and make a more solid shaft.

  After that he took out the shrimp’s claw and repeated the process. He made a joint to connect the two and hammered the claw onto the shaft after taking out the meat. Once that was done he tested the weight and the durability of the joint. Even after a few practice swings and thrusts it stayed fairly stable. He decided that the seafood spear was complete. And that was when the system decided to approve of his handiwork.

  Congratulations, you have successfully crafted an item!

  Seafood Spear Lv.41 (Rare)

  Crafted using the remains of mutated marine creatures, this spear packs a powerful punch. Liable to break after extended use or when absorbing excessive force.

  +4 Strength, +3 Agility, +1 Dexterity

  Ronan had made quite a few mistakes while crafting the spear. His new crafting skill had fixed the first two, but then failed on the third roll. He was grateful for that, because without the first few errors being fixed he doubted he would have even been able to finish crafting his masterpiece.

  That the system actually used the name he gave was a breath of fresh air from the usually annoying omniscient overlord. Ronan couldn’t wait to kill more sea monsters with the dead parts of their kin. It had a macabre irony to it that made him all the more excited for stage 3.

  The weapon was actually pretty mediocre, even when compared to his conjured swords and short-spears, but Ronan was proud of it. It was the first weapon he had crafted himself and the only way forwards was up.

  Now that he saw that the Survivalist’s Portable Forge was truly useful, he used his remaining brand on it. Once that was done, he had acquired another item that would follow him through death, becoming a part of his regular gear to face down the endless iterations that had become his life. He hoped that in a dozen or so iterations he might be producing equipment of passable quality.

  There wasn’t very long left on the countdown when he was finished. Ronan was glad he didn’t try to do anything more complex as that would have almost certainly caused him to be caught out with the forge exposed while being transported. The chance of losing such a great item because he wasn’t focusing on the timer was not worth considering.

  There was one other reward to utilise. The Serum of Rabid Randomness had a slightly fear-inducing name and the description was starved of detail. It implied that he had to consume it to gain the effects, but told him absolutely nothing about what it would do. That it was based on a random effect was also worrying—surely it could bring about a negative effect, too?

  Then he remembered that he had over 50,000 luck. The odds of obtaining a negative outcome had to be so low that it wasn’t even worth mentioning. There was also his second class skill from Gambler of Fate. Luck of the Devil should help him get a favourable outcome.

  Even after he reminded himself of all of those facts, Ronan was still nervous about drinking the serum. However, he was going to do it anyway. He hadn’t made so much progress without taking risks.

  The serum was in a glass vial. It was a strange gloopy liquid that constantly shifted between different colours in a psychedelic rainbow that made him dizzy just watching it flow. He unstoppered the vial and poured it all down his throat, swallowing immediately just in case it tasted rancid.