Chapter 116 - Jarek’s Hat

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The blacksmith’s younger brother was once a soldier. Before he left for the army, he was in high spirits. After serving three years as a soldier, he came back a different person.

He spent his days lying in the alley behind the blacksmith shop, drinking any alcohol he could get his hands on. He never cared about the business of the blacksmith’s shop.

However, the older brother always did his best to take care of his younger brother. He also tried his best to find the hat that his younger brother loved the most.

However, even though his older brother had helped his younger brother find the hat that he loved the most, his younger brother was still muddle-headed and nothing changed.

One day, a player thought that his younger brother was the owner of a blacksmith shop. He went to ask his younger brother how to learn forging techniques and waited there for a long time.

When his younger brother saw that the player did not seem like he was about to leave, he gave him a mission.

Not long after, the player completed the mission and obtained the hidden advanced forging technique. With the advanced forging technique, he became the most powerful forging player in the game.

Therefore, Li Yi’s goal was very clear. He was going to find the younger brother, Olaf, to receive the mission.

“Hello, I want to learn forging techniques. Can you teach me?”

When he came, Li Yi saw the younger brother acting like he was a pile of mud. It seemed that he did not want to be seen at all.

Olaf raised his head and glanced at Li Yi, then ignored him.

Li Yi did not say anything and just stood by the side. He watched Olaf drink while ignoring him.

Olaf’s hair was dirty and long and it covered his entire face. However, Olaf’s eyes could still be seen through the cracks. Those eyes seemed to have lost their souls, as if they did not have any hope for this world anymore.

Up until now, no one knew what had happened to Olaf. In his previous life, someone had tried to find out what happened to Olaf within those three years.

Unfortunately, there were no clues. They only knew that they signed up in the army during those three years. When he returned, he was held onto a hat and was done in armor. His entire body had been covered in dried blood.

“Why are you still here?”

Finally, Olaf could not help but ask.

“I’m waiting for you to tell me how to learn forging techniques.”

“Heh, alright then, I’ll teach you, but you have to complete one thing for me first.”

[System Notification: Obtained hidden mission — Jerek’s Hat!]

Success!

If one were to find the other blacksmith to do this mission, the mission name would be Olaf’s Hat.

But in Olaf’s place, it was different. No one knew who Jerek was, and where this person could be.

Li Yi accepted the mission and went to the mission location.

Li Yi did not need to follow the map’s navigation. Although he had not done this mission in his previous life — because he accepted the older brother’s mission, therefore the younger brother’s mission was deemed futile — the final destination of the two missions were the same.

In front of an empty tombstone, there was nothing engraved on it, and there was nothing in the tomb except for a hat.

The mission was very simple. He just needed to dig the hat out of the tomb and give it to Olaf.

When he arrived at the tomb area, Li Yi took out the shovel he had bought and started digging the empty tomb in front of him.

“What’s that person doing?”

“I don’t know. He’s probably doing a mission.”

“What kind of mission requires him to dig up a person’s grave?”

“Yeah, this mission must be really wicked.”

“…”

Li Yi was a little embarrassed as he listened from the side. This mission was indeed a little baffling.

Since Olaf knew about this location, then the only explanation was that he had buried the hat himself. Perhaps he was mourning for his fallen comrade.

However, now, he had to dig it out again. Li Yi could not figure this mystery out no matter how hard he tried.

Not long after, Li Yi hit something with his shovel. In the pit, a ball wrapped in dirt appeared in front of Li Yi. After Li Yi cleaned the dirt off the ball, he realized that it was a soldier’s helmet.

It was just as he had thought, this was Olaf’s comrade’s helmet.

It was clearly a helmet, but he had to call it a hat. It was really a strange mission.

Li Yi took the helmet back to the city and found Olaf who was still drinking in the corner.

“I’ve found the hat you wanted.”

Li Yi handed the helmet to Olaf. When Olaf took the helmet from Li Yi, his hand could not stop trembling. No one could tell if it was because he had drunk too much or if it was because he was thinking about the past.

Olaf took the helmet and walked into the blacksmith shop. Li Yi followed closely behind him. There were two sides to the blacksmith shop. One side belonged to Olaf’s elder brother, and it was steaming hot every day. The other side belonged to Olaf’s younger brother.

Although it had been a long time since Olaf had turned on the furnace, his elder brother still helped his younger brother with maintaining everything inside.

Now that it was dark, his elder brother had gone to rest. Only Olaf and Li Yi were in the blacksmith shop. No other players would be coming over at this late hour.

The two of them came to the furnace. Olaf lit a lamp and started a fire. The originally dark and cold room instantly lit up and became hot.

A set of armor hung on the equipment rack at the side. The helmet on it was exactly the same as Jerek’s presumed hat.

Olaf looked at the hot furnace in front of him and the hat in his hand.

Suddenly, voices appeared beside Li Yi’s ears.

“Hey, buddy, you’re a new soldier, right? My name’s Jelek, what’s yours?”

“Hey, Olaf, our new equipment is here. What do you think of my hat?”

“Hey, Olaf, we’re on patrol. Quickly put on your hat. Safety is the most important thing.”

“Hey, Olaf, after this war, let’s open a blacksmith shop together. With your skills and my brain, we can definitely make a lot of money.”

“Hey… Olaf… I can’t do it. The blacksmith shop… I’m afraid it can’t happen. Take my hat and leave this place. Find a place to bury it… Forge well… safety is the most important thing, after all.”

“Goodbye, Olaf. My comrade, my best friend.”

When all the voices came one after another, Olaf’s face was soaked in tears by the end of it. His ragged hair covered his tear filled eyes as he bawled over and over again.

Olaf used his trembling hand to throw the hat into the furnace and watched as the hat melted.

In the end, everything turned into nothingness. Olaf took out a scroll and threw it to Li Yi.

“This is what you came for.”

Then, he left and returned to his dark alley to continue drinking whatever alcohol it was.

Li Yi looked at Olaf, who was unable to walk out of the shadow of the past, and felt very uncomfortable.

‘If I had not been reborn and wandered around in the apocalypse, would I have been like him, drinking all day and passing out?’ Li Yi thought to himself.

However, he dared not to think too much about it. He did not want to think about such a future. Now that he had a second chance, he would not let such a thing happen.

Ten years later, he would stand in front of his comrades and use his greatsword to beat those so-called gods back!