The human world, 36th stronghold.
In front of a blacksmith shop with a name board reading 'Leo's Workshop', a chubby middle aged man in luxurious clothes stood impatiently as he looked at his watch from time to time.
Behind him, two bodyguards in black coats stood silently like statues. The status of the chubby man was further evident looking at the three luxurious cars parked in front of the shop.
Creak.
Suddenly, the door to the shop was pushed open and a young man in his twenties walked out holding a hammer in his hand.
The young man's upper body was bare, showcasing his well trained body with each muscle perfectly defined like a fine art piece. Standing at a height of 6 feet tall, even though he was not overly bulky like the two bodybuilders behind the middle aged man, just from one look it was clear that the young man's physique was perfect according to every standard possible.
On the young man's right hand, which was holding the hammer, there was a black forearm guard engraved with ancient characters giving it an exotic and commanding vibe. There were also two black hoop earrings on his ears adding extra points to his already flawless face.
On his back, there was the tattoo of three demon heads. The middle one was an angry looking demon head, on the left was a hooded demon head which looked like the head of a grim reaper, and the right one was a demon head with a ferocious smile on its face.
all in all, he looked like a extremely handsome gangster who can make girls fall for him with a single wink of his eyes.
The chubby man's creased brows relaxed when he finally saw the young man open the door.
"Grandmaster Leo, is the work complete? My young lord is so excited for this weapon that he ordered me not to return without it," the middle aged man said to the young man with a bitter smile.
The young man chuckled lightly and invited the man inside. "The gun is complete, and fortunately the power output is at the 40th tier of the iron realm."
The middle aged man froze upon hearing this. "You mean it's already in the forbidden tier?"
Leo smiled lightly as he walked inside the shop followed by the middle aged man. Once inside, he picked a brocade box from the shelf and placed it on the reception table.
As the middle aged man opened the box, there were two beautifully crafted hand guns inside shimmering with a metallic glow. There were also two red dragons printed on the barrel of the gun making it even more imposing.
"It can store 12 bullets at a time and the gun will empower each bullet with spear intent without any time needed for accumulating energy. I have also added whip intent to reduce the recoil from the shot, but still the recoil will be there at most to the level of a 10th tier iron grade weapon," Leo explained to the middle aged man who was inspecting the gun with satisfaction.
Suddenly, the middle aged man fired a shot from the gun in his hand towards the forehead of one of the guards standing behind him.
Bang.
Like hitting a metal wall, the bullet deformed and with a dull thud fell to the ground while the guard stood there like a mountain without even a change in his expression.
"How is the power?" the chubby man asked the guard as he sensed the recoil from the gun with squinted eyes.
"Precisely like the Grandmaster had said, the power is equivalent to the 4th realm of the silver grade," the guard replied emotionlessly.
The middle aged man nodded in satisfaction and turned to Leo. "The recoil is also like that of a 10th tier iron grade weapon. Since your weapon has already exceeded our expectations, we will pay you 4 times the initially agreed price, 24 lakh iron grade coins."
Leo did not refuse either. He smiled back and shook the chubby man's hand and handed his visiting card to him. "Pleasure doing business with you. If you have such orders in the future, contact me."
"Hahaha, sure, sure. Rest assured, I will also recommend my friends to your place," the chubby man patted Leo's shoulder enthusiastically. After exchanging some pleasantries, he left the place along with his bodyguards.
After the middle aged man left, Leo looked at his phone screen which showed his current bank balance and clicked his tongue. "125 million iron grade coins. If I go hunting in the wild, I might have to kill more than a million beasts at the first heaven of the iron realm to reach this sum. Being an artifact refiner truly is profitable."
After scrolling idly on his phone, Leo put his black shirt on and hung the closed sign on the door of the shop before he walked towards the metro station in the town.
Leo's blacksmith shop was situated on the bustling main road next to the metro station and hence, since Leo settled in this small town a year back, he had ample customers and a steady income due to his exceptional skills in weapon crafting and formation marking.
When it came to cultivation talent, Leo was not so gifted. Due to an accident that happened when he was little, his elemental cores were damaged and his bloodline degraded to the lowest rank.
Since you need either a powerful bloodline or an excellent core to become a student of any decent university, Leo failed to enroll into any one of them and could only open up a shop to sell the craft his master taught him. Otherwise he would have become a beggar long ago.
Finding a job in a town where most tasks are automated with machines was not an easy task.
"It's been more than a year after I rescued you from the stellar battlefield, yet you are still at the 3rd heaven of the iron rank? Do you truly become a turtle after leaving the army?"
Just as Leo was admiring the long legged beauties throwing smiles at him, an old man's voice suddenly came from behind him.
Leo's face stiffened and he turned around with a helpless smile. "Greetings senior brother Edward. It's been long since we last met. How is sister in law doing?"
The old man smiled faintly. "Cut the pleasantries and come with me. Master has entrusted a task to you."
Leo waved his hand. "Tell her that I am injured and still need at least a 100 years to recuperate. Can't handle any tasks for now."
Before Leo could finish his excuses, a purple glow flickered around the old man and Leo. The next second, both of them vanished from the spot without even a trace.
Leo's mouth twitched when he saw himself standing in front of a beautiful young girl in her twenties. She wore casual sportswear and had her long hair tied behind her in a ball like bundle with a few strands falling to the side, giving her a naturally refined air.
"Greetings senior sister Jasmine." Leo bowed with his right hand on his left chest as he faced the woman.
A smile blossomed on Jasmine's face when she saw Leo. "Junior brother, we have already deciphered the forbidden spells bonded to you. Before senior brother tells you the task, let me explain everything to you."
Leo nodded and casually sat beside the young lady.
Jasmine tapped her storage ring and a blue screen appeared before them.
"Kitty, show me the details we have compiled on junior brother Leo."
"Sure, master," the artificial intelligence of Jasmine's phone replied and the blue screen Infront of them flickered to life, showing the exact tattoo that was imprinted on Leo's back.