To be honest, Valyr had no clue when it all began.
In his mind, he was proceeding through the upgrade as usual, utilizing all of the skills in his arsenal to make sure it was successful.
Of course, he did notice at some point that some of the tangential thoughts in his mind began to disappear.
Instead, it was replaced with thoughts that allowed what he was doing to elevate to another level.
Soon, the same went for his actions, all of which made him feel like it was choreographed beforehand.
At that point, the young man understood what was going on, composing himself to make sure the sensation lasted longer.
After all, it's been a while since he entered the state of [Flow].
With that, it went without saying that Valyr made more progress in upgrading the arquebus.
From incorporating the new materials into the old parts to fabricating the parts needed for the modified matchlock mechanism to work, all aspects of the upgrade seemed to have been done with higher quality in mind while taking up less time.
In fact, the young man began to feel like he was thinking a couple steps ahead through the forging process by the time he was done incorporating the materials.
At first, it would only happen every once in a while, giving him a small burst of speed that reduced the time it took for him to do a certain task.
Though, just like how he knew he had entered a state of [Flow], he eventually noticed that he was consistently thinking ahead at some point, feeling as if he had become one with the craft.
Then again, the same could be said for his actions, having elevated to another level of purpose.
If earlier, he felt like his movements were planned beforehand, then even the minute elements in his actions had also been taken into consideration in this higher state.
Looking at it from a bystander's perspective, it was as if every part of Valyr's movements served a great purpose in moving the upgrade process forward.
Of course, the young man knew at that point that he had entered a state higher than [Flow].
With him having memories from his past life, Valyr was able to find out what it was without breaking his immersion in the current state.
'[Greater Flow]…' muttered Valyr inwardly, feeling a hint of excitement at the fact that the skill that basically gave him his current class would now undergo a giant rebirth.
However, just as he thought that the state of focus he was in was the greatest he would ever achieve…
It soon went into a whole other dimension.
Whoosh!
By the time Valyr was piecing together all of the parts to form the arquebus, he felt all of his thoughts dissipate all of a sudden, all of which were related to the forging process.
But just as he was about to panic, a deluge of thoughts soon filled his mind, all of them focusing on a certain part regarding the arquebus upgrade.
To him, it was as if a small stream of water had been replaced by a giant river out of nowhere, the bits and bobs floating within the river giving him ideas on what to do next.
Unsurprisingly, Valyr's actions became more in-tune with these thoughts as well, elevating the harmony between his thoughts and actions to another level.
At this point, the young man was left at a complete loss for words, letting his immersed state to take the wheel as his body continued to move.
Though it was still far from the state of focus Sven had achieved in the memory he saw, Valyr now felt like he had touched upon a small part of it in his current state.
'I guess this is the effect of having an absurdly high Tranquility stat at a low class rank,' thought the young man with a slight chuckle, thinking back to one memory from his past life that reminded him of his current feeling.
As a member of the guild known as Pandora's Crafts, Valyr and the others had formed alliances with multiple production-focused guilds, allowing him to meet other players that had also devoted their efforts towards improving their craft.
On one fateful day, a friend from another guild sent a message to him to come to where the former was, telling him that he had a surprise for him.
Curious, Valyr did not hesitate to head to where the friend was, especially since he was certain that there would not be any funny business going on.
Sure enough, by the time he arrived at where his friend was, the latter was toiling away in a makeshift workshop, prompting Valyr to wryly smile.
Just as he was about to ask why he was called over, the young man was soon enraptured by his friend's movements, taking note of the fact that they were of a far higher quality than before.
At the time, he wondered whether his friend had achieved [Greater Flow], considering that only a few among their friend group had achieved it.
Fortunately, by the time his friend had finished forging, Valyr found out that his friend had entered a state that was considered higher than [Greater Flow].
In fact, the young man was even looked at his friend with surprise after hearing that a state of focus like that could be willingly activated at any time.
With that, he deeply committed the name of the state to memory, even though it was only one word.
'[Zen].'
…
Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!
With all three pairs of arms moving in a flurry thanks to the effects of [Zen], the upgrade process for the arquebus took far less time than it should have.
Then again, with how much time there was left before time was up, Valyr was still cutting it close, finishing just a few minutes before the five days were over.
"And… done."
With one last tap from his hammer, the arquebus was finally considered complete, causing a series of notification sounds to resound in his mind.
Ding!
[You have successfully modified the weapon 'Primitive Arquebus Prototype'.]
[Due to the immense modification done, the weapon has gained the ability to tap into a far greater expanse of power it initially couldn't, thus increasing the weapon's rarity to Epic.]
[A great number of materials have also been added to the weapon, increasing the potential the weapon has for further advancements.]
[Thanks to this change, the name of the weapon has been changed to 'Supreme True Arquebus', reflecting all of the modifications and improvements the blacksmith has made to the weapon.]
Seeing the notifications he had obtained regarding the weapon's successful upgrade, Valyr faintly smiled as he felt satisfaction at what he had achieved.
However, there were a few more notifications below that.
[What was initially a prototype that would pave the way for the new era, it has instead been given a breath of fresh air, turning into the true version of your original intent.]
[With this true arquebus in hand, may you pave the path of firearms on Veldanyr even further. Let the world experience the superiority that the weapons of the new era have over the past.]
[You have completed part of the requirements for the quest: The First Gunslinger (Veldanyr).]
[Upgrade Primitive Arquebus Prototype to Rare+ grade (1/1)]
"I still have a long way to go," muttered the young man, chuckling as he briefly thought about the other objectives needed to complete the quest.
Though, just as he thought that he had read through all of the notifications he had received from upgrading the arquebus…
He soon found out that there were still a bit more.
[To enter a natural state of concentration is a feat only achieved by the fated and the elite. To push it to a higher state is to separate oneself from the rest, heralding themselves as the pinnacle.]
[However, only those who can enter the natural state of concentration at will are those considered to be standing at the pinnacle, the path to a higher realm of enlightenment more than open for them to trek.]
[Due to your understanding of the natural state of concentration exceeding previous levels, your passive skill 'Flow' has undergone through a massive transformation, allowing you to enter the state of immersion at will.]
[The passive skill 'Flow' has been upgraded to 'Zen'.]
[You have gained 2 points of Tranquility.]
"It was indeed [Zen]." Reading through the last string of notifications he had received, a wry smile adorned Valyr's face as he turned to look at Arcaelus.
Seeing that the man was looking back at him with his mouth agape, the young man flashed a slight grin at him before returning his attention to the notifications.
After that, he commanded the system to bring up the description of [Zen], wanting to acquaint himself with the skill even more.
Ding!
[Zen] (Lv. MAX)
Rarity: Epic
The state of concentration is a state that many people seek to obtain. However, such a state would only appear every once in a while naturally.
There are those who have found ways to emulate such a state, using them to achieve feats that could be considered herculean. Nevertheless, those states are a far cry from the true state of concentration itself, especially once one finds out a way to activate it at will.
To those who have done so, it is only known by one name.
And that is the state of Zen.
While in the state of Zen, the effectiveness of one's stats increases by 30%, allowing feats normally impossible for the user to achieve to become possible. During this state, the user's mental state is also focused towards the task at hand, making sure that the task would be completed with supreme quality and extreme efficiency.
This state could be toggled on and off at will. Perhaps exposing oneself to the realm of Zen for a long time might allow them to ascend to a higher realm.
Feeling the state of immense concentration slip by him every time he toggled [Zen] on and off, Valyr faintly smiled as he thought about how his items would ascend to a higher level now that he had a way to actively enter the state.
Though, rather than indulge himself further in other thoughts related to [Zen], his focus soon turned towards the item that made it possible in the first place, activating a skill with a faint smile.
"[Superior Analysis]."
Ding!
