6 Forging Bonds and Frozen Hearts
I was 35 on the inside, or something, but I was also in an 8 year old body, and there was no getting around how nervous I was. That damn princess was glaring daggers into me so hard that I could almost feel my soul being cut away as I got closer!
The king and queen, along with everyone else in attendance all seemed genuinely happy to see me. Just not the Ice Princess. I wonder if I gave her a puppy, would she warm up to me? No, the puppy might probably end up with frostbite.
"You've grown quite a bit, Gideon," King Aldrich, a man in his mid-sixties with a beard as white as winter snow, extolled, his wise green eyes being very emollient compared to his daughter's. He seemed like a jolly man, his robust laughter filling the air as he chuckled at me trying to bow like I was taught.
"Your words honor me, King Aldrich," I returned, cranking the politeness up to eleven. I had a vengeance to exact, and the first step was to act the part I was given. Be the good son and build a future.
Queen Lydia, a spectacled woman of grace and quiet charm, chortled behind her hand, her icy blue eyes filled with warmth. "You're too polite, Gideon," she said, gently patting my head.
And then there was her. Princess Marcella. She looked nothing like her parents. While they were all smiles and grace, she was a living glacier amidst a sunny meadow. Her cold ash-gray eyes bore into me without a single visible change in her outwardly stoic nature.
"Marcella," King Aldrich prompted, his gaze flitting to his noticeably silent daughter.
Turning to face him, Princess Marcella inclined her head slightly in acknowledgement, her eyes maintaining their icy sheen. With a barely perceptible sigh, she turned back to face me, forcing a small but obviously strained smile.
"Gideon," she said, her voice soft yet assertive. "Welcome to Havenby."
"Thank you, Princess Marcella," I responded just as politely, keenly aware of the palpable tension that underlaid our exchange.
Following the introductions, I was shown around the castle by a squad of servants. The castle was larger than what I had in my home kingdom, but it was not the size that fascinated me. It was the sheer transparency of operations, the methodical way the servants and soldiers went about their duties, it was quite a sight.
In the following days, I didn't see much of Princess Marcella. The castle was so large, one could easily go days without seeing certain folks. In hindsight, it was probably for the best. She needed time to accept her situation, and I need to prove I'm not the enemy.
I mostly busied myself with learning new skills and crafts. I had asked King Aldrich to let me have full access to the kingdom's workshops, and he had agreed. Within the limits of my personal safety, I could participate wherever and however possible. It was the best news I had received and I threw myself into learning.
"Finally! After 10,000 years I am free! It is time to fucking work!" I roared in my annoying voice after I seen that I was the only one in the workshop, and I had closed the doors.
My little ass body was small, but my crazy stat boost made me pretty damn mighty! Now, what I needed to do was figure out what to do. My ADHD had followed me into this new body, and now that I finally could do what I wanted, there were too many choices.
"Gah! What can I build that will win the princess over to me?" I asked myself out loud.
"I hear she is a fan of music."
I nearly shit myself and jumped out my skin at the same time as I whipped around to see... "Wait, are you a dwarf?!"
Before me stood a man, barely taller than me, yet built like a miniature rock formation. He had a thick beard, black as coal, falling to his waist. A prominent nose stood out on his weathered face, and a pair of laughing blue eyes twinkled from under bushy eyebrows.
"I am indeed, Prince Gideon," he replied, his voice a deep, resonant rumble. "My name is Thordin Stoneshaper. I am the Master Blacksmith of this workshop. I hope my sudden appearance did not bother you."
I blinked at him, then took in the sight of his solid figure. A dwarf...This world has dwarfs?! What else had I been sheltered from?! I took a deep breath and then composed myself, but the dwarf shook his head.
"You don't need to be formal with me, Prince Gideon. I heard you when ya got into the shop. Quite the mouth on you for a royal, and so young. Makes an old man like me wonder just how young you actually are?"
I froze, and so did my brain as I tried to think my way out of this, but this was the first time someone had questioned my real age. Unfortunately, my stupid stunned look just gave me away anyways.
"Well, I'll be. And with the blessing of Velemir himself on my very doorstep. Just how old is that soul in this wee body?"
The comment about my size snapped my brain back in focus. The gig was up.
"35, but who are you calling short, Mr. Vertically Challenged?" I quipped back, and the dwarf snorted.
"Ah, you are a tempered one, but I heard about your misfortunes at home, so I can't really blame you for being prickly. Still, dear old dad isn't here to look down on you, so drop the anger. Save it for the forge. King told me about your class, and I have never heard of it before. There has never been a record of this skill, so it only stands to mean that you were gifted by god when you enter this world from another. This is why our king agreed without letting your father know the truth. For that reason, only him, the Queen and I know about this. It is good that you didn't say anything about this."
Now that was shocking, and I felt even better about not revealing myself. If I was really that special, then my father would have probably tried to use me for war. I didn't kill people in my last life, and I didn't really want to start. That being said, I planned to train myself well enough so that I could if needed.
This world was much different than Earth, and people died all the time. I just didn't want to become one of them. I had faces to smack.
"So, where do we go from here?" I asked, and the dwarf smiled brightly.
"What did you do before this? In your past life?"
For the next three hours, thordin and I sat and I explained all the different things that I had done in my life. I had been raised on the farms, so I had learned to do a little bit of everything. My first job was welding, but then I messed around, and never finished school. When I was 19, I got into construction and started learning everything that I could. The one thing that I didn't know was just electricians work, but this world used Divinity Crystals to power things.
"At 35 you were able to amass a good number of skills, but do you think that you could show me your class? I am curious about it since Master Craftsman is an unheard of class. You just have to open your status and then I will send you a request so you can see my class and skills."
Without a second thought, I opened my status menu, and waited. I really thought nothing about it, but a moment later an alert flashed across my screen.
[You have a request from Thordin Stoneshaper to swap 'Class Status' information. (Yes/No)]
After exchanging the required information with him, we both sat in silence as we perused each other's summary.
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| Name: Thordin Stoneshaper | HP: 1380/1380 | MP: 510/510 |
| Class: Blacksmith | Level: 72 | Exp: 10432/130000 |
| Title: Senior Instructor (+15 wisdom when teaching) |
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| Strength: 134 |
| Dexterity: 59 |
| Constitution: 138 |
| Intelligence: 51 |
| Wisdom: 97 |
| Charisma: 38 |
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| Skills: |
| Blacksmithing(Advanced): Level 70 |
| Swordplay(Advanced): Level 65 |
| Hammer Proficiency(Expert): Level 82 |
| Appraisal(Intermediate): Level 35 |
| Masonry(Advanced): Level 57 |
| Enchanting(Novice): Level 10 |
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Wow, talk about impressive stats... or were they?
"What in the god's name are you?! How are you only level 2 and have such monstrous stats?! You could fight in a D rank dungeon right now!" Thordin exclaimed, looking any me with utter shock.
"Calm down, gramps, or you are going to shit your pants."
"No! You also have so many skills! How can you have so many skills?!"
"Wait! What do you mean? You can't tell? It says why," I said, but Thordin listed off all my skills except for my Class Abilities. That must mean it is not supposed to be seen or talked about. The first rule of fight club. "Well, I guess Velemir wants to keep that hidden, so it must be my blessing from him or something."
Thordin still looked a bit shaky but managed to nod his head in agreement, "Must be at that, laddie. Never seen its like before."
We both turned our attention back towards the workshop, the massive space filled with numerous workbenches, tools of various kinds, anvils, and kilns. The scent of hot metal, fresh wood, and sweat hung heavy in the air, but it didn't bother me. In fact, it was quite comforting. It reminded me of familiar things, of times I missed from my old life.
"What do you want me to throw together for you, Thordin?" I promptly asked, eager to prove my worth and to feel the tools in my hands again.
"Slow down, lad," Thordin laughed, "We've got plenty of time and a lot of work ahead of us. Before we dive into crafting anything, we need to first make sure you know your way around a forge. Its rules and dangers."
That made sense, so I nodded in agreement. The rest of the afternoon was spent touring the workshop and familiarizing myself with the tools and materials. Thordin gave me a brief and basic lesson of each workstation and outlined the safety precautions.
Thus, my life as a forge apprentice under Thordin began. Though he was a stern taskmaster, it was evident that he knew his craft like the back of his hand.
In the weeks that followed, I spent most of my time in the workshop. I learned to work with different materials, create basic designs, and even how to infuse my crafts with the energy from the Divinity Crystals. Every time I crafted something, I felt my bond with Velemir growing stronger.
Despite my growing fondness for the forge, Marcella remained ever present in my mind. Her disdainful gaze haunted me, making my tasks challenging and harder than necessary. Hard as I tried, I couldn't figure out what would thaw her icy persona. If Thordin's information was right, she liked music. But how was I going to use that to my advantage?
