To The City to Become a Craftsman
[Arius POV]
Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang
Click clank
In a heated room, the sound of my hammer strikes rang along with the quiet clash of two pieces of metal hanging from my neck. Held by tongs on the anvil was a long piece of Karthin. Straight, thin, and strong, the result of hours of dedication and work.
BANG!
After one last swing of good luck, I put down the hammer and the tongs as I go to drink a sip of water.
"Not bad, your improvement has been incredible over the last 6 months."
As I sipped my water, I took a seat and looked back at Master Doherty who was inspecting my work. Activating my spectacles, I see the uneven mana flow of the metal.
"It can still be better."
"Ha, you've grown humble since that day I saw you sleeping in this room."
"Come on, stop bringing it up."
"Alright, Sleepyhead."
"HEY!"
I felt the heat travel up my neck and into my face. After that one day when I fell asleep, Master Doherty decided to start calling me 'Sleepyhead'. Now whenever he calls for me and Big Brother Jaque, he says, 'Sleepyhead and Crybaby.'
'I hope Lorraine never finds out about this or else, I really won't hear the end of it.'
"Alright, enough jokes, let me show you how to put an edge on this blade."
Hearing this, I quickly look up and get off my chair. I follow Master Doherty to a machine in the corner of the room. Looking at the machine, there was a large band that went from the top to the bottom of it. Additionally, there were a couple of pipes that connected to it from the furnace.
"Arius, this is a ginder. You use it to put the edge on the blade. To turn if on you need to simply turn this valve."
Master Doherty turns a valve that is located on one of the pipes and I see the pipe slowly becoming red as the band on the machine started spinning faster and faster.
"Alright, so this grinder spins from top to bottom. The band itself is specially engraved with various engagements to ensure the safety of the user. Still, there are some basic things to know. First, hold the blade still. Second, never continuously grind on the band. Three, always know what you're doing."
With that, I see Master Doherty hold the blade firm in his hands before placing it on the spinning belt.
zzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZSSSSSSSS
As more of the blade is connected to the machine, I see sparks flying downward off the blade and the sound of scrapping intensifying. Activating my spectacles, I see the band emitting strong amounts of mana with a layer on top slicing off pieces of my blade.
Soon I could see an edge appear on the blade as Master Doherty switched between sides to grind. At the same time, I see the mana on the sword sharpening as well.
"Alright, it's done."
As the sparks started to decrease with the blade being removed from the band, Master Doherty shows me the blade that has been formed. Taking a piece of wood from the corned, Master Doherty gives me the blade to test. Holding it with one hand, I do a simple slashing motion.
Slash... Bok tok.
Seeing half the wood piece fall to the ground, I feel a rush of excitement and amazement.
"WOOW! I did it!"
*Chuckle*
"Nice work. I think it's time for you to get a rank at the Craftsman Guild."
"Really! YEAH!"
Back when I really started learning, Master Doherty promised me that after basic training in everything, I'll be able to go to the city and take the test to become an actual craftsman. After many days and nights of hard work, I could finally do it.
Looking at one of the walls of the room, I could see all the works of art that I had done in the past months. A few leather armours made from the pelts of many monster wolves, shields made from Karthin, many spoons and forks and a giant pile of disks, many of which have been turned into bowls.
"I finally complete a goal!"
...
The next day, I was outside the workshop with Master Doherty and Big Brother Jaque. I had woken up all excited but I had arrived in a predicament when looking at our transportation.
NEiigh!
Three horses stood there in all their glory. Walking up to one of them, I notice the very large height difference. Grabbing the side of the saddle, I try to climb up but with a shack of its body, the horse shacks me off.
"How am I supposed to do this?"
"Don't worry, you just got to go with the flow?"
Hearing Big Brother Jaque's sarcastic comment, I look at him with a very unamused look. Honestly, I am envious of him. One was being able to rise a horse. Second was that he's been adventuring the whole time I've been cooped up in at the forge.
Every once in a while, he would come back and talk to me about what adventurers and monsters he faced over the past few days. It was so annoying. It made me want to go out too! But once I dipped my toes into the craftsman world, Master Doherty forbid me from going, saying that he didn't want me getting into another accident. Crazy!
"Big Brother, why are you even here?"
"Me? I'm going to go see Stella, she happens to be in the nearest city with a Craftsman Guild."
"Sister Stella?"
After returning to town many months ago, Big Brother Jaque said that when he tried to look for Stella, she wasn't there anymore. Her family said something about her going to the city to start studying how to use mana to become a mage.
When I heard that I was really surprised because keep in mind, Stella is the same age as Lorraine, eight years old. She hasn't awakened yet. While people naturally have a little bit of mana inside of them, they won't have nearly enough to invoke any spells using them. However, Stella must have had a ton so that she can go study it before awakening!
"Alright, Arius get ready to go."
Just as I was in thought, I feel my body gets picked up as Master Doherty places me on top of my horse. Laying down on the horse, trying not to fall off, I feel the horse start to rock forward and backwards. It didn't help that my legs couldn't rest on the straps where you place your feet.
"M-Master, I don't know how to control this thing."
"Don't worry about it, say 'go' to go and say 'stop' to stop. Alright, let's go."
"WAAIIT!"
With the other horses moving forward, my horse must have got the idea to do it as well so it started to trot forward before speeding up. For the foreseeable future, I'll be screaming on top of a horse while gripping onto the reigns for my dear life.
AAaaaaaaY Aaaaahhhhhh!
"Arius! Since it's going to be a long journey, I might as well talk to you about the city we're going to and the Craftsman Guild."
Somehow, even with my faint screams sounding in the background and Big Brother Jaque laughing at me holding on for dear life, Master Doherty thinks it's the perfect time to talk. The problem was I couldn't even say anything back to him.
"The city we're going to is called Trillius. Unlike our town, which is a mining/dungeon town, Trillius is an economic hub located on the border between the Kingdom and the Coalition. The Coalition is a large territory that stretches from the southwest of the country to the north of the Kindom. Due to its location, it serves as one of the many trading points between the two territories. Due to its importance, it was ruled over by Count LeMonc. The Count himself is known for having a very eccentric personality but has fair moral codes that he follows. So don't do anything too crazy."
"Aaaaaaaayyyy!"
"Arius, are you even listening?"
...
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Jaque's Fun Fact (Continued): As supply and demand change, the value of goods changes as well. However, the Glory Medallion aims to always stay at a constant value. Thus, the exchange rates of different goods using Glory Medallions constantly change. There are a few items that have a fixed price. The price of stars for each rank is always the same. Goods that are essential for Adventurers usually stay the same as well.