After about five minutes of intense hammering, the dwarf nodded in satisfaction before he put down his hammer and brought his attention to the beautiful woman sitting in front of him, surprisingly unaffected by her looks.

“So, wadya want, bargin into me forge like this.”

Shaking her head, Astaria crossed her arms.

“It’s been a while, Vordrun.”

“Don’t ye know its rude ter barge into someone’s forge like this. An' we aint met, I 'ave a good memory, and ye ain't in it.”

Softly chuckling, Astaria started to explain how she knew the dwarf.

“Well, I guess we have not technically met this time around. Well, for a year and a half you taught me how to smith. But it seems my time was turned back by three years, and well… here we are.”

Narrowing his eyes in scepticism at hearing such an absurd explanation, Vordrun crossed his bulky arms.

“Well now lass, that’s one weird story ye tellin. If ye know me, then ye’ll know I wan' some proof.”

Without realising, Astaria naturally crossed her legs while thinking of how to respond.

“Well now, let’s see… I think the easiest thing would be that black bead at the end of your braid. Its meaning is known by only to those who are taught directly by an arcane blacksmith, and the bead represents your skill.

Upon hearing her words, Vordrun opened his eyes in surprise.

“The black metal, an alloy between adamantine and meteoric iron, is one of the hardest alloys to produce due to the conflicting affinities of the metals. The bead indicates your level of blacksmithing, while the intricate patterns made from mithril indicate your proficiency with magical enhancement and runesmithing.”

Finishing her explanation, Vordrun, now fully aware that Astaria was most likely telling the truth, paid more attention to her words.

“Then there is the reason why you don’t accept apprentices. While I believe you have not yet explained your reasons to other people meaning it would otherwise be hard for me to know, you are looking for someone with enough talent at manipulating mana and nobody yet has met your standards. You had told me the reason previously when you asked me to study under you.”

Now in shock by the words that were pouring out of Astaria's mouth, Vordrun held his head in his hand thinking about what was being said.

Now leaning forward slightly with a cheeky smile, Astaria gave her last piece of proof, distinctly more embarrassing for the dwarf.

“Previously I met you around 6 months from now, so I’m not sure if it has occurred yet but you secretly used to feed a little black and white cat some of the chicken from the meat pie you usually get for lunch. You were QUITE flustered when I found out.”

Hearing this last comment, the dwarf who had been trying to keep his cool and aloof attitude had a streak of red appear on his cheeks as he exclaimed in shock.

“Damn, nobody should 'ave seen me. Wait, how did you- oh, bollocks, guess it makes sense.”

Heaving a deep sigh, Vordrun shook his head, deep in thought before speaking.

“So lass, guess ye the one who tol' all them people showin' up 'ere recently to come?”

Astaria returned to sitting straight and gave a nod.

“Yes, I was. They are my companions, and I recommend them to buy from here. After all, you do produce the best quality equipment in this country.”

Eyeing Astaria up and down, Vordrun questioned her again.

“So, ye here for the same reason? Or ye 'ere to become me prentice again?”

Happy that Vordrun was still as accepting of unusual and bizarre occurrences as if they were only a minor headache, Astaria elegantly lay her hands in her lap.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Well, both to be honest. I am in dire need of better equipment, and after I am finished up here, I’m going to hunt down the goblin leader Square Jaw. But I would also like to continue learning from you. I was not able to master everything you taught me and wish to perfect my craft.”

Seeing Vordrun’s eyebrow raise at her sincerity, she continued.

"However, at this time I will not be able to do any runesmithing. As I’m sure you have heard about us by now, I am one of the Immortal Warriors who have just arrived in this world, and at the current time, our ability to manipulate mana is restricted. After about 3 months, that restriction will be removed, and I will be able to properly smith again.”

Resting his fist on his chin, Vordrun humed in thought.

“Guess that splains a lot. Lass, I'm willin' to believe ye story, but I wan' ye to show me ye skills. Prove ye learned from me.”

[ {New} Unique Quest: Arcane Blacksmith]

[Quest Description: Grandmaster Arcane Blacksmith Vordrun has invited you to become his apprentice. You need to first prove your abilities before he accepts you]

[Rewards: Profession: Beginner Arcane Blacksmith, Apprenticeship under Grandmaster Arcane Blacksmith Vordrun, Title: Beginner Arcane Blacksmith, Unique Title: Apprentice of Grandmaster Vordrun, Blacksmithing tool set, 100 Personal Fame, 1000 Blacksmiths Guild Fame]

[Accept quest? Yes/No]

Instantly accepting the quest that popped up, Astaria replied to Vordrun.

“Of course, I will be more than willing. I must say however that I will be incredibly busy in the coming few months so won’t have much time to come by. Is that alright?”

After a short moment of thought, Vordrun replied.

“If what ye sayin' bout ye restrictions is true, then there's no point in wastin' metals on limited quality works. 'Sides, if ye 'ave future knowledge, I 'ssume there's important things ye need te do.”

Vordrun continued to speak while giving Astaria an appraising eye.

“Besides, ye mana pool is quite small, ye need to do some training to improve it.”

With a smile in agreement, Astaria quipped back.

“Yeah, if I were to smith at the moment, I would be drowning in mana potion.”

After letting out an amused snort, Vordrun stood up and walked out the back door of the forge to a small, enclosed courtyard.

Astaria followed him, drawing her sword and summoning her staff as she left the forge.

“Glad I don’t need to 'splain why we’re 'ere.”

After speaking, Vordrun pulled a sword from a rack at the edge of the courtyard.

“Oh, ye a mage huh? Intrestin'.”

After getting into a basic stance, he launched a strike from above towards Astaria who deftly deflected the slash with a flourish of her blade, parring it to the side before twirling around and spinning her staff in an arc to sweep the dwarf’s leg.

Vordrun stepped back to avoid the sweep, responding with a quick upward slash with his sword. Astaria quickly sidestepped his slash with her previous momentum, then brought her sword around for a slash as Vordrun raised his sword up to block.

Vordrun continued by following up with a number of slashes and thrusts which Astaria deftly dodged and blocked with her sword and staff in practised movements. Despite Vordrun holding back his strength from the difference in their levels, she could feel her hands starting to become numb from all of the strikes she blocked.

Following the brief exchange, Vordrun stepped back with a deep sigh.

“The more time I spend with ye, the more I believe ye. It felt like fightin' someone who knew meh style.”

Shaking his head, he returned the sword to the rack and walked over to Astaria who had just sheathed her weapons.

“Square Jaw as’ got it comin' to him, eh.”

With a confident smile, Astaria replied, flattening her robe that had become slightly dishevelled during their fight.

“He has no idea.”

Clearing his throat, Vordrun directed the conversation back to the original topic.

“Anyway, what do ye need? Clearly a new sword an' staff, those things of yers are both crap. Ye probably want metal bracers an' boots. As fer ye clothes, ye already know what id say, right?”

Letting out a chuckle, Astaria impersonated Vordrun as she spoke.

“3 streets ter the 'arbour on the right, the shop with the dandy shopkeeper.”

Letting out a scoff of laughter, Vordrun gave a brief nod.

“What’s ye budget?”

Thinking for a moment, Astaria quickly estimated the costs of what else she had to buy.

“I have around 6 gold to spend, saving some for the rest of my equipment.”

With a nod of approval, Vordrun spoke as he gestured.

“Not bad, ye certainly got yerself some money. Come.”

Leading Astaria into the warehouse on the other side of the courtyard, she is left once again impressed by the stock of materials, armour, and weapons. The warehouse was quite large compared to the shop, with weapons lining the walls from floor to ceiling. One corner was filled with crates of materials, while the middle of the room was filled with rows of tables and weapon racks holding equipment.

With a face showing that she had just remembered something, Astaria called out to Vordrun.

“Oh, I am also looking for a pair of metal bracers for my friend, he was the tall, black-haired archer who came by yesterday.”

Pausing in thought, Vordrun replied.

“Oh, him, yer, I can pick ye something out for him.”

After a few minutes of ambling about while humming in thought and inspecting equipment, Vordrun returned with a selection of items.

“So given ye a mage and ye fightin' style, I picked out these boots that’ll improve ye agility and ye intelligence. These 'ere bracers will improve ye wisdom and ye strength.”

Handing over the items for her to try on, Vordrun continued his explanation.

“This 'ere is a steel staff. Its 'ollow on the inside, so it won’t be too 'eavy. And this 'ere sword has been enchanted with runes to cut better and improve ye wisdom as well.”

After equipping her new gear, Astaria checked her stats.