*phew*

I wipe the sweat off my forehead using the back of my arm. It is the mid afternoon and the sun is shining down on the courtyard. Sitting next to a hot forge in the burning sun without shade is like being in a furnace. There is no cool breeze blowing through and the heat stays trapped in the enclosure.

To my left sits a pile of copper bars prepared by my helpful assistants. We found that those without the blacksmithing skill are able to smelt ores in the furnace. So far it has only worked with the copper, but it still is a major relief for myself. Them being able to do that will save me many hours of work. I still have to hammer out many of the impurities, but they can do the initial smelting.

I have started with simple weapons such as the dagger and short sword. The dagger can be made at a ratio of 1:1, but the sword has a ratio of 2:1. Already, I have made 14 daggers and 3 swords at 2.5xp and 5xp a piece respectively. The excitement in the leader's faces is readily apparent with each finished product I hand them. Before I had left the meeting room, we signed a contract with each other, so I am not worried about them screwing me over.

I had started with the dagger since it was what I had made before and had no trouble with it. But, when I went to make the short sword I failed a few times before I was able to make it.

The system only assists in the production of items and relies on the player to manually craft the item. It is more time consuming this way, but it brings a sense of accomplishment and pride for one's work. However, it doesn't totally throw the player under the bus. It assists the player in learning how to make the item, so even a complete amateur like myself can do it. Let's face it, I wouldn't have the slightest idea how to make anything if it were not from the help of the system.

I pick up the next couple copper bars and place them in the heat. Once they have reached a satisfactory level of red I remove them from the heat. The simplified process of smithing allows me to join the two bars together with a few hammer swings. After some shaping and reheating I am left with an elongated rod of solid copper.

I form a rough handle on one end of the rod, conforming it to a shape that would be comfortable being held. On the end that will be the blade I hammer it out flat into a blade-like appearance that has its widest part 3 inches before the tip. I narrow the end of the blade to a point and have now completed my rough model. Throughout this process I am quenching the metal in the barrels of oil and brine solution. Since copper is a relatively malleable metal, it is necessary to harden it for use in weapons.

I wrap a band of leather around the handle to provide a better grip for the sword. I then bring the blade over to a whetstone and slowly grind out a sharp edge on the blade. When I am done, I inscribe my insignia, which is in the shape of a bird, onto the blade near the hilt along with a production number. I have chosen to make my symbol a raven and have begun carving it on everything I produce.

Notification Do you wish to adjust Copper Short Sword to system specifications Yes No

This is something I discovered upon making something other than the copper dagger. Since a product made by a novice smith such as myself would likely break easily the system provides a solution for this. If I choose yes then the sword will become no different than the standard copper sword. But, for some reason, this does not apply to the inscription I made.

I select [Yes].

Immediately the sword begins to turn into the standard design. If I had selected [No] then the sword's stats would be dependent on the quality of my craftsmanship. That way, in the case of a master blacksmith the item stats could be way above the norm. And the opposite is also true. If I had chosen [No] then most likely the sword would have low stats and poor durability.

I put the finished product onto a weapon rack near the shop's back door. That makes four copper short swords. I will continue to make them until I am comfortable with the design. Afterwards I have an interest in trying out a wooden and copper buckler shield. The round shield's main body is wooden with a trim of metal around its circumference and in the centre is a metal protrusion that could have spikes attached. This type of shield is not among the system assisted items and so it will rely on my own skill.

One of the main reasons I want to try this is to see if the system will recognize it as a valid shield design. In this game anyone could pick up a piece of wood and use it as a shield; however, those 'shields' will not provide a defensive buff while those crafted by players using the system will provide one.

While I am getting ready for my next work, I hear Darkbond’s voice coming from the door.

"How're things going?"

"Ahh everything's going smoothly so far. Haven't broke 100 experience yet though."

"You can't rush these things. Nobody in our guild even has a level 2 skill yet."

I'm a bit surprised by that, but when I think of my own swordsmanship level after a week in the forest it seems reasonable. I'm only a tiny bit of experience away from level 2 and would be able to get it in one more day of fighting.

"Are these the weapons you've made?" Darkbond is pointing towards the weapons rack. "They look well made."

"Haha, thanks. That's due to the systems assistance. Without it they wouldn't look half as good."

"I see." He picks up the blade I just finished making. "What's this little symbol here?"

He is pointing at my insignia.

"That's to show it was made by me. It's a way of claiming my art."

"Interesting. A raven is it? Any meaning to the symbol?"

"It's a symbol from a guild I was part of in the past." I have fond memories of those days. I met them when we were all still noobs and it begun as a mining guild. It didn't last very long before everyone went their separate ways, but I will never forget them.

“Hmm, we should start thinking of a symbol for Subestimar. I’ll bring this up to the guys.”

“You do that. I’ve gotta get back to my work.” I turn my head back to the forge, “Thankfully, it doesn’t take 40-80 hours of time to forge a single sword like in real life. That would be too much.”

“Haha, i’ll bet.” Darkbond says with a hearty laugh. “Alright, i’ll leave it to you.”

The next few hours were spent perfecting the making of the copper short swords. The rate at which I could make them was steadily increasing and in four hours I managed to make 7 of them. I still would not be comfortable making them without the systems assistance, but at least I am improving.

Over the course of these few hours i have had many members of Subestimar come observe my progress. They told me that after I am finished with today's batch they will purchase them from me and start distributing them. I warn them to only distribute the weapons to members with contributions to the guild.

I allowed a couple of them to try out the weapons in duels and they ended up having a mini tournament in the courtyard. It was determined that the winner would get the first sword. I was rooting for Cheetos to win, but the title ended up being claimed by Swiftcrest, a regular player in the guild. While they were all enjoying themselves, I continued to produce more swords. Now that I have become more confident with the swords I decide to get working on that shield.

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I have no idea how this shield is supposed to be made, so it will be a process of trial and error without the help of the system. I start with a circular section of wood 45cm in diameter that I had prepared for me ahead of time. Using this, I measure out roughly the circumference of the wood and determine how much metal I will need. The trim will not be too thick, but I also want it to have an effective defence. I estimate the whole shield will take 3 bars worth of metal.

Before I start on the shield itself, I prepare some rivets for securing the metal to the shield. Just making them alone is a challenge since I have never made them before. After preparing all the materials, I can finally start working on the shield.

I begin by beating the metal and hammering it out into a long thin strip and gradually work a curve into it to match the curvature of the wood. After the curve is finished, I bend the overhanging metal around the edge of the wood to provide a better fit. This process alone takes up a good amount of time, but after using up two bars worth of metal I finally manage a rough work. Rather than moving on to the next piece, I want to hammer it as flat as possible to get the best possible fit. At regular intervals around the edge I punch small holes through the metal that will serve as holes for the rivets.

"Making these custom designs is very cumbersome." While this is closer to real smithing, I prefer the system assisted designs. It has already been over an hour working on this and I am not even half done.

This process continues on for another hour and a half. In the centre, I designed a spiked cone shape that could be used for shield bashing, but I couldn't make it too big as my first attempt was too heavy. The metal was easily secured flush against the wood. The design is not fancy, but for my first work I am proud of it. All that is left is to attach a hand hold on the back. I choose to use leather for the strap and make a place to secure the forearm as well. This will prevent all the stress from being placed on the wrist and distribute it along the forearm. With this addition, the shield is complete.

Notification What do you wish to name this custom design?

"Wood and Copper buckler." There goes my horrid naming sense.

Wood and Copper Buckler     Vitality 50 Physical Defence 15 >>>>>>> Pierce 5 Magic Defence 5   Slash 7 Dexterity -5 Crush 3 Durability 250  

Physical Defence is split up into three: Pierce, Slash, and Crush. This determines the effectiveness of the armour against different styles of weapons. I hadn’t opened the separate menu before; however, I decided to check it out on my custom creation.

"Wow." My first attempt was a success.

I equip the shield and feel its weight. The balance is decent and it is not too difficult to hold up. There is a negative dexterity bonus that I assume would be on all metal armours. After all, one will get slower while wearing full armour.

I imagine this one of a kind shield would go for quite a bit, but that aside, I don't know the stats for the regular copper shield. It looks like I should work towards making regular shields, but that will have to wait until I make more of the easier pieces first. Swords are comparatively easier to mass produce, so once I've gotten a good stockpile of them I will start making more armour.

Since there are a couple hours until dark, I continue working at the forge hardly having made a dent into the stack of copper ores. I manage to make 8 more short swords and 1 long sword before calling it a day. I am now at 203/960xp

Exhaustion hits me hard after I stop working. Almost all the guys have already headed out to a pub leaving only Angelmaker at the shop. I think I'm just going to head back to the Prancing Mare and get to sleep after securing some food.

When I make my way onto the street, I can see many players walking around in groups of three or four. The average gear on them is poor to say the least. In the town there are options for fancier clothes made by tailors; however, most players would be unable or even unwilling to spend money to buy them. I wonder how Gem made out with all those furs I gave her. She hasn’t contacted me all day, so I assume she is fine.

The Main Street I am walking down is illuminated by coloured street lamps, which I assume is powered by magic. Flower baskets hang from the lamp posts and emit a pleasant scent that fills the air. In spite of everything that has occurred, this is a very beautiful town.

Before I know it I am standing beneath that elaborate wrought iron gate. From within I can hear the sound of merrymaking and music. There are people stretched out on the lawn looking at the stars or talking with friends. The patio is packed without a single seat available. On every table sits a round of beer glasses and drinking games are being played everywhere. Off to one side a crowd of people are surrounding two players having a drinking competition. It looks like either one could pass out at any moment, but neither is willing to give in.

As I approach the building some of the servers welcome me as a regular customer. It's to be expected since I only arrived yesterday and not everyone knows me. When I go inside the building I am mind blown at how many people are in here. It's a miracle anyone is able to move through this. Near the back a live band is playing surprisingly modern rock music. When I take a closer look they have modified the instruments of this world to make a pair of guitars, a bass and a drum kit. I don't recognize the song being played, but I commend their creativity.

Since there are so many people, it is unknown how long it'll take to get my order in. Therefore, I choose to go straight to the staff kitchen in the back. There are still a couple pieces of meat I can cook up and I'll just pick up a pint at the bar afterwards.

Once past the main room the security is pretty lax. The grill in the kitchen starts up fine and I cook up a venison steak with a side of potatoes conveniently taken from their store room. Before someone catches me, I scarf down the meal and go back out to get a beer.

Back in the main room the band has just finished their set and is taking a break. Without the music the place as quieted down a lot, but that only invites the drunkards to get louder. Barely able to hear my own voice, I order my drink and take it back to my room. This has been a long day, but is just one of many to come.