As I woke up this morning, I noticed a screen appear, just as expected.
You have leveled up! Congratulations Level 3 -> Level 4
I had finally leveled up again. Time to look at what I got.
Stat points gained: 31
Due to outstanding circumstances, a Title has been gained:
First of a Kind:
(Effects of title hidden until other requirements are met)
Well, its about the same as last level, except that weird title. Hidden for now, but what did I do to earn it? I guess it'll let me know when the requirements are met.
I now have a total stockpile of 75 stat points, and by level 5 I may be at 100, which is the average stats gain of a level 50 person, which aren't all that common if I remember right.
Another thing is that my [Craftsman] skill has leveled, but I haven't really gotten any experience from it yet. I'll ask someone about that later.
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After letting Mama and Papa know about the weird title, I got ready to head to the smithy. Things haven't been all that eventful as of late, with the exception of certain magical breakthroughs, but it seemed like my first time making a full on sword was approaching, as someone just broke their old one, and needed a replacement.
"Good afternoon, Master!" I walked into the forge ready to get to work on my first big assignment.
"Right on time Amara. Today, you'll be smithing your very first broadsword. The one in need of replacement belonged to one of the more capable guard squad leaders, a higher leveled woman by the name of Kaite. She is a well respected member of the guard, and keeps her weapons well maintained, so whatever broke her sword was a powerful enemy or monster. In light of that fact, her new one needs to be more durable, and more powerful, to keep her safe while she keeps us safe."
Mr. Darius paused for a bit, then went to grab a metal I haven't used before. "Due to these requirements, the sword needs to be made of a metal that can channel mana better than mundane steel. Today, you'll be working with Mithryl."
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I was shocked and excited. Mr. Darius hadn't let me use the magic ores yet, because they were too precious to use in the things we needed up to this point, and that a ready-made tool using it was less efficient than one made to order, for some reason. He said it had something to do with mana dissolution before bonding, but didn't explain much about it.
He brought out the broken sword as well, put on a wood plate in as close to one piece as it could. It also clearly had Mr. Darius's mark on it, right above the guard, signifying that this one was also made for her specifically by the best Blacksmith in the town.
And now I had to do better, and on my first sword.
"You've got about two weeks to get the sword done, before I step in myself to ensure proper quality. If it's not up to snuff, I forge one from scratch, and you go back to cleaning the smithy for another two weeks. This is something of a milestone and a test for you. You need to perform near to perfect to pass, and you also need to make sure it fits the squad leader's aesthetic."
"You better make sure to ask questions once you have them, because any one blunder could ruin the entire project. I will not help with the smelting of the ingots, or tell you the properties of the metal. Learning this is all up to you, as situations like this are sure to happen in the future. Your time begins now. Do me proud, kid."
As he finished, he walked off to the storefront and left everything to me in the forge.
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One of the first things I was taught about weapons is that the length and weight would be two of the most important factors for custom pieces. Ready made just need to be well balanced for their use, but custom orders needed information about the wielder in order to get their maximum power.
Due to this, the first thing I did was go in search of Mrs. Kaite, who I heard lived on the east side of town. Asking around, it seemed like she was at home today, due to the rough mission that broke her blade, and not currently having a temporary replacement.
I knocked on her door, and after a few minutes a beautiful lady answered the door. She was nearly one and a half times my height, at right about 6 and a half feet. She also had amazing blue eyes and shiny lavender hair.
"Mrs. Kaite?" I asked, making sure I had the right house.
"Oh, no dear, I'm her wife. Do you need her for something?" She asked in a deep, smooth voice.
"Uh... yes please, ma'am." I nearly stuttered before refocusing. "I'm in charge of making her new sword, so I needed to ask a few questions and do some measurements."
"Oh? A little cutie like you is going to be making her new blade? I thought that was up to the [Forgemaster] to do, wasn't it?" She looked a little confused.
"It was ma'am, but I'm his apprentice, and he decided that I should do it. And if I fail, he plans to make it himself anyways, so the quality of the sword is guaranteed." A slight blush colored my cheeks. Something about being called 'cuties be someone like her was really embarrassing.
"Well, alright then. Why don't you come in and have some tea then? I'll go get Kaite and we'll sit down to talk. My name is Belle, by the way." With that, she lead me to their living room, and headed towards the kitchen. A few moments later, another stunning woman came down from the stairs, in a dark blue blouse and pure white pants. Her eyes were also blue, with sparkly golden-blonde hair.
"So I hear you're the one making my new sword?" Her voice was clear and powerful. Even if it wasn't all that loud. She sounded confident, and walked that way too. She came and sat on the sofa next to my chair, and looked at me with a penetrating gaze.
"Let's get down to business then, shall we?"