I woke up and went over my gains for the crazy happenings of last night, most of which were locked in available stat points. Other gains were some skill evolutions. It seem as though this will be the norm, at least for now. I don't really know how things change as you get into the higher levels.
After letting Mama and Papa know that I leveled again from the test I had been given, they congratulated me on such a well done job.
"It must be very impressive to cause you to level so soon." Mama was praising my work, even without seeing it.
"Master Darius said it was something that even he wouldn't be able to replicate, so, that along with the amount of experience tells me it was far above my level." I said quietly. I knew the importance of being discreet about things like this.
"Well, how much experience could it have given if you only leveled once? It couldn't be too far above you." Papa was pretty confident saying that.
"875." I nearly whispered.
Papa nearly choked on his coffee, and Mama dropped her spoon in shock.
After he stopped coughing, he looked straight at me. "That much is enough to give me a considerable boost. How did you only gain one level out of it?"
"I also gained a title that makes it so I can never level more than once, but it gives me stat points based on how far over the level I went. I know, I know, it's crazy." I was a little embarrassed at this point. This stuff happened way too often for my liking.
"Since you already know, we'll just say to be careful and always pay attention to who's around when you talk with people. On the bright side, I'm sure you passed that test, right?" Mama was always the optimist, bringing me out of the small bit of gloom I was in.
"Yup! He even had me design an insignia for it. He said it was too good not to. So I would say I most likely passed. The only thing I needed help on was the material for the grip. If you get a chance, you should ask Mrs. Kaite to see the sword once she's gotten used to it. It's beautiful." I was glowing with pride at this point.
"We'll have to do that later on, then. And I'm glad you're so proud of it. I hope you never lose this feeling." Mama was getting a bit sappy, but I was always happy to hug her, so I did.
"Thanks Mama. I'll do my best to make you both proud of me with everything I make." I was tearing up a bit at this point, and even Papa joined in on the hug. These moments were the best, and I would never get sick of them.
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Later on we called Mrs. Kaite to the forge to collect her new blade. I was nervous, hoping she liked the design I used on it.
"All right, so the little one here made my new blade right?" Mrs. Kaite was seeing if it was me or master who ended up finishing the sword.
"That's right. My apprentice passed the test I had for her with flying colors. Come to the back room and have a look for yourself." Mr. Darius looked proud of me, almost as much as my parents.
"Why do we have to go to the back?" Mrs. Kaite seemed a bit confused.
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"Well, I'd rather not have the rest of the workers see it yet. Some of them know she made a sword, others know that you were getting your replacement from here. None of them know that she forged your sword specifically. And I'd like to keep it that way for as long as I can. You'll probably understand once you see it. Come on back."
We went into the back room where only Mr. Darius had the key, and walked to a table with a cloth over it.
"This here is your new sword. Made to fit perfectly in your old sheath, so no need to worry about that. If you do want a new one, you'll have to go to the leatherworkers for it. But anyways, go ahead and take a look." Mr. Darius stepped out of the way, leaving Mrs. Kaite to walk up to the table.
As she did, I held my breath. This was much more nerve-wracking than I thought it would be.
She unveiled her new sword, and gasped at the sight.
"You said she made this? You aren't lying?" Mrs. Kaite was understandably doubting.
"It's even got her insignia on it, right there near the guard. It is one hundred percent her work." Mr. Darius answered calmly.
"This is unbelievable. I understand what you're saying, and now I see why you wanted this to be quiet. This is way more than I had expected, even from the [Forgemaster]. How did you even make something like this?" Mrs. Kaite sounded astonished.
"I just did as I was taught, other than the material for the grip and the process for making the ingot. Those were on my own." I didn't want to take too much credit, because I didn't think what I did was all that special.
"What do you mean, the process for making the ingot was your own? Isn't there only one way to do it?" Mrs. Kaite spoke up, but Mr. Darius looked almost as confused about this point as she did.
"Well, I melted the ore entirely using my light aspect magic and mana. I felt that something good would happen if I did that, after melting a sample with my fire magic and seeing it change a bit. And this metal was the result." I sheepishly looked at the ground after this, feeling their glare on me. "It's not like I'm the first person to do this, right? Someone has to have tried it in the past."
"Not that I've heard of before. For reference, mithryl was only really used in smithing starting a few hundred years ago. Most smiths don't bother working with it other than for high payed jobs for nobles or adventurers. And most smiths also don't have great affinities for their aspects, which would normally lead people into being mages instead." Mr. Darius clarified this point to me. "Being able to refine an ore with nothing but your magic alone would make you a treasure anywhere you went, but the ability to turn it into something like this? It's nothing short of incredible."
"When I asked for a replacement, I expected something on par with the other guard captains, but this weapon is most likely on par with the best weapon in the town, if not better. It's quite frankly incredible. And I didn't miss the detail you put into it either. Thank you for representing my Belle in the design, Amara. I absolutely love it, even if it weren't incredibly powerful I'd want to use it all the same." Mrs. Kaite turned and bowed to me deeply, with a very soft voice full of emotion.
I started tearing up at this. "It was my pleasure to make something that means so much to you. Thank you for all your hospitality, and I hope we meet up more going ahead. Tell Belle I said hello when you get back home, please." A few tears streaked down my face. I had never felt this strongly connected to something I made, and the fact it brought out so much emotion in the one it was made for was incredibly gratifying.
"Now, the last thing we need to do is have you pair with the sword. You know how this goes. Insert your mana and we'll hope nothing too big happens." Mr. Darius was back to his slightly gruff persona, even as I saw a tear in the corner of his eye.
"All right. Here goes." And she pushed her mana into the hilt.
There was a bright flash of light, and for a moment I was blinded. Everything came back into view, and there was a constant glow around the sword, much brighter than before. The etchings started glowing in gold, and the red of my insignia became brighter, almost seeming to become another material than the wax it was made of.
Mrs. Kaite swung the blade a few times, and it was hard to follow it, as if it were blurry, leaving afterimages, even though it wasn't swung that fast.
It was beautiful and elegant, with the grace of its wielder improving these aspects even more. I think it will be a long time before I make anything that makes me as proud as this does