Morning went as usual, I was already back in the forge with the gems for my hammer, and it was all a breeze. I was focused on finishing this task, and everything else fell to the wayside for now. In a blur, I finished the etchings exactly how I wanted them, then connected the head to the shaft. After inserting the gems, I felt the hammer pulsing with energy, and grew even more excited about the final product.
Everything was put together, all the etching done, the only things left to do were engrave my insignia on the hammer and then claim it as mine by pairing. As before, the insignia lit up with mana once it was finished, right at the base of the shaft. Then I pushed my mana into the hammer, and the forge started lighting up with rainbow lights.
Due to the effects of [Craftsman] Exp. Has been gained for crafting an item of exceptional quality.
Gained Exp.: 1725
A multiplier has been applied due to the disparity between your level and the quality of the item.
Applied multiplier: 2.14x
Experience gained: 3696
Due to the effects of a title, overflow is converted to Stat Points at a rate of 1:10
Points gained: 305
Excess Points: +305
You have leveled up: 7 -> 8
Greater Precision -> Finesse (Lv. 1)
Due to a title you have gained 3 Stat Points from stat gains.
Excess Points: +3
This was the closest together I had energized two levels, and it showed in how few stat points I gained from my "Own Fate" title. I still gained an absurd amount from the "Overachiever" title, though I expected that one to stop giving such incredible returns soon enough, just a few more levels probably.
Mr. Darius came into the room after I'd finished checking all the improvements in my {System}. "Well, Amara. That sure was quite the lightshow. I assume you've finished your hammer, then?."
"Yup!" I lifted the hammer up to show him, and cycled my mana through it to accentuate the mana flow. "It's perfect! Exactly what I was hoping for, and I can't wait to test it out. My first time using it for combat won't be for a while, I still need some training first. But using it for shaping and forging is going to be so much fun. What's next on the list of things to teach me?" I looked up at Mr. Darius with shining eyes.
"I can tell you're excited, so let's get right into your next lesson. I've gotta teach you how to make armor now that you've got a handle on weapons. It shouldn't be too much of a challenge, but just to make sure, we're starting out with some basic guardsmen armor. Guardswomen armor has some tricky contours, so that'll be for a bit later. Let's see that hammer of yours in action now." Mr. Darius started showing me how to make some bracers first. Basic iron, not so hard to shape, but with my strength, I had to be careful not to damage it by using too much force.
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A few hours had passed, and I managed to make a few successful pairs of bracers, and my new hammer paired with one of my newest titles caused the bracers to be pretty close to the highest quality mundane iron could be, and also added a bit of extra elemental mana to them as well, mostly increasing magical resistances a bit.
"At this rate, you're definitely going to finish your apprenticeship early. We're close to halfway through the standard forging recipes and methods, and a bit after that will be working with higher quality metals and some minor enchanting. I don't know much on that topic myself, but I do know enough to pass it on to you. After that is learning how to run a business. It may seem boring or unnecessary, but it's important if you plan on opening your own shop somewhere. Which I hope you do, because I won't be able to compete with your work if you stay." He laughed a bit at that remark, and slapped me on the back.
"I'm going to learn enchanting from you?" This was surprising news, but I was happy to hear it. "Enchanting sounds so interesting, how does it work? All I know is it involves engraving somehow."
"The basics are engraving while focusing mana, using shapes and patterns that make it flow in specific ways to produce effects. You can either learn those shapes from an expert, or experiment to learn them yourself. Generally, experimentation creates special runes that have slight differences in effect from other's enchantments. This conversation is about as much as you'll be getting from me for the next year or two, so try to remember it. There's a lot ahead of us between now and then, so be prepared to be worked to the bone." He gave me a smile, then sent me on my way to dinner.
"Have a good night Mr. Darius." I waved him goodbye and headed home
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I showed Mama and Papa my new hammer, ate dinner, and then went out to train magic with Ciara. I showed them the hammer too, lots of compliments and such, then we got on with training. Afterwards, we went home and went to bed.
The next day, Mr. Darius asked for me to show him my hammer again, so he could look at it in a bit more detail. After a little while, he came back to me looking confused.
"Amara, was this glowing like that yesterday when you finished it?" He pointed at my insignia at the bottom, with the air, water, and dark sides lit up.
"Yeah, and Ciara's is like that too. It shows what mana it has access to, I guess. It was nice because it let me know it was working how I hoped it would. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I was expecting not to have any conversation similar to this for a while, but this is a rune. I'm not sure exactly the effect of it, but it is a rune. You accidentally enchanted a bit of the weapons you made. It's very minor, but you still did it on accident, which is an incredible feat." He looked genuinely impressed. "I still won't be teaching you anything on the subject for a while, but it's handy to know we won't have any trouble getting you started. If you want to have the enchantment figured out, that would probably be a great benefit to your learning later on."
"I think I'll do that, actually. Is there anything that needs my attention right away today, or can I do that and another errand before the evening? I still have to find a teacher and plan times to train with my new weapon." He handed my hammer back to me.
"Yeah, that shouldn't be a problem today. We've forgone quite a few days of actual teaching recently, but your growth and learning speed more than make up for them. Your best bet for a teacher is probably to ask Mrs. Kaite for a friend in the guard to help you out. Good luck with all that, and I'll see you back here later today." Mr. Darius waved be off, and headed back into the forge to continue his normal work.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
I headed back out of the shop to show my hammer to the enchanting engraver. He had knocked some money off the price, so it was a given I'd hold up my end.
It only took me a few minutes to make it back, and the shop was once again empty besides the engraver. "Hello Mr. Enchanter. I finished my project last night, and had time to show it to you today. I also have a question about it, if that's not too much to ask."
"No problem with the question, but let's take a look at this project of yours first." I handed him the hammer, and he took a while inspecting it.
"You're saying you made this yourself? With no help whatsoever? No wonder you didn't want me telling anyone. I've never seen a material interact with mana as well as this special mithryl you used. The gemstones are providing mana of three types, and they don't seem to be conflicting in any way. And then there's this rune at the bottom. I've never seen one like it, but it seems to function as a mana storage rune, though one that stores multiple types of mana is not common, even if it does have very low capacity." He listed off a lot of things one after another, all of which were apparently special.
"Well, that answered the question I was going to ask. But other than that, yes, it's something special that took everything I had available to me and a lot of trial and error to craft how I wanted it, but that rune at the bottom was entirely coincidental." I'm glad that he was relatively calm and collected about all of this.
"You made the storage rune on accident? Are you currently looking for an enchanting teacher? I'd be willing to do so if you'd allow me." He suddenly seemed much more upbeat.
"Well, I don't currently have any time to learn another craft. I have magic lessons, combat training, and my blacksmithing apprenticeship all at the same time, so it will be a while before I'm free to take on something else. Once I finish my apprenticeship, I'd be willing to take you up on that offer, if it'll still be open at that point?" It was a great opportunity, but I just didn't have the time right now.
"I suppose I could wait a few years for you to free up some time. And for someone as clearly talented as yourself, it would be a pleasure to pass my craft down to you, as no other compatible apprentices have shown up in town. I hope we have a good business relationship until that point. My name is Maron, pleasure to make your acquaintance." He held his hand out to me after handing my hammer back.
I took his hand and shook it. "Name's Amara, and the pleasure is mine. Thank you for everything you've helped me with so far. I have other things I need to do today, so I'll be heading out. Have a good day Mr. Maron." I secured the hammer to my back, and headed towards Mrs. Kaite's house to get her recommendation.
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"Hello Belle, is Mrs. Kaite here?" It took a while to get to the right side of town, and the time of day meant crowded streets and a bright sun on my neck.
"Oh, Amara, what brings you looking for my wife? She's nearly done with her shift, so it should only be a bit before she's back. Come inside and have a cold drink, dear. You've got to be sweating from this scorching sun." She put her arm behind my back and shepherded me towards the couch.
I took the hammer off my back and leaned it against the armrest, sitting down and relaxing.
Belle brought a cold glass of tea and started chatting with me, asking about the hammer, and just talking about general happenings since I was here last.
"I made this hammer and a matching sword in the last few days, part of why I'm here actually. It'll be faster to talk about it once Mrs. Kaite's here, so let's talk about other stuff if that's alright with you?" It was always nice to slow down and just have a chat every once in a while. It was only half an hour before Mrs. Kaite returned, and she was fairly surprised to see me there. "Good afternoon Mrs. Kaite, how have you been?"
"Fairly well, Amara. What brings you here today? Not that I'm complaining. Honestly, I'd like you to visit more." Mrs. Kaite squished my cheeks and giggled a bit, then sat down across from me after some fuss on my side.
"Well, the reason I came today, apart from wanting to visit after so long was to ask if you knew anyone who could train me to fight with this." I grabbed my hammer and presented it to her.
"Wow, this hammer is beautiful! Where did you even get something so high quality?" Mrs. Kaite had a sparkly look in her eyes as she inspected my weapon.
"I made it myself, of course. And it's a matching pair with my soulmate's too. It took a lot of time and effort, but they're both wonderful pieces of art, if I do say so myself." I might have been bragging a little bit, but it made me happy to see her react like that.
"You crafted this incredible hammer yourself? That's unbelievable, though not out of the realm of possibility with what you did to my sword." She paused for a second before looking directly into my eyes, startling me a little. "Wait, did you say 'soulmate'? I didn't just hear that right?"
"Oh, uh, yeah. I met her recently. She's an [Apprentice Adventurer] training under her mother. They came into the smithy to commission a weapon to keep her safe, and we just had a magical connection." After the words left my mouth, I cringed a little bit. That was kind of a lame way to put it if you didn't realize I was being literal.
"That is so adorable! Tell me everything about her. When can we meet her?" Belle was almost bouncing up and down at Mrs. Kaite's side.
"Um, I'll see if she's free to meet up now, if that's okay."
'Hey Ciara, a couple of friends of mine were wondering if you were free to meet them at the moment. I totally understand if not, but I figured it'd be no trouble to ask.'
'Yeah, Mom and I just got back from a request, so why don't you let me know where to go and I'll be right there. I can't wait to meet some of your friends, it'll be the first time.'
I let her know how to get to Mrs. Kaite's house, and then focused back on our conversation.
"She's on her way here, shouldn't be too long." Mrs. Kaite had a strange look on her face.
"What do you mean 'She's on her way'? You can communicate with her from here?" She was confused, and it took me a minute to realize why.
"Oh, yes. Soulmates usually have a telepathic communication skill that links them. It's very handy, and alleviates a lot of worry from us when we're apart. I've been told soulmates aren't a very common thing, but there's still enough knowledge about them to know that we're going to be gaining even more skills that link us in the future." Chatting about this was fun, and also let me sort a few things out in my head. Mrs. Kaite got over her shock fairly quickly, and we got back to chatting.
"One of the reasons I'm here is actually to see if you knew anyone who could train me to wield this hammer in combat. I made it so I could watch my soulmate's back on her adventures later on, but i really haven't used a weapon before. Any ideas?"
"Well, there are a few that come to mind, but let me think on it a bit. A combat trainer for you needs to be perfect, after all." Mrs. Kaite seemed to be thinking pretty hard for a bit, but got back to talking in a few minutes.
After another little while, there was a knock at the door, which seemed like Ciara, if my soulmate compass was working right. "I'll go get that, be back in a second."
"Is that her then? Go ahead, I'll get another cup for her." Belle headed to the kitchen while I went to the door.
"It's good to see you again, Ciara." I gave her a hug, and dragged her into the living room to meet my friends.
"You too, now who are these friends of yours? I can't believe I haven't been introduced before now." Ciara seemed excited about the prospect for some reason.
"They're the one who had my first major work, and her wife. I talked with them quite a bit during the design phase, and really got along with them. They're great ladies to just sit and chat with. I really do hope you get along well." We entered the room, and Ciara had a surprised look on her face.
"I expected them to be closer to our age, but wow, they're full on adults. Well, I suppose I should introduce myself, right?" She bowed to the two of them. "My name is Ciara Goldenrod, Apprentice Adventurer. It's a pleasure to meet the two of you."
They both introduced themselves and we got into a long talk about ourselves together, and our weapons as well. It took me a while to realize how late it was getting, and I remembered I still had to get back to the forge for a few lessons at the end of the day. "Time really does fly when you're with friends, but it's getting late and I will need to be back at the forge before sundown. Before I leave, did you think of anyone for my combat training, Mrs. Kaite?"
"Oh yes, there's one person who I think would be the best fit for you and your weapon choice. His name is Alex, but he's usually kind of hard to find. I'll make sure to send him to the forge in the next few days to meet with you. If he has any complaints about it, let me know and I'll set him straight. But you two have a good night now. It was a pleasure meeting you, Ciara. Come back and visit any time." They gave us both hugs and waved us off.
"The pleasure was mine, Mrs. Kaite, Mrs. Belle. Thank you for your hospitality, and for being Amara's friends. Have a wonderful night." Ciara and I left, and headed to the forge.
The rest of the day was rather uneventful, and we split ways after magic training.
'Goodnight Ciara, have a wonderful sleep.'
'Goodnight, Amara. You too.'