As usual, I finished my chores and rushed to the smithy, in a bit of a daze due to the news that was sprung on me.
"Good morning, Amara. How did your first level up go?" Darius asked as I walked in.
"It was fine." my answer was short and a bit stiff, but Darius didn't pry.
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The day went by as usual after that exchange, and so went the next few weeks passed uneventfully. Now is the last day of my strength building training.
"So, Amara." Darius grabbed my attention. "Tomorrow you level again, and we begin your work with the forge. You've improved quite a lot over this last month, so I'm expecting the same going forward."
"Of course, Mr. Darius. I'll always do my best. I can't wait to finally learn to work metal!" I was very enthusiastic.
"I'll make sure to keep you to your word then. Well, go on home now, Amara, you'll need to be well rested for what's to come tomorrow." Darius chuckled.
Heading back home, I opened my status, and counted my gains since last level to see what I should gain when I level up. So far, I reached 16 strength, 13 dexterity and agility, 18 focus, 12 intelligence, and 14 wisdom. My heat resistance had also leveled all the way to Lv. 10 as well. By the increases in strength alone, it was clear just how much effort I was putting into the apprenticeship.
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In the morning, I woke up, and looked at my new status for level 3.
I had gained 30 more status points to allocate, which will be left for later, as discussed with Mama and Papa. Other than that, I saw a new kind of window pop up in front of me.
Due to level increase, Skill(s) have evolved: Heat Resistance (Lv. 10) -> Fire Resistance (Lv. 1)
Learning that skills could evolve at level 10 was a great discovery, and working towards doing that with other skills was going to be a priority for me from now on. Some of my skills seemed like they'd be very useful in the future, so I got the feeling I should work on evolving them as quickly as possible. Figuring out exactly how to do that, however, would prove to be much more difficult.
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As usual, I finished my chores, then headed off for my first day of real learning with the forge. Mr. Darius was already waiting for me as I rushed in, being careful as I was always told.
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"Alrighty Amara, as this is gonna be your first day doing the actual hard work here, we're gonna be going over safety protocol again to make sure you're not hurt on your first day." Darius lead me back to the wall next to the forge, where all the safety equipment was stored. "Here's everything you should wear while working with metal. The entire set here is general size for apprentices, but if you make it through that, we'll be having a tailor-made set crafted for you as a congratulatory gift."
"Wow, I can't wait 'til I'm at that point!" I was eager to get started, and didn't attempt to hide it.
"We've got a long road ahead of us, but I'm confident in your ability to learn, at the very least, so I don't think my teaching you will be a waste of time." Darius sounded almost as excited as I did. "Well, with that taken care of, it's time for us to start on your first forging project. The town needs nails and such pretty much constantly, so we make them in large batches. It just so happens that one of those large batches is slated to be done in the next few days, and we're just a few nails short of the quota. I think you understand where I'm going with this."
"Yes Mr. Darius, sir. I'll learn how to make those nails and forge as many as you need!" My first assignment had my giddy, almost hopping in place. But that type of movement would affect the final product once I actually begin forging, so I held myself back.
"Alright, I'm gonna show you how it's done once, and you'll be on your own after that. If the first dozen nails don't come out how I expect them to, you're gonna try again 'til they do. No breaks, no going home for dinner, no excuses. Now, let's begin." Darius walked over to the ingots, grabbed a small one from what looked like the iron stack, and brought it to the forge.
"First lesson: Always know what material you're using. Always understand its strengths and weaknesses. Forging a masterwork blade out of pure gold would be more worthless than a shoddy piece made out of copper. At least, it would be that way for someone of your level. What you need for nails is a sturdy, resilient material. We're using iron today because I haven't taught you how to make steel, and the nails that come from this session are gonna be used in less important things like buckets and clotheslines. Things that don't need perfection." Darius, took their tongs and thrust the ingot into the forge.
"Watch my arms and legs closely, make sure to keep track of everything. The pumping of the bellows to heat the metal faster. The turning of the tongs so it heats evenly. Even little things like my breathing affect the final outcome, so watch and learn all you can from this." With that, Darius focused on heating the ingot until it was yellow-hot, then brought it to the anvil.
"Lesson Two: Always use the right tools for the job. This time, we need nails, so we can't just hammer the metal into shape, there's far too much for that. Instead, we need to take smaller pieces, which is what the chisel is for. If you needed a thin sheet of metal, you'd use a larger, heavier hammer, and if you needed a blade, you'll need multiple different tools. Now pay attention." Darius suddenly focused harder on the ingot, and began beating it down into a thinner rectangle.
Mr. Darius focused in on the metal while banging away, and didn't say another word to me. Not that I noticed, however, because I was similarly wrapped up in his work. Observing every swing, every impact, and learning what to do. And like that, 10 minutes passed.
"Now, it's your turn. Do your best, and I'll be watching over you." Darius stepped to the side, and tossed his new nails in a quench tank.
"Alright, let's get to work then." And I began my first forging project.