After a month of work, Richard was finished. Another steel longsword was produced under the watch of Lord Kirk and his men. He did not mind this much, and the more people believed in his ability the easier it would be on him later on. The first sword gave him a workshop, something he was not expecting.

He has yet to find out how much everything costs in the city, but a building? It had to be expensive.

So Richard thought that the sword he made was at least a gold tale.

So, how much would the new sword be worth? He couldn't wait to find out.

If he did not receive actual money, what could he get in return? Money was the best option, he could use it for anything. Materials would be the second best item he could receive. As long as the amount of materials matched the price of the sword.

So it hurt his soul when he received fifteen silver for it.

No, that couldn't be all there was to it. And he was right, Lord Kirk informed him that he could receive another reward as long as it was within reason.

There were a few options Richard had in mind, he lacked knowledge about the world he was in. Therefore some books would be nice to have, but then he was unsure if he could read the language. Speaking it was one thing, but reading and writing it? That was something else entirely.

Therefore, Richard asked for a map, some paper, and ink.

"Haha, I see you've been well." Gregor said as soon as Richard left Lord Kirk's estate. He was outside waiting on the man.

Richard glanced at Gregor and nodded, wondering why Gregor was here. He hadn't seen him or anyone really in a month, so this was a surprise.

"You've been waiting on me?" Richard asked.

"Sure have." Gregor responded.

"Why?"

Gregor looked over his shoulder back at the estate that they were walking away from. "Well for one, I have to show you to your workshop. Second, I want to talk to you about something."

"Ask me what?"

"What do you say to working with me on something? It'll benefit us both greatly while hurting that weakling Bojack!" Gregor spat on the ground after he said the other dwarf's name. As if it were disgusting to even mention him.

Richard raised his eyebrow at that.

"You see, I have a contract with the lord. He wants me to forge him fifty swords for his army, with a pay of five silver per sword."

Fifty swords, times five that was two hundred and fifty silver. Was that a lot? Seemed like it from the way Gregor was grinning, but what would Richard get out of this?

As soon as he opened his mouth to speak, Gregor spoke first.

Gregor was expecting Richard to ask him what his cut was, or why he should help him. He's been preparing for this moment. In fact, his actual plan was to ask Richard to teach him how to make that blade, but he wouldn't do that. Not now.

First, he had to build up trust between them, then he'd ask how it was done. With him and Richard being the only blacksmiths who knew how to make such fine weapons, people would come searching for them from all over the world. It was only a matter of time before they struck it rich.

Gregor needed the money to buy obsidian ore. He lacked it, and with how expensive it was, he had to save up his tales to buy some. Only then could he use the ore to begin forging a sword. Gregor might not have the skill necessary to use the obsidian ore, but he'd find out how to manipulate it with enough time.

For that, he had to have the tales to buy the ore even if he couldn't use it to its full potential.

While Richard's sword seemed to have matched the obsidian blade that Lord Kirk owned, that did not mean it was superior. It was only a matter of time before the sword folded because everyone knew how durable obsidan was.

"It won't be free of course. I'll pay you the necessary amount, introduce you to some of my previous clients, and, I'll take you to the crafters association so you can find yourself an apperitance." Gregor told Richard.

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This offer was too good to pass up, and Gregor only thought of this after much debate with himself. He'd lose a client or two after he talked to them about Richard, but that was fine in his eyes. The amount of money he'd lose paying Richard wasn't even worth mentioning, and going to the crafters association also was not a big deal.

Eventually, Richard would find out about the association within Evergreen, it was only a matter of time. But, Gregor wanted to strike first. Richard was new in town, and since he met the guy he hardly went anywhere. In fact, he hasn't actually gone anywhere.

Besides using the bathroom, Richard never left the workshop. He slept there even.

This was the first time that he'd been outside the workshop.

Richard listened to Gregor and thought it over. It sounded like a good deal to him, but honestly, he wasn't sure. While he enjoyed blacksmithing, he did not plan on doing this forever.

He's had time to think about this, and in the time he was forging another sword for Lord Kirk Richard realized a few things. One, while steel might not be known here in this world, that meant that it would be harder to sell. He'd have to inform the people he was selling it to how valuable it was and then set a price for it.

A price they might not pay him. The process of telling people over and over again would get old real fast. So Richard scrapped the idea of mass-producing steel and selling it. It just was not viable right now. He'd do it, but only when the time was right.

This meant that forging anything beyond a normal steel sword would not do much for him. Sure, he'd make a few and sell them. But, the time it took to forge one would mean he'd have to sell it for a high price. How many people had the money to pay for it? They'd assume it was an iron sword, and again he'd have to demonstrate it wasn't.

This had the same drawback as selling steel.

As far as damascus went, Richard threw that out the window. No way would he forge a sword like that here, it just wouldn't be worth it. A sword of that caliber should be very expensive, but again, the effort would not be worth the price.

He'd probably make one or two in his time here, but that was it. Richard needed a new plan to make money.

But, he'd also need some starting capital for any business venture he decided to pursue. Taking out a loan in this world was an option. However, Richard was clueless if that was even a thing. Nor did he feel like relying on others much.

"What's wrong? Is it not enough?" Gregor asked as Richard was silent.

Gregor was sweating underneath his shirt. Did Richard want more? Was what he offered not good enough for the man?

"Ah, no. Just thinking about some stuff." Richard replied.

"What kind of apprentices do you want? The association is mostly full of dwarves, but you'll find some humans as well." Gregor said as he assumed this was a worry of Richard's.

"Dwarf?" Richard asked as he looked down at Gregor. He always thought that the man was just a short human.

Gregor was just a bit over four feet tall, but it wasn't anything too far-fetched. But a dwarf? The idea did cross Richard's mind once, but in all honesty, it seemed a bit out there. Hearing the man say so for himself made it seem more real.

Dwarves were real.

Strangely Richard did not feel excited or different after thinking along those lines. Did it change anything? No, not really.

"The association has all kinds, but here in Evergreen, you'll mostly find more fireblood than anything else. There are a few Iceland dwarves here, but they are real asshats. As for kind like Bojack, they are more rare, and a pain in my ass." Gregor said.

Richard nodded but he didn't really care.

"No, not that. How much do you think my sword would sell for?" Richard asked.

Gregor didn't have to think about this. After seeing the quality for himself, he knew the answer. "If you're pushing for money, you could get twenty or even thirty silver tales for it. But most people won't be able to afford that, so if you want to sell them to the mercenaries, guards and such you'd have to cut that price by a bit. Five to fifteen silver tales would be a fair price."

Twenty or thirty silver? That was less than Richard thought.

"And the workshop I received? How much is that worth?" Richard asked.

"A blacksmith workshop can cost thirty silver tales to one gold tale. It just depends on what part of the city it is in. As for the one you received, it's by the southern entrance of the city. So it would run you fifty silver tales." Gregor replied.

"But you don't own it. More like the lord is letting you use it. If you want to own one, you'd have to buy land."

"And that would cost?"

"Hard to say, but you'd need around five gold tales for a decent plot. You can get a plot for free if you earn an achievement during war, but we're no warriors. We're smiths!" Gregor stated.

A few things were beginning to connect for Richard. He was still lacking a lot of information, but he could come up with something. He just had to watch and see what this world was truly like. If they lacked steel, then that meant they lacked a lot of other things. Some inventions might not have been thought of yet.

He could work with that, but he had to see what the situation was like first.

"Yeah. Last question, what if I were to forge a sword that could break the lord's sword? Would he reward me for that?"

Gregor looked at Richard, stopped walking, and laughed. The young man in front of him said something that was insane. How could he not laugh? Break an obsidian sword? Impossible! The only thing that could break an obsidian sword was another obsidian sword. Everyone knew that.

Richard waited for Gregor to stop laughing. And Gregor after seeing how serious Richard looked calmed down. The young man in front of him was serious.

"If you can do that you won't have to find an apprentice. Heck, I'll be your apprentice no questions asked. But if such a scenario did happen, he'd give you whatever you wanted. Hell, he might even give you his daughter's hand in marriage. I heard she's still single." Gregor told Richard.

Should he make one? A damascus steel longsword? No, maybe a katana or even an axe.

Richard wanted his own land. It seemed like an easy way to obtain a plot of land as well. Given he was unsure how long it would take to make the amount of gold needed.

"So, what do you say? Want in?" Gregor asked.

Richard had to recall what the red-haired dwarf asked him. Oh yeah, he wanted him to help make swords.

"Yeah, sure."

Gregor slapped Richard on the back. "Great! Let's celebrate with a drink."