CHAPTER 113 - FORGING AHEAD AND COPPER-MITTED TO HAVING A BLAST!

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They looked like bronze bars, but the System information told a different story.

[Draconic Rune-etched Bronze Bars:

Imbued with intricate runic engravings and infused with the essence of powerful dragons, these bars possess an otherworldly aura.]

“You know how the System always has a lot of awesome-sounding items? I’m sure these bars are like that,” I said.

“Teacher, what do you mean?” Kharli, who was looking down at the bronze bars that were etched with glowing runic script, frowned.

“I mean, like, you know how a lot of our System stuff has fancy-sounding names, but they aren’t particularly useful or rare. Like the [Radiant Sunburst Paddlefish] and [Midnight Nightmare Sardine]. They look pretty, that’s it,” I said.

“But rare spirit fish could be sold for hundreds of gold pieces!” said Lari.

“Yes, you’re right. I suppose these fancy metal bars could be sold for a lot of money, but when we use the System these will function exactly the same as regular [Bronze Bars],” I said.

“Then can I try smithing it?” asked Lari.

“Okay, let’s go back to the workshop. I’ll put an anvil there,” I said.

My apprentices collected the [Draconic Rune-etched Bronze Bars] from the furnace and followed me to the anvil.

I smithed a set of [Bronze Arrowheads] while giving them instructions on what to do. “All you need to do is put a bar of metal on the anvil and use a hammer from your System toolbelt on it. Then a System menu will appear. Mentally choose the [Arrowheads] options and the System will guide your movements. Don’t fight it. Just loosen your arm muscles and let it do what it needs to do.”

They watched unblinking and with their mouths half open as I expertly smithed the regular [Bronze Bar] I took from my inventory. It took fifteen blows of the hammer until the metal bar shimmered and turned into five [Bronze Arrowheads].

“It’s magic!” said Lari. “I’m going to be a legendary magic blacksmith!”

“That’s not fair! Can I please try, too?” asked Mo.

“Me, too,” said Kharli.

“Okay.” It seemed that even though we had already discussed that it would be better if only one person leveled up Smithing, they simply couldn’t bear to not do it. I could understand that. Though it wasn’t the most efficient way to train, it should be fine for all of them to train smithing for now since any skill below level 20 was easy to level up. We’ll have to discuss it again after level 20. I stood outside and watched as they each smithed [Bronze Arrowheads].

“Why didn’t I smith them into Dragon Arrows or something like that?” Lari gave the [Bronze Arrowheads] a disappointed look.

“It’s probably because you’re too low-level,” said Kharli.

“We’re all level 1,” said Mo. “I don’t think people can make magic arrows at level 1.”

“Yes, that’s what I was talking about! Armor, weapons, and other types of equipment can be Common, Uncommon, Rare, Heroic, Epic, Legendary, or Mythical. We’re just starting out, so we can only make the most common and ordinary stuff,” I said.

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“Will we ever be able to make Mythical items?” asked Mo.

“I’m not sure. Only the highest level artisans can make those,” I said.

“It would probably take a lifetime to master smithing,” said Kharli.

“All right, you’ve all tried it out. Let’s go back to the furnaces since we’re gonna need a lot of metal bars for you to work on,” I said.

We spent the rest of the morning going from furnace to furnace, loading them with wood and ores in order to produce more [Draconic Rune-etched Bronze Bars]. Since we had eight of them, we didn't need to wait for the ores to melt. Instead, we loaded one furnace and then went to the next one, repeating the process until all eight were loaded. Then we went back to the first, retrieved the metal bars, and loaded it up again.

At noon, Fengying informed us that lunch was ready, and we took a break.

“Over five hundred bronze bars!” I said. “I think this is enough for now. Let me know when you finish smithing these.”

Lari and the others nodded.

“Then let’s have lunch,” I said.

The Demon Chef must’ve been experimenting because the main dish this time was something called a “bitter sausage” that was made of pork and bitter herbs. It was supposedly good for your health, but it was an acquired taste. I ate a bit of it then loaded my plate with wild herb salad, braised demon chicken with cowpea, and salt-and-pepper pork. The dessert was a simple dish of sliced apples in light syrup.

After we finished eating, I said, “Looks like it’s not raining anymore. Let’s go.”

Outside, the fallen leaves squelched underneath our feet. There was a distinct chill in the air, and the smell of wet earth and the forest combined with the chill in the air, made every breath quite bracing. We walked over to the side of the house and started clearing a path to the eastern part of the farm.

“Woodcutting is so easy and fun. I can’t believe we can cut down trees like this,” said Kharli.

“If we get higher level Woodcutting, will we be able to do this faster?” asked Mo.

“I’m not sure. I know that it will make our energy consumption less, but I don’t know about it being faster,” I said.

All we had to do was to use a hatchet from the System toolbelt to hit a tree. The two first blows on the trunk took off half of the tree’s crown. The next two took care of its trunk and roots. Every hit resulted in us obtaining a [Log] and [Tree Branch] that we could use to fletch.

I whistled cheerfully as we worked. The fresh air and moderate amount of exercise I was getting was giving me a natural high.

“Cutting down a huge tree with only a few swings of this axe makes me feel like I’m a powerful cultivator,” said Lari.

“I wonder if we’re comparable to cultivators,” said Kharli. “I heard that not all of them are actually that strong.”

“But we can’t use our Woodcutting skills on anything but trees. Imagine if we could use this hatchet on demons…” said Lari.

“Did you guys forget about archery? Have you been training it at all?” I shot them an enquiring look.

“I’ve been training it,” said Kharli.

“She’s gotten really good at it,” said Mo.

I understood this to mean that only Kharli had been practicing her archery. Mo didn’t have any talent in it, and Lari had the [Lazy] attribute which meant that he wasn’t the type to train on his own time.

“We should go and hunt some [Horned Rabbits] when the weather is good,” I said. That would give them some motivation since the rabbit meat was quite tasty.

“I’d love that,” said Kharli.

We discussed the details while we continued cutting down trees. My apprentices’ energy bars emptied faster than mine, so I instructed them to fletch the wooden logs that they had gotten today.

Fletching was quite simple. They simply used a knife on a [Log] and chose the [Arrow Shaft] option in the System menu. Then [Feathers] and [Bronze Arrowheads] were attached to the [Arrow Shaft] to make [Bronze Arrows].

“Okay, that’s it. I’m out of energy. Let’s visit my pet before we go back to the house. I have something to show you guys,” I said.

I spent some time playing with Cutie while the others watched. They were still nervous about the “demon” even though I had repeatedly assured them that my golden slime pet was quite tame. Afterwards, I took them to a clearing on the eastern side of the house where I took out a special item from my inventory.

“What do you think this is?” I asked them.

They peered at the two wooden boxes piled on top of each other. Each one was a foot square and they were mounted on four wooden legs so that they were a foot above the ground.

“Can I open it?” asked Lari.

“Go ahead,” I said.

Lari carefully removed the lid of the topmost box. It was empty.

“Take it off and open the next box,” I said.

He put the lid back then removed the top box and placed it on the ground before opening the lid of the lower box.

“Nooooo!” Mo screamed shrilly and backed away from the box, a look of utter horror on her face. “Not that! Anything but that!”