Chapter 8: Toil and Reward

A week flew by since Balin gave his quest. During that time, Alexander had spent his time evenly split between the Golden Fields, the Mages Guild, and where he was currently, Blain's Forge.

His mornings were spent wandering the Golden Fields, where he would soften the soil at the farmsteads of the villagers using his Earth Softening Spell. The effect was marginal but helped the land grow more fertile and was deeply appreciated by the locals. They tried to reward him with copper coins, though in ordinance with his Oath, he politely refused. The most he would ever take was some water and a few moments to talk with them about their days. In real life, he attended his university and spent hours talking about complex computer algorithms; here in Eden, it was wonderful to just relax and talk about the sun, rain, and mundane matters of life.

Once he was done with this, he would return to Camelot Castle and seek out a hidden forage run by an old dwarf named Balin, who hobbled around with a cane. Here, he would help the man forge by softening the metal using his Metal Softening spell. Blain was so old that he had lost most of his strength and, without the help of magic, found it hard to shape metal like he used to. Still, with help, he could create work that reflected his years of experience and incredible skill.

Like so, as sweat poured from Alexander's face, the Dwarf bellowed in a battle cry of a voice, "Hold steady, young Elf! We're almost finished!"

As he manned the bellows, Alexander was panting for air and called back, "You said that an hour ago."

Blain laughed and blurted, "More wind, boy! You can't rush art!"

The Elf rolled his eyes while pulling down on a hot chain that compressed a blower that filled the furnace with fresh oxygen. The Dwarf laughed with a mad glee as the rate of his hammering increased. Another twenty minutes passed before he bellowed, "One more time, good Elf! Just one more!"

The youth obeyed and grumbled, "It better be."

As embers burned brighter, the Dwarf roared with laughter, pulling a sword scarlet with heat from the flame. He carried it to a water basin with his bare hands and dunked it in. Here it sizzled while the old Dwarf shouted merrily, "I have a feeling this is going to be a good one!" Pulling the blade out of the water, his eyes went wide with joy as he declared, "Euriake, a Rare Blade! I shall call it 'Tired Elf.'"

Alexander couldn't help but snort as he coupled onto hi but and complained, "That's a terrible name."

Blain looked at him with joyful mischief in his eyes and commented, "But it has character. Blades with sleek names are so overused. Who wants a sword called 'Death Brininger'? It's a cliche, but one called 'Tired Elf' just thinks of the opportunities." He tossed the weapon onto a leather-covered table to rest and added, "I'll sharpen her up tomorrow."

The Elf staggered to his feet and asked, "Will you stay with the course grinder or something finner."

The Dwarf considered Thai and stated, "I'll do a three-quarter grinder. She came out good, but the metal was common; no need to soil a good blade trying to shoot for perfection." Smiling, he tossed his hammer at the Elf, who caught it and almost fell under its weight, adding, "Your turn now. Today is supposed to be your last day, and if you can't even make me a dagger by now, I'll nag Balin till he sends you back."

The Elf pouted but swallowed his unwillingness, having learned the stubbornness of dwarves. He nodded and grumbled, "Fine, but I'm only using Red Copper, and I'm keeping the heat at max."

Blain snorted at this and shouted back, "You barbarian! The High Elves of old used to be some of the greatest smiths in the world. How can you disregard their legacy like this?"

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A vein throbbed on the Elf's forehead but still blurted back unwillingly, "Fine! Get me an ingot of iron, tungsten, bone powder, and put the forge to medium temperature."

With an excited expression, the Dwarf bellowed, "That's the spirit!"

In addition to needing help forging, the old Dwarf was also somewhat obsessed with passing on his skills. He had dozens of apprentices coming in each day to learn from him. By proximity, Alexander had begun to learn, and after a few comments where he revealed his talent for learning, he became the Dwarfs' victim. He was forced to listen to the old fellow babbling on for hours about blacksmithing and was soon forced to practice some skills. Now, the Dwarf demanded results.

Alexander didn't set the bar too high for himself as he began to pound away at his glowing metal ingot. Over the next hour, his body began to grow weak, though he had no shame in using his vast Mana to force the metal into an incredibly soft state. Blain didn't like the metal too soft, and thus, the Elf had learned to restrain his Metal Softening Spell. However, since he was now wielding the hammer, he didn't hold back at all.

Using a secret recipe for Black Steel that the Dwarf had taught him, Alexander pounded the two metals together while adding bone power to increase the contraction of carbon. Under the influence of his magic, the metal felt like stiff putty and slowly began to mix. Once he was satisfied with the new metal he had formed, Alexander began to withdraw his magic while forming the metal into its final shape.

When finished, he used tongs to transfer the item to the barrel of water, and his mentor clapped and bounced around with glee. At the same time, a notification appeared for the Elf:

image [https://imgur.com/GTHi13x.png]

Alexander was glad to see this, which meant he was now at level 4. In addition to improving his smithing abilities, this skill also increased his Dexterity by 5% per level, which was a true blessing for an Elf. What the youth did not expect was another notification:

image [https://imgur.com/saKc7M8.png]

This intrigued the Elf, though he didn't have much time before Blain barked, "Well, don't keep me waiting! Let's see it." From the water, Alexander pulled out his final product. It had a round hilt that fit neatly in one's hand, was almost perfectly balanced, and was black as night. Letting out an impressed whistle, the Dwarf asked, "What are you going to call it."

Looking along the length of his creation, the Elf responded solemnly, "Death Bringer."

He then held up his freshly forged Frying Pan while his mentor fell to the ground laughing and inspected its stats:

image [https://imgur.com/Bhj1wyz.png]

While his mentor rolled on the ground, the Elf pleasantly called, "Hey, it's an Uncommon Item."

Balain barely managed to calm himself and responded, "Of course it is. Your skills are still terrible, but the material was excellent." Sitting up, he eyed the boy and asked, "Are you sure you don't want to walk the path of forging? You have talent and curiosity. I can even provide you with a reference to my nephew, who's a Magic Blacksmith. That would be right up your alley."

Alexander rolled his eyes and responded, "Balin would have my head if I ran off to learn smithing."

Blain snorted and tossed over a small metal token: "You're a foreigner. You've got a long life. Go find my nephew in the Blue Mountains whenever you have time." Smiling, he gave a thumbs-up: "Just make sure to pass on what you learn and make your items' names interesting."

The Elf felt touched by this and nodded, "I will."

Blaine had explained that accepting favors or signs of gratitude while on a mission for the Order of Merlin wasn't forbidden. He just couldn't expect money or demand payment for his services. Alexander also didn't think this broke his Oath as he and Blaine were now Teacher and Student not just Employer and Employee.

The Dwarf stood up and brushed off his apron while waving him away, "Good, now go on. You got your test today. Go take a bath and prepare yourself. The Beginners Magic Exam is no walk in the park." As the Elf was looking for a spot to put the frying pan down, Blaine blurted, "And since today was your last day, you're no longer helping me, which means I can give you that frying man as a gift." He winked and added, "You and Balin have some noble customs, but I hope you won't turn down a small memento of our time together."

Alexander sighed but smiled and commented, "Fine, but only because I know you argue with me till night comes if I try and refuse."

Blain snorted affirmatively and snapped, "Damn right!"

The Elf stored his belongings and then walked over to the old Dwarf and gave him a hug while stating warmly, "Thank you for everything,'

The Dwarfed smiled to himself softly and gave a strong bear hug back, "It has been good, kid. Make sure to practice; someday, you'll surely be as good as me."

They exchanged a few last farewells before the Elf departed the shop, ready for a bath and excited to take his exam at the Mages Guild.