Nathaniel yawned taking in the cool early morning air. The sky was still dark with the rays of the early morning sun trying to rise in the northwest. He couldn’t believe that the sun rose from west to east. According to the schedule Ophelia gave him, Nathaniel and the other heroes were to meet in the courtyard before sunrise, which his [Intuition] told him was around five o’clock. The door opened drawing his attention. Ophelia gave him a tired smile as she walked into the courtyard. Heavy bags hung under her eyes.

“Good morning, Nathaniel,” she said.

“Good morning,” Nathaniel said, “Did you not sleep well?”

Ophelia nodded sadly, “You’re correct,” She said, “I was told some…disheartening information,” she clasped her hands together, “But that doesn’t matter. I’ll take you to the smithy.”

“What about the others?”

“They’re still in bed,” Ophelia said with a chuckle, “And truthfully, I don’t see the Champion waking anytime soon.”

“Just make sure he’s dressed before you go get him,” Nathaniel laughed heartily.

Ophelia’s face turned deep red, “Don’t remind me,”

Ophelia calmed herself down and led Nathaniel to the backside of the fort. The soldiers’ morning drills stole the serene morning, but their stares didn’t stop Ophelia from walking shoulder to shoulder with Nathaniel. Soon, they could hear the ringing of metal as they approached an open shack with three large stone furnaces. An elderly middle-aged man worked the forge alongside two younger ones.

“Pardon us!” Ophelia said getting the men’s attention, “I’m looking for the master smith.”

“That’s me,” the elderly smith said. He was a large man with a bushy grey beard and bald head. Despite the cold morning, he wore a sleeveless shirt that showed off his massive, scarred arms. “Name’s Gordon, lady Oracle.”

“It’s good to meet you Gordon,” Ophelia said pulling Nathaniel forward, “This is Nathaniel Light, the Inventor Hero.”

“A pleasure,” Gordon reached out his hand with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

Nathaniel shook his hand and winced in pain, “I look forward to learning everything you can teach me.”

“Pardon?” Gordon said confused.

“His class, inventor, is a crafter class,” Ophelia said, “He’ll need to learn as many crafting skills as possible to support the other heroes. He’ll be coming every Meransal to learn smithing.”

“We’ll teach him everything we know ma’am,” Gordon said.

“Thank you,” she said, “I’ll come and check on you later Nathaniel.”

Nathaniel watched her leave and turned back to Gordon, “Shall we start being honest with each other?”

Gordon sneered, “Good, you’re no fool,” he said leading him to the third furnace, “This here’s the smelting furnace. Do you know what that is?”

“Yes sir,” Nathaniel said, “That’s the process of making metal billets and alloys.” He pointed to an orange metal, “This is copper, correct?” Gordon nodded and Nathaniel picked up a light shiny metal, “And this is tin. Together these should make bronze.”

[New skill acquired: Smelting Lv. 1.]

Gordon gave a small smile, “You’re sharper than I expected. Watch me,” he said, “Throw three pieces of copper and three tin into the smelting cup,” He demonstrated and with a pair of long tongs, he placed the cup in the furnace. “Then heat up the metal until it melts and merges together,” he called to the others, “Bring me a sword mold!” one of the apprentices brought clay mold, “For softer metals it’s best to use molds,” He pulled out the cup and poured the molten metal into the mold. “Then we’ll wait until it cools and pull it from the mold. Did you level up?”

“Yes sir,” Nathaniel said, “[Smelting] is now level two.”

“Good,” Gordon said, “I’ll have you prepare a few more bronze swords before I teach you smithing.”

Nathaniel nodded as Gordon opened the mold and pulled out the blazing sword from the mold. He put the mold back together by the time Nathaniel put the smelting cup into the furnace.

“If it looks like the flames are dying, use the bellows to get the heat back up,” Gordon said pointing to a wooden lever attached to a pair of large leather bellows, “Temperature is an important part of blacksmithing, remember that.”

“Yes sir,” Nathaniel said.

He checked the flames. They were a dark orange, so Nathaniel pulled on the bellows’ lever. It was hard, but a large blast of air fueled the flames to a bright orange. Nathaniel pumped a few more times, he found it easier to pump consecutively, and got the furnace burning at a bright yellow. He checked on the metal, it was mostly melted but there were a few solid chunks. The metal fully melted after another three pumps of the bellows.

Nathaniel checked on the mold, making sure it was properly secured, then poured the liquid metal into the mold. After a few minutes, Nathaniel opened the mold and saw his first crafted sword.

“Where should I put the swords?” Nathaniel called to the others.

One of the two apprentices, a young man with dirty blond hair pulled into a small ponytail, pointed to a stone trough, “Place them in there to cool,” he said.

Nathaniel waved in thanks and placed the hot sword into the empty basin. He received a notification stating that his [Smelting] is now level four.

“Will these bronze swords be useful?” Nathaniel said preparing another batch.

“Of course,” the apprentice with a ponytail said, “No one in their right mind will turn down a weapon. Besides, bronze weapons are cheaper and quicker to make than iron ones.” He gave Nathaniel a bright smile, “My name is Ramsey,” he pointed to the other apprentice with a close shaved head, “And that’s my brother Moses. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Hero.”

“Please call me Nathaniel,” he said pumping the bellows, “I’m a bit uncomfortable with the title since I haven’t done anything yet.”

“Being a bit modest, aren’t ya?” Gordon said with a sneer.

“No sir, just being honest,” Nathaniel said with a laugh, “I’ve done nothing but break a girl's heart, and that’s nothing to feel heroic about.”

“Don’t worry, boy,” Gordon said with a distant look, “Heroes are known for breaking hearts.”

Nathaniel shook his head, “They shouldn’t though,”

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“Whose heart did you break?” Moses said beating on a hot sword.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you,” Nathaniel said pulling out another bronze sword, “I don’t want to embarrass her anymore than I already have.”

“Good lad,” Gordon said with a slight smile, “Maybe you’ll one day earn the title of hero. What level is your [Smelting] now?”

“Level six,”

“Impossible!” Ramsey said, “It took me a week to get to level six.”

“He’s legendary rank son,” Gordon said, “He’s supposed to level up faster than us. He’ll probably be level ten by days end.” Gordon put down the shield he was working on, “I’ll teach you blacksmithing after you finish that sword. Moses, take over the smelter when he’s done. Your brother needs more iron.”

Nathaniel popped out the last sword and brought it over. Gordon worked the billows to get the furnace to glow a bright orange. He pulled out a set of tongs and hammer.

“You’re going to reheat the metal until it glows then hammer out and straighten the blade,” he said, “You’ll want to thin out the edges while leaving the core of the blade as thick as possible.”

“That way we can grind an edge on the blade without taking away from its structural integrity,” Nathaniel said understanding the process. He noticed Gordon giving him a confused look. “I mean without weakening the blade.”

“Exactly,” Gordon said with a laugh, “Had me worried there for a moment.”

[New skill acquired: Weaponsmith Lv. 1.]

“[Weaponsmith]?” Nathaniel said, “I thought I was learning [Blacksmith]?”

“You are,” Gordon said, “Some skills are broken up into multiple subskills. [Weaponsmith] is the [Blacksmith] skill for weapon crafting. There are quite a few smithing skills, and we’ll do our best to teach you all of them.”

Nathaniel nodded and placed the bronze blade into the flame. He followed Gordon’s instruction and pulled out the blade when it started to glow a dull red. He pounded out the blade until it was mostly evened out, but there were a few uneven lumps. Nathaniel wiped away the sweat from his brow.

“Now let it cool on the rack,” Gordon said pointing to a metal case with slotted shelves, “Let me know when the others are completed.”

Nathaniel nodded and picked up another blade. He fell into a rhythm of beating out the rough sword, and he finished the second blade quicker than the first. Nathaniel replicated the process and found that each blade came out smoother than the one before. Four swords laid on the rack.

“What next?” Nathaniel said waving Gordon down.

“We build the handles,” Gordon said setting down four wooden dowels and a carving knife, “We’re going to carve these into handles.”

Gordon heated up the tang of the blade then pressed it into the dowel leaving a burnt spot. Nathaniel repeated the process on his own dowel. The two of them sat down outside of the forge carving a hole in the shape of the tang. It was a slow, calming process. Nathaniel looked up and saw the sun nearly in the center of the sky.

“Do you live in the village?” Nathaniel said.

“No, I’m not from here,” Gordon said blowing out the shavings, “I’m from a small village to the southeast called Treante. But when I was younger, I made a name for myself as a master smith. So, I was brought on to make weapons for the counter offensive.”

“Do you have any family back home?”

“A beautiful wife,” Gordon said with a sad smile, “She’s probably lonely with both her sons and husband so far from home.” Gordon gave Nathaniel a quick glance, “What about you hero?”

“My parents,” Nathaniel said with a deep frown, “My father wanted me to help work on the house, but now…I can’t. I can’t even talk to them anymore.”

Gordon nodded. They went back carving in silence and after a few hours they carved through the rods. Gordon led Nathaniel back inside. He heated up the tang again and slid the handle on causing a small flame to burst out. He repeated the process a few times until it fit snug on the blade. Then he heated up a bronze pommel and hammered it onto the bottom of the hilt. Nathaniel replicated the process and took the blades to the grinder to put an edge on it.

“Not bad kid,” Gordon said admiring the blades, “For a beginner. What’s your [Weaponsmith] level?”

“Level five,” Nathaniel said.

Gordon nodded with a small smile, “I’ll let you finish up the other two,” he said, “That’ll get you to level ten.”

“Yes sir,” Nathaniel said starting on the next handle.

“The boys and I are going to the tavern tonight,” Gordon said, “You want to join us?”

“Sure,”

Gordon smiled and went back to his work. Nathaniel silently worked on the handle. From carving the handle to grinding out the swords, he found serenity in the singular focus of trying to complete a task. Like forging the swords, Nathaniel’s work improved from one sword to another. Nathaniel placed the last bronze sword on the rack.

[Skill leveled: Weaponsmith Lv. 10]

[New recipe acquired: Bronze Sword]

“Level ten yet?” Gordon stepped up to him looking at the swords.

“Yes sir,” Nathaniel said, “And I have the bronze sword recipe too.”

Gordon slapped his shoulder, “Check your stats too.”

Nathaniel Light

(Health: 170/170) (Mana: 35/35)

• Class: Inventor Lv. 4

• Stats:

o Strength: 19

o Dexterity: 14

o Constitution: 20

o Intelligence: 110

o Wisdom: 22

o Charisma: 13

“My stat growth is imbalanced,” Nathaniel said scratching his head, “I get why intelligence increased by five points because of my class, but why did strength, constitution increase more than the others?”

“That’s because the skill that cause you to level up dictates stats growth,” Gordon said, “In this case, [Smithing] increases your strength. Constitution is a stat that increases every level regardless of the skills, but more exhausting skills increase it more.”

“I see,” Nathaniel said with a small smile, “So I can control my stat growth.”

“That’s right son,” Gordon said with a laugh, “But you can think about this later. After you’ve had a few beers.”

“Lead the way.”

Gordon and his sons led Nathaniel out of the fort. Soldiers were marching through the muddy streets. A few of the villagers waved at them as they passed, and Gordon responded with a large smile. A group of young women waved at Ramsey and Moses with sly smiles which they responded with a wave of their own.

“You’re pretty well known around here,” Nathaniel said with a laugh.

“We’ve done some extra work for the village,” Gordon said waving to an elderly couple, “Establishing a good report with the community helps make our jobs easier.”

“And it helps you with getting dates,” Ramsey said with snicker.

Gordon entered a single-story building with a mug sign hanging from the rafters. It was loud inside. Farmers, workers, and soldiers crowded inside trying to enjoy the last remaining hours of the day. Gordon led them through the crowd to the only remaining table.

A middle-aged barmaid approached, “Evening Gordon, what can I get ya’ boys?”

“Four beers and a roasted chicken please,” Gordon said. The barmaid nodded and gave him a flirty wink. Gordon chuckled as he saw Nathaniel’s face, “Darling there’s sweet, but can’t compete with the missus.”

“She just looking for a big tip, pa,” Ramsey said with a chuckle. The three of them started howling.

“I guess something things don’t change, no matter the world,” Nathaniel said laughing with them.

“So, son,” Gordon said, “Rumor has it that you and the Lady Oracle ‘ve been getting cozy. That true?”

“You lucky bastard,” Ramsey said with a toothy grin.

Nathaniel laughed with them, “No, she’s just doing her job,”

Gordon sighed, “Son, I bet you a gold coin that she’s waiting for you,” he said as the barmaid brought their order. Gordon pulled off a wing, “But let’s talk about next week. I think we’ll get your [Smelting] to level ten then teach you [Runesmith]. That way we can get your important skills before you hit the first breaker level.”

Nathaniel grabbed a drumstick, “What’s a breaker level?”

“It’s what we call every twentieth level,” Moses said chugging his beer.

“You’ll start gaining less experience when you hit level twenty,” Gordon continued, “This makes it harder to level up your current skills and even newer ones. Most people stop trying to gain class levels because of it. Hence, the name.” Nathaniel stared at his cup with a furrowed brow, “Don’t worry son,” Gordon patted his shoulder, “Basic and Intermediate ranks tend to break at level twenty. Heroes are said to break around sixty.”

“But that’s because there’s nothing left to challenge them,” Ramsey said, “There's no need to grow when nothing will touch you!”

“What if I want to reach level one hundred?” Nathaniel said.

Gordon leaned over, staring him in the eyes, “Then you need to find yourself a burden,” he said taking a drink, “My old man kept telling me ‘find something that keeps pushing you no matter what.’” Nathaniel nodded at the advice, “You want to reach level one hundred, then make it a good one,” He gave a toothy grin, “Like getting the most beautiful woman in the kingdom to fall for you.” The boys laughed as Nathaniel shook his head.

Nathaniel enjoyed the warmth and life of the tavern. After a few beers and a slight buzz, the four of them left and headed back to the fort. It was another beautiful, but cold night. Nathaniel waved bye to the group and headed back to his room. As he approached the door, he noticed a shadow standing next to it.

“Did you enjoy your night out?” Ophelia said stepping into the light.

“I did,” Nathaniel said. I owe Gordon a gold coin. “Would you like to come in?”

“I’m afraid I can’t,” Ophelia said with a frown, “I came to check on your status.” Nathaniel relayed the information. “You’re doing well,” she said with a smile, “You’ll be level ten by the end of the week.”

“Can I walk you to your room?”

Ophelia smiled warmly, “Thank you, but you need to get ready for tomorrow,” she said turning to leave, “Goodnight.”

“Night,” Nathaniel said watching her leave.

Ophelia disappeared, and Nathaniel sighed heavily as he headed to bed.