From the time span of a few hours, the only thing Duncan could remember was picking up the raw iron ore and a skill level up before he passed out.

As he came to himself Bolgar was standing leaning over him and slapping his face.

“Boy, are you stupid? Not stopping to drink. Do you think your stamina is endless? You need to eat and drink,” Bolgar said before he gently slapped him one more time.

“I brought you to Wazsh. I figured he would know what to do. He gave you some water. Now eat this,” Bolgar said before he brought a plate of roasted rat legs towards Duncan who picked himself from the ground to a chair.

“No. No. I am ok,“ Duncan said and waved his hand dismissively. Bolgar looked at him funny until Duncan’s stomach started to betray him and rumbled from hunger.

Bolgar put on an evil smile and said, “Eat this, or I am going to chew it up and feed you like a little birdie. The sooner you are fed the sooner we can go back to work.”

Wazsh stood at the bar and laughed himself silly.

“Well, who is Beeped now?” he exclaimed and Duncan returned to him the old stink-eye.

Duncan took the offered plate with the roasted rat leg with hesitation and put it against his nose sniffing it and as the delicious smell hit him, he started to drool. His inhibitions relaxed at the scent that reminded him a bit of chicken roasted drumsticks and he took a bite. The taste was great. A bit chewier than a chicken leg but nonetheless delicious. He made quick work of it and downed some more water with it.

“Was it good?” Wazsh asked him with a laugh as Duncan glared at him.

“Yes. It was good. So why all the fuss then?” he asked back.

“Try eating the same thing for 150 years and see how you like it. As they say, variety is the spice of life,” Wazsh explained.

Duncan grumbled, “I guess. I doubt I will live that long.”

“You will if you don’t die laddie. Now come on let’s get back to work,” Bolgar interjected before grabbing Duncan by the edge of his T-Shirt and practically dragging him back to the smithy.

“You have made 4 swords, there are still 30 to go. Make sure to have a pause and drink at least every 3 swords and when you are hungry tell me and I will get you some food,” Bolgar explained as he dragged Duncan.

Duncan nodded before asking, “How long have I been at your smithy and passed out?”

“I guess around 4 hours in the smithy and half an hour passed out and half an hour in recovery,” Bolgar elaborated as he finally let him go in front of the forge.

Duncan was not sure if the time he was given was the same as Earth’s time but he guessed it didn’t matter since this nightmare was bound to end sooner or later.

He picked up another raw iron ore and then checked his last notification which was minimized in the top right corner along with his log. He willed it into expanding itself.

[You have Learned Blacksmithing Level 4. ]

Strength +0.4

Dexterity +0.4

Perception +0.4

“Alright. Back to work,” he said before taking a big breath and clicking on Make.

Again, the process finished for him in what seemed less than a minute. He put it on the rack and went back to work.

After two more he paused and went to Bolgar to ask where the water was. He showed him a side door leading to his living quarters.

“Go through there and go straight till the end. You will find a barrel in the cold room at the end. There are also metal cups and a ladle. Drink as much as you want. Water is free,” Bolgar happily explained as he attached a finished pommel to a sword blade.

Duncan quickly returned and continued his monotone work for another three sword blades. There was no mention of skill level-ups but he was getting faster at it. He would not have noticed if Bolgar didn’t give a passing remark. It all seemed the same speed to him.

After another quenching of his thirst, he made another three sword blades before a new notification came.

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[ You have Learned Blacksmithing Level 5. ]

Strength +0.5

Dexterity +0.5

Perception +0.5

He stopped at Bolgar’s pommel station since he had some questions. He waited for a while.

“Are you hungry?” Bolgar finally asked.

“No. I am still OK. I have some questions,” Duncan replied.

“Sure. Out with them,” Bolgar hurried him on.

“Does leveling a skill slow down?” Duncan asked as he noticed it took significantly longer for his Blacksmithing skill to reach from 4 to 5 than it did from 3 to 4.

“It depends on what you are making I guess but yes it slows down. Right now, you were making an item that to make a normal quality you need to at least have level 4 in Blacksmithing. Level 3 already comes pretty close in fact. Your Identify skill must be low or you could see the quality of what you are making,” Bolgar explained.

“What are the different qualities?” Duncan asked.

“There is low, good, superior, excellent, perfect. Anything that is low quality is a waste of iron and is better to reforge. Good is enough for most people. I can make superior and excellent consistently with the short sword blades if I put my mind to it. There are also ranks. Needless to say, this is a normal rank item. The higher the level an item is and the higher rank the faster your crafting skill will level. Now get back to work. It will be sundown soon and dinner time,” Bolgar explained and then waved his hand.

Duncan made another three and went back to Bolgar.

“What quality am I making now?” he asked him.

“Hmmm. This one is superior,” Bolgar said as he used Identify and his eyes bulged out from his sockets.

“You are also getting faster all the time. Soon you might catch up to me in making this one item, but don’t get cocky. There are more challenging things in blacksmithing than the short sword blade. This is just the basics of the basics,” Bolgar continued.

Duncan nodded.

Bolgar put down the pommel he was working on with a big smile on his face and said, ”Come let’s get us some rats and BEER!”

Duncan thought about it for a second and then his stomach rumbled in agreement.

As they walked into the bar there were a couple of patrons already there. A guy that looked like an elf was elegantly holding a wine glass by the bar and sipping on it. He had long blonde hair with prominent pointy ears and a slim body. His face was kind of long but still pretty attractive. Dressed in a green tunic with lots of embroideries.

The dwarf and elf nodded to each other.

“That’s Elland. He is our local alchemist or potioneer. He’s an elf. Then that’s... Eh him you don’t need to know. In fact, stay away from him,” Bolgar explained.

They came to an empty table and Wazsh was quickly by their side.

“Good evening. The usual?” Wazsh asked.

Bolgar nodded before replying good evening.

“Good evening. I will have the same,” Duncan replied.

“Two orders of rat legs with beer coming right up,” Wazsh said with a smile.

As he went to get the order the other person who was at the bar came to their table.

“Bolgar, that was cold. Not even a greeting. I know I still owe you money for the arrowheads but I still have not been paid myself. Mayor promised me I will receive the payment this week. Will you not introduce me to your friend,” the guy who kind of looked like an elf but less slender and with a melodious voice exclaimed.

“Hmmmph. It’s your own damn fault for dealing with the mayor directly and even forgetting to charge an advance. How can you afford to drink beer here if you ain’t got no money?” Bolgar exclaimed.

“Wazsh has proven a better friend than you have during these troubling times. He gives me a beer a day on credit,” told the new guy.

“Let me introduce myself. I am Timor Featherleaf, the local bowmaker, and fletcher,” he exclaimed towards Duncan as he noticed Bolgar ignoring him.

“Duncan Russel. Are you an elf?” he asked.

The elf at the bar looked at him sternly but then turned away quickly.

Timor sighed, “A half-elf. My mother was human. Some people won’t let me forget it.”

Wazsh brought the dishes and beers.

“Here you go. Enjoy your RAT,” he exclaimed looking directly at Duncan’s eyes.

“Thank you,” Duncan said, looking directly back and taking a leg and taking a big chunk out of it right away.

“That reminds me. I have a spare room upstairs if you need a place to stay. Your timer will be up soon,” Wazsh asked.

“Are we done for today?” Duncan asked Bolgar.

“Yeah. No point working at night and we are making good progress,” Bolgar happily exclaimed while munching on a leg.

“I will take you up on that offer then,” Duncan replied to Wazsh.

“10 bronze per night with breakfast,” Wazsh replied.

“OK. You will show me where after dinner?” Wazsh nodded and went back to business topping off the elf’s wine glass as soon as he was back at the counter.

“Don’t worry about Elland. He just likes to play it cool. He is a sweetheart on the inside once you break through the hard shell with a sledgehammer,” Bolgar said and Elland choked on his wine before glaring at the dwarf.

Something tells me Bolgar really used a sledgehammer on Elland.

Bolgar laughed and continued eating while ignoring Timor who soon left after finishing his beer, not before saying good night to Duncan who replied the same.

After Bolgar finished his rat meat and beer he stretched and said good night.

“See you tomorrow. Just come when you wake up. I am way behind on the pommels anyway, so it doesn’t matter when you come,” Bolgar said before he left.