* ding * * ding * * ding * * ding * * ding *

“Another fine work if I do so say so myself” I mutter after finishin’ up my latest order.

With my morning work out of the way, I head for the door and pick up the mail. Hmmm… seems like it's a request for private trainin’ from a Junior Disciple.

Takin’ a peak at the contents, the disciple's name is… Shiro. Hmm… I don’t remember such a name, must be a new recruit from the previous selections?

I then look at their profile information to get a better understandin’ of who they were... A catkin and only 12 years old? That is definitely a new one...

Thinkin’ back, I suddenly remember somethin’. If I remember correctly there was a catkin who came and made some strange dagger which was passed around the guild as the joke of the selection. Could it be the same little missy?

I then continue readin’ and see the little missy is level 1 in their non-combat job and has level 3 [Blacksmithing], pretty impressive for such a youn' age...

There is also a note that the little missy also had a recent lesson with Doran, an Intermediate Disciple.

* sigh *

That is the problem with new disciples, they are too much in a hurry. Instead of soakin’ in the information they get, they try to jump for latest opportunity to go further. Blacksmithing is all about patience, decades and decades worth of patience.

With that, I decided to reject the application while reprimandin' the little missy for bein' too eager. I still skim through the rest of the information on the profile though to see if I can offer any extra advice.

Hmm… little missy is definitely pretty talented, accordin’ to Doran, the little missy can already smith Bronze to perfection, and can even smelt Iron to some extent. That is pretty impressive progress for just 10 days…

Doran also seems to have approved the little missy smelting of Iron as well. And while I understand where he is commin’ from, if it were me, I would have delayed it a bit more to prevent the little missy from gettin’ too conceited.

After that, I proceed to read through the notes at the bottom which includes things like the quality score of the little missy's quota submissions and other notes… Boy oh boy, the little missy seems to be pickin' up the best quality ones, while submittin' the lower quality stuff to the guild. While that is not exactly against the rules as lon' as the quality is acceptable, the practice is pretty frowned upon. Well… it is not uncommon amongst new recruits, so I’ll let is slide for a few months.

Though… the quality score is sure improvin' at a pretty odd rate… it seems the little missy has already hit average quality score for smelting iron… and what?!?! The little missy already made an [Iron Blacksmithing Hammer] with an average quality score?

I go back to the top of the page to confirm, level 1 non-combat job and level 3 [Blacksmithing]… I read that part correctly… It is not strange that someone with level 3 [Blacksmithing] is able to make average quality Iron items. But that should be the peak of their ability, and that is considerin' they got some [PER] to assist them and lots of experience. For the little missy to improve at such an astonishin' rate is really peculiar…

Ya know what? I’ll accept the application this time around. Part of the privileges of bein' an Advanced Disciple is the ability to test the disciple to see if they are worthy of my trainin', and if they fail, I can end the trainin' right on the spot. If I set aside a few hours or so, it shouldn’t be a problem. I want to see how far this little missy can go, and at same time teach the little missy a thin’ or two about rushin’ too fast.

Lookin’ at my schedule, I have some free time in 5 days, so on my way to breakfast, I deposit my approval for the private lessons on that day.

…

The day of the lesson came and the little missy came over. When I questioned what the little missy wanted to learn, the answer I got was “smelting of steel”.

* sigh *

The little missy is definitely in too much of a hurry, but I got the perfect challenge just for the occasion! I take out an [Iron Ore] and make the little missy smelt it without gettin' below the quality score of 6. To be honest, this test is a bit harder than a normal test. Usually I would pick out an [Iron Ore] with a quality score of 6.95 or above, givin' much more head room. This ore though has a quality score of only 6.7, so the little missy has at least 0.25 less headroom than a typical test.

Lookin’ at the little missy's expression, the little missy seems to be quite shaken when confronted with the difficulty of the assignment... Ya need to be able to do at least this much if ya want to handle Steel little missy! ...Hmmm? Drool?

A wide smile appears on the little missy’s face as the little missy begins to smelt the ore. After about an hour, the little missy presents me with the result… I couldn’t believe what I was seein', quality score of 6.5?!?! How?

Well that was unexpected, but a dwarf always keeps his promises. So I show the little missy how to properly smelt steel. Once done, I use the opportunity to test the little missy yet again. Only to be shocked even more!

The test required the little missy to get a score of at least 3 when smelting steel, but what I got back was an astonishin' 4.2! How could this possible be? On my first attempt at makin’ steel, I barely hit a quality score of 1! And people said I was fairly talented…

But the little missy was not done just yet. The little missy now wanted me to impart the techniques for the smithing steel… Alright then, that is it little missy! Enough of this!

For the next assignment, I force the little missy to make a dagger with a quality score of at least 6 out of the 6.5 quality score [Iron Ingot]. Simply put, this test is impossible. Someone who has only level 1 of a non-combat job and [Blacksmithing] of level 3 can never accomplish this task even if a miracle happened! Of course, I am not doin' this to harm the little missy, as this is the minimum requirement ya need to pass to smith steel.

But contrary to my expectations, the result was beyond understanding. Not only did the little missy manage to make an [Iron Dagger] with a quality score of 6, lookin' at the handiwork left me completely stunned. There was some sloppiness here and there, but no matter how I look at it, the little missy’s [Blacksmithing] is level 4!

Was the little missy that close to gettin' [Blacksmithing] to level 4 at the selections?

Givin' up contemplatin', I proceed to show the little missy how to smith a steel hammer. Once I finish and explain everythin', I again challenge the little missy, this time to smith a [Steel Dagger] with a quality score of at least 3. Now that I am aware of the little missy’s smithing abilities, I would say odds of a quality score above 3 is about 50/50?

After the little missy finishes and hands me the final result with an innocent smile. I take a look and evaluate the results…

BY THE GODS! WHAT KIND OF MADNESS IS THIS?!?!?

My eyes open wide and jaw slacks in complete astonishment, this isn’t anymore in the realm of mortals! There is so much wron' here I don’t even know where to start! The first shocker is obviously the quality score of about 4.4! On ya’r first attempt, gettin' such a quality score is border line crazy!

But if was only that... lookin' at the craftsmanship, the little missy’s [Blacksmithing] level is 5! When?!? How!?!

And if that was the end to the madness, I would die a happy dwarf. The dagger on top of all this has a bonus option! A bonus option is not somethin' ya can just gain through hard work!

This is unbelievable! How am I suppose to believe somethin' like this?!?! No one will believe this madness!

Then suddenly an idea came up and a grin appears on my face… if nobody will believe it, then isn’t this the perfect opportunity? The competition is right around the corner, and it is customary for the advanced and senior disciples to bet on who will be the champion.

Of course this is mostly formalities, because generally everyone knows who is goin' to win. So most of us just bet on the most likely candidate, and those with more guts bet on the underdogs. As-is, the little missy can’t win, but with some guidance it might just be possible…

I then go in and take out some high quality [Coal Ore] and [Iron Ore] and hand it over to the little missy. Once the little missy agreed, we made plans for some extra lessons until the competition.

After the private lesson, I tested the little missy one more time to see how well the little missy improved. I even required the use of little missy’s own [Iron Ingot], not because I was bein' cheap or anythin', but to put more pressure on the little missy! It is easy to waste the materials other give ya, but usin' ya'r own materials puts ya under far more pressure, thus forcin' ya give in more effort.

The results? The little missy was able to make an average quality [Steel Dagger] without any issue… of course this improvement was within my calculations, but it still terrifies me at how unreasonable this rate of improvement is.

The little missy also borrowed a [Coal Ore] for a prototype, which I was at first a bit confused, but thinkin' it over it was not an issue if it gets results.

Then came the last lesson before the competition, and we started the lesson as per usual. But shortly after, the little missy seemed less than satisfied. Askin' as far as watchin' a Senior Disciple make somethin' over me! THE NERVE! I could not believe the audacity!

At first, I was goin' to explode and throw the little missy out! But thinkin' about it a bit, the little missy seems to have hit a bottleneck, so it isn’t without reason to want to see variety of smithing techniques from others. So after ponderin’ about it for a while, I relented and went to fetch Fam.

After Fam showed the little missy how to smith a dagger, and watchin' the little missy’s elated response, I was even more ticked off!

When we came back to my quarters, I showed a few more stuff here and there. And when there were only few hours left till dinner, the little missy wanted to smith a prototype which I agreed with. Though unfortunately, I did not have the liesure to watch the little missy smith the prototype as I was already far too behind on my work.

When the time came to say goodbye, the little missy showed me the prototype in question while beamin' at me with high expectations to critique the little missy's work. Interestingly enough, the dagger looked quite odd for it to be made out of steel as it had this whitish tint ya would not find on a normal steel dagger... Though with my experiences with the little missy so far, I was prepared for anythin'...

I took the dagger and examined it.

Holy-Steel Healing Dagger

A poor quality dagger made out of holy-steel

+2 STR +2 DEX +2 AGI +2 VIT +1 INT +1 WIS +50 ATK

[Healing Stream] +5 HP every minute (5 holy power is consumed per minute)

Holy Power: 12/100

[Made by Shiro]

Durability: 400/400

Quality 1.001/10.000

Well... almost anythin'...

How the heck did the little missy manage to get [Holy-steel Ingots]?!?! Those things are not somethin' ya can usually get ya'r hands on... Not to mention the fact that my forge is not capable of smithing Holy-steel to begin with! Thinkin' up to there, I realized how stupid I was bein' contemplatin' these turn of events!

This little missy sure is a naughty one! I heard when a master gets disciples, they like to play pranks on ya from time to time. And this must be one of those pranks! It is not uncommon for beastkin to go work at the church when they come to this town. The little missy must have somehow convinced the priest to lend some Holy-steel and smithed it there. Though... I don't remember the church havin' a forge... but it isn't like I know all the details about it...

Then afterwards, the little missy must have pretended to smith a dagger, and swapped it once it was complete!

With that mystery solved, I began to seriously examine the dagger... While the quality score was barely at the bottom limit, it was still quite the attempt at a magical item. Makin' a magical item is extremely difficult, and goes beyond just the concept of smithing. Just because ya are a good smith does not guarantee ya will be able to make magical items. Many never pass the wall between makin' regular items and magic items.

The reason for this is the extreme difficulty of makin' the magic formation bind to the item at hand. To give an example, it is like carvin' thousands of patterns into a cube, and rotatin' the cube at the perfect timin' and angle to prevent any water from spilling. But it does not end there, because that would only make the item magical. To actually give it a form of magic it can actually use, that would be like puttin' some holes in the lines, and ensurin' the water only runs through certain lines while ultimately endin' up in the select holes.

And if that doesn't sound hard enough, ya are not dealin' with a cube but a unique shaped object like a dagger! On top of that, ya'r balancin' not with ya'r delicate hands but with a blunt hammer! This is the unsurmountable wall that separates the Intermediate Disciples aka the 'trainees' from the Advanced Disciples who are recognized as true blacksmiths!

Some pride welled up in me knowin' the one I taught is at the forefront of that unsurmountable wall that many failed to reach... Of course, some of it was also bitter as well rememberin' how many decades of lon' and hard sweat it took me just to get to that same wall. I guess geniuses are somethin' else ha? Though if I may be a bit biased, I think the little missy could probably put even geniuses to shame...

The little missy probably got the Healing smithing formula from the church as well, but makin' Holy-steel for the actual exam would be pretty difficult due to lack of a proper forge... So I should probably provide the little missy with some other formulas to attempt at the competition. But before that, I need to confirm the technique the little missy is usin' to craft the magical items. Each person's mana is unique and each person's disposition is different. So unlike regular smithing, each person has to develop their own technique to smith magical items. While ya can base the principals of other's techniques, the overall result would still vary from person to person.

The little missy most likely used a variation of my technique as a base, but I still need to know the fine details so that I can assist in ripenin' the little missy's talent. I would have liked to have gotten a head start in understandin' the technique used by the little missy through the dagger... but... for some strange reason, I can't seem to figure out even what blacksmithing level was used to make this... Then a dreaded thought came into my head...

No! It can't be... the little missy couldn't have already surpassed me and hit Blacksmithing level 6... that wouldn't be the case... I most likely can't tell the level it was made due to it bein' so beat up...

Pullin' myself away from such ridiculous notions, I face the little missy who has been starin' at me this entire time in expectation...

"Ya did really well! If ya improve upon this, the competition is in the bag!" I declared.

"Really?!?!" the little missy excitedly exclaimed while rapidly swingin' the tail left and right.

I was goin' to chasten the little missy for not havin' the tail under control in the work place, but let it go just this once considerin' the occasion.

"Now then little missy, can ya clarify the technique ya used in the forgin' of this dagger? Once I know ya'r technique, I can offer ya some tips in improvin' it to fit ya better" I proposed.

"Sure! So I paid attention to how you were working with the magical items and noticed that it had something to do with the flow of magical power. So what I did was kind of felt for the magical power... kinda hard to explain... its this feeling... and then when I felt the magic power going out or the wrong way, I gave it a good whack!" the little missy explained with enthusiasm.

"A good whack?" I questioned as I must have misheard...

"Yup, a good whack!" the little missy confirmed with a beamin' smile while imitatin' a whack

"Ha?..." My voice inadvertently leaked out.

"Hmm?" the little missy responded with a fadin' smile, seemingly confused by my bafflement.

BY THE GODS! Magical item creation is a delicate process! Ya don't just 'whack' magic items into existence! If that were so, all the smiths of generations past would be rollin' in their graves! What do ya want me to tell the millions of Blacksmiths who failed to cross that audacious wall? 'Did ya give it a good whack?'. If all it took was a good whack to cross that wall, blacksmiths would be more common than herb collectors!

This ridiculous atrocity to blacksmithing ends now! I must set this little missy straight before it gets out of hand!

"Now see here little missy..." I said then paused for a good minute as I remembered an ancient proverb... 'If it ain't broken, don't fix it'. The competition is tomorrow, if I try to correct the way the little missy does things now, who knows what will happen. So lets just leave it as-is and fix it another day!

"Make sure to give it a really good whack for the competition!" I encouraged.

"Yup! I will!" the little missy beamed in delight.

With that, we said our goodbyes and the thought of givin' the formulas somehow slipped my mind. I didn't even remember afterwards as a new thought flooded my mind. I walked to the bar while thinkin' about the question that has been plaguin' my mind for quite a while... that question bein' "how much should I bet?"

If I choose a small amount, nothin' will change... but If I bet a significant amount...

"Give me some stron' ale!" I exclaimed as I sat on the chair by counter.

I could either make it or break it... hmmmm....

"Here ya go old Gregon!" replied the barmaid.

"Thanks!" I responded, and gulped the entire glass of ale which somehow tasted more like water today than an alcoholic beverage.

My mind was totally on this one decision that could make or break my entire life...

* THUD *

"Another!" I yelled.

This is not a decision I can make lightly... I am already fairly old and have not progressed very far... Fam who came many years later already surpassed me, and I don't think I will make it to a Senior Disciple in my lifetime... Should I retire and go back to my grandfather's old smithy?...

"Here ya go!"

Damn! This is not a decision I can just make as I am... my entire life depends on this one decision! There is no way I can just make it while bein' sober!

* THUD *

"Get me a [Dwarf Destroyer]!" I announced.

The bar that was so loud with dwarfs drinkin' and dancin' suddenly quited down and everyone stared at me.

"Ya sure about this old Gregon?" the barmaid questioned somewhat concerned.

"Yes I am sure! I ain't as weak as ya youngins! Now get me one pronto!" I declared payin' everyone stares no mind.

The barmaid hesitated for a short while, then went to unlock a small vault. Takin' out the good stuff, the barmaid poured me a glass.

I took a sip and a stron' taste filled my mouth! That's certainly the good stuff! As I began to gulp it down, the audience began to cheer!

* THUD *

"Another!" I yelled.

And the audience went wild!

The barmaid looked at me completely shocked, then shortly got it together and tried to address me.

"I don't think that is such a good..."

"I zaid ghet meee anotha! All damn 5 of ya!" I yelled on the top of my lungs!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next mornin', I woke up with a killer headache... Where the hell am I? ouch! ouch!

I got up and took a look around... after a while it finally hit me that I was in the medical ward. Though I have no recollection of why I was here in the first place... Did I maybe get injured durin' smithing somethin'? Though judgin' by my somewhat intact body and the killer headache, unless I was hit by a hammer to the head... that would seem unlikely...

And this darn headache feels far worse than bein' hit to the head by a hammer!

I slowly get up, and walk to the front of the medical ward.

"Hey old Gregon! Glad ya are up, we almost lost ya there! Make sure to take some of this medicine" spoke Krakon, the Blacksmithing Guild's doctor.

"Ha... What happened?" I asked in confusion as I swallow the bitter medicine.

"Well... I'll tell ya what happened old Gregon, ya renewed ya'r respect with the entire guild! that is what happened! I mean downin' 5 glasses of [Dwarf Destroyer], I can't even imagine survivin' past 2!" explained Krakon.

Well now I know why I feel like I've been run over by a [Hell Boar]...

"So what day is it now? My memory is in full of jumbles..." I inquired.

"Oh, today is the day of the competition! I wish ya luck on ya'r entry! Or should I maybe say hopefully ya'r pick does a 'Good Whack'? har-har-har" Krakon laughed.

"Good whack? What in blazes are ya talkin' about?" I questioned somewhat perplexed.

To be honest, I didn't even realize the competition is already today! The whole of last week feels like a total blur...

"Ya don't remember? Ya bet 25 platinum coins on the catkin missy! Talk about a vote of confidence for the dark horse!" Krakon exclaimed.

25 PLATINUM COINS?!?! THAT IS MY ENTIRE LIFE SAVINGS!!!! AND NOT ON A DWARF BUT ON A CATKIN?!?! HAVE I GONE MAD?!?!? DID WE EVEN HAVE A CATKIN? OUCH! OUCH!

With my head hurtin' from the headache, and now another headache bein' added on top of it, my head began to hurt like hell! So not wastin' any more time, I confirmed the most important detail I need to get out of the way as soon as possible!

"W-Where is Tagon, I need to cancel my bet before it's too late!" I yelled while holdin' my head from the pain.

"Now ya of all people should know that all bets are final old Gregon... Ya'r just gonna have to lay ya'r hopes on that 'Good Whack' ya've been tellin' us all about!" Krakon informed.

I DON'T HAVE A DARN CLUE ON WHAT IN THE HELL YA'R TALKIN' ABOUT! All I know is my head feels like its gonna explode, and so is my life savings!

Not payin' Krakon any more mind, I head for the venue of the competition which has already begun, actually by the looks of things, it was already commin' to a close! When I entered in, one by one, the dwarfs came up to congratulate me on my legendary achievement of downin' 5 [Dwarf Destroyers] and livin' to tell the tale. But my mind was elsewhere as I surveyed the contestants to figure out who I placed my entire life savings on!

And then I saw it... A CATKIN CHILD! I BET MY ENTIRE LIFE SAVINGS... ON A CHILD!

I must have gone crazy for sure...

I fell on my knees in dismay as all life drained away from me...

And if there were any hopes left, Algon truly shattered it to smithereens! Quality score of 8 and a high bonus option, it's game over! My life is officially over!

I wallowed in despair as my headache got stronger and stronger!

I was only awoken up by Tagon's loud outburst

“Oh! The little catkin missy… I was waitin’ for ya’r turn. Old Gregon has gone senile and bet 25 platinum coins on ya winnin’. So I was wonderin’ what ya will have in store for us! I hope ya gave it a ‘good whack’...har-har-har”

I looked up as Tagon took out the dagger that was made by the little missy... And when I saw that dagger, suddenly some familiarity started to seep in... A dwarf may forget everythin', but they will never forget a craftsmanship they once saw!

And with that, the strongest headache yet had assaulted me as my memories started to flow back in! Now I remember!

As I tried to sort through the overflow of my memories, I was again woken up from my stumper by Tagon's loud voice!

“Well I guess it is time to wrap things up! Congratulations Junior Disciple Shiro! Ya are the winner of this competition!”

WHAT?!?!? THE LITTLE MISSY WON?!?! That means....

“YAHOOOOOOOOOO!!!! DRINKS ARE ON ME!!" I yelled, overshadowin' all the other voices in the room!

Time to party till I'm drunk!!!