Tabitha meant to go to sleep after unlocking the Blacksmith path, but how could she after that reward ore?

Joseph, too, meant to go to sleep since it was late and he was old, but how could he go to sleep after seeing what she got?

The two ended up sitting next to each other at the only clean table Joseph had, sketching down different schematics for what they might be able to make. Originally, they were going to write down their ideas, but it turned out that neither of them could understand the other’s written language.

As far as Tabitha was concerned, they both spoke the same language, but the letters with which it was written were totally different for both of them.

So, they stuck to pictures.

They had all sorts of ideas for it, too.

All of Tabitha’s ideas had to do with hammers. The first idea she had was a giant, weaponized hammer. Unfortunately, they determined that it would be far too heavy for her to lift without seriously working out her muscles. Just pumping points into Strength wouldn’t do anything either, she found out. It would help a little bit, but not as much as actual exercise.

So, unless she could find a way to actually pick up a hammer that large, her main idea for it was out of the question.

Then there was the idea of turning it into a blacksmithing hammer. It would certainly be capable of flattening out metals better than a normal hammer, but there was also the gravity pulling effect it had. Such an effect could have unintended side effects when doing precise work. Though, she could always keep multiple hammers and just use that one when trying to hammer metal without having to worry about the gravity affecting anything.

But as Joseph explained to her when he heard that idea, a better hammer would be one with tags stacked on it that give tags to the product being made or that would boost her Dexterity, like his hammer. An extra heavy hammer would be able to flatten metal even more, but there were seriously diminishing returns at that point.

Tabitha’s final idea related to hammers was one of those industrial hammers she watched videos of before where a huge hammer would get dropped by a machine to flatten metal. But, while Joseph was interested in that concept, he had no idea how it would work. Neither of them knew how they would automate it like she explained to have it lift back up on its own before dropping back down. At least, neither could think of how to lift something that would be as heavy as the hammer in question.

Then there were Joseph’s ideas.

The first idea he had involved creating an alloy of it and iron to get more out of it and then turning it into an anvil. It would be an incredibly heavy anvil with extra gravity to keep crafts steady on top of it. Unfortunately, both this and the automated drop hammer idea that Tabitha had would be next to impossible for her to take with her when it was time to leave.

Joseph’s second idea was a guillotine. Technically, it was a good idea, but neither of them wanted to actually use such a rare metal on making a guillotine.

That was how they decided that trying to find a good use for it was actually really difficult.

Tabitha really wanted to turn it into a huge, oversized hammer that she could swing around when hunting monsters for materials. Unfortunately, even lifting the lump of ore out from under the floorboards took all of her strength to do so, and she couldn’t even lift it above her knees. If it was already that heavy, there was no way she’d be able to turn it into the oversized hammer of her dreams and wield it effectively.

Then she had a horrible idea.

“Oi, old man,” Tabitha said before letting out a long and loud yawn that caused Joseph to yawn as well.

“What is it?” Joseph asked in response.

“I got that crystal that can transfer tags from an achievement. Ya know which one I’m talkin’ about?”

“Yeah.”

“So, hypothetically, I could take that gravity tag off of the ore and put it in the crystal.”

“Right.”

“Then I could put that tag onto somethin’ else.”

Joseph nodded.

“So… what if I put it onto food and somebody ate it?”

“… what?”

“What do ya think would happen to somebody’s insides if they’ve got a mini gravity well sittin’ in their stomach?”

“I think it’s time we go to sleep.”

“Probably not a bad idea. But seriously, what do ya think would happen?”

“How am I supposed to know? I’ve never thought of anything like that before.”

“Darn. Well, alright. Maybe we’ll figure somethin’ out in the mornin’. Brainstorm a bit in the mornin’, then I’ll go minin’ as promised, and then I’ll finish that quest ya gave me yesterday once it’s dark.”

“I’d question whether you’re able to handle it, but after today, I won’t bother.”

“Heh. Also… it’s pretty darn dark out. I uh, don’t exactly have a place to stay. Ya got a spare bed or anythin’?”

“I think Hanne planned on you staying over there for a few days, but you’d disturb everybody if you go over this late. I’ve got an extra blanket and pillow, but you’ll have to sleep on the floor.”

“I wouldn’t mind that.”

“Then the floor is yours.”

With that, Joseph led Tabitha into the house attached to the blacksmith shop. The inside of the house was nowhere near as messy nor as dangerous as the shop. If anything, it was almost eerily empty. It looked like he had practically nothing to his name that wasn’t inside the shop.

Tabitha was hoping she’d maybe get to see a bunch of pictures of him and his family or something like she usually saw whenever she went into old people’s homes, but there was nothing like that. Just emptiness. She felt lonely just being in there.

While Tabitha stood waiting around in the kitchen, Joseph brought her a couple of blankets and a pillow. “Put one down to sleep on and the over you,” he said.

“Sounds good,” Tabitha said. “Thanks, by the by. Not sure what I’d do without ya lettin’ me stay here.”

“Don’t worry about it. Just don’t wake me up and I’ll be happy. Don’t touch any of my food, either. And don’t touch anything else.”

Tabitha looked around again. There wasn’t exactly anything for her to touch that would get her in trouble, but she nodded anyways.

With that settled, Joseph went into the back room and shut the door behind him. Tabitha figured that was his bedroom. As for her bedroom, that would be the kitchen floor that she laid one blanket on and then lay atop that. She was still too hot from spending all day in his shop, so she didn’t bother covering herself up and rested her head against the feather-stuffed pillow.

She never fell asleep faster than she did on that kitchen floor. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but her body was ready to knock out the second she allowed it to.