'Sigh'

Dropping the Meryol drink on the bartop, Noah lamented over his miserable life. Just thinking about it made his head hurt. The past week was really something. To the point that this was turning into something absurd. For proof, need to look no further than at him. His panda eyes would scare the crap out of someone. If he had to describe it, a zombie on depression should do it.

'Sigh'

"You're looking worse for wear."

He glanced at the corner of his eye to see which busybody was there to disturb his cherished break. The only time he could unwind a bit during the entire freaking day.

His eyes widened slightly, surprised to see that person here.

A young woman was standing there in office wear, a mix of both modern and aristocratic. She was Asian, as evidenced by her facial features. Her straight jet-black hair let down like a waterfall behind her back. She was sporting smart glasses on herself with her dark eyes peering out through them displaying a nonchalant attitude.

Though obviously not in the mood to talk, there was no escaping from this.

"It's Seo-Yeon-ssi, huh."

Noah took a sip out of the drink. He had come to know her from their group. She stood out as the most active one to everyone. Making rounds in the town. She took it upon herself to act as an informant. Gathering new info and sharing them around, for a price of course.

"Nothing new. My condition's just acting up."

"That so. Just in case, you should consult someone. No need to look at me that way, I'm just saying."

She said seeing Noah give an annoyed look.

"You think I haven't, Ajhumma"

Her right eye twitched.

"You shouldn't act rude like that. Here I thought we could be considered good acquaintances. That's why I give you a special discounted price."

Even someone as dense as him could predict where the conversation would be steering towards from a mile away.

She could be stingy as fuck. Don't look at him. He was telling this from first-hand experience.

"Sheesh, ok Noona. What brought you here? If I'm not wrong, you should be in Town Hall right now."

"Lunch break. I'm here for usual." She seated herself beside him and leaned on the countertop.

"Oh, my ears are all open." A business opportunity, it seems.

"The transcripts first."

"No good acquaintances now, eh?"

"This is business. I like to keep personal matters separate from it."

"Sure, sure. Here you go." Reaching into his satchel by his side, he took out a few scrolls and handed them to her.

And for whatever reason, if anyone was having the ridiculous assumption of him acquiring a magic bag within a week here with no prior contacts or resources, I would like to say, you're precious.

Of course, He would have loved to have a magic bag. Alas, its price is off the roof with even the most basic ones starting from 1 gold coin. In his opinion, it was no different than daylight robbery. If one isn't able to wrap their heads around that, let me make it more clear. An average household here earned in silvers in a year.

Meanwhile, Seo-Yeon finished checking out the scrolls.

"Is this all?"

Pointing to the scrolls, he began explaining.

"That's general knowledge and this one is the political landscape. I would say that's aplenty."

She seemed to be satisfied with how quickly she stashed it in her bag.

"Hmm, Sounds good. This stuff should take a good chunk of your time. How do you make space for it? "

"Let's just say I have got a lot of free time."

A small chuckle escaped.

"Got something to share."

"No, it's just I imagined you scribbling through the night writing these scrolls like a madman."

"Sooo, anything new popping up?" He wished she would just move on. He was waiting for her to hold her side of the bargain.

"Well, firstly, there is the gang who attempted to escape again."

"They are quite stubborn, aren't they? What is it, the third time already? When are they going to learn?" Their attempts had made them the talk of the town, especially around the Trainees. Guess it was something to entertain the people who have been suddenly disconnected from the net.

"I know, right. But hear me out, the more important part was that they were let through."

"Oh, interesting. Continue."

"Apparently, the patrol guards became tired of checking over all the time and allowed them to leave through the gate. Those fools." She snickered after finishing..

"Hmm, I take it there is little to no chance of them coming out of this."

"Yeah, the forest is not made for inexperienced Trainees. My sources told me that even Professionals go out in groups when attempting long expeditions in the Creep."

"Still, that is coming short of the info. You need to give me more to play with."

"How about the fact that there are few wizards residi-"

"Mages"

"What?"

"Formally, They are called mages."

"Yeah, mages whatever. The point is I got a few addresses here. Some of them are running magic shops. And one of them even teaches personal lessons for magic."

"Hmm, I know most of that information. Only the lecturer one piques my interest a bit. Give me something more."

"Oh oh oh, someone should backpedal a few steps. I'm running a business here. I give you the information in return for your work. Whether it is useful to you is not of my concern."

"Really? I got some sources too which can help me gather this info, for free too."

"Noah, you don't want to do this."

"I ain't asking much. Just a piece that is actually worth something."

She stood stoically not buckling under pressure. Well, guess what, Two can play that game.

"Just to let you know, there was this one book I came across that detailed some pretty important topics like the market economy and all."

The stern facade cracked a bit as she reassessed the pros and cons.

He knew the cat was in the bag. Someone who was information-hungry like her won't let something like this pass by. And sure she opened up eventually.

"Okay, I heard some snippets. It's a juicy one. There is a festival coming sometime next month here."

"I'm listening."

"Many VIPs are going to make a visit. According to local people themselves, It is pretty much unprecedented for the festival to gain that much attention. "

"You think it has something to do with us being here?"

"No clue regarding that. Only speculations but I would bet my money on something going on behind the scenes."

This new info got him into thinking. He looked towards her for any more clues.

"That's all I got." She could read his thoughts just from the curious look he gave her.

"Right." He responded absentmindedly, his mind thinking over what it could mean.

"I should head back now. Break's almost over. See you later."

"Yeah"

She finished her drink and left the place.

Not getting anywhere with it, he decided to leave it for later.

'Yawn, I should take a nap.'

He wasn't able to have a proper sleep the entire last week. Hope he gets some rest.

Who was he kidding? As if he had that privilege.

Resting his head on the table, he closed his eyes to catch a small respite.

...

Noah abruptly opened his eyes to a familiar yet strange scenery.

He was standing in the hallway on the floor of Inn he was staying on.

"Of course. Ah shit, here we go again."

Swiftly gauging his surroundings; readying himself for an upcoming assault.

The nightmare, yeah that one. It turned out to be a stubborn son of a bitch. Almost every night turned into a tussle between the monster and him. That bastard was thinking it was some kind of game. Always luring him to different levels. Sometimes in the open training field, other times in the town center, and then there were some other obscure places like the bath. That was some sicko mode shit. All he wanted was to sleep.

The worse thing was that it was learning. At first, he was summoned in open spaces allowing him to escape easily but gradually spaces are becoming more confined. New tricks like ambushing, cornering, dual-pronged approaches were making an appearance in their fights. The last time was in the Town Hall.

'There it is'

The squirming mess of black goo was crawling up from the stairs. Looking back, he could spot a similar situation.

"Oh, aren't you feeling naughty today? Can't face me head-on, you sick-fuck."

One can see the whole fiasco had taken its toll on him.

Ripping out a painting, he aimed at the goo and gave a solid spin throw. The makeshift shuriken traversed the distance between them within an instant and ripped out a solid chunk. He has had enough practice throwing various furniture in the last couple of days.

Another thing. It is becoming weaker by the day, thankfully for god's sake.

He had to take care of it fast, he had no interest in losing more sleep than he was already losing.

"No choice but to bring out the big guns."

Reaching out, he ripped out the crystal lamps from each side of the hallway.

"HAHAHAHA" It made the mistake of throwing them in the Inn, which is filled with crystal lamps placed almost everywhere.

Charging maniacally straight at the monstrosity now standing upright in a humanoid form, he threw the first one.

The monstrosity acted fast by slapping it to the side but still an explosion rocked the floor. Within the window of opportunity provided by it, he threw the second one.

This one managed to hit a major part despite its obvious attempt at dodging.

The hallway got splattered all over in the explosion while he dived in coming out the other side. He then made a run out of the Inn.

After a decent amount of distance was placed between them, his vision started blurring signaling his successful escape.

Finally, He was allowed to have a decent sleep rest of the way.

...

The nap was short-lived. It had to be. For that cheating freak also grew stronger the longer he slept at a time. Because of course, it did. So, he had to take several short naps instead of long periods of sleep to rest his body.

How did he come to know all this? primarily observational analysis. And some well-meaning advice from Hezor.

Okay, it was mostly the latter. There was a letter placed at his desk when he got home that same day detailing possible situations he could be facing and countermeasures against them.

Quite generous of him, if he were to say.

There was only this thing he had to nitpick about, that is he had to be read that by Nephra for him to understand what the fuck it wanted to convey.

Stretching himself out in front of the Inn, he readied himself for the big day.

"Carpe diem, I guess."

Noah carried on toward his workplace.

...

Entering the shop, he greeted Zelus. The manager of Anvil Artisans. The guy he first met when he entered the Forge.

Zelus gave back a nod in acknowledgment.

Quite shocking, isn't it? Such a young-looking guy handling the business.

Keyword looking.

Looks can be deceiving, especially in a fantasy world. A near hundred-year-old adult elf shouldn't be entirely out of the realm of possibilities, right? RIGHT?

He wasn't much talkative. And by that Noah meant that he was strictly a stick-to-the-point guy. Apart from the first time he had met him and the short convo that followed, he couldn't count a single time he had taken the initiative to start a conversation with him.

That's why he took the revelation as calm as a brick,

In the aftermath of an earthquake after annoying the heck out of him for the better part of the last week. After all, He took Zelus as someone from the same age group. Plus the sweet bonus of making relations with someone on the inside. How could he resist it?

Now their entire interactions could be summed up in the few greetings they gave each other upon passing by.

'Sigh'

He was sighing a lot lately. What could he do otherwise, the world seems to be after him.

The first time he tries his hand at anything new, something disastrous seems to be waiting at the corner ready to screw him over.

Hopefully, this day could turn his lucky stars.

Entering the forge, he marched towards his workstation.

Nearing there, he began with a check over his tools and made sure he was adequately equipped to handle today's challenge.

Soon, steady footsteps reached his ears announcing his master's arrival.

"Make yourself ready" Gul said with a solemn look, in a rare instance of seriousness.

He responded by nodding with a similar look. Today was a very momentous day. He couldn't mess this up if he wished to progress.

He was ready to start.

Picking up his now trusty hammer, he started practicing on some armor plates right away. Very basic but a great exercise for smithing. Allowing him to practice shaping and moulding pretty effectively.

That's why it had become kind of a staple for him to work on plating. Most here now knew him as the guy who spent way too much time hammering down those plates.

What could he say? He enjoyed the activity. And anything more was mostly out of his reach right now. He needed constant supervision if he had to churn out something decent.

That's why today was important. He would finally attempt making a good bladed weapon by himself.

"The forge's ready." Gul reached out to him while wiping his sooty hands using a cloth.

Nodding, He got on to quickly finish the present batch and collected his tools. He needed them if he was to succeed in his endeavor.

Moving over the granite floor, the fire from the nearby forges was reflected in his eyes.

With him stopping in front of the design table, Gul began speaking.

"I want you to make me a single-edged short blade with a ring guard. Nothing too crazy. You should be able to manage it, I suppose."

"I hope so" Noah muttered under his breath anxiously.

"Well, Best of luck mate. I will be watching from the sidelines this time." Saying so, he stepped to the side gesturing him to begin hammering.

it's showtime.

Bringing out a new ingot, he shoved it in the flaming forge.

While letting it soak in the heat, he closed his eyes to condition his mind for the upcoming challenge.

Clanging sounds echoed in his ears, the noises around him became muffled.

He was ready.

His eyes opened wide and the striking began.

Noah envisioned the shape he wanted it to be. A single edge blade with a ring at back, should be around 50cm approximately. No need to make it harder than it already was.

After a week of basic smithing.

This should be pretty easy, right?

WRONG!

The base blade was somewhat doable for him but the extra single ring added a whole another layer of complexity to the craft.

'Well, a man's gotta do what he's gotta do.'

He was already being late to the party with many among their group having acquired their Profession.

Though, he had a sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with his particular group and not the general census.

Whatever, all he knew was that he needed a W.

The blade was beginning to take shape. Checking over the blueprint as he went forward with the smithing, the outline of the blade was turning more and more distinguishable by the minute.

Here comes the clutch. Holding the blade steady over the oil drum, he submerged it in a swift motion.

A hissing of smoke and vapor reached his ears as red hot metal came in contact with oil. Along with a small-scale fire show to top it all off.

It seemed to have gone well.

Looking over, he checked signs for any warps and cracks.

His mood turned downcast instantly. Unfortunately, there were a lot of cracks. A big warp also showing through. Definitely not desirable, to say the least.

'Should he turn it and start over or continue through?'

"Give me that" Gul's stoic voice halted his musings.

Turning over, he handed the unfinished piece of mess to him. What was he to do, argue him? Please, he had an entire week to get to know him. He knew how much of a pain in the ass he was all the time. He referring to both himself and Gul. Birds of the same feather, something like that.

Gul took the still skin-melting blade and held it with his bare skin. Not so skin melting now, is it?

Taking a file test, he ran the filer over the edge and as expected, it failed spectacularly. It meant that-

'Snap'

The blade was snapped in half by Gul through some casual use of force.

Yeah, that. As one could see, Its hardness was, Umm, let's just say it was not quite up to mark.

"Try again"

He wasn't going to argue. That blade was going to be subpar at best.

Bringing out a new one, he tried again with concentration.

Regaining the mindset, he set out at doing it properly this time.

The hammering went well like last time. He spotted the metal was heated up evenly.

Now Quench

After dipping, he continued agitating it along the length of the blade letting it stir a bit.

Taking it out, he eyed it closely.

'Phew'

Quenched successfully.

Onto the next step. Making a ring

Remember the phrase.

"Punch makes a hole, drift enlarges it open."

Taking the two aforementioned tools, he began his task.

Aligning the punch over the desired spot, he hammered down. and again. and again. over and over.

Making sure to do it steadily.

A single wrong hit could turn the entire attempt at waste.

After creating a small hole, he switched over to the drift and repeated the previous steps. Only this time with more force.

Attempting to enlarge it open.

Satisfied with his work, he moved on to do the rest.

His body moved with a rhythm of the forge, now accustomed to the pungent smell. He felt invigorated basking in the fire of the forge.

The practice took over as he instinctually cranked out the hammering.

Gul slipped out a slight smirk over the sight.

'Huff huff'

Out of breath, he stood over his creation.

A bubbling smile was on his face satisfied knowing he did it.

There was a sleek single-edged blade with a ring guard sitting on the work desk. Its wooden handle shining with brand new polish. Inspecting in the light, its razor-sharp edge gleamed menacingly. This blade wasn't just a showpiece, it was an actual weapon.

*Prerequisite requirements met*

*New Class Unlocked - Blacksmith*

[Blacksmith - Workers by trade, blacksmiths are able to do marvelous things with their forged metals. This Profession primarily uses hammers to craft. They heat ores in a forge and shape it on the anvil. Their plethora of tools helps them to refine the crafting process. Whether it be for a weapon, armor, or something as basic as a simple tool, a capable blacksmith can create just about anything. But only a truly accomplished smith can improve on what has already been made.

Base stat growth per LVL : +0.1 Strength, +0.1 Constitution, +0.1 Endurance, +0.1 Willpower

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