Chapter 18: A dwarf’s workshop.

The first thing I noticed upon entering Mr. Fas Nesel's forge was the deep scent of alcohol, followed by the sound of metal being struck.

"Good morning, Mr. Fas Nesel, I have brought Aruh to start with his basic training." (Tovs)

"Your son, the genius, right? To think he would become an apprentice before becoming 12 years old..." (Fas Nesel)

His voice sounded sober and stern, but what caught my attention was that he did not lose his concentration while working with the bronze in front of him.

"You're a little older for a dwarf's standards, who raise the hammer before taking their first steps, but you're the youngest Naga I'll have as a pupil." (Fas Nesel)

Mr. Fas's hands stopped to take a ladle dipped in a barrel to his side, it was the source of the alcohol aroma in the room.

"I do not like pupils who whine or complain, you'll work like the others, understood?" (Fas Nesel)

"Yes, teacher!" (Aruh)

"Excellent response, brat." (Fas Nesel)

With a smile, he offered me the liquid he had taken from the barrel and I drank it. It tasted sweet and fruity, like mead.

"Welcome to my workshop." (Fas Nesel)

...

Over the next year, I started my training from the bottom. Before starting with the metal, it is important to generate hand dexterity, and the best method is the treatment of skins (in fact, I started as a cleaning boy and with errands, but the handling of skins is what I consider the beginning).

Cleaning, cutting, drying, using treatments, Mr. Fas Nesel made me repeat and memorize each process over and over again. Father and the other helpers helped me occasionally by giving me advices on how to work.

Classes lasted four hours a day; together with my combat training, group maneuvers with Naku and Arachne, and studies of magic and medicine, I barely had time to have dates Naku and Fortuna every time she came to the village.

This year, I gave each one a gift for for their birthdays. For Naku, a lipstick I personally made; and for Fortuna, a pencil with a tip of charcoal. Both gifts were thought of in their personal tastes. However, Fortuna's surprise was bigger (as a merchant) when Naku showed her the lipstick.

My two gifts ended up becoming two new products of the company Dewell.

...

When I reached a year of work with the leather treatment, my next step was the design and manufacture of armor.

My artistic skills were not so good, several of my designs were very basic and some were similar to those that came out on some television shows I saw on Earth. These last ones annoyed my teacher, who said they looked like costumes and were useless in combat, so in the end I only did the basic designs

It was not until three months later, that I would finally begin to handle metal.

"This is the mace that the Naga usually use to hunt Gums, do you know what it is made of?" (Fas Nesel)

"Of Gum’s bones covered with bronze." (Aruh)

"Correct, and do you know why it's built like this?" (Fas Nesel)

"Yes, the Gum’s bones are soft but very flexible, while the bronze is hard but rigid, if the mace were made of pure bronze, it would easily break with the force of a Naga’s attack." (Aruh)

“As you have said, the Naga have such a monstrous strength that even with 'craftsmanship of hetros', weapons could not resist bending or breaking regardless if they are made of bronze, light metal or lead. That's why the Naga are given the title of sword-benders." (Fas Nesel)

Light metal is a metal that does not exist at Earth, it is in a native form and is so light that a piece the size of a basketball ball weighed just 60 grams, but is harder than bronze.

However, it is the first time I hear the term 'craftsmanship of the hetros'.

"Excuse me, master, but what does ‘craftsmanship of hetros' mean?" (Aruh)

"Metals can infuse themselves with hetros while they are being forged to improve their properties, but unlike the magic wands that magicians are so proud of, metal only lose these properties when it rots. Is as simple as it sounds but it takes effort and good technique to obtain a favorable result... So, the better the blacksmith, the better the metal becomes. " (Fas Nesel)

"Thank you for the explanation, but now I have another question ... Why is iron ignored?" (Aruh)

This is one of my biggest questions in the world, Maltras ignored the iron and got stuck at bronze age… No, it’s more like it’s at ‘Light metal age’.

“Iron? That junk? Dwarfs tried to forge it thousands of years ago, but it was too soft and did not accept the hetros as other metals, so it was replaced by bronze. " (Fas Nesel)

So that's due to finding better metals than iron was rejected and ended up being called ‘poor metal’.

That means they did not realize the hidden potential of iron... About what happens if you add carbon to it.

"Those eyes tell me you have something in mind, so you got an idea from our conversation... Interesting! There's always a lot of talk about you in the village and I'd like to see a feat of you with my own eyes." (Fas Nesel)

It will be an honor, teacher.

"But whatever you try to do, will have to wait until you know how to handle the hammer. Now, let's continue with the lessons." (Fas Nesel)

Yes!