Authors blurb

A note about "Appreciation".. There is a distinct Lack of it causing a marked decrease in motivation.

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Chapter 5

JOB? What Do I Need A Job Fer!

"We have forty million reasons for failure, but not a single excuse."

Rudyard Kipling

Entering the Blacksmith shop I I saw quite a few tools laying about and a couple of sets of different types of armor on racks, a few shields and swords but no blacksmith. (Clink..Clang..Clink..Clink..Hiss” Hearing the sound of metal being stuck in the back of the shop I made my way towards the sound.

Pausing at one of the sets of armor I was impressed at the quality of it. What I was looking at on one of the armor stands was a set of Leather studded armor. I didn't recognize the type of leather but that was to be expected considering I was new to this world. The armor itself was a dark color, Not pitch black but not exactly light ether. More of a dark gray. Taking a closer look I noticed squares of metal were somehow inserted behind the leather with a small nipple of metal poking through the leather itself. Giving me the impression of a blunt leather pincushion. Impressed with the set I Wondered to myself how such armor was made.

“Cough...” looking up at the noise I nearly repeated my performance from the day before..Although this time I had clothes on so I imagine I wouldn't be as entertaining for the gossips of the village. What stood looking at me could only be described as a walking mountain of muscle. Easily seven foot tall arms as big around as my waist with the largest head I have ever seen on a human.

Walking towards me a lot faster then something so large should be able to move the giant spoke. “Ahh your finally here!! Let me have a look at you.” Grabbing me with his dinner plate sized hands he spun me around with an occasional Mutter of “hummm.” and “ahhh”. Not knowing what the giant was doing and certainly not wanting to piss him off I allowed him to poke and prod me as much as he wanted.

After what seemed like a hour or more but could only have been a couple minutes the giant stepped back and pronounced “Yer a bit scrawny but I think you might have some potential. Follow me to the Forge” Not knowing what the deal was or wanting to anger such a large man I quickly followed him through the door into his workshop. Looking around I saw tools of all shapes and sizes along with bits and chunks of metal laying all about the place. I couldn't help wondering if this giant had ever cleaned the place.

Coming to a stop in front of the glowing forge the mountain turned towards me and said “Give me your hands a moment” Raising my hands up he roughly grabbed them in his enormous hands then seemed to study them.

Ding

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New job Available

Job: “Apprentice Blacksmith”

Would you like to accept this job?

YES NO

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A bit shocked at the turn of events I didn't know what to do. Thinking to myself.. 'What do I need a job for? I am a big Bad-ass critter killer! Taking a job is just going to tie me down'.. I was just about to select the no option when the Mountain interrupted me.”Whats taking you so long boy! You should know its a great honor to become my apprentice. People come here from all over the world begging to be taught by me.”

Not sure how to respond to him I said “Uhh. You must be Ben the Blacksmith. Martha sent me over here to ask you if you had finished with her kettle. As for the job.. I do not see why I need one.” At my words the Giant let out a roaring laugh “HAHAHAHA” shaking his head at me he said “Boy I know who you are, Martha came over last night and talked me into taking you as a apprentice. Know this boy you might be able to kill some low level beasts but without a job your going to be nothing more then a cripple. Leeching off the good people of this village.”

Seeing my confused expression he continued “Every person in the village takes on at least one job. Jobs that you have increase your abilities and stats. The Blacksmithing job tends to raise your strength and stamina not to mention a bit of fire resistance. On top of that you also learn a useful trade that benefits the village. You don't want to be a burden on the village now do you boy?”

Thinking to myself a little bit I decided to voice a few of my concerns. “Ben I surely do not want to be a burden on the village. The problem is I have no idea exactly how long I will be here. This job surly must take years to learn. And I honestly just do not have that much time.” Letting out another one of his Booming mountain man laughs he says “You will be surprised at how quickly you learn, In the long run though when the time comes for you too leave there will be no hard feelings. Martha and I know you will not be staying here for a long time. But both of us feel that before you do go you should at the very least learn a job in case you ever find yourself in need of food and such. Not having a job limits your options by a large margin. If you found yourself In a bad spot you could be stuck picking weeds or breaking large rocks into smaller ones..In other words Hard Labor. ”

Weighing my options I couldn't see the downside to accepting the blacksmiths offer. Selecting yes and then yes again on the 'Are you sure' prompt two blue boxes popped up into my vision.

Congratulations on your first job

Job: “Blacksmiths apprentice”

Blacksmithing level: 1 XP 0/1000

1 strength 1 Stamina

Job class: B

Quest completed!

“Martha's Kettle”

25 familiarity with Martha

Return to Martha for your

Cookies!

'Mmmmm fresh Cookies' flashes through my mind. Slamming his hands together with a loud “WHAACK!” Ben says “Good! Good!. Trust me in the long run you are not going to regret your decision. Now then..Where did I put that kettle.” He starts rummaging around in the endless piles of stuff laying about. Occasionally I can hear him mumbling to himself “no...not here” or a half whispered “Where the heck is it” After five minutes of searching he suddenly cries out “FOUND IT!!! Right where I left it..Knew it was there all the time!” Trying my best not to laugh of this big mans antics he hands me a large well used kettle. Looking at it I can see where the big man had repaired the handle on it. It was amazingly really high quality work it could easily be compared to anything done in my world with all its high tech. Shaking my head in wonder my thoughts were interrupted when the mountain spoke again.

“Take this kettle back to Martha, She has been after me about it for over a week. Be here tomorrow morning a hour before dawn and we will get to work.” Nodding I thanked him for his time and after telling him I would see him in the morning I took my leave and left the Blacksmiths shop.

End part 1

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