"How did you do that?" Red asked, staring curiously at the large man.

"It's Spiritual Medicine, kid." Goulth smiled. "If you have the right materials you can make something that can cure even worse wounds. Some of them can even help you in your practice."

The youth recalled his conversations with Viran. The man mentioned something like that before, but seeing it in action was a completely different experience.

"Mind you, this isn't enough to heal your crippled acupoint." The giant explained. "That kind of damage can't be repaired by common Spiritual Medicine either. But enough talk!"

Goulth pulled two other chairs over from the other side of the room.

"Let's sit down and enjoy the meal!" The man exclaimed. "Have you ever had chicken stew, kid?"

Red shook his head as he sat on the chair.

"Hah, great! It's my specialty!"

Goulth used a ladle to scoop up the stew from the large pot into a bowl, filling it up to the brim before passing it over to Red and the youth couldn't help but stare at it in wonder. He had never had to eat so much food in one go, but he didn't even think about complaining. Before Goulth was done serving the stew to Eiwin, the boy was already stuffing himself with the food.

"Good appetite!" The man commented with a smile. "You truly don't disappoint."

Red didn't lift his head to respond. The noises of iron spoons clanking against their bowls was all that could be heard in the house over the next few minutes. Before the youth was even done with his first serving, Goutlh was already well underway into his second one. As the man noticed the food in the boy's bowl was almost finished, though, he picked up his ladle again.

"Here, eat more!" He laughed as he scooped up another serving, filling Red's plate to the brim again.

The youth and the large man continued to eat like voracious beasts, while Eiwin ate her stew far more slowly and courteously. The boy couldn't match up to the giant's large stomach though. While the man was on his fourth serving, Red was finishing his second bowl and felt that his stomach was almost full to the brim.

"Want some more?" Goulth asked him.

The youth hesitated, but in the end, he shook his head. He had to fight against all his instincts to deny the food that was offered to him, but there was truly no more space for anything in his body.

"Well, don't mind me then."

Goulth continued to eat. Both Red and Eiwin, who had also finished with her food, waited until the man was done eating whatever was left inside the pot. A few minutes later, and the giant set his bowl aside with a satisfied sigh.

"Ah, that's the stuff!" Goulth smiled. "Did you know that you can also train by eating food, kid?"

"...How?" Red asked skeptically.

"It's true! The sects do it all the time!" The man explained. "The bodies of strong monsters are actually full of Spiritual Energy, and when they are consumed they can aid you in practicing."

Goulth looked excited as he started to talk about the subject.

"Of course, you can't just eat it raw, that would be no different than eating poison." He continued. "But there are people who specialize in cooking monster meat into consumable food, and in that state, these meals can prove invaluable to someone's training."

"So... It's like Spiritual Medicine?" Red asked.

"Hmm, you can think about it that way." The man responded. "But medicines are substantially more powerful. These types of drugs tend to contain concentrated essences that make their effect much stronger than just a normal spiritual meal, but they also have their downsides."

The youth listened attentively to Goulth's explanation, while Eiwin quietly smiled from the side.

"Spiritual Medicine may also contain toxins that are harmful to the human body." The giant continued. "So if you take too many of them in a short interval, it's likely you will suffer from some very serious side effects. This isn't the case with monster meals, though. While it is far less effective, it can be consumed more often, and it serves as a supplement to a practitioner's training."

"Were there toxins in the thing I drank?" Red suddenly felt worried.

"Of course there were!" Goulth simply laughed. "But for medicine of that level, there's generally very little of those, and in a few weeks your body will naturally expel them."

The trade-off was certainly worth it in the boy's mind. He couldn't help but also marvel at the fact the thing he had just drunk was considered "low-level" amidst Spiritual Medicines. What might have been considered the bottom of the barrel for drugs, was capable of healing what would have taken weeks for Red to recover naturally.

"Is that what you do here?" The youth asked. "Make these medicines?"

"Bah!" Goulth snorted. "No, I'm not an alchemist, I'm a blacksmith!"

These words sounded foreign to the boy, and he couldn't help but look at Eiwin for clarification.

"Alchemists are people who craft these types of medicines." The woman patiently explained. "A blacksmith is someone who makes things using metals, such as weapons and tools."

Considering the materials spread around the house, this made more sense.

"So who made the medicine I took?" Red followed up with another question.

"I made it." The man replied.

"But I thought..."

"You don't get it, kid!" Goulth seemed to become more annoyed as they broached the subject. "When I joined the Guild I became the 'Master-Crafter', responsible for all matters of crafting, including medicine. Do you know how ridiculous that title is?"

Red simply shook his head.

"Listen, kid, there are so many types of crafting that to claim someone is a master of them all is just about the most ridiculous thing in the world!" The man got angrier. "Even in blacksmithing there are all kinds of different specializations that I can't claim to be a master in. But Hector decided that just because I knew more than the others I would be responsible for crafting everything in this guild!"

His rant didn't show any sign of stopping.

"Medicine, weapons, talismans, buildings... Even formations! Any of these subjects require more than a lifetime of studying to master, not to mention all of them at once." Goulth shook his head. "I'm so overwhelmed all the time that I barely have time to focus on my projects!"

"Doesn't anyone else help you?" Red asked.

"That Allen brat is too dumb to know which way to hold a hammer, and everyone else is always giving me excuses!" The man stared at Eiwin angrily.

"We've talked about this before, Master Goulth." The woman shook her head. "We're too busy on missions for the guild, and the last time I offered my help you ran me off your forge."

"You screwed up the quenching and shattered my weapon!"

"But I asked you to teach me before..."

"What's the point if you're gonna screw everything up anyways?!" Goulth exclaimed. "But you don't need to worry about that now. My new apprentice is much more talented than the lot of you and wouldn't fail at such a simple task."

Red felt as if the pressure on him had unfairly increased. Still, he was indeed interested in learning how to make these types of things, despite the risk of angering the giant.

"So where do we begin?" The boy asked.

"Huh?" The man looked surprised. "What do you mean?"

"Didn't you want to teach me?" He responded. "Why don't we begin right now?"

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Red." Eiwin interjected. "It's the middle of the night, and Master Goulth has had a pretty long d-"

"Yes!" Her words were interrupted by a shout of eagerness from the giant.

"That's the attitude I was talking about!" Goulth approached Red and patted him on the shoulders. "A good apprentice must be eager to learn, no matter the time of the day. Here, I have something else to give you!"

The man ran off, sorting through the mess at one of his worktables, while Red patiently waited. Eiwin could only stare helplessly at both of them, and in the end, she simply decided to stay quiet and observe. Soon, Goulth returned to the boy, and in his hands, he was carrying a leather-bound book.

"This is the accumulation of all my work!" The man looked at the item fervently. "It belonged to my master before me, and to his master before that. These have some of the forging philosophies of the long destroyed Amber Saber Sect, and it's something every blacksmith should read!"

Goulth offered the book to Red.

"I'm letting you borrow this for now." He said with a smile. "Read it, and learn what it means to be a blacksmith. Once you've proven yourself to me, I'll let you keep it and pass it on to your own disciple later in your life."

The boy grabbed the book as if he was handling a delicate treasure. Carefully, he unlatched the string binding the item shut, and opened it to the first page. It was clear the man wasn't lying about how old this book was. Red was afraid he was going to destroy the paper if he handled it carelessly.

However, when he was greeted with the symbols on the page, he paused and looked up at Goulth.

"What is it?" The man asked.

"I can't read."

"You... What?" The giant looked astonished.

"I've never learned how to read." Red repeated.

Goulth blinked and looked over at Eiwin. The woman seemed just as shocked.

"Red, you never told me this." She commented.

"You never asked." The boy shrugged. "Besides, I didn't have to read anything before, anyway."

"This..." The man sat down as he put his head between his hands. "This is a disaster."

Goulth looked as if he was just about to cry, and Red was confused.

"What's the problem?" The youth asked. "Can't I just learn now?"

"Of course you can, kid." The man shook his head. "But how long will that take? A year? Maybe more? That book doesn't use simple language either, so who knows when you'll be able to understand it."

"It's okay, Master Goulth." Eiwin approached the giant and patted his shoulder in comfort. "Red is one of the smartest kids I've ever met, so it shouldn't take that long for him to learn. Besides, can't you just teach him what's in the book by yourself anyways?"

"I suppose, but... Ah, what am I talking about?!" Goulth's face changed into one of determination and he slapped himself a few times. "Who ever said teaching was going to be an easy task?! Since my disciple is eager to learn despite his shortcomings, then I, as his master, should do my best to teach him!"

The man got up and approached Red, gazing at the boy intently.

"Kid!" He exclaimed. "I don't know what you've been through, but you've clearly gotten the short end of the stick in life! Not knowing how to read, being all skinny and wounded, I can't even begin to imagine how many things you still have to learn. So know this!"

Goulth crouched down to look at the boy at eye level.

"You can't afford to slack off!" He continued to speak with intensity. "Hard work is the bare minimum, but if you truly want to make something out of yourself in this world you have to be willing to sacrifice everything in the name of improving! That means no breaks, no time for playing, nothing but fully devoting your heart and soul to learning! Do you understand?"

Red felt overwhelmed by the sudden speech, but he was aware everything the man said was true. Only by hearing it being put into words and acknowledged by others, though, did the weight of the task ahead become fully clear to the youth.

In the end, he simply nodded, not averting his gaze.

"Good!" Goulth smiled as he saw the boy's determination. "Then let's start!"

"Not now!" Eiwin yelled authoritatively. "Tomorrow!"