Chapitre 42: Apprentice Blacksmith To Advanced Blacksmith... Not!
Ben had been learning about different types ores used in forging including their tools. It was very easy because all those tools were already documented in Lucy, it allowed Ben to remember each and every tool he used.
Two weeks have passed as he continuously went to the smithy every day and returned every evening tiredly. Of course he wouldn't forget to cook his, Matilda's and Mrs Gretta's meal for the night before retiring for the night.
After two weeks however, Ben wasn't allowed to forge anything throughout his stay. He was only told to identify ores of various different types.
"Alright Ben, I'll be going. Make sure you clean up the place since you're the only one left. I and the others have the whole tomorrow off, so you got the shop to yourself." Willy spoke after helping Ben clean the last of the shop.
"Oh, don't worry. I've got nowhere to go, maybe I'll just hang around here and do what I've been doing." Ben replied.
The sky had already gotten dark when everyone but Ben left the smithy. Mr Grant lives here and he hardly comes down to the first floor. The dozen or so youths were done for the day and began to head to their houses, they didn't forget to say 'good bye' to Ben on their way out.
"Lucy, can I ask? Is there anyway to upgrade the furnace here?" Ben asked Lucy when he was all alone.
'You can, buying a high grade furnace of course.' the female computer in Ben's head said.
"I know that, and I've thought of it but the thing is I can't buy one, heck, I don't even know how much the thing cost." Ben exclaimed then added "You know what? just forget about that for now. I've realized that the furnace used can only make low grade stuff. I believe if I can increase the heat it should give a better result, right?"
'That can definitely increase the quality of the material by 20% Ben.' Lucy confirmed.
For over the past two weeks Ben had been in the blacksmith shop he had included it as a part for him to meditate his Flame halo outside his apartment. With the place being packed with the fire element people wouldn't notice the slight increase in the surrounding temperature.
Ben stood by one of the practice furnace he shot a series of fireballs, setting the furnace ablaze to a new degree. When the heat was just right he began making his very first sword. Picking his heated metal with a tongue he began hammering. His mind was completely immersed on the red hot piece of metal right in front of him, little did he know, even his mind power was locked on the metal.
Sparks flew everywhere as Ben's ten pound hammer landed on the hot metal molding and remolding it, giving it a new shape with every hit.
"Barbarnikles!!! Who the hell is that?!?!" Mr Grant who lives at the top floor of the building was awaken by the hammering down stairs, rushing down in a blink of an eye... literally, he went down a flight of stairs in a blink.
He was shocked when he saw Ben was the one hammering, he was really surprised. He just stood there and watched the kid hammer the hot on the anvil. 'Why is he alone down here...? Oh' Mr Grant asked himself before remembering what tomorrow will be for his students-apprentice. For the next one hour he kept watching Ben's process and to his surprise Ben had hit his sword a total of twenty times and don't seem like stopping soon.
Ben on the other hand didn't even notice Mr Grant who was standing not far from him. As he reached the twenty-fifth hit he found out he couldn't strengthen the sword anymore. Finding no way of going further he stopped hammering and picked up the first brand new sword he made himself.
It wasn't anything fancy, in fact it truly looked like rubbish, but Ben was so pleased with himself he was grinning from ear to ear despite looking so pale and sweaty, his clothes clung to his body. He was lucky to have tied a bandana on his head before starting.
"Let me see boy." Mr Grant suddenly spoke causing Ben to spin around in fright this made the crudely made sword to fall. He hadn't noticed anyone behind him.
"I'm so sorry sir... I know I shouldn't have started but I wanted to..."
"Let me see." Mr Grant repeated with the air of a teacher standing before his disciple.
Ben picked up the fallen sword and handed it over to him. When the sword landed on his hands he couldn't help but feel surprised, as a professional blacksmith he could clearly tell from a single glance that this sword is a twenty-five base skill sword. What really made him dumb was that this sword was made by someone who has never picked up a hammer much less make something with it, not even a spoon.
The basic handwork every student as a blacksmith should first produce would be a hoe, extremely easy and fast to catch on before moving to cutleries, knifes, daggers etc, you'll even start forging swords and worst yet you have to be a blacksmith for no less than two two and half years, three tops until you can reach that level. And here is a kid who hasn't even reached twenty, who have no experience apart from children sword fight, and have never been behind a furnace could make a twenty base skill sword off the bat. It felt like he had wasted hours life as a blacksmith.
Ben was standing there as he kept seeing the changes on his teacher's expression changing continuously. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his head, it was coming from his Mindpower. Ben immediately sat cross-legged on the floor and tried calming his Mindpower.
"You have to be kidding me! He has mind power?!" Mr Grant knew not what to say anymore, he was surprised ones again.
Ben didn't know what was happening to him and why his Mindpower suddenly went out of control. Feeling his Mindpower he found out it increases slightly. After what felt like an eternity to him, he opened his eyes and saw Mr Grant with his sword standing opposite him.
"You know, it's my first time seeing a wizard who is also a blacksmith. You used your Mindpower by locking onto the sword in your forging process giving you a better and clearer view with it. I believe this is your first time overusing your Mindpower, it allowed you to have an increase in Mindpower..." Mr Grant explained then continued "...How do you feel?"
Ben who had temporarily turned mute just stood there as he listened to Mr Grant's explain explanation until guys question jerked him back to reality. "A bit tired." Ben could only mumble weakly.
"Yes, that's true, then I guess it's expected. You can go to stairs if you want to have a rest." Mr Grant smiled then turned to his heels.
Seeing him go Ben called Mr Grant who answered by turning towards Ben, "How do you know such things and so much about wizards?" Ben asked.
"Hehe, that will be a story for another day boy." and with that he left.
Ben got a room with a single bed and table. He didn't care too much and slumped on the bed. Ah! He remembers this feeling. The first time he had gotten so tired was after using Mindpower was when he combined Mindpower with Lucy's radar, he didn't expect it to happen again. In less than ten minutes he went off into dreamland.
Ever since that night Mr Grant had taken Ben as his disciple. He showed Ben different ways of handling a hammer and how to increase the quality of his craft, and since he noticed Ben hardly meditates his Mindpower he had even drawn out time for Ben's meditation and a room at the second floor so to stay far from any disturbance from the factory.
Ben's life became waking up at the inn, going to the smithy, meditating for two hours, then returning to work, before going back to the inn where he'll be having his 'other' meditation session.
***
A month has come and gone. Ben could even be said to surpass his teacher in this short amount of time. He is even well known in all of Versal as the youngest blacksmith to reach the Intermediate level only one month of being an Apprentice blacksmith. People believes he has very high hopes of becoming an Advanced blacksmith or even A Master blacksmith.
Since Ben entered the market his products have increased in style and quality. in just less than a month he is now able to create a Fifty-base skill sword, shy from becoming an Advanced blacksmith.
His Fifty-base skill sword have become a hot cakes in the market. Many people advised Ben to establish his own smithy but this is was rejected by him. He didn't need the money, so why not stay with his teacher, so he thought.
Ben felt that he could increase the quality of his craft but somehow it couldn't increase in rank, whenever he tries making a higher rank sword it breaks. He tried using a smaller hammer, to no avail. Although the furnace is well heated sometimes with his flames and his forgery skill being good at this level he just couldn't get his craft to increase, not even a spoon!
Ben became frustrated after his third try for the day ending in failure, he decided to meet with his teacher, Mr Grant.
"Mr Grant, I have a feeling that I can make a much better craft, especially the sword, but somehow I can't. Do you know why?"
"Ai, I knew you'll reach this level sooner later." sighed Mr Grant.
"Sir, what do you mean?" this was certainly not the answer he was hoping for.
"Looks like I can't help it..." Mr Grant said still shaking his head, "...you'll need a better furnace boy." he finally answered.
The moment Ben heard this his eyes sparkled. He had heard that after Apprentice-level furnace comes the Intermediate-level furnace which Advanced-level blacksmiths use. Does that mean...? Ben's eyes widened even more.
"No boy, you aren't an Advanced blacksmith only because you get an Intermediate furnace." Mr Grant's words was like a bazooka that shot Ben's plane that he was using to sore high in the clouds, his plane could only fall with a crash. "Haha! look at you. Do you think just because you changed from a wooden sword to a Knight big sword it makes you a knight immediately too?" he laughed delightedly at Ben's misfortune. And that's how realization downed on Ben, the saying in his previous life came to his head 'Practice makes perfect'. "Boy, becoming an Advanced blacksmith can't be earned, you work for it. That means you have to practice boy." Mr Grant continued seeing Ben was levelheaded, "There's one problem though... an Intermediate furnace."
***
In blacksmith every base skill means, every time the materials I.e sword had been heated, hammered and cooled. So if the sword had been cooled for twenty times, the sword is automatically a twenty base skill sword.
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EldestLord53
EldestLord53 I hope you are all enjoying my work? Please if you are able to find any grammatical errors, misspelled words, or any other error you see please do not hesitate to drop your comments below.
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