บท 285: Forging 101

— Clang! Clang! Clang! — 

The small forge was filled with the sound of hammering, the front door solidly closed, Old Man Iron diligently teaching.

"You need to twist your hammer more. Harder! Strike it like you mean it!" 

"Yes, Teacher!" The elder brother replied with guts. 

Jack had managed to reach an understanding with the being, bringing him back. There was only one word to describe him: silly. 

His mantra was that he'd do anything to learn how to smith, even putting his life on the line. In his case, he meant it literally. Every other second, an accident would happen. 

"…Elder brother, you're on fire again." Jack casually remarked, used to it by now. 

— Splash! — 

Jack was currently on bucket duty. 

In a regular forge, water was used for the tempering process to make the metal more resistant. Here it served another purpose: to temper the blacksmith's resolve!