Unfairness and Peril

Octo taught Len all the technical skills required for blacksmithing. When he realized, it was already the next morning.

"..."

Sweat poured profusely from his forehead. Len wiped his face with his sleeves.

'I'm gonna die soon…'

[Hawk Eye] consumes 10 STAMINA per second. It was a small number, but for Len who's only level 19 it was a challenge. He only has less than 500 STAMINA and can't keep it up long enough to last half a day, much less watching every process from start to finish.

Combined with the heat the forge produced, he became exhausted in no time.

'This quest is impossible to complete…'

His stomach rumbled in starvation and thirst. He wanted to eat, but Octo still hasn't finished. It's been almost 20 hours and he showed no sign to stop anytime soon.

Octo smiled while hammering the half-molten iron.

Tang! Tang!!

Each time the hammer hit the iron, sparks of fire flew everywhere. Those could prove harmful if hit the eye, but there's no safety goggle in here. They just have to make do with what they have.

Len was honestly confused, he didn't know anything about blacksmithing at all, but… will he learn the skills? Despite focusing on his work, Len couldn't grasp anything at all.

'Is this it? I'm going to fail this quest…'

Even though he kept complaining, Len steeled his heart and continued observing Octo's movement. After tens of hammering later, Octo smiled.

"Finished."

Len saw a lump of iron still burning hot on the anvil. Confused just when he's about to ask why it took so long-

Ting~!

[Octo has used Blacksmith's Skill Impartation on you!]

[You have acquired Blacksmith's Eye of Appraisal skill!]

[You have acquired Blacksmith's Craftsmanship skill!]

[Your comprehension of Blacksmith's Eye of Appraisal increased!]

[Your comprehension of Blacksmith's Craftsmanship increased!]

[Blacksmith's Eye of Appraisal] Level 1

The ability to appraise materials and determining their value for crafting. A basic skill every blacksmith must have.

*As the level increases, the more information could be discovered

Cooldown: N/A

[Blacksmith's Craftsmanship] Level 1

A blacksmith's basic ability to craft various kind of items. A basic skill every blacksmith must have.

*As the level increases, the more versatile your skill become

Cooldown: N/A

"Ohh!"

Something clicked within him and everything he just witnessed suddenly made sense. It's like all the puzzle pieces came together by itself, A spark of epiphany that enlighten him.

Simply by watching him smelting irons, Len grasped the essence of being a blacksmith!

'This is absurd…'

Naturally, it is impossible in 'real' life back in his world, but it's possible because of the system's aid. Another enigma in the world that's considered as normal by the people of the land.

And that's not all. Len's comprehension also deepened because he used [Hawk Eye] and focused on the crucial part of the process, thus his odds to acquire more 'understanding' increased.

'My hard work actually paid off.'

Len felt content and happy. He managed to hold out the whole day and getting one step closer to complete the quest!

"Hoo, this is it for today. Tomorrow I will show you more."

Wiping his sweat, Octo patted Len's shoulder.

Today was tough for Len. His body and soul were tired after spending so much time observing the process of hammering and how to control the temperature using the bellow.

When they got back to the house, bowls of fish soup and rice were already prepared for two on the table. Len and Octo ate the food together, not minding of what happened two days ago.

Putting down his chopsticks, Len wondered.

"Where's Novy?"

"Outside. Exercising."

"E-exercising? Like, jogging?"

"Not that kind of exercising. It's mana."

Octo explained to Len while drinking tea.

"We all have mana. They are all contained inside your body, or more accurately spread over your meridian system."

'There it is, the over-convoluted theory of mana…' Len blinked his eyes a couple of time indicating that he does not understand.

"... Well, it doesn't really matter honestly. In human body, there's a pathway for mana to flow. The heart pumps blood through your blood vessel, however mana does not have an organ that do so. So, if left too long the mana pathway could get… clogged I guess, similar to a hiccup."

"Ah, so what I saw the other day…"

"It's called Mana Refresh, or just Refresh for short. Basic exercise really."

"If it's basic, then I can do that too, right?"

"Naturally."

"So… how?"

"...?"

Octo scratched his head with confused expression.

"What do you mean how? It's like eating, you move your hand to hold the spoon and scoop the rice."

"..."

Len couldn't understand what Octo was talking about. Should he meditate?

Checking his status, Len could see that he has MP which stands for Mana Point. But how to utilize the mana? So far, he has no skills that needed mana, so he doesn't know how it works.

'Could it be that I'm a cripple like in one of those stories? No, that's stupid…'

Shaking his head, Len gave up. There's no point doing it at the moment anyway. For now, he must concentrate on blacksmithing and finish the quest.

"Take some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day hahahak!"

Somehow, Octo seemed to be in a good mood. He finished his drink and went back to his room, leaving Len alone in dining table.

Len sipped his tea in a relaxed manner. He checked the quest again.

Difficulty: A

Your determination and passion to abandon 500.000 gills away to learn blacksmithing touched Octo's heart! After three weeks he want to see the prove of your dedication to blacksmithing!

Completion Requirement(s):

Forge any item with at least [Rare] rank

Reward(s) on Acceptance:

[Blacksmith's Eye of Appraisal] Lv. 1

[Blacksmith's Craftsmanship] Lv. 1

Reward(s) on Completion:

Affinity with Octo +100

Affinity with Novy +50

Reputation with Derdun village +50

[Blacksmith's Eye of Appraisal EX] MAX

[Blacksmith's Craftsmanship EX] Lv. 1

[Blacksmith] Class

If you fail/abandon the quest then affinity with Derdun village, Octo and Novy will decrease by 100 and you will be kicked out for being incompetent.

Len felt something odd in the quest. Something was out of place but he couldn't point out what it is.

'I'm sure it will be fine… right?'

Just as he was about to enter the room where he woke up, he saw Novy standing alone outside through the window.

Under the sun, blue beams of light were absorbed by her body. After a few seconds, gust of wind appeared from below.

'Is that her releasing mana?'

She repeated the process a few times and then turned her head. From afar she stared at Len while smiling.

'Ugh!'

Len crouched in reflex. He felt ashamed for peeking at an innocent girl in the early morning. Calming himself, Len went back to his room and lied down.

His eyelids were heavy and he fell into the dream land within seconds.

A world of darkness, blurry lights gathered and formed a familiar scenery. He saw his old life in the modern world. Eating chicken thighs and drinking coke, his stomach rumbled in hunger.

Suddenly, a giant sapphire monkey appeared and munched at his thigh instead. Blood spurted everywhere and he died while being eaten alive.

"Wha!!?"

Len fell on the floor.

With sweat pouring from all over his body, Len heaved a sigh of relief.

"Just a dream…"

Peeking through the window, it was already the next morning. He slept for almost 24 hours. He was lazy back in the day, but he never slept for over 15 hours.

'Now I'm hungry again.'

Slapping his cheeks, he gritted his teeth.

'I have less than 20 days to finish the quest! I have to hold on!'

Len imagined where he fail and forced to sleep on the street. With the air getting colder and colder, he will freeze at night and die like a maggot.

Nobody will care. Nobody will even know him. He will die a lonely death and nobody will mourn for him.

'Wait, I can revive so it won't be the end... but doesn't that mean the suffering won't end!?'

Just as Len drowned in his dark fantasy, the door opener and Octo appeared.

"Catch!"

Len caught off guard and almost slapped it away.

"What's this?"

"Bread with butter and jam. We'll eat on the way, let's go!"

"Yeah!"

And with the motivation to not die a lonely death, Len spent the next two days on the workshop and only came back to sleep. Len learned many things from Octo. How to forge, quenching and tempering a sword.

"Each mineral has their own melting point. When they became hot enough and turn into orange-ish color. Squeeze out the impurities by hammering it. Or use this silica sand if you want to keep them intact."

"Quenching is a process to increase hardness of the sword. But the harder it becomes, the brittle it is. If done poorly it will create distortion and tiny cracks. You don't want that to happen. So warm up the oil first, don't make it too cold or you will put too much stress on the sword."

"After quenching, comes tempering. Heat the sword until it turns blue. Too hot and all that quenching will be wasted. The tiny cracks will reform itself from the heat and reduce the brittleness thus making it flexible. It is how springs were made. Even so, it's still pretty hard and able to absorb more shock."

Len's only reaction was, "...". He couldn't say anything. What octo said was extremely simple and Len understood most of it, but…

'His explanation is so vague. Based on what principle submerging swords into oil could increase hardness? How come tiny cracks could appear? How can it be flexible when tempered?'

Len wanted to ask so many things, but Octo taught him with sincerity he felt bad cutting him off. But it doesn't really matter anyway. Notification windows appeared from time to time.

[Your comprehension of Blacksmith's Eye of Appraisal increased!]

[Your comprehension of Blacksmith's Craftsmanship increased!]

Thanks to [Hawk Eye], his understanding of craftsmanship kept increasing. Not only that, for using [Hawk Eye] endlessly the level increased to level 2!

[Hawk Eye] (Toggle) Level 2

Increases eyes ability, granting crystal clear vision when toggled.

*Consume 10 STAMINA/sec

*As the level increases, your eyes can cover longer range

"Now that I've taught you everything you need, the rest is up to you! Start from smelting and produce an Iron ingot!"

Octo slapped Len's shoulder while laughing.

"Alright!"

Rubbing his hands together, Len prepared his mind and body for the challenge ahead. This will be the first time he ever hold a hammer and a tong together.

Len was nervous. He was about to ask Octo to instruct him at least once since he's a true newbie in this field, but it was unnecessary.

Eyes widen above the furnace, Len marveled.

"Woa."

In his vision, he saw arrows pointing on objects and blue panels providing explanation on what to do.

'How…? Could it be… because of my comprehension increased??'

Len was utterly impressed by himself. All those suffering from extreme fatigue, there were many moments where he wanted to give up and screw it all.

But it all finally paid off.

With his new profound confidence, Len began to step on the bellow and blazing flames began to dance in the furnace.

…

While Len was taking his baby steps in becoming a blacksmith, an event was happening simultaneously not far from the workshop.

Outside the village, in a forest roughly 1 kilometres away from the entrance there was a woman wearing rolled up plaid shirt with blonde ponytail. Novy stood in the middle of a huge crater while crossing her arms.

'What could've done this?'

The trees around the crater were cut down. Blood was found here and there, and some traces of dusts.

'Sword users…'

Novy frowned while biting her lips.

'Someone dangerous is near the village. Possibly an apostle. Perhaps more than one…'

Using her hands to search for clues made her hands dirty. Slapping the dirt and dusts away, she gazed at the blue sky and closed her eyes. Focusing on her breathing, she said in her mind.

'Mother nature, heed my call.'

[Mother nature sensed your sincere intent!]

[Mother nature is touched by your sincerity!]

[Mother nature is willing to heed your call!]

[Trance status is required for mother nature to heed your call.]

[You have entered Trance!]

[Mother Nature is borrowing your body!]

[You won't be able to regain control until mother nature left your body!]

Hearing the chirping birds, the warm sun, and the relaxing nature, a new vigor welled up. Novy… no, mother nature who borrowed her body mumbled with a blank, half-opened eyes.

"Peril is coming to Derdun."

A different, foreign voice overlapped with Novy's.

[Mother nature has left your body!]

[You have regained control!]

Her expression changed to a shock.

'Peril… is coming?'

Mother nature, a mythical being of legend who protects and overwatch the forests favours those who are sincere and innocent. Novy fulfilled one of the criteria and only able to communicate with mother nature for a very brief moment.

Her sincere wish for the safety and wellness of the villager made mother nature heed her call. Asking for a guidance, she received a foreshadow from her that Derdun is in danger.

'Impossible…'

Turning around, she glanced her surrounding.

"..."

Cold sweat dripped from her chin. Novy felt like she's being watched. Something, someone hiding in the forest, recuperating, waiting.

'Peril has synonymous meaning with apostles… could it be that kid? No, mother nature exact words were 'Peril is coming to Derdun', so it has not reached the village… yet.'

Sighing, Novy gulped her saliva.

'Whatever may come, I will....'

Clenching her fist until it turned white, Novy started walking back to the village. She must warn the others regarding this 'peril'.

'I won't let history repeat itself.'

With steady eyes, she vowed.

'Definitely.'