An Engraver's Sorrow

[Arius POV]

"Alright, time is up! Please bring your item to be examined."

Hearing that the time is up, I look at the dagger in my hand as a wave of mental exhaustion flows through my body. Letting out a deep breath, I take a seat and stretch my arms.

'Dakria, this will be enough right?'

'Should be.'

Gripping the uneven handle of my dagger, I get up as I see the other three have already shown their items. Walking up to the three judges, I simply place the dagger on the desk in front of them.

"Take it back. You passed kid."

Not even a second passed before the older man spoke up. I see the other two judges flash a face of confusion but didn't question the decision. Having my own curiosities, I asked him.

"How are you so confident?"

"Ha, from your skills I can tell that you've worked for quite a long time, and you had something that the other examinees didn't have, adaptability. You adapted to the time whereas the other examinees simply stuck to a predetermined plan. When they messed up they needed to restart causing one of them to fail the test..."

Taking the dagger in his hand and adjusting the grip a few times, I see a faint glow appear from the original silver dagger.

"While the handle is terrible, the blade itself is good enough to withstand a bit of mana. This blade accomplishes the craftsman's task of creating an actual item. It can be engraved upon or enhanced by someone's own mana. Its efficiency is well over 50%. Kid, you pass and I'll award you a start so that you start out as a 2-star copper ranked."

"Thank you so much!"

"Think nothing of it, it's what your skills deserve. We need more talents like you."

With that, the older man stands up and walks out along with the other judges who also congratulate me. Taking the dagger and going into the backroom, I wrap it in a piece of stray leather I found. There were a couple of holes in it but it had to do.

Returning back to the main room, I look around and see that Master was gone. Just as I was contemplating what to do, one of the staff came up to me.

"Are you Arius?"

"Yeah, that's me?"

"Alright. Congratulations on passing the test and earning your Craftsman card. In addition to the card, I have a written message here for you that has been given to me by a man called Doherty."

"Oh, thank-... you"

As the guy pulls out a piece of paper and hands me a shiny card, he quickly gives a bow and leaves before I can even thank him. Looking at my Craftsman Card, I see that it has a unique design featuring an anvil and a furnace. On the back, there were a few lines of information.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Name: Arius

Rank: 2-star Copper

Recorded Items:

-Unnamed Dagger(Copper rank 75%)

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Seeing my name on the card, I couldn't help but stare at it for a few more minutes. A smile could help but blossom over my face.

"Hey! Hey! Can I buy your dagger?"

After a few minutes of bliss, I felt a jolt down my neck when I heard someone talking to me. Turning around, I notice an old man excitingly looking at the dagger.

"So can I buy it?"

As I stood in confusion, the old man asks me to sell the dagger again. Scratching my head, I pull the dagger out of the piece of leather. After doing so, I see him carefully looking at it and touching the blade, not caring that touching the sharp edge caused his finger to bleed.

"Why do you want this dagger? It's not even that good."

"What? What are you talking about, I can see very few imperfections on it. It's perfect for engraving!"

"Engraving!"

"Yeah, engraving!... Wait, please don't say that you're one of those people that look down on engraving."

"No no no no no. Of course not!"

Seeing the old man having a tint of anger in his misunderstanding, I quickly hold up and shack my filler hands in denial. Only after that did the old man calm down a little bit. Walking outside, we sit on a bench as I ask him more questions.

"So what did you mean when you said the people look down on engravers?"

Hearing my question, the old man leans back a little more before letting out a sigh of sadness.

"Engravers are looked down upon for many reasons. Engravings, the thing that engravers spend their entire lives learning are most commonly seen in the most basic of items. Needles, stoves, and everyday items that you use. That's what the majority of engravers do, only making simple engravings on cheap mass-produced items. So the general public doesn't see the true value of an engraver. We can make an item shine like it never shined before!

This lack of value results in less talent entering the field and I won't bore you with the details but it causes us to not have a lot of support. Finally, some people think it's inferior to Alchemy and Craftmanship because we need to engrave something that was made by a craftsman. I'm sure there all thousands of other reasons but the more I think about it, the sadder I get."

Seeing the old man genuinely loves engraving but is suddenly by the state of it, I felt bad as well.

"I think engraving is really cool."

"Thanks, kiddo, it means a lot to me."

"So can you engrave right now?"

"Yeah. It's been passed down in my family for generations. I'm pretty knowledgeable in it."

"Well, alright, I'll let you have my dagger to engrave it. I just want to watch you make it shine! Ok?"

"W-Wait really? Alright! I'll show you the best engravings in my life!"

Seeing the smile on his face, I feel myself smiling too. Getting off the bench full of energy, the old man brings me to his house to start engraving.

...

[Kliffith POV]

*One Hour ago*

As I see a promising young man leave the room, I take another look at the piece of paper in front of me.

'Arius, a certified adventurer... a dwarf... Have I heard that somewhere before? Ah, I don't remember... Master... Doherty?'

"Master, don't you think that giving that star is too rash?"

"Kyle, I'm only recognizing talent. Please don't say that after reaching steel rank, that you're so full of yourself that you can't recognize someone else's talent."

"Of course not, Master!"

"Alright, you and Julia can go complete some orders. I got someone to see."

"Yes, master."

After shooing away my two apprentices, I walk into the main hall and see a familiar face. I walk toward him as I feel a smile on my face.

"Branch Master, do you need anything?"

"No, it's fine."

After calming down one of my staff, I lament to myself about how strict they are with themselves. After being the branch master for so many years, they seem to only treat me with more respect.

Shacking away my thoughts, I walk up behind my target and shoot a fist toward his kidney.

Pa!

"Well, if it isn't Kliffith Syn, seemed working as a Branch Master has done a number on your hair."

Feeling a hand squeezing my fist, I pull away my fist as I see a smiling half-giant. I cross my arms undisturbed by his comment.

"It makes me look more distinguished."

"Yeah, yeah. That long flamboyant black hair is now reduced to short grey hair. Couldn't be me."

"...*sigh* It's no wonder you don't make many friends."

Doherty always talked in a way that often pulled the worst out of people. Shacking my head, I look around to see a crowd has started to form around us.

Tsk

"Let's go to my office, me being here is disturbing business."

"Yeah, just one second, let me write something down. Hey you, come over here for a second."

I see Doherty quickly pull out a paper and pen before pulling one of the staff to come over. While he was doing that, I lifted my hand and did a little hand gesture. Soon, many guards came in to resist and disperse the crowd.

...

Arrving in my office, I serve Doherty a cup of coffee before sitting down myself.

"So, how did you like my apprentice?"

"Truely a talent."

"I know, right? The best one I ever got to teach!"

"Yeah, good for you. Let's talk about actual business now."

With that, I see Doherty's joyfulness and gloating disappear and we both just sat in silence. Taking a sip of my coffee, I start talking again.

"He's catching on to you..."

...

---------------------------------

Fun Fact from the old man: Craftsmen in particular greatly look down upon engravers, not only because usually make something for us to engrave on. But also, an inexperienced engraver can make a mistake a ruin not only the engraving but also the item itself.