The Library

Iris immediately started working the magic iron through the furnace. His hands swept over the metal with a hammer. The Ingots slowly formed the shape of the chestpiece. All the while the Dwarf watched with great interest. The Dwarfs excitement rising at the prospect of having another capable forger here with him.

***

After a grueling 6 hours Iris finished the chestpiece. It didn't look pretty but it was functional. The Dwarf spoke up, "As the master forger here I will finish the chestpiece. Don't worry you're going to get it back. However, that thing is ugly. Even for a C- wait no. Boy! You forged a B class armor piece!" "W-what. I did?" Iris said in shock. He didn't think that he could forge a B rank armor piece. "It's barely B rank, but a B rank all the same." The Dwarf said clapping Iris on the back. "I will go and make the chestpiece look pretty, however, I want to ask you what you need something like this for when I get back." The Dwarf said walking upstairs with the chestpiece. The workshop was upstairs, it housed all the tools needed for making ornaments and jewelry. Iris sighed and sat down. He was utterly exhausted. He hadn't slept for nearly two days. He slowly fell asleep in a comfortable armchair. 

***

When Iris woke up he had been covered in a blanket and his newly adorned chestpiece was sitting on a small table next to him along with a note. The note read, "Hey boy. You fell asleep in the chair and I thought it best not to wake you. Forging is hard work and you did well today. Your chestpiece was a bit tricky to work with but I finished it. I'm also giving you some grieves to go with it since it doesn't seem fitting to only have your torso covered. They are a C rank piece but I hope you like them. They're upstairs next to the guest bed. Feel free to pop in there. Tomorrow you're gonna be worked to the bone so ya better not slack ya hear me? Cheers, Dwarf."

Iris sighs and gets up. He folded the blanket up and set it in the chair. Grabbing the chestpiece he headed upstairs to finish resting. After sleeping for the rest of the night he woke up early and prepared the forge for the day. As he was blowing oxygen into the embers of the forge the shop door opened. Putting on his apron Iris rushed to the front. He saw a small pudgy man, most likely a merchant. 

"You there, " said the man pointing at Iris, "Are you the owner of this forge?" "No sir, the master forger has yet to come in. We also haven't opened yet. I'm sorry to say that you cannot be here for at least another hour." Iris said, subtly hinting for the man to get out of the shop. "Oh, alright. I'll be back then later. May I make a request though?" Said the man. "No one's stopping you sir." Iris said. "Tell him Gremor was here and that he needs a set of A rank armor." Iris looked shocked at what the man just said. The Dwarf could barely forge A class, yet this man was asking for a whole set of armor. "Well sir, you're going to have to come back and give the master forger your details. A set like this will take some time." Iris said. "I'll be back then to give my specifications. Cheers, lad." The man said waving whilst exiting the smithy. Iris let out a breath of relief. The Dwarf is going to be busy for quite a while. 

An hour passed before the Dwarf entered the smithy. He came in and set his belongings down within a small drawer and put on his apron. "Wow, didn't think ya could light up the shop in the morning, usually have to wait another hour before opening. Ya saved me some time." The Dwarf said. "Welcome sir, you got an order before you got here. Someone named Grin- no, Gremor came in and asked for a full set of A rank armor." Iris said in response. The Dwarf suddenly looked down. He grumbled for a moment and smashed his fist into the wall, "That bastard isn't getting anything out of me!" Iris remembered back when his master referred to a certain family with disdain. They had married his only daughter and used her for many things. Mainly to glean off of his work, his armor and weapons for their family members. 

Iris remembered how one day the shop had been ransacked and a pile of photos were left on the counter. The photos were of his daughter being abused and eventually the pile ended with her lifeless body. That was the last day I saw the Dwarf. His belongings were gone and all that was left was a note. The note stated that the forge belonged to Iris and how he had something he needed to do. A month after he had left a rumor started in the town that the Dwarf had killed the family head and his daughter's husband. 

Iris was filled with rage. He found a hammer and gave it to the Dwarf. He was going to help him any way he could. He had two and a half years to do so. There had to be some solution to this predicament. Thinking back to his times at the Tower there had been an award for being first place at the entrance exam which was an official pardon as well as some other treasures. Iris shook his head, he wasn't going to murder them. He needed to get back at them in some other way. 

The daughter's husband had always been a drunkard. He spent most of his days drinking at the town tavern. A plan slowly started to form within Iris' mind. He was going to ruin the standing of the Chimera family. But before that he had to secure himself a spot at the Tower. Rushing things could ruin his chances at getting admittance into the academy. He had to take this slowly. Everything had to go according to plan or he would end up getting himself killed. 

The Dwarf looked at the hammer Iris had given him. He smiled. "Well if he wants a set, he's going to get one." Shaking his head the Dwarf went into the back room and came back with some ingots. "Boy, there's a piece of paper in the drawer. Bring it to me. Iris walked over to the drawer and grabbed the paper that the Dwarf was talking about. He proceeded to give it to the Dwarf. Who hastily grabbed a pen from inside his apron and began writing on it.

A few moments passed while the Dwarf scribbled on the paper. Folding the paper the Dwarf gave it to Iris, "There's an envelope as well as a wax sealer in the room upstairs. Go and package the letter and bring it to the mail office down the road. Tell them it's to Vanessa. They'll know who it is." Iris remembered Vanessa. She was one of the Dwarf's main clients. She regularly needed new armor. She was a complete klutz and always ruined her armor when she went out adventuring. Iris decided to do this quickly and left the smithy. 

The sun blinded him as he exited and closed the door to the shop. The various stalls lining the road, eager to receive customers. Every stall was yelling out at passerbyers to come and try their goods. As he began his short trek to the mailing office the various stalls began to dwindle, becoming less prominent as Iris entered the residential district. The colorful environment turning into a boring gray one. 

Iris neared the mailing office and talked with the receptionist and mailed off the letter the Dwarf had given him. Ok, now that that's done I'll go back to the shop and see if the Dwarf needs help. 

When Iris returned the Dwarf handed hima sheet of paper with a list of jobs on it. Iris already expected this. He had to clean the forge daily as well as forge any armor under and at C rank. He was to leave weapons to the Dwarf however. Any jewelry that wasn't using precious materials other than silver and gold, were to be made by him. After looking at the list for another moment he began to work. Customers entered the shop every now and then and placed orders which were promptly accepted. Some wise guy even came in demanding a piece of S rank armor. He was shoved out of the shop without another word being said. 

After all the work was done the Dwarf allowed Iris to go and do whatever he wished for the rest of the day. Giving him a key and a small amount of credits, he sent Iris out into town. Iris went and bought some food for himself and ate. He decided the library was his next stop. The library had a plethora of skill books that taught you anything from martial arts to cooking. Some were body strengthening books, however, they were low class ones. Judging from the time needed he would have to grab one of them today at the very least to see effects by the end of the month. 

Iris would also need to grab books on different martial arts. He didn't need to master them; he just needed other ways of defending himself in the meantime. However, it would be good to master at least one of them. In one month that's a stretch. He did have some knowledge on one of the skills within the library. It was a punch focused art that would apply a spinning motion to the target. Whether it was twisting their organs, or their whole body. He had only managed to reach the beginner stage of the art. He could probably make it to intermediate by the end of the month.

Iris walked towards the library. His book selection already pinpointed. When he walked through the door the smell of old paper hit his nose. It was a calming smell. The receptionist greeted him and he went towards the back of the first floor. The upper floors were only used by Tower students, normal civilians weren't allowed. Finding the book was trivial as he navigated the tight bookshelves. 

Iris found the book and started reading it at one of the nearby tables. He had grabbed some of the basic body enhancement books as well and started to study them. After reaching the end of the introduction of each he grabbed all 3 books he had grabbed from the shelves and brought them to the receptionist. She smiled and asked Iris to pay for the books. 

After paying, Iris headed back to the smithy. He had a lot to do, and not much time to do it.