Chapter 18: A little smith??

Entering the smithy, the first thing that Kiel felt was the temperature around increase. Hot was the sensation that he perceived. Kiel felt a little uncomfortable, but he didn't mind it, as his mind was now full of the weapons that he just saw and how it felt to make them with his own two hands.

Kiel was always fascinated by new things. But he was too busy in his previous world to even enjoy his life properly, let alone relax and do something new.So, now he wanted to live his life to the fullest.

"Kiel, we are here. This is the smithy and your future workplace. So watch it properly. You will inherit our family's forging in the future. So try to keep up to its standards"

"Ok papa. I'll try hard."

Kiel replied, pumping up his fists.

Satisfied with his son's answer, Derek led him to the inner smithy.

The inside was almost dark with little to no light. But there was a slight golden glow coming from furnaces and the lamps. The atmosphere was very intense and full of heat. A thud thud sound was resounding through the whole room, and the temperature seemed to increase even more with each echo. Although Kiel's body has become more durable now, he could still feel sweat forming around his body. Kiel even started to wonder how the people worked in such environments.

From the novels, it sounded very easy. Like sitting around a furnace, striking metal and then your weapon is ready. But witnessing it first hand, Kiel felt the heat and discomfort, the hard work and how difficult it really may be.

As Kiel entered inside, he saw a bear like man, hammering a piece of red hot metal piece with a big hammer. The metal piece was giving off incredible heat and radiated a dim glow.

There were various other equipment and machinery around, some of which Kiel knew and some that he didn't recognize.

On the right side, there were two big furnaces that were oozing out heat; an anvil of shining grey color in the middle, on which the man was working on. Further inside there was a big metal foundry and a large water barrel. There were few moulds too, and some sharpening and grinding tools. On the left side there was a big rack full of various raw metals, ingots and ores. And at the front Kiel even saw a half finished mace by the side. It was the only weapon around, although it was not completed yet.

"Remmy, you have already started. It seems that I was a bit late today "

As Derek's words reverberated, the bear like man turned around. He had his hair disheveled, his black leather work clothes drenched in sweat, and his face had a rosy colour due to the excess heat.

"Oh! It's Derek. Yo! No need to worry about being late. Come over and start working."

"On it. Just need this little one to understand the place a bit." Derek said and moved to the right, to take some metal ingots.

"Hello Uncle Remmy! Long time no see. How are you doing??"

Getting his cue, and seeing the big man approaching them, Kiel greeted him politely.

"Oh! It's little Kiel. You sure have grown since the last time I saw you. Your dad was talking about bringing you here, yesterday. Good to see you here. It will be good to have an extra working hand here."

"Good to be with here too, Uncle Remmy."

"Well enough of the greetings. Kiel come here. Lemme show you how things work here."

As Kiel followed his father, Derek started explaining the smithy to him.

"Look those at the left are the two furnaces. They are generally used to heat up ores to separate metals from their ores. We supply the fire stone here and send our mana in the rune-circuitry for the heat from the flames to reach the top. This evenly heats up the ores and removes basic impurities."

Seeing Kiel nod, Derek continued… " This one here is a forge. It is generally used to heat a metal for forging purposes. This one also uses fire stone, but most blacksmiths tend to use their own flames to heat the forge up, as it can give them a better control over the metal and also help in understanding the composition of the metal, they are working with, better.

The furnace is not necessary to be controlled. But high level smiths even like to use their own flames for the whole process. They say it increases efficiency and makes the metals purer. This is the foundation for creating high level weapons. The top weapons in the world are said to be without even a single speck of impurities in them. And to achieve such a state, this is the dream of every blacksmith."

As Derek continued, his eyes had even more fervent expression.

"Papa.."

"Oh ya! Continuing on, this here is an anvil… this one is a chisel..."

(A/N: I think you all don't need an explanation for all these tools. If it is needed I will explain more in later chapters. So I will keep it short. And remember this is fantasy!!)

Derek showed him all the things one by one, and explained it carefully to him. Although it took a bit of his time, Kiel remembered them all by heart. He even entered his Tranquil State a little, to better understand everything. He was planning to make a lot of things here. So he needed to build up his foundation better.

Taking a brown metal ingot, Derek threw it in the forge. He then began to channel his mana into the forge and waited for the metal to melt.

"This here is bronze. This metal has a low melting point, hence can be melted fast. It is generally used in low rank weapons. It has a pretty good durability. Although it is not a good conductor of mana, but mixed with a few other , it is a great choice for low rank adventures."

Kiel silently noted everything of importance that his father said. One thing he noticed that this world too contained basic metals like copper, silver and gold. He was intrigued by this, and even pondered how to study the properties of various metals.

Silently gazing at all the stuff, his father was carefully working on, Kiel was pretty excited. It was interesting to see how medieval people worked without electricity. How mana flowed and operated etc. Fascinating was the sensation he was experiencing now.

Observing his father getting absorbed in his work, Kiel had a sudden thought. He began comparing his father's mana with his own lifeforce. Kiel still had a bit of hope that his lifeforce, what he called it to be, was the mana!

But when he silently began noticing it's flow and its operation, Kiel found they were different from each other. Although they were both energy, Kiel Felt that his lifeforce was gentle, while the mana that his father used was more like violent. Without proper control it may even tend to go berserk.

Lost in his own world, Kiel didn't even think what was even happening around him. He was focused on the mana and lifeforce. Only when Derek gave him further instructions did he know that he lost himself again.

"Kiel. You are new here. So look closely at everything and try to remember as much as you can. I've work now. So don't disturb me now. And starting tomorrow, you will start the basics of smithing. The first thing that you need to do is be familiar with your hammer. The hammer is your best friend in this occupation. So remember to treat it well."

"Understood papa."

"Now go on. Don't disturb me"

Nodding, Kiel went to the various tools and equipments and started to fiddle with them. It was very interesting for him seeing such ancient tools.

'I wonder what will happen if I bring electricity in this world…'

When he was lost in his thoughts, he started feeling a little dizzy due to all the heat. Thinking now it was time for him to go out, Kiel informed his father and went out to get some fresh air.

But unknown to him, Derek and Remmy were too surprised at his performance.

"Derek, you have got a capable son there. Most children even at the age of five can't stand the heat here for more than fifteen minutes, at most half an hour. But he was here for almost two hours and still seemed fine."

"Well, he has too! After all he is my son" Derek was filled with pride after declaring it to Remmy.

Unknown to the conversation happening in the smithy, Kiel came out of the smithy and entered the workshop, adjacent to the smithy. It had all the ready-made weapons available in the store.

There were numerous weapons stored here. Much much more than those on display. Kiel was amazed by the sight once again. He picked some swords and tried them. They were heavy but still he could swing them a little. Kiel then searched for a single edged weapons. In his previous life, he was a very big fan of the katana. But there were not many such weapons here. He found two singled edged sabers, however they were not to his liking. So he played around with other weapons. After being satisfied with the numerous weapons, Kiel came out to the front area.

Coming out, he saw his Aunt Ena, who was presenting the customers. Remembering his previous sufferings, Kiel turned to go back into the smithy. But he was not so lucky.

"Oh my! Look who do we have here! Isn't this the cute little mama's boy.."

A few customers looked towards him, but seeing the little boy, they turned back to their business.

A sweet and amicable voice sounded behind his back, however, it only filled with him dread. A chill even ran down his back.

"A..unt E..na..."

"Ara ra ra.. Why don't you come play with me a little"

Thinking that he had nothing more interesting to do and he didn't hate her, so he nodded.

"Ok… But only if you don't pinch my cheeks."

"Ok I promise. But you are cute and those dimples… I just can't stop myself"

"Mou… AUNT ENA..."

"Ok ok come here."

Awenasa pointed at her lap with her hands.Kiel went to her and slowly sat on her lap. He felt his hairs being caressed from the back. Kiel always liked this sensation, and feeling the bouncy sensation at his back, he became even more comfortable.

"Did you enjoy your tour here."

"Hmm. Papa told me that I can come here starting tomorrow."

"Oh my! So I can have my daily dose of cuteness now."

Feeling the loving care that Ena showed him, he slowly fell asleep.

He was already tired from his adventures, so it didn't take him  much to drowse down in the warmth.