Rugrat watched as Taran formed the iron under his hammer. First he flattened out the ingot into a long strip, then he started folding the iron over at one side. Using a metal rod, he formed the socket of the spear, heating and hammering as needed.
Once that was finished, he moved to the actual spearhead, shaping it out and then hammering the edges. He let the spearhead cool and the red glow disappear before he tempered the spearhead, quenching it and pulling out the finished product.
Then he let it rest on some coals for its final tempering.
Rugrat watched Taran and thought on the information he had gained through the different books and scrolls he’d looted from the warrior’s body and the bodies of the Willful Institute disciples.
Taran wiped some sweat off his forehead as he looked at Rugrat. “You think you’ve got the handle of it?”
“I’ve got some of it down,” Rugrat said.
“Well, with smithing, one doesn’t learn just through reading and watching—have a try.”
Rugrat nodded and selected an ingot and started to warm it.
Taran started to heat up his own iron as he needed to work on more crossbow mechanisms.
Rugrat heated up the iron and pulled out a hammer he had looted from a Willful Institute disciple. He moved to one of the anvils and started hammering. With his strength, he was able to shape the metal faster than Taran.
He put it back in the furnace to keep it cherry-red. He focused on the metal and the rhythmic hammering as he and Taran worked.
He flattened out the iron and then started on the socket. He made it too thin and it failed. Rugrat put the iron into the furnace, to melt it down. He pulled out another iron ingot and started again.
Rugrat failed three more times before he was able to complete his first spearhead.
He studied it and put it to the side. Then he grabbed his first ingot and hammered it into the first shape he wanted; he started again. He finished his second spearhead and went to the third.
He stood in front of the furnace for a few seconds, reflecting on the failures that he’d had, the successes, then the final product. He pulled up his notepad that he had been writing on as he read through whatever manuals he had been able to read and his knowledge from Earth.
Rugrat pulled out the iron ingot and started on his next spearhead. He circulated the Mana in his body, directing it through the open Mana gate in his hand. His hammer glowed as his blow hit the iron, a bit of the Mana being absorbed into the iron.
That’s it—that’s the feeling I’m looking for!
Rugrat finished the spear and picked up the next iron ingot in a rush. His blows were powerful and sure; his eyes didn’t move from the metal as he hammered on it. Red and blue sparks flew from his hammer as he worked, making Taran look over in shock.
Rugrat finished the spearhead in record time but he frowned, tempering it and putting it to the side as he worked on the next and the next.
Rugrat felt that he was just out of tune with the metal, as if there was a barrier between them. Unconsciously, he pushed more Mana into the metal. He was using Simple Organic Scan without knowing it after healing for so long.
As he worked, his mind worked through what he knew; it created an outline in his mind.
Rugrat moved to his seventh spearhead. All else in the world had faded away as he had turned into a forging machine.
He placed the iron ingot into the furnace, not noticing how the spell around his hand holding the tongs and the red-hot metal had changed.
A look of understanding and shock filled his mind as information seemed to explode in his mind. He could see the form of the iron, its very makeup. Rugrat perfectly tempered the iron, taking his time to understand this ability to see through the metal.
He placed it down on the anvil; his hammer blows rained down and the metal sang as a wide smile appeared on his face. Mana was stirred up in the air as it was forced through his body, through his tools, and into the iron. He was actually changing the composition of the iron slightly with the infusion of Mana.
A blue mist had appeared around the other spearheads, but now faint tracings of blue could be seen in the spearhead.
“Mana forger.” Taran shook from shock as he watched Rugrat’s gleeful expression. He had forgotten where he was as he watched Rugrat work.
Rugrat lost the concept of time as he continued to refine the spearhead and temper it completely. Finally, he put it down. Drained, he closed his eyes. It was as if he had opened a doorway, connecting the information in his mind to what he was doing before him.
Already the spearhead in front of him was an inferior product as he thought of ways to improve the iron ingot with different materials, reviewed what he had done wrong and what had gone right.
He didn’t open his eyes for some time. When he did, he found the smithy was silent and Taran stared at him with shining eyes.
“Taran?” Rugrat asked, feeling something was off.
“A Mana forger—I didn’t think that I would live to see the day!” Taran said quietly.
“Mana forger?” Rugrat asked.
“One who uses not only physical means to shape their metal but also Mana, able to call out deeper innate abilities in metal—in rare cases able to actually add formations, enchanting weapons,” Taran said.
Rugrat hadn’t heard of a Mana forger before.
Taran seemed to be stuck deep in thought as Rugrat checked on his notifications. Then it was his turn to look shocked.
He had made it to level nineteen in smithing; he’d only made it to level three before this! Also, he had learned the spell Simple Inorganic Scan.
“You mustn’t waste your talent. I can’t teach you anything here. You must fight to reach the Fourth Realm. It is the land of war and smiths,” Taran said, but from his tone, it seemed he felt that such a task was incredibly hard.
“What else can I do?” Rugrat asked.
“You would need to find a Mana forging teacher, or technique books to increase your depth of knowledge,” Taran said.
Rugrat’s mind moved to the auction terminal. He wanted to see if anything was there, but he didn’t want to waste their hard-earned gold on something that might not even help them in the coming fight.
“What are the advantages of the Mana forger?” Rugrat asked seriously.
“All I know is that they can create incredibly powerful items and even draw out greater strength from the items that they do make,” Taran said, a sour expression on his face as he felt his information was lacking.
Rugrat nodded. He was interested and excited but now wasn’t the time to be wasting gold on smithing technique books. As long as he could create spearheads and assist Taran, that would be enough.
Rugrat looked at some of the complete crossbow mechanisms. He walked over to them and put his hand on them. “Simple Inorganic Scan,” he muttered. He was able to see into the mechanism, understanding its shape, form, and function.
After a few minutes, he stopped and looked up at Taran. “Would you be able to make a crossbow mechanism? I’d be interested in learning.” Now that he had learned how to make spearheads, he wanted to learn to make more.
The crossbow’s mechanism was simple, but it was smaller; the stresses were greater and it had to be exact or the crossbow would fail.
Rugrat watched as Taran worked. As he asked questions, Taran was stunned and he actually adjusted how he was working. With Rugrat and Taran talking as Taran worked, his process and speed improved.
***
Erik got back late from hunting and the groups dispersed. The people from the village had mixed emotions. Their levels had greatly increased, but then they had needed to kill tens of boars on their outing. Knowing that in the future that they would be up against hundreds of the beasts made everything all the more real for them.
Blaze met him as he was walking in.
“Good hunting?” Blaze asked.
“Not bad, just getting a hang of this thing,�
�� Erik showed his short bow, thankfully Rugrat had taken some time to show him how to be a better archer so he didn’t look like a complete idiot in front of the hunting party.
Erik could see Blaze, the village leaders jealousy even if he hid it.
“You’ll have to come out in the coming days when you’re free,” Erik smiled.
Blaze let out a dry laugh, rubbing his head as he’d been seen through.
“Sorry, it’s just now I’m only a level eleven when I used to be the strongest in the town, now everyone else is catching up quickly!”
Erik nodded, working as the village’s leader Blaze hadn’t had much time to increase his overall level dealing with bureaucratic issues.
“What did you do before you were the villager’s leader?” Erik asked.
Blaze seemed to be caught off guard by the question before he let out a laugh.
“I was one of the king’s knights, I served for twelve long years, earning my right to create a camp. So I gathered some people, created a camp out here and built Alva as you see it now. Had to sell my horse and gear one year—the grain supply got too low.”
Erik could see the pain in Blaze’s eyes.
He could understand it, too. Blaze had been a warrior, a man to lead from the front, when he lost his armor and horse, he had lost that part of him. He’d become some guy behind a desk.
“Have you ever trained with a spear?” Erik asked.
“A spear?” Blaze looked confused but nodded. “It was one of the first weapons I learned as an infanteer. I lived with my spear for five years before I was able to become a cavalry squire.”
“Good. I need someone to lead the spear groups I want to build up three to five spear wielding groups of ten people each. Their main purpose is to hold the walls at all costs and protect the archers led by Glosil,” Erik said, looking at Blaze seriously.
He could see a fire in Blaze’s eyes as one side of his mouth stretched into a bloody grin.
A cold smile appeared on Erik’s face, a smile between warriors that only offered one thing: death to those who stood in their path.
Erik clapped Blaze’s shoulder. “To be my man on the ground, I’m going to need someone to replace you in organizing all of the villagers,” Erik said.
Blaze turned thoughtful, not answering immediately. Erik silently nodded to himself. Blaze might want to have the position leading the spear users, but he wasn’t going to leave his previous position to have his previous efforts ruined.
“Elise,” Blaze said after some deep thought.
Erik raised his eyebrow and indicated for Blaze to go on.
“She might just manage the store, but she’s got a good mind for it. She’s well connected to the people and has their respect. She’s fair and kind, but crossing her is a bad idea. She’s helped me out a time or two with planning out a few projects.”
Erik hadn’t spent that much time talking to Elise; he’d been off with one task or another, or just heading straight for the auction interface.
“Well, let’s go and talk to Elise,” Erik said.
“Also, the farmers should be done with their harvest midday tomorrow, and one of the woodworkers has expressed an interest to make a logging area. It will cost some resources and he will be removed from making crossbows, but it would increase the amount of wood we can cut,” Blaze said.
“See to it,” Erik said.
If I could find a technique manual to improve one’s woodworking ability, then I could decrease the number of woodworkers on the weapons building side of things and then pull them for making buildings. I would feel much safer with woodworkers overseeing and working with the farmers to make the buildings. Less chance of it coming down like a pile of dominos.
They entered the store. Elise wiped her brow with the back of her arm as she looked up from the meat she was curing and readying for ration packs.
Seems like there’s jerky everywhere I go. Not chili-flavored, though.
“Auction block?” She blew hair out of her face.
“Job recruitment!” Erik walked up to the table.
She frowned and looked from Erik to Blaze, as if trying to get a hint from them.
Erik tapped his hands on the counter as Blaze grinned.
“So, want to manage the village?” Erik asked.
“What?” She looked at Erik as if he had grown a third head.
“Well, Blaze here will be creating a spear unit and I am in need of a boss lady to get this village on the right track. I was told that you would be the right person to talk to.” Erik watched her closely. Although it was Blaze’s recommendation, Erik couldn’t let such a key part of the village’s development be ignored or fall through.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” Elise said.
Erik simply nodded as Elise pursed her lips, thinking.
“I’m not going to lie. I’m not thrilled with the idea of taking over the role and I have a few conditions,” Elise warned.
“Duly noted,” Erik said.
“Good. Then I’m going to need helpers. No offense, but Blaze was making a dog’s breakfast of this, trying to manage it all. I want to break down the operations of the village on the civilian side even more. I want Jasper to manage the resources and their storage—grain, wood, stone, food—as well as meal preparation—morning, midday, and evening meals and creating rations in their time off. Also, I want him to have twenty people, not just ten. Taran will be in charge of making weapons; he’ll appoint someone to attend meetings.” Elise saw Erik and Blaze wince. “Every day, I want to have a meeting with all of the leaders. You two, Rugrat, Glosil, Jasper, Taran, and I will attend to go over everything that has happened in the day. If you agree to this, then I’ll agree to the position.”
“Done,” Erik said as fast as possible, not willing to let her get away.
Blaze scratched his head. Compared to Elise’s management skills, he was truly lacking,
Erik pulled out a notepad he had been working on, flipping through the pages.
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Breakdown= 17 groups+ 2 guard groups (190 people) (9 unable to work)
Groups- Activity
3-Weapons/arrows/defensive items
5-Farmers Harvesting
5-Logging
1-Food/Storage
3-Training/hunting
------
2-Guards
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“Elise, I want you to focus on building projects. The first to be completed will be the logging camp to assist the loggers. I want you to use people from the harvesting groups once they’ve harvested all of the crops. One group will be sent to assist Jasper. One second.” Erik opened up the auction marketplace and went to blueprints.
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1000 Gold Village Hall
100 Gold Barracks II
100 Gold Workshop II
10 Gold Smithy I
100 Gold Store II
10 Gold Stone Mine II
100 Gold Ore Mine II
10 Gold Farm I
10 Gold Warehouse I
10 Gold Wall
10 Gold Watchtower I
100 Mana cornerstones (Earth grade) Teleportation Array I
==========
If he had the gold for it, he could buy any of them. The village Village Hall could be bought, but it couldn’t be built until the village had certain buildings within its domain and a certain population base. He could build a smithy, but unless he had a smith, or he trained one, then it would be useless.
He wasn’t just held back by these buildings; he could build whatever he wanted. Erik wanted to build badly, but he took a minute before rushing forward.
Defensive lines—sure, we need them, but not immediate concern. Need to build up the basics of the village. We aren’t going to rely on the walls but on people. Food, sorted. Water, need to put some measures in to make sure that we have enough. We’ve got the well and people have rain water barrels but we
need to make sure that’s sustainable. If I was able to get a purification spell, I could get Roska to purify the water; then we wouldn’t have sewage and wastewater. I could talk about health and safety while people are eating; that way, we could keep down infections and diseases. Bathing is low on these people’s priority, but it would keep down disease and increase people’s morale, having a hot shower. Shelter, we need to make sure that everyone has good sleeping quarters. Clean out that sprawling mess, clear up the roads to the walls. Then get watchtowers up to give us an early warning. That will require people.
Erik flipped to the auction side of things and looked through spells.
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Purification
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Novice
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Purify water you are touching
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Consumption of Mana based on amount of water purifying.
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Bid: 7 Silver, 35 Copper
Time: 1 day, 17 hours, 23 minutes
Buyout: 12 Silver, 79 Copper
Erik bought it directly and looked to crafting technique manuals. He looked at an architect technique manual but it was in the range of fifty gold. He could only shake his head and move onto the next best.
He moved to the crafting and then woodworking section. The big-name Expert Woodworkers technique guides and other straightforward titled manuals had been bought up. Erik reduced his overall buyout amount, limiting the number of books as they became more obscure.
Most people want the general guide and pass by; if one was to look at the basics, the key points, then those would be the greatest influence.
Erik’s thinking was based on how his general spells were less effective and cost more in Mana than when he targeted his Focused Heal as much as possible. Like a machine: if you only had to build one thing, you didn’t need to be a master of that machine, just the master of making that one part.
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Basics of joining
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Apprentice
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Learn Apprentice-grade woodworking skills. Focused on: Joining, Load-bearing joints.
The Two Week Curse Page 30