Translator: CinderTL
"What are you standing around for? Keep going!" Hawk roared.
Startled by Hawk's shout, Roland quickly regained his focus and resumed swinging the hammer.
Though his mind was filled with a comprehensive theoretical understanding of forging, the gap between theory and practice proved to be substantial.
As a result, the next few hammer strikes were clumsy and awkward.
Compared to Hawk's skill, even Marco's rough technique earlier was several levels above Roland's.
Witnessing this, the observing youths couldn't help but snicker.
"Ha! He dares to try with such poor technique?"
"I knew he'd fail! Look at his arms—they're as thin as twigs. He'll run out of strength after just a few swings!"
Hawk stood nearby with his arms crossed, saying little, but the constant tapping of his fingers betrayed his dissatisfaction with Roland's performance.
Undeterred by the jeers, Roland remained completely focused, swinging the hammer again and again.
You have successfully completed a forging action, gaining one experience point.
You have successfully completed a forging action.
You have successfully completed
With each notification, Roland felt his understanding of the forging skill deepen.
The hammer in his hand no longer felt like a foreign object, but rather an extension of his own body, responding effortlessly to his will.
This allowed each strike to be more precise and the force more appropriate than the last.
As the forging progressed, Hawk's tightly furrowed brow gradually relaxed, and a hint of undisguised astonishment flickered across his usually stern face.
The surrounding apprentices, witnessing Roland's increasingly skilled movements, couldn't help but murmur in awe.
"This guy's forging technique is almost as good as Marco's."
"Could his father be some famous master blacksmith?"
With the final hammer strike, Roland gazed at the rough dagger taking shape on the anvil, a flicker of excitement in his eyes.
Though still somewhat crude, the blade showed no cracks.
The quality was far from refined, but with a bit of polishing, it would be serviceable.
Taking a deep breath, Roland ignored the boys' curious glances and turned to the old blacksmith beside him.
"Mr. Hawk, what do you think?"
"Hmm," Hawk grunted, stepping forward to pick up the rough dagger blank and examine it closely.
After a moment, he looked up and asked, "Roland, right? What did you do before?"
"Just like my father, I trained horses for Lord Baron," Roland replied, scratching his head as he recalled the original owner's memories.
"Horse training? Have you ever worked with forging tools before?"
"No, Mr. Hawk."
Seeing the clear-eyed youth's unwavering gaze, Hawk's lips curled into a slight smile. He turned around, raised the dagger blank, and roared menacingly, "Pay attention, all of you! This is what forging tools means!"
"And some of your families even run blacksmith shops! Yet your forging skills can't even match a horse-herding boy!"
"Each of you will take a metal ingot and practice using Roland's rough blank as a template! Anyone who fails will spend the night hungry, reflecting by the furnace!"
Amidst the groans of his apprentices, Hawk clapped Roland firmly on the shoulder.
"From now on, you'll focus solely on assisting me. Forget about practicing any other skills, understand?"
"Yes, sir!" Roland replied, his heart swelling with joy.
Assisting Hawk not only gave him ample time to practice his forging skills but also meant he had earned the master blacksmith's favor.
Baron Forslin of Blackwater Territory was financially strained, barely able to support even one knight. Hawk was the territory's sole blacksmith.
To gain Hawk's favor meant Roland had already cleared half the hurdle to becoming a formal apprentice!
"Thank you, Mr. Hawk!"
"Hmm, work hard and don't slack off!"
After a few words of encouragement, Hawk waved his hand and strode away.
Watching his retreating figure, Roland stood rooted to the spot, savoring the strange sensation he had experienced while forging.
"The traits granted by becoming a blacksmith apprentice... they're even more powerful than I imagined!"
"Not only did it instantly help me grasp previously incomprehensible knowledge, but it also made mastering blacksmithing skills twice as efficient!"
"If just a basic class like blacksmith apprentice can give me such a significant boost, what about the other classes?"
"If I keep multiclassing, with the stacking attributes, skills, and traits..."
Just as Roland was lost in his fantasies, a thick arm suddenly wrapped around his neck, followed by a strange shout.
"Well done, Roland! I knew you could do it!"
"Sean?"
Seeing his best friend's excited expression, Roland said with a hint of helplessness, "You're getting too worked up."
"Dude! How can I not be? Mr. Hawk is using your rough forging as the standard! That stubborn old man has never praised anyone like that before!"
"I know, but shouldn't you be more worried about whether we'll have dinner tonight?"
"Heh heh! You're right."
Roland rolled his eyes at Sean's good-natured demeanor before dragging him over to the anvil. As he explained the key points of forging, they casually chatted.
As time passed, Roland's tense nerves gradually relaxed, and a wave of fatigue washed over him.
Feeling his arms ache and numb to the point of near-insensibility, he couldn't help but sigh softly.
"Just forging a crude dagger has completely exhausted me. It seems two points of Strength simply aren't enough."
"If I want to improve my stats quickly, my only option is to change classes. But based on my recent experience becoming a blacksmith apprentice, I need to learn the corresponding skills first."
As Roland pondered this, Sean glanced around to make sure no one was listening before whispering, "Roland, you need to be careful lately."
"Marco's face looked really ugly just now."
"Remember Landes, the guy from before? He had exceptional talent for forging, even surpassing Marco. But what happened to him?"
Sean set down his hammer and leaned closer. "After meeting Marco privately, he mysteriously left the estate and vanished without a trace."
Hearing this, Roland looked up.
Sure enough, Marco was watching him from a distance, muttering something to the people around him. His resentful glare made it clear he wasn't saying anything complimentary.
"But don't worry too much. This is Lord Baron's estate. Even if Marco's arrogant, he wouldn't dare cause trouble here. Besides..."
Sean flexed his arm, showing off his bulging muscles.
"If anything happens, I'll protect you!"
"Thank you, Sean," Roland replied with a faint smile, though his guard remained up.
He knew that if not for his presence, the formal apprentice position three months from now would undoubtedly go to Marco.
As the saying goes, "Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents."
And this livelihood was no ordinary job—it was the exclusive blacksmith position serving the nobility!
"One can never be too careful! Especially with Marco as a potential threat..."
Recalling recent intelligence, Roland's brow furrowed.
"This world is teeming with rampaging demonic beasts and powerful figures like knights with extraordinary abilities. It's a place fraught with danger!"
"I need to learn combat skills quickly and take on a combat-related side job. That way, I can improve my attributes and at least have some self-defense capabilities if danger strikes. But..."
After careful consideration, Roland reluctantly acknowledged a harsh reality:
In his current situation—lacking both money and status—he saw no viable path to acquiring combat skills.
"Wait a minute!"
As if struck by a sudden thought, Roland turned to his best friend, who was clumsily practicing forging techniques nearby.
(End of the Chapter)
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