Chapter 1: Becoming a Blacksmith Apprentice
Year 138 of the Glorious Moon Calendar, Month of the North Wind.
Gold Valley Kingdom, Blackwater Territory.
Although it was the middle of winter, the blacksmith's shop at Baron Fusslin's manor was still bustling with activity.
"Lads! All of you, pay attention!"
The blacksmith, Hawk, weaved through the busy crowd, his booming voice rumbling like muffled thunder.
"The assessment is in three months! If you don't want to pack your bags and go home, then all of you work harder!"
Upon hearing these words, the youths immediately applied themselves more diligently to their tasks.
But as they weren't even blacksmith apprentices, their unrefined skills naturally failed to satisfy Hawk.
"You're pumping the bellows so slowly, are you heating bathwater for your grandmother?"
"And you! How many times have I told you, you must seize the right moment when smelting ore!"
Hawk shook his head, somewhat disappointed, and continued to move through the crowd.
Suddenly, he paused, a low groan escaping his throat.
Before his eyes, a slender, black-haired youth was pulling the bellows with all his might, each pull causing the furnace fire to leap up in a flame over a foot high.
The scorching air drew beads of sweat, as large as soybeans, onto the youth's face, dripping continuously from his chin, yet his movements maintained a steady rhythm.
The moment the iron ingot turned from dark red to orange-red, the youth swiftly grabbed the tongs, and with a flick of his wrist, steadily clamped out the glowing ingot, then with a fluid turn, placed it onto the anvil.
The entire sequence of movements was smooth and effortless, showing no sign of awkwardness.
"This lad..."
Seeing this, Hawk nodded in satisfaction, then walked over to the youth and clapped him firmly on the shoulder.
"Your name is... Roland, right? Well done!"
Although it was just four simple words, it caused envy and jealousy to surface in the eyes of everyone else around them.
After all, the notoriously strict Hawk had never praised anyone before.
"You flatter me, Mr. Hawk."
Roland wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled shyly.
Hawk, however, waved his hand dismissively and turned to leave.
Unbeknownst to them, a clear bell suddenly rang out.
This was the signal for the manor servants to eat.
"Phew..."
After a long sigh of relief, Roland stretched, picked up a nearby rag, and cleaned the ore fragments around the furnace before jogging towards the dining area.
Two pieces of black bread, a piece of cheese the size of a fingernail, and a bowl of vegetable soup mixed with who-knows-what.
If it were in his previous life, Roland would probably only consider eating these things when he was on the verge of starving to death.
But now...
After wolfing down all the food, Roland found a quiet corner and sat down.
As he silently willed it, lines of golden text slowly appeared before his eyes.
【Name: Roland】
【Race: Human】
【Age: 16】
【Profession: None】
【Strength: 1】
【Agility: 0.8】
【Spirit: 1.2】
【Skills: Lv.2 Ore Smelting (169/200), Lv.2 Bellows Pumping (174/200)】
"It seems it won't be long before these two skills can level up again..."
That's right, Roland was not from this world.
After blacking out during an overtime shift, he found himself in this completely unfamiliar world.
The only thing accompanying him was the golden finger before his eyes.
This was a cheat engine he had downloaded to experience all the content during his first playthrough of a certain game.
Theoretically, as long as certain conditions were met, he could take on countless professions.
It was just a pity that this cheat engine had not yet triggered any prompts about changing professions.
"If only I had known this thing could come with me, I would have downloaded a more overpowered one!"
Just as Roland was annoyedly slapping his forehead, a slightly muffled voice suddenly reached his ears.
"Roland! I knew you'd be here!"
Looking up, he saw a tall youth slowly approaching.
It was Roland's best friend, Sean.
"Sean, aren't you going to use this time to practice your forging skills more? You know Mr. Hawk scolded you again this morning."
"Don't even mention it!"
Hearing Roland's teasing words, Sean scratched his brown curly hair.
"I don't have your talent, I'll probably have to leave here soon."
"Then what are you going to do after that? Inherit your old man's butchering trade?"
"Butchering? I'm too lazy to do such a boring job! And lately, my old man and Uncle Peyton quarrel every day, I don't want to stay at home anymore..."
Seeming to recall the noisy scene at home, Sean sighed and then whispered,
"When I went home last month, I heard my old man say that the monsters in the Blackwood Forest are becoming increasingly rampant, and have already invaded many villages!"
"Therefore, His Lordship had no choice but to order Sir Beckham to conscript soldiers to subjugate them! With my skill..."
He patted his thick bicep, a proud expression on his face.
"I can definitely join Sir Beckham's ranks, and who knows, I might even be promoted to a knight's squire! By then..."
With a loud laugh, the tall youth patted Roland's shoulder and said,
"You'll have to bow to me when you see me!"
"Are the monsters in the Blackwood Forest that powerful?"
Roland ignored Sean's teasing, only frowning as he said,
"They actually need to dispatch knights to subjugate them?"
"Who knows? But no matter how ferocious the monsters are, they will never be a match for transcendent professionals!"
Sean casually waved his hand, then changed the subject, asking with some concern,
"Let's not talk about that. What about you? Are you confident about the assessment in three months?"
"The assessment, huh..."
Hearing the question, Roland looked down at his scrawny body and shook his head helplessly.
Unlike the tall and sturdy Sean, he had no fallback.
His mother passed away early, and his gravely ill father, before his death, even sold their only adobe house to gather enough money to send him here to learn a trade.
If he could successfully pass the assessment, then all would be well.
A blacksmith exclusive to the nobility, even if only an apprentice, received excellent treatment, and his status would be several notches higher than that of an ordinary freeman.
But if the assessment failed...
Thinking of his desperate predicament, Roland couldn't help but shiver.
"A transmigrator who dies in poverty? That would be too pathetic..."
It wasn't that he was being overly anxious, but there were dozens of youths who came to learn the trade this time, many of whom were from hereditary blacksmith families.
And there was only one spot available.
So even with the golden finger, he still felt a bit uncertain.
"You don't need to worry too much..."
Sean saw that Roland didn't respond and was about to offer comfort when Hawk's booming shout suddenly came from afar.
"Lads! Don't you dare slack off, come gather quickly!"
"Let's go."
Roland brushed off the dust from his pants, stood up with a fluid movement, and gently shook his head, the confusion in his eyes gradually fading.
"No matter what, I'll first grind these two skills, Ore Smelting and Bellows Pumping, to max level!"
Thinking this, Roland pulled Sean along and returned to the blacksmith's shop.
Smelting ore, pumping bellows...
Although the process was incredibly monotonous, the golden text that appeared before his eyes after each correct operation made the panting Roland even more motivated.
【You have successfully performed a bellows pumping operation, gaining one point of experience】
【You have successfully performed an ore smelting operation, gaining one point of experience】
After an unknown amount of time, the unchanging text suddenly changed.
【Bellows Pumping skill has reached max level】
【Ore Smelting skill has reached max level】
【Upon detection, you can take on the basic profession of Blacksmith Apprentice】
【Requirements: Strength 1, Agility 0.5, two max-level forging-related skills】
【Do you wish to take on this profession?】
To facilitate reading for all godfathers, update times are fixed at 12:00 PM and 8:00 PM.
Wishing all godfathers well in all seasons and smooth sailing in all endeavors.
