The Smith examined the ore in his hand more closely. It was red, like Red Iron, but now that he looked, clearly different. It was a deeper red, but there was an almost… wetness, to the tal mixed up with the rock. He set it aside and continued his work, but soon enough he found more of that sa ore. He slowed down, now, taking more ti to inspect each piece of ore to ensure only Red Iron made it into the hopper.
He found a few more small bits of other kinds of ore. A weird deep yellow. A reddish brown. Even an ore that he would have guessed was rely a weird mineral, yet registered with his Skill.
By noon, he had half filled the cooling trays on the rack, and the pile of remaining ore was almost entirely out of the way. The Smiths bustling about the yard, taciturn and gruff in the ways Smiths are, didn't thank him aloud. Instead, they gave him a short nod of respect and acknowledgnt when he caught their eye.
Still, there was more than enough Red Iron Ore piled up to last him the rest of the day, and into the morrow.
Marlie called him over to one of the miniature Smithies on the edge of the yard right as he finished his lunch.
"Oi, Jas! C're!"
He walked over and there was a young man. Quite young. In fact, Jas squinted his eyes to be sure, the man was possibly even younger than Jas himself was. But where Jas was thin, this man was incredibly brawny, with bulging muscles and a width to his body that made him seem shorter than he actually was.
"Bruno, this is Jas! Jas, this is Bruno!"
They nodded at each other, and Bruno pointed with his chin at Jas' armband.
"Ye workin' wit de knights, eh?"
Jas rubbed the back of his head. "It's, eh, a long story, but yeah."
Bruno frowned, then crossed his arms.
"I cannae gif a man a weapon widout makin' sure it's right fer 'im." Bruno's accent was quite thick.
Marlie shook her head. "No, it's not for a knight, it's for Jas himself."
Bruno squinted, looking Jas up and down. "Ye so kinda Hamr Warrior?"
Jas shrugged. "Sothing like that. I fight with a War Hamr almost exclusively."
Bruno's gaze lingered on Jas arms, and then he sighed. "Well, I ent go' t'be sellin' this neeti soo', migh' a' well," he muttered.
Marlie tried to cheer him up. "Don't worry, Bruno! A Weaponsmith like you will be making masterpieces in no ti. But if you never sell your early work, you're just denying yourself experience and slowing down your leveling."
Bruno sighed again, and made a show of looking Jas up and down. "I saw ye heavin' dat ore, but ken ye even lift a proper war hamr?"
Jas nodded firmly. "Yeah, I'm pretty strong, actually."
"From levels?"
"Yeah."
"Right." Bruno turned and started grabbing war hamrs from where they were lying around his smithy. "Ye'd be better served puttin' so muscle on ye, though."
"Huh?" Jas grunted.
"Yeah!" Marlie agreed.
"De Strength boost is based on yer natural strength." Bruno shot another look at Jas' thin arms. "Ye'd certainly be much stronger if ye put so at on yer bones."
Jas rubbed his chin, and then nodded. "Thanks for the advice, Weaponsmith Bruno," he said sincerely.
Bruno nearly tripped and sputtered, before dumping an armload of war hamrs of all shapes and sizes on a sturdy wood table that nearly gave way under the impact.
"Oi, I only jus' got classes a couple months ago. If ye talk to like that, it gives the shivers, Smith Jas. Jus' call Bruno." His hands now free, he extended his right for a handshake.
Jas clasped it and shook with a grin. "Alright, then call Jas, too."
Bruno's eyes glead, and then he took a step back and waved expansively at his hamrs. "Take a look, then. Feel free to ask any questions you have, Jas."
Jas first looked at all the two-handed war hamrs. With long hafts, he'd have better reach, and they would hit harder, but…
He picked one up and gave it a test swing. The swing was utterly amateur and, frankly, didn't match up well with the hamr itself nor with Jas' hard-won fighting instincts.
Next he looked at the one-handed hamrs. There was one with a wicked looking, long, curved spike on the end, clearly designed for piercing plate armor. But he had a feeling it wouldn't work with his Smith Class' Technique. It was a little too far from hamring.
He picked up a few and gave them test swings, and Bruno chuffed with pride as he saw the expression on Jas' face.
There was such a difference between Very Low and dium quality!
The balance of the weapon was much improved. With the weapons Jas had created, it was as though he had a rock on a stick and he was intentionally moving it through space. Sure, he could hit things, but it was more effort.
With the hamr in his hand, however, his [Hamr Strike] flowed. The hamr was an extension of his body and his Technique.
Even better, he had no worry that the hamr head would unexpectedly break off the haft. His first war hamr had done that, against the mole monster back when he first entered the Dungeon. He realized that he'd been holding back subconsciously most of the ti, but now? With [Product Testing], he could tell there was no need.
The only problem he had was that the hamrs felt a little light in his hand.
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"Hmmm…" he humd as he picked up the various hamrs, and Bruno's eyebrows raised.
"Oh, ye really are dat strong. Maybe…" He dug around in the back of his Smithy for a minute before returning with an unusually large war hamr with a short looking haft. "I made this while experintin' with Durability. It's a bit like a bastard sword, but a war hamr."
[Appraisal]: Steel Bastard War Hamr, Quality: dium, Durability: 50/50
Everything about the hamr was thick. There was no spike on either hamr head. Just a chunky, rectangular hunk of tal shaped precisely to the balance of the hamr in its entirety.
Jas picked it up with one hand, and his eyes lit up at the heft of the thing.
"Whoa, you can actually lift that thing, Jas!" Marlie exclaid.
Jas was smiling now. "Uh huh." He was unarmored, and the lightness ant he had to take a proper stance, but he did so and gave the hamr a test swing.
[Technique: Hamr Strike]
Whoosh!
The air tore in front of him audibly.
Then he reset his stance, gripped it in two hands, and tested a powerful overhead swing. Like he was pounding a boss monster into the dirt.
[Technique: Hamr Strike]
WHOOSH!
A small gust of wind was kicked up. Just enough to lightly brush over Bruno and Marlie standing nearby.
"Smith Jas." Bruno stepped around the table and folded his arms, and glared right up into Jas' face. "Let sell ye that hamr. I won' take no for an answer."
"Bruno! No!" Marlie cried, and she leapt between the two Smiths with her arms stretched out, like she was breaking up a fight. "Stop!" She turned to Jas and pointed to the side. "Jas, go over there for a minute!"
Jas, confused, put the hamr down on the table and there was another ominous creak, but the table held. He walked a dozen yards away and Marlie sternly lectured Bruno for several minutes before waving him back over.
"Now, Bruno, do it like I said!"
Bruno, looking a little nonplussed, turned back to Jas and pointed at the Bastard War Hamr. "Ahem, Jas, I think that hamr's the best for you."
Marlie looked up at Jas with a stern and expectant expression.
Feeling a bit like he was acting in a play, Jas nodded stiffly. "Uh, yes, too. I would like to buy it."
"Very well," Bruno said awkwardly, "due to, uh, the… the uh, material costs and, er, de labor and de market conditions… uh…" His face reddened as he tried to repeat what he'd clearly just been told to say.
He sighed exasperatedly. "I cannae do this. Jas, I want to sell you that hamr."
Marlie rolled her eyes and heaved her own sigh, but before she could say anything, Jas stepped in to keep the conversation moving.
"Yes, Bruno, I would like to buy that hamr. How much?"
"I'd say two dollars is a fair price."
Jas' heart sank. He'd earned twenty cents the previous day. He might make thirty today, and maybe another twenty the day after, but that was still more than a dollar short.
"I don't think I can afford it. Unless…" he looked at Marlie hopefully, but she just looked fed up with the both of them.
"Bruno! At least try to haggle! Don't just start with your lowest price first! And you, Jas, don't just give up imdiately! Ask him to lower his price!"
Jas and Bruno shared a look.
"But, Marlie, you know nobody else is going to want to buy this hamr; if I can't sell it now, I might as well lt it down and reuse the steel."
"Marlie, I just don't have the money unless the Guild can lend so money. Besides, this hamr's a really good piece of work; I'd feel bad if I paid less than it was worth."
"Jas…" Bruno's eyes grew watery.
Marlie facepald. "Yer both Smith's, aintcha?! Ye just plannin' to give yer crafts away? Ye need to sell 'em! Ye need ta get paid! If ye'd just try, ye'd both get the Skill and ye could both stop wastin' my ti on yer tomfoolery!"
So spake the girl three years shy of her Choosing Day.
Jas and Bruno shared another look and shrugged at each other. After a bit of silent back and forth, Jas started. He turned to the table, made a few exaggerated "hmm" and "haahh" noises, and then picked up the Bastard War Hamr again.
"Weaponsmith Bruno, I would like to buy this hamr."
"Good choice, Hamr Warrior Jas. That will be three dollars."
"Uh, it's a great hamr, but I think I want to pay one dollar."
"Sorry, but I cannae take one dollar. How about two and a half?"
"I'm afraid I still can't pay that much. I could maybe pay one and a half."
They both looked at Marlie, who rolled her eyes again, and stage-whispered "Sell it!" to Bruno.
"Er, Mr. Custor, look at the heft and balance of this hamr. It's perfect for both one-handed and two-handed use, and you can even loop it into a belt like so…"
He demonstrated, and Jas was honestly impressed. "Ohh, that looks handy. I'll have to get a belt at so point."
"Oh!" Bruno twitched. "I got it. [Haggling]."
"Ahem, well, I suppose I could pay a dollar and seventy-five cents."
"Two and fifteen," Bruno countered confidently.
Jas frowned slightly. "A dollar and ninety cents," he countered, and then he felt his own intrusive thought.
Smith Class Skill [Haggling] has been acquired.
"Two dollars even, and that's as low as I'll go." Bruno folded his arms.
"A fair deal, two dollars it is," Jas replied, and they shook hands firmly.
It was the perfect scene until Bruno held out his hand expectantly for the money.
Money Jas didn't have.
He looked at Marlie pitifully, and then she dropped her fist in an open palm.
"Oh, right, yeah, I can't loan you two dollars on my own say so."
Bruno and Jas both were crestfallen.
"I could, uh, hold onto it, until you get the money together," Bruno offered, but Jas shrugged.
"I dunno if there's enough work at the Guild I could do to even make that much money," he replied.
Marlie looked like she felt a little bad. "Well, I'll ask and see. Co find before you leave for the day, Jas!" And then she scurried off.
Bruno clapped Jas on the shoulder. "Do nae worry, I won't be sellin' dat hamr nee ti soon. I kin wait fer ye ta get de money."
"Thanks, Bruno."
Jas spent the afternoon [Slting] more of the Red Iron, idly wondering if he would get another level of [Heat Resistance], but he never did. Every now and then a strong breeze would sweep through, driving away the heated air and cooling Jas as he worked.
It really wasn't so bad, once he got used to it.
Once he noticed the other Smiths closing up shop, he wrapped up his own work as well. He tidied up the waste pile, took the last trays of cooling ingots to the cooling rack, and estimated the remaining ore. He'd probably be finished before lunch tomorrow.
"Jas!"
He turned and saw the red-headed Guildmaster striding towards him.
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