[SP-F1] Earning a Living (Complete)

[Koutei 0]

After the incident, I thought about what I would do next. I looked down at my Beginner Sword. My weapon would mean the difference between life and death. I couldn't afford to take any risks. I needed a better sword.

I entered the blacksmith shop and approached the counter. "What could I do for ya, boy?" the man asked me. I replied that I needed a new sword and he told me that I could buy any sword in the shop, provided I had enough Col. I searched through the list of swords and saw a few decent ones but I was shocked at a new revelation.

They were all way too expensive. I couldn't afford even the lower-quality ones. What was I going to do? The man seemed to read my expression. "Ya know... if you can't buy a sword, you could always make one." he told me. "That's a nice offer but I don't really know anything about blacksmithing." I replied back. "Well, I guess I could teach you a few things... provided that you do a few things for me in return."

I looked at him for a few moments, thinking about what he said. At last I replied.

"I'm in."

[Koutei 0]

"Alright, uh..." "The name's Koutei." "Okay then Koutei, ya can call me Albert. Anyway, I can't really teach you much unless I have the materials to do so. Take this pickaxe and go down to a nearby cave. Mine some iron and bring it back to me."

He handed me the pickaxe.

"Oh and one more thing..." "Yes?" "Don't die."

[Koutei 0]

As I entered the cave, Albert's last words were lingering in my head: "Don't die."

Something caught my eye, the glint of metal in the rocks about 20 metres ahead. It was iron! I broke into a sprint as I ran towards the iron deposit. However, I quickly came to a stop when my foot caught a rock on the ground and I hit the floor with a thud. I dropped my Beginner Sword as I fell and it landed to my right.

"Ow..." I brushed the dust off my legs when I heard a subtle sound. I squinted as I looked ahead. A figure emerged from the shadows. 'Great...' I thought to myself. An enemy is approaching and I'm unarmed.

[Koutei 0]

The monster revealed itself from the darkness. It was a hungry looking wolf. It was only a low level monster, but I had no way to defend myself. I was still on my back so I couldn't run either. I glanced to my right, where my Beginner Sword was sitting. It was too far away to reach in time.

The wolf lunged at me. With a lot of concentration and luck, I caught its head with my feet. I rolled to my right three times, hurting the wolf in the process. The wolf broke free and jumped back. I saw the anger in its eyes as it proceeded to lunge at me once more.

This time, however, I was ready. I grabbed my Beginner Sword and activated a sword skill. With a powerful horizontal slash, my shining sword cut straight through the wolf.

[Koutei 0]

After a long day if mining iron and killing monsters, I finally returned to the Blacksmith shop. I returned the pickaxe and gave Albert the iron ore I had collected.

"This enough?" "Should be. Now that that's all done, we can finally get ya crackin' on some real Blacksmithing."

I followed him to the back of the shop where I found the shop's forge. Albert explained to me the process of Blacksmithing.

"Once ya get the metal to the right forging heat, start hammering it into shape at the anvil. After the forging process is complete, the finishing process begins. It mainly involves refining the metal at a grinding stone."

He showed me the process and helped me practice for a few hours. Eventually, the time came to close the shop. I approached Albert as he was preparing the close the store.

"Would you mind if I stayed here in the forge for the night?" He looked at me with a questioning glare. After a few moments, he accepted my request. He finished packing up and went to his room for the night. I returned to the forge.

I took the iron out of the forge and placed it on the anvil. I was determined to become a respectable Blacksmith. I needed to, if I had any chance of surviving in this cruel world. With fierce motivation, I continued practising.

For the rest of the night, the sound of hammering iron could be heard throughout the town.

[Koutei 0]

I awoke the next morning when Albert approached me in the forge. I had fallen asleep resting on the anvil.

"Morning lad." He looked next to me where a pile of about six or seven weapons lay. "You made all these yourself?" I nodded. "That's a fairly decent pile of weaponry ya got there." "You can have them... as thanks for teaching me your ways." He chuckled. "Ya think you're done?" I looked him in the eyes. "You know the expression 'you can't learn a profession over night'?" I glanced over to the pile of weapons I had made. "Guess I proved them wrong."

Albert burst out laughing. He walked over to the pile of weapons and picked up an axe. He studied it carefully. "Listen, matey. Go get ya self some proper rest and come back here tomorrow." I gave him a puzzling look and then decided it was probably a good idea to do what he says. I began to walk out the shop but stopped when I reached the door. Without turning around, I yelled back to Albert.

"Hey, Albert..." "Yeah?" "...thanks." He smirked as I left the shop.

[Koutei 0]

I returned the next morning, curious as to what Albert has in store for me.

When I entered the store, Albert was standing behind the counter. Upon seeing me, he picked up a sword and started walking towards the back of the store.

"Come with me."

I followed him through the forge and he lead me out into the alley behind the shop. He stopped there and opened his menu. A few seconds later, I got a prompt.

'Albert challenges you to a duel. Do you accept?'

[Koutei 0]

I was confused about the reasoning behind this but I trusted Albert and I knew that he'd have a good reason for doing this so I accepted the challenge. I unsheathed my Beginner Sword from my back and took a battle stance. The countdown for the duel began. The duel was in First Strike Mode, so I needed to either whittle Albert's HP down to 50% or land the first clean strike to win.

55 seconds later, the duel was about to start. The countdown was nearing its end.

5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

The sound of clashing steel marked the start of the duel.

[Koutei 0]

The duel didn't last very long at all.

We seemed even on the first strike, our swords clashed and we both held our own. We both took our swords back and readied for the second strike.

As we brought are swords together once more, things were different from last time. We both exerted our full strength this time. The difference in strength was astounding. My Beginner Sword was knocked clean out of my hands and clattered to the ground as Albert's sword followed through and struck me on the chest.

I had suffered a humiliating loss...

[Koutei 0]

Albert sheathed his sword and walked over to where I was sitting. He looked down at me and muttered "As I expected."

"What's this all about?" I asked. "Blacksmithing takes more than just technique. In your current state, you're not strong enough. Our duel just confirmed that."

I stood up and walked over to my Beginner Sword, which I picked up and put onto my back.

"Strength and stamina are important aspects needed for blacksmithing. Without them, you won't be able to reach your full potential. I can help you get stronger." I walked up to him and looked him dead in the eyes with a fierce look of resolve in my eyes.

"Whatever it takes, I'll do it."

[Koutei 0]

My next few weeks were spent doing weight lifting and fitness training. After 6 long weeks of intense training, I had improved dramatically. I was much stronger now.

I stood in the forge once more. Placing a piece of molten metal on the anvil, I began hammering. My strikes had much more force than before. I could hammer faster, harder and for much longer. My swings had enough force to mould the molten steel into shape with fierce precision.

After I had finished, the weapon was ready for inspection. I took it to Albert, who was standing behind the counter of his store.

"Another one for the shop." I told him as I placed the sword on the counter. He picked it up and inspected it carefully. This time, the blade was much sharper and the shape was a huge improvement compared to my previous work. Albert smirked. "I'm impressed, boy. This is a real nice piece of work."

I grinned with satisfaction.

[Koutei 0]

Albert looked me in the eyes. "I think it's time."

I knew what he meant. Time to prove myself. Time to put everything I've learnt to the test. Time for a rematch.

We both walked towards the back of the shop. We exited into the alley, the same alley where we first duelled, and stood in front of each other. He grinned as he noticed the look in my eyes. My eyes were full of fierce resolve. I wasn't going to lose this time. This time I was ready.

The challenge notification appeared in front of me, just like last time. I hit the accept button. The 60 second countdown timer began. We both readied ourselves. After a minute that seemed to fly by in mere seconds, the timer hit zero.

The familiar sound of clashing steel could be heard once more.

[Koutei 0]

I caught his first swing with the blade of my own sword. I pushed his sword away and swung at him. He blocked it and said "This all ya got?" I pushed my sword harder onto his and his own sword was pushed back to his shoulder. He shunned my sword away and stumbled back, his HP decreasing ever so slightly.

Our duel continued, both of us seeming to be roughly even in terms of skill and strength.

Albert swung his sword down on me with his full strength. I caught his blade with the guard of my sword and pushed it back, while also pushing my own sword down onto Albert. He pushed back as hard as he could and I did the same. After a few seconds of struggle on both sides, Albert's sword was knocked back and my own blade was free to fall down upon Albert's shoulder, landing a clean strike.

The duel was over. At last, I had won.

[Koutei 0]

Over the next few days, I started doing more tasks for Albert while still keeping up with my training.

I needed to repay Albert for helping me, while still refining my skills.

[Koutei 0]

It was nearing sunset, about a week after my duel with Albert. I returned to the shop to give Alfred the stuff he asked me to find for him. I had a rough time finding it at the markets for a decent price, but I got it eventually. It was rare black metal, though there wasn't very much of it. Hardly enough for a dagger.

As I approached Albert and gave him the metal, I asked him about it. "What do you need this stuff for, Albert?" He told me he needed it for a weapon he was forging for a customer. I was curious to learn more, but I decided to keep my mouth shut.

[Koutei 0]

Things went on as normal for the next few weeks. By now, I could've stopped helping Albert but I was starting to enjoy it and it was doing me good. It was nice to have someone to talk to and something to do as well.

I kept gathering stuff for him and doing errands such as delivering items and collecting fees.

[Koutei 0]

Before long, I started to become Albert's assistant. I had been helping him for a while now but I was starting to do more serious stuff like forge items for his customers and repair their weapons.

A few times I noticed Albert working on some kind of project. I didn't ask about it because I didn't want to intrude but I was curious about what he was doing.

[Koutei 0]

I left Albert for a few weeks to start going towards the second floor. When I came back, I had a conversation with Albert.

"You seem different from before." He said as I entered the shop. "I guess I am." I had an aura of confidence around me now. I remembered that I wanted to talk to Albert about my weapon. "Know anywhere I can get myself a new sword? I broke mine using a sword skill on a boss." He had a strange expression on his face. "Uh... come back tomorrow and I'll show you something special."

[Koutei 0]

I sat in my room in the inn and thought about being a blacksmith. I was now able to forge and enhance weapons and armour. It was all thanks to Albert, but I had gained a lot and worked hard in the process. Not only that, I had become more familiar with weaponry. I could tell a lot about a weapon just by looking at it and even more by using it. I had become better at using weapons, too. Not only that, I was stronger and faster. I had a lot more endurance. I was satisfied with myself.

I packed my stuff. I was leaving for the 2nd floor tomorrow. Though, there was one more thing to do. I got in my bed and fell asleep, ready for the next day.

[Koutei 0]

I woke up the next morning and grabbed my stuff before rushing to the shop.

"Welcome, boy." Albert said as I entered the shop. "I've got somethin' for ya." He went into the forge and came back out with a package wrapped in cloth. He handed it to me.

I unravelled the package and inside was a sword. It wasn't a normal sword, it was really strange. And by strange I meant different. And by different I meant really badass.

The inner part of the metal was a black metal, the one I had collected for Alfred earlier. The outer half of the metal was pure silver steel. It was a weird mix of metals forming a strange sword that was unlike anything I had ever seen.

"It's name is Shadow's Alloy. I forged it for you as a token of thanks. The inner part is demonic metal and the outer part is sharp steel. Demonic metal such as the one in that blade is extremely hard to find, it's supposed to only be obtainable in the higher levels. I couldn't make a sword made purely of demonic metal because it's so rare but I could make a mixed sword. The sword will behave similar to a normal steel sword, only that the sword is reinforced by the black metal, making it stronger than normal."

I looked down at my new blade. Shadow's Alloy. This was my new sword. "Albert, this means a lot. Thanks heaps. It's going to be sad to see-" Albert cut in. "Look boy, I'm not one for long goodbyes. I have a better idea. Follow me." I followed Albert into the back alley and he challenged me to a duel.

I chucked. Just like old times. I accepted and the timer slowly moved towards 0. When it did, I charged at Alfred, my Shadow's Alloy in hand.

For the last time, the sound of clashing steel could be heard in the dark alley.