The Birth of a Master Crafter

"Are you up?"

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep because I was so excited."

I sat down in my chair, smiling at my mother’s sidelong glance. My younger sister, who had her face buried in her phone, my younger brother, who was yawning widely as he took his seat, and my father, who had been watching the news over my shoulder, all chimed in.

"What's your job?"

"It's a production class. I have a crafting skill."

"Is job class hereditary, too? Let's eat."

My father’s eyes widened slightly, but he soon nodded as if relieved and began to eat. My father, the owner of a company that processes monster byproducts, is also in the production line; he makes a living by dismantling monster remains for a set fee. Since many of those materials are incredibly tough and useful, he makes quite a lot of money.

"You got a job that pays well and doesn't require you to enter the Tower, son. That's a relief. Try this Shadow Pig galbi-jjim I marinated yesterday."

My mother has a unique job as a chef; she possesses a skill that grants a temporary buff when she cooks monster meat and byproducts. She whispered that it was a relief and placed a piece of the braised Shadow Pig on my rice bowl, and soon the dining table became noisy.

"Wow, Oppa! Give me some pocket money when you start making bank!"

"Back off, kid. There’s a hierarchy even for cold water."

"I'll think about it."

I replied to Jaein and Jaehee, who are one year apart, and popped a piece of the braised meat, made from a horse-like monster, into my mouth.

After the meal, my siblings left for school, and my parents headed to work. In the empty house, I accessed the Hunter Association website on my phone and applied for remote hunter registration. Since I only needed to demonstrate my skills via video call, there was no need to go in person, which saved time. It’s also great that the country doesn't require you to reveal your nickname registered on the Gallery.

A few minutes later, a video call came through.

"Hello. Is this Lee Jaeil?"

"Yes."

"You have applied for remote hunter registration, and your age has been verified. Please demonstrate your skill to confirm your class. Please understand that we need to verify your skill as government support and obligations differ by class."

This was something the government emphasized constantly even before registration, so I nodded and showed the broken-necked electric fan I had prepared in advance to the camera.

"I'm a production class, and I can craft and repair."

"Please use your skill."

"Repair."

A faint light shimmered, and the fan fixed itself. The employee nodded, and I could hear the sound of typing.

"Production class, skill registered as Repair... Computer registration complete."

"As a registered climber, you are entitled to preferential rates when exchanging magic stones and tax benefits for business activities. As for your obligations, since you registered the Repair skill, the government will send you items to repair once a month. Would you like to use your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠family home as the delivery address?"

"Oh, send it to my studio apartment. I'll text you the address."

"Understood. Have a good day."

I ended the video call and immediately activated my skill.

"Enter Dimension Workshop."

As I used the skill, a door appeared before my eyes. When I opened it and stepped inside, the space was quite vast. The equipment used by blacksmiths was visible in the center: a furnace, an anvil, bellows, and a quenching tank. The furnace was cold, but the anvil looked brand new, shining brightly. Several chunks of raw ore were placed on top of it.

When I turned my head to the right, I saw various flasks containing mysterious substances and several types of herbs. They looked very fresh, as their blue glow hadn't faded.

"So I'm an 'All-Purpose Crafter'... I guess it includes all production classes like blacksmiths and alchemists."

As I looked at them with fascination, they were appraised automatically.

There were even special minerals that didn't exist on Earth. To the left, there were tables, drawers, and bookshelves. Looking at the top shelf of the three-tier bookcase, I saw books with titles related to blacksmithing: Blacksmithing Basics, How to Hammer, Mana Road Imprinting, Mineral Smelting Methods, and so on. The middle shelf contained Alchemy, and the bottom shelf had Artifact Crafting.

In the corner of the incredibly large workshop, I saw something like a computer with a large screen, but it also said access was denied. I sighed as I looked at the massive amount of books on the shelves again.

"Do I have to study all of this?"

Well, even though my job is set, I suppose learning is essential since I've never done this work before. Grumbling, I opened Blacksmithing Basics, and the text flew out and embedded itself into my brain.

"Ah...!"

Information flooded my brain, and knowledge I didn't have before appeared. Wow... the automatic acquisition is insane. I immediately read all the other books as well. Without any headache, it naturally became my own knowledge and experience, and the books I read disappeared.

"At this rate, I could start crafting right away."

I immediately moved in front of the furnace.

"Yes."

Heat began to pour out of the furnace. Since this was my monumental first blacksmithing craft, I decided to make the most standard steel sword. I put the iron ore into a crucible and put it into the furnace. It was my first time crafting, but it felt truly amazing to have the knowledge of exactly what to do in my head. The heat radiating from the furnace was new, yet it felt familiar. It was a truly strange sensation. I looked at the bellows that operated automatically. This, too, was a magical item. It blew air at an incredible temperature to turn the iron ore into liquid pig iron.

"Almost there."

My body automatically opened the furnace door, took out the crucible, and poured the pig iron into the converter next to it. It must require an immense amount of energy, but I wasn't consuming anything. It seems the skill provides it automatically. Nice.

The converter blew oxygen from the top to effectively remove impurities, turning the pig iron into steel suitable for my purpose. When the time was right, the converter tilted naturally, poured the steel into a mold, and it cooled.

"It's even automated to a certain extent."

Long live the skill. Praising the skill, I looked at the completed steel ingot after it had cooled.

Even with automation, it should have been quite exhausting, but because it was my first time, my body trembled slightly with an inexplicable sense of exhilaration and joy. Shall I start the next step, forging? To protect my ears, I wrapped them in mana and put the steel ingot into the furnace. As I put it in, it heated up and turned orange; I took it out at the perfect timing and placed it on the anvil. When I picked up the hammer lying next to it, I used the knowledge that surfaced in my head—as if I had done it thousands or tens of thousands of times, even though I had never done it before—and began to strike the hammer.

Clang!

As I struck the glowing steel ingot, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠which seemed to shine as if telling me where to hit, a clear sound rang out. When I infused mana into the hammer and struck, I could see mana gradually embedding itself into the steel ingot that was turning into the shape of a steel sword. The hammering continued in a trance, and after connecting the handle to the forged blade and finishing the engraving of the initials 'J1', a notification rang out.

"Ohhh! Appraise!"

Watching the stats and experience rise just from crafting, as expected of a production class, I checked the item's stats.

"Jackpot!"

This is insane. It even came out with a trait on my first craft. Perhaps that's why the grade is High, not Normal, and the system even granted a crafter name. It's only natural that it's much more expensive since it has a durability-related trait. The Strength F, Agility F restriction is practically non-existent since you get F stats the moment you become a climber. Even though it was my first craft, there were almost no mistakes, and the forging was smooth. I looked at my clean hands that had been hammering just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a moment ago, infusing mana into the hammer. I clenched my fist and shouted.

"I'm rich now!"

I decided to upload the steel sword to the sales board immediately.

As I glanced at the steel sword, it vanished immediately.

"I need to buy minerals with points anyway, so I'll set it to bid, starting from 6,000 points. 12 hours."

"Hehehe. Just you wait!"

Wait for me, easy life. I picked up the hammer again.