Becoming a Blacksmith Apprentice
The rough, damp cart ropes that had weighed down my shoulders were gone.
The moment Mi So-jeo's guard pulled me from the porters and moved me beside the blacksmith master's cart, it felt like an invisible noose around my neck had snapped.
"From now on, walk beside my cart. Pick up any weapon fragments or broken arrowheads that fall and keep them."
I nodded silently at the blacksmith master's curt order. It wasn't just a change in affiliation. My spine straightened, and my entire posture shifted.
Just hours ago, I'd reflexively bow and grovel with a servile grin whenever my eyes met those of the caravan guards or superiors. It was the slave's survival instinct etched into Aman's body. But the moment I drove an iron awl into a bandit's throat and danced on the edge of life and death, that flimsy, nauseating shell peeled away completely.
"You... for a porter, you've got some sharp eyes."
The blacksmith master, sitting on the cart and applying herbs to his limping leg, glanced at my stride and upright posture with evident interest.
"To survive, you've gotta be quick on the uptake, right?"
My response was dry and calm, stripped of any fawning smile. Not a trace of unnecessary emotion colored my voice. Seemingly pleased, the old man stroked his thick beard with a massive hand and chuckled.
"Fair enough. A guy who doesn't hesitate to jam a metal shard into a bandit's throat ain't your average sort. Name's Yeom Cheol. Folks in the caravan call me Yeom-cheol the elder."
He tossed out his heavy name like it was nothing. For a nameless orphan like Aman, offering his name first—without demanding mine—meant he saw me not as disposable trash, but as a person. A full-fledged subordinate, even.
"They call me Aman."
"Right, Aman. Once we reach the city in Xu Province, my forge is at the caravan headquarters. After your wounds heal and things settle, I'll teach you the ropes properly, starting with the hammer. Dunno if you've got talent for handling iron, but since you saved my life, I'll drill the basics into you solid."
"Looking forward to it, Elder."
I gave a light bow. A hot swell rose in my chest. This wasn't just about getting meals. Real skills for working iron.
As the treacherous mountain path leveled out and the procession entered a vast basin, the dense forest parted, revealing majestic gray city walls rising on the horizon.
"Xu Province City! Tighten up the formation!"
The lead guard's shout ignited the caravan's energy. Towering pavilions pierced the sky, crowds of people and merchants thronged the gates, and uniformed soldiers stood gleaming in armor, spears at the ready.
This was the first true "civilization" I'd encountered since dropping into this world. A safe fortress shielded by massive walls, beyond the lawless bandit-infested wilds. The pivotal early-stage hub of the Three Kingdoms era, stronghold of the mighty merchant lord Mi Chuk.
We passed through strict inspections and entered the city's heavy gates. Inside buzzed with life, a stark contrast to the hellish outer lands. Shops lined the streets, the air thick with roasting meat, laughter echoing everywhere.
The procession arrived at the Mi family's palatial headquarters in the busiest district. Workers and guards scattered to their posts. Yeom Cheol, supported by his apprentices, led me to a spacious forge area deep within.
"This is where you'll stay. Use that empty corner room. No need to huddle on the dirt like the porters. We'll get you some clothes too—wash up and rest. Tomorrow morning, we start with clearing the furnace ash."
He nodded toward a small side room attached to the forge storeroom. Cramped for two grown men, worn down, but it had a wooden platform instead of dirt floor, with a soft straw mat and coarse blanket neatly laid out.
A room to myself. That was what mattered most. No prying eyes, no stench of porters or their snores. Perfect private space.
After wolfing down a bowl of warm soup porridge from the caravan, I rinsed the blood and grime off at the well and returned to the room.
Lying on the platform, the straw mat's pleasant softness enveloped my back. Exhaustion crashed like a tidal wave, but my mind stayed coldly sharp. Outside the barred window, thick darkness had fallen. Lights in Xu Province City winked out one by one, leaving deep silence.
I sat up quietly, crossing my legs.
"Status Window."
Name: Nameless (Aman)
Job:Blacksmith (F-rank)
Stats
Strength: 10 | Agility: 10 | Intelligence: 10 | Vitality: 51 | Mana: 5
Skills
Subspace Opening (Lv.1): Consumes 5 mana to open your personal Subspace Forge, isolated from the world. (Duration: 5 minutes)
My depleted mana had refilled to max. From my pant leg, I pulled the crude iron awl I'd made yesterday and the bandit’s blue-tinted dagger taken as spoils this morning. Fuse these two scraps into one. That was tonight's plan.
"Subspace Opening."
Swoosh—! The platform's rough texture and the room's musty air vanished in an instant. When I opened my eyes, I stood in the center of that familiar cramped earthen forge.
Duration: 5 minutes
A red timer blinked in the corner of my vision, counting down mercilessly. No time to waste. Gripping the awl and dagger, I approached the furnace. Whoosh! Blazing heat singed my eyebrows. I grabbed the stiff tongs from the wall, clamped the two metals together, and plunged them into the glowing charcoal bed. With my free hand, I seized the bellows handle and pumped furiously, throwing my weight into it.
Hiss—! Hiss—! Air roared into the furnace, flames exploding upward. The cramped space turned oven-hot, sweat pouring from every pore. But yesterday's bone-crushing agony from the bellows was gone. Vitality up by 1. 51 made a subtle difference, stabilizing my lung capacity and endurance noticeably.
After just over a minute of bellowing, the buried metals glowed cherry-red, softening like taffy. I wrenched them out with the tongs and slammed them onto the black anvil. Snatched the blunt-headed iron hammer in my right hand.
"Hup!"
Exhaling stale air from my lungs, I swung the raised hammer down like lightning onto the glowing metal.
Claaang—!! A sharp, heavy crack echoed through the forge. The impact jolted up my wrist, but I gritted my teeth and hammered again, then again.
Clang! Clang! Claaang—! Forging two pieces into one—drawing them together. Yesterday was pure instinct; today was different. Morning's memory of Yeom Cheol repairing the broken cart axle guided me: hammer arcs, iron grip angles, strike rhythm vivid in my mind, directing my hands.
The F-rank Blacksmith system refined those visual memories, enforcing precise muscle movements.
Each strike sprayed red rust and black impurities as fiery sparks. The differently shaped metals yielded to pressure and heat, merging into a solid lump. Sweat stung my eyes, blurring vision—no time to wipe.
"Just a bit more—hold on!"
A beastly groan escaped my lips. I accelerated the strikes. My weak Strength-10 arms screamed, but my mind sharpened to a razor's edge.
"Haaah!"
As the metal cooled to dull crimson, the perfect shape finally formed under my will. A hefty, sharp dagger, integral from hilt to tip, palm-sized for an adult hand. I poured my full weight into the final, precise strike.
Claaang—!! Perfect finishing ring. I snatched the shaped dagger with tongs and plunged it into the murky quenching tub beside the anvil.
Ssssizzle—!! Water boiled wildly, white steam erupting. As it cleared, I lifted the tongs. The crude awl and chipped bandit scrap were gone. A new dagger gleamed with solid presence.
As the timer raced to zero, dazzling blue system windows popped up in sequence.
Completed Serviceable Iron Dagger (F-rank).
Blacksmith (F-rank) experience gained.
Sufficient experience accumulated—stat increase!
Vitality +1
The moment I read the messages, electric pleasure surged through my spine. Hammer-sore shoulders and arms relaxed like in hot springs. Thick, hot vitality pumped from my heart, flooding every cell via my veins. The chronic aches of porter life, faint dizzy spells from malnutrition—gone. Bones hardened slightly, muscles tightened with elastic firmness beneath my skin. My body shed the frail porter shell, striding toward a sturdy adult male's baseline.
I chuckled, confirming the status change.
Vision warped sharply once more. Smoky fumes and earthen walls dissolved into nothing.
Pop—. Blinking, I sat on the quiet, dark platform in the Xu Province caravan headquarters side room.