The Witcher: Elemental Lords

The blacksmith didn't spend much time inside; he quickly turned around and came out, followed by a burly middle-aged man in coarse linen clothes. His skin was a shiny, dark black, even his face. He was clearly a blacksmith, but his clothes were quite decent, indicating he hadn't been hammering iron much lately.

Dole, who was warming himself by the furnace, immediately stood up when he saw the man, lowered his head, and said, "Hage, hello. I'd like to apply for a job as a helper."

Hage came close to Dole and sized him up. He suddenly reached out and patted Dole's shoulder.

Dole knew what he was doing, didn't dodge at all, and braced himself, meeting Hage's large hand.

Bang.

Dole's feet shook, and he was pushed down a bit, but his body remained straight.

Hage squeezed Dole's shoulder and smiled, "Kid, not bad. You haven't wasted your time working in the mines for the past two years. Alright, you'll work with Verrick. Do whatever he tells you to do. Four copper coins a day, is that okay?"

Wow, one more copper coin! Dole immediately patted his chest and said, "Okay, okay, okay! Thank you, Hage! Thank you, Hage!"

Hage looked at Dole's youthful face, thought for a moment, and said, "If you don't want to be a helper and want to be an apprentice, it depends on whether you have the knack for it."

Become an apprentice? Dole's eyes lit up, and he immediately agreed.

Although blacksmith apprentices don't get paid, they are different from helpers. They can learn skills from the master and become official blacksmiths in the future. Even registered blacksmiths in the Blacksmiths' Guild earn silver coins every month, not copper coins. That would be a huge leap forward. If he could become a blacksmith apprentice, then the dictionary matter could be postponed until later.

Hage was just saying it casually. He could tell that Dole didn't want to waste even a day without food, so he was becoming a helper. However, the blacksmith shop also needed people. If Dole wanted to become a blacksmith in the future, his current physique would be sufficient. Of course, physique is physique; whether he can make a living depends on talent and effort, and it doesn't actually have much to do with physique. But physique is the foundation; without it, it won't work.

Verrick, the blacksmith Dole had spoken to earlier, smiled guilelessly when he saw Hage agree.

Verrick was a level-two blacksmith, capable of forging level-two ironware. He didn't have a helper at the moment and was very happy. Dole's arrival pleased him.

Hage said a few words and then left the forge, going to the back, while Dole stayed beside Verrick.

Verrick looked at Dole and said in a muffled voice, "You're a helper for the first time. Let me tell you upfront, if you mess things up for me, I'll beat you."

Dole naturally nodded quickly, indicating that he would definitely do a good job.

Verrick was a level-two blacksmith, solely responsible for one forge. Next to the forge were mold patterns, an anvil, quenching ice water, everything complete. These past two days, there weren't enough helpers, and they were all assigned to the level-three blacksmiths, leaving Verrick without a helper, which worried him. Dole's arrival made him very happy.

Verrick had already lit the fire in the forge and was just waiting for it to burn hotter before starting preparations. At the other forges, people had helpers and had already started forging. Verrick was also getting anxious.

After agreeing on things, Verrick assigned Dole work. The first task was to stoke the fire, add coal to the forge, and pump the bellows to make it burn hotter, while Verrick prepared the molds and iron ingots.

As a resident of Domeon City, Dole had some knowledge of iron ore processing. Newly mined iron ore needed to be screened, then sanded, and then processed into pig iron through a forge. Next, the pig iron would be refined to remove more impurities, turning it into wrought iron, and then further refined to become usable steel. To obtain higher-grade steel, more processing and techniques were required, eventually turning it into usable steel ingots. Fire played a significant role in this process. In Domeon City, besides the charcoal fire used by commoners, the most powerful was the large-scale magic fire used by the government, which was a flame only wizards could use and commoners couldn't touch.

For ordinary people, wizards were like sacred beings, usually impossible to approach, let alone magic fire. It was said that it was a flame ten times more powerful than charcoal fire. Charcoal fire could already melt steel, so how terrifying would magic fire be?

While stoking the fire, Dole was lost in thought. Soon, he made the fire burn brightly. Compared to working in the mines, pumping the bellows was a very light task.

Verrick, who was busy over there, saw Dole diligently stoking the fire and was secretly pleased. He had already brought the iron ingot over and, seeing the flames rise, called Dole to fetch the crucible, preparing to melt the steel ingot.

The work wasn't difficult, just tedious. Verrick would ask for this and that, and he had to constantly tend to the flames, not letting the furnace fire die down. In a short while, his whole body was roasted red by the flames, and steam was rising from him.

Dole worked hard to pump the bellows, making the fire turn red. The iron ingot in the crucible quickly melted, and at this time, Verrick had already prepared the mold.

Dole wasn't just stoking the fire; he was also observing his surroundings, feeling very curious about all the blacksmith's crafts.

The mold was a sand box, the sand inside was very fine and firm. After securing it, a wide broadsword tool was placed inside, pressing an imprint into the sand. After that, the broadsword was removed, the sand box was closed again, leaving only one end of the sand box exposed, and placed on the ground.

The next process was uneventful. The ordinary iron ingot turned into liquid and was poured into the mold. As a burst of smoke emerged, all the molten iron was poured in. After waiting for a moment, the mold was opened, and the dark broadsword blank was revealed. At this time, the forging would begin.

The two cooperated, one stoking the fire and adding coal, the other hammering the blank. A morning passed quickly, and a nine-forged broadsword was freshly baked.

Next was the polishing work.

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Dole saw that during the forging process, Verrick wasn't just randomly hammering the broadsword; there was a rhythm to it, switching between large and small hammers, constantly observing the broadsword's appearance, center of gravity, etc., all of which were particular.

After finishing one sword, Dole felt that he had learned a lot.

After finishing, Verrick called Dole to eat something. At this time, Verrick truly accepted Dole. The young man was strong and capable, not bad, not bad.

It was lunchtime, and many people were walking out with food. Dole saw what they were eating: fragrant rice and small pieces of meat. His eyes widened immediately.

Seeing Dole's expression, Verrick laughed loudly and said, "Work hard, and if you do well, you can eat this every day."

Along the way, many people greeted Verrick, and many also saw Dole, a small boy, and gave friendly greetings.

This made Dole feel that the blacksmith community was very loving.