131 5.20 Let Me Show You The Proper Way To Blacksmithing

"Hey... Hey... Hey... Sam, my old buddy. How are things at your end? Seems you are working hard right now, eh buddy?" A rather familiar voice sounded in the living room and I peered out from the kitchenette. Upon hearing my name called out as Sam, I knew it was Max that had appeared after a long absence of nearly 19 chapters long.

I walked out from the kitchenette and found Max all dressed up in a samurai outfit with 2 sheathed katana on both sides of the obi.

"About time you showed up Max! First, I nearly died being half buried in the snow, and I don't even know how long I was lying down there. Secondly, I don't even have a single coin on me to survive and luckily someone by the name of Hiko found me in the snow and brought me to this village. Thirdly, in order to survive and save for the future, I had to find work through Hiko's group of friends. Fourthly, I am known as a Battousai living under a Swordsman master by the name Hiko Seijuro and had been freeloading him off with food and basic necessities. Fifth, I would soon be a disciple under him as he would intend to teach me some sword moves that he inherited. Sixth, where have you gone and why now that you chanced to appear? "

"Oh, Sam... That's really a mouthful of updated information that I had received from you. Well, you know me. I won't appear unless it's absolutelynecessary and j was just laying back in my trailer waiting for a chance to appear before you."

"It's pretty difficult to appear especially when Hiko would always peek into your bedroom either to join him for sake or be at the terrace and wait for the sellers of that yatai to come by so both of you would be able to eat together."

"Since there was no imminent danger for the past few days, I didn't appear and since there's no phone here in this era, it is nearly impossible for you to contact me unless you go offscreen and knock on my trailer which I don't think Mr Director would approve any of the actions. I'm just a side character that appears once in a while in this series."

"Yeah, Max...Thanks for the update. So you are once correct in your dressing this time. But don't you think you are overdressed in this samurai outfit?"

"Well, Sam... I find it truly befitting for me ** this outfit and in this era. By the way, you looked kinda cute too for an 11-year-old-kid with a rather feminine look."

"Damn you, Max. It is not the time for you to talk on how my face looks like right now. So far, I don't think you would come here to update me with the next Leap right?"

"Not really, Sam. There's no update on the next Leap as you would be here longer than the 3rd series. Furthermore, the author was mentioning this would be the last series for the volume and it would be on volume two in the 6th series onwards. He intends to flow 5 series per volume."

"Oh okie, so it does not implicate any of the Leaps in the future, right?"

"Nope, nothing of that sort... Just the addition of this novel's volume and heard that this novel would be kept free with no payment of unlocking it whatsoever."

"Right, I know where this novel is heading. Keeping it free would be a great idea. At least with several grammatical errors and misuse of certain context would hurt much as long it's free... People would start condemning this novel if it requires to be unlocked by Spirit Stones."

"Oh yes, Sam, before I forget... I wish to update before I go that after a few days you would make it BIG in this series and you don't need to perform menial jobs like this."

"I can't just leave my job right now, Max. I'm obligated to complete it till the end of this month since I had ready been paid to complete this month's end. It won't be courteous to leave since its being paid in full with extras along with it."

"Ah, alright... I'm just here to send you a spoiler alert that's all. There won't be anything else, so toodle do Sam, be seeing you in the next round." as Max bade farewell and slowly dissipated and vanished.

"Great... He comes and goes as he wished. So what does he mean I would make it BIG in this series. I won't be able to give you readers anymore spoiler alert so we just move on with the rest of the story then." I sighed aloud thinking that Max would just pop in and out anytime he wished and since there is no life-threatening event at this moment, there's no such need for Max to reappear as regularly.

I continued my work in the kitchenette and apart from dirty dishes, there was no other pots or pans that need scrubbing. At the meantime, since the kitchenette's work was almost done, I cleared away the ashes from the charcoal stove as well as the furnace.

After doing so, I closed up the house and went back to Hiko-sama's to break for lunch. When I got there, Hiko-sama was waiting for me with a bento box at his side.

"Here's your lunch. I was thinking of having lunch with you so I'd wait a while."

"Thank you, Sensei... You need not wait for me to have lunch together though. You are the host though, you should eat first rather than wait for a lowly me to return."

"Haa...Haa...finish up your lunch, I'd want to show you something."

"Yes, Sensei." I opened up my bento box and discovered that the bento box was filled with 2 onigiris, 1 stick of yakiniku, 1 stick of yakitori, a portion of green vegetables and miso soup. I slowly ate lunch as there was no rush at all. I was thinking of what Hiko-sama wanted to show me after this.

Once I am done, I cleared both of the bento boxes and placed it outside for the delivery guy to picked it back and return it to the innkeeper.

"So, Sensei... What do you want to show me?"

He smiled and he told me to wait at the terrace as he entered the house. A while later he emerged and handed me a sheathed Odachi. I held it in my hands and asked, "Is this for me, Sensei? Such fine craftsmanship! There are even snowflakes on it. When did you go and make this?"

I held the sheathed Odachi and pulled the blade out. It came out smoothly and there was not a single restriction of movement nor friction at all. After that, I inserted the Odachi back in the sheath and it clicked when it reached the oval handguard.

I shook the Odachi and there was no rattling movement means the sheath was a perfect fit. It is perfect in any manner and was lacquered to give out a sheen in the sunlight.

"How much did you pay for it, Sensei?"

"I went to the Blacksmith to have the sheath made earlier. He told me there was something with this Odachi when he held in his hands. He will pay you 200 gold coins when you come and see him later in the evening. He wanted to buy this Odachi but I told him I wanted to gift it to someone. It had already had an owner so it's based on trust."

"Sorry, Himura, I took the Odachi out without your knowledge. He told me that this Odachi was forged using [Refined Iron] which was a grade higher than [Ordinary Iron]. He wanted to buy this Odachi for 100 gold coins but I refuse and instead raised the stake to have you meet him for 200 gold coins. Those gold coins are yours to keep."

"Wow, 100 gold coins for this Odachi that I had forged. And 200 gold coins just to have me meet him at his place? Omagai...! This is something BIG."

"By the way, the Blacksmith tested your Odachi against another weapon and it sliced through it effortlessly. He need not swing so hard and merely brought it down on a katana and it slices it into two."

"I was shocked beyond words. So if someone parried your attack, this Odachi would cut the opponent's blade and cut the person wielding it as well, right? It's a one hit attack for every single opponent in this way!"

"Hmm, I haven't done anything on this Odachi and yet the Blacksmith had seen its prowess." I thought to myself. If any other Blacksmith knows about this then I am sure they would be wanting me to be their apprentice. Surely people would be clamouring to upgrade their weapons and armour for sure.

" Sensei, what else did you tell about me?"

"I just said that I wanted to gift this Odachi to someone else and the person whom I would introduce to the Blacksmith would be a totally different person. Don't worry, you don't have to bring this Odachi with you but you can bring the Kodachi instead or just walk around empty-handed. This should be the way I think. Just think yourself as a Blacksmith, that's all."

"Ok, Sensei... I understand. I'd be off now. I still had to sweep and clean Miroku-sama's house since I had washed his laundry and the dirty dishes. Just let me touch up and I'd get back to you soon."

"Sure, run along for now. Make sure you finish your tasks at hand before returning. I have trust in you doing a fairly good job at Miroku-sama's, so go ahead first. I keep this Odachi back in your room and I would get for you a katana stand so you need not hang it on the wall anymore. Do you need anything else before you go?

"Sensei, if you could help me get a few weapon parts then I'd be happy to forge something that would be useful to us. I wanted to make everyday items like metal hangars and a hook that you can mount on the wall instead of those hideous nails."

"Haa... Haa...Ok, I go and fetch some weapon parts and bring them back here. Its still daytime so no one would dare interfere with any business outside the northern gate. I'd be off as well then."

"Alright, Sensei... Be careful. If you happen to run into Hiten or Manten, return back to the northern gate as soon as possible. You understand, Sensei?"

"Yes, Himura. I can't go against those demons let alone a horde of samurai that failed to even land a single attack on them. I'd be careful. Alright, off we go then..."

I soon departed and head to Miroku-sama's place while Hiko-sama went towards the northern gate to gather some metal parts.

I quickly settled the kitchenette and once I am satisfied, I swept the whole floor of the house and then I run the flow with a rag to mop it clean. There was no such thing as a mop here in Japan during this time, and using a rag to clean the house like before does the trick well. However, it was quite a back-breaking task so I had to sort of use a running motion to wipe the floor one section at a time.

It was somewhere mid-afternoon when I had completed the task. I checked the laundry that I had hung in the morning and it had been totally sun and wind dried by now.

I took them down and folded the clothes before placing them neatly on the corner of the bedroom. The house was the same setup as the rest. The storage room was meant to store a suit of samurai armour and some weapons. The other small room was kept as a guest room in case someone drops by unexpectedly.

I looked back and seemed to be satisfied with the state of the house and I went to close all the sliding windows. I sat at the terrace of the house and waited to catch my breath and was thinking back at what Hiko-sama was telling me.

200 gold coins just for me to appear in the Blacksmith shop. Surely there was a catch of paying so much for me being there. Well, in that case, I would have to get ready then.

As I had completed cleaning the house, I closed the main sliding door and returned back. As soon as I reached the house I had seen a small pile of broadhead arrows which Hiko-sama had placed in a small bucket near the entrance of the house.

"Here, I've got you some arrowheads. These are smaller pieces so it's much faster to forge into things that you need." Hiko-sama pointed to the bucket filled with arrowheads that he had gathered in the duelling place at the northern gate.

"Did you chanced on anyone there?" I asked out of concern.

"It's still daylight, so basically the place is peaceful except for 1 or 2 scavengers looking for something more useful than these arrowheads. The moment they saw me, they went into hiding and reappeared when I left."

"Thank God, Sensei... You didn't meet any of those guys I had mentioned earlier."

"So what are you going to make this time?" asked Hiko-sama since he had brought small pieces of metal back.

"Nothing so complicated, Sensei. I would smelt these things down and make some metal hangars to hand the clothes instead of folding them anymore. So once I finish washing, I'd just hang them using the hangars after which when dry, I just bring them in and hang using a wall mounted hook that I will design later on."

"That sounds really practical. You going to make a few pieces then?"

"Yes, Sensei... With these few pieces of metal, I could smelt and mould them into hangers first. It's going to be like a metal wire but thicker as well as rustproof. It's very easy to make, really. I could forge them, knock out the impurities and then smelt them and pour them into the moulds. Once set, I could just bend it like a triangle with a hook on top to use it to hang at the clothesline as well as the wall hook I intend to design."

"That seemed to be a good deal. You want to wash up first before we head to the Blacksmith?"

"It's alright, Sensei... I just wash up my face and change my gi. We'd head out in 10 minutes, would that be alright for you to wait?"

"No problem, kid. I'd wait for you to wash up. At the meantime, I'd entertain myself with a bit of newly arrived yumeshu. Haa... Haa..."

Hiko-sama broke the seal of one of the jar and poured himself a cup to drink while I went inside and washed up my face. I then used the gi to dry up and changed into a fresh one.

Soon we made our way to the Blacksmith in the middle of the trading district and was advised to put on my face mask before entering the shop.

Upon reaching there, the Blacksmith greeted us and beckoned us to come into his shop. He peered at me and asked, "Samurai-San, is this the one that forges the Odachi? You are not pulling my leg for 200 gold coins, right? He still looked like a child and it seems impossible for him to operate the bellows or even lift the hammer!"

"We are not pulling your leg or make fun of your honourable trade, Mr Blacksmith. I present to you, Battousai. He is the one that forges the Odachi that I had brought in earlier. As for the gold coins, it is not within my hands, right? You may give it to him once you are satisfied, if not then we just forget the whole matter."

"Ok, I trust you Samurai-San. Come Battousai-sama, let's enter to the back where the work is normally done." the Blacksmith gestured me into the back of the shop where the work was normally being performed and I saw a group of apprentice watching and eyeing me like a hawk when I entered.

"Here's the equipment here, please demonstrate to us how you forged the [Refined Iron]." he showed to the equipment before me.

I looked around and found a sizeable hammer. It belonged to the head blacksmith and I said, "I would like to use your hammer, could I borrow it for a while? And also, could someone work the bellows for me while I heat up these pig irons."

An apprentice worked the bellows and the coals became red hot. I threw in two pieces of pig iron into the coals and waited till it got red hit before I used a tong to pick the pig iron and placed it into the anvil.

I held the hammer and I channelled the heat of the furnace into my body and to the hammer that I held in my right hand. It was a 40-pound hammer and felt slightly heavy at first. Once I felt that the hammer becomes part of my arm, I raised it and brought the hammer down on the red hot pig iron.

Soon, sparks flew like magnificent fireworks as strike after strike hits the pig iron and the strikes helped to push the impurities out. The hammering was so coordinated that I do need to have a tong to hold any of the pieces that were on the anvil.

Each hammering was synchronised against the pig irons that once it became contact with the hammer, it jumped a bit from the anvil and before it settled down, I hammered it down.

10 strikes soon became 50 strikes and turned into 150 strikes until there were no more sparks coming out from the two pieces of iron that became one piece. I took a tong and picked the forged iron and threw it into the tub of water.

A loud sputtering and hissing sound came from it and then a cloud of steam rose from the bucket.

The Blacksmith and his apprentices looked at the way I handled the hammer against the anvil and was shocked. They never thought that I handled the hammer like a professional even at the age of 11.

"Mr Blacksmith, go ahead and evaluate the piece that I had made." I gestured as I stepped back and found a stool to sit down.

The Blacksmith picked the piece from the bucket and placed it in his hands. His eyes gleamed brightly when he saw what I had forged and he could not believe what he had seen. With just 2 pieces of pig iron, I could easily forge a [Refined Iron] that was of a level grade higher than the Odachi that he had held in his hands earlier.

"This is a higher grade [Refined Iron] than the Odachi. I have never seen such young talent that could make these pieces within an hour. Frankly, Battousai-sama, you are much more talented than I am. I could only be able to forge a [Refined Iron] of the lowest grade by chance. But your performance was way beyond I could have imagined."

"It is alright, Mr Blacksmith. It all depends on luck. I managed to forge this [Refined Iron] through your help of the apprentice. Frankly, it depends a lot on the weight of the hammer and the hammering process."

I reasoned himself, hiding the fact that I had channelled the heat from the fur ace using my visualisation. That's why I am able to forge a better piece of work than other Blacksmith."

"Let's go to the front, Samurai-san, Battousai-sama. We discuss on somethings first." the Blacksmith lead the way as we went to the shop front to discuss what he had in mind.

He took out a fairly large coin pouch and handed to Hiko-sama. "Here's the 200 good coins as promised. Can I keep this [Refined Iron] with me as a memento? By the way, have you tried to forge steel before by adding iron and coal at the right proportion?"

"I would love to try. Furthermore iron is the basics of making weapons and armour other than making low graded bronze for entry-level warriors and adventurers. Steel would be the next upgrade to iron and next would be diamond tipped weapons as well as armour."

"But to reach Diamond Level, the person would be at least a Forge Master and I am just a lowly graded Blacksmith. As I've said, it's by chance."

"Don't regard yourself as a lowly Blacksmith, Battousai-sama. As a warrior and as a Blacksmith, I am sure you would be able to g forge the best weapon and armour, right?"

"That's true, Mr Blacksmith. Thank you for the 200 gold coins. Would there be anything you need?"

"There is Battousai-sama, if you could forge [Refined Iron] pieces, we would like to purchase them from you. I was thinking of 5 gold coins per piece and you could bring them as many as you can."

"How about [Purified Iron] pieces then?"

"You could make [Purified Iron] pieces? If that's the case, I would buy them at 15 gold coins per piece. What do you think?"

"It's a deal, Mr Blacksmith. Thank you again for the gold coins and your business proposal. We would be on our way as we have other matters to attend to."

"It's a pleasure meeting you, Battousai-sama and Samurai-San. Please do drop by here with the readied pieces and I'd gladly purchase it from you, no matter how many pieces at the fixed number of gold coins per piece."

"Alright, we would be in our way then. See you around, Mr Blacksmith."

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We went out of the shop and we headed to the Inn to discuss in the forthcoming future. We went inside and was ushered by an order taker and we chose from the menu on what we need for dinner. After choosing what we wanted, we drank some green tea to soothe our excitement.