Chapter 227: Basics of Being a Blacksmith!

"From the east, huh? You've come a long way, young man!" Blacksmith Olan said with a smile on his face. Then, he shook Pedro's hands and said, "Now, come… I'll show you how to make a decent weapon!"

Pedro simply nodded in response to Blacksmith Olan. Then, they went inside the workshop—where the little kid Iyola was just about to leave.

Inside the workshop, there was a piece of huge oven-like equipment that had runic formations around it, together with a dirty red magic crystal on top of it. Its door—which was showing the flaming view inside, was left open while the runic formations remained deactivated.

At this moment, Iyola handed over a pair of thick gloves and an apron to his grandpa. Then, Iyola gave another set to Pedro and said, "Sir, here's your gloves and apron. Please wear it so that your clothes won't get damaged in case of molten metal spills. It would also protect you from burns, so make sure to wear it!"

"Thanks!" Pedro simply nodded in response as he wore the thick apron and the thick gloves. At this moment, Iyola had given Pedro and Blacksmith Olan one last wave before closing the door of the workshop.

And without further ado, Blacksmith Olan picked up a metal ore and said, "Young Aron… This is the Ore Oven that is often used in softening the ores using intense heat until the ore is about to reach its melting point. And as you can see, it has a runic formation that activates when its door is closed. By that time, it automatically uses the magical energy stored in magic crystals that were replenished from the ball of fire's natural light energy!"

Pedro simply rubbed his chin in response and said, "What a great thing to own… I should probably purchase one for myself. Perhaps… Blacksmith Olan… Do you know how can I obtain an Ore Oven like this?"

"That won't be easy!" Blacksmith Olan said as he forced out a smile to Pedro. "The Ore Ovens are typically built permanently amongst establishments. On top of that, the runic formations can only be made by rune specialist mages or sorcerers. So, it might be impossible for you to own an Ore Oven at this moment—because there are several factors you need to consider like the place where you would put your Ore Oven and, at the same time, if you would be able to hire a rune specialist mage or sorcerer that would set up the runic formation of your Ore Oven. That is why I think that it is more ideal for you to rent an Ore Oven instead since you are still a newbie. It costs only costs a few silver coins to rent an Ore Oven for half an hour… Considering the price of Ordinary Metal Ore—which is around Fifty to Eighty bronze coins a Hilo, and the selling price of a low-grade weapon—which was around three silver coin to ten silver coins, you can gain two to five silver coins on each low-grade weapon!"

Hearing what Blacksmith Olan said, Pedro could not help but force out a smile. Then, he simply shook his head and said, "Thanks for your advice, Senior Olan! I'll consider what you said! To be honest… Although I have a great idea regarding the forging of magic crystals, I don't have that many coins to spare. So… It would put me at a lot of risks if I were to spend all my coins in setting up an Ore Oven!"

"I understand!" Blacksmith Olan nodded in agreement. At this moment, Blacksmith Olan took a Hilo of Ordinary Metal Ore and placed it inside the Ore Oven, while saying, "Moving forward… All you needed to do next is to place the right amount of ore that you are going to use into the Ore Oven and wait for around three to five minutes until the ore is ready to be molded into your desired shape."

When Blacksmith Olan closed the door of the Ore Oven, the runic formations around it had suddenly lit light orange in color. Then, Blacksmith Olan clapped his hands to remove the dirt on his hands and said, "Just an additional tip from me… You might be wondering why I did not clean the metal before placing it inside the Ore Oven, right?"

Pedro simply nodded in response as Blacksmith Olan smirked. Then, Blacksmith Olan said, "Based on my experience, there is almost to no effect caused by the impurity due to dirt on ordinary metal ores. Well… It is the same as other ores because most of the time… the dirt that the ores have is already removed before the ores get sold to us. The ores are being sold by weight, so it was only natural to remove huge chunks of dirt."

At this moment, Blacksmith Olan scratched his head and said, "If you don't believe me, then you can simply test it later on and see if there were any significant changes to the durability of the low-grade weapons. But as far as my experience goes… The difference is quite negligible."

"But what if you are crafting a high-grade weapon or equipment? Shouldn't we clean it so that we would obtain the highest purity of the ore in crafting the weapon?" Pedro asked with a frown on his face.

"Well… You are right, young man!" Blacksmith Olan said after forcing out a smile. "High-grade weapons are mostly for luxury and strength, so… It was only natural to treat every step of its creation with love and care… as if you are raising your own baby! So, it was only natural to do it that way. But for these mass-produced low-grade weapons, such things are not that much needed. After all, what matters with low-grade weapons is their quantity."

"You're right!" Pedro simply nodded in agreement. Then, after a few seconds, he asked, "Can I ask, Senior Olan… Is there anything else I can do while waiting for the metal to get burned and soften?"

Blacksmith Olan simply smirked in response and said, "You're sharp, young man! Here is my second tip for you… While waiting for the Ore Oven to finish its job, you can use these three to five minutes to visualize the design of the weapon that you are going to make. Since you would be paying for the sword I am about to forge, can you tell me what kind of sword you would like to have? A Long sword? A short sword? Feel free to tell me what you have in mind."

Pedro rubbed his chin in response. Then, after a few seconds, he said, "A single-handed short sword would be great!"

"Then, a short sword it is!" Blacksmith Olan nodded in response and said, "Now! With that in mind, you should be able to imagine the next steps you are going to take. For short swords… Ores would typically need around three minutes in the Ore Oven for the low-grade weapons. But if it is for high-grade weapons or those weapons with intricate designs, it would need at least three and a half minutes in the Ore Oven. This way, the ores would tend to be softer and would be easier to hold and design. As for the long swords or long spanned weapons, it is ideal to keep them in the ore oven for four to five minutes because it would be easier to mold them at that point… But, I will warn you, young man! Avoid leaving ores inside the ore oven for more than five minutes! Most of the ores would melt by that time—consequently reducing the amount of ore that you can forge. If that happens, many things would be greatly affected later on—including the strength and durability of the weapon."

"I will keep that in mind, Senior Olan! Thanks for your warning!" Pedro bowed slightly with a smile.

At this moment, Blacksmith Olan opened the door of the ore oven—consequently turning the runic formation off and slowly reducing the heat inside. Without wasting another second, Blacksmith Olan grabbed the yellowish-orange ore with huge scissors and placed it on top of the anvil.

Then, before Blacksmith Olan smashed the ore with his hammer, he pointed to the light red part of the ores—usually on its tips, and said, "These light red colors indicate that the ore is still a bit hard and would need a strong force in hammering and molding it. Normally, it would all turn light orange if you left it in the ore oven for more than four and a half minutes."

Pedro simply nodded in response. But before he could utter a word, Blacksmith Olan smiled and said, "Now… All you need is to hammer the ore and mold it to your preferred design. Afterward, you just need to soak it into the water to cool it off… Just be careful on thinly molded ores… cracks might start to appear as you are trying to cool it off. So, you should know how thin each ore can be molded... I'll leave everything else to your experience… And that's all for the basics of forging weapons!"

At this moment, Blacksmith Olan handed over the newly crafted short sword to Pedro and said, "Since you are a newbie… I'll only charge you with four silver coins. Please pay it to my grandson after you go out of the workshop!"

"That won't be a problem!" Pedro said with a smile on his face. "But what about you, Senior Olan? Are you not going out of the workshop?"

Blacksmith Olan simply smirked in response and pointed towards the chucks of ordinary metal ore, and said, "I have more work to do."

"I see… Then, I would be leaving first! Thanks, Senior Olan! You were of great help!" Pedro said, respectfully. Then, he walked out of the workshop area and pain four silver coins to Iyola. In fact, he even gave a silver coin tip to Iyola.

This, in turn, made the child happy to the point that he opened the workshop's door and started bragging towards his grandpa. Blacksmith Olan could only force a smile in response and thought, 'What a strange young man… Using magic crystals as ores… Is he trying to make a Legendary Weapon on his first try?'

Blacksmith Olan simply chuckled and murmured, "I should start innovating my works… Else… These newbies would soon overcome my feat…"