"Have yer died, boy?" Aaron asked. He was in a good mood now that Jake had come to him, as it meant they would work together in his workplace and develop Jake's artisan subclass!
Jake chuckled, "I asked Viktor to walk with me. I think he's strong enough to make any assassin question themselves."
"Smart of yer! It must have been difficult to get Viktor moving, though!" Aaron asked as he caressed his long beard.
Jake shook his head. "No, I asked for a few books about archery. He was surprised at first but then decided on his own that he should help me get my hands on them! So both of us came to the capital... I think he misunderstood me."
"Misunderstood? Aren't yer requesting books to improve yer archery?" Aaron asked.
Jake grinned, "It's to expand my imagination! I recently realized how poor it is! If I can't imagine beauty, how can I become creative about my archery?! This is a serious flaw I must fix!"
"Yer are not normal..." Aaron said, confused.
He opened the door to his basement and guided Jake downstairs.
This place was as clean as it was before. Jake could swear that he had never seen any dirt or speck of dust here, meaning that Aaron had never given up on his passion and dreams. He was just held back by the harsh reality.
"Jewelry, ye?" Aaron asked as he walked past various anvils and smithies.
Jake nodded.
These two then stopped before a grand stone furnace.
Jake called his second summon, then. Wukong appeared on his right arm, holding dearly to it. He was confused by the furnace before him. His golden eyes widened in surprise as Aaron turned the furnaces' mana engravings on.
The furnace's front lit up like a demon's mouth. Inside, flames swirled like dancing fire fairies.
Wukong's eyes sparkled, and so did Jake's.
Both were interested in what could be achieved with this beast's power!
Aaron enjoyed their reactions.
Jake wiped off his brow and said, "You should go easy on him!"
"Just a monkey!" Aaron replied.
"And here I thought you became closer with Wukong..." Jake said. He wanted to wipe off his sweat again, but at this point, he decided to not care anymore.
The jewelry was quite different from what he had read at home. It seemed like the furnace's build and mana engraved within its structure did a lot of work for artisans. It was important to keep an eye on the melting ore and ensure that no imperfection from the ore would find its way to the gem's substance, though.
"My guess is that I would apply The Savoir Faire Of Inspiration into the furnace and then later into handwork!" Jake shouted at Master Aaron, who had decided to have a drink.
The old man nodded, "Yer smart!" He approached Jake and looked into the furnace, "But yer need more experience! I can see a lot of imperfections in the substance!"
"Huh! How!" Jake exclaimed, then looked deeper into the furnace's mouth.
Aaron commented, "Looks like yer sweat got into yer eyes! Those molds are meant for a necklace's bead, right? What's the reason?"
Jake faintly smiled. In fact, he blushed a little, but it couldn't have been seen because of the sweat and the swaying flames.
He replied, "Based on the experience I've gathered from the dungeon, I strongly believe that I will be able to make a necklace with a strong fire resistance!"
"Yer fought many fire mages?" Aaron asked.
Jake turned a deaf eye to this question.
Later that day, Jake crafted various raw necklace beads. The old man also taught Jake and Wukong how to carve simple shapes with a hot steel knife on already molded pieces.
Aaron was satisfied with Jake's creations, as they were above average for the first time, but he also told Jake that he needed more time at the furnace to get a better hang of melting! When it came to Jake's handiwork, his hands were smooth and precise, as though he had spent a lot of time toiling with broken stuff and now understood the comforts of utensils.
Viktor visited Aaron's house on the same day and passed Jake a few books.
The second stage of Jake's baby steps, therefore, has started.
The grind!