Chapter 100: Junior-level Blacksmith

Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Junior-level Blacksmith

"My name is Alek,"

the little boy answered.

"Alek..."

Vili murmured the name to himself.

He turned to Old Yor and said, "Arrange a place for them to stay, and send over some food."

Fandou Village still had many vacant houses, so they could just pick one for them.

"Yes, Lord Village Chief."

Old Yor replied. Since the Lord Village Chief had given his approval, there wouldn’t be any problems.

Vili didn’t linger. Instead, he called out to Yadon, "Yadon, come with me. I’m going to write a letter. I need you to take it to the Town Hall and give it to Deputy Town Mayor Bisen. Tell him I need a batch of iron billets to build a blacksmith shop in Fandou Village."

"Right away, Lord Village Chief."

Receiving the Lord Village Chief’s orders under everyone’s watchful eyes was an honor in Yadon’s opinion.

...

Old Yor took good care of Alek and his father, Laoqi.

Old Yor was a kind man. He not only gave Laoqi and Alek food but also gave Laoqi an old cotton-padded coat from his own home.

After a few days of settling in, Laoqi could finally believe that this wasn’t all a dream.

During those same few days, under Bisen’s arrangement, an iron ore merchant delivered a batch of iron billets to Fandou Village without asking for any deposit. Even after the delivery, he only charged a small amount of money.

For the iron ore merchant, getting Vili’s business was a huge gain in itself. Not everyone had the chance to form a connection with the second-in-command of the Diamond Town Personal Guard Team.

Inside the newly built blacksmith shop.

Laoqi and Alek were sitting together.

A blazing furnace stood before Laoqi. He wore gloves, his sleeves rolled up, as he hammered away at a red-hot piece of iron, CLANGING and BANGING.

Although he wasn’t the owner of the blacksmith shop, he still worked with all his might.

Fandou Village had not only provided him with a place to live but also with wheat bran and even wheat, which had brought a world-turning change to his and Alek’s lives.

Moreover, even though he had repeatedly refused, Vili still gave him a salary of five Silver Rums a month. This moved Laoqi beyond words, leaving him able to only prove through his actions that he wasn’t freeloading.

At his side, Alek also held a small hammer, forcefully striking a piece of red-hot, pliable iron sheet. His fluid movements made it hard to believe he was just a child. The furnace’s heat had flushed Alek’s face red, and sweat trickled down his cheeks.

Laoqi looked at his son beside him, a look of contentment on his face.

While he was busy, Laoqi suddenly heard footsteps.

He looked up and saw Vili walking in.

"Lord Village Chief."

Laoqi quickly stood up. He had now grown accustomed to his new identity as a resident of Fandou Village.

Vili nodded to him, then looked at Alek, who was still engrossed in his smithing.

"Alek, quickly greet the Lord Village Chief,"

Laoqi hastily reminded him.

Only then did Alek stop what he was doing and give Vili a deep bow. "Good morning, Lord Village Chief."

Vili waved his hand, signaling for him to continue his work.

After observing him for the past few days, Vili had discovered that the boy wasn’t much different from others his age, except that he was introverted. He didn’t like to play and only loved to tinker with iron tools. It was as if the furnace and hammer were his only companions.

The calmness Alek displayed was a kind of single-minded focus, as still as water. Especially when smithing, his concentration was enough to make adults feel ashamed.

Alek’s forging technique was brilliant; the things he crafted were sometimes even more exquisite than those made by his father, Laoqi.

Perhaps with deliberate training, he could become a true Master Blacksmith. One must know that a true Master Blacksmith could forge exquisitely intricate weapons and would enjoy the respect of the masses even in the heart of Dawei Province.

After learning more about him these past few days, Vili had already begun to consciously nurture Alek toward becoming a Master Blacksmith. First, he would have Laoqi pass on all his skills to Alek, and later, Vili would find an even better teacher for Alek through other channels.

As a leader, Vili needed subordinates with all sorts of special talents.

As for himself, having leadership and absolute strength was enough to control everything.

"Laoqi, teach me how to smith,"

Vili said to Laoqi.

He wasn’t doing this because he had too much free time, but because he wanted to see if he could obtain a new title.

Back in Xiangguo Village, he had wanted to snag a blacksmith-related title, but since Uncle Ubi never let anyone interfere when he was smithing, Vili never got the chance.

Now, although a basic-level title provided him with a very limited number of attribute points, Vili had to seize even the slightest advantage in the process of practicing the Frost Knight Breathing Technique.

"You... you want to learn smithing?"

Laoqi looked astonished.

"Yes, I just want to give it a try."

Vili nodded.

"Of course, Lord Village Chief."

Although Laoqi couldn’t figure out what Vili was thinking, he still chose to comply.

Under Laoqi’s guidance, Vili began to smith for the first time in his life.

Vili was no expert; he could only imitate Laoqi’s movements by feel, while Laoqi patiently guided him from the side.

Nearby, Alek finished crafting one iron tool and then immediately started on the next, seemingly tireless. Not a trace of impatience showed on his face as he kept his eyes glued to his hands.

A full hour later, Vili finally completed the first iron tool of his life—a lumpy, uneven shovel.

Just as he expected, everything went according to plan. As he completed his creation, the Title Attribute Panel appeared before his eyes.

"Successfully forged one shovel. Title acquired—[Junior-level Blacksmith]. Reward: 0.3 attribute points."

"Upon acquiring the [Junior-level Blacksmith] title, you will master basic iron tool forging techniques, making you a qualified novice blacksmith."

[Vili Ferren—Constitution: 4; Intelligence: 4; Remaining Attribute Points: 0.3]

’Only a 0.3 attribute point reward...’

Vili felt a slight sense of regret.

Previously, in order to further speed up his progress with the Frost Knight Breathing Technique, he had allocated his remaining 1 attribute point entirely to his Intelligence Value.

So now, after receiving the new reward, he only had 0.3 points remaining.

’It’s better than nothing, I guess...’

Vili consoled himself.

"Thanks for the trouble, Laoqi."

Vili put down the shovel, said his farewells, and walked right out of the blacksmith shop.

His goal was achieved, so there was naturally no need to stay.

In the blacksmith shop, only the intensely focused Alek and a bewildered Laoqi remained.