The Smith examined the ore in his hand more closely. It was red, like Red Iron, but now that he looked, clearly different. It was a deeper red, but there was an almost… wetness, to the metal mixed up with the rock. He set it aside and continued his work, but soon enough he found more of that same ore. He slowed down, now, taking more time to inspect each piece of ore to ensure only Red Iron made it into the hopper.

He found a few more small bits of other kinds of ore. A weird deep yellow. A reddish brown. Even an ore that he would have guessed was merely a weird mineral, yet registered with his Skill.

By noon, he had half filled the cooling trays on the rack, and the pile of remaining ore was almost entirely out of the way. The Smiths bustling about the yard, taciturn and gruff in the ways Smiths are, didn't thank him aloud. Instead, they gave him a short nod of respect and acknowledgment when he caught their eye.

Still, there was more than enough Red Iron Ore piled up to last him the rest of the day, and into the morrow.

Marlie called him over to one of the miniature Smithies on the edge of the yard right as he finished his lunch.

"Oi, James! C'mere!"

He walked over and there was a young man. Quite young. In fact, James squinted his eyes to be sure, the man was possibly even younger than James himself was. But where James was thin, this man was incredibly brawny, with bulging muscles and a width to his body that made him seem shorter than he actually was.

"Bruno, this is James! James, this is Bruno!"

They nodded at each other, and Bruno pointed with his chin at James' armband.

"Ye workin' wit de knights, eh?"

James rubbed the back of his head. "It's, eh, a long story, but yeah."

Bruno frowned, then crossed his arms.

"I cannae gif a man a weapon widout makin' sure it's right fer 'im." Bruno's accent was quite thick.

Marlie shook her head. "No, it's not for a knight, it's for James himself."

Bruno squinted, looking James up and down. "Ye some kinda Hammer Warrior?"

James shrugged. "Something like that. I fight with a War Hammer almost exclusively."

Bruno's gaze lingered on James arms, and then he sighed. "Well, I ent go' t'be sellin' this neetime soo', migh' a' well," he muttered.

Marlie tried to cheer him up. "Don't worry, Bruno! A Weaponsmith like you will be making masterpieces in no time. But if you never sell your early work, you're just denying yourself experience and slowing down your leveling."

Bruno sighed again, and made a show of looking James up and down. "I saw ye heavin' dat ore, but ken ye even lift a proper war hammer?"

James nodded firmly. "Yeah, I'm pretty strong, actually."

"From levels?"

"Yeah."

"Right." Bruno turned and started grabbing war hammers from where they were lying around his smithy. "Ye'd be better served puttin' some muscle on ye, though."

"Huh?" James grunted.

"Yeah!" Marlie agreed.

"De Strength boost is based on yer natural strength." Bruno shot another look at James' thin arms. "Ye'd certainly be much stronger if ye put some meat on yer bones."

James rubbed his chin, and then nodded. "Thanks for the advice, Weaponsmith Bruno," he said sincerely.

Bruno nearly tripped and sputtered, before dumping an armload of war hammers of all shapes and sizes on a sturdy wood table that nearly gave way under the impact.

"Oi, I only jus' got me classes a couple months ago. If ye talk to me like that, it gives me the shivers, Smith James. Jus' call me Bruno." His hands now free, he extended his right for a handshake.

James clasped it and shook with a grin. "Alright, then call me James, too."

Bruno's eyes gleamed, and then he took a step back and waved expansively at his hammers. "Take a look, then. Feel free to ask me any questions you have, James."

James first looked at all the two-handed war hammers. With long hafts, he'd have better reach, and they would hit harder, but…

He picked one up and gave it a test swing. The swing was utterly amateur and, frankly, didn't match up well with the hammer itself nor with James' hard-won fighting instincts.

Next he looked at the one-handed hammers. There was one with a wicked looking, long, curved spike on the end, clearly designed for piercing plate armor. But he had a feeling it wouldn't work with his Smith Class' Technique. It was a little too far from hammering.

He picked up a few and gave them test swings, and Bruno chuffed with pride as he saw the expression on James' face.

There was such a difference between Very Low and Medium quality!

The balance of the weapon was much improved. With the weapons James had created, it was as though he had a rock on a stick and he was intentionally moving it through space. Sure, he could hit things, but it was more effort.

With the hammer in his hand, however, his [Hammer Strike] flowed. The hammer was an extension of his body and his Technique.

Even better, he had no worry that the hammer head would unexpectedly break off the haft. His first war hammer had done that, against the mole monster back when he first entered the Dungeon. He realized that he'd been holding back subconsciously most of the time, but now? With [Product Testing], he could tell there was no need.

The only problem he had was that the hammers felt a little light in his hand.

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"Hmmm…" he hummed as he picked up the various hammers, and Bruno's eyebrows raised.

"Oh, ye really are dat strong. Maybe…" He dug around in the back of his Smithy for a minute before returning with an unusually large war hammer with a short looking haft. "I made this while experimentin' with Durability. It's a bit like a bastard sword, but a war hammer."

[Appraisal]: Steel Bastard War Hammer, Quality: Medium, Durability: 50/50

Everything about the hammer was thick. There was no spike on either hammer head. Just a chunky, rectangular hunk of metal shaped precisely to the balance of the hammer in its entirety.

James picked it up with one hand, and his eyes lit up at the heft of the thing.

"Whoa, you can actually lift that thing, James!" Marlie exclaimed.

James was smiling now. "Uh huh." He was unarmored, and the lightness meant he had to take a proper stance, but he did so and gave the hammer a test swing.

[Technique: Hammer Strike]

Whoosh!

The air tore in front of him audibly.

Then he reset his stance, gripped it in two hands, and tested a powerful overhead swing. Like he was pounding a boss monster into the dirt.

[Technique: Hammer Strike]

WHOOSH!

A small gust of wind was kicked up. Just enough to lightly brush over Bruno and Marlie standing nearby.

"Smith James." Bruno stepped around the table and folded his arms, and glared right up into James' face. "Let me sell ye that hammer. I won' take no for an answer."

"Bruno! No!" Marlie cried, and she leapt between the two Smiths with her arms stretched out, like she was breaking up a fight. "Stop!" She turned to James and pointed to the side. "James, go over there for a minute!"

James, confused, put the hammer down on the table and there was another ominous creak, but the table held. He walked a dozen yards away and Marlie sternly lectured Bruno for several minutes before waving him back over.

"Now, Bruno, do it like I said!"

Bruno, looking a little nonplussed, turned back to James and pointed at the Bastard War Hammer. "Ahem, James, I think that hammer's the best for you."

Marlie looked up at James with a stern and expectant expression.

Feeling a bit like he was acting in a play, James nodded stiffly. "Uh, yes, me too. I would like to buy it."

"Very well," Bruno said awkwardly, "due to, uh, the… the uh, material costs and, er, de labor and de market conditions… uh…" His face reddened as he tried to repeat what he'd clearly just been told to say.

He sighed exasperatedly. "I cannae do this. James, I want to sell you that hammer."

Marlie rolled her eyes and heaved her own sigh, but before she could say anything, James stepped in to keep the conversation moving.

"Yes, Bruno, I would like to buy that hammer. How much?"

"I'd say two dollars is a fair price."

James' heart sank. He'd earned twenty cents the previous day. He might make thirty today, and maybe another twenty the day after, but that was still more than a dollar short.

"I don't think I can afford it. Unless…" he looked at Marlie hopefully, but she just looked fed up with the both of them.

"Bruno! At least try to haggle! Don't just start with your lowest price first! And you, James, don't just give up immediately! Ask him to lower his price!"

James and Bruno shared a look.

"But, Marlie, you know nobody else is going to want to buy this hammer; if I can't sell it now, I might as well melt it down and reuse the steel."

"Marlie, I just don't have the money unless the Guild can lend me some money. Besides, this hammer's a really good piece of work; I'd feel bad if I paid less than it was worth."

"James…" Bruno's eyes grew watery.

Marlie facepalmed. "Yer both Smith's, aintcha?! Ye just plannin' to give yer crafts away? Ye need to sell 'em! Ye need ta get paid! If ye'd just try, ye'd both get the Skill and ye could both stop wastin' my time on yer tomfoolery!"

So spake the girl three years shy of her Choosing Day.

James and Bruno shared another look and shrugged at each other. After a bit of silent back and forth, James started. He turned to the table, made a few exaggerated "hmm" and "haahh" noises, and then picked up the Bastard War Hammer again.

"Weaponsmith Bruno, I would like to buy this hammer."

"Good choice, Hammer Warrior James. That will be three dollars."

"Uh, it's a great hammer, but I think I want to pay one dollar."

"Sorry, but I cannae take one dollar. How about two and a half?"

"I'm afraid I still can't pay that much. I could maybe pay one and a half."

They both looked at Marlie, who rolled her eyes again, and stage-whispered "Sell it!" to Bruno.

"Er, Mr. Customer, look at the heft and balance of this hammer. It's perfect for both one-handed and two-handed use, and you can even loop it into a belt like so…"

He demonstrated, and James was honestly impressed. "Ohh, that looks handy. I'll have to get a belt at some point."

"Oh!" Bruno twitched. "I got it. [Haggling]."

"Ahem, well, I suppose I could pay a dollar and seventy-five cents."

"Two and fifteen," Bruno countered confidently.

James frowned slightly. "A dollar and ninety cents," he countered, and then he felt his own intrusive thought.

Smith Class Skill [Haggling] has been acquired.

"Two dollars even, and that's as low as I'll go." Bruno folded his arms.

"A fair deal, two dollars it is," James replied, and they shook hands firmly.

It was the perfect scene until Bruno held out his hand expectantly for the money.

Money James didn't have.

He looked at Marlie pitifully, and then she dropped her fist in an open palm.

"Oh, right, yeah, I can't loan you two dollars on my own say so."

Bruno and James both were crestfallen.

"I could, uh, hold onto it, until you get the money together," Bruno offered, but James shrugged.

"I dunno if there's enough work at the Guild I could do to even make that much money," he replied.

Marlie looked like she felt a little bad. "Well, I'll ask and see. Come find me before you leave for the day, James!" And then she scurried off.

Bruno clapped James on the shoulder. "Do nae worry, I won't be sellin' dat hammer nee time soon. I kin wait fer ye ta get de money."

"Thanks, Bruno."

James spent the afternoon [Smelting] more of the Red Iron, idly wondering if he would get another level of [Heat Resistance], but he never did. Every now and then a strong breeze would sweep through, driving away the heated air and cooling James as he worked.

It really wasn't so bad, once he got used to it.

Once he noticed the other Smiths closing up shop, he wrapped up his own work as well. He tidied up the waste pile, took the last trays of cooling ingots to the cooling rack, and estimated the remaining ore. He'd probably be finished before lunch tomorrow.

"James!"

He turned and saw the red-headed Guildmaster striding towards him.

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