Seeds of Discordia

Liam jogged through the empty streets of the city. His eyes scanned every corner and alleyway as he readied himself for anything out of habit The silence that accompanied him felt a bit foreign to him. Back in his old world, after the government collapsed, there wasn’t a moment that passed without screams or shouts from people struggling to stay alive. If there was any form of silence it was a sign something big was about to happen.

He tried to remind himself that he didn’t need to worry anymore, but to no avail did it help relax him. He shook his head and whispered to himself, “Just take things one day at a time, Liam.”

As Liam continued on, he noticed the green lights above were dimming away as the bigger Yooperlite started to light up with a faint yellowish color. To Liam it looked like a stadium light slowly starting to warm up before it was fully on.

He started to slow down his momentum as he noticed his stamina bar getting close to empty. He placed his hands behind his head as he took in gulps of air.

“Damn, it’s hard to grasp this stamina bar thing,” Liam muttered.

Liam felt that having a stamina bar was great since he could see how long he could run or do other things. It helped him to also know he could push himself a bit harder because he saw how much energy he had left in the tank. His one complaint so far was trying to get it back up without having to rely on those crappy tasting stamina potions.

The nasty taste of the potions he drank while fighting that monster on the first floor left a big impression on him. His body involuntarily shuddered. Even though it was yesterday when he drank them, he could still taste the nasty flavors.

An unfamiliar sound suddenly echoed around him. It sounded like something banging against a metal object.

Liam looked around until he saw a long brick building off to the side away from all the other buildings. It had wide double doors opened with a flickering light peering out. Three chimneys were spread out over the roof with black smoke coming out of one of them.

Liam walked over to the building and peered inside. Against one wall were different sized hammers, metal claps, and pokers. Next to the tool area were bags of ore and wood. Next to that were, in what Liam assumed was the best organization system, shelves of ingots of metal.

Finished weapons were organized by barrels while piles of crudely made weapons were next to the containers. On the other side of the room were several furnaces with anvils close by. Slack tubs with fresh water in them were placed near the anvils as well.

A figure stood with their back to the door at the middle anvil near the only furnace burning. Liam saw they were wearing a tank top, pants, boots, and gloves the ran up to their forearms. Their dark hair was wrapped up in a ponytail. The individual stood a little shorter than Liam from what he could see.

The individual lifted their arm up in the air, a hammer gripped to their hand, before striking down hard. A sharp ting sound echoed. The figure raised the arm back up and kept a steady rhythmic pace as the sound continued to fill the room.

After a few more strikes the figure placed the object they were striking into the slack tub next to them. Steam hissed off the water cooling the object. They then placed the tong-like tool and hammer down on the anvil before taking their gloves off over the tools.

As they turned around letting out a sigh, the person noticed Liam standing at the door and pulled their goggles up to their forehead.

Liam was able to take in the figures details a little more.

It was a woman who looked a bit older than he was. She had emerald-green eyes and full lips. Some black dust substance was smeared, due to the sweat rolling down, on her cheeks giving Liam the impression she had been working for a few hours already. She had a physically built physique. One that looked like if you crossed her, she could knock you out with a single punch no questions asked.

She gave Liam a disapproving look as she stated with a thick Scottish-like accent, “What are ye doin here so early? If ye’re looking for someone ta make ya a weapon, then ya come too soon.”

“I’m sorry. I was going for a jog and heard some noise coming from here, so I came to check it out,” Liam explained. “After I saw that this was a blacksmith shop my curiosity grew and before I knew it was watching you.”

“Gah, this is a smithy not a blacksmith shop boy,” the woman corrected. With a bit of curiosity she asked, “Are ya interested in Blacksmithing?”

“I am,” Liam started. “My class is Crafter, and I was going to check out some crafters workshops later to get a feel for what I need to start.”

The woman stared at Liam, assessing him from head to toe. After a moment she said, “If this was a different world then I’d tell ya ta start packin more muscle on ya. But luckily the way things work here aren’t the same. If ya has a Crafter’s class then by practicing, ya’ll get what ya need.”

“Oh? Is there difference on this world when it comes to crafting?” Liam asked with much curiosity.

He hadn’t given it much thought. He assumed that crafting items was going to be like back on his old world. He kept forgetting that the rules have changed, so why couldn’t thing be different for crafts as well?

“Just a wee bit. Ya still need to put plenty of work in to get quality product, but the process is different. If ya’d like to learn how, I could teach ya,” the woman stated. She then pointed a finger at him and added, “But it’ll be the basics. Ya’ll still need to get the first level to start ya path.”

“Ok,” Liam said as he approached her. “What do I need to learn?”

“The first thing ye’ll need to do is tell me yer name,” the woman instructed.

“I’m Liam,” Liam answered as he reached his right hand out.

“Liam, eh? I’m Fia.” Fia shook his hand. “I’ll tell ya now. The basics ya’ll be starting with is smelting. Ya got ta learn how to smelt before anything else. For that ya’ll need some proper equipment.”

She pointed to the wall with the tools.

“Grab yerself a pair of gloves and a smelting rod,” Fia ordered. “The goggles ya got on will do fine, but those gloves won’t stop the heat from burnin ya fingers.”

Liam nodded as he took his gloves off and placed them into his inventory. He then asked, “What’s a smelting rod?”

“It’s one of the things that’s different from probably both our worlds. It’s a rod with a double layer bowl at the end,” Fia explained.

“Alright,” Liam said as he did what he was told and walked over to Fia who was standing at a furnace at the end of the room.

“Took ya long enough,” Fia teased with a slight smile. “Now what we’re gonna do is get the furnace to the right temperature. Since ya don’t have the blacksmithing skill yet you don’t have the Temp Check ability. This ability will allow ya to see the temperature of the flames inside a furnace so ya’ll know if ya need to raise the heat or lower it for whatever yer working on.”

Fia placed some wood inside the furnace. After putting what she felt was the right amount she placed a hand out and chanted, “Come forth heat of flames and burn the pyre I set before ya. Become the tool that will help in my endeavor. Light and burn bright.”

A flame suddenly blossomed on Fia’s hand. It didn’t touch her palm or explode. It just flickered before she blew it into the furnace catching the wood on fire.

Liam’s eyes were wide as he watched it.

“Is this the first time ya seen magic boy?” Fia questioned as she saw Liam’s expression.

“Yeah,” Liam replied. He then corrected himself as he remembered the magic used against him during his first floor run. “Actually no. It is the first time I have seen someone grow fire out of their palm.”

Fia let out a jovial laugh. “Then ya’ll be in more of surprises when ya seen actual magic. This right here is just a basic fire lighting magic. It’s perfect for blacksmiths, alchemists, and cooks to start a flame up. Doesn’t really do much for a damage spell though,” Fia informed. “We call the style Crafter’s magic. That spell was called Light and Burn.”

“I’m going to have to learn that. It sounds really useful,” Liam said.

Fia let out a loud chuckle. “Of course, it’s useful. There’s no such thing as useless magic.” She pointed at Liam with a playful smile on her face. “Remember this boy. It’s not about the magic. It’s how ye use the magic. Even magic like this can be useful in a fight if ye apply it right.”

Liam smiled as he responded, “I’ll remember that.”

“Now back to learning,” Fia started as she pointed to the furnace. “I’ve got the temp right where it needs to be. Now ya’ll place the iron ore in the bottom bowl by pushing this to the side.”

Fia pushed the top bowl to reveal the second bowl that was underneath it. She then placed some iron ores in it and closed it. As she handed it to Liam she said, “Now ye’ll pull the goggles over your eyes so ye don’t hurt your sight from staring into the flames. Also make sure ye never take your gloves off. The heat will cover the entire rod.”

Liam pulled the goggles down and placed the gloves over his hands as he grabbed the rod.

“Now yer gonna hold the rod into the flame,” Fia instructed.

As Liam did, she continued to explain, “This is another thing that differs. The ore will separate itself from the impurities that are there. The impurities will rise to the top bowl, so they don’t mix together. This process takes a while to do, but ye’ll feel a strain after a while. Ye’ll feel it cuz your stamina bar will be draining quickly from holding the rod for so long. Don’t worry about not having enough stamina. This process is long enough for the first timers that it won’t completely drain it. So don’t fret.”

“Alright,” Liam said as he began to feel his body start to strain a bit.

Even though Fia had told him that he would feel the strain he wasn’t expecting it to happen so soon. He looked at his stamina bar and noticed it was already a quarter gone.

“Make sure ya don’t pull it out too soon. If ya do then ya mess up the whole process and ruin the material,” Fia added.

Liam felt his arms start to shake slowly at first.

“Make sure ta keep it up off tha flames,” Fia instructed as she kept her eyes on the rod.

“I’m trying,” Liam said as he grunted.

“Keep it up. Almost there.”

Liam’s arms started shaking more as sweat rolled down his forehead. His stamina bar already passed halfway gone.

“A little more,” Fia said as she watched liquid start to fill the top bowl on the rod. “Don’t shake too much. We don’t want the liquid to fall into the fire or a nasty smell will fill the room.”

“I’m…trying,” Liam said as he felt his muscles tighten more. His stamina bar now less than a quarter left.

“Alright,” Fia said. “Bring it out and pour the contents in the top bowl in the pit next to the furnace.”

Liam pulled the rod out and dumped the greenish-brown liquid. He panted as he watched it go down into a deep pit. Steam and smoke going with it. A foul odor slowly rose causing Liam to feel his stomach swirl.

“Now open the top bowl and pour the liquid from the bottom one into that mold right there,” Fia ordered as she pointed to an opened square mold.

Even though his arms were sore and felt like jelly, Liam did as he was told. He closed his left eye as sweat rolled into it. After he finished pouring the contents into the mold Fia handed him a rod with a horseshoe-like shape at the end. At the ends of the horseshoe shaped hooks were what looked like connections. Liam placed the double bowl rod down and grabbed it.

“Connect this to the two sides of the mold then place it in the slack tub to cool it down,” Fia commanded.

Liam nodded as he did what he was told. As he lifted the mold up he fought his arms that were refusing to pick it up. He tried again and was finally able to get it to the water. As he lowered it into the water steam started to bubble.

“Again, yer going to want to time it right or ya’ll get a crappy ingot,” Fia explained as she stared at it. After a few seconds she ordered, “Pull it up now!”

Liam hefted it out of the water and placed it on a stone table.

Fia grabbed the rod and flipped the mold upside down and whacked her hammer against it a couple of times until the ingot fell out.

As she pointed at it she clarified, “Not like the other world. This is the best method to get properly made ingots here.” She inspected the finished product and said as she roughly patted Liam on his back, “It’s not fully perfect, but its damn good for yer first time.”

“Thanks,” Liam said as he hunched over gulping in some air.

“What yer feeling right now is crafter’s fatigue. The more you craft the better your Crafter’s endurance will be.”

The sound of a chime echoed lightly in Liam’s mind as a couple of notifications appeared.

 

---

“Congratulations! You have reached level 1 in Crafting – Blacksmithing! Smelting is now possible. Progression to level 2: 0%.”

“Congratulations! You have reached level 1 in Smelting! Progression to level 2: 0%.”

“Congratulations! You have reached level 1 in Body Stat Endurance Sub-stat Crafter Endurance! Progression to level 2: 0%.”

“Congratulations! Core Body Stat Strength Sub-stat Body Strength has reached level 4! Progression to level 5: 0%.”

---

 

Liam mentally exited out of the notifications as he straightened his back and said while slowing his breathing, “Looks like I got that to level one along with Blacksmithing and Smelting. Also looks like my Body Strength Sub-stat reached level four.”

Fia grinned proudly as she said, “We’ll make a proper smith out of ye yet boy. Now this is just the first step. Since ye got these to level one, my suggestion for ya is to learn Light and Burn as well as Temp Check. I also insist on ya goin ta the library and checking out the Purge the Impurities book to get that Knowledge theory. It’ll help ya.”

“Alright. I’ll do that later today. Thank you for your help.” Liam smiled.

“No problem. Ye took ma instructions and didn’t complain so I know how serious yer curiosity is. Many would have given up during the purging stage of the smelting,” Fia said as she stared at him. She then asked, “Want to have another go at it?”

Liam looked at the time.

 

---

“6:45 A.M.”

---

 

He nodded as he said, “I’ve got some time. Can you spare some time guiding me again?”

“That’s the attitude ye’ll need to grow. Sure, I can spare some time to help,” Fia said as she grew a strict expression. “I’m going to drill this so much into ya, ye’ll be wishing ye’d walk away.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Liam sat down at a table his temporary companions were occupying. The Yooperlite had brightened up over the hours that had pass giving the city a mid-morning feel to it.

“Hey there,” Ariyana teased as she let out a yawn.

“How’s it going?” Roman greeted.

Liam stretched his arms out letting out a mix of a groan and a yawn.

“You’re a bit late. Did you have a hard time resting and slept in?” Avery asked.

“No, I went for a jog this morning and came across a Smithy. I checked it out and ended up getting a mentor who was training me a bit on Blacksmithing,” Liam explained as he looked at the menu. “I got lost looking for the bathhouse and ran late.”

Mercer gave Liam an assessing look.

Liam caught his gaze and asked, “What?”

“Nothing,” Mercer started. “I just wasn’t expecting you to find a mentor in a craft yet. Are you going to just focus on Blacksmithing?”

Liam thought about it before answering, “No. I talked it over with Fia, my Blacksmithing mentor, and she thinks I should dabble in the other crafts as well as blacksmithing and figure out a schedule. She agreed to train and guide me early in the mornings before the smithy gets busy so she can assess and correct any mistakes before they become bad habits. Once when I get other mentors, I’ll figure out a schedule and go from there.”

Mercer nodded in approval as he said, “A wise woman she sounds. So, are you able to craft weapons or armor?”

“No. Not yet,” Liam said as he kept his eyes on the menu. “Right now, I’m just practicing Smelting. I was told to just work on that to help get my Crafter Endurance up. Not only that, but we agreed all the ingots I perfectly craft I’ll be allowed to either use when I start weapons and armor crafting or treat it as helping the smithy out and get some funding.” He let out a sigh.

“Are you disappointed in that?” Avery questioned.

“Hm?” Liam asked as he looked at her. “Oh, no. I can understand the reasoning behind what she’s having me do. Not only that, it’s good to start earning now because crafting is not going to be so cheap later on.”

“I agree with that statement,” Mercer stated. “Earning capital now will help later on when you start to invest your time into it.”

“Exactly,” Liam said. He then popped his neck as he moved it left and right and added, “It’s just so taxing on the body. I’m sore just from doing the basics. However, I’ve also learned that I can raise other stats besides my crafting ones. I was able to raise my Body Strength sub-stat during the practice.”

Everyone looked at him.

“You can raise that stat just from practicing Blacksmithing?” Roman asked.

“That’s good information to know,” Mercer stated.

“Yeah. Thanks to that discovery I’m looking forward to what other stats I can raise through the other crafts.” Liam smiled.

Mercer and Avery gave Liam a slight smile of their own.

“So, what’s the agenda for today?” Liam asked.

“We were talking about heading to the Mage Tower after we’re done here to get their classes unlocked,” Ariyana answered.

“As we talked about yesterday, we were also going to have you guys check out your magic affinities,” Mercer added.

Liam nodded. He had forgotten about the magic examination they had agreed upon doing today. He got lost in his Blacksmith training and taking in any advice Fia had for him.

Fia had been a wealth of information when it came to Blacksmithing. She did mention to him about getting Crafting magic, maybe he could do that while they were there.

“Sounds like a good plan. What else?” He inquired.

“Before we decided what to do after that we’re going to need to decide when we’re going to attempt the dungeon,” Roman interjected.

“Agreed, “Blair stated. “I’d like to see how hard it’ll be, but I also want to be prepared.”

“That’s a hard thing to plan without knowing what Ariyana’s, Mercer’s, and Roman’s Mage Classes are,” Artem said.

Liam nodded in agreement. “Let’s do this. After we’re done eating let’s get that done and well go from there.”

Everyone nodded.

“Alright, then it’s decided,” Liam said as he waved down a waitress.