Chapter 18: Sin in the Alley
Chapter 18: Sin in the Alley
The next morning, after politely declining his best friend George's suggestion to gather nuts in the forest, Rayn arrived at the blacksmith's shop.
As soon as he stepped inside, a scorching heat washed over him. The blacksmith apprentices were busy with their tasks, and Master Blacksmith Boris Paton was forging a long iron sword, which immediately caught Rayn's attention.
Just as he was about to get a closer look, Drus, who was operating the bellows, waved at him excitedly, "Rayn! You're here!"
Upon hearing this memorable name, the apprentices, who were all focused on their work, froze. Several strong apprentices exchanged glances, and a sense of urgency was evident in their eyes.
Their expressions seemed to convey, "This brat is here again! And this time, he's not here in the afternoon, but in the early morning. What bad luck!"
Master Boris, who rarely greeted people, spoke up, "Rayn, you're here!"
"Yes, Uncle Boris! Oh, you're forging a longsword today!" Rayn pretended to have just noticed and took a few steps forward, intending to observe Master Boris's forging technique.
The red-hot sword blank was visibly longer than a typical one-handed sword.
"That's right, I'm making a bastard sword for a friend today!" Boris explained briefly.
Rayn understood, and he knew that a bastard sword was a type of sword between a one-handed and a two-handed sword.
It had the advantage of length and attack power over a one-handed sword, and it was more portable than a two-handed sword. It was commonly used by nobles, bounty hunters, and mercenaries, and required some training to wield effectively.
"By the way, Rayn, since you're familiar with operating the bellows from last time, you can continue helping Drus with it today." Boris quickly assigned him a task.
"Sure, Uncle Boris!" Rayn agreed enthusiastically, even though it was still the same task.
Rayn also wanted to learn other skills like smelting and forging iron nails and pots, but building trust between people takes time.
If Rayn had money, he could certainly speed up this relationship and perhaps even convince the stingy Boris to teach him how to forge a particular iron item today.
But alas, he was poor!
Thinking of this, Rayn couldn't help but feel a strong dislike for the new sheriff, Hamilton.
Rayn walked over to the bellows, and Drus, with a delighted expression, quickly made room for him, "Rayn, you're already quite skilled at operating the bellows. Leave it to you."
After saying this, Drus nimbly moved to Master Boris's side, like an eager monkey, and watched the forging of the bastard sword with a studious expression.
Rayn couldn't help but smile, certain that Drus wouldn't be able to watch for long before Master Boris assigned him another task.
As expected, within five minutes, Boris sent Drus off to smelt iron ingots. Rayn couldn't help but chuckle to himself, as Master Boris was notoriously stingy with his skills, and without cold hard cash, it was unlikely that he would teach anyone his true techniques in a short time.
Unless you spent enough time in the blacksmith's shop!
No longer distracted by observing others, Rayn focused on operating the bellows!
[You performed the bellows task, and your understanding of it has improved!]
[Your Bellow skill has improved. Experience Points +3]
[You concentrate on the bellows, Blacksmith Apprentice Experience Points +1]
Except for a midday break to have lunch with his family, Rayn spent the entire Sunday at the blacksmith's shop.
The results were indeed satisfying!
Rayn flipped to the second page of his panel, the Blacksmith Apprentice Profession Panel. His Blacksmith Apprentice level 3 progress was more than halfway complete, which meant that, if all went well, he would be able to advance to level 4 next Sunday.
【Blacksmith Apprentice lv3 (265/500)】
【Bellows lv3 (395/500)】
【Hoof Care lv2 (295/300)】
【Nailing Horse Shoes lv1 (56/100)】
As dusk approached, Rayn, feeling slightly weary, stepped out of the blacksmith shop, ready to return to the Habsburg Manor.
At the same time, in a secluded alley not far from Rayn, an evil deed was taking place!
In a low-lying house, a small boy was about to step out to buy something when suddenly, his mouth was covered by a torn piece of cloth!
The small boy began to struggle.
"Mmmph!"
"Damn it! Shut up, you brat!" A deep male voice rang out.
The next moment, a sharp dagger, glinting with a cold edge, appeared before the boy's eyes.
Instantly, the little boy stopped struggling.
A hemp rope quickly bound the boy tightly, and a coarse cloth was forced into his mouth. Then, he was picked up by a pair of strong hands and thrown into a large black bag.
Soon after, two burly figures carrying black bags quickly disappeared into the alley.
"Boss, why do they want so many kids?"
"With this one, we've captured eleven children! I heard the other brothers are also kidnapping kids."
"Could it be that the nobles have such a high demand for child prostitution and young girls lately?"
Scarface seemed puzzled and turned to the bearded man beside him, "Why should I care? We just follow orders from above. As long as the money is in place, we do our job and don't ask questions." The bearded man replied irritably.
But after some thought, he seemed to agree with Scarface's reasoning and added, "It's probably not the demand from the nobles in the county city. I heard it's the Wilderness Brotherhood who's behind this."
"But you better not ask too many questions in front of outsiders, or you might end up dead without even knowing how."
"Yes, boss, you're right!"
"By the way, boss, we've almost searched the north side of Glintstone Town. In a few days, I'll check the south side."
"Be careful. The new sheriff, Hamilton, seems to be paying close attention to this matter. If he catches on, we'll be in trouble!" The bearded man warned.
"Don't worry, boss! I push a snack cart along the street, and I can spot the right kids with one glance!" Scarface boasted, patting his chest.
"Boss, after we get the money this time, where should we go to have some fun? The prostitutes in Glintstone Town are too low-class. Why don't we head back to the county city for a few days and lay low?" Scarface's face lit up with a lecherous grin as he thought of something delightful.
"Damn it, Scarface! You'll end up dying in a woman's arms one day! But you're right. After we get the money, we'll head back to the county city." The bearded man agreed after some thought.
"This human skin mask is so uncomfortable, it's too tight! Boss, can you make me a new one?" The burly man named Scarface complained.
". . ."
Rayn seemed to hear some noise from the nearby alley, but after pausing to listen for a while, he shook his head and continued walking towards the Habsburg Manor.
Unbeknownst to him, he had just passed by the very embodiment of evil!
(End of Chapter)
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