Chapter 2: Profession - Blacksmith Apprentice

Chapter 2: Profession - Blacksmith Apprentice

The page displayed a large title at the top: "Blacksmith Apprentice Lv.1 (0/100)", and below it were numerous icons, most of which were dim and unintelligible, despite Rain's best efforts to scrutinize them. Only the icon for the recently unlocked 'Hoof Care' skill was illuminated.

The icon was a rounded square, featuring a lifelike illustration of a hoof facing upwards, with a black spade depicted on one side. Below the icon were the words: "Hoof Care Lv.1 (1/100)".

Rain was perplexed. Logically, triggering a profession panel for trimming a donkey's hoof should have led to the Veterinarian profession, not the Blacksmith Apprentice. Could it be because the blacksmith who taught them the skill was the reason? Or was it that in this world, both hoof trimming and shoeing horses were tasks for blacksmith apprentices? Rain shook his head, baffled.

Regardless, triggering the Blacksmith Apprentice profession panel was a positive development. After all, everyone knew the status of blacksmiths in the age of cold weapons.

Rain stroked his chin, a smile spreading across his face.

"Hey, Rain, why the silly grin?" George, his best friend with short yellow hair and a similarly slender build, tugged at his sleeve.

"Come on, don't you want to give it another go? It's someone else's turn now." George gestured with his chin.

Rain pondered for a moment.

"Master Bar, I'd like to give it another try," Rain said, turning to Master Bar amidst the surprised gazes of the other servants.

George, his best friend, tugged at Rain's tattered clothing from behind, whispering anxiously, "Rain, did the donkey kick you in the head?"

The next moment, George's voice abruptly stopped.

"Stop pulling, or my clothes will be unwearable," Rain said, lifting the tattered outer garment that was almost in shreds.

Rain's eagerness surprised Master Bar, but after examining Rain's serious expression, he nodded in agreement. "Alright! Engels, you're up next."

Engels, the son of the town tanner, wearing brown linen shorts, smiled broadly at the prospect of a break and went to chat with the others. Before leaving, he patted Rain's shoulder, saying, "You're a good lad!"

This didn't violate any rules, as Rain had volunteered for the extra round, and Engels aimed to become an estate guard, not a blacksmith apprentice. He had no interest in tasks like trimming donkey hooves.

Rain worked diligently throughout the morning until he could no longer continue. His new body was indeed weak, and he felt he could have persisted longer if he were stronger.

He glanced at the panel, and despite his trembling hands from exhaustion, the screen filled with "+1 Experience Points" made him feel as sweet as if he had eaten honey.

[You assisted in hoof care work, enhancing related comprehension!]



[Your Hoof Care skill has improved. Experience Points +1]



[You focused on learning hoof care for an hour. Experience Points +1]



[Your Hoof Care skill has improved. Experience Points +1]



[Your Hoof Care skill has improved. Experience Points +1]



The key points were the distinction between the skill experience points and the profession experience points, with the former accumulating much faster than the latter.

Rain stared at the skill 'Hoof Care Lv. (12/100)', deep in thought.

In just one morning, he had gained 12 experience points. The rate of experience gain was indeed impressive, especially since he was only assisting by holding the donkey's hoof, not doing the trimming himself."

However, there were only a few dozen donkeys in Habsborg Manor.

Therefore, even if Rain helped with hoof care for another day, that task would be completed, and he would have to wait until next month or even the month after to improve his Hoof Care skill.

Considering this, Rain realized that he wouldn't be able to level up his Hoof Care skill anytime soon. Moreover, looking at the profession panel, the experience bar for Blacksmith Apprentice was only at Lv.1 (2/100).

The profession experience had only increased by two points!

Could it be that trimming donkey hooves had little relevance to the Blacksmith Apprentice profession?

Rain sighed inwardly, feeling it was a challenging task. "It'll take ages to level up this profession!"

"The evaluation is in three months. If I can't improve by then, I won't pass the test!"

After some thought, Rain flipped back to the first page of the panel.

"Hey, this is the Attribute Panel on the first page!"

Name: Rain

Profession: Blacksmith Apprentice Lv.1

Constitution: 5

Strength: 4

Agility: 6

Spirit: 8

(Note: Average adult males have a base attribute of 6.)



"With only 4 points in Strength, I'm as weak as a twig! No wonder I couldn't even hold down a donkey's hoof." Rain sighed inwardly.

His Spirit attribute was the highest at 8 points, surpassing the average adult. Could this be due to the merging with his original body?

"Rain, let's go, no more daydreaming! It's lunchtime," George, his best friend, called out.

"What's with you today? Why are you spacing out?" George asked with concern.

"I guess I've been thinking a lot after the injury. Let's go eat!" Rain replied casually.

George paused, realizing that he often found himself lost in thought, too. Moreover, his best friend Rain had been kicked by a donkey...

The servants at Habsborg Manor were treated relatively well, at least in terms of the "plentiful" meals they could scrounge.

A black loaf of bread, half a smoked fish, and a large bowl of vegetable soup constituted the lunch for servants like Rain.

As Rain looked at the food that did little to whet his appetite, his fellow servants couldn't help but swallow and salivate, their Adam's apples bobbing up and down.

They all began to eat heartily.

Rain touched the black bread, which was as rough as a brick and had a hard crust. "Damn, this might as well be a brick painted black!"

The other children had already begun tearing the bread apart with force, crushing it into a bland vegetable soup, transforming it into a thick and viscous concoction.

Rain nodded slightly, understanding the method—a way of eating similar to naan.

After following suit, Rain began to gulp it down.

"Peh! There's even sawdust in this black bread! It's not fit for human consumption!"

Rain was speechless. In his previous life, when he ordered takeout, he never knew what kind of meat he was eating, and that was already miserable enough.

But this world was even worse; he couldn't even get any meat!

As Rain forced himself to swallow, his thoughts began to wander.

"This page training is a bit like military training from my past life, but it lasts much longer—a full three months. Then comes the evaluation, focusing on the mind and spirit."

"Although I have the profession panel, the current rate of improvement is still too slow. I need to find a way to speed up if I want to pass the evaluation and become a blacksmith apprentice."

"As for becoming a guard? Of course, I'd love to! Holding a sword and shield, wearing a full set of armor—just thinking about it gets my blood boiling!"

"However, in both my lives, I've never learned swordsmanship or anything like that. I'll have to find an opportunity."

"But this current situation must change!"

Rain glanced at his best friend, George, who was staring into space' before each step the model should take.

A

-

George was gazing off to the side, seemingly lost in thought.

Following George's gaze, Rain noticed a girl in a gray linen maid outfit, bending over to tidy up a table, her slightly raised buttocks forming a seductive curve.

So, this was what had captured the young boy's heart!

Suddenly, Rain's original memories surfaced, and he recognized the girl in front of him as Sophia, a maid at the manor, around the same age as them.

However, the maid training Sophia underwent was quite different from the boys'. It typically started with washing, cleaning, and doing laundry.

Girls generally matured and became more sensible earlier than boys, and at this moment, Sophia was like a budding flower, ready to bloom.

Rain looked around and realized that Sophia wasn't just captivating George; she had caught the attention of several other young boys.

But for Rain, who had been through many tests, the allure of a maid outfit was nothing special. However, for adolescents experiencing their first stirrings of love and an excess of hormones, it was a delightful distraction from sleep and food.

"George, are you okay?" Rain asked, noticing his friend's flushed face.

George, startled, blushed and said, "Nothing, Rain. By the way, you've been working hard all morning. If you're still hungry, I can give you my half."

"Are you sure you've had enough?" Rain asked, surprised.

"I'm almost full. You can have it," George reluctantly offered.

In truth, George could have forced the black bread down, but he wanted to stop Rain from complaining.

Additionally, George felt that Rain, having been injured the day before and working hard today, needed to replenish his energy.

Rain nodded, silently sending a "friend zone" message to his best friend. However, when it came to the black bread mixed with sawdust, he had to politely decline.

After a while, Rain felt he should remind his friend, so he said without looking up, "George, no matter how many times you look at her, she won't be yours. Instead of wasting time, think about how to pass the evaluation. Once you pass, she can be yours!"

George's face turned red with embarrassment. He anxiously looked around and said, "Rain, even though we're best friends, we shouldn't talk carelessly. I didn't peep at Sophia..."

"Hehe, I didn't say it was you. It was you who mentioned Sophia."

George's eyes widened in realization. He seemed to have had a breakthrough, becoming smarter after his friend's words.

"So, getting kicked by a donkey has its benefits?"

In the afternoon, the group of pages continued their training in hoof trimming.

After lunch, Rain's energy was mostly restored, although his back and waist still ached. But seeing the experience points continuously increasing, he felt motivated.

However, they only trimmed a few donkeys' hooves in the afternoon. Then, over twenty young boys and girls arrived, with more boys than girls.

These individuals appeared to be around the same age as Rain and the others, but the boys were tall and robust, and the girls were youthful and stylish, clearly from a noble background.

As they drew closer, Rain's original memories kicked in, and he recognized them as the offspring of low-level nobles and wealthy merchants undergoing knight squire training under the command of Duke Habsborg.

Since the Habsburg Manor was only half a day's journey from the county city, and even less than an hour by horse, it served as the birthplace of the Habsburg family. Thus, having the knight squire training here was a tradition.

Rain turned to look at the rich second-generation heirs beside him. These were the "pseudo-second-generation" heirs, while the others were the true second generation.

The outer courtyard, a large area enclosed by fences or railings within the castle, was typically used for training knights and guards. Occasionally, a small section would be set aside for other purposes.

In other words, the pages were like cuckoos in the nest, as the outer courtyard was originally the training ground for the true second-generation heirs.

"Slap!"

"Ouch!"

One of the pages, who had been staring at the true second-generation heirs, got slapped by Bar.

"You little bunnies, don't be envious. The status they were born with is something you can never reach, no matter how hard you try in this life!" Bar said disdainfully.

"Just learn a skill, and you'll live a comfortable life afterward."

Rain agreed with Bar's words. In this era, social mobility was almost unrealistic. If the pages could master a skill, they would have a way to support themselves.

Hmm!

Rain's pupils constricted as if he had seen something incredible.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end