Boris took an iron bar nearly half a meter long and placed it into the fire to heat. Once the center glowed white-hot, he pulled it out, brushed off the impurities, and quenched it in water. *Raine knew from his previous life that the quenching process could make the iron bar harder.*
Soon, after repeated hammering and heating, the iron bar gradually transformed into a crescent shape.
When Raine walked in, Drews, who was working the bellows, greeted him enthusiastically, "Raine! Helping out again today? Want to keep working the bellows?"
Raine smiled and said, "Drews, sorry, I don't think I'll be pulling the bellows today!"
Under Drews's surprised gaze, Raine walked over to Boris and pointed at the horseshoe being forged, saying, "Uncle Boris, I want to learn how to make this. How much is the tuition fee?"
The blacksmith Boris cast a surprised look at Raine and said, "Raine, do you have money? You're not my official apprentice, and simply learning to forge horseshoes isn't cheap. Even though you've helped out for free before, I can't offer you a discount."
After hearing this, Raine couldn't help but inwardly grumble. *The rumors were true—this Boris might have decent skills, but he was incredibly stingy!*
"Of course, Uncle Boris. How much is the tuition fee for learning to forge horseshoes?"
"To teach you horseshoe forging for one month, it'll cost 12 silver coins! If you still can't learn it by then, I can't do much about it, and the tuition is non-refundable."
Hiss! Upon hearing this price, the group of blacksmith apprentices nearby exchanged glances, as if silently saying that Raine was about to embarrass himself!
After all, this price was steep for most people, especially for Raine, who wasn't from a well-off family.
Raine was speechless.
*This price!*
*Just one month, and they don't even guarantee you'll learn!*
*To put it in perspective, the monthly income of an average adult male in Flashgold Town was around 2 to 3 silver coins.*
The currency system of the Dragan Empire was somewhat similar to Britain in Raine's previous life: 1 Imperial Gold Coin was equal to 12 Imperial Silver Coins, 1 Imperial Silver Coin was equal to 20 shillings, and 1 shilling could be exchanged for 12 pennies, where 1 penny could buy a one-pound loaf of rye bread.
But still, he had to learn it!
Feigning an agonized expression, Raine pulled an Imperial Gold Coin out of his pocket and handed it to the slightly surprised Boris. He said, "Deal, Uncle Boris!"
"My family recently enrolled me in the Habsburg Manor's servant training program, aiming for a blacksmith apprenticeship, so they set aside some money for me to learn basic blacksmithing skills…"
Raine half-truthfully explained, using it as an excuse for the origin of his funds.
"Looks like Old Rayne has high hopes for you. Keep at it, kid! Don't turn out like my useless boy who's always off fooling around in the County Town. Now I can't even find him!" Boris said, patting Raine on the shoulder with a sigh.
This made Raine view Boris differently. *Even a stingy man like Boris had aspirations for his child to succeed.*
"Come on, Raine, give me a hand!" With that, Blacksmith Boris handed Raine a heavy blacksmith's hammer.
As soon as Raine gripped the hammer, a system notification suddenly appeared, causing him to freeze momentarily!
[Ding! Host has touched the item required for Blacksmith Apprentice advancement—the Blacksmith's Hammer!]
[Advancement prerequisites to Blacksmith are: 1. Blacksmith Apprentice lv3 at max level; 2. Strength 6 points or higher, Constitution 6 points or higher; 3. Forge 10 qualified blacksmithing products. ...Current conditions unmet! Advancement failed!]
Raine was overjoyed. *So that's the key to advancing from Blacksmith Apprentice to Blacksmith!*
"Raine! What are you standing there for?"
"Oh, coming, Uncle Boris!"
Snapping out of his daze, Raine immediately began assisting with the forging.
As a beginner, Raine was tasked with a single step: hammering grooves into U-shaped iron bars.
Once the bars had been fashioned into crescent shapes for horseshoes, the subsequent steps required two people to collaborate.
Boris held the heated iron bar with his left hand, reheating it in the fire, while his right hand wielded a sharp tool resembling an axe. He quickly moved the tool across the surface of the bar.
Raine worked to match Boris's rhythm, swinging the hammer hard to strike the wider top of the "axe." The narrower "blade" left thin and elongated grooves on the glowing-hot iron bar under the forceful hits.
The grooves in the horseshoes were designed to hold dirt from the ground, enhancing traction.
Despite being outrageously expensive, Boris's teaching was thorough. He patiently guided Raine in learning the proper striking rhythm while explaining the entire horseshoe forging process.
This teaching greatly benefited Raine.
Before long, another system notification appeared:
[You have forged a horseshoe, enhancing your proficiency!]
[You have learned a new skill: Horseshoe Forging.]
[Your skill, Horseshoe Forging, has been improved. Experience +2.]
[You have focused on Horseshoe Forging. Professional Experience Points for Blacksmith Apprentice +5.]
Clearly, Raine's Professional Experience skyrocketed after participating in horseshoe forging, far exceeding what he had gained from working the bellows before.
*It seemed this was the benefit of "pay-to-play!"*
Meanwhile, one qualified horseshoe after another was forged by Raine and Boris together.
Unfortunately, since much of the work was done by Boris, the system didn't attribute the completed horseshoes to Raine.
Naturally, this didn't fulfill the condition of crafting 10 qualified blacksmithing products.
This left Raine slightly disappointed.
*He still wanted to advance to Blacksmith as soon as possible.*
*But what else could he learn quickly besides horseshoes?*
*Ah! Got it!*
That would be the iron nails used for horseshoes! These small items were much simpler to forge, and theoretically, horseshoe nails should also count as blacksmithing products.
Raine recalled a saying from his previous life: "For want of a horseshoe nail, the horseshoe was lost; for want of a horseshoe, the horse was lost; for want of a horse, the rider was lost; for want of a rider, the battle was lost; for want of a battle, the kingdom was lost."
So, while small, horseshoe nails were equally important.
Taking advantage of a break, Raine proposed to Blacksmith Boris that he wanted to learn how to forge horseshoe nails first.
Although Boris was puzzled about why Raine was so focused on learning horseshoe nails instead of the more important horseshoes, he thought for a moment and agreed readily.
After all, forging horseshoe nails was part of the tuition package. Horseshoes and horseshoe nails complemented each other, and the order of learning didn't matter!
With a small burst of excitement, Raine calmed himself and began earnestly forging horseshoe nails under Boris's guidance.
Initially, the nails Raine produced were misshapen and completely useless, but over time, qualified pieces began to appear!
As Raine had suspected, the system recognized horseshoe nails as part of the category of qualified blacksmithing products.
He was overjoyed and, fueled by excitement, tirelessly hammered away at crafting the nails, drenched in sweat.
Meanwhile, Boris looked on with a puzzled expression at the unusually fervent Raine hammering nail after nail. Shaking his head, Boris muttered, "What a strange quirk!"
Finally, before lunch, Raine achieved his dual objectives.
Qualified blacksmithing products (10/10): Complete!
Blacksmith Apprentice lv3 (500/500): Maxed out!