Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

Chapter 165: The Head Blacksmith, Goran

Upon his arrival at the estate, Alaric encountered his mother outside the main mansion.

Seeing her, he took out the letter sent by Lucas and handed it to her.

”Is this from your father?” Maria asked as she took the letter.

Alaric nodded. ”Yes, my lady.”

There were people around so he couldnʼt speak informally with her.

”I will read it later then.” Maria smiled and kept the letter.

”Anyway, how is the situation at the cold iron mine?” She asked.

The cold iron deposit was of huge importance to House Silversword. They could use the mined ores to upgrade the equipment of their warriors and they could also sell the excess for additional funds.

”It is Sir Warrickʼs turn to look after the mines. I do not think someone will be stupid enough to attack it while he is there.” Alaric chuckled in response.

He had promised to ensure the security of the mining site so he sent the warriors of House Silversword to guard the area in rotating shifts.

”That is good then. I will talk with you later. I still have some things to do.” Maria gracefully left after bidding him farewell. Now that Lucas was gone, most of his tasks and obligations fell on her shoulders. She had been really busy in the past few days and her workload increased after the cold iron deposit was discovered.

Now that I have delivered Dadʼs letter, I should visit the smithy and see if the weapon I ordered has been made.

After their return from the orc subjugation, Alaric took a huge chunk of cold iron together with the mithril chains that he got from Fredrinn and brought it to the smithy. He asked the blacksmiths of the household to create a sword that was suited for his dual-wielding sword style.

He only had the Rare Steel Sword. The other one couldnʼt keep up anymore after the recent battles that they had gone through.

However, the main reason he asked for a customized sword was because he discovered that he couldnʼt use the Equipment Upgrade Card on the Rare Steel Sword and the Dark Diamond Shield.

As to why that happened, he still had no idea even until now.

The group headed to the smithy which was quite far from the main mansion.

Soon, they arrived in front of an ordinary-looking two-story building.

The rhythmic sounds of hammer hitting metal echoed and drifted into their ears.

The warriors guarding the entrance of the smithy were shocked to see them.

”My lord!”

”Donʼt mind me.” Alaric waved his hand and tapped their shoulders before he entered the building.

Upon entering, the hammering sounds became louder and those who werenʼt used to the noise might find it irritating. However, to Alaric, it was music to his ears.

When he was young, he had always been fascinated with smithing and he had even snuck out many times during his swordsmanship training to watch the blacksmiths do their work.

The blacksmiths and their apprentices were too focused in their work that they failed to notice their arrival.

Alaric didnʼt disturb these hardworking people and went to look for a certain blacksmith.

There was only one person in the entire smithy who had the skills and the strength to make a weapon out of mithril. This was because of the strict requirements of processing this metal.

An ordinary blacksmith wouldnʼt be able to withstand the heat when melting mithril and they certainly didnʼt have the strength to mold it into a weapon.

Only a blacksmith who had the power and the endurance equivalent to that of a Knight could do this job.

Fortunately, there was one such person in this smithy, a middle-aged man named Goran.

Goran was the head blacksmith of the smithy and he had decades of experience. Furthermore, he was also a retired Knight, one who had some fame in his youth.

Goranʼs workshop was on the fifth basement floor and it took them more than ten minutes before they arrived.

As soon as they got there, Alaric saw a muscular middle-aged man with long graying hair leaning lazily on his recliner. His face was beet red and he was holding a leather flask, looking completely drunk.

As Alaric walked inside the workshop, the strong smell of ale assaulted his nose.

The middle-aged man who was dozing off heard their footsteps and abruptly turned his head. ”Didnʼt I tell you that Iʼm still busy, go and-”

”Ah! My lord!”

The middle-aged man immediately rose to his feet when he realized that it was him. He hid the leather flask behind him and let out a smile.

”I see that you are doing well, Sir Goran.” Alaric chuckled, not caring about the manʼs slovenly appearance.

He was already familiar with this person since he was a regular visitor to this place.

Goran squeezed out an ugly smile as he asked hesitantly. ”Are you here for your sword, my lord?”

”That is right. Is there any update on that project, Sir Goran?” Alaric didnʼt look down on this man.

He might look like a beggar, but his skills were the real deal.

”About that… It will be better if I show you. Follow me.” Goran signaled for him to follow.

Alaric nodded and signaled for the others to stay before he followed Goran inside the forging room.

The temperature noticeably increased and it was even to the point that it could harm an ordinary person.

”I apologize for the heat, my lord. This happened when I was refining the mithril chains you brought. It has so many impurities so I had to… Aiya! Look at me yapping about unnecessary things!” Goran chuckled.

”My lord, do you see that small clump of metal right there? Thatʼs what I got from the Mithril chains. And that one right there is the smelted cold iron. Iʼm still waiting for them to cool down a bit before I mix them and form the blade.”

Alaric nodded. ”How long would it take you to complete this project, Sir Goran?”