[PP/F1+] <<Tricks of the Trade>>

[Alec 0]

Alec awoke on his couch in his Cabin on the Fourth Floor and quickly dressed and grabbed a bite to eat as he headed for the door. Humphrey titled his head at the large man as he rushed around the interior caves of his mountain cabin. "Relax pal you can have the day off. I'm headed to the First Floor to study Blacksmithing with Macradon so I promise no fighting without you pal." Alec offered with a smile as he rushed out the door and headed through the snowy wilderness to the main settlement of Snowfrost. As he stepped into the teleporter he announced in a loud deep baritone "Town of Beginnings." As Alec's vision cleared he blinked and looked about seeing the First Floor town. Alec swiftly made his was to the Blazing Typhoon. As the sun was fully breaking the digital horizon Alec pulled to door to Macradon's shop and stepped inside pulling the door closed behind him. "Morning!" Alec called out in his deep baritone rumble as he made his way towards the front desk of the shop as he waited for his mentor to step out and invite him further into the shop/forge, if that was even his intention. He had to admit he didn't know the other man all too well he might have some odd ideas like Mr Miyagi and Alec could end up doing who knew what to "learn" the wats of Blacksmithing Alec thought yo himself with the faintest glimmer of a smile forming at the thought as he waited for Macradon to appear.

 

Housing Benefit:

Working - +2 EXP per craft attempt

Edited July 4, 2019 by Alec

[Macradon 0]

It was time to really get into the mindset of having an apprentice, it wasn’t long ago he helped the behemoth Alec obtain his profession, another Blacksmith in the ranks of Aincrad, something he had always wanted, some competition. For better or for worse, Macradon always seemed to be the one everyone came to do business with, and since he really had no gain from it anymore, having an Apprentice gain the net gain in terms of experience, both game wise and actual experience wise, this was more than just a Win-Win situation. As his apprentice stepped into his shop, Macradon was wiping sweat off his forehead while doffing his heavy plate armor, fully decked out in white and red armor from head to toe. “Ohey, Alec. Good to see you, let’s get this day started! Sorry I’m a bit worn out, just had to go for a small hunt for some dinner later, and it seems that the 24th floor as some great fish, even if they did jump out of the water and pull me down with them.” Macradon said with a laugh while his familiar was laying in the corner, shaking in fear, still soaked in water. The Cerberus, even though usually fierce and mighty, did not take water lightly at all. As he took a last swig of water, Macradon fully doffed his armor, now wearing his usual casual clothes. “Oh yeah, got a present for you becoming a blacksmith.” Macradon said and sent over a trade request.

Were Alec to accept the trade, the offer would quickly be sent to him.

[Alec 0]

"Good Morning." Alec offered as a genuine smile broke the perpetual scowl that usually resided upon his stern features. As Alec spotted the soaking wet clothes and the state of Macradon's familiar Alec became suddenly quiet as glanced back and forth between the pair. "That sounds like some serious fishing!" Alec stated with shock and awe extremely prevalent in his features. As Macradon opened a trade window while commenting about a present Alec reached out and tapped the <<ACCEPT>> button without even thinking. As soon as Alec accepted the trade an item appeared inside Alec's inventory entitled Obsidian Anvil. Alec tapped the icon next to it as he looked over the his mentor. "What is this?" Alec asked as he tapped the icon next to the words Obsidian Anvil and watched as the item materialised into existence between the two men and Alec had his first chance to lay eyes on the new item he had just been given by his mentor.

[Macradon 0]

Macradon would smile as he placed all the wet stuff way for now, probably hanging it to dry at another time, Macradon would reply “It’s my old Anvil I used when I got confident making my own equipment, it might not be your style, but it’s at least something to try out, and when you get better, you can probably make a new one that you’d prefer better than this. It’s a gift from the mentor to the mentee, a good way for you to start is to get experience, figuratively and literally!” Macradon said as he turned towards the back door where his smithy were, wafting his hand to gesture Alec to follow. Through the back door were a couple of stair steps going downwards where Macradon had his actual smithy. But it wasn’t as big as Cerdic’s, nor was it as posh or pompous. It was tight, cozy, and quaint, but enough room to really move around if needed be. It was here Macradon wanted Alec to learn the ways of the Macradon Blacksmith. “All the equipment down here is much different from Cerdic’s, I’ve designed much of it myself if there were anything to differ from standard machinery and fuel, so it’s up to you to get to know these machines. I have two chests over there-” Macradon said and pointed at the far back wall “where I stache my materials, you can just pick from there if you want to practice if you run out of your own materials to work with.” Macradon said and then pointed at the furnace “This is a combi furnace. It’s a furnace for forging as usual, but it also has the functionality of forging steel and steel-alloys, so you can tinker a bit when a customer asks for a specific specification, you can tinker around and make different kinds of steel and try them out.” Macradon said, and then pointed at the anvil that Alec used to craft on at Cerdic’s place “This is just a standard anvil I had modified a bit, you already know this fella, but now that you have your own special anvil, you’d probably want to get to know that one instead of getting used to this one.” Macradon said with a smile. “Over here by the stairs is my workshop, I have a drawing board for designs, a bulletin board for the requests to hang while I work on them, and possible notes I find while crafting, as well as all of my crafting tools so they hang neat and tidy.” Macradon said and would then turn to Alec, both hands at his hips with a big and proud smile of his nearly fully customized shop. “If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!” he said.

Handed over:

Spoiler

» Obsidian Anvil
Name: Obsidian Anvil
Your Profession: Blacksmith
Your Rank: 5
ID:  47084
Roll: 11+1=12
Item Type: Tool
Tier: 2
Quality: Perfect
Enhancements: Ambition.
Description: A hardened anvil that will take many million hits before denting the slightest, one of the best tools for a blacksmith to have.

 

[Alec 0]

Alec followed Macradon at his budding through the back of his shop and down a tiny set of stairs that forced Alec to turn his upper body slightly as he shrunk down to avoid rubbing against the walls or ceiling as he followed his mentor into a small downstairs forge area. The workspace was small and obviously built for a single person to work in. Everything was close at hand and required minimal movement to get around the room but had obviously been designed by Macradon to maximize his effects while minimizing his efforts, but had not been designed for more than one occupant. Alec smiled as he took in the rooms feel and listened closely as his mentors have him the visual tour and explained everything. Alec nodded when the other man had finished speaking as he took one more step into the room continuing the visual circuit with his eyes as he took a few deep breaths in through his notes and out through his mouth getting the comfortable feel of his mentor's workspace. "This is truly amazing!" Alec said with a touch of awe in his voice. "Thank you again for agreeing to train me and become my mentor." Alec stated as his eyes moved to the other man and locked on his. "You have done me a great honor and I will do all I can to prove myself worthy of your training and instructions. So, what's first?" Alec asked as the small smile that had been fighting his perpetual scowl fully broke through and brightened the larger man's face as he looked to his mentor of guidance and instructions.

[Macradon 0]

Macradon would bow his head lightly at Alec’s praise and reply “Thank you, thank you!”. Macradon would look at Alec and slowly determine what should be done now. “Alright, I think we should work on a specific thing until you begin to get the hang of it, and I think it would be fitting to start at the very basics, spearheads.” Macradon would say and waddle over to his drawing board and begin to scribble a pentagon with a very pronounced tip forming a basic spearhead shape. “This should be easy to work with, and the shafts are just gonna join up, so don’t worry too much of that and focus on making a good spearhead. Let’s go for at least a rare, and if you get that fast, go for a perfect if you want, but I’d recommend to just make a few rare spears, enhancements are up to you, since you are allowed to either tinker with the steel’s properties or just go with normal steel.” Macradon said, instructing Alec to try things out.

[Alec 0]

Alec nodded his head once Macradon had finished speaking. A spear head seemed like a great place to start. Alec followed Macradon over to the drawing board and watched as his mentor took out a stick of graphite and began sketching a design onto the papers affixed to the drawing board and watched a spear head form out of the sketched lines. Drawing and artwork had always been a short coming for Alec had had never been very good at drawing or creating that sort of art work so hopefully that wouldn't hinder him in his crafting and progression of his Blacksmith crafting. Once he saw the completed drawing Alec stepped closer and traced the drawing with his fingers locking the image into his mind. Now working with his hands and creating that was was where Alec did excel at do once he had the image he opened his inventory and chose a slightly longer and more slender piece of Material and after selecting his new Obsidian Anvil which he placed next to Macradon's he placed the Material into the Combi forge and let the Material heat up as he selected a hammer and waited for the Material to heat up. Once he selected a hammer he turned back to the forge and removed the Material and began to work it on his new Obsidian Anvil. The anvil was incredibly easy to use and soon a spear head began to form but Alec was too slow and the Material began to cool. Alec quickly placed it back into the forge to reheat as he mentally went back over the schematics for the piece. Once the Material had heated enough again he removed it and finished the spear head before dunking it in a bucket to cool. Once it was completed he turned to Macradon and presented his completed spear head. It had a razor sharp edge that would cut quickly and cleanly through even reinforced protection easily.

 

Spoiler

 

Name: Sharpened Spear
Your Profession: Blacksmith
Your Rank: 1
Roll ID: 118381
Roll Result: 10
Item Type: One Hand Assault Spear
Tier: 1
Quality: Uncommon
Enhancements: DMG I
Description: This spear has a razor sharp spear head that is capable of cutting through even reinforced protection with ease.
Post Link: 



 

[Macradon 0]

Macradon would cross his arms and leaned up against a nearby wall as Alec began working, his first craft in this shop, and hopefully not his last. This shop was heavily customized to fit Macradon's needs, so it probably wouldn't be the ideal place for Alec to perfect his craft, but that would come later during his assistant period or his journeyman period, for now, this playing ground would be where he learnt to craft as much as possible, hopefully rivalling Macradon one day. Macradon's eyes followed as Alec would take a material and heat it up in the forge and begin forging the material into shape during multiple heats. Macradon nodded as Alec presented the spear to him "Very good!" he praised and would take a feel of the edge of the spear, and get a feel of the composition of the spear. "May I destroy your piece?" Macradon asked a bit sudden "It will disappear shortly after, but before it dies disappear, we can quickly take a look at the cross section of the spear head and discern what was great about the structure and what you can work to improve." he proposed, waiting for his pupil to reply, as it was a craft he had just done, and maybe he didn't feel like discarding it so suddenly. "If you're not comfortable with that, I can try to identify it with some specialty equipment, but it'll take a while, but can be done if you would like to keep your spear." Macradon said, proposing a second option on improving Alec's crafting skills and knowledge of metallurgy.

[Alec 0]

Alec listened and watched as his mentor Macradon inspected his first piece he had created since being awarded the title Blacksmith. Macradon turned the spear head over in his hands observing and gauging it with a critical eye. When he asked if he could destroying it Alec was shocked for a split second before the realization and understanding of his request sank in and the reality set in place. "Of course you can." Alec responded quickly in his deep baritone rumble. "It's the quickest easiest way to gauge it's creation and it's flaws. Not to mention as your student anything I create while under your tutelage and especially in your shop is yours to do with as you please. Do by all means if destroying this peace helps us to judge my success and flaws you don't even need to ask." Alec replied as he looked to his mentor eager to see what the destruction of his piece would reveal to his mentor.

[Macradon 0]

Macradon would smile and nod “I’m glad you understand.” he said and brought the spear head to the closest vice, clamping the spearhead into it and making sure it was secured properly. As he checked up on that he grabbed one of his wrenches, got into position onto the spear head, and with a swift movement, Macradon would quickly bend the spearhead to a snap. As the snap happened, Macradon quickly went up to look at the cross section, remembering as much of the detail of the internal structure of the spearhead before it would disappear and be gone forever. Quickly walking over to his drawing table, Macradon would sketch up  the spearhead’s cross section and write a few notes at the side. “This is what I gathered from the cross section. The material you use is basic steel, so any smaller defects aren’t doing the most damage to your work, what we should try to look at is how we temper the blade of your weapons so they have a bit more give, but still be rigid enough to not just bend all the time. You can see the grainy structure here-” Macradon said while pointing towards the center of the spearhead’s cross section “- there are a few oddities from the steel, but not so much that it’s too inconsistent. But the edge is what could need a bit more work from quenching and tempering, which could make them sharper without having to grind too much material off.” Macradon said, hoping that it would make sense for Alec.

[Alec 0]

Alec watched closely as his mentor Macradon took his spear head and clamped it into one of the vices within his workshop and reached over to grasp a thick pair of pliers. Alec leaned in closer as he watched the other man grasp onto his spear head and with a swift hard movement Macradon broke Alec's creation in half. Alec used every ounce of his resolve to resist flinching as his mentor quickly destroyed his only creation he had made since being awarded the title of Blacksmith. Alec watched attentively as his mentor leaned over and observed the interior of Alec's creation, then as his mentor moved over and took some notes and jotted some sketches on his drafting board. When Macradon turned towards him and addressed him Alec gave him his sole undivided attention and when his mentor had finished he nodded his head. "I understand. I'll work more on tempering and quenching the edges versus grinding them to achieve the sharpness I'm seeking." Alec replied to show he had been paying attention to his mentors words and deeds. "I'll focus more on that aspect on my next crafting." Alec promised as he stood looking towards his mentor.

[Macradon 0]

Macradon would look at Alec as he was about to work on another spearhead again “More focus on making the edge while forging instead of grinding should give you better results, and more consistent tempering should refine the internal crystal structure of your steel. All these factors will at some point help you get a perfect, and help you get more perfect equipment.” Macradon commented, leaning back upon the wall to relax and see what Alec could make this time, whatever he felt like would be able to make at the current time, it didn’t have to be a perfect already, it just had to be something he could be proud of, no matter how long it would take him to make. “If you find yourself in trouble when crafting, and don’t feel like making a big decision, just ask me, and I’ll try to help you as much as possible.” Macradon said, assuring that he would help Alec if he were to be in trouble.

[Alec 0]

Alec nodded at the guidance and instructions given to him by his mentor. He would do his level best to take them to heart and apply them to his future crafting attempts. But for now Alec thought to himself it was time to show Macradon the finest piece of equipment he'd crafted to date as he opened his inventory and pulled out his prized piece that he had designed and crafted for himself as Alec selected his Tier 2 Forearm Axe and tapped the icon next to it causing the weapon to appear in his hands. "I'd like to get your opinion on a another piece I've been working on in my spare time." Alec began as he held out the Forearm Axe out to Macradon. "Now it's only a prototype mind you." Alec stated quickly in his own defense. "Im missing something. I know. I need another type of ore to help hold the razors edge to the axe head. It's sharp but it could be sharper and I'm hitting a brick wall trying to figure out what's missing to make it perfect." Alec stated with a mild tinge of worry and confusion as he looked to his mentor for his expert opinion on the piece.

 

Spoiler

 

 Name: Forearm Axe
Your Profession: Blacksmith
Your Rank: 4
ID: 119098
Roll: 10
Item Type: One Hand Battle Axe
Tier: 2
Quality: Rare
Enhancements: DMG, DMG
Description: Worn on the forearm like a buckler, this weapon consists of a large, double-bladedaxe on either end of a bracer with a spike protruding perpendicularly from the upper sheath . This weapon is particularly formidable in close-quarter fighting.

Post Link: 





 

 

[Macradon 0]

Macradon would inspect the axe handed over to him “Well, there’s a lot to consider when looking at edge typology on weapons, be it the material as well as the edge geometry.” Macradon said and walked over to his drawing table. “The narrower the angle is on the edge, the sharper the edge, but that also means that it dulls faster. A broader angle holds the edge for a longer time, but will never get as sharp. The magic general angle for the edge is usually around 40 degrees for basic steel. If you want to look at different types of alloys, then they might have other sweet spots of angles for their perfect edges. The spike itself seems fine, but could probably work better if it was angled more forward, as if you’re bashing your arm to use the spike as it is nullifies the efficiency of the blade, rather have it for punching than for sideways bashing, when you have axe blades to take care of the sideways motion.” Macradon said. “Does that make sense?” he asked, just to make sure he made it clear and understandable for Alec, and not too convoluted and entangled in too much knowledge.

[Alec 0]

Alec stood and watched patiently as Macradon inspected his prototype Forearm Axe and waited for his mentors comments. When he finished he made comments about edge angles such which Alec listened to a placed within his stores of things to remember the next time he sat down to create an item. Alec nodded when his mentor had finished. "I think I understand." The larger man replied as he thought about the knowledge Macradon had given him and how it applied to the process of creating weapons. Once his me for was done with his weapon he picked it back up and placed it into his inventory as he nodded and began tidying up the forge as it was nearing the end of the day and fast approaching the time for Alec to head home for the day. Once he had finished cleaning up he raised a hand to his mentor and waved goodbye letting himself out of the shop and headed back to his own home on the Fourth Floor of Aincrad.

[Macradon 0]

Macradon would smile, as it seemed like Alec had understood the importance of thinking of the angles the edges should be at at different materials. As the two would clean up the place for the day, Macradon would wave his goodbye at Alec as well while escorting him out of his shop. “Seems like I’ll close down the shop for today as well. Gotta rest out, since tomorrow will probably be a long day also, teaching Alec as much as I possibly can until he’s ready to go out and do a journeyman project, that day seems to come sooner rather than later.” Macradon said for himself as he waved the man farewell and then closed his shop, locking the doors and exiting through the garden door leading straight to his back garden of his estate. “Hey Bel, let’s go inside and make some dinner, whadya say?” Macradon asked his eager familiar as he walked inside, making dinner, eating, relaxing, and then headed to bed to rest.

[Alec 0]

It was early in the morning and Alec was in the back of his mentors Blacksmith shop setting up his work space for the day when he heard the sound of the front door of the shop opening and a customer coming in. Alec's ears perked up as he strained to listen to what was said. The voices were muffled but one was definitely a female so Alec anxiously awaited his mentors arrival and his chance to try and fill the order. When Macradon arrived into the forge with the order Alec happily set to work crafting on the piece. It appeared the customer wanted a Rapier that had a very sharp edge to it so Alec pulled out a piece of Tier 1 Material and set to work. His first attempt came very close but the edge just wasn't quite sharp enough to fit the customers order so he set it aside and began again. His next piece he had to reheat once because of the metal cooling too fast when he was done the blade was barely worth a practice blade so he set it aside in the not keeping pile. His next attempt also yield a Rapier barely worth being classified as a practice blade. Alec stopped and took several deep breaths to calm himself and focus on the pure fact of making a blade. Alec took another piece of ore out and set it to heat as he began working the Material he placed it back into the forge to soften it up before continuing to work on it. In the end he came up with another very nice Rapier but it didn't quite meet the request so Alex set it aside. Perhaps two of these would find a home some day Alec thought to himself as he turned to his mentor. "I'm sorry I came close but the two worth keeping just quite good enough for the order. I'll keep working on improving." The large man stated in his deep baritone rumble.

@Macradon

[Macradon 0]

Macradon would shake his head at Alec “Don’t need to fret, rapiers are quite the difficult weapons to make, they don’t follow the usual dimensions of swords, and their build is entirely different from any typical swords, especially their usually fancy hilts.” Macradon said, assuring that Alec was indeed doing the right thing, even if it wasn’t perfect. “And don’t worry-” Macradon said “I never get my requests done on the first try either, unless I got really lucky in the tempering.” Macradon said and pulled over the materials for him to work on “Watch carefully.” Macradon said as he put on his game face. The request order was simple, just a plain rapier with a basket hilt, shouldn’t be the biggest of problems. Grabbing the first material, Macradon would elongate the shape, slowly forming the blade, and then the tang for the hilt. A lot of leftover material was cut off and discarded while Macradon kept going back and forth from the forge to the anvil, making sure the item he was working on always had a nice hot temperature for forging. When he finished the blade, he would quench it in oil, and then insert the blade into the forge but in low heat for a set amount of time. 

As he took out the blade, it wasn’t right, it was like he hadn’t heat treated it for long enough, so he just finished the piece and put it away for a new material to become a rapier, he did the same, but at the heat treating part, he had it in for longer. But even though he had it in a bit longer, it was just a bit too long. “I usually use at least 4 tries to get the tempering done, that’s the only thing even I haven’t mastered, I just have to try to get a feel for every weapon, as every weapon is different, even though it might have the same enhancements and be made by the same type of material, there is always something that makes them differ from each other.” Macradon said and began working again.

This time, he messed up big time and didn’t even finish forging, but as the item was now, he could reuse it. He would throw it into the forge and melt it enough to form it back into a proper ingot and try again. Everything worked out this time, the blade, the hilt, the tang, the edge, the tip, everything. As it came to tempering in the forge, Macradon would try to time it perfectly this time, longer than the first, but shorter than the second. As time ticked, Macradon would quickly take it out and harden the blade one last time as he quenched it, and with that, his piece was finished. “I’ll call the customer to pick up the blade, you can try and practice a bit more here, I’d still say work with spear heads, even though they’re boring, but as some martial artists once said “I’d be more afraid of a man who practiced 1 kick 10000 times, than a man who practiced 10000 kicks 1 time.” the same can be said of practicing blacksmithing.” Macradon said and went back up stairs to put the requested rapier for pickup.

[Alec 0]

Alec watched the Master, well to be honest Grandmaster, at work. He observed every move the other man made mentally taking notes of each step in the process. He watched as Macradon heated each Material and took note if how long it stated inside the Combi Forge. Alec watched how his mentor wielded his hammer and the length of his swings. Alec observed how and when he rotated the Material and when he chose to reheat his piece of work. He watched when and how the other man quenched his piece all the way down to the final grinding of the edge and final polishing of the finished product. When his mentor had finished the larger man let out a long low whistle. "That was truly an honor and a pleasure to fully watch you at work." Alec stated humbled by the chance to actually watch Aincrad's foremost Blacksmith at work.

@Macradon

[Macradon 0]

Macradon would smile at Alec “I’m honestly really glad that you enjoyed it, I hope you got something out of watching me work like this. As always, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask, asking will only help you understand it more than just thinking that you got it.” Macradon said. “When you get that perfect spearhead, we can work on some more intricate equipment, like interlocking plates of full-plate armor, or even just preparation and creation of sheet metal from steel ingots. Quite a lot to learn, but we got all the time in the world after all, so no problem, ey?” Macradon said with a broad smile. Not only was he glad that he had an apprentice that enjoyed blacksmithing this much, but he also enjoyed soon to have competition, if not a rival, in the blacksmith market, making Alec’s business boom when he would finally open up his shop, he could even boast of being the first proper apprentice of the Grandmaster Blacksmith of Aincrad, quite a feat to boast with, and quite a feat to be able to honor.