Despite what Marlie had said, James thought that the Smithing Guild's heavy-duty smelter was quite fancy. It certainly beat what he had created from sand and clay down in the Dungeon.

Marlie's mother, who had introduced herself only as Jez, had also called James' bluff. His youthful countenance, pale skin, and lack of any burn scars would lead anyone to think the same.

But James, feeling stubborn, had folded his own arms, looked her in the eye, and insisted that he could do it.

So now, feeling like he was forgetting something, and with Smiths and apprentices sneaking glances at him, Jez was showing him the smelter. It was a towering thing, clad in metal, with a smokestack at the top to vent not only smoke from the burning charcoal, but also any gases that might boil off from the ore itself.

The pile of ore, dumped haphazardly next to the smelter and taking up a lot of space, certainly was in the way. A couple young boys, clearly not yet classed Smiths, were picking up the smaller pieces, putting them in wheelbarrows, and carting them off to a large storage building further in the back.

"And here's where the charcoal goes, but don't use white charcoal fer smeltin', jus' use the cheap stuff, because this bad boy's what really lays on the heat," the muscled red-head explained. She slapped a metal box with a large switch on it, then opened it up, proudly showing off to the newcomer.

James could instantly tell it was enchanted.

"The Mages and the Enchanters came up with this, if ye can believe it. A Fire Mage comes and charges it up with magic, then we flip the switch and it gives the smelter that little bit of oomph to really smelt the Red Iron properly. No fishing out slag in this one, it all just boils off."

James rubbed his jaw. "Well ain't that somethin'," he said absentmindedly, thinking that'd make the smelting a fair bit easier. "Wait, all of the slag? It just boils off?" He eyed the smokestack warily.

Jez shook her head. "Nah, it's a two-stager. First stage melts out the Red Iron, and a screen catches most of the slag. Then it goes to the second stage, where the oomph is, and then fwoosh, all the rest of the impurities boil off."

James frowned. There were impurities even after picking out all the slag? He had never noticed.

Jez saw his expression and grinned. "It's not too late to back out, blondie."

The jab went right over James head. "No, that's alright." He turned to Marlie, who was copying her mother's expression and posture. "Marlie, does the basic training go over [Smelting] and impurities?"

Jez made an exaggerated expression of shock while Marlie rubbed her chin and answered. "No, the basic course is more about [Forging] technique and getting young'uns to the point where they can make their own tools at Medium Quality."

"But is there training for [Smelting] and raw materials?"

Marlie shrugged. "Not a prepared course, but the Guild can arrange something."

James nodded and turned back to Jez. "Alright, let's get started."

The sun was climbing in the sky and time was a wasting.

Jez pouted and showed him how to load the charcoal and the ore, and the process of screening the slag out from the first stage and activating the second stage, as well as finally extruding the molten red iron into ceramic molds.

"Alright, hotshot, you ready?" Jez challenged, hands on her hips. They had gathered quite a crowd at this point; only the most dedicated Smiths were still hammering away at their forges.

James, however, immediately and wisely shook his head.

"No, if possible, can I borrow an apron and gloves?"

Jez nodded, a smirk on her face, and money changed hands in the crowd surrounding them. "Yes!"

Dear readers, always wear your protective equipment. It's not brave to do hazardous work without it, just foolish.

The Smithing Guild of Iberteria, in the Smith's day, also had a primitive face mask with smoked glass to protect the eyes. James had never seen it before, but he put it on recognizing the wisdom of the thing.

More money changed hands when James, even with his skinny arms, easily lifted large chunks of the ore and tossed them into the hopper. As Jez had shown him, charcoal was shoveled into the furnace, and gradually the heat rose, rolling off the smelter in waves.

Still not as hot as the fourth floor of the Dungeon, however.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Nothing close to the Fire Elemental, let alone the dragonfire.

Most of the Smiths backed away as James continued with his work, and Marlie had been sent inside. Only Jez stood there, wearing her own apron and gloves and mask, watching James work, occasionally calling out corrections. James lost track of time, and soon the first stage was finished.

Screening out the slag as the molten Red Iron was moved to the second stage produced a wave of heat that finally matched the fourth floor of the Dungeon. James was sweating, but it was still manageable. There weren't even any monsters to watch out for, here.

Once the batch of Red Iron was finished transferring, James was struck by an intrusive thought.

Smith Class Skill [Smelting] has reached level 6.

"Alright, blondie! Now latch it shut and flip the switch!"

James gave a thumbs up and flipped the switch, and was instantly grateful for the apron and gloves and mask.

Jez was right; this was oomph.

There was a wave of heat that rivaled the Fire Elemental. Jez stepped forward for a moment, but then back again as James returned to the front of the smelter to monitor the gasses boiling off from the Red Iron. There was a small gauge, a circular face with a needle indicating… something. The needle was roughly in the middle, not yet close to the far end shaded in red. Jez had only said to call her if the needle got close to red, and nothing more.

He would have to ask someone more about what the needle indicated.

He reloaded the hopper with more ore as he waited, though Jez told him not to start the first stage again until he was finished with the first batch.

It wasn't long until the needle fell back down to the left side of the gauge, and stayed there. Jez looked over his shoulder and yelled in his ear.

"Alright, next is extrusion! You still good? It's gonna get hotter!"

James yelled back. "Yeah, I'm good! Let's do it!"

Jez stepped back, just out of arm's reach, and James opened the extrusion gate, letting incredibly hot molten Red Iron pour into the molds.

"Slower!" she yelled, as James endured a wave of heat that was beyond even the Fire Elemental. But endure he did, and soon enough all the Red Iron was in the molds, still molten.

Back in the Dungeon, when he had smelted it, the Red Iron had re-solidified almost immediately after pouring. Clearly this smelter was much, much hotter.

Jez carefully picked up the molds using hooked lengths of steel, slotting neatly into loops on the molds themselves, and took them to a boxy-looking structure with grooves to hold multiple trays as they cooled. The structure could easily hold twenty such trays, and there were several of the structures.

"Shut 'er down!" Jez called, and James did so. He twisted a knob that closed a vent, choking out the fire in the furnace, and flipped the switch on the oomph box, deactivating the enchanted heater.

James was dying to examine it more closely.

But Jez waved him over to the cooling Red Iron ingots, and he walked over, putting the smelter behind him.

"Take a look at this," she directed, and he leaned closer, bringing his masked face up to the ingots.

[Material Identification]: Red Iron.

"How's it look?" she asked.

James straightened and shrugged. "[Material Identification] says it's Red Iron. Why? Did I mess something up?"

Jez stepped back and flipped her mask up over her head, revealing a raised eyebrow. James raised his mask as well.

"No, ye didn' mess up, but [Material Identification]? Why not [Metal Analysis]? How can ye even tell the purity?"

"Er, I don't have that Skill."

"What? With a [Heat Resistance] that high? And yer [Smelting] was passable, too, fer not having used our smelter before."

"Well, it's a long story."

Suddenly, James remembered what he had forgotten.

"Oh, right, I was supposed to arrange basic training with Marlie…"

"Basic training?" Jez said incredulously. She threw an arm around his shoulder and pulled him close, half-dragging him back to the Guildhall. "I'm gonna haf ta hear som'o this long story, blondie."

And so it was that James explained that he had had to interrupt his training after only a week, and circumstances he didn't want to talk about led to him going without proper training for two years until recently he entered into the service of the Aspirant Knight as a retainer.

Jez rubbed her jaw as she sat with Marlie and James in a small conference room, thinking about James' proposed deal to trade labor at the Guild for training.

"Still, to have that much [Heat Resistance] despite not working in a proper smithy, and after only two years, too. Did you live in a volcano or something?"

"What's a volcano?" James asked, but he was ignored.

Jez rubbed the back of her head, "Honestly, ye'd be doin' us a mighty favor to smelt all that ore. Damn couriers just dumped it right in the middle and left 'fore I got here this morning. Marlie!"

"Yes!" Marlie straightened up suddenly.

"Pay blondie the standard rate fer smeltin' Red Iron, and let 'im sign up for training as much as he likes."

"Yes, Guildmaster!"

James did a double take. "Wait, Jez, you're the Guildmaster?"

Jez grinned back at him with brilliant white teeth.

"That's right!" said the Guildmaster of the Smithing Guild of Iberteria.

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