Radiant Moon Calendar, Year 138, Month of the North Wind.
Golden Valley Kingdom, Blackwater Territory.
Although it was already the dead of winter, the Blacksmith shop at Baron Foslin's estate was still ablaze with activity.
"Boys! Get your act together!"
Blacksmith Hawk moved through the bustling crowd, his rough voice rumbling like muffled thunder.
"The assessment is in three months! If you don't want to pack up and go home, then work harder!"
The boys became even more earnest with their tasks after hearing this.
But none of them were even Blacksmith Apprentices yet, so their clumsy skills naturally failed to satisfy Hawk.
"You're working the bellows so slowly. Are you heating bathwater for your granny?"
"And you! How many times have I told you? You have to watch the timing when firing ore!"
Hawk shook his head in exasperation and continued weaving through the crowd.
Suddenly, he stopped, and a low grunt escaped his throat.
Within his field of vision, a slightly slender black-haired boy was pulling the bellows with all his strength, making flames shoot more than a foot high from the furnace with every stroke.
The scorching air steamed beads of sweat from the boy's face. They dripped constantly from his chin, yet his movements maintained a steady rhythm.
The instant the iron ingot changed from dark red to orange-red, the boy swiftly snatched up the tongs. With a twist of his wrist, he clamped the glowing ingot securely and, with one smooth turn, carried it to the anvil.
The entire sequence of movements flowed as smoothly as water, without the slightest hint of awkwardness.
"This boy..."
Seeing this, Hawk nodded in satisfaction, then walked over and gave the boy's shoulder a hearty slap.
"Your name is Roland, right? Well done!"
Though it was only four simple words, envy and jealousy immediately appeared in the eyes of everyone around them.
After all, the famously strict Hawk had never praised anyone before.
"You flatter me, Mister Hawk."
Roland wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled shyly.
Hawk merely waved his hand indifferently before turning and leaving.
Before they knew it, a crisp bell suddenly rang.
It was the signal telling the estate's servants that it was time to eat.
"Whew..."
After letting out a long breath, Roland stretched, picked up a rag from the side, and cleaned the ore fragments around the furnace before jogging toward the place where food was being served.
Two pieces of black bread, a thumbnail-sized slice of cheese, and a bowl of vegetable soup with who-knew-what mixed into it.
Back in his previous life, Roland would probably only have considered eating such things when he was on the verge of starving to death.
But now...
After wolfing down every scrap of food, Roland found a quiet corner and sat down.
As he silently focused his thoughts, rows of golden text slowly appeared before his eyes.
[Name: Roland] [Race: Human] [Age: 16] [Profession: None] [Strength: 1] [Agility: 0.8] [Spirit: 1.2] [Skills: Lv.2 Ore Firing (169/200), Lv.2 Bellows Operation (174/200)]
"Looks like these two skills will level up again soon."
That was right—Roland was not from this world.
After his vision went black while he was working overtime, he had arrived in this completely unfamiliar world.
The only thing accompanying him was the golden finger before his eyes.
It was a mod he had downloaded while playing a certain game on his first playthrough, in order to experience all of its content.
In theory, as long as he met certain conditions, he could take on countless professions as secondary occupations.
Unfortunately, the mod had yet to trigger any prompt related to changing professions.
"If I'd known this thing could come with me, I would've downloaded an even more overpowered one!"
Just as Roland was regretfully smacking his forehead, a slightly muffled voice suddenly reached his ears.
"Roland! I knew you were here!"
Looking up, he saw a tall boy walking over at a leisurely pace.
The newcomer was Roland's best friend, Sean.
"Sean, why aren't you using this time to practice your smithing? You know, Mister Hawk chewed you out again this morning."
"Don't remind me!"
At Roland's teasing words, Sean scratched his brown, curly hair.
"I don't have your talent. I'll probably have to leave here after a while."
"What are you planning to do, then? Inherit your old man's butchering trade?"
"Butchering? I'd rather die than do such boring work! Besides, my old man and Uncle Peyton have been arguing every day lately. I don't want to stay at home anymore."
Perhaps recalling the noisy scene at home, Sean sighed before lowering his voice.
"When I went home last month, my old man told me that the monsters in Black Fir Forest were becoming increasingly rampant and had already attacked quite a few villages!"
"So Baron ordered Lord Beckham to recruit soldiers to subjugate them! With my skills..."
He patted his thick upper arm, pride showing on his face.
"I'll definitely be able to join Lord Beckham's forces. Maybe I'll even be promoted to a Knight Squire! When that happens..."
After laughing loudly, the tall boy patted Roland on the shoulder.
"When you see me, you'll have to bow and salute!"
"Are the monsters in Black Fir Forest really that powerful?"
Roland ignored Sean's teasing and merely frowned.
"They actually need to send knights to subjugate them?"
"Who knows? But no matter how savage the monsters are, they can never be a match for a Transcendent Professional!"
Sean waved his hand casually before changing the subject and asking with some concern, "Enough about that. What about you? Are you confident about the assessment in three months?"
"The assessment..."
At the question, Roland lowered his head and glanced at his frail body before shaking his head helplessly.
Unlike the tall and burly Sean, he had no way out.
His mother had died young. Before his seriously ill father passed away, he had even sold their only mud-brick house to raise enough money to send Roland here to learn a trade.
If he passed the assessment, everything would be fine.
A Blacksmith belonging exclusively to the nobility, even if only an apprentice, received excellent treatment. Their status was also several tiers higher than that of ordinary freemen.
But if he failed the assessment...
Thinking of his desperate predicament, Roland couldn't help shivering.
"A transmigrator who starves to death in poverty? That would be far too pathetic..."
He wasn't worrying needlessly. There were dozens of boys who had come here to learn the trade, and many of them were children of hereditary Blacksmiths.
Yet there was only one available position.
So even with the golden finger at his side, he still felt uncertain.
"You don't need to worry so much."
Seeing that Roland did not respond, Sean was about to comfort him when Hawk's booming voice suddenly came from the distance.
"Boys! Don't slack off! Get over here and assemble!"
"Let's go."
Roland brushed the dust from his trousers and sprang neatly to his feet. He shook his head lightly, and the confusion in his eyes gradually faded.
"No matter what, I'll max out Ore Firing and Bellows Operation first!"
With that thought, Roland pulled Sean along and returned to the Blacksmith shop.
Firing ore and working the bellows.
Although the process was incredibly dull, the golden text that appeared before his eyes after every correct operation filled the panting Roland with ever-growing motivation.
[You successfully performed Bellows Operation and gained one experience point] [You successfully performed Ore Firing and gained one experience point]
No one knew how much time had passed before the unchanging text suddenly changed.
[Bellows Operation has reached max level] [Ore Firing has reached max level] [Detection complete. You may take up the basic profession Blacksmith Apprentice] [Requirements: Strength 1, Agility 0.5, and two max-level smithing-related skills] [Would you like to take up the profession?]
Before you continue