Unrealistic Dream

"How... could I... become..."

"That's nearly impossible, child." Gudul was not trying to discourage Nathanos, but that was simply the truth.

"You should head back now, kid. Otherwise, your uncle will worry." The dwarf was about to enter the blacksmith's shop when Nathanos grabbed his arm.

"Teach me... to forge..."

Gudul blinked. Nathanos had already shocked him many times, so no matter what the child said now, he was no longer as surprised as he had been the first few times.

"That's called forging!" Gudul corrected Nathanos. "Forging has two aspects: weapon design and material smelting. Which one do you want to learn?"

"Both..."

"Greedy little kid." Gudul smiled and took a battle axe from a nearby rack. It looked rather old, with many chips along its edge.

"Do you know what this is?"

Nathanos examined it carefully. "An... axe. And it's... very old... Why... not repair... it?"

Gudul put the axe back and answered, "This was my first creation, child. I nearly burned down the house forging it, haha." Gudul burst into laughter. That had happened a long time ago. "Nathanos, if you want to forge a sword or anything else, you must seek out the materials you believe will be most useful on your own."

"The most... useful mat... erials?"

"Yes." Gudul nodded. "The best materials are not necessarily the most suitable ones. You must judge for yourself, decide for yourself, and then forge equipment that feels best in your own hand. What makes a weapon formidable is not how powerful it is, but that it is held in its master's hand. This axe may be old, and its killing power may not be great, but as long as I carry it onto the battlefield, I can feel at ease. Do you understand, Nathanos?"

The boy nodded. "How... do I gather... materials?"

"The Kingdom of Lordaeron has fertile land and plenty of mineral resources, but most of them belong to the government. The truly good place to gather ore is the Alterac Mountains. The place is frozen year-round and rarely visited, so its mineral deposits have seldom been mined."

"How... do I tell... them apart?"

Gudul was growing fonder and fonder of Nathanos. The boy always asked the important questions. The dwarf took a dust-covered book from the bottom shelf of a cabinet in the corner, dusted it off, and handed it to Nathanos. Mineral Structure and Distribution. Nathanos recognized only a few of the words, but fortunately, it contained illustrations as well.

"The author of this book is Brann Bronzebeard. He is a great adventurer who has traveled to many places. He has seen more things than anyone else."

Written by a dwarf? Nathanos looked at the human writing in the book. Its dry, wrinkled cover had been preserved well, and the words were still clear. "Is there... only this one?"

"Of course not. There's also a Dwarven language edition, but you definitely wouldn't understand it."

"Could you... let me see... that one too?" Nathanos asked.

Gudul could not bear to refuse him, so he gave Nathanos the book. Just as Gudul had said, Nathanos could not understand a single word.

Over the next month, Nathanos kept studying languages, even to the point of neglecting food and sleep. He also often went to Gudul's blacksmith's shop to ask all sorts of questions, making the dwarf seem like his mentor.

Because Nathanos studied at Gudul's blacksmith's shop, Jonathan often came to visit Gudul as well, chatting with him about Nathanos. As time passed, the two became good friends.

"He's become more taciturn than before, more focused on his books." Jonathan was drinking beer with Gudul while Nathanos was still attending lessons in the chapel.

"Is that so?" Gudul put away an empty bottle. "He sure talks a lot when he asks me questions. Listening to him has gradually made me more patient, too."

Jonathan laughed loudly. "That must be hard on you, Gudul. Nathanos still stammers a little when he speaks, but Sister Kana, who teaches him, told me he has been working hard to overcome that flaw."

Gudul nodded after hearing that, but his expression soon turned solemn. "Still, your nephew is far too unusual, Jonathan. Neither Nathanos's way of speaking nor his behavior has the innocence a child should have. He's like an adult compressed into a little kid."

Jonathan knew it was only a joke, but he agreed with Gudul. "On that point, I agree with you, Gudul. Not only you—even Nathanos's father and I have had similar thoughts. That child always talks about strange things, yet he has never even seen the things he describes."

Jonathan told Gudul about Nathanos mentioning birthday cake on his fourth birthday. The dwarf also found it strange. The human drained the remaining liquor in his bottle in one gulp, and Gudul handed him another.

"Perhaps that's a good thing. At least it proves he's 'well-traveled and knowledgeable.'"

Jonathan gradually smiled. "I understand what you mean, my friend. But Nathanos is still young. Perhaps these things are only coincidences. Maybe when Nathanos grows up, he'll become an ordinary person after all."

The dwarf slowly leaned closer to Jonathan upon hearing that. "Even you think he isn't an ordinary person right now."

The human's faintly trembling eyes met Gudul's. After a long while, he explained, "No, what I mean is..."

"What is it?"

"He seems a little special now because he's a child. Children always have behaviors that we adults cannot understand. That's normal, understand, Gudul?"

"Of course. My hero is Emperor Thoradin. I wanted to become someone like him, wielding weapons and expanding territory." Jonathan burst into laughter as he said this. "Yet now I'm standing on the streets of Lordaeron handing candy to children."

"Haha... of course." Gudul was amused by the answer.

If you knew how your adorable nephew exposed me as a gladiator, you wouldn't think that.

Gudul took a drink. Whenever he dreamed at night, he would recall that child standing before him, exposing his past with clue after clue. The dwarf often wondered how the boy had done it. Why had he noticed details that others rarely paid attention to? If he was truly gifted, why did he so often fail to distinguish between ore and ordinary stones? Gudul had considered taking Nathanos as an apprentice. He had even thought that the boy might become a Master Blacksmith, but that dream was somewhat unrealistic.

"What's wrong, Gudul?" Jonathan suddenly asked.

"What do you mean, what's wrong?"

"You were spacing out just now. I called you so many times."

"Ah, it's nothing!" The dwarf waved a hand. "Maybe I'm a little drunk."