Harvey awoke to a dull ache in his ankle and a familiar soreness in his jaw. He tended to grind his teeth in his sleep whenever he was stressed, but the ankle was a surprise.

  So far, every injury had been healed by a potion or Julian’s skill. He’d been gouged, bitten, clawed, and slammed so often there were few unmarked spots left on him, but he’d always skipped the healing process with magical assistance. Adrenaline and vitality had put a patch on the bite wound, but it looked like it would be a while before the pain abated completely.

  Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes and looked around the forge. The light shining through the window suggested it was still early, so he likely hadn’t slept til lunch like yesterday. Nobody had him on a schedule, but he’d feel bad living like a teenager on summer vacation while the rest of the town was busy digging ditches and building walls.

  Getting up, he tenderly pulled the cotton sock over his injured foot and slipped it into the boot. The compression hurt at first, but eventually he was able to limp to the store. He could go find Dr. Silva, but there were more pressing concerns for her to worry about right now.

  Meandering back with a box of eggs, sausage, and a surprisingly delicious biscuit, he made plans for the day.

  It wasn’t smart to hunt until he had his full range of motion back. He nearly made the dumb decision to go anyway. The allure of a potential skill awaiting him at level 10 was almost too tempting to ignore. But, he also had a potential profession skill at level 5 to look forward to, so he might as well get to work on his second batch of nails.

  The first order of business was replenishing his charcoal supply, so he picked up his newly purchased axe and headed out back. He had enough for another session or two, but the guide had explained that his kiln would need a lot of time to burn all the moisture and organic matter out of the wood. He’d need to stay on top of his fuel production if he didn’t want any days wasted waiting for the kiln.

  The new wall had reached the edge of his yard, so he checked it out before he left. The crews had done a fantastic job. The 15-foot-tall barricade of gray trunks didn’t budge even after he put his full body weight against it. It would’ve taken construction crews months to build something like this back home, even with all the heavy machinery. Turns out if you give a few dozen people some axes, superhuman strength, and the right incentive, you can turn a forest into a sanctuary pretty quickly.

  His ankle screamed in protest as he strained to climb the steep slope, but he soldiered on. The closest trees were just up the hill, and without a slipsack, he wasn’t going to drag firewood back and forth through camp.

  Finding his first victim, he checked the branches for any Carrionwing nests and got to work. He let his mind roam as he found his rhythm, the first tree falling and being slowly picked apart into manageable chunks.

  He paused mid swing when he heard a strange call, faint and distant. It was probably just a bird. Usually, he’d ignore it, but the birds here demanded his attention.

  Burying his axe in the trunk, he grabbed his wand and started stalking towards the noise. It repeated every few seconds, his heartbeat ticking faster as it slowly grew louder. He wanted to kick himself when he finally found the source.

  “Harvey!”

  It was just Elena. He really needed to calm down.

  “Harvey! Where are you?” Elena shouted.

  Walking out of the trees, he saw her moving through the yard towards the mine. She’d decided to come by after all, but he couldn’t let her anywhere near that tunnel.

  “Whoa! Up here, Elena!” He hollered.

  “Oh, good. There you are. I thought you might be digging.” Elena called back.

  “Even if I was, don’t ever follow me in there!” He replied, choosing to slide down the steeper parts of the slope, saving his ankle but not his dignity.

  “Why not? Is there something in there?” Elena asked.

  His mind raced as he looked for a good excuse. He could tell the truth, but then Gary would be here by the end of the day. He could lie and claim there was something dangerous, but that would still prompt hunting parties to search the mine.

  “It’s pretty dark and treacherous in there. The first time I went in, I tripped and broke my lantern, and it took a while to fumble my way out.” He chose to go with a half-truth. It wasn’t a good enough excuse to stop her if she was determined to follow him, but he was banking on her being scared of the dark.

  “That’s true for you too, isn’t it?” She asked.

  “Yeah, but I found a minecart that I hang my lantern from now. It’s good enough. Trust me, you don’t want to waste your time stuck in there with me while I’m chipping rocks out of the wall. Besides, I have enough material to last a while.” He said, pointing at the pile under the workbench along the forge wall.

  “Makes sense. I wanted to come by and see if you need my help again today. We can test my skill if you want.” Elena offered.

  “Yeah, that would be great! I’m just chopping some wood for the kiln, but then I’ll work on another batch of nails. Maybe make a few hinges or something too.” Harvey replied.

  “Great! I’d come help carry the wood down, but my leg is killing me. Do you mind if I just get started on my drawing?” She asked.

  “Not at all!” He was relieved that things seemed back to normal between them. It had been a rollercoaster of a day, going from barely acquaintances to pouring their souls out to each other.

  “Cool, if you’re going to work on nails again, that’s what I’ll draw,” Elena said, moving back inside.

  Climbing back, he finished chopping and began throwing wood down into the yard. His improved strength made everything easier, and it didn’t take long before he had a packed kiln. Lighting a small fire, he sealed the doors, cutting off the oxygen so his next batch could start processing. The rusty metal doors were already hot to the touch, and steam began venting from the kiln’s chimney. It was going to make the smithy even hotter at all hours of the day, but he’d have to live with it.

  Satisfied, he brushed the wood and dirt from his hands before walking to Elena. She was breathing hard, sweat dripping from her face like she’d just run a marathon. Her shoulders sagged with exhaustion as she slumped on the stool.

  In front of her, he saw himself standing over the anvil, hammer raised high in the air. She was struggling to put the finishing touches, her hand gently shaking as she filled in the color on the hammer. When it was finally done, a vibrant glow leaked from her body and into the drawing.

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  It was almost like she leveled up, except the light was the gentle blue he’d associated with essence being channeled into skills instead of the blazing red of The System upgrading a weave.

  The light poured into her drawing, bringing it to life as the depiction of Harvey slammed the hammer down into the anvil. Sparks flew with every strike, color filling in the gaps of her charcoal portrait. It was like he watched a silent movie, the hammer repeating until the entire thing burned into rainbow smoke that floated towards his own weave.

  It burrowed into him, but he felt nothing. There was no smell or sensation of any kind, and checking his status screen proved that nothing had changed. The skill screen said the attributes would be increased while performing the action she drew, so he’d have to check once the hammering began.

  “That was beautiful.” He marveled. She already brought her art to life, but the addition of essence made the metaphor real. It was surreal seeing his own face staring back at him in black and grey, and he was grateful she hadn’t included the mess of greasy hair and grime he'd accumulated after 3 days without a shower.

  “And unbelievably draining.” She let out a weak laugh, laying her head down on the table.

  He grabbed a water jug and set it on the workbench beside her. She was breathing steadily, so he assumed it was just an extreme form of the exhaustion his own body felt after channeling too much essence at once.

  “I’ve found that using skills takes a toll on our bodies. It will pass, but I haven’t found anything that helps. Just get some rest.” Harvey said.

  “Thanks.” She groaned, gulping down water.

  “No, thank you! I’ll let you know what happens when we get started!” Harvey replied.

  She beamed with a bright smile, her brown and teal eyes sparkling with excitement despite her exhaustion.

  He’d love to skip ahead to testing the effects of the rainbow smoke, but he’d need more iron to work with first. He retrieved a few chunks of normal ore, cleaned them as best he could, and loaded the crucible into the firepot. The flames roared to life as he pumped the bellows, and the smithy became a sauna once more.

  While he waited for the metal to melt, he retrieved the pan he’d made his initial mold in and carved multiple, thin channels to pour into. Last time he’d ended up with one massive chunk after pouring too fast into a wet mold, wasting hours hammering it thin enough to shape into nails. This time, he’d be more careful, pouring slowly into thin channels that he’d dry on the edge of the forge. Hopefully, drying it out would reduce the spray of dirt and keep things a little more organized.

  His hopes were realized when the molten metal poured smoothly into the mold instead of trying to sandblast his perfectly tattered robe. The charred earth reeked as the metal cooked it, releasing the minerals inside, so he placed the mold outside to cool.

  Elena had fallen asleep at the desk, so he left her to rest while chopping down more firewood.

  When the rods were workable, he buried his tongs in the dirt and cleaned the first one as best he could. There was a lot less slag than last time, and drying the mold had helped a lot. The rods were nowhere near perfect, looking like gnarled metal twigs, but it was better than an oblong dinner plate.

  Gripping it tightly, he placed it back in the fire, delighted to see it glow bright orange in a quarter of the time it took his last attempt. Methodically, he worked it into shape, adjusting the angle between each strike to round out the rod and fuse any subsurface imperfections.

  His strength had taken a giant leap forward after his last session, raising 7 points from the two profession levels and the race level that came with it. It helped him maneuver the heavy tool, improving his accuracy and control over how hard he struck. As he worked, the tool got even lighter, and his hands hurt a little less as he fought the vibrations shooting up the tongs.

  Checking his status screen, he finally got to see the impact of Elena’s skill. Before, he’d been sitting at 21 strength. It was respectable. Nowhere near his 36 wisdom, but he’d surpassed the limits of a pre-system human by a wide margin.

  It was weird to think about his body now compared to before. Everything around him had also benefited from Essence, so the changes weren’t always noticeable. Sure, he was four times stronger than before, but the trees were six times harder. The Bloodrunn were twice as fast, and the Stonetusks were twice as strong as their earthbound counterparts. Nothing was static, so he couldn’t really use life before the integration as much of a benchmark anymore.

  The ringing of the hammer on iron faded to the background as his mind tuned it out.

  From his experience, stats weren’t linear. It wasn’t like every strength point let him lift 10 more pounds. Each level built on the last, compounding with his technique and legacy. Which was why the extra two points in strength and a single point in dexterity he’d gotten from Elena’s skill felt so impactful.

  It was a modest bump, around 10% of his strength and 5% of his dexterity, but it made a noticeable difference at the anvil. He had control over the process in a way he hadn’t the first time. Hitting just hard enough to mold the metal into shape with speed and precision.

  Instead of wrestling with the metal, it bent to his will.

  They were just nails, he still had no confidence in making a sword or a shield, but it was nice to feel tangible progress in his abilities.

  The clanging startled Elena awake, and she moved to retake her post holding the rod as Harvey chiseled off each completed piece, quenching it in the cool water before setting it aside.

  “Your skill is working! Both my strength and dexterity increased when I started.” Harvey shouted between strikes.

  Elena wiped her forehead, grinning through the sweat. “Good, about time I pulled my weight!”

  “Let’s see if the system pays you for the help, because I sure as hell can’t,” he continued.

  “Why don’t you just stop hammering instead of making us yell?” She asked.

  “Can’t waste the heat!” Harvey laughed.

  They worked for a while, crafting a respectable haul. Some still broke, and others were too warped to be useful, but his success rate improved a lot. When he was down to his final rod, he tested a few new creations.

  First, he made a thin bolt thick enough to connect the two halves of his broken set of tongs. Threading it between both pieces, he pounded on each end to widen the head and seal them together.

  A satisfying hiss met his ears as he quenched the first tool he’d repaired. The guide said most blacksmiths made their own tools, and it was an endeavor he looked forward to working on.

  Next, he pounded the end of the rod flat, shaping it into a wide rectangle. Using what he’d decided was his hot chisel, he cut one side to leave two protruding tabs. With the tabs on the anvil, he pounded down on the hinge, slowly curling the tabs back towards the plate. Without a tool to shape the tabs around, they came out blocky and crude, but he’d still be able to thread a rod between them.

  Using a punch, he hammered three nail holes into the plate so it could be attached to whatever door or frame the building crew decided to use it on. Satisfied it was as good as he could manage with the tools available, he cut it and began work on the other half. This time, he only needed one tab to sit between the first two, and before long, he had both halves of a door hinge.

  It was bulky and unrefined, but a burn in his chest told him the system recognized his effort. He’d still need to temper and treat the metal, but another gust of steam rising in his face marked his success.

  He pounded out the rest of the material, creating two more sets of hinges while mutilating the final attempt. Things got tough when he started running out of material.

  No longer feeding the fire, he rotated his creations in and out of the heat radiating over the edge of the forge, tempering the metal. When it was all said and done, a luminous glow shone from his skin.

  A new creation has been made | Simple Hinge | Essence Gained

  You have created | Simple Hinge x5 | Minor Essence Gained

  You have created | Simple Nail x278 | Minor Essence Gained

  Your profession, Apprentice Inventor, has reached Level 4. +3 Strength, +3 Endurance, +2 Wisdom, +2 Willpower, +2 Free Points

  Your profession, Apprentice Inventor, has reached Level 5. +3 Strength, +3 Endurance, +2 Wisdom, +2 Willpower, +2 Free Points

  Your race, Veilstrider, has reached level 6. +1 to all stats

  Your weave stirs. A new Profession Skill can be created at a Loom.