Full-Time Wizard: Starting with Harvesting Wheat

Roy dragged himself to the blacksmith's shop.

The statue could heal the physical wounds, but the mental exhaustion remained forever.

After returning from the church, he felt extremely excited. The heat flowing into his body seemed to have the effect of a stimulant, making it impossible for him to fall asleep in bed for half a day.

Then, it became completely bright.

Although he had taken the day off, he still forced himself to go to the blacksmith's shop. After all, he could learn something for free and even get a free lunch—why not?

For some reason, old John was unusually radiant today, clapping his hands loudly and saying:

"Guys, wake up! Do you know what day it is today?"

Upon hearing this, some of the apprentices who had spent a long time in the blacksmith shop straightened up, their faces showing realization.

"It's that day again."

"Evaluation every two months."

They rubbed their hands together excitedly. Old John held an apprenticeship assessment every two months to test the apprentices' skills, and the top performers would receive a monetary reward.

Once you win a lot of times, you can earn back your tuition fees, and even use the extra money to help support your family. This is considered a perk for the apprentices under Old John.

Hearing the comments around him, Roy, who had been yawning due to lack of sleep, immediately put on a solemn expression.

To be honest, he only had a few copper coins left. Once the black bread he got from his previous employer was gone, he would have to think about making money. If he really couldn't make any money, his last resort would be to mooch meals from Old John's family or ask Father Carl for help. Of course, he would never do something so shameless unless it was a desperate situation.

"This assessment is not bad. Although it's also paid by Old John, it's a legitimate way. However, with my level after only a few days here, I'm afraid it will be difficult to get among the top few."

Then, Old John announced, "Given your varying skill levels, this test will be divided into two groups. One is the novice group, which only needs to submit a forged rough piece; the final evaluation will only consider the quality. The other is the apprentice group, where two people will form a team and submit a weapon that you have forged, of any type, within five days."

"The top three in the newcomer group will be awarded 30 copper coins, 20 copper coins, and 10 copper coins respectively, while the apprentice group will be awarded 10 silver coins, 5 silver coins, and 3 silver coins respectively."

No one objected, since the apprentice group consisted of two people, and the required forging skills were much stronger than those of the novice group, so the rewards should be more generous.

Roy clicked his tongue slightly.

I heard from those people that the assessment was held every two months, and Old John had to spend nearly twenty taels of silver on this every two months. It can only be said that in such a resource-scarce era, the blacksmith shop really made money.

"Will I be able to forge a rough blank? I might be able to handle that." The training iron ingots he used for practice were mixed with carbon and many other impurities. This time, the assessment requires the use of iron ingots, which are much harder, making it a completely new challenge for him.

"Pique, let's team up."

"Hall..."

On the other side, in the apprentice group, some apprentices found experienced seniors they knew to team up with, so that even if their skills were not good enough, the other side could make up for it.

Besides Gerrard, there were others who had been apprentices there for more than three years and were considered the most powerful figures.

However, most apprentices had already formed a strong united front, also known as fixed teams, before the assessment, so the team formation process did not last long.

In the end, only one apprentice was not favored by the others and was left all alone.

He scoffed and returned to his forging table, seemingly intending to complete the assessment by himself.

Upon seeing this, both Old John and Roy frowned.

That isolated apprentice was Gerald.

As an apprentice for two and a half years, his skills were superb. Even if he couldn't compare to those veterans, someone should have sought him out to team up. However, it seems that due to his overly aloof personality, he received unanimous negative reviews from everyone.

"Poor Gerald..." Roy returned to his seat, a sudden thought occurring to him.

"Wait, if I complete the assessment for the newbie group, can I join the apprentice group? The rules only state that the apprentice group requires two people to form a team, but they don't say that newbies can't participate."

"If Gerrard and I team up and I play a significant role, maybe we can get a share of the final rewards..."

"Receiving rewards also improves forging skills, so it's a win-win situation."

Thinking of this, Roy's eyes lit up.

at the same time--

"Watch closely, all of you!"

Old John came to the new recruits and personally taught them forging techniques. Seeing the boys' focused expressions, he nodded in satisfaction.

Roy, in particular, had such focused eyes that they seemed about to pop out of their sockets.

Then, he used tongs to take an iron ingot out of the furnace and placed it on an anvil.

"When you're hammering, pay attention to the frequency, the force, and the position!" He picked up the hammer, and with a series of clanging sounds, the iron ingot stretched and changed under his hand, instantly becoming a rough blank that could be used to forge a weapon.

"Just do it this way, and you can get thirty copper coins in less than thirty minutes. How about that, easy, right?"

The apprentices watching the demonstration looked at each other in bewilderment.

With Old John's skill, this iron ingot is more than enough to win first place among them. The key question is, who can perfectly replicate Old John's craftsmanship?

Just like the demonstration, Old John was hammering at lightning speed. Only a few apprentices nodded as they watched, while the rest of the boys were filled with confusion.

How did he manage to strike the iron ingot so quickly and with such a smooth surface without any cracks?

"What? I've already explained this basic stuff many times. Do you want me to analyze it for you in detail again?" Old John raised his eyebrows, feigning a gloomy expression.

"No, no..." The boys, like startled birds, hurriedly returned to their forging tables. If they raised any questions, they would inevitably be scolded by Old John again.

"Impressive..." Roy thought to himself. Old John's casual demonstration was over 90% accurate. Is this the old blacksmith's composure?

He waited in line for the apprentices ahead of him to receive their iron ingots, but when it was his turn, only the largest one was left.

It is well known that large iron ingots are easier to crack.

"That suits me perfectly." Although the large iron ingot is difficult, it might actually be the right solution in this kind of test.

Knock it down, remelt it, knock it down, remelt it.

The large iron ingots cooled down extremely quickly, forcing Roy to repeat the process.

Some people had submitted rough drafts more than ten minutes earlier, and some were scolded mercilessly by Old John. Only a very few received a "barely passing" rating, but judging from his tone, he was clearly not very satisfied.

"Get out! And don't ever say you're John's apprentice again!"

One apprentice was forced to pack his bags and leave. He immediately knelt down and pleaded tearfully.

"My father sold our land to send me here. If I'm sent back, how...how am I supposed to survive!"

"Please, Mr. John, give me another chance!"

However, no matter how much he pleaded, old John remained unmoved.

"Get out. I don't want to say it again."

The apprentices swallowed hard, relieved that they weren't the ones being kicked out.

The fact that failing the test could result in being sent home is terrifying.

As time passed, because the apprentices on the other side were still discussing the blueprints, the huge blacksmith shop was filled only with the sound of hammering.

It sounded exceptionally crisp.

boom!

boom!

boom!