chsdbacks Chapter 460 Tasks (I)
Chapter 460 Tasks (I)
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Cedric decided to cycle the tasks every two weeks, meaning that for the first two weeks, he'd do one task, and then on the two following weeks, he'll go to the next.
He figured that doing it this way allows him to gain substantial knowledge and practice on each task without it being too fast or too slow. Of course, he delegated a day off for himself as well to relax and unwind. After all, he's not a perpetual motion machine.
With that said, Cedric was now at the Weapon Refinement Hall. Due to the camp being understaffed, he was immediately put to work as soon as he was signed in.
Now, he's standing behind a hulking person covered in a tough leather garb, hammering away at metal blocks. They're inside the forging room with scalding temperatures. Cedric estimated that this room was hotter than the sun's peak temperature, yet it didn't cause either of them any harm.
Cedric's attention wasn't on the forging master ahead of him, who's busy at work. Instead, he's busy reading a book containing all the materials that the smiths of the camp regularly used.
As an apprentice here, his task was to memorize all these materials to assist the smiths in their work. He has to be careful in handing the correct material they need because if he made a mistake, it would cause delay, which could lower the quality of the item or even make it entirely useless. If he failed here, forget about being paid; he might even be reprimanded instead.
See, there's usually training for these. Or at the very least, some trial runs. After all, not everybody is fit for this line of work, and so, to prevent wasting too much time, some tests were needed.
But once again, the camp is seriously lacking people. And while there are androids here who could help with the logistics, that's as far as they can go. The more complicated tasks, especially matters of the forging itself, are completely beyond their capabilities. That's why even newbies like him are being thrown straight to the fire as soon as they arrive.
Tang! Tang! Tang!
The earth shaking strikes of the forging master ahead of him shook the room. One must note that even the weakest of his strikes can sink one of the continents of Prime Earth, yet even with how strong it was, it's just enough to lightly alter the shape of the heated material before him, thus requiring him to do it multiple times.
"Need some stardust, Kid. A hundred grams, directly at the furnace."
The voice of the forging master echoed in his ears and on the corners of the room. Cedric didn't mind his demanding tone at the very least. In fact, Cedric was already moving as soon as the words'stardust' were uttered.
Well, he is moving, but not physically. Cedric moved a bucket with his mind, fetching the exact weight of stardust required and poured it over the furnace, which burned hotter than any sun he had ever encountered.
It's not that Cedric can't approach the furnace because it was too hot for him. Honestly, he could even touch the burning coals there if he wanted to. He just couldn't be bothered to since he's busy memorizing the book in his hands.
And to his surprise, Cedric got everything right down to the miniscule measurements. Just from this alone, the master already confirms that Cedric's confidence has some real basis because no other apprentice would be able to even come close to his accuracy.
This made the master think that this kid must have some forging background as well. But that doesn't really matter right now since they're running on a time limit. This item needs to be completed by the end of the day, or else it will become free and neither the master nor the apprentice will get any merit points for it.
During the crafting process, Cedric took the initiative to ask if he could assemble the other parts to save time. The master, not really against the idea, let him try. It wouldn't really matter if he failed anyhow since he could cover for him right away.
But again, to the master's surprise, Cedric created the component perfectly. Had the master not seen the process with his own eyes, he would've thought that he zoned out and created this piece himself.
This caused the master to look at Cedric in a new light. What he showed transcends just 'good memory' because good memory doesn't mean good skill.
By now, the master had no doubts that this kid has a forging background. And it's a rich background at that.
Since he did well on his first try, the master allowed Cedric to make another piece. And again, just like the first one, he did the second just as well.
The master felt like he was working with his clone, which felt strange. But since it saved him time, effort, and energy. He couldn't complain.
Without this apprentice, the master would've taken longer to assemble all the necessary pieces for the craft. Cedric's help shaved him hours of lonesome work. It's been a while since the master had such an easy time crafting something, and it's mostly due to the assistance of this apprentice.
Then, the true test of skill came to Cedric. With all the pieces crafted and assembled. It's now time to put all of it together along with the forged alloy earlier.
This process has to be done well, or else it will make the product defective and all of their efforts wasted. Even the master dared not to be negligent during this process, much less to say about Cedric.
Fortunately, despite the odds, everything went well. Even without his specific orders, Cedric could instinctively tell what the master needed and have it ready as soon as it was needed, making the process incredibly smooth and easy.
It was truly too smooth that even the master was perplexed and doubtful. But the product was right in front of him, and after some tests, it was working just as intended.
After checking its integrity and quality through the system and receiving a positive marking, all the doubts dissipated. Even better, the sun isn't even down yet, so they still have time to do some other work in advance.
Just from thus alone, Cedric has already received the commendations of the master. Of course, he doesn't have to know that just yet.