Thousand-Layer-Blank

My meeting with the baron lasted for another twenty minutes before everything was adjourned and I was sent on my way.

Most of this time was spent hashing out a few more details regarding the plan as well answering some general questions from the people gathered. Then I was actually introduced to the extras at the table. One, as I guessed, was a local Guildmaster.

The Guildmaster who introduced some basics of the Guild operation and special processing for someone like me ended up handling my registration as I was told might happen. After I said I had already attempted registry when he presented a large black orb, he assured me they still had the necessary information.

I was still curious about that orb, though, because of its different color. As for the others at the table, one was the baron's own treasurer who offered me business association as well as registration in the Mercantile Guild. After registration, my long since stagnated Honorary Merchant title received buffs. I was ten-percent more likable and reliable in the eyes of NPC and could generally set pricing as I pleased.

The other two were the current Sierran Shield who was literally some advanced Shield Guardian class and the commander of the city guards. They simply gave greetings without any real benefits besides having my name recognized by the guards. Not long after their introductions we were on our way out of the building with only Sir Beryl for accompaniment.

By the time we were actually outside of what was essentially a courthouse of sorts, Sir Beryl had eaten all of his snack foods and simply left his empty boxes by the door. "That went well," Sir Beryl states cheerfully as we reenter the streets much to the chagrin and hesitation of players in the area. News traveled fast in the noob region.

Despite this, the streets were actually slightly more crowded with twice as many players as before, probably seeking to get a better view and understanding of the situation. Most of the fanfare had faded from the streets as a whole but everybody still made way respectfully for Sir Beryl's two-meter or more hulking body.

Since there was not much we could talk about on the streets, our group was more or less quiet but Sir Beryl maintained his proud but leisurely manner while smiling and waving at anybody who still sought his attention. It was mostly kids at this point who were excited by whatever their parents told them about who the 'big shiny bear man' was. However, it was still funny and adorable.

Eventually, though, we finally came to the southern side of the city from the northern part of the central district, arriving at the Delai property. When we got there, the noobs were still out front and training but were now performing their various combos in quick succession. From the looks of it, they were now trying to perform a thousand of every combination more than just a thousand of every attack and defense

Now, though, they had been moved to the center of the garden area where the rest of my team were also watching enjoying the atmosphere. Even QTPi was in training mode, performing a particular but familiar set of strokes. Even as I watched, there would be actual skills used in the training strokes, glaring in the sunlight as swift streaks of blade left in the air in the middle of or starting and finishing combos.

Since they wore a title related to… enchanting… I figured they had chosen an actual profession class character and were simply enjoying the extra stats at their current levels. However, the determination on the profile of her face was no less than the determination on the faces of the other crafters.

If she continued to perform well, I might be able to entrust the noobs to her in doing dungeon runs on Normal to power level them to fifty and her up toward sixty. Maybe even with only some basic familiars for assistance if they performed well in the Elder Oak Challenge.

Seeing my party and the trainees, Sir Beryl thoughtfully watched in silence for a while before saying, "This is the kind of time I wished I had for you and the kids. Your path would have probably turned out entirely different, though. Isn't this basically what you told the kids to do?"

"Your job is teaching them skills and developing their experiences, I just gave them the idea of what I am forcing these guys to do," I reply dismissively though quietly, standing only thirty or so feet outside the garden area and watching the central area from over the five-foot hedges. "These guys are only going to be craftsmen, so from hereon they'll be thrown into combat with the sole purpose of leveling the skills the develop here.

"After they clear the Elder Oak one good time, they'll have all the survival skills they need because they will spend the next few months of their gaming lived being carried by elite pack mules. If my own siblings ever find a way to reach this world, though… their training will be thorough and potentially traumatizing."

"Traumatizing is everything I am trying to avoid," he sighs tiredly. "They say they're still pretty young, younger than you, so I want to preserve that youthfulness so they can flourish in their own ways. I spent all of my life until twenty training my body but they also don't have that kind of time."

The physical stat head start on this guy must be huge! No wonder all he needs is a big-style weapon. However, if I were not the old knight's friend I would question whether or not it was a form of over-compensation.

Silently questioning what the old knight's magic capabilities we like, I say, "It's a training that runs in the family, they'll just be introduced to it sooner in this world rather than our home. It will be good for them mentally to be able to face it and thrive here."

"Are you training kids or soldiers?" Sir Beryl asks incredulously, suddenly looking at me in a new light and not a very positive one.

"I asked my dad the same question and he said we come from a military background so it's all the same," I reply shamelessly. "Plus, if they ever came here, it would not be without permission."

Shaking his head, he simply shrugs and says, "Alright, then, what's our next move? Don't you need to organize and equip two hundred units?"

"Go?" I ask curiously, looking to my closest companion, literally and figuratively.

"They're on their way," he replies simply. "There's more than two hundred but we have the materials for them to outfit themselves using the Delai family facilities and the smithy. There's a craft studio at the back of the building but it's indoors so there's no real metal working. Anything requiring and anvil has to be done at the smithy."

"There should be some who are better capable of magic crafting. They or us can transmute folded blanks ready for the final shaping and tempering so everybody else can flood the municipal for only an hour or two."

"Should we do that?" He asks more curiously than anything else. "We would grant the best effects to their crafts."

"No…" I say hesitantly while weighing the option. "Have merch call in the craftsman we contracted and have them come in. we will need to exercise their limits eventually and they're all kind of noobs so they'll need the increase in crafting levels to be sales-effective for second and first generation players, anyway. For them and the clan, though, I can put out a recipe specifically for making blank bars."

"Sales?" He asks without even looking at me.

"Sales," I agree simply. Even if the new craftsman could not actually make top tier equipment that would draw in large amounts of money at once, but having them spend a few hours every day crafting sword blanks instead of swords would be profitable. Anyone could smash or transmute a weapon out of a blank bar of steel.

One-thousand-layered bars would sell like hotcakes. "How long before the lucky two hundred get here?" I ask to continue moving things along. "Everybody currently in the city is coming, so in a few hours we'll have those numbers and then some."

"Good…" I trail off awkwardly before asking, "how many mats does everyone in the party have? Everything I had but the cordycep silk went to the baron and we'll still need to tithe more of the stuff elsewhere."

"I'll trade you stack for stack metals and web for cordycep silk," he states shamelessly. Albeit to someone like Sir Beryl, who was outside the group and only somewhat aware of everything, this would potentially look and sound greedy. However, I grew up with this guy and would never question his honesty even if I ever became paranoid of loyalty.

More than likely, whatever I gave him would end up finding its way back to me at some point.

The next ten minutes were then spent trading materials and organizing a recipe. Since this was a temporary clan use and general public-sales recipe, we could not actually release our signature ancient alloy. Instead, we planned to mix the scrap three and three pounds iron and steel scrap to make a lighter version.

Similar to the Hauntings I had fought through the Winter Wood with, this light alloy would contain some of the key signature steel components used just last night to increase its grade and efficiency. In this way, these thousand-layer blocks would still not be able to make weapons comparable to our clan's or alliance and tithe produced materials.

What the individual could do with said weapon blanks was all on them.

By the time we hashed out a quick recipe and instructions list with suggested skills for both a magical and pure physical version, the basic 'Thousand-Layer-Blank' recipe name was blue which exceeded the quality of all the recipes given to the baron. Even the recipe for scrap silk armor was only green Uncommon.

The entire time we worked this out, nobody in the garden said anything to those at training except to offer some food buff or potions before walking away to meander through the gardens. After being lost track of, they would eventually make their way over to my small group which steadily grew.

Thanks to this, I was able to make a handful of copies in good time for them to copy in preparation of spreading the recipe within the clan. They had still yet to finish making their own training manuals from the legacy books but copying these single paper recipes were much faster than a training manual.

Not long after that was when the first groups of clansmen inside the city started showing up. At first it was a small group of a dozen who reported most people were coming from the Elder Oak while only they an a few dozen others had been working in the city itself.

Our presence was revealed by their arrival and brisk attempts at professional reports. Professionalism was something I tried to do ironically more than anything else, so being surrounded by seriousness was suddenly cumbersome. However, they said everything they needed to quickly and answered questions the same way so it was appreciable at least.

The noobs and QTPi who had been training for the past few hours took this opportunity to rest. Some of them seemed eager to come forward and make reports but only made a few steps before their bodies stopped. An object that stayed in motion tended to stay in motion, but once they stopped training and lost momentum they eventually ended up on the ground.

For the time being we did not set anything in motion but simply 'relaxed' but after a hundred people gathered within the first hour we moved the party inside. Hopefully, the Delai family and Canley's family making up the servants would be able to host a few waves of a hundred people for the day. If not, I was sure somebody here could be sent to a bakery to buy a thousand biscuits or something.

The workshop I was told about had everything necessary for indoor works like tailoring, working prepared leather, and general alchemy projects. However, the accommodations for each station only let about fifteen people work at once. Because of this, only about a dozen people at a time could craft their different needs.

For the most part, though, the only issues were looming silk canvas because everything after that could be done scattered around the floor. Only making a primary outer armor was really restricted. However, the alchemy station was perpetually manned as reagents for crafting were being eating up and spit out to the gathering players.

As for the Thousand-Layer-Blanks, everybody was given a recipe to read and learn while only the thirty people I had contracted were actually put to work in making them. They, however, we getting the best benefits. Transmutation and general material working with alchemy had about the same experience value as crafting shield spikes from signature alloy.

They were quick and easy and worth a lot, but unlike smithing stakes for shields this all-magic crafting awarded Intelligence and Willpower. At first nobody but the noobs received those benefits and that was from learning how to do it for the first time. However, after everybody made their first few blanks their stat training rewards started coming into play.

My nubile friends, though, were only alloyed to make a single lesser alloy blank for themselves to craft into a personal weapon later on. Between their underarmor suits which functioned as their primary armor and such swords, they were all but assured first clearance of the Elder Oak Passage at its original difficult. With the newly outfitted goblins, though, it would be a hard fight but one worth winning.

After making their blanks they were simply shoved aside to rest and then later return to training as more and more people showed up. This time, though, I had them practice their basic attacks and parries with one another, setting some simple rules to restrict their actions for safety's sake. For this, though, they were given Hardened Hickory saplings to whittle weapons.

Hopefully, the Hardened Hickory weapons and long-term trading of blows would help to develop their natural defenses. If this proved effective for them, it would help immensely in training dedicated combat noobs as well as my own siblings.

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