Gute sighed, "Do you think those pampered nobles can endure this kind of hardship? What the blacksmith requires is a body, not magic! Of course, some magical foundation is still needed for weapon forging based on the patterns of magical creatures on the crystals. But the most important thing is the body!"

Natalia Chan looked at Gute, who was scratching his cheek with his biceps, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke up, "If you don't mind my stupidity, I would like to be your apprentice, Master Gute."

"Very good, I can confidently tell you that you have made the best decision in your life, hahaha." Gute patted Natalia Chan's shoulder and laughed heartily, with quite a strong force. Natalia Chan stuck out his tongue but dared not complain of pain. After all, he could tell that this rough man was genuinely happy.

"Then take off your clothes for now."

"Understood."

Natalia Chan obediently took off his clothes, revealing a somewhat thin and weak figure, but with muscle texture visible in every part, though not very prominent.

Among his peers, he was not considered strong, but not thin either, maintaining a balance between the two.

Master Gute looked at Natalia Chan's body and it was not as bad as he expected. With enough effort, he should be able to become an excellent blacksmith.

"Well, it's passable, although a bit thin."

"My mother and sister also said that," Natalia Chan smiled bitterly.

"Remember to eat more meat for your three meals. You are in a period of growth, so you must not neglect nutrition."

"Okay."

Master Gute patted Natalia Chan's shoulder. "Now, you start learning seriously with me. Remember the steps of forging. I have no special requirements, just hope that you have enough patience, because forging requires both accumulated experience and a strong body, and one cannot be lacking without the other."

"Is it all about the body?"

"Yes, you may think anyone can forge in front of a forge, but that idea is completely wrong. Once you use a magical creature crystal and cannot handle the tremendous magic power contained in it, your body will deteriorate. But with your body, it will naturally catch up as you grow, so don't worry about that."

"I understand, Master Gute."

"Now, I will demonstrate a set of forging techniques for you. Watch carefully and learn with all your heart."

"Yes!"

Master Gute randomly grabbed an iron block from the nearby table, held it with tongs, and began to heat it in the forge. In no time, the white iron block turned red all over, and then he took out a pitch-black forging hammer and started striking with great concentration.

The room was filled with the unique sound of the forging hammer, and Natalia Chan, standing on the side, seemed to feel the ground trembling. However, he remained unaffected, his gaze carefully watching every strike by Master Gute. Along with the dancing sparks on the iron block, he seemed to see a unique pattern emerging between the iron block and Master Gute.

Natalia Chan rubbed his eyes, thinking he was seeing things, but when he looked again, there was indeed a faint blue pattern connecting Master Gute and the iron block.

After about five minutes, Master Gute suddenly raised the forging hammer and struck down forcefully, shouting, "Success!"

"Bam!"

The entire room seemed to shake continuously because of this sound. Master Gute nonchalantly used tongs to take out the iron block and put it into water for cooling. Then, he picked it up again, and Natalia Chan found that the white iron block had become incredibly smooth, with no impurities at all. It was hard to imagine that this iron block was the same shoddy metal from earlier.

Seeing the shock in Natalia Chan's eyes, Master Gute smiled and said, "What do you think? Does it feel different from your impression of a blacksmith?"

"Yes!" Natalia Chan nodded honestly.

"Alright, let me test you. How many times did I swing the hammer just now?"

"One hundred."

"Oh?" Master Gute raised an eyebrow. "I didn't expect you to count the hammer strikes. Now, tell me, were there any details when I was striking?"

"Yes, Master Gute. Every ten strikes, you briefly paused, although the intervals were short. On the next strike, you shifted the position. For the first ninety strikes, you struck in a specific order, ten strikes per round, changing positions a total of nine times. In the remaining ten strikes, nine times you shifted back to previous positions, striking once in each place. The final strike completely solidified the iron block!"

Master Gu looked stunned when he heard this, incredulously staring at Natalia Chan. Actually, he was already satisfied with the number of hammer strikes he calculated during the casting process. But when Natalia Chan said these words, it stirred up a storm in his heart.

The reason was simple. The iron block was only so big, and he could even see the subtle changes in the places where the forging hammer struck. What surprised him the most was that Natalia Chan even mentioned the changes in the last ten strikes. In order to keep the iron block in a balanced state during the casting process, all impurities needed to be removed in an extremely short time. He didn't have the luxury to do it in slow motion for Natalia Chan to see. Each strike was done at his normal speed. Yet, this little girl in front of him completely saw through his casting technique, which truly amazed him.

Natalia Chan looked at Master Gu, who remained silent, and asked with doubt, "Master Gu, did I say something wrong?"

"No, you didn't! It's correct! But tell me first, did you know about these things beforehand?" Master Gu replied.

Natalia Chan shook her head and said, "This is the first time I've seen the forging method. I've only read about the profession of a blacksmith in books, but they didn't record any specific casting techniques."

Looking at Natalia Chan's calm demeanor, Master Gu swallowed his saliva. Could this kid really be a raw gem of a blacksmith? Did the words he casually uttered out of a good mood really give him a big opportunity?

However, Master Gu still had some doubts. His master passed down this knowledge to him, and he was completely immersed in the beauty of the metal after finishing the forging process, without paying attention to the number of hammer strikes his master made.

"Since you observed so carefully, then tell me, where did I strike in all nine positions?" Master Gu said and handed a goose feather pen to Natalia Chan, pointing at the iron block on the table.

Natalia Chan tilted her head and, without much concern, went forward and circled the nine positions on the iron block. However, she was not sure about the position of the last strike, not because she didn't see it clearly, but rather because she found it strange when she saw that spot.

The place where the last strike landed was very peculiar. It was neither on any of the previous nine striking points nor in the center of those positions. Instead, it was at the bottom of the iron block. Why choose this spot? Did this position have any special significance?