Chapter 4

"Phew, I'm tired."

"Good work, everyone."

As Roland finished the day's interviews and took a moment to rest, a staff member sent by Lilianna came to encourage him. She not only provided the funding and jobs for the guild's establishment but also sent support staff to handle the miscellaneous tasks.

"You must be tired. Interviewing twenty people in the morning alone..."

"Yes. But I can't 'Appraise' them without seeing them with my own eyes. There's no other way."

"But do you really need to go to such lengths to appraise them yourself? Wouldn't it be better to have them self-report their current skills and narrow down the candidates?"

"No, that won't do. With only their current skills, I can't see their potential for growth or hidden abilities. In the long run, it's better to hire people with a view to their future potential."

"Ah, I see."

"Well, it's time to start the afternoon interviews."

Roland looked over the list of skills he had recorded for the interviewees.

(In the end, the only one with Skill A or higher is Arie's 'Ore Refining'.)

Roland looked again at the note that said Arie: 'Ore Refining' E → A.

The 'Earthcraft' ordered by Lilianna can be managed with the Skill 'Ore Refining A'.

The 'Earthcraft' ore should be delivered to the old atelier purchased as a base next week.

(I need to get Arie's 'Ore Refining' as close to A as possible by then.)

Arie came to the guild 'Spirit Workshop' for her first job, feeling a mix of excitement and anxiety.

(At least I passed the interview, but from the looks of it, I'll probably be doing 'Ore Refining' again.)

Bitter memories of her previous workplace came back to Arie.

(What I really want to do is 'Goldsmithing.' Sure, my 'Goldsmithing' skill isn't great, but the same could be said for 'Ore Refining'...)

She had been fired from a previous alchemy workshop where she was assigned to 'Ore Refining.'

(Maybe I'll get fired here too. Oh well.)

Thinking about this, Arie couldn't help but feel disheartened.

When Arie arrived at the guild's atelier, Roland was cleaning in front of the door.

"Good morning, Arie."

"Good morning."

Arie tried to sound as cheerful as possible.

She thought it was strange that the guild leader was cleaning, but she didn't say anything.

"Let's start with 'Ore Refining' right away."

(Ugh, as expected, 'Ore Refining'.)

She felt overwhelmed with anxiety as she entered the refining room.

"Actually, the materials from the 'Guardian of the Magic Tree' haven't arrived yet. They should be here next week. So, let's start with iron refining for practice."

Arie felt relieved to hear there would be a practice period.

(At least I'll get paid here for the next week.)

"Let's get started then. This is your workplace."

Roland led Arie to the furnace room.

The room, surrounded by brick walls, was already set up for refining. The furnace was ready with coal, and iron ore was laid out on the table.

"Do you know all the basic refining methods? Let's start then."

Arie, nervous, arranged the iron ore on a tray.

It had been a while since she last did 'Ore Refining.'

Would she be able to do it well?

Arie placed a tray with ten pieces of ore into the furnace, closed the lid, added coal, and cast the fire magic spell.

There was a small window above the furnace door to observe the ore inside. She had to adjust the fire magic based on the ore's condition through this small gap.

Arie watched anxiously as the ore turned red inside the furnace.

When the refiner judged the time was right, the ore would be taken out and hammered to remove impurities, creating pure metal.

With her limited experience, Arie relied on her instincts, took out the red-hot ore, and hammered it.

The refined iron was then submitted to the guild leader.

Arie's results were poor.

- 9 pieces of Iron E

- 1 piece of Iron D

Iron E was useless scrap iron.

Iron D, while barely usable, was still a subpar product.

(Sigh. I told them...)

Arie expected to be scolded and hung her head in disappointment.

However, the response was unexpected.

"Wow, Arie. You managed to refine one piece of Iron D on your first try."

Roland's eyes sparkled as he said this.

"Huh?"

"Your 'Ore Refining' skill is still E, but you can already refine Iron D. You definitely have talent."

"Um, yes..."

Arie couldn't keep up with Roland's enthusiasm and gave a vague response.

"Let's move on to the next one."

"Um, yes. I'll clean up this scrap iron first..."

"No need. Just keep refining ore. I'll take care of the cleanup."

"Uh? Yes, sir."

Roland continued to have Arie work on 'Ore Refining.'

He took care of organizing the finished iron and cleaning up, allowing her to focus on refining as much as possible.

The many iron ores on the shelves quickly disappeared and turned into scrap iron.

Despite this, Roland kept her working.

Arie tried to help with the chores, but Roland always insisted on doing them himself, handling all the minor tasks.

While Arie was focused on the furnace, Roland prepared the next batch of ore, brought more from the warehouse, cleaned the room, and maintained the tools. When Arie was hammering, Roland cleaned the furnace and prepared the next batch of coal.

Thanks to this, Arie could concentrate on monitoring the furnace.

It felt like the treatment of a top-tier craftsman.

(Am I really wasting this much ore? Is it okay?)

Arie continued to work, feeling anxious.

By the end of the day, she had used 30 pieces of iron ore and managed to refine only 3 pieces of Iron D.

The same routine continued the next day.

Gradually, Arie began to notice the subtle changes in the color of the burning ore in the furnace.

(I'm starting to... understand?)

She became more familiar with the subtle shades of red in the iron.

She also got used to Roland taking care of the chores.

Initially, Arie was concerned about the hierarchy, but Roland treated her like an experienced craftsman so naturally that she stopped worrying.

She gradually became more focused on her work.

By the fifth refinement, she no longer looked at Roland's face for approval.

By the tenth refinement, she managed to refine 9 pieces of Iron D and 1 piece of Iron C.

(I did it.)

Arie felt relieved.

Iron C could be sold.

For a novice alchemist, it was a passing grade.

She felt she could continue working at this place for the time being.

"I did it, Roland. I refined Iron C."

Arie reported to Roland, looking relieved.

However, the response was unexpected.

"This is completely unacceptable."

Roland threw the Iron C into the trash.

"Huh?"

"I need you to refine all the ore into Iron A."

"Iron A...?"

Arie's face turned pale.

Refining all the ore into Iron A was an impossible task.

Was there even an alchemist in this city who could do that?

Despite this, Roland continued to treat Arie with top-tier treatment and apply top-tier pressure.

Of course, Arie only worked on 'Ore Refining.'

She was never allowed to do anything else.

(I've never been in a workplace where I only do 'Ore Refining'.)

An unbelievable amount of ore had been consumed for a novice alchemist.

(Spending so much time and money on one skill. Wasting so much ore. He must be really confident that I have the talent for 'Ore Refining A'. Is he serious?)

Arie continued to refine iron, determined to meet Roland's expectations.

After about a week,

(I did it. I really did it.)

Arie stared at the iron on the tray, dazed.

The surface's luster and color were unmistakable.

It was undoubtedly the highest quality iron.

The tray held 10 pieces of Iron A.

"Good job, Arie."

"Thank you."

Arie, on the verge of tears, felt relieved to finally receive praise.

"Alright, it's time to start on the 'Guardian of the Magic Tree's' request. We need to produce 100 'Earthcrafts' in a month."

Arie nearly fainted.

'Earthcraft' was a metal far more difficult to refine than iron.