Chapter 41: The Burning Forge

The tour through the guild building was short. Guy had already familiarised himself with the place, apart from a few sections which were marked as off-limits to him due to his lack of clearance. However, with a wave of Karmin's badge, most of those blocks were lifted and Guy was welcomed into the more privileged areas.

It was more of an informative tour for Guy as he got to observe how the guilds generally operated in this world. Each was directly connected to a head office which was usually occluded from the low-level members. It was possible to transition directly from the head office to the subsidiary buildings through a Teleportation Ritual Formation at the core of the guild building and only those with the authorised seals could activate it. Apart from that, there were also communication artefacts that provided a direct line to any other subsidiary guild in the world.

The guilds themselves were non-profit organisations, so any surplus earned was directly invested into enhancing the guild's foundations.

Karmin was also a little unenthusiastic about the guild tour. He was more eager to take Guy to his shop, The Burning Forge! And so, the duo finished the tour within the hour.

"The Burning Forge has been operating since the year 5122," Karmin declared proudly as he walked with a skip in his steps.

The timekeeping standard underwent a reset following the Age of Isolation. Thus, the year when Gaea was completely and truly isolated from the other realms was the generally accepted year zero in the standard calendar. Additionally, similar to back in Earth, each year was divided into 12 months with each month containing 30 days.

Guy nodded along as he followed Karmin while observing his surroundings. They were currently walking through the commercial district in Radiant City which was home to a large number of shops and outlets selling a plethora of goods and services. He had never explored this region since his transmigration, mainly because he was lacking financially.

Karmin's Burning Forge was close to the centre of the district, indicating its prominence in the local market. Furthermore, like most of the shops in this region of the market, it was separated from its neighbours, unlike the other stores that were attached with a shared wall.

The shop itself was separated into multiple spaces. The part of the store facing the shopping district acted as the outlet front. Customers could access this section freely, peruse the goods on sale, and make one-off purchases. This outlet was operated by impeccably dressed and young individuals. The men were toned and had a warrior's aura surrounding them, and the women appeared delicate and alluring. Through observation, Guy understood Karmin's strategy. The women would draw in a crowd of testosterone-driven sheep, while the men would offload the goods through showy demonstrations and jargon-filled sales pitches.

Adjacent to the outlet, yet occluded behind a wall, was the import and export dock. Half-finished or completed goods would transit through this point. The latter would go directly to the local storage block which was attached to this section or would move to the showcasing area in the outlet front. The former would be directed to a local workspace to add the finishing touches before being placed on display or sold.

As a matter of safety, The Burning Forge's main office was located on a confidential site. Most large companies and businesses followed this practice to protect their assets. Due to the lack of stringent patenting, copyrighting and licensing systems in this world, theft and counterfeiting were commonplace. Thus, these confidential sites acted as fortresses that guarded a companies secrets and unique selling points.

Karmin led Guy through the back of the shop to avoid any stray eyes trained his way. They walked through the import and export dock to the workshop that adjoined the outlet and the dock.

"So here's where you'll be working," Karmin said as he opened the doors into the workshop.

Guy released a drawn-out whistle of awe as he beheld the sight. Unlike his initial assumptions, the workshop was a lot cleaner and well maintained. While there were soot markings, metal deposits, wood shavings, and other residues, there were workers that would frequently clean up the area and clear up any obstructions.

Multiple forges were working adjacently, each being operated by a fixed group of people. For instance, one forge was run by a group of three individuals drawing out a standard-sized sword and sharpening its edge. One worker was responsible for heating the sword and repositioning it, while another was responsible for hammering it. The third was first in charge of managing the forge and then shifting over to running the grindstone. Essentially, one person did not have to take on all the work by themselves.

"Mister Zola! What brings you here today?" A giant of a man exclaimed with a gravelly voice. He appeared to be the overseer, the manager responsible for the workshop. He wore a sleeveless tank-top with an apron draped over it. His face was slathered with soot and sweat, enhancing his already domineering appearance. He would make a perfect bouncer if not for his uncharacteristically jovial smile.

"Callum! How was the shipment of to-be-enchanted weapons that arrived yesterday?" Karmin asked while shaking the man's, Callum Bose's, extended hand.

"Looks basic enough," Callum shrugged. "I don't see anything different about it, apart from the empty sockets for the gems, of course."

Karmin nodded, "The first order is for a set of basic Empowering enchantments. You don't need to forge the weapons differently for it."

Callum hummed in acknowledgement, "Well, I've followed protocol and moved it to storage with today's shipment of mana gems and enchanting ink ingredients."

Karmin seamlessly led the conversation through the forge towards a quieter office space next to the outlet. While they were transitioning, Callum's eyes landed on Guy who was silently following them.

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"Who might you be?" Callum asked respectfully. Since he knew that the person was brought in by Mister Zola, the man was definitely unordinary.

Karmin realised that he had disregarded Guy this whole time and quickly sorted out the introductions, "This is Teaching Apprentice Guy Larks. He is currently being sponsored by Teacher Jeeves in the Smithing and Enchanting Guild. I've invited him in because he has offered to run the enchanting for our upcoming order for the Kraven Mercenary Corp."

Callum's eyes widened in astonishment. He was familiar with Teacher Al Jeeves, who was a veritable powerhouse in Radiant City. To be affiliated with such an individual, Callum automatically raised his evaluation of Guy by a few levels.

He then picked up from where Karmin left off, "That's good to know. The order has been burning a hole in our pockets for quite some time now. It's great that we can finally get to it! Why don't I show Mister Larks his workspace?"

Karmin nodded appreciatively while adding, "Also give him a token to access the storage. Mister Larks may need to use a few resources as practice," he then turned to Guy while adding, "Just inform Callum here if you're logging out anything. As long as it isn't out of our reach, it shouldn't be a problem."

Guy smiled in response and bowed as a sign of gratitude, "Thank you so much for your assistance!"

Karmin waved his hands. Just as he was about to respond, a sudden commotion resounded through the walls. With a frown, Karmin asked, "What's happening out there?"

Callum furrowed his brows and walked out briskly. After a quick half a minute, he returned with an awkward expression plastered across his face.

"There seems to be a kerfuffle between a customer and one of our sales representatives," Callum clarified.

"What? Why?" Karmin asked.

"The customer claims that one of our swords up for sale is of sub-par quality compared to what was advertised," Callum spoke in displeasure.

Karmin snorted and retorted, "Who is he? Someone from the guild?"

Callum shook his head, "He doesn't appear to be certified. Just some average teaching apprentice from Radiant Academy."

But then Callum quickly bit his tongue and turned to Guy with an apologetic look. Guy chuckled in response to show that no offence was taken.

"Who does he think he is, sauntering into my company and claiming that I'm cheating my customers!" Karmin exclaimed with righteous indignation.

Callum offered some additional information, "According to the chatter, he is called Jo way. Rumour on the streets is that he is currently undertaking Gaige Bori for the upcoming trial."

Karmin stood up in a huff and prepared to set things straight. But right as his hands grasped the door handle, a loud cough interrupted him, "Umm... Mister Zola! Please hold on for a second."

The moment Guy heard Jo Way's name, a sense of discomfort washed over him. The hair on the back of Guy's neck stood straight as his face-slapping sense blared in earnest. Although Guy welcomed Jo Way's antics once in a while, currently it was a little inconvenient for him.

Guy was depending on Karmin to support his enchanting ventures, and he couldn't afford to lose this backing. So Guy offered a few words of warning, "That Jo Way isn't a simple person. It would be better if you approached this matter with greater caution. My sincere advice is that you observe the situation carefully before intervening recklessly."

Those measured words quickly doused Karmin's swelling rage. With a calmer state of mind, Karmin left the room while throwing out a few instructions at Callum.

Callum then led Guy towards his new workspace.

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