Chapter 8: Apprenticeship

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Early the next morning, Rollin arrived at the Butcher’s shabby house at the appointed time.

Just as he was about to knock on the door, it was opened. The Butcher called Rollin into the room.

He took out a talisman from the shabby cabinet and handed it to him. This was the identity token that every poor person in Melville had.

“I spent a long time to get this identity token for you. You have to be careful and keep it!”

Rollin was a little touched when he received the identity token.

He looked up at the Butcher, not knowing why he was doing this.

Seeing Rollin’s puzzled expression, the Butcher immediately explained, “The main purpose of bringing you to the city today is to introduce you to a weapon forging craftsman!”

“From now on, you will go to the city to learn forging and become an outstanding craftsman!”

“Don’t be like me, always staying in the commoner district and doing these shady things!”

Hearing this, Rollin was almost moved to tears. He did not expect this man in front of him to actually do so many things for him.

“But!”

Rollin wanted to say something, but was quickly interrupted by him.

“I know you still have people around you, but they are hidden well!”

“You go and study, and you can come back every day. There’s nothing to worry about.”

Hearing this, Rollin extended his hand to check the talisman in his arms.

Following the Butcher’s broken carriage, the two quickly left the slums and came to the city.

Other than the slums, the Melville Empire’s residential areas were also divided into three levels!

They were first-class commoners, second-class commoners, and third-class commoners. After that, they needed to be appreciated by the higher-ups before they could be promoted.

On the other hand, Rollin received a plate with the words ‘second-class’ carved on it. This was already quite an impressive status. It allowed him to freely move around in the streets outside of nobility.

It also allowed him to enjoy a lot of study privileges.

Library, workshop, study, and so on…

The carriage traveled on the streets for about an hour before they arrived at the entrance of a very large forging workshop.

They could feel the hot air surging inside even before they entered.

After listening to the carriage carefully, the Butcher brought Rollin to the office next to the workshop.

He knocked on the door and heard a deep male voice. “Come in!”

After entering, he could see an elderly man working at the desk.

“Yo! Garcia Ward, long time no see, you’re still alive!”

Hearing the old man’s words, the Butcher immediately retorted, “You’re not dead, so how can I die in front of you!?”

After chatting for a while, the old man looked at Rollin and found that this boy’s muscles seemed to be more developed than the average person’s.

“Do you want him to forge weapons under me?”

“Of course! You can see that this is a good seedling!”

The old man circled around Rollin, then used his own hand to pinch Rollin’s chest muscles and arms.

“En! Not bad, he has a lot of potential. How old is he now?”

“He’s 16 this year!”

Hearing this, the old man immediately patted Rollin’s shoulder and praised, “En! Okay, okay.”

Then, he turned around and chatted with the Butcher. “I’ll take this child!”

“I knew you had good taste. This is my favorite kid. You have to treat him well.”

Then, the two of them left Rollin alone in the office.

The white-haired old man led the Butcher into the room next door.

“Garcia Ward, are you done for?”

The Butcher smiled. “Don’t call me by that name. I’m really letting you down!”

The old man patted the Butcher’s shoulder and comforted him. “Hey! It’s been so many years. You still remember it in your heart? Isn’t it already over?”

“What’s this little guy’s name?”

“His name is Rollin. He’s a kid I picked up in the slums. I’ll leave him to you from now on!”

As he said that, the Butcher knelt down in front of him.

“You should know that I don’t have many days left!”

The old man turned his back and was silent for a long time, as if he was recalling the past.

Seeing that he did not turn around, the Butcher remained kneeling on the ground without moving.

“When you were still my disciple back then, I told you that you were my last disciple. However, because too many things happened, you became what you are now.”

“Since you are about to die, I will make an exception and take him under my command. You can go to the other world with peace of mind!”

“I will discipline him on your behalf!”

Hearing this, the Butcher heavily kowtowed three times on the ground.

After about half an hour, the two walked out of the room with solemn expressions on their faces.

The person walked up to Rollin and said to him, “My name is Aurelia Dupont, and I’m a Master Craftsman. Today, I plan to take you in as my disciple!”

Hearing this, Rollin immediately knelt down and paid his respects.

“Alright, get up!”

“In the next few days, when you’re done with your work, come and report!”

“You’re still young. There’s no need for you to be in such a hurry to learn. Let’s talk about it after you’ve experienced your youth for a period of time!”

Rollin didn’t know why this old man was so generous to him and was so easy to talk to, but in his heart, he knew that it was all the Butcher’s help behind the scenes.

Seeing that Rollin was in a daze, the Butcher slapped him on the back.

“Hurry up and thank Master!”

“Yes, thank you, Master!”

After everything was over, Master Aurelia Dupont also gave Rollin a bag of gold coins in advance.

Rollin originally wanted to refuse, but was quickly rejected by him and told him that he would need the money during this period of time.

Puzzled, Rollin put the gold coins into his pocket.

When he left the forging workshop, it was already evening. The Butcher brought him to a small tavern.

This small tavern was very lively. Many thin women were dancing on the stage in the middle.

The Butcher went directly to the bar counter and said to the bartender, “Give me twice the spiciest!”

Hearing this, the bartender raised his head and smiled, then began to mix the wine.

Soon, two cups of red liquid appeared in front of Rollin, and the Butcher pushed the cups in front of him.

“Kid, you’re an adult now!”

“This cup of wine celebrates that you’re an adult now!”

“Cheers!”

The two of them clinked their glasses and drank it in one gulp. The red liquid was very spicy.

After Rollin drank it, he immediately felt a burning sensation in his throat. However, his physique quickly helped him to resist the burning pain.

The Butcher saw that Rollin was fine, so he ordered a few glasses consecutively.

He did not know how many glasses he had drunk. He only stopped when he knew that Rollin’s consciousness was a little blurry.

The Butcher, who was beside him, shouted at him, “The night has just begun, you brat! Cheer up!”