Henry blinked… staring at the familiar ceiling, it was the room where he had lived in throughout his college life, he had a few happy memories here… like cuddling up with his ex-girlfriend and playing cards with a few friends, however those were pretty distant now.
The ceiling had a water stain shaped vaguely like a running dog.
He had memorized every crack and every discoloration over the past several months of staring up at it from this very spot, willing himself to find some reason to get up and face another day.
Most mornings, he succeeded and some mornings it took a while. This morning was one of the latter ones.
He lifted up his phone which was connected to a beat-up power bank, the room was pretty dark.
The curtains which were cheap ones he'd bought from a discount bin in his first year did a surprisingly good job of blocking out the morning sun.
He had held back on paying his light bill until his pay from convenience store work came in so he was managing this for now.
Managing… That word had become the cornerstone of his entire existence lately.
"I hope I at least got an interview…" He muttered under his breath as he checked his emails, squinting against the harsh brightness of the screen.
His thumb hovered over the inbox icon for just a moment longer than necessary. That brief hesitation was the only prayer he allowed himself these days and it was there.
[Dear Applicant Henry Mercer,
We regret to inform you that due to unforeseen circumstances within our industry, we are unable to proceed with your application at this time. The jewelry industry has undergone significant changes in recent months and we find ourselves in a position where we must prioritize our existing team members. We sincerely hope you understand and wish you the very best in your future endeavors. We have no doubt that a candidate of your caliber will find suitable placement elsewhere.]
Mid-way through the email, he just dropped the phone back and turned over on his bed… It was truly over.
He lay there for a long moment, staring at the wall instead of the ceiling for a change... The change of scenery didn't help.
AI had stolen his job!
For the past few years, the jewelry industry had been quite a hit in the world and it was guaranteed that if you finished with a very good resume, that you would get a paying job.
Henry had also liked designing too which was one of the reasons he had gotten into it… and he graduated not too long ago, his resume was amazing and he had immediately gotten a paying apprenticeship program for one of the World's famous jewelry houses.
He remembered how he had called his mother that evening and how she had cried happy tears over the phone… His father had said quietly and with great dignity, that he was proud of him. That had meant more than anything.
However one week after, everything was in dismay, he didn't know how it was possible but AI had taken over the jewelry industry… the government had released an AI capable of generating amazing jewelry designs and they were fed into 3D printers, producing flawless pieces of jewelry without a single human hand needed.
The AI didn't need breaks… It didn't need a salary and it didn't make mistakes. It worked through the night and delivered designs by morning that would have taken a skilled craftsman days to produce.
There was nothing romantic about it but nobody seemed to care about that when the price tag was a tenth of what handcrafted work cost.
At first the people had said they wouldn't, but when a few famous celebrities here and there were doing the same thing… it was normal that the rest would follow, not to mention how far cheaper it was than hand-made, the jewelry business that had been relatively big in this world was snuffed out in an instant… the sheer decrease and everything forced several companies into bankruptcy somehow, the house that wanted to take him was down for the count and even releasing their workers and the few houses remaining were very strict with their hiring and he had been rejected by a vast majority of them.
To get hired now, one needed to have a very exceptional resume and that was something he didn't have.
Henry stood up from the bed and slowly walked to the door, there was an envelope that had been forced through the bottom of the door.
He opened it and gulped.
[NOTICE OF EVICTION
To: Henry Mercer
Unit 4B, Halcyon Apartments
You are hereby notified that you have failed to pay three (3) months of outstanding rent totaling $3,450. You are required to vacate the premises no later than seven (7) days from the date of this notice or face legal proceedings. Should you wish to discuss a payment arrangement, contact the property management office immediately.
Regards,
Halcyon Property Management]
He dropped the envelope in the trash can and walked back to his bed. It landed with a soft thud… it was too light for something that carried that much weight.
Three months… He wasn't even sure where three months had gone. Each one had blurred into the next, a monotonous cycle of job applications, rejections, and convenience store shifts that smelled like burnt coffee and floor wax.
"I don't know what to do…" He muttered under his breath, his parents had stopped supporting him as well and his current work wouldn't cover up anything except the light bill. "I'm tired. I really am."
His phone vibrated and he wondered if it was a status update from his ex.
He usually viewed her Instagram status where she was living her best life in clubs and whatnot in Dubai… He was happy for her, not about the fact she had cheated on him though. That part still stung.
But it wasn't that notification, it was another one.
「Want a job? Come work at the Smith in Grandell, tap the notification if you're interested」
He looked at the notification, it was pretty bland which was very unlike these scam notifications which usually looked presentable at least.
'Well, what if it really is a job?' He thought, but work at a smith? In Grandell? Where was that…? Somewhere in the states?
However, he had nothing to lose so he tapped it and the moment he did, the world around him grew black as if he was being swallowed…
The force of the black world shattered his windows and door, burning through his bed and everything in the room creating a fire in the apartment building.
…
"Uhh…" He gritted his teeth as he appeared in the middle of a place where he had never seen before.
It was a room that seemed very dusty with a dusty pair of windows as well and the building was also longer, he was just standing somewhere that seemed like the Receptionist's table.
"I feel very different." He muttered under his breath as he looked down at his hand, he was muscular? His hands were a bit veiny and it was clear that this wasn't his body.
On Earth, his hands had been slender… They were after all the hands of someone who worked with fine tools and delicate settings, not these broad, calloused things that looked like they'd been forged alongside the weapons they were meant to make.
He flexed his fingers experimentally. They responded instantly, with a kind of strength that felt foreign and natural all at once.
He turned around and faced a mirror, catching himself in it.
He was a handsome black haired man with golden eyes and was currently wearing some kind of apron… he was pretty taller too like 6'2? He couldn't quite estimate it.
He leaned closer to the mirror, studying the face that was and wasn't his… He had a sharp jaw and a few old scars across the knuckles.
The golden eyes were striking like polished coins catching firelight.
"No way… you're telling me I reincarnated or something?" He asked with wide eyes, he had read a few web novels and manga as well as manhwa recommended by his friends while he was still in college and he couldn't believe that he had been reincarnated too.
Back then it had seemed like the most fun fantasy possible… falling into another world, getting superpowers, and starting fresh.
Funny how the reality of it hit differently when you were actually standing in a stranger's body in a dusty room with no idea what year it was or what language everyone outside was speaking.
「Ding!」
The chime sounded in the air and he realized that he had a System too… System novels were one of the most overdone things, however when reincarnating, one had to be sure to have a System?
Who in the hell wanted to be stuck in another world without a helper…?
「Welcome to the world of Grandell, where magic and monsters exist」
「You have received a new Mission: Turn the Broken Hammer smithy into the best smithy within the Kingdom」
"Broken Hammer Smithy?" He asked as he looked at the ceiling, there was a broken hammer insignia on the ceiling and the name: Broken Hammer Smithy was there.
It seemed that this was the place. "I should turn it into the best Smith in the Kingdom?"
Smiths were people that made weapons in the fantasy world, this was a smithy that wasn't even cleaned… neither did it have any current weapons or anything like that, it was a completely run-down place.
「To aid in your new life, you have received SSS-Rank Skill: Divine Crafting. To see your skills, Say 'Skills' with your mouth or in your thoughts」
He swallowed, an SSS-Rank Skill was crazy… but he guessed this was good, if he had ever reincarnated into a fantasy world, he wanted to lead a life without stress and although this would be a bit stressful, he would rather do this than raid dungeons.
Who wanted to willingly risk their life like that? Besides… crafting was the one thing that had never felt like work to him.
Even on Earth, even when everything collapsed around the industry, he had never once regretted the hours he'd poured into his designs. If anything, this felt right in a way that surprised him.
「You have received a new Side-Quest: Prepare your Smithy」
「Mission #1: Check the receptionist table」
「Reward: 50 SP」
He faced the table and looked at it… right on top of the table was some sort of folded letter and an ID card next to it.
It really looked like his eviction notice and it made him shiver; however he picked up the ID first and looked at it.
「Name: Dorian Harwick」
「Age: 21」
「Profession: Level 1 Blacksmith」
"Dorian Harwick?" He raised an eyebrow, he hadn't received the memories of this Dorian so he wouldn't know at all but it sounded like a cool name. "So this is my official ID card?"
「Affirmative… Before smithing, the customer will ask for your ID card. A way to increase your rank would be to craft a weapon or artifact of a higher rank.」
'With my SSS-Rank skill… it should be very doable.' He thought.
Next he opened the letter and tore out the seal, it looked luxurious and he pulled out a letter.
[To my son, Dorian Harwick,
I will not mince words with you as I have never been a man who tolerates foolishness. Your behavior these past years has been a disgrace to the Harwick name. The drinking, the women, the squandering of opportunity after opportunity… I have had enough.
You are hereby removed from consideration as my heir. However, as you are still my blood, I am not without mercy. I have arranged for you to take ownership of a smithy in the outer districts. It is modest, rundown, and exactly what a young man of your poor discipline deserves.
Enclosed is a storage ring containing ten gold coins… enough to get you started and nothing more. What you do with it is your own affair. Either compose yourself and build something worthy of the Harwick name, or waste away in obscurity. The choice, as always, is yours.
— Hadel Harwick, Merchant Lord of the Eastern Trade Routes]
'So in other words… the original body was a womanizer and was abandoned as well?' He thought, that didn't look like a happy thing at all… it was pretty similar to when his parents had done the same for him as he wore the storage ring. 'Poor guy.'
「Ding! Mission has been completed and you have received 50SP」
「Mission #2: Go outside and look at your smith」
「Reward: 50 SP」
Dorian didn't waste any time, he opened the door and walked outside, climbing down the steps and turning around… it was next to several shops and looked good from the outside, well except for the dusty ground.
Just as he did that, an old man approached him. He was a short, round fellow with a weathered face full of deep lines and kind eyes, leaning heavily on a gnarled walking stick that had clearly seen more years than most men.
"Oi brat, are you the owner of this place?" He asked as he used a walking stick.
"Yes." Dorian said.
The Old man smiled, looking him up and down with a good eye.
"I'm glad to see someone that's here, however you might have to reconsider changing positions… you're very near to the Divine Hand Blacksmith, you won't get any customers like this." He said it plainly.
"I see." Dorian said. "I just bought this place so I can't move yet, I'll have to manage."
"I understand, your place is quite dusty… why don't you hire a person from the Cleanse Mage Services for a few silvers?" He suggested. "Save your back for the forge work."
"Cleanse mage?"
"Yes, they use cleaning magic to clean dirty places. It's good for big places like this." The Old man said and he nodded, there was no way he was going to use his own hands to clean this whole place.
He had ten gold coins and a legendary crafting skill… spending a few silvers on cleaning magic was practically strategic.
"Alright, if you have some-"
The old man began walking away quickly with his walking stick, moving with surprising speed for someone who'd just been leaning on it like a crutch.
"I'll come back with one immediately…"
As he walked off, Dorian looked at the horizon and could see steam billowing into the air… It was probably from this Divine Hands smith.
A competitor, then and a well-established one at that. Any ordinary person would have turned around and gone home right then, well it wasn't like he could go home either.
"I think I can really succeed in this new world…" He muttered under his breath.