Reborn in another world as a Hermaphrodite

"Now, this is the part that could only be done through experience. Just watch carefully what I do here."

As all three of the kids laser focus on the dwarf's hand, he begins to remove the mold with a metal tong.

The moment the case and mold were separated, the solidified spade-shaped metal was once again revealed with its red hot color.

Taking the hammer on the side, the dwarf started hitting the metal as he held it in place with the metal tong.

With every hit, they could feel the impact, and the heat still radiated as tiny pieces of metal started falling to the side.

"A shovel must have a good curvature, but since it's still red hot, you don't want to overdo it.

The liquids earlier speed up the solidification process, which is why I could just keep hitting it like this."

As the metal spade began to bend, it soon resembled the end tip of a shovel.

"When we get the shape that we wanted, we can submerge it into this pool of liquid instead."

As the dwarf submerged it into the liquid, it quickly caught on fire before it suddenly stopped completely.

"What's these two liquids?" Sophia curiously asked.

"The first one is brine or saltwater, and the second one is heavy oil... Remember to not leave it for too long."

The moment the dwarf took out the metal with his tongs, the metal spade quickly caught on fire before it died down on its own.

"Lastly, we just submerge it into this liquid, and it is all done."

Within seconds, the black liquid stuck on the metal spade, and the flame vanished.

"What's this liquid?"

"It's just a basic solvent... Have they learned chemistry?" The dwarf curiously asked as he started scrubbing it with a towel.

"Not yet. They will learn it in their next school year," Katherine replied as she wiped the sweat off her forehead.

"I see... Ahem, anyway, now we're officially one last step before it can become officially a tool."

The dwarf headed over to the side before grabbing a piece of wood and another pair of metal tongs.

"To make sure it doesn't rust, you apply a layer of protective oil like this and let it dry.

Then just attach the wooden handle to the end here and a nail through this gap, and it's all done."

As the dwarf attached everything, all three of the kids were amazed by the shovel before them.

"Blacksmithing is a lot harder than I imagined," Mary murmured, feeling exhausted from just watching.

"It's hard work that's not meant for everyone... Which one of you guys wants to try it out?"

As all three of the kids looked at each other, Mary shook her head first, leaving Alex and Sophia looking at each other.

"I think I'm good."

With Sophia out, the dwarf turned his attention over to Alex, who was still conflicted a little inside.

He wanted to do it, but he was a little scared by the flames and strength required.

"You want to try it? I promise you will find it much more fun than you would imagine."

"Sure. I can try my best."

As the dwarf walked all the way back to the start, he handed him a pair of gloves before pointing at the stones.

"Do you want to do this yourself, or have me go over it step by step?" The dwarf asked as Alex picked up a few pieces of stone.

"I think I can do it myself... But please point out if I did something wrong."

The dwarf nodded, allowing Alex to begin loading the stone into the first machine's mouth.

As the container closed, he quickly put both of his hands on the lever, pushing it down as hard as he could.

"Use your back muscles. Don't just try to push it down with your arm."

Alex took a small step back, giving him just enough space to spread his arm more.

The lever instantly became much easier to pull down as he could feel the strain on his back muscle now.

"Ugh! This thing is so damn hard to push." Alex complained as he finally pushed it all the way down.

"You want me to help——"

"No, I can do this myself."

As Alex rejected Katherine's offer to assist directly, he began to attempt to pull it back up.

However, the lever wasn't moving a single inch, causing him to start panicking as he pulled with full strength.

Even as he bit his lips and tried to use every possible step, the step did not move up at all.

"You two, you want to help your brother?"

Within seconds, Sophia and Mary instantly accepted the dwarf's suggestion as they quickly walked up to Alex.

This time, Alex didn't reject the help, realizing his strength was nowhere near enough to make the lever move.

"Listen when I say go. 3, 2, 1, go!"

All three of them pulled up at the same time, managing to finally make it move all the way back to their forehead.

"Now pull it up and down until it's done."

"3, 2, 1, go!"

As Alex yelled out loud, all three of them repeated what they had done together earlier, but to push it down this time.

The three soon used to the pattern, as Alex didn't even need to say anything to make them push and pull.

After repeating it five times, it was finally done as the machine's mouth opened back up again.

"Okay, now you have to carry it to the next part."

Fortunately, the next part was much easier, as the metal box wasn't very heavy.

Alex easily carried it to the glass case and poured it into the same mold that the dwarf had used earlier.

"Wait, don't touch the mold with your hand. Your glove is not enough for this part."

The dwarf quickly handed Alex a metal tong and let him use it to remove the mold from the case.

As he dipped it into the brine, he counted two seconds inside his head before taking it out into the air.

After repeating it at the exact time as the dwarf's attempt, Alex quickly carried it over to the anvil.

With the two tongs in hand, he started separating the metal spade and the mold into two pieces.

"Good job. You are doing great. Now, this is the hard part that requires the most stamina."

Having the metal spade in his hand, Alex accepted the hammer from the dwarf and began hitting it lightly first.

"Wrong angle. You have to hit more from the side here."

Alex quickly readjusted, using much more strength this time as he now knew where to hit.

However, after hitting one side of the spade into the shape that looked just about right, his arm was already exhausted.

With no other choice, he held the hammer with his left hand and hit it until he was exhausted.

But it was still nowhere near enough curvature, and he soon realized the other side that he had finished was not as good as he imagined either.

"Alex, it's good enough," Luqing murmured, looking a little concerned for him.

"I'm fine."

After a few more hits, Alex finally stopped as both of his arms were way too exhausted to hit any further.

"I'm done. My arms are burnt out."

As Alex stepped back, Mary quickly stepped up before the dwarf could take over.

"Can I try it?" Mary excitedly asked.

"Sure."

With the hammer in hand, Mary began copying Alex's work and gave it a wide swing every time.

She soon became exhausted from just hitting it ten times, with her other arm lasting even shorter.

"You want to try?" The dwarf asked as he looked over to Sophia.

"Um... Sure."

Unlike the other two, Sophia took a much softer approach, opting to have a smaller swing as the hammer hit the metal spade.

After repeating it several times, Sophia stopped as she felt the metal was in the right shape.

"Is this good enough?"

"You three did a great job for a beginner... What's your two's name again?"

The dwarf asked as he took over the metal process to apply a layer of oil protection.

"Mary!"

"Sophia."

"Nice to meet you three... Anyway, you three had finished the most basic level of blacksmithing here."

"Thank you so much."

Katherine bowed down in gratitude as she could feel the dedication from the dwarf's teaching.

"Thank you!"

All three of the kids bowed down in gratitude as well, causing the dwarf to blush a little as he scratched his head.

"No need for all this... I'm sure anyone in Ironpeak wouldn't mind teaching good students like you guys."

As the dwarf began guiding the six of them back to the front, they were finally able to remove their masks and gloves.

"There must be a way for me to repay you for this wonderful experience for my kids——"

"Just buy one of the tools, and I'll be happy."