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"Robert, it's the 21st century. You can't make a living with traditional blacksmithing anymore."
In the forge, filled with blistering heat, his girlfriend, Lisa, teased the sweat-drenched young man.
"It hones my focus, calms me down, and keeps me fit,"
Robert replied in all seriousness, striking the red-hot piece of metal with his hammer and sending a shower of sparks flying.
His family had been a renowned line of blacksmiths for generations, and he had inherited the craft. However, in this modern, technologically advanced age, steel-forged melee weapons had lost their original purpose, becoming little more than collector's items.
The blacksmithing profession rapidly declined. Aside from a few hyped-up Master Forgers, most families of blacksmiths had moved on to other trades.
Take him, for example. He was currently a graduate student in computer science at Oxford University—a world away from his family's blacksmithing legacy.
