Blacksmith vs. the System 46-50

— Chapter 46

“Time to return,” I said to myself serenely, and started walking back.

Of course, I knew it was not true acceptance. However, once the heat from the realization was gone, I was able to put it back into the pile of things I would deal with in the future. It was a big disaster, one that could potentially change the world, but it wasn’t something I could deal with blindly.

And, the first step was to confirm that it was actually the situation. Admittedly, studying it wouldn’t have been too easy. Even the simplest experiment I could think of, which was to give two groups some kind of tricky problem that was disguised as an IQ test, required me to access at least a hundred people, and hold experiments in two different locations.

Observing the new town was not an option, as there were too many variables to come to a conclusion. Maybe if I had the data from at least a hundred new towns, and a proper computer to process it —

“Not the time,” I said. While it was tempting to spend the next month coming up with fascinating observation methodologies that might solve my issue, it would have been ultimately counterproductive. Even the cheapest setup I could envision required a lot of money to run. More importantly, it would have been too obvious.

There was one important question about the peace fields: Whether they were intentionally there to control the society, or if that was just a side effect. As much as I wanted to dismiss the first option as a crazy conspiracy theory, I couldn’t. And, until I could, I didn’t have the luxury of experimenting freely.

I was even happier that I hid my Mana Forge and Mana Repair after this revelation.

Instead, I needed to use the opportunity to experiment with environmental mana. We wouldn’t stay here for long, and I had already wasted most of my time. It would be even more annoying if Eleanor wrapped up her business with Rosie.

Luckily, I could always use the excuse of getting inspired about sword technique if she was angry. It should mollify her.

Meanwhile, I found a nice concealed corner, leaned against a rock wall, and started using Meditation to gather mana.

To my surprise, it was slower than using the monster parts to refill my mana. Considerably so, but it didn’t take long for me to understand the reason. I barely ran the technique for a minute before the Mana density around me had dropped considerably.

That hadn’t been a problem with the monster parts. I could always shatter more.

I stayed like that, absorbing more and more mana, while the density around me continued to drop. Reaching back up to three digits took more than fifteen minutes. There were certain ways to increase Mana density, that much was common knowledge, but guessing how effective they would be was something else.

”Alright, that explains why mages don’t stick around in small towns,” I said. That fact alone had changed multiple plans I had about my future. However, that didn’t mean my experimentation was over. Instead, I broke a few silver coins even as I dug a pit and snapped a few branches.

I was just about to reflexively reach into my pocket when I remembered I had a more convenient way of creating fire. And, casting a spell was faster than slowly releasing it back.

I raised my hand, ready to lose a hundred mana.

[-68 Mana]

“Alright, that was interesting,” I muttered even as I noticed the relatively small drop in the number. But, I didn’t need to think about the reason.

Even as the spell was in progress, it started pulling Mana from the environment as well, faster than I could manage with my meditation. Not only that, the spell had actually gathered faster, almost four seconds rather than full five.

Interesting concept.

It also explained why they couldn’t defend the town with Maria. I had assumed that it had been just the cost of Mana regeneration items, but clearly, it was also about resource efficiency and casting speed.

“Ignore the implications,” I said even as I threw the broken silver coins into the fire and melted them, and bled on them with my Health, followed it with mana.

[-85 Health]

[-9 Mana]

“It doesn’t work,” I muttered even as I had attempted a few times. But, the same experiment that had allowed me to create a Mana alloy for the first time didn’t work when there was some Mana in the atmosphere.

Even following the System recipes were harder, forcing me to isolate the environmental mana. It was doable, but even that was slower. An environment without external interference was much better.

I stayed in the concealed spot for one more minute, draining my remaining Mana in the form of a Mana Blow. For that, environmental Mana had no impact. Mana simply stuck around the blade until it lost its cohesion.

I practiced until I had made enough progress to support the excuse for my sudden inspiration.

[Stalwart Guard (Uncommon) 73 -> 76]

Then, I paused, thinking if there was any other experiment I needed to run. I did not.

But, I had an observation I wanted to make. On the way back, I drifted near one of the farms that supplied the town with most of its fresh produce.

“Hey, this is private property,” someone warned as I walked toward the nearest tree.

“Don’t make a big deal. I’m feeling peckish,” I said. He looked ready to fight, but when I flipped a silver coin his way, he was quick to change his attitude.

I went to the nearest tree, and snapped an apple. Meanwhile, I just wanted to examine the tree from close up. The tree was draining some Mana from the environment. Very slowly, probably not amounting to more than a point every hour, but looking carefully, the movement was clear.

A stronger evidence was the greenhouses deeper into the farm. Unlike open fields, they had multiple guards around them, who wouldn’t have appreciated my presence, no doubt. However, I didn’t need to get closer. Even from a distance, I could see the way Mana gathered toward the building.

They likely had some kind of enchantment to increase Mana density.

Of course, I watch not just the greenhouses, but also the way some of the night workers operated, trying to get a better sense of the process of farming. I didn’t learn anything other than Mana also playing a significant role in farming, but it was a good exchange for a silver coin.

Also, the apple was delicious.

When I reached the door, the guards didn’t allow me inside because of the curfew. I could have mentioned Eleanor’s name and entered, but it made a good excuse for my disappearance, so I just shrugged and walked back.

While I didn’t think I could avoid stepping into another peace field forever, I didn’t want to do that. Not before I could properly process the realization that I had been magically drugged for years. Though, the scariest thing had been the effects.

And, how easy it had been to excuse any stupid decision, staying in the town and working obediently, waiting for a convenient break rather than doing everything I could.

Of course, it wasn’t some kind of fear that kept me away. I knew that, after three years of exposure, another night wouldn’t be harmful. However, going back into the town also meant talking with Rosie.

And, that woman was far too sharp to deal with such a thing.

I wanted to browse some of the Basic and Common skills I wanted, and maybe purchase a few of them, but it wasn’t critical enough to force myself. For once, I decided to be lazy and indulgent, rather than being drugged to behave so.

While waiting for her, I pulled my sword once more to practice, this time without killing the monsters. It was still more relaxing than calming exercises and ordinary meditation. I hated sitting around doing nothing.

Eleanor returned almost an hour later, and when she did, I was much calmer. “Hey, where were you?” she asked.

“Sorry, I know I was supposed to be joining you, but I had been hit by a sudden bit of inspiration,” I said, trying my best to sound excited. “It increased by three whole points, reaching seventy-six.”

Luckily, Eleanor was far more excited about the prospect to question the tone of my voice. “Wow, that’s amazing news!”

I was strangely glad when she drew her sword and charged at me, and we started sparring. It was even better than practicing, as it forced me to focus fully. We sparred for almost twenty minutes before she reluctantly pulled back. “I still have a meeting at the camp about the construction of the second layer of the town. We need to go back,” she said.

“Alright,” I said. “How was the meeting?”

“Typical, filled with more bean counting than I’m happy with; but we do what we must,” she said.

“And, how did Rosie react to my situation?”

“She didn’t,” Eleanor replied, which surprised me. “Since you didn’t come, I assumed you changed your mind about revealing that to her. We can go back and tell her if you want.”

“It’s not really that important,” I said. “We can always meet the next time.”

“But, it means that you flew for nothing. I know how you … don’t like flying.”

“That’s true,” I said, amused by her attempt to tiptoe around my almost crippling fear of flying. “But still, I benefited from the visit more than I expected. It’s worth it.”

“You’re right. Three points of proficiency in a couple of hours, particularly when it reaches seventies, is no joke. It’s worth a little distress.”

It was not what I meant, but I wouldn’t have corrected that even if I wasn’t intentionally trying to mislead her. Instead, I joined her on the griffin.

For the first time in my life, I was actually looking forward to flying. Any distraction from the shocking revelation was welcome.

*****

— Chapter 47

When the next morning arrived, I moved down the dungeon with a renewed passion, dragging the cart with me at full speed, not even slowing down by anything but the giant monsters. I left the smaller ones behind.

I didn’t even sleep a wink after my revelation, still trying to process the potential implications of the peace field. A naive part of me was telling me to reveal the truth to the public and trust people. Luckily, that part had been battered even before the Calamity, so it was easy to silence.

Of course, the real reason I was able to silence it was having a better path, unlike pre-Calamity world, where trying to convince the masses to support me so that I could start working on the problem, with vague hopes of finding definite evidence to prove my conclusion was my only option.

Which then would have triggered a decade long political battle where utterly idiotic politicians mangled the truth just to score cheap points.

The System offered an alternative: personal power.

“Talk about an unhealthy coping mechanism,” I muttered as I killed yet another monster that stumbled right onto my path, and stopped next to the forge, which was still on the third floor. I dropped everything there, changed to my silver anti-corrosion set, and passed through the gate, ready for a fight.

A fight that hadn’t arrived yet. The monsters circled the tree line I had created, looking agitated — or at least, that was what I assumed was something like anger, insects were not exactly easy to read — as they circled the tree line, appearing right at the edge of the expanded range provided by the trees.

However, they were closer to the bodies of the tree than they were the day before, which meant that the effect might be temporary or include other limitations.

“Still, even if it’s temporary, a forge could be set on the fourth floor. It’s just a matter of picking a nice spot,” I said, speaking to myself.

But, that meant that I needed to make a decision. The spot on the third floor was more than enough as long as I wanted to use it as a personal forge. I had already forged everything I needed, and even if I wanted to improve something, I could keep the forge buried until I decided to do so, along with the chopped wood from the temporary plantation.

Temporarily, it was alright to keep it on the third floor, but once the town had reached its full capability, things would be different. Sooner or later, someone would want to scope the area and see if there was something useful.

Which meant that I couldn’t keep my forge out in the open, let alone expanding it further to produce more equipment. Which, I needed if I ever to make enough money to purchase more expensive skills and help others grow.

Technically, I could set a forge somewhere else. Finding a nice cave or another spot in the wilderness to set a forge was an option, so was setting one up under the guild’s name, but both options had problems. Setting one in the wilderness would mean that the logistics would become more of a challenge. Meanwhile, one under the guild would have spies poking around it sooner or later.

In comparison, having one on the fourth floor had neither of those problems. The only challenge was to bring metal inside, but even that could be solved by melting the rocks with iron content I had detected. Collecting them would be a hassle, but not to the same degree as trying to smuggle a few tons of metal inside.

Even my cart trick wouldn’t be sustainable once the scale reached a high enough level. Luckily, silver was much easier to smuggle, as the alloy still required a relatively tiny amount.

“That means I need to discover a spot rich in iron,” I said. Inspect Perk from Repair could be used to examine rocks to see their metal content as long as they had more than a certain percent, and a quick test showed that Observe was even better.

Unfortunately, it required a touch … or did it? I couldn’t help but remember the way Maria used Identify, with a line of Mana stretching toward the target.

“Maybe I could replicate it,” I said as I quickly forged myself several thin silver-iron tubes, trying to expand the sense of Repair. To my surprise, it worked, but after six feet, the amount of details I could get started to drop significantly.

“Excellent,” I said even as I started expanding the test, creating a tube as thick as my thumb, with a hollow center, which was the limit of getting any kind of detail.

I heard the existence of skills for this exact purpose. Unfortunately, all but the Basic one required Perception, and I doubted the Basic version was worth the attention the purchase of it would bring. I might change my mind if I couldn’t find anything for the next two days, but for the moment, I decided to limit myself to my newfound solution.

If I could find a decent iron deposit on the fourth floor, everything would be dandy. If not, I could decide which strategy would be the better option.

However, as I pulled my trick, I couldn’t help but wonder if I could use Observe on the movement of Mana, trying to get a better sense of what was going on. All I would need to do was to create a thinner tube and push the Mana through it.

It wouldn’t come close to being perfect, but anything was better than the fizzled perception I had. While Essence allowed me to sense it, the Mana was more like a blob with fuzzy edges.

Hardly enough to make a judgment.

I was tempted to push that on top of my to-do list. To start understanding the secrets of Mana was just that important. Unfortunately, there were a lot of things to do, including finding an alloy that interacted with Mana the way I wanted it to.

That alone was a task that might potentially take days, not to mention it was hardly the only challenge in my plan.

“Focus on setting up the logistics first,” I muttered even as I grabbed the thin tube, and pushed it to the ground. I didn’t fear it breaking, as Mana alloys were extremely strong.

Just to see if there was any possible deposit, I spent twenty minutes checking the third floor, but I wasn’t able to find any. If there was, it was either in a deeper spot, or more localized.

Then, I went to the fourth floor, and started using the stick every ten steps, covering the area around the gate. I wanted to understand the nature of the area, but in the process, I discovered that the depths of the dungeon had a limited amount of iron.

It wasn’t high, less than a percent. It meant, a pound of iron would require more than a hundred pound of ores, and that assumed I could extract all of it. However, it was still good news. Especially since I carefully went through the entire area, and discovered two types of underground plants that reminded me of potatoes, and a new type of dungeon crystal.

A new type of crystal represented the possibility of developing new alloys, making it incredibly valuable for my purposes. And, while the underground plants weren’t immediately valuable, the fact that they were able to survive in the weird environment of the bog was promising enough. I could potentially use these new plants to push my Nurture skill further even if I couldn’t find any use for them.

I put them in the sample bag before I started moving once more.

Once I left the protective field of the trees, I picked a direction, started the exciting life of mineral prospecting, interrupted by waves and waves of monsters, enough to raise a lot of people to a new level. “Nice,” I muttered as I found my first inferior deposit, which contained a mere five percent iron density. I quickly dug a pit there, mostly as a signpost so I wouldn’t miss it, and continued to go deeper.

Once again, half a mile later, the dungeon door disappeared behind the mist. I pushed half a mile more just in case before I returned, and started repeating the same thing from a different angle. Ideally, I wanted to set up the forge where the dungeon gate wasn’t visible.

The harder it was to discover, the better.

I walked back and forth, killing monsters in the process. However, even as I spent half a day killing giant monsters, there wasn’t a level up, nor was I able to discover any usable skills. I still piled them on top of each other, trying to get Rare skills, but I either got ones that were incomprehensible, or I got another Rare Nurture.

Still, I continued. It was a tedious task, but persistence was a virtue. And, I didn’t want to settle on that deposit with five percent content. Especially since it was already close enough to the gate, which made it a troubling target.

Then, I discovered a nice rocky outcropping, one that would be more defensible than anywhere else. I started searching its immediate surroundings more carefully, and soon, I discovered a lovely deposit, one that reached almost ten percent iron content.

“Beautiful,” I said. I knew that such a purity would not be even treated as a mine outside, but I didn’t care. Once again, its value was relative.

My luck must have turned, because one of the skills reacted.

[Skill Stone: Quake Hammer (Rare)]

“Fascinating,” I muttered. Any other skill, I might have delayed absorbing it, afraid whether my Mana trick would be able to push it to the next level, but a Hammer skill was different. With the way it synergized with Forge, I would eventually raise it to its new limit.

It was an excellent test target.

Especially since I had two more skills that were extremely useful for combat.

However, despite my excitement, I still returned to the third floor first. No need to get distracted in the most dangerous spot I could currently access.

[Hammer of Might (Uncommon) 100 -> Quake Hammer (Rare) 1]

*****

— Chapter 48

Once I absorbed the Quake Hammer skill, I didn’t immediately start using it. Instead, I sat down, legs crossed, like I was about to meditate, my hammer on my lap, processing the new set of information the skill had brought about.

Just like Hammer of Might, Quake Hammer was an offensive skill that relied greatly on the concept of one deadly blow, but it left its user open to retaliation if the attack failed. That, I was familiar with from Hammer of Might. Assuming they would have a similar development pattern, the skill would have some defensive maneuvers as it improved, but ultimately, it didn’t matter much.

Because, if needed, I was confident that I could employ Fleeting Step to avoid most of the danger the current dungeon might provide.

Time that I spent running around was paying off.

“First, let's give ordinary practice a whirl,” I said as I stood up, and swung the hammer several times, merely following its suggestions, even though it had many issues that could easily be fixed. Understandable, as among all the techniques I had, Hammer of Might had seen the most use.

Learning was much easier when there was a magical force correcting every mistake one might make, but that wasn’t it. I also had two other techniques for different styles, and learning them had allowed me to understand my new skill even better.

Well, at least as far as how to move my body. The fighting skills used the power from the Stats in a way that defied physics — or, at least, the classical understanding of it — which was not something I was able to learn.

At least, not yet.

“Still, every little bit helps,” I said as I continued attacking the air, doing my best to correct the moves based on my old understanding of Hammer of Might, though I mixed some tricks from my two other styles wherever I deemed appropriate.

As usual, the reward only arrived once I stopped.

[Quake Hammer (Rare) 1 -> 26]

“Fascinating,” I said, but my words weren’t about the improvement. It was certainly welcome, especially since it gave me a better way to improve stronger skills than mere repetition, which meant I wouldn’t be helpless even if the Mana Blow trick stopped functioning as a cheat.

No, my interest was a new attack that had been unlocked. I swung my hammer, targeting the nearest rock. It didn’t break, but shattered.

[-10 Health]

“My first proper attack,” I realized even as I repeated the attack four more times, trying to get a sense of what it was.

It felt like an enhanced version of the Shattering Blow perk, but with additional benefits. The greatest difference was a rush of vitality, wrapping around the hammer head as it landed, giving it an incredible destructive power.

It was similar to Eleanor’s ranged attack, but unlike hers, mine didn’t have the ability to modify the intensity of the blows, or use it as a ranged tool. Whether those features would reveal themselves as I improve the skill, I didn’t know.

Though, if I were the bet, I would have said the first one was far likelier than the second one. A ranged hammer attack didn’t seem intuitive.

But then, it wouldn’t be the first time the System defied common sense. While the attack seemed effective, it wouldn’t be too useful on the fourth floor. I could already kill the giant monsters in one blow, and more importantly, I couldn’t use my Health as a disposable tool down there easily.

I still didn’t have a way to bring food or other things without them degrading in a few minutes.

“Vitality attacks are a problem for the future,” I said even as I moved to my next test, and used a mana blow.

[Quake Hammer (Rare) 26 -> 27]

[-5 Mana]

“Alright, that’s bad,” I said even as I started moving to the forge. While improving one point of skill with one blow seemed like an excellent improvement, the skill was still merely in its twenties. This meant that, for a Rare skill, mana blow wasn’t as much of a cheat as the previous stage.

Meaning, no easy push to the peak unless I found a new method — another experiment I added to the list rather than starting immediately, as it was something I could work on during the night. I just needed to stand in front of the forge while testing the hammer technique.

I decided to use most of the silver I had brought to create a brand new set of foreign equipment instead: tongs, hammers, chisels, two sets of anvils. The small portion, I had left for further experiments. After that, I used the remaining iron to forge a cart made purely of anti-corrosive alloy.

Wasteful, but I had a lot of things to carry around, including trees. I couldn’t simply carry them. After everything had been done, I dug a nice hiding spot that was concealed with a rock, and put the old set there. There was a chance they would be useful.

Then, I created a smaller hiding spot near the gate to put my food, my old equipment, and the other stuff I had to leave on the third floor to protect them until I could find a storage method that protected from the corrosion aura.

Another item for my ever-growing list. “I need a bunch of doctorate students to make them deal with the nonsense —” I started, then reflexively corrected myself as I smiled, remembering how angry the others got when I phrased it like that. “No, give them valuable learning opportunities.”

I sighed wistfully, missing the times I could spend my time locked in a room, working on a particularly tricky model for a month straight. Running around killing monsters and building stuff might be something I turned out to be proficient at — with the System’s extreme help — ultimately, it was not what I desired to accomplish with my life.

I was just doing that to create an environment for my research. Just like how I had to deal with a bunch of old men whenever I needed another grant.

“It’s still better talking to a grant committee,” I growled even as I stepped into the gate. Given the choice, I always preferred a giant army of insect monsters over a grant committee. For one, they had a better personality.

I didn’t drag the cart forward immediately. First, I snapped a healthy looking branch from the tree, and moved toward the spot I picked for my forge.

It died halfway.

“Not good,” I said even as I went back, wondering what to do. I couldn’t simply uproot a tree… could I? Of course, I could also create a line of trees that led directly to the spot, but it would take too much time.

Carrying a tree was easier.

With that in mind, I first went to the forge spot and emptied the cart. I knew the monsters didn’t attack inanimate objects unless their density had reached a certain point. Still, I spent half an hour cleaning its surroundings.

A part of it was collecting the material. I needed the shells from the large beasts to boost the growth of the trees. Also, it gave me a chance to improve my Hammer skill by using the old trick of chaining mana blows.

[Quake Hammer (Rare) - 81]

Unfortunately, even when killing giant monsters, its cheat-like ability started to lose its effectiveness. I could probably push it to a hundred with a week of dedicated effort, but that would be the limit. Of course, for anyone else, that improvement would have been nothing less than a miracle, but for me, it was not worth the effort.

Assuming, of course, the situation didn’t change radically.

However, just because the development had stalled below the old skill didn’t mean that I was unhappy about replacing my old skill. The existence of the Health attack alone would have been worth it, as it opened a brand new research avenue for me.

Then, there was the difference between the Rare and Uncommon skills. Even without the special attack, the Rare skill outperformed my old one significantly.

It was an unexpected benefit to use the hammer skill as a mining tool, but I wasn’t complaining. I dug a bunch of pits, and filled them with broken pieces of shell, and topped it up with my strongest fertilizer mixture. Then, I went back to the giant tree, uprooted it completely and put it on the cart.

Even with my strength, dragging it had been a chore. Luckily, as I dragged it, the monsters avoided me. A good benefit, though not one that was worth the effort. I still had to use Health on the tree multiple times to keep it alive.

Hard work, but certainly satisfying, I thought as I looked at the giant tree hovering proudly. Next, I started picking nice branches that could function as cuttings, and started boosting their growth. After the first time it finished, I realized that I had to make a lot of trips just to eat and replenish my Health.

I forged a small silver box from the remaining silver, making the best anti-corrosive metal I could achieve. Maybe it would work. I tried that, because otherwise, I would have to spend my time going back and forth just to replenish my Health.

Air-tight silver box worked somewhat. The next time I opened the box, I found the food starting to show signs of degrading, but it was still edible. However, the moment it connected with air, it started degrading even faster.

So, I modified the box even further. It was essentially a lunch box with multiple air-tight compartments. Not enough to maintain the food overnight, but just enough to keep my Health up while I explored the fourth floor.

“Now, let’s get to work,” I said. I had a lot of work to do if I wished to be done before noon.

*****

— Chapter 49

Setting up my new — and hopefully more permanent — forge took half of my available time. However, it was certainly worth it. Three layers of trees surrounded it to give me a perfect vision of my surroundings.

There was even a small farm where the root plants I discovered had been growing en masse. I hoped to use them to replenish my Health. However, I was yet to eat despite feeling the intense vitality it contained, because I still needed an expert to confirm that it was edible and not poisonous.

System allowed Health to solve most problems, but it didn’t solve every single ailment.

And, setting the encampment came with its own reward.

[Nurture (Rare) 92 -> 97]

However, as much as the plants that surrounded my farm were an incredible achievement, it was nothing compared to what laid at the center.

For once, the main forge was sitting on a raised platform made of iron-covered stone, giving it an elegant feeling. The only reason it wasn’t a full wall was that it would have blocked my view. Even when working, I didn’t have the luxury of staying hidden.

Instead, I forged a few metal sheets that I might raise in case I’m doing something particularly sensitive.

Too bad I didn’t know how to make corrosion-resistant glass. Ultimately, Forge and Repair were both focused on metal, limiting the available information I could access. While I was confident that I could figure out a way, glass wasn’t exactly on top of my list of required materials.

No, that honor went to discovering a lesser variant of the corrosion-resistant material. Well, more accurately, finding a version that was simple enough that I could argue that I discovered it through sheer repetition.

Too bad I never had a common variant of the Forge high enough to know whether a recipe was included there. If it was, revealing it wouldn’t have any risk.

Technically, that also meant that my experiment might be unnecessary, but I decided to conduct it nevertheless. Even if it turned out to be useless, it would be a good test run for the experimental procedure so that I could perfect it before I could start with my real experiment.

My desire to test how various metals and alloys interacted with mana in my desire to understand mana better.

Currently, I had merely one small shelf, made of pure iron — as the wood didn’t resist corrosion once it was cut out of the tree. Each shelf had a chart — once again an iron sheet — for me to take note of the experimental details and results.

Even a small shelf used up a lot of material, but I was happy with it. Ideally, I planned to make a hundred of such shelves. After all, a proper experiment required thousands of samples.

To be able to produce all of it, I needed a lot of material, hence the existence of the thirty-feet blast furnace sitting on the low ground, to refine the iron ore into pig iron. It wasn’t a design from the System. Instead, it belonged to me.

I didn’t know why the System didn’t have it. Maybe it was a part of a different class, or maybe the System disdained even the simplest type of mass production — I wasn’t exactly exaggerating when I called System the wet dream of Objectivists.

Either way, I had to design blast furnace myself completely. Luckily, the working principles of a blast furnace were simple. Create layers of iron and coke — purified coal — and burn starting from the bottom. Iron melted and gathered at the bottom, while the waste products floated up.

However, in medieval times, raising iron to melting temperature couldn’t be achieved by open flames. Hence the blast furnace. It not only used bellows to pump air, but also had a huge chimney, creating a suction effect.

Combined, they were barely able to raise the temperature to the necessary level. Luckily, for me, neither bellows nor coke was necessary. Thanks to their intense vitality, the wood from the trees would burn intensely enough.

Which was good, because making a bellow was very difficult when one was restricted to metal only, without any elastic materials to make things easier.

“Beautiful,” I muttered even as I moved toward the open pit with a raised hammer, ready to gather more ores. Then, I paused, my mood slipping a bit. Despite my attempts, there was already a layer gathered on top. Clearly, there were some water leaks from the bottom, and the more I dug, the worse it would get.

A pump was necessary.

“Or, maybe a steam engine,” I muttered with an amused smile, mostly because the first steam engines had been used to pump water out of mines. The world had changed, but the problems stayed the same.

Admittedly, a simple pump would be enough for a surface deposit. Combined with my Strength, it would be far more efficient than a steam engine. Not to mention, it would consume a couple of tons of iron to build.

Wasteful and pointless, but I couldn’t help but admit that the allure was there, especially if I could link to a conveyor belt to free me from the task of going back and forth.

“Actually, that might not be a bad idea,” I said. The world had abandoned the existence of steam engines because they were not worth the cost. People with Strength could easily use simple pumps for free, and even the simplest alloy was expensive.

Even the simplest steam engine that could survive in a post-Cataclysm world would cost enough to be measured in gold coins, while the same thing could be achieved in paying someone less than a silver a day — which would probably be cheaper than the fuel it consumed.

It was not for no reason the production had been stuck to a feudal balance. Especially since, if there was a need for automation, magic was there to compensate.

However, it wasn’t out of a principled stance that I wanted to build a simple steam engine. I had a simpler problem. I didn’t have time.

It didn’t matter that a steam engine wouldn’t be as efficient as me. My current power was still a secret, and I needed to find a way to free myself from simpler tasks if I ever wanted to scale up the production.

It would be hard work, but when the alternative was to hire people and trust them to keep it a secret…

“First, let’s start producing iron,” I said. Ultimately, the whole plan depended on an abundance of iron, measured in tons; which sounded a lot, but considering the pre-Calamity world measured the yearly production in billions of metric tons, it wasn’t as impressive.

“I wonder if this is the first iron mine in this new world?” I asked myself. Technically, it was possible. After all, the outside world was filled with excess metal, especially when it came to simpler stuff. Why bother going through all that trouble when scavenging was easier?

I sighed, ignoring the problem as I raised my hammer, ready to shatter the deposit under my feet. Of course, traditionally, a pickaxe was a much better tool to deal with semi-solid rock, but I had a different plan.

[-10 Health]

The hammer hit the rock, and about a cubic foot of material had shattered into small pieces. It wasn’t the typical way the rock should behave under such an attack, but the life energy that surrounded the hammer worked wonders.

A cubic foot of material didn’t sound too much, but considering the material density, it certainly was. Iron was a relatively dense metal, almost eight grams of density, which meant four cubic feet of iron weighed about a metric ton.

Of course, the raw material wasn’t as dense, but even with it, and the low purity ratio had been factored in, a cubic feet of raw material should give me almost twenty pounds of iron. It was all I could steal from a cart without things getting suspicious.

There was a reason I spent my precious time creating my current setup.

Ten blows had been enough to fill the blast furnace for the first few layers. I dragged the cart up, but before going to the furnace, I stopped to chop down a tree.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to prepare fuel beforehand, as the moment I cut the tree, it started rotting. I tried to make charcoal, but it didn’t prevent the process, meaning I needed another experiment just to have long lasting charcoal.

However, I ignored that necessity as I created the layers, and lit it on fire, once again using my fire bolt. Wasteful, but since it was holding a skill slot, there was no harm experimenting a bit more.

[-100 Mana]

I watched as the flames covered the open mouth of the furnace, and a slow wind started to pick up. Soon, the bright red drops of iron were already gathered at the bottom of the bellows, the heat hitting my face hard.

If I was still below level ten, I would have taken a step back. Instead, I watched proudly as a dark smoke started to rise from the top, along with a sharp, disgusting smell that suggested it was contaminated by a great amount of sulfur.

Meanwhile, the molten iron glowed brightly as it dripped down from the tap at the bottom along with the slag, finally adding some color to the opening, gathering in the large crucible.

“Beautiful,” I muttered despite everything, including the disgusting smell. It was the first step of success.

Then, I turned and walked back to the mine.

I still had a lot of material to excavate.

*****

— Chapter 50

“Beautiful,” I repeated as I looked at the forge area, still feeling surprised by the change I was able to achieve in less than four hours. The huge blast furnace was still spitting out fires, but was at its last batch. At the same time, the number of iron shelves I built had reached more than a hundred, though the number and sizes of their sections varied.

Some of them even had iron doors in case I wanted to isolate the samples from the environment. It was a poor substitute for a sterilized environment, but it was good enough.

Still, it was temporary. The next step was to dig down to create a basement for those materials, but I delayed that a bit. After all, I was already digging a huge pit to mine the iron ore. It would be easier to use that rather than trying to dig a second pit.

However, while those changes had been nice, the real source of pride was the steam engine that sat on top of another iron platform, sputtering as it consumed the last of its fuel. The more I dug, the more water seeped into the resulting pit, so I had to make the pump faster than I had been initially planning.

As a result, it was a simple atmospheric water engine, an early type of steam engine famous for being inefficient. It had a huge cylinder, which was filled with hot steam to rise to the top, and once that reached the top, it triggered a switch, which cut the steam feed. Another flip opened, spraying some cold water to cool down the steam. Condensing steam created a vacuum, and atmospheric pressure dealt with the rest.

Then, it repeated the cycle.

It was inefficient and bulky, but it was also mechanically simple enough that I was able to put it together in mere minutes.

And, inefficiency was easy to deal with thanks to the intensity of the fire. Too bad I would have to redo the whole setup to add a separate condensing chamber and a flywheel tomorrow, which would require a complete redesign, which would allow me to add a crank to connect to the feeder of the blast furnace, automating that part as well.

I didn’t do so immediately, because I needed to check the designs. While I knew how such an engine worked conceptually, the exact mechanical details weren’t as clear. And, like anything else mechanical, the System was utterly helpless.

“There is always a gap between the theory and the application,” I muttered even as I walked away. I still had some time to experiment, but not without sacrificing hunting time.

Today, I wanted to increase the number of shells I collected to fifteen hundred, which would give me a revenue of sixty gold, which would give me the necessary money to build a modest residence and hire some guild members. Technically, I could get away with hiring something like twenty members, and build an elite team that could generate me some income, but I didn’t want that.

No, I needed to hire as many people as I could manage. The more crowded they were, the more nonsensical tasks I could slip in — like coming up with some designs for a steam engine.

Trying to build a tech base was not a one-person job.

Maybe I should look into hiring farmers in bulk. Not only could I give them a better living, but it would also give me a way to use the excessive number of rare Nurture skills I had while giving me an excuse to move a ludicrous amount of carts around.

I doubted that I would be able to make a profit, but I didn’t really care.

I went back to the third floor and used the extractor to start hunting. First few, I killed using my sword, pushing the skill even further

[Stalwart Guard (Uncommon) 79 -> 91]

Admittedly, by increasing that much, I was playing it a bit risky, but the promise of a Rare skill that I could publicly use was too valuable. Especially since I was confident in my method of improvement.

“Speaking of methods,” I muttered even as I switched to the spear, and started pushing my health through its heft, trying to replicate the Vitality attack without the assistance of the skill. I pushed merely a point or two, trying to shape it.

Every time I killed an insect, I tried to use that attack. And, I failed. Again and again.

From a certain point of view, what I had been doing was a waste of time. It wouldn’t take long before I would upgrade both skills to rare, which would give me superior Vitality attacks. However, that was the exact reason I had been trying to do so.

The Vitality attack from the hammer was even more complicated than the Mana Blow from Forging. And, even Mana Blow, I wasn’t able to properly reverse-engineer. If I ever wanted to discover the trick behind Vitality attacks, I needed better insights.

“First, the movement,” I said even as I paused, trying to put together the impression of the two energies. From what I could tell — from my extremely limited perception — Mana behaved mostly like a gas, though there were aspects where it behaved more like a liquid.

Except for the times it reached certain geometrical patterns and suddenly solidified, which was what enabled the delivery of the Mana attacks.

Of course, that was just how it reacted in Mana Attacks using the weapon as a medium. I didn’t have the slightest idea what actually happened while casting a spell.

In comparison, Health was more consistently liquid, but the feeling it gave differed between uses. When it was used for healing, it flowed almost gently. When used as a part of the Nurture, it had a slow, sluggish feel, almost like tar.

When used to support an attack, it felt more like mercury, rapid yet heavy at the same time. The feeling of my hammer attack and Eleanor’s ranged attack had been similar enough.

However, it differed at the point of trigger. Mana simply dispersed after the attack — whether it vanished or simply took a form I couldn’t perceive was another question — while Vitality, for the lack of a better term, burned.

However, it wasn’t a sense of burning life flames. Maybe implosion was a better descriptor, but ignition still felt more accurate. However, regardless of the term, the process was clear. The energy dissipated, turning into the effect of the attack.

At least, that was how the Quake effect worked. The Health spread into some kind of shatter pattern, then at once, ignited to shatter the target. Combined with the blow from the hammer, it shattered the target perfectly.

“Maybe that’s what I’m doing wrong,” I said even as I stood up, ignoring the slight delay it would cause. Ultimately, I was trying to replicate the feeling of a hammer attack with a spear. And, as much as the scientist inside me wanted to argue that it shouldn’t matter, considering the way the System worked, it likely did.

And, since a hammer attack required that smashing effect, maybe I should try to lean into a piercing concept —

“I’m a moron,” I muttered even as I slapped my head. I had missed something even more obvious. Yes, a spear method of delivering damage was piercing, but my variant was also about movement. Both the Perk I chose, and the name of Swift Spear implied it.

I closed my eyes as I ran a few steps, using Fleeting Step to change directions rapidly, climb a steep hill, and even make a few pointlessly complicated dancing moves, replicating a ballet routine perfectly. And, the more I repeated it, the more I realized the distinct concept of the Fleeting Step.

Just like the Vitality attack from the Hammer Art carried a sense of earthquake.

“I hope I won’t blow my feet off,” I muttered even as I used Fleeting Step again, but this time, I pushed that mercurial variant of Vitality to my feet.

[-1 Health]

Pain hit me.

Yet, I laughed, simply because of the source of pain. It wasn’t my legs like I feared, but my head. I wasn’t able to compensate for the sudden burst of speed and lost my balance. “Again,” I muttered as I stood up.

For the next twenty minutes, I stumbled around like I was reenacting a drunk scene from a terrible comedy. Yet, every repeat only made my smile bigger and bigger. I might not be able to stand on my feet, but it didn’t change the fact that I was able to imitate a Vitality attack, and did so on something that was not actually an attack.

I was able to use it … somewhat. It allowed me to burst forward in a straight line, but it was certainly loud. Also, it was hard to maintain balance if I tried to push over twenty yards.

“Let’s see. What’s the core of a spear technique? A quick, merciless piercing attack,” I said, trying to focus on that concept, trying to imitate the shape of Mana as I used a chisel to stab the nearest stone. My spear sank deep.

“Success,” I chuckled. Of course, it wasn’t the fact that I was able to stab through a rock, which I could have done before. No, the proof was the ragged, uneven edge.

Then, even in success, I froze. Since I could somehow empower the movement perk with life energy, could I do the same with other perks.

Like Observe?

I could feel my heart beating with excitement. If that was possible, the implications were incredible.

It looked like I knew exactly what I would be doing tonight.