dirk_grey

Blacksmith vs. the System 92

“Wow, you really undersold just how disgusting the fifth floor is,” Eleanor said the moment we appeared, and landed on the metal platform. Her voice was muffled due to the silver air cleanser, but it was still comprehensible.

Despite the loud rush of the insects that surrounded us immediately.

“You’re lucky that I already installed the metal platforms,” I replied even as I used my spear to deal with the fliers, leaving the giant ones to her. “It’s not fun to drop d...

Blacksmith vs. the System 91

I was happy to leave Eleanor outside while I worked on her armor. It wasn’t that I had disliked her presence, but as I got better and better as a smith, it turned into a calm, meditative practice. Exactly what I needed after the ambush that we lived through.

An ambush where more than a hundred other people didn’t survive.

Even as my hammer danced against the anvil with a steady rhythm, I pondered on my reaction. Or, more accurately, lack thereof. I had played a role in such ...

Blacksmith vs. the System 90

“And, that’s the last of it. The dungeon is officially closed until further notice,” Eleanor said the moment she returned to my side, sealing the dungeon gate.

“Everything done?” I asked.

“Yes, we evacuated every guild and the guards are on high alert, ordered to attack anyone that dares to breach without invitation. The only problem is that it’ll take at least a day for Maria to return,” Eleanor explained in quick order.

I nodded, admiring her efficiency....

Blacksmith vs. the System 89

“Good news is that we know why they wanted to ambush you outside,” Eleanor said even as another pained cry reached our ears, only to be cut halfway. I wanted to admonish her, but the uncharacteristic tenseness in her tone stopped me. It was clear that she was trying to handle the shock in her own way.

Instead, I watched, trying to understand what was going on. The black flames were calming down, but the speed at the mist was gathering — which was something I had only seen on the ...

Blacksmith vs. the System 88

Just because we were waiting for reinforcements didn’t mean we stopped attacking once the ballistas were ready and in place. On the contrary, we continued attacking even more, forcing them to defend themselves.

Their attitude changed from baiting us to defending earnestly, the recent loss of another guild master forcing their hands. They simply didn’t have an option. Currently, the only one that could fight against us on an equal footing was Georg, meaning, whenever we attacked fro...

Blacksmith vs. the System 76-80

— Chapter 76

When I arrived at the first floor — as usual carrying a huge cart filled with shells to the brim — everything that was required to move to the second floor was already in place. I saw several carts filled with construction materials, escorted by workers, which meant the second-floor encampment could be built even faster.

I didn’t arrange any of them. It must be Harold who handled it all, which was fortunate. I walked further, only to see Harold talking with s...

Blacksmith vs. the System 71-75

— Chapter 71

When I stepped through the gate to return to the first floor with another cart holding five hundred shells, I met with a welcome sight. The small outpost had progressed far more than I had expected.

The internal fort I envisioned was already completed with solid bricks, perfect enough to suggest the involvement of a specialized class, and the second ring was already half complete. And, that wasn’t even the only change. Nearby, there was a pool that was almost ten...

Immortal Freeloader 157

However, a successful operation didn’t mean they had recovered immediately. Their current stability was utterly reliant on their new spiritual pillar. Meaning, that the destruction of the volcano would result in their demise, and there was nothing I could do about it.

“Well, let’s look at the bright side,” I muttered. “At least I don’t have to decide between staying and leaving.” It was not an option with Elsana here. I didn’t enjoy the sensation of being trapped, but s...

Immortal Freeloader 156

Now that both the volcano and the blizzard were under control, traveling to the outskirts of the mountain took merely a minute under the cover of the blizzard, and I came across the people that was climbing the mountain.

As I approached, the details started to become clear. The first thing I noticed was the method they had been using to approach. Just like I did, they were traversing a line of balance to climb higher. Well, to be more accurate, they were trying to do that. The path the...

Immortal Freeloader 155

Retreating was not a simple problem. Not the physical extraction part. The cultivators were still working on suppressing the rage of the volcano, and every indicator I could see showed that it would take a while.

Unfortunately, that didn’t solve the main reason I had felt compelled to sneak into the mountain in the first place. I was afraid that they could somehow track me through the Providence of the Burning Ice. Worse, my recent insights about Providence not being a singular objec...

Blacksmith vs. the System 87

While deciding that ambushing the arrival would be a good strategic concept, it wasn’t that simple tactically, mainly due to two factors.

We had no idea about the nature of the reinforcements. More importantly, if we left them alone for too long, they would inevitably alert the reinforcements, who would be ready for an attack.

“So, what do we do,” Eleanor asked. “Do we just go and camp at the nearest dungeon gate, hoping to catch the reinforcements?”

“No, I do...

Blacksmith vs. the System 86

“What do you see?” Eleanor whispered two minutes later, as we stood a distance away from them. Finding them hadn’t been too difficult, as they retreated back to the canyon they previously wanted to use as an ambush spot.

“As far as I can tell, all of them are here, and they look tense,” I said. “My best guess is, they are afraid of another attack.”

“Good. They should be,” she added even as her sword — well, technically my sword, but the more I watched her, th...

Blacksmith vs. the System 85

Soon, we were standing in front of the cave that held my best gear. I could have gone in and grabbed my weapons immediately, but before doing that, I turned to her. “I need you to promise me something.”

She gestured for me to continue. “Go ahead.”

“I need you to swear that you’ll keep what I’m about to reveal to you a secret. It’s a matter of life and death,” I said. For a moment, she looked affronted, like I had just asked her to deface a monument to her relig...

Blacksmith vs. the System 84

I found Eleanor fighting a surprisingly effective hit-and-run battle, using her speed and Dexterity to the best of her ability. She wasn’t incredibly fast. I could see that her speed was somewhat comparable to Fleeting Step, though it was considerably more flexible. She was making movements too sudden for me to replicate even with Floating Stride, and it helped her to be never surrounded.

However, while that ability helped her to never be surrounded, it wasn’t helping her to actual...

Blacksmith vs. the System 83

Finding the main group had been easy. I didn’t have Perception, but the rushed movement of forty people, particularly when it was accompanied by a monster horde, was not too difficult. Luckily, not every single one of them had a movement ability, so they had to split their forces into two.

The main group, the bigger crowd, had rushed forward, while the second team, consisting of merely ten members, with six of them pulling the carts the ballistas were placed on, trailed behind them. ...

Blacksmith vs. the System 82

“You bunch of whipper-snappers think that you can kill me,” I laughed boisterously even as I suddenly started running away, but limited myself to ordinary running speed. “I didn’t get to my age by stupidly letting people ambush me.”

Before they could make a decision, I had passed the forty-yard mark. The cloaked one followed me from a distance, using hand signals to command the other armored figures. Once again, I enjoyed the luxury of having a better range of vision, as it a...

Blacksmith vs. the System 81

Even as I watched the two spies disappear into the mist, I didn’t interrupt our sparring immediately. I didn’t know the reason why they were here, and even though their presence was suspicious, I couldn’t simply attack them. And, not just due to ethical reasons.

Information asymmetry was valuable in any circumstance, and had I attacked them, they would have realized that I possessed a way to see through the mist. Every other method I managed to learn about worked similarly to the...

Blacksmith vs. the System 66-70

— Chapter 66

I stayed with the Farmers while the raffle was being prepared, and watched while the schedule was set. I even made a copy of it in the view of everyone. I had no intention of checking the schedule of eight thousand Farmers, but just having that opportunity would intimidate some with bad intentions.

I didn’t have the time to micromanage them, so such subterfuge was necessary. Then, I left, leaving the task of arranging the operational details to Harold. I needed ...

Blacksmith vs. the System 61-65

— Chapter 61

As much as I wanted to start forging the sword that could potentially allow me to use better mana attacks by leveraging the new materials and properties I had discovered, I didn’t do so immediately.

Instead, I sat on the ground and started working on a conceptual design and making some rough calculations based on my observations. It wasn’t particularly easy to figure out the necessary design. I tried to do my best to get inspired by electrical system structure....

Blacksmith vs. the System 56-60

— Chapter 56

Once I had returned to the fourth floor, the first thing I did was add another layer of trees and kill every beast surrounding the forge. The existence of lure potions scared me. All it would take was for someone to throw one into the center, and my forge would be ruined.

The monsters didn’t even have to attack directly. Just the existence of giant insects, stampeding wildly, would be enough to ruin my work.

While I doubted that another layer of trees woul...

Immortal Freeloader 154

I couldn’t help but collapse against the warm stones, the biting of the wind suddenly not as painful as I suddenly started to deal with the implications of my epiphany.

Providence was not a singular entity.

It was an ephemeral realization, but it wasn’t wrong. I knew that what I felt wasn’t just the presence of the mountain, shaken by the cultivators, but something greater. Much greater. Unfortunately, the contact was too brief, and my own knowledge of Providence came as a...

Immortal Freeloader 153

If I was still on the flying boat, the remaining distance would have merely taken a minute. Instead, on foot, the travel took almost eight hours, but I didn’t treat it as a waste. First of all, the passage of time allowed the ship of the Treasure Pavilion to intervene with the volcano, forcibly suppressing it with formations.

It was a spectacular formation. While I lacked the ability to replicate it because I lacked the Golden Core chapters of any formation technique, it didn’t pre...

Immortal Freeloader 152

My reflexes took over as I started constructing a formation … an illusory one, creating a scene of destruction even as I dodged the attack. Luckily, my Black Grade ship was nimble enough to achieve that. The Qi attack was fast, but the great distance gave me a chance.

However, since I didn’t have much time, I pulled about five thousand strands of Qi from my inventory, as much as I didn’t want to. It wasn’t the amount of Qi I had in my inventory. With my prison for rogue cultiva...

Blacksmith vs. the System 80

In the end, I was able to kill three more gargantuan beasts before exhaustion won over me.

To my surprise, finding them had been the easy part. All I needed to do was to grow a lot of trees, and once the number had passed a certain point, a gargantuan beast attacked. While the reason for their hatred was a mystery — the disruption of the mist was my best guess — the effect was not disputable.

It helped me to draw them closer, and my vision expanded significantly in the proce...

Blacksmith vs. the System 79

“God damn it,” I growled even as I threw the work hammer to the side, grabbed my spear, and moved aside. The last thing I expected was to be attacked by a gargantuan monster, tall enough to tower over me in a suffocating manner.

A desperate dash was not exactly the ideal way of measuring, but roughly eyeballing it, I measured it to be somewhere around two hundred yards tall, and about forty yards wide. An absurd size, reminding me of a battleship rather than a land animal.

A...

Blacksmith vs. the System 78

The moment I stepped on the fifth floor, I was greeted with pain. It wasn’t sourced from an attack — not for the lack of trying, as every inch of me had been surrounded by monsters. Flying insects, giant monsters, armored ones, crowded enough to cut each other’s path.

No, it was the very breath I had taken that had hurt me, burning my lungs like acid.

[-17 Health]

That wasn’t the only source of pain, as the moment I stepped in, I found myself in waist-deep water, a...

Blacksmith vs. the System 77

“[Nurture (Epic) 109 -> 110]

I sighed as I used another concentrated dose of swamp poison to further push Nurture to a higher level, earning twenty more points in the process. However, that was not the only thing I gained. As the proficiency of my Nurture skill passed one hundred, it experienced a qualitative improvement, allowing me to choose between growth and other options like better fruit yield, stronger structure, and other features.

It was not helpful for the task nex...

Blacksmith vs. the System 76

When I arrived at the first floor — as usual carrying a huge cart filled with shells to the brim — everything that was required to move to the second floor was already in place. I saw several carts filled with construction materials, escorted by workers, which meant the second-floor encampment could be built even faster.

I didn’t arrange any of them. It must be Harold who handled it all, which was fortunate. I walked further, only to see Harold talking with someone. His posture s...

Blacksmith vs. the System 75

[Mana Repair (Rare) 293 -> 297]

“Well, that was straightforward,” I called even as I finished forging a very intricate silver-gold sword that gleamed densely with mana. To my surprise, improving Forge hadn’t required anything particularly clever. I just needed to forge various types of pure gold equipment and push the skill higher and higher.

That way, I was able to bring both skills to the threshold before dawn, even when I took multiple breaks to show my face upstairs,...

Blacksmith vs. the System 74

I left the dungeon with another cart, accompanied by five hundred farmers and ten guards who were about to join the operation. Part of the cart was filled with the crossbows Maria had purchased for me.

Unlike what she had thought, I wasn’t particularly disappointed with the situation. While I welcomed the extra income the expanded hunting operation might grant me, at this point, I could leave the dungeon naked, and I would still consider the expedition to be a huge success.

At...