dirk_grey

Blacksmith vs. the System 239

I stopped half a mile away from the camp, ready to discard the poorly made cart. I didn’t want to drag it with me all the way back. As for the contents, I didn’t expect it to have anything truly useful. I had taken it mostly as a courtesy. 

I believe the only exception is the handwritten notes about the skills and classes they discovered. If they were able to come up with something we missed, it would be excellent, but even without it, I could use it as a tool to examine their ...

Blacksmith vs. the System 238

When I saw the settlement again, its situation was much better. It was shocking how different a place could look without a raging horde of beasts trying to raze it to nothingness. 

I approached them loudly, which was deliberate to draw their attention, assuming they would be tense. Yet, despite that, it took a while for them to notice my presence. It wasn’t too shocking, as they had only a few people to spare for labor, most busy putting a second line of the palisade, while the o...

Blacksmith vs. the System 237

I started by dragging a large piece of rock to the center of the pool, directly over the strongest spot of bubbling mana. Then, I closed my eyes, focusing on my connection with the dungeon. 

With almost forty miles between the nearest dungeon gate and my location, connecting with the dungeon properly wasn’t simple. I focused inwardly, gently coaxing the connection to create a buzzing, distant connection with the dungeon, feeling the effects of the distance. 

Though, on...

Blacksmith vs. the System 236

The target grew in my sight while my gaze darted around, trying to pick the best vector to approach. Killing the gargantuan beast was not too difficult. 

Killing it without revealing my identity, not so much. 

Of course, I wasn’t under the impression that my involvement or the dungeon gate would stay secret for a long time. However, there was a difference between being revealed by an expert scout, and identified by a half-baked report, about a mage-fighter that was thr...

Blacksmith vs. the System 235

The farther I ran away from the town, the more stressed I started to get, which had nothing to do with the beasts I had to cleave through in order to reach my destination. A part of it was the fear that, somehow, my absence would spell disaster for everything I had built. That, I knew to be an inaccurate feeling. 

I tried to convince myself that it was just my desire to be always in control. I was aware that I could be somewhat of a control freak in most circumstances. 

...

Blacksmith vs. the System 234

At first, I was hopeful about the situation with the dungeon. After all, despite the increased mysterious energy due to Drakkan tricks, the dungeon had been operating smoothly, and I hadn’t been able to detect any side effects. 

After all, with the breach stabilized and gates in place, the dungeon could finally turn into a passive asset that continuously generated mana rather than a source of constant trouble. 

Those hopes seemed to be rather premature. I noticed somet...

Blacksmith vs. the System 233

I was still feeling shocked once Maria and Eleanor departed to handle their tasks, leaving me alone in the meeting room. Maria’s decision to abdicate permanently had caught me flatfooted. Up until now, I was operating under the assumption that my rule was merely a temporary thing. I did my best, but my decisions were still limited in a way I could explain to Maria once she returned. 

Her decision changed things … but also, it did not. Ultimately, it was one internal factor gone...

Blacksmith vs. the System 232

I paused, frozen. There had been many decisions and questions that had been raised by Maria’s return, but I didn’t expect the issue of management of the town to be one of them. I genuinely expected her to simply nod in agreement. After all, the entire reason I’d been ruling at all was her lengthy yet temporary absence. 

Now that she’d returned after her ascension, it made perfect sense that she would reclaim her authority as the rightful ruler. But instead, I saw her and El...

Blacksmith vs. the System 231

It was almost noon when the three of us managed to retreat to a private room. It wasn’t just the beast wave that kept us back, but also scouting the landscape to see if there were any nasty surprises, waiting for us. 

As for the dungeon, it seemed to handle the sudden burst of extra energy successfully for the moment, so I didn’t prioritize it immediately. 

But, finally, we were able to retreat to a private room, ready to talk. But first, a celebration. “I have to ...

Cultivating Ink 12

The first thing he did was to reach under his armor and remove the stone from its hiding place — well, the second, thing, the first thing was to look around carefully to make sure there was absolutely no one. 

The glow of the stone moved in the same pattern, only much richer. Previously, Alaric could only see a flat and gentle color, but now, it was like a prism, but glowing it all colors at once … or not. He found difficult to even start describing what was going on.

It ...

Cultivating Ink 11

Alaric waited in the line, his body aching.  

He had already expected his night to be terrible, with most of the ‘volunteers’ targeting him to deal with their frustration. He had a few ‘offers’ to spar, which was a badly concealed excuse to beat him up. And, after ten such sessions, his body was aching despite the cloth armor. It was bad enough that he wasn’t able to stand up until most of the line already received their food. 

Maybe it was a good thing, a...

Blacksmith vs. the System 230

With Maria’s surprise arrival, the equation had changed significantly. The three ascended and split desperately, trying to escape, but their attempt had been useless. The first attack from Maria was enough to temporarily shatter their protective aura. 

I didn’t waste even a second before tagging them with several decay attacks, damaging their armor. Not enough to turn them useless, but enough to damage it. A few repeats, and instead of returning their army, they choose to split...

Blacksmith vs. the System 229

I paused for a moment, trying to make a decision on how to progress. 

Despite being surrounded and my path being cut by three ascended, I wasn’t afraid. As my earlier duel with the ascended had shown, the fight between the elite was hardly straightforward. The unique nature of their abilities meant that human wave tactics weren’t particularly useful. 

And, the same applied to me to a degree. 

I decided to open up with a nasty plot. I sent another deep mana...

Blacksmith vs. the System 228

“What’s wrong?” I asked Harold. 

“Three problems. One, we have another Drakkan force approaching us. Then, we have a monster wave approaching us. And, the scouts have detected a flying beast approaching, some kind of large bird,” he said, looking worried. 

“Why are you this tense?” I asked. “Is the attacking force that good?” 

“No, the Drakkan force is smaller than before. Just five hundred, and they are not risking an approach. I’m worri...

Blacksmith vs. the System 227

I spent an hour with Harold and Terry, giving them my opinion about the more practical concerns about the new migration, but I only limited myself to strategic aspects. 

“Maybe you should stay to greet the arrivals, sir,” Harold suggested. “That way, they’ll feel… more confident.” 

I shook my head. “No, that we can’t afford,” I said. “I’m the only one that can create Radiant Flame equipment. We can’t afford to split my time. Terry and Logan will h...

Blacksmith vs. the System 226

2“Is it…” Rosie asked. 

“Done. I stole the fire dungeon,” I said, feeling giddy at my success. 

Rosie looked impressed at my declaration. “So, what’s next?” 

“A bunch of experimentation,” I replied. 

“Should I evacuate the dungeon?” she asked. 

“A good call,” I replied. “It’s for the better if you evacuate while I play around, just in case. You have the surface command.” 

Rosie nodded before sh...

Cultivating Ink 10

“Break for camp,” a shout arrived, breaking the monotony of the trip once more. 

Alaric followed the order just like everyone else, shouting happily. “It’s hard to believe that it has been five days since our recruitment,” Lucian said near him. “I expected it to be more exciting, though. Maybe some fighting.”  

“Monotony is good,” Alaric answered even as they lined up, waiting for the instructor of the day. Every day, they received two lessons, one...

Cultivating Ink 9

Alaric wasn’t surprised to see everyone doing their best to repeat the strike again and again, just as he wasn’t surprised by the wide variance in their moves, trying to achieve a miracle through sheer persistence. 

His gaze fell on Lucian, whose move was shockingly similar to the attack of Sergeant Barit. It looked like he had taken his advice about the footwork seriously. Though, even though it was similar, it lacked … something. What, Alaric had no idea. 

Alaric...

Cultivating Ink 8

“Gather around, it’s time to get armed,” the guard leading the group shouted, and the large group of scouts that Alaric found himself as a part of had stopped. A rough count showed about three hundred ‘volunteers’ from the slums. They lined up in front of a cart. Alaric wanted to sit down as his body still ached from the encounter with the mad jackal, but since none of the others sat down, Alaric endured as well. 

Never being the first one to do something without a good r...

Cultivating Ink 7

It was not the night when he returned to the slums, but it was close. He would have preferred to return faster, especially with his sole objective of hiding the glowing rock ending up in a spectacular failure, but every muscle of his body protested as he walked. 

Who knew that wrestling with a mad monster was a bad idea?

He might not be in such a bad mood if he achieved his objective instead of destroying his most treasured possession, one that he risked his life to bring out...

Cultivating Ink 6

Alaric rolled toward the nearest tree before the beast could recover from its earlier rush, ignoring every instinct of his body shouting for him to run away. He had already seen the speed the beasts moved. The moment he turned his back, he would meet his end. 

An end that he only avoided because of the injury at the leg of the shade beast …, and the fact that it was daytime. 

He didn’t know a lot about the monster beasts, but it didn’t mean he knew nothing. Learnin...

Update Schedule

Hi all, sorry about broken update schedule. For this week, I shared a story experiment from my archive.

I promise I'll be back to the regular schedule next Friday. Real life things are almost in order.

Cultivating Ink 5

It was the first time in his life Alaric felt the true happiness was he returned to the slums, but the sea of shanties and makeshift dwellings told him that he actually succeeded. The smell of food that the edge of rotting mixing with thick smell of smoke from the open fires had never been this sweet.

It was the smell of survival and freedom.

For a moment, he paused, enjoying the long shadows of the afternoon soon. He hadn’t realized the passage of time while painting that por...

Cultivating Ink 4

Alaric's heart hammered in his chest as his fingers tightened around the glowing stone. A warmth spread through his body, like he was holding the very concept of warmth in his hand.

Unfortunately, he could see that he was already too late. The people was looking at him like the way the gang members had been looking to a rich drunk that stumbled into the wrong street. Absentmindedly, he noticed the tiny rock throbbed the same way, following his heartbeat.

That miracle wasn’t en...

Cultivating Ink 3

When the sun reached its zenith, casting a bright light over the bustling marketplace of Eldermire, it looked like his wishes about having a good day was rewarded. Once the first merchant received his portrait, it triggered a small competition, which earned him eleven silver coins, and even more sizable copper pile.

It might not be much for other people, but for him, it represented a fortune. Not only it was enough for him to eat food where he could identify at least half of the ingredi...

Cultivating Ink 2

When Alaric left the abandoned building two hours later, he had been transformed completely. Gone was the street urchin on the awkward gateway between childhood and adulthood, replaced by a young scholar in his early twenties.

Including carefully applied dirt to his chin that looked like he had shaved several hours ago.

But, he knew that the greatest difference came from his posture. He stopped walking with the constant slouch that any slum rat learned at an early age, and strai...

Cultivating Ink 1

The moon cast a pale glow over the beautiful walls of Eldermire, the gleaming silver adding an incredible beauty that made Alaric’s hands twitch to capture the beauty. The moonlight was gentle enough to hide the small cracks and broken texture of the walls that was apparent in the daylight, making it tempting to stop and paint the beauty of the walls.

His fingers twitched with the desire to create one beautiful memento of the walls, a masterpiece of his own before they collapsed even...

Blacksmith vs. the System 225

I took a deep breath as the implications hit. Somehow, I could feel the other dungeon. Just one floor, but it was easy to make the connection between that and the constant dungeon mist that had been flowing between dungeons. 

I pondered on the implications, the next step of an ambitious plan quickly shaping up. Was it risky? Certainly. I had no idea what would truly happen if I pushed to somehow annex the floor, but it was tempting nonetheless. 

Especially since I was ti...

Blacksmith vs. the System 224

Dealing with the two ascended had managed to break the will of our enemy. Within minutes, the Drakkan assault lost coherence, with the infantry legion, riddled by shrapnel and constant bombardment, losing their unity to retreat. 

Chants of victory rose from our forces as our mechanized infantry chased them, preventing them from gathering together. 

Until I sent several mana attacks in their path, forcing them to stop. “Pull back to your positions, and be ready for anot...

Blacksmith vs. the System 223

“We need to retreat! He destroyed my shield!” Carl called as he swung his sword in panic. A glance showed me that his fighting technique was floundering immediately. Not a surprise. His technique used a shield actively, not just as a defensive tool, but also as an offensive one, mixing bashes and swings. 

With the shield half-destroyed, those tricks suddenly turned into a liability. 

“We just need to surround them. Get rid of the damn shield and use your other skil...