dirk_grey

Blacksmith vs. the System 199

Even with the clear hostility the envoys had been displaying, I hadn’t expected things to take a turn for the worse this quickly. At this point, whether there was something I could do to slow things down was inconsequential.

I needed to act.

My first target, the spell that was gathering power behind me, was hidden behind their shield. I had no idea what that spell was, but from the shape of mana, I could see that I only had seconds to break it. Yet, in front of me, I had a ful...

Blacksmith vs. the System 198

Once I had returned to the diplomatic tent, waiting for the arrival of the two envoys, I called my System again, focusing on my most recent acquisition.

[Blade of Radiant Flame (Legendary) - 221]

I still wished I had more time, but even with the limited time I had, I was able to improve the skill enough to turn it into a veritable threat. As usual for any skill, the improvement not only unlocked better, more devastating abilities, but also increased the general proficiency of th...

Blacksmith vs. the System 197

[Blade of Radiant Flame (Legendary) - 73]

For a few seconds, I said nothing as I examined the notification, surprised by both the smoothness of the absorption, and the fact that the skill had started half-developed.

“At least I can increase my estimation of Leona’s intellect,” I said absentmindedly. Now that the skill hadn’t reset to zero proficiency, it was fair to assume that he knew about it, which made his decision to grant it to help me resist the other cities more r...

Blacksmith vs. the System 196

“So, you have a mana attack,” Leona asked, once we were riding the open wagon down the mountainside once more.

“I do. I hope it’s not a problem,” I replied, still playing the part. “I don’t know much. I hope it’s not against martial honor.”

“No. Having mana is just another weapon, though not one that’s very useful,” he said. “My family has learned that it’s better to rely on Vitality. Unlike mana, vitality can be replenished in every environment.” <...

Blacksmith vs. the System 195

I expected the duel to be the last time I had to talk about anything from the diplomatic party for a while, but Rosie chose to interfere. “My lord regent, maybe you can give Lord Asterion a tour of the dungeon while I escort the rest of their party to their residence.”

“What an excellent idea,” Leona declared happily before I could say anything.

“It would be my honor, my Lord,” I said, wishing that I had the luxury of looking at Rosie angrily at the suggestion. I und...

Blacksmith vs. the System 194

Five minutes later, we stood outside the tent, still waiting for them to pick who I would face.

“I can’t believe the disrespect,” Harold murmured in frustration, the source of which was clear. The argument was not about who would have the honor of fighting with me, but who would have the disrespect of having to fight against a Blacksmith, as if the mere idea of fighting against me would dirty them forever.

There was a silencing field around them, but that wasn’t enough t...

Blacksmith vs. the System 193

“Do you want me to stay for the meeting, or disappear?” Rosie asked once we had taken our seats in the tent, waiting for the arrival of the envoys, who were about to arrive. We had continued to talk about the cities while we waited for them, but focused on more pertinent details, like what they would demand, and what they could give.

“You need to stay,” I decided after some consideration. “I still know too little about the dynamics of the cities to navigate it without warning...

Blacksmith vs. the System 192

“So, you need a breakdown of the cities,” Rosie said. “Beware that what I know is limited, and mostly from indirect sources. I know that Horizon has connections with some of the cities, so I did my best to stay away from them.”

“Limited knowledge is better than no knowledge,” I said. “The best I have is a pile of rejected applications from research institutes —” I started, only to notice Rosie reacting to that reference more than I expected. “Spill,” I said.

Blacksmith vs. the System 191

“So, do we have any idea about the identity of the arriving parties,” I asked Harold as we moved down the mountain, riding one of the primitive trains. It was good to see the mountain housing multiple railroads, each leading to one of the six towns on the outskirts — which I eventually planned to turn into a giant mana trap, assuming I solved some of the technical challenges.

At this point, only two of those rail lines had been completed enough to allow movement, and we were ridi...

Guardian's Farm 21

Eli looked better, but I still gave him another checkup before I started asking questions. There was no immediate danger, the high-grade medicine the spies had with them doing wonders. He still needed several days of rest, as even the best medicine was not instant when it came to the human body; but he was out of immediate danger.

“Tell me what happened?” I asked Eli, afraid that it was my fault. “How did you end up here?”

“M-master, you have to believe me. I’m not a...

Guardian's Farm 20

The lower floor was equally empty, which allowed me to reach my target quickly. My heart was beating hard, a swirl of conflicting thoughts filling my head, afraid that Eli was imprisoned because someone had noticed the true nature of his technique.

And, I had been so confident when I taught him that instead of Ember Jab, confident that no one would notice the difference in such a remote corner of the world.

It hurt to find out I was mistaken this way. My blood boiled while I app...

Guardian's Farm 19

Sage arrived at my side once the villagers went away. “Thanks for the assist, buddy,” I said. “But, you can’t come to town with me. Why don’t you go back to the farm instead,” I suggested.

Sage whimpered in protest, showing his distaste for the idea.

“No, I would love to have you with me in a fight,” I lied. I certainly would not, as while Sage was a truly spectacular example of his kind — which certainly wasn’t an ordinary wolf — when it came to battle, he...

Blacksmith vs. the System 190

“It’s fascinating how much can change in a day,” I whispered as I watched several different teams operate in the previously barren land of the third floor.

I didn’t have the chance to help Rebecca after she was assigned her task once we completed her initial set of experiments, forged the necessary equipment, and approved the assignment of the workforce under her command. It would have been fun, but I had more critical tasks, like actually working on my own skills. With the ava...

Blacksmith vs. the System 189

For the next hour, Rebecca and Terry took turns using their Mana Tend skill in various ways, allowing me to learn it. Naturally, what I had learned was nowhere near the full capabilities of what the skill offered. Each plant type had a different way of growth, which was then complicated further by the objective.

I learned how to copy some of their tricks at best, and even that was only possible due to the combined assistance of Wisdom-enhanced memory as well as the experiments with my ...

Blacksmith vs. the System 188

I found Terry hunched over a makeshift worktable near the corner of the trees, while Rebecca was at the center, slowly growing a tree that had its branches wrapped around a claw from a lizard boss.

Not wanting to interrupt her attempt to improve her skill, I walked to Terry, who had a focused frown on his face, lips pressed together in concentration. His thoughts were apparent, and so was the row of plants in front of him radiating the familiar aura of decay.

He didn’t only ha...

Blacksmith vs. the System 187

Once most of the team had departed, things had gone smoother. Walking Rebecca through the same steps had been easy, especially since I had Terry’s skill as a template to create better items to assist her.

And, while she was going through the class upgrade, I went upstairs to consume even more of the tainted energy cloud around the dungeon, replenishing its reserves to the limit — and using the opportunity to add several hundred tons of flame-resistant metal to our stock. Unfortunat...

Blacksmith vs. the System 186

“Are we due for a celebration?” I asked once I noticed Terry was too excited to speak, while the rest held their breath. I could have announced his success after watching him absorb mana directly, which was only possible with Essence giving him reserves, but I chose not to.

He deserved to announce his own success.

Still, as he trembled in excitement, I couldn’t help but smile proudly. While I always saw myself more as a researcher than a teacher, the unique joy of guiding ...

Guardian's Farm 18

I realized something was amiss as the sun started its climb in the sky while Eli was yet to appear. If it was just a few lessons, I might have assumed that he was lazy or changed his mind about the training, but the more I interacted with him, the less I found that believable.

He was too contentious for that to be the case, especially as the noon drew near. “What do you say, Sage?” I asked as I did my best to ignore that nagging feeling. “Should we go and check up on him?”

Guardian's Farm 17

Eli knelt at the edge of a small ravine, carefully examining his surroundings as he took a small sip from his flask, not daring to lower his guard even for a second. He was too deep into the forest, and he couldn’t take such a risk.

Not when he was exploring deeper than he ever had in his life, wandering away from the safety of the areas he had already explored.

It was not an accident.

After all, the farther away from the border he got, the more dangerous the forest was...

Guardian's Farm 16

As spring turned to summer, the construction of the homestead had been completed, slightly ahead of schedule even with the farm life’s tendency to create unexpected emergencies every single day.

“And, it looks even better than I could have hoped,” I said as I examined my cozy cottage.

Carving the statue of the flame lion had marked a point of sudden breakthrough for me. Somehow, I had turned into a better woodworker.

Admittedly, I wasn’t unfamiliar with the concep...

Blacksmith vs. the System 185

“This is —” Terry muttered as he looked around.

“My workshop,” I said as I pointed. Not just the forge, but countless shelves that could be seen from an open door, each keeping the record of a certain experiment.

“It’s … not what I imagined,” Rebecca commented.

“It’s too mundane, right?” I said, to which she nodded, albeit not entirely convinced. It was hard to blame them, not with the way I had been developing. They expected something fancier. 2025-01-11 04:06:00 +0000 UTC View Post

Blacksmith vs. the System 184

When I returned to my team of students, I found them gathered in a circle, a worried expression on their faces. “How’s everyone?” I asked.

“I would have been better if someone just hadn’t evacuated us without saying anything,” Jennifer spat out angrily. The others looked at her, trying to calm her down.

“I deserved it,” I said, smiling. While her attitude wasn’t entirely deserved considering the situation, I preferred that to the way people looked at me outside,...

Blacksmith vs. the System 183

“Don’t you think that was a bit too fast?” Rosie asked, appearing from nothingness. “Maybe we should have interrogated him.”

I shrugged. “If you thought that, you would have already stopped me,” I said.

“True,” she declared, then pushed Thomas’ ruined armor to the side, showing scales. “He had already started his transformation. All he needed was some time to complete it, and he would have had a chance to respond.”

I paused, examining his scales, w...

Blacksmith vs. the System 182

I took a deep breath, trying to determine the best path for my hasty battlefield experiment. I lowered the tiny sapling against the obsidian, only my protection preventing it from burning immediately, wondering whether what I was about to do was possible in the first place.

My experiment was hasty, but not baseless. My first reliance was what I had observed from the thousands of farmers who had lived in the dungeon. I had watched them play with the nature of many different plants with ...

Blacksmith vs. the System 181

A step through the gate brought me to the fifth floor, yet had it not been for the distinct feeling I had received from the dungeon, I would have questioned whether I was in the right location, or if I accidentally arrived somewhere else.

My surroundings had changed significantly. For one, there was no thick aura of decay, threatening to erode anything into an easily digestible slop. Nor was there a cloud of bad-smelling vapor blocking my view, replaced by a raging, hot gust of wind, o...

Guardian's Farm 15

It was already dark when I returned to the farm. Sage greeted me with a lazy growl, resting next to the fire, which was still raging. He must have added some more wood to keep it going, as he enjoyed napping next to a raging fire.

The pot that was supposed to hold dinner, on the other hand, was completely empty.

“You lazy dog,” I called, but he just whimpered in response, not bothering to raise his head. I chuckled, amused at his attitude, but I didn’t immediately sit next...

Guardian's Farm 14

As I watched Eli leave my growing homestead with a skip on his steps, I wanted to feel elated. After all, after two weeks of observation, I had picked the perfect technique to teach him.

Eternal Sun Spear.

There were several reasons I had picked it. First, it fitted Eli quite well, both in terms of demeanor and body type. Eternal Sun Spear required a fast yet steady user with a strong determination, traits that Eli was showing perfectly.

Life as an orphan was never easy, ...

Guardian's Farm 13

Eli arrived at the makeshift homestead at dawn, just like he did every third day.

This was going to be his fifth lesson. Lessons that had been underwhelming enough that he no longer felt guilty for paying only half a silver for each lesson. The food was an unexpected extra, especially since he insisted on feeding him with meat even when he brought his own breakfast, but Eli did his best to pay back by helping him with the construction.

Combined with the tools and material he pur...

Guardian's Farm 12

I was midway through my morning exercises when Sage lifted his head, ears perked toward the forest trail, but his face only showed frustration. Almost jealousy. “So, Eli is about to arrive,” I said. “He’s fast.”

Not that it surprised me. I could understand his excitement very well. I was the same back in the day. However, his imminent arrival wasn’t a good reason to stop exercising, so I continued to move through the first stance, which refused to click, and my eyes closed....

Guardian's Farm 11

Anna had a complicated relationship with her position as one of the Seven … currently limited to six members, having a meeting about raising it to seven.

She was proud of being a part of the group that saved the world, yet she still felt guilty that her inclusion had been preceded by a great tragedy that they still refused to talk about. Magna was the only one who had been willing to talk about Garum with her, but the one time he did, he had such an intense expression of grief, that ...