Blacksmith vs. the System

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 to rely upon him a lot for this task.

There was a benefit to handling the management of the Farmers through Harold. It was a well-known fact that not being seen too many times helped reflect a sense of authority, which was why even the generals before the Cataclysm didn't fraternize with the rank and file, but it wasn't the reason I didn't stay with them.

No, I had a simpler reason. I had a lot of work to do in the dungeon.

Since I had officially mentioned to Eleanor that I would be building a forge in the dungeon, I needed to do so. For that, I would have to set up another forge, this time in a hidden corner of the second floor, maybe dig a cave for it. Admittedly, I had no intention of actually using that forge. It would be entirely for show.

I just needed a location for Eleanor if she wanted to visit.

Meanwhile, I would be splitting the actual task of forging the required materials between the third and fourth floors. The armor and the spears I planned to forge had to be made on the third floor, as they would be made of ordinary materials, and just staying on the fourth floor would destroy them.

Luckily, the arrowheads would be corrosion-resistant, so I could handle their forging on the fourth floor.

It was important. Unlike the armor sets and spears, I would be forging an absurd number of arrowheads, and on the fourth floor, I could use the steam engines to make the process even faster. And, the less time I spent on routine tasks, the more time I would have to explore the fourth floor without people getting suspicious.

I was glad that I had revealed part of my subterfuge to Eleanor and Maria. Not having to hide everything from them meant that I could do much more. Just the fact that I could bring sealed boxes in and out of the dungeon was a game changer.

"Now, the hard part," I muttered as I left the town behind, and started walking the road between the dungeon and the town, alone. I wasn't walking because I was suddenly unafraid of another possible assassination, but because I was afraid of them.

It was a simple bluff. The thing that was keeping me safe was Thomas' erroneous belief that I was above level hundred. Even if he suspected that there had been something wrong with using Charisma, he would still believe that I was near that point.

It would make assassinating me the worst way to sabotage the town, especially when Maria and Eleanor were around. Luckily, my earlier stay in the dungeon could easily be explained as staying to protect the dungeon rather than trying to stay safe.

"I just hope he'll think like that," I said even as I left the road and started to walk in the wilderness. Naturally, many wild monsters attacked, but they were not even a challenge to my Stalwart Guard, let alone my Quake Hammer.

With its proficiency at its limit, the skill was truly amazing. For example, I could confidently face a team of assassins even if they chose to attack together. I wouldn't, of course, not if I had any other choice. Why should I have suffered a brave last stand when I could easily ambush the enemy?

If it wasn't for my confidence to defend myself — or at least, escape — I wouldn't have dared to walk into the wilderness. After all, there was a chance that Thomas could ignore all the reasons that made me a bad target and attack me.

"Now, let's get to work," I said to myself even as I found a small cave and entered it. After killing the monsters inside, I paused for a moment and used my Cleansing Meditation to absorb the mana they let out.

[+15 Mana]

Monsters outside didn't have that much mana in them, so killing almost thirty of them barely gave me fifteen points. No wonder mages didn't want to live here. However, I noticed something interesting, which was only possible thanks to Cleansing Meditation.

The monsters outside also had a minute amount of tainted energy. Not as intense as the monsters in the dungeon, and likely not the same kind. But, it was an interesting detail. However, it wasn't the time to explore that.

I started digging a tunnel through the dungeon floor, my Strength allowing me to handle that task at a quick pace, especially when I could use Vitality attacks against any rocks. Using mana would have made things easier, but I wasn't entirely sure that I had no one following me.

I traveled almost a thousand yards like that, and, at my point of exit, I used the camouflage ring to walk another three hundred yards, found a new cave, and repeated the pattern twice.

Once I finished that, I modified the surface layer of the armor completely. The shape, the patterns, everything. Luckily, I had long designed my armor to be two-layered, with the top layer only there as a distraction, so it worked well enough.

I even created a new, large spear to give my alter ego a different identity. Of course, it was not actually a spear, but a hollow tube, which I used to check for mineral deposits. Luckily, iron oxide was easy to recognize. And, since I was merely searching for something with around five percent purity, rather than above fifty percent like any sane commercial operation would, I was able to find enough material to forge my boxes.

Not having the necessity to carry boxes of iron helped.

The reason for my complicated travel plan and disguise, which included even some material sourcing, was simple. Once I started arriving with the mysterious metal boxes, people would start looking for them. I needed a reasonable excuse. So, once I was deep in the wilderness, I used the ores from the surrounding area to create a simple, sealed metal box that was larger than my body.

The box had two features. On its surface, there was a stamp, with the text of Mystery Delivery. And, inside, there was another stamp, with the phrase 'Better luck next time'. The trick was simple. Once I started arriving at the dungeon with boxes that were supposedly filled with treasures, people could start looking for them.

I created those boxes as a simple trick. Once I buried enough of them, it would give them a good idea about the method. My secretive supplier would bury hundreds of boxes around, and supposedly inform me about the correct delivery.

For that reason, the boxes I forged were nothing I couldn't do when my Forging was merely at ten. After all, they were merely decoys.

That, along with my growing reputation as someone supposedly at or above level hundred, should be enough to deflect the attention.

For the next eight hours, I went deeper and deeper into the wilderness, using Fleeting Step to move faster than should have been possible, leaving boxes in the hilltops and valleys, each far away from one another, creating a very complicated treasure hunt. I could have done so without much fear because the monsters in the mana dead zones weren't as dangerous.

Of course, that should make living in mana dead zones a better option. It meant the area was more secure. However, the economic disadvantages created by a lack of environmental mana — like the fact that we needed almost ten farmers just to support one warrior operating in the dungeon — were obvious. Then there was the even more important fact that leveling was difficult.

Technically, both could be bypassed. Unfortunately, the security was not always guaranteed. It was safer under normal circumstances, but not during exceptional events. There was always a chance of a dungeon break from an undiscovered gate, or a monster horde could drift near while they were migrating.

There was a reason that our current town had many expensive and rare siege weapons.

Well, that, and the nighttime was still dangerous.

Once I had arrived near the dungeon, I modified my armor back to its previous state, once again using mana allowing me to bypass some cumbersome steps. I created ten of those delivery boxes, and even created a fully metal cart I could pull along, and arrived at the dungeon.

In front of the dungeon, there was a line, where the guards were carefully patting down every entrant to make sure there wasn't anyone smuggling dangerous lure potions or other items of sabotage.

"Hey, why's he not being searched? He's bringing that much stuff inside —" one of the new arrivals questioned. A guard silenced him by poking him with the end of a spear. The others in the line were quick to get the message.

I deliberately acted arrogant and aloof, different from my attitude around the guards. With my fake identity getting more and more complicated, the less interaction I had with the others, the more I could maintain that.

The guards said nothing even as I brought a huge delivery into the dungeon. I moved at a leisurely pace, ignoring the people trying to follow me without being too suspicious. After all, they didn't dare to follow me to the second floor immediately. And, the moment I arrived at the second floor, I demolished the cart and the boxes back into ingots.

I used Fleeting Step to disappear into the dungeon mist, making it impossible for anyone to follow me even if they were inclined to do so.

I had a full night to forge everything I needed.