Blacksmith vs. the System

I first stopped by the fourth floor to bring a large cart filled with iron ores. These ores would be used for all the necessary materials, which came in three main categories. Namely, armors, weapons, and various other implements — farming, construction, shell removal, and arrow making.

The function of each category was obvious. However, their design was not straightforward. As long as I had the silver, I could easily forge fifty copies of my armor that would keep them safe from anything that the first three floors could throw at them. But, that was not an option because of the nature of my cover story.

While everyone else should believe that I was getting deliveries from an enigmatic delivery company, Eleanor and Maria were aware of the truth. So, if I armed the Farmers with a high-quality silver-iron mana alloy set, they would catch on that something was wrong.

Luckily, that level of defense was not exactly necessary for the first and second floors, considering they would be armed with crossbows. It just needed to survive one or two attacks from the monsters.

Instead, I decided to use a design from the System: a loose plate armor, which should be useful against both insects and human threats without hindering their mobility too much. I had used the design from the skill wholesale, without making even the slightest change.

These sets of armor were similar to those that could be purchased from a System Store. Yet, it was something an ordinary Blacksmith should have been capable of, as long as he spent a lot of money and consumed a lot of materials to improve his Forge skill, which should keep Eleanor and Maria from asking too many questions.

Creating fifty of them in one night was a bit excessive, but I could always claim that I had spent the last week doing that. However, those fifty armors were barely worth a few gold coins when purchased from the System store, so there would be no such questions.

There was a reason people didn't care much about Blacksmiths. The System Store always had better and cheaper alternatives.

Unless, of course, one decided to be a little unconventional.

Of course, the desire to make them look like System store purchases wasn't the only reason I stayed loyal to the design of the skill. Using the skill directly meant that I could forge the armor far faster. A part of it was the high proficiency, making the earlier steps easier. The other part of it was the skill guiding me on exactly how to use mana to bypass many steps, from the alloy structure settling crystals, to proper cooling.

It was hard to keep track when I could easily forge an armor in less than a minute. An absurd speed that was only possible because the material wasn't mana alloy. Forging those still took far more time.

However, speed wasn't the only reason. Quality played a role as well. While I was able to come up with a lot of specialized designs, from a more generalized perspective, they were still extremely inferior.

The same was true for the first set of spears I had designed. They were made of the same iron alloys I used on the armor, which would work well against any threat, including humans.

Once that was complete, I went to the fourth floor, but I didn't immediately start forging arrowheads. It would be faster for a day, but considering the amount and the scale I required, I didn't want to spend an hour every day wasting my time on repetitive work.

Instead, I created myself a nice setup. It had three steps. First, in a large cauldron, I would mix molten iron with the dungeon crystals and finely ground giant monster shell — which I could hunt en masse believably thanks to my improved sword skill — while I used my mana to stabilize the process, giving me the necessary raw material.

After that, I would pour the mixture onto a large tray, with arrow-shaped holes in it, with a lid that overlapped. Together, they functioned like a traditional sand casting. Of course, in that traditional casting, sand was used, because the molten metal would meld together.

Then, I put that tray into specialized shelves to cool down, and worked on a second tray.

For that, I covered the bottom layer with a layer of sand, so it could be separated easily, and the top part could be pulled. Once I did so, the arrowheads came as one connected sheet. To deal with that, I designed a huge scissor, made of composite structure. It allowed me to use an oversized mana blade to cut the arrowheads from the bottom.

The system was still primitive, but only the first part required me to use the Mana Forge skill.

As long as I had the materials ready, I would be able to forge tens of thousands of arrowheads at once.

The ability to use Mana during forging was just as big of a game changer as using it during combat. Too bad I couldn't sell my products openly without turning myself into a target. If I could, I would have just moved to a city and worked from the safety of a proper workshop rather than in the middle of a dungeon with a permanent corrosive mist that destroyed everything that wasn't designed for its unique nature.

Once the arrows had been completed, I brought them to the third floor before sealing them inside identical iron boxes, to be used in the morning.

With that, most of the preparation had been completed.

The next task was simpler. I finally opened the box Eleanor had brought for me.

[Skill Stone: Blade of Retribution (Rare)]

It was a domineering name, which was the only thing I knew. When I asked Eleanor about it, she had just smirked playfully and asked me to trust her. I chose to do so, particularly since it wasn't exactly as critical of a decision as she might have considered.

Ultimately, for me, a sword was a supporting weapon at best.

Of course, there was no reason for Eleanor to sabotage me, particularly through an expensive tool like a Rare skill. I had no idea about the current state of the skill market, particularly when it came to the more expensive skills.

Without thinking any longer, I accepted.

[Stalwart Guard (Uncommon) 100 - Blade of Retribution (Rare) 1]

After the discomfort had disappeared, I once again grabbed the fragile composite sword with gold filling, designed for ranged attacks. A few mana attacks were enough to push the skill to a high level.

[Blade of Retribution (Rare) 1 - 79]

As the information flowed into my perception, I started analyzing the merits of the fighting style, and the first thing I could say was that Eleanor had picked well. The sword was truly excellent for a Blacksmith who decided to embrace the blade over the hammer.

In a way, it was not too dissimilar to Stalwart Guard, as it relied on defense and strong counterattacks, relying on the pairing of a shield and a sword, but there were significant differences as well. It was optimized for a bigger, almost oversized sword — though it could still function well with a smaller one — and it was more mobility-dependent than Stalwart Guard.

I had to admit, even without the advantages that came from the tier upgrade of the skill, Blade of Retribution was a much better style. Stalwart Guard was better for fighting as a part of a small team maintaining formation while relying on the shield. Blade of Retribution was more reliant on mobility and footwork.

It was even better for my case, as my Dexterity was higher than an ordinary Blacksmiths', which meant I could fight better.

"Now, to improve, or not to improve," I asked a tree. Unfortunately, it didn't answer, leaving the decision to me. The decision was tricky. Improving meant that I could defend myself better, particularly against public threats where I might be reluctant to show my Quake Hammer.

And, it wasn't just another assassin I was thinking of. If I were Thomas — or, one of his advisors — I might have bribed a few other people to find a reason to fight me. Unfortunately, for a warrior and a guild leader, there would be times I couldn't refuse such challenges, particularly if they were nonlethal.

Not without raising a lot of questions that are best left unasked.

Alternatively, I could have kept my improvement slow, which would be more convincing to Eleanor. In the first half, I could claim that it was the learnings from the Stalwart Guard, but anything above a hundred would be a harder sell.

A tough decision, indeed. Though, I had to admit, even the ability to ask such a question was a luxury in the first place. It was only my systematic approach and my extensive preparation — mixed with some considerable luck — that had allowed me to ask such questions in the first place. Anyone else had to improve the old-fashioned way.

It was easy once I figured out the trick behind it … but then, I wasn't exactly sure that was the case. I claimed the same when I was eleven and started learning college-level math questions on my own.

In the end, I decided to maximize the skill. On one hand, failure meant I needed to find an excuse to give Eleanor, while on the other, failure might mean death. "I just have to refuse duels for a week or two," I decided. Hopefully, exhaustion and being busy setting up my guild would be a good excuse. She should be busy as well.

Even if we were available, I could still try to sandbag the duel. It would be hard, but the closer our skill level, the more believable it would be.

In the end, anything under a month to max out a Rare skill would be suspicious, so I didn't even bother to try.

Instead, I spent an hour practicing everything that was granted by the Rare variant to make sure I had a good handle on what it offered below a hundred, before I went near the trees, and started targeting the insects with the ranged mana attacks.

Those ranged attacks were significantly worse than just cutting them directly, but the fragile blade couldn't handle it. And, the aim wasn't to kill them, but to maximize the attack.

[Blade of Retribution (Rare) 196 - 200]

[Perk Options — Strike of Retribution / Swift Step / Unbroken Guard]

"Difficult choice," I said even as I read the available options. Strike of Retribution and Swift Step were both equally appealing. In the end, I decided to choose the Strike of Retribution, which turned out to be a ranged vitality attack.

It merely consumed forty Health, and delivered a smooth cut. I was happy with its existence.

But, even as I practiced, I realized that I neglected to check one important piece of information. I didn't know if Perk Reset stones worked on higher-tier skills.

"Another problem for the future," I muttered even as I started working on a new sword design, my new Perk already teaching me new things.