Blacksmith vs. the System

"Not bad," I called twenty minutes later, examining the tiny orchard we had created, though speaking out loud was mostly for the benefit of the new hires, as they still looked skittish.

After all, the orchard was underwhelming compared to what I had created, there were merely ten trees, and only one of them was as tall as me. Nine of them were smaller. I could have triggered their growth just as easily, but the water we had brought was mostly gone, and the rest was earmarked for the next experiment.

Technically, Nurture was incredible enough to force their growth even without water and other nutrients, but then it would have slowed down enough to be completely pointless.

"Next, break a branch, and heal it with Nurture," I said. Alchemical fertilizer Maria had allowed the tree to generate a new branch, but it was slow progress. My mixture worked much better this time since the tree was strong enough to handle the poison.

"T-three points," one of the farmers gasped, looking shocked, while all the others looked regretful.

"Don't worry, all of you will have a chance to improve your skill to at least twenty-five," I said, underselling the potential significantly. Luckily, improving a common Nurture skill was hardly extraordinary.

People did not try to optimize it, because there was no strategic value to it, not when Farmers were the cheapest talent in the market.

I thought about offering them one of the Rare nurture skills, but I decided against it. While it might be the cheapest Rare skill, it was still a rare one, and I didn't have hundreds of them. Keeping them for the ones that I eventually wanted to hire was a better option.

Once the branch was ready, turning it into a crossbow bolt was easy. I already had the device to cut it into the perfect shape, and plugging it in place was just as easy. More common arrows would have used some special glue, screws, or another solution to make sure the connection stayed secure. Since our arrows would shatter at one attempt, there was no reason to risk it.

As for fletchings, fashioning one out of wood was enough. It wasn't the ideal material, but it didn't need to be. With the mist in place, we were only trying to hit targets at thirty yards. Even without a skill, that was an achievable target.

With a skill guiding the attack, against a monster that only charged at a straight line, missing was harder than hitting the target. And, with the material of the arrow especially effective on them, it was inevitable.

"Now, try and see if you can pull the bow back," I said. Unfortunately, without Strength, only two of them were capable of it, and both of them struggled for almost a minute. I made a note to put together a simple device to assist it.

"No matter," I said even as I quickly cocked every crossbow, the pressure as light as a feather under my touch. "Harold, leave one direction free and come here," I said. "You're responsible for reloading the crossbows."

"Yes, sir," he said, but I was able to catch his slight dissatisfaction. It might be a while since I had to deal with a bunch of overeager doctoral students, but I knew exactly how people looked when they received a task they disdained.

A problem that was best nipped in the bud. "Look, they are still a bunch of people with no combat experience. I need someone excellent to command them from up close, someone that can keep them alive." It helped that I was being honest. His role wasn't exactly glamorous at this point, but very important.

Harold had the necessary common sense to manage the situation.

"I won't disappoint you, sir," he said.

I nodded before I returned to the front line, where five farmers were looking scared and excited while they held the crossbows. "A-are we really going to kill monsters, sir," one of them asked, like he still couldn't believe it.

I didn't blame him. Dungeon access was an expensive luxury. Well, at least ones as smooth as our current one, with an open, straightforward surface. Based on what I had collected, the really dangerous ones — the ones that were even more hostile than the fourth floor — worked in reverse, with guilds getting paid to control them. But, those were not relevant for Farmers.

"Yes," I said. I thought about mentioning that I planned to give some of the profit as well, but I kept my mouth shut about it. No need to overwhelm them.

We waited a bit, and soon, an insect drifted forward. All of them shot at it at the same time, and two of them missed in a hurry. Still, three bolts were enough to kill the insect as they shattered inside it.

It wasn't a coincidence. I had already tried it before, and anti-corrosive material functioned akin to poison for these monsters. It penetrated through the armor only due to its unique properties, shattering in the process. And, the pieces worked like poison, because they were made from the shells of the giant variants.

"I … leveled up," one of the farmers gasped.

"Good, but next time, wait until it gets into thirty-yard range before shooting, and use your skill properly. Also, don't shoot at the same time, but take turns. No need to get too excited."

"Now, bring the crossbow to Harold, and pick a new one," I said, and watched them kill the monsters as they got near.

"Should we extract the shell," one of the others asked.

"It's not urgent," I replied. "I don't want you to start extracting before you put on armor. I don't want friendly fire," I said.

I let every single of them kill a few monsters, before I asked another question. "Is there anyone that's still below level ten?" I asked. No one answered, but their smiles were a bit silly, like they were drinking. I didn't blame them. The sensation of leveling up was fascinating, especially in the lower levels. And, for people who were unlucky enough to receive Farmer class, it was even more incredible, as most of them weren't even level five.

They might be receiving only one Vitality and nothing else, but it still meant twenty Health points, and faster conversion of food, both critical for their farming abilities. Also, I was observing them. While the lack of stats meant that their outward potential didn't match what others were showing, Vitality still gave them a general improvement.

For example, they were able to load their crossbows without assistance. It was still slow, so using the guards as a chain was still better, but I was hopeful that it would turn unnecessary soon. At least, for the current ones, which were pretty much the weakest on the market.

I would still need to figure out a solution if I were to ever upgrade them.

I didn't allow them to start collecting before every single one of them donned the armor, and got used to moving in it. Luckily, the System design was lightweight, ergonomic, and adjustable, making the process easy.

Only then, I allow them to start collecting the shells, the extractors working just as well as a hunter using his skills. "Excellent work," I said even as I started assigning tasks. "Now, we're going to have five teams. Hunters, construction workers, farmers, arrow makers, and a reserve force. To start, fifteen will be hunters, and ten will be in the reserve force."

"What is the job of the reserve force, sir?" a farmer asked.

"For the moment, collecting shells and making sure crossbows are loaded. However, in case of a swarm, I want you to be able to distribute crossbows to everyone while you all pull back to the fort."

"A swarm. Is that likely, sir?" another asked.

"Maybe," I responded. "But, it's nothing that can't be handled as long as we build the keep. And, with me here, there's no need to fear any swarm," I explained.

I waited until the farmers started operating, and soon, they started collecting shells. The numbers were not particularly impressive — well, by my standards, as I had no doubt that they would easily surpass any other guild's output with ease — but it didn't bother me.

After all, it was just a proof of concept, one that had worked. The first floor of the dungeon wasn't teeming with monsters, so the number of monsters that chose to attack us was the main limiting factor. It would change once I was confident enough to let them roam without supervision, and it would get even better once I let them establish another fort on the second floor.

As the hunting team and reserve team spread around the base, the guards stayed back, doing nothing but watching with their swords in hand.

"It looks promising, sir," Harold said as he got near me. "But, wouldn't it be better if we can find hunters? That would be far more efficient I think."

"Sure, as long as you can find me a thousand hunters in less than a week, we can do that," I replied, and his eyes widened.

"A — a thousand, sir," he gasped.

"A thousand, for each shift, rotating with eight-hour patterns," I added, which made his eyes widen.

"I … I don't think that will work, sir," he said, looking reproachful. "Not unless Lady Eleanor allows you to monopolize the first floor, and even then, it won't be efficient. There's a limit to the number of monsters. Maybe a thousand in total, rotating in three teams?"

I chuckled. "Oh, I didn't know the dungeon only had one floor," I responded. His eyes widened as he realized what I was talking about. And, once pointed, he didn't question it. After all, the biggest challenge on the second floor was the presence of the ranged attackers, easily destroying armor and weapons.

Crossbows had better range.

"What's next, sir," he asked.

"Three things," I said. "I want you to arrange for professionals to build a two-layered defensive encampment around the warehouse. Nothing too tall. Just five feet would be enough, but make it thick so that monsters couldn't chew through it easily. I want another wall around the dungeon gate in case of an emergency."

"And, the third one, sir?"

"I want you to come up with various scenarios. Assassination, monster swarms, fighting with other guilds, each solution prioritizing the lives of the guild members over material savings. And, make sure to train everyone on how to respond."

"I won't disappoint, sir," he said.

"I hope you won't," I answered even as I grabbed the empty cart, and walked toward the gate leading to the second floor. "Now, you take the command while I go and hunt on the second floor."