Blacksmith vs. the System 307

I had expected the ocean habitat to react to the dungeon gate, but the intensity still shocked me. I could already see the giant shark, larger than the biggest whale before the Cataclysm, its size alone a dangerous tool for intimidation.

That was not the only change. The closer it got, the higher its presence had turned, the ocean rising along to provide it with a platform. The mana gathered around it, turning into a threatening spell. That alone would have been scary.

Yet, at some distance, I could see a few more dark figures rising in the water. The shark wasn’t the only beast that arrived to defend its land. It was just the first one to arrive. Before the shark could arrive, its first attack did. A devastating wave that rose almost a hundred yards, devastating the land.

Yet, when it hit against the keep I had just constructed, it splashed uselessly; the combination of mana and metal proved too strong. I smirked viciously. I wouldn’t have spent almost half of my night trying to build that keep if I hadn’t believed it to be useful.

A good thing, as it meant I could continue focusing on the gate that was still in the process of forming, the connection with the land slowly settling. The shark attacked thrice more, its ranged attacks splashing haplessly against the metal walls of the keep, still approaching steadily.

I still had to update my perspective of their capabilities. I expected them to be stronger after growing in a mana-rich zone, but it looked like I had still underestimated just how much deadlier they would have made the boss monsters.

Not in a direct fight, as their usage of mana seemed to be direct and primitive, easily countered. Ultimately, it was nowhere near as dangerous as its direct attacks, especially a potential bite. Unlike its direct attacks, its primitive mana attacks represented a huge risk of collateral damage.

A nasty possibility.

I thought about getting out and killing the shark, but one thing kept me back. The only other distant figures I could see deeper into the ocean. Despite their restlessness, they were yet to close the distance. Maybe they were scared of stepping into the territory of the shark. Maybe it was stronger than usual when it came to sea boss monsters.

Another minute under the constant, if ineffective, spell attacks, and the gate finally formed. The moment it did, Eleanor stepped out, her blade drawn, followed by Maria and Rosie, their expressions alarmed.

“You are late,” Maria growled. The other two said nothing, but I could see in their expressions that they shared the same idea.

“Sorry about that. It took a while to put up a proper defense that would keep that hungry beast outside,” I replied. “Without a solid foundation, it would have knocked us away. It would have ruined the gate.”

The skink eye I received showed that my explanation was not accepted, but the reckoning hadn’t reached me immediately. Rosie turned to Maria. “Since this idiot is fine, we should return to our posts. If we stay away any longer, the spies will realize something is wrong.”

“I will stay here and expand the keep, maybe make sure the foundations of the port are solid enough. It shouldn’t take more than a day. Maybe two,” I informed them. “Alert me if there’s an emergency.” That got three perfunctory, annoyed nods before they disappeared into the gate.

I had a feeling I would pay for it.

Yet, my thoughts refocused when Harold stepped out, followed by Liam and Spencer. The perfect trio to handle the issue. “Welcome —” I said, which was the moment that another wave hit against the keep, the loud crash mixing with the sound of the mana flaring. “As you can see, it’s still a bit messy outside.”

Feeling the next spell wasn’t about to arrive immediately, I opened the gate, giving them a glimpse of the show. “We’re going to need a bigger fleet,” Harold muttered.

I smirked. It was rare for Harold to make jokes. Who knew all it would take was an apocalyptic shark to bring that side out.

“Should we kill it?” Spencer asked. “It looks like a challenge.”

“Not yet,” I responded. “I want to finish building a courtyard and a second set of walls, maybe anchor a few wards before we start dealing with the bosses. I could kill it, but it’ll get replaced quickly enough.”

“What’s the plan?” Harold asked.

“I need you to organize the defense force. For now, just bring ten ascended to this side, and keep the others in the dungeon, ready to respond. Liam, focus on moving the metal plates I need. Spencer. I need you to deploy a few observation nodes. Let’s make sure we don’t get ambushed from the other side. It has been a while since I arrived. The last thing we want is to deal with a Drakkan ambush.”

They split to follow their orders, and I stepped out of the keep.

The shark treated my appearance as a challenge, exploding in anger. Another wave appeared, but rather than collapsing as a tsunami, it turned into a trio of water arrows, all three targeting me. Outside the keep, it was a difficult attack to counter.

Or, more accurately, it would have been, if the dungeon gate hadn’t already been stabilized, once again giving me near-infinite mana. “A good chance to test my new dungeons,” I muttered while I raised my hand, and a line of runes appeared in the air, each radiating the cold.

[-10000 Mana]

[-10000 Mana]

[-10000 Mana]

I released three spells to counter its arrows, each targeting one column of water. They froze, losing their momentum under the freeze effect.

What better way to deal with the attacks of a sea monster than freezing it?

The shark, for some reason, took that personally, roaring even louder, the energy radiating off it. I could have used the winds to float above it and slowly whittle it down … but that would have been a waste of time. Instead, I cast a multitude of spells toward the ocean, and an icy tower burst through it, radiating energy.

A nice distraction for me to focus on the metal plates Liam and the logistic team brought out of the dungeon. Unlike before, I didn’t need to pause and replenish my mana every few seconds. I shifted to my hammer, each blow targeting one plate from a distance.

The only time I stopped was to respond to the next attack wave from the shark. It seemed determined to not leave the water even though its attacks were relatively ineffective. I wondered if it was worried about pushing itself too much, or if it just had a very limited strategic perspective, thinking I would eventually get exhausted.

Admittedly, I couldn’t blame the beast if it was thinking the latter. They were not exactly sapient, and with limited logic, it would be easy to compare me with ascended, who would be getting tired at this point. The weaker beasts continued to rush, but whenever their numbers turned overwhelming, I countered with an ice spell, freezing another small portion of the ocean.

The shark watched, its inaction continuous. Though, the reason for it was just a guess on my part. The beast might be equally reluctant to leave the water, which represented its biggest advantage. Regardless of the reason, it watched me work, thick runic plates melting together to create a proper castle.

Unlike the previous modest keep, the castle was a large, intimidating entity, the walls tall enough to intimidate any beast, radiating with mana, intersected with many towers with hidden steam pipes, ready to be armed with steam canons the moment I gave the signal.

A signal that I hadn’t planned to give until I finished the construction and made sure the castle was impenetrable. Unfortunately, that particular issue hadn’t continued as long as I wished. Spencer shouted a warning. “We have detected an enemy presence. Thirty miles away, but getting closer fast. They will be here in less than fifteen minutes.”

“That’s fast,” I responded. “Any indication about the identity.”

”Heretics,” Spencer responded, his face grim.

“All of it?”

“Difficult to say,” he responded. “The presence of heretics is overwhelming for our current sensors. There could be other forces coming with them. It’s difficult to be sure.”

“Fine, we better start moving faster,” I said, examining the outer walls and the foundation of the outer castle, which already fulfilled my minimum requirements. Not ideal, but better than what could hope for. “Liam, I want at least fifty cannons out and operating, at least half of them with ice shells. Harold, you have the command.

“Yes, sir,” he said before he turned toward one of the ascendants waiting for his orders. “I want twenty ascended and a hundred high-level warriors out in addition to the teams that’s required to operate the cannons. You have a minute. Move!”

Liam looked at him. “What about the logistics team?”

“Only the ones that’s required to keep the cannons in full operation. In case things go bad, I want you to be capable of evacuating in less than thirty seconds.”

“That would require leaving all the equipment behind,” Liam countered.

Coming from anyone else, Harold would have reacted very aggressively. But knowing Liam, I knew it wasn’t a subtle implication of the material importance over people. If his sigh was any indicator, so did Harold. “I doubt we’ll need to actually do so, not with the walls in place, but I want us to be prepared just in case.”

It was a good decision. I stopped listening to their bickering, and focused on activating the wards, which,, thanks to a combination of my high Intelligence stat, infinite mana, all the runes etched in the metal plates that had gone to the foundation of the castle, stabilized very quickly.

Our extensive preparation was paying off.