Blacksmith vs. the System 296

When Rosie stepped in my forge to interrupt me, I was working at the forge, enjoying the simplicity of working with my hands, four different elements from the dungeon mixing together in a confusing tapestry, the hundreds of tiny runes around them the only thing that was holding back.

Rosie said nothing until I finished my work, and threw the dagger at the target … only for it to shatter into pieces and explode, destroying not only the target but also a significant part of the wall behind it.

“Still no progress?” she asked. “It has been a week.”

I sighed. “I’ll have you know I had made incredible progress,” I responded. “It’s just a little problem with stability.”

Rosie chuckled. “It’s the fifth time I've heard it,” she said.

“Cost of progress, I’m afraid,” I responded. “Is it time for my daily tour?” It had been one of the conditions of my weekly retreat. Every day, I needed to leave my lab and spend a few hours, not just holding court, but also walking around and being seen.

Apparently, people could get really anxious about the absence of their royal leadership. The kingship, even with all the stats it provided, was getting more trouble than it was worth.

“Today, you can’t get away with just a quick walk, I’m afraid. We have several diplomats that we need to entertain.”

“Asterion?” I asked.

“Officially, they are here to thank for the weapons,” she responded. During the weeklong retreat, I didn’t only focus on experiments; though the focus had was enough to put my three critical skills to the limit.

[Meditation of Decay (Mythic) - 600 [Controlled Flow, Superior Sensing, Advanced Purification]

[Rune Craft (Mythic) - 600 [Superior Creative Forging, Advanced Mana Control, Superior Spell Forge]

Rune Harmonizer (Mythic) - 600 [Superior Observe, Superior Inscription Mender, Advanced Transformation]]

Rune Craft and Rune Harmonizer helped a lot in the maximized state, especially since I finally figured a way to mix dungeon energies directly. By pulling from fire and decay simultaneously, I was able to create Radiant Flame weapons with surprising speed, and not just of the low-quality metal that was only fit to be used as cannon shells.

So, I had forged a hundred and eleven weapons for Asterion, a return gift for the Ichor they had sent us. A hundred ordinary swords; though ordinary in the standards of Ascended warriors, ten special swords for their officers, and one unique masterpiece that took me half a day to create even with all my advantages, perfect for their commander.

According to the news Rosie had brought back, my gift worked wonders to push Drakka even faster than our predictions.

“Not just Asterion, though their emissary came with a hefty gift in return. They must be loving their gift,” Rosie responded. “Vessalia and Tristelion sent their ambassadors, not to mention some visitors from bigger guides, and emissaries of distant towns … at least, officially.”

“Officially?” I questioned. “What’s the real situation?”

“Guilds are mostly truthful about their identities, though a few are somewhat doubtful. The tricky thing is the larger towns. Why would they bother traveling four hundred miles through danger to have a meeting, when their benefits will be limited? It’s probably the cities that are farther away, maybe as far as the West Coast.”

“That’s a long distance,” I said. “Do I really have to deal with them?”

She shrugged. “You should have thought about it before giving a set of weapons that could arm a battalion. Not only did it prove the quality, but also showed that you can create them with a shocking speed.”

“You told me the risks were acceptable,” I complained.

“From a security perspective , yes,” she said. “But, in terms of maintaining your social isolation…”

I waved my hand. “I got it.”

“I don’t think you do,” Rosie responded. ”At this point, the weapons you forge are far superior to anything that could be purchased on the System stores, or most could forge themselves. You might be the only blacksmith with a Mythic Skill in the first place. Even if there are others, they can’t be many.”

“True.”

“More importantly, they won’t have your stats, nor will they have multiple dungeons supplying them with endless mana to match your speed. The only reason we are not dealing with the hundreds of guilds and towns begging us for weapons is the war. They are afraid of getting to the crossfire.”

“Not enough for all of them to stay away, though?” I guessed.

“Some of them are feeling courageous because Asterion’s latest assault, taking over two more critical dungeons, makes it unlikely for Drakka to try counter-attacking.”

“Good news. Still, we shouldn’t relax. We don’t want to be hit with a revenge strike. I’m afraid that they might get help from their home base, or pull another trick with the heretics..”

“Don’t worry about it,” Rosie responded. “We are constantly reinforcing our towns, both with Ascended soldiers and with the newest cannons. Combined, the devastation they bring forward is … considerable. We might not be putting up a threat as big as Asterion when it comes to attacking, but in defense, we might be even better than them. Especially with all those enchanted forests Terry and Rebecca are growing on the way.”

“Are they making progress? I would have assumed it would have been slow-going.”

“Not when they have two thousand high-level farmers, led by fifty ascended ones.”

“Fifty? That’s a big number. We’re not weakening our defenses, right?”

“No. They have split the ascended in a way that could reinforce the defenses in case of an emergency. Not to mention, our ascended numbers are getting higher.”

“Good. Speaking of ascended, how’s the general process? I didn’t have time to check on it for the last few days.”

“Basically on track, though our success rate is getting lower. Terry is confident it’s about the class skills and soul strength of the candidates. We are better candidates, but they are new arrivals.”

“No, we can’t prioritize new arrivals over people who have already risked their lives defending others. Basic meritocracy is the basis of everything we’re doing here. People need to believe that we’re working together for a brighter future. We can’t change it just to have a few more ascended.”

“As long as the current rate is acceptable,” Rosie responded.

”A drop is inevitable. Farmers might be previously neglected resources with higher than usual soul strength, but that doesn’t mean every candidate we have has an overwhelming advantage. As long as we are above a forty percent success rate, I’m happy.”

“We are still above fifty-five percent, so there’s no problem,” she said.

“Good. Anything else?” I said. “Any emergency that needs my attention?”

“Ideally, one that will justify skipping the diplomatic meeting, right?” she countered, and I ducked my head sheepishly, avoiding answering. I opened a gate, but before I could step through, she pulled a piece of cloth from her bag and threw at me. “Put on a decent tabard; it’ll hide the soot of the forge.”

The tabard she passed me was grand and majestic … but also ugly, with a lot of golden and silver threads, creating a complicated pattern. The only part I liked was the symbol at the chest, a hammer and an anvil, both gleaming with a subtle spell, while a crown lay on top of the anvil, like it was freshly forged.

My official royal sigil, one that I compromised with my council after a long meeting. They wanted something suitably mystic, with lions and dragons. I wanted something that would pay homage to my true identity as a scientist, suitably modern.

Ultimately, we compromised by highlighting the blacksmith identity: as it was suitably archaic to fulfill System’s medieval slant, and for me, it was still close enough to my core identity.

“Do you have a dossier about the visitors?” I asked.

She threw me a small booklet. I flipped through it, noting that it was filled with dossiers. Each page had a portrait, and some relevant information. Their origin, their class, relevant details about their past, and other topics. “It’s not very reliable. We have collected it in a hurry, and some of the information is bound to be inaccurate. Don’t let your guard down.”

“I’ll be attentive,” I promised, though I wasn’t particularly worried. My current stats went a long way in ensuring my safety. “But, while I’m in the meeting, keep Maria ready to intervene. It’s the first time since our attack had started that I would be out in the open, and unable to respond to an attack without making our city look weak. Be careful.”

“Don’t worry. That, I already arranged,” Rosie responded, and I nodded.

It was a pleasure to work with competent people.