Blacksmith vs. the System 282

The Drakkan force was surprised by my sudden burst of movement. Not for long, just for ten seconds or so before they realized their mistake.

But, it was enough for me to change my path and start going directly toward the swamp, which had the nearest gate. The faster my mana recovered, the better. Other than that, I didn’t need to consider anything. We weren’t in a condition to bait them. Either they would follow, or not.

It wasn’t like I had much to complain about. Our counter-strategy had been ruined by the unexpected size of the enemy. I would have been unsatisfied with our gains, dealing with only three Ascended, but other benefits spoke for themselves.

First, completely incidentally, I had validated my theory that upgrading skills above Mythic had a precondition, which was a reward enough. Then, I had a way to rapidly maximize my Runic Craft skill, including an aborted path to upgrade it further.

But, that paled compared to what I had done with my Detection skills … and my personal fears.

“What was that?” Rosie asked, her tone slightly trembling, but in another person, it would have counted as shouting. “You froze, then started trembling in fear while your whole energy churned chaotically. Then, you just … flew.”

“Let’s just say I had a small revelation, and it allowed me to get over my fears,” I replied even as I threw one of the condensed energy bars I carried with me. It wouldn’t refill my health immediately, but every bit counted.

“Small?” Rosie asked.

“A tiny one,” I replied. It was not entirely accurate, but the fact that the other planets in our solar system had been infected by the same corruption we had been dealing with a long time ago was not a topic we could discuss while on the run. It would be best dealt with in the future. I looked down and caught Maria’s gaze. “How are you feeling?”

“Not … good,” she muttered. “That last spell, it…”

“Don’t worry about it. We’re not under immediate threat,” I replied. A statement that had been falsified immediately as an arrow flew near. Rosie countered with a blow of her own, but I could see her strain. “Can you carry Maria?” I asked even as I passed her, and pulled my blade.

The arrow meant that Drakkans decided to chase us. A big mistake.

The time that passed without harassment meant that my mana reserves had already filled completely. More importantly, the amount it recovered tripled already, giving me almost fifteen hundred mana each second.

It was enough to deflect their attacks and counter-attack at once.

Yet, I was stuck behind Rosie and Maria, limiting myself to parrying their arrows. “Have you alerted the town?” I asked Rosie.

“No. I didn’t have the time,” she replied.

I nodded, and pointed my empty hand to the sky. Nine bursts of flame covered the sky, more light than anything, a predetermined signal, declaring emergency. It was a good measure in case they had other traps. Terry and the rest should be able to deal with most threats, especially with the newest mana pipes in place to supply them with mana in mid-battle.

I had to trust them to hold, at least until Rosie and Maria could return, as an army of Ascended was all I could handle.

“How’s your situation?” I asked Maria. “Can you fight?”

“Yes, but my reserves are depleted —” she said, but stopped when I grabbed her hand.

“Absorb it,” I said, releasing my mana to her. She absorbed quickly. She wouldn’t be able to bear her full Ascended might before meditating for a few hours, but what she got should be enough to ensure their escape.

“Are we going to fight?” she asked.

“Not we,” I corrected. “We’re about to be cut off. You two are going to rush to the gate and return to the city from the dungeon access. We can’t afford the risk if they try something like that.” Both of them opened their mouths to argue, but I cut them off. “There’s no time to argue, and I have the advantage,” I said. “You have seen the attack I had delivered.

“Fine,” Maria replied, her distaste clear, but I said nothing. I could see that she made her mistake badly.

I looked at Rosie. “Run fast, and try not to use any magic until the last moment,” I said. “I’ll deal with the arrows. I prefer if a few of them break formation to get you.”

Rosie nodded, her smile turning vicious. “Easy pickings. I get it,” she said. I slowed down, the intensity of mana around my blade rising. I dragged my sword in front of me, cutting a long line. A useless gesture, but unexpected enough to slow them for a moment.

Every second helped.

“So, boys. Who wants to die first,” I said, my tone excessively confident. I was trying to pull a double-bluff, strength to hide weakness, which then hid my actual, recovered strength. It was a simple trick, but just like what they had pulled against Maria earlier, in battle, simplicity didn’t mean ineffectiveness.

After stalling for another second, their leader gave several orders, and they split into three. One group ranged, spread, and started attacking Rosie from a distance. It was more difficult to intercept their arrows when they were not targeted at me, especially coming from such a dispersed direction.

Too bad for them, I had the mana to spend. I wondered if my earlier spending led them to underestimate just how much mana I was getting from the dungeon gate. If so, it would be a costly mistake.

Meanwhile, the remaining melee fighters split into two. The larger one charged at me, while the smaller group, made of only five soldiers, activated their flying to catch up with Rosie and Maria.

I threw several strong attacks at the flying group, acting like I was trying to block their path. That made the larger group split, doing their best to cover the distance. “You’re surrounded, false king,” declared the one who had trapped Maria.

“Oh, really?” I said, shifted my grip to the spear, and jumped high, once again relying on my aerial advantage. It still made me feel a chill, but there was no painful trauma associated with it.

At first, I acted like I was targeting the flying ones, making them turn toward me. It was when Maria released the spell she prepared, nailing them in the air. Without the wards to limit the fire damage, the spell was devastating enough to kill one, and two others fell down.

I could have finished them down, but I had a better target in mind.

The archers.

“How can you fly!” their leader shouted, shocked. “It can’t be a bluff.”

“You only know what I let you know,” I responded haughtily. It was never a bad idea to mislead my enemy. Then, I stabbed my spear, triggering another wave of decay. One that looked like the earlier experimental one, which had damaged their formation greatly.

[-2000 Mana]

The key phrase looked like. The similarity in looks forced the melee group to disperse, which gave me the perfect opportunity to target the archers, who had split earlier. Some never even had the time to put on their armor since the initial ambush, allowing me to target them.

I managed to take down six of them before they managed to gather, creating a tight formation arrayed against me. I twirled my spear, wondering if they would dare to attack, or retreat.

They seemed to share the same concern, as their leader pulled a magical communicator, the mana pulse it radiated was subtle enough that I wouldn’t have caught it without the sensitivity from Mana Detection.

Well, it was Void Sentry from ten minutes ago, but it still contained the basic functions of Mana Detection, so nothing changed on that front.

I could have blocked their communicator, but not without wasting most of my mana in the process while putting myself at risk. And, the core concept hadn’t changed yet. I had managed to take down nine, and Maria’s last-minute attack had taken down one.

It still left twenty Ascended. Worse, one of my biggest advantages, my endurance, had been spent greatly based on my earlier reckless attack, where I had used my soul directly as a means to attack. So, I let them send the message, hiding my ability to discern the subtle pulse it released, and the answer it received.

One that came from the North, at least twenty miles away, confirming the presence of a secondary force. “Retreat,” their leader called. A good call. I couldn’t fight against them without the constant mana from the dungeon.

And, keeping twenty Ascended behind was too much even for me. I could weaponize Charisma while following them, the timing better than what I had faced. It was not a risk worth taking, not when I had already pushed myself to the limit, and reinforcements could still arrive.

It was enough, I decided as I watched them retreat hastily, their thick formation unable to hide their humiliation.

Only when they disappeared on the horizon, I return to the city, my hammer raised high in celebration. The city deserved a celebration for victory after the mobilization.

And, despite the twists and turns, there was no arguing that it had been a victory. One that skirted a disaster.

But a victory nonetheless.