Blacksmith vs. the System 276

After the meeting with a surprising nautical conclusion, things fell into another routine, a very beneficial one. A week passed, with the growth of our town showing no sign of stopping, and the population already surpassing a quarter of a million.

The corrupting might have been localized, but a radius of three hundred miles was still too much for them to evaluate successfully … especially after their strongest ran away to join the cities, leaving the weaker warriors and farmers behind.

Though the addition of the warrior classes didn’t change much, as almost inevitably, they failed to bring their skills higher than Rare, suggesting that anyone with a stronger soul had long been recruited. It also applied to Blacksmiths, Alchemists, and most of the rarer production classes to a lesser degree. It was still a rarity for them to reach higher levels.

The only exception was the neglected Farmer Class, with a respectable portion of them reaching Epic. Legendary skills were still rare, but they were not limited to my students. As for Mythic, Terry was the only one who was able to reach the moment, proving that the conditions were even stricter than we assumed.

Or, they started valuing Farmers once they had shown the potential to reach Mythic level and recruited them. Terry slipped the web due to his youth.

Though, the population growth wasn’t the only change. We might not have yet implemented the mana-resistant plates to outposts to gather mana like we had initially planned, but that didn’t mean they were useless. Liam and his team have already implemented them across the settlements, perfect to supply our mages with mana, whether for their farming and crafting operations, or for battles.

It was far more efficient than the previous crushers we used for emergencies.

That was not the only thing Liam did. Together with Harold, they were making good progress in designing the ironclad ships, fighting, and collecting mana from the sea at the same time. But, they were still in the design phase. We could have tested them at a nearby lake, but that would risk revealing our hand.

We wanted to surprise Drakka once the attack started.

Meanwhile, my focus was split in many directions, but most of my time, was spent on finding ways to mass produce mana alloys.

Unfortunately, it proved too challenging even with all the advantages I possessed. Up until now, every single method I had developed had relied on some kind of direct manipulation from one of my skills. I tried to remove that dependency, but failed,

Maybe it required a completely novel approach. Unfortunately, I didn’t have infinite time with everything that was going on, so I decided to switch my other plan, enhancing my connection with the dungeon, and see if there was a way to update the skills it was outputting.

And, maybe spend a few days further updating my class skills. Considering a full week had passed, their improvement had been limited.

[Meditation of Decay (Mythic) - 310 [Controlled Flow, Superior Sensing, Purification]

[Rune Craft (Mythic) - 216 [Advanced Creative Forging, Advanced Mana Control, Advanced Spell Forge]

Rune Harmonizer (Mythic) - 132 [Advanced Observe, Inscription Mender]

[Mana Detection (Rare) - 216 [Advanced Mana Awareness, Advanced Elemental Detection]]

Command (Common) - 21 [Domineering Aura]]

However, there was a reason for it. Rune Craft and Harmonizer required a dedicated focus to improve, while Mana Detection and Command, I deliberately left as untouched as possible, wanting to chart a better path for them.

“But, before that, I need to visit Terry,” I muttered and opened the gate. It was almost the time I promised to visit him.

Last week, the most impressive part of our situation was Project Ascension. The project progressed excellently under Terry’s management. He and Harold had already identified a shortlist of reliable people which were further vetted by Rosie and Marie; and they were currently going through the leveling process.

A process that I no longer had to handle personally. My students were able to take over the process once Rebecca and Jessica had completed their Ascension. Using a few artifacts I forged, they were able to kill the bosses directly.

It was slower than my assistance, but since they were able to level up in the process, it seemed like a fair tradeoff.

Their efficiency went only further after Spencer completed his Ascension and joined them, his unique spell casting giving them an edge in utility to hasten the process even more. Admittedly, I didn’t like his decision to ascend early. Spending a month or two to see if he could upgrade his skill would have been better, but since he picked his path, I didn’t overrule him.

I promised them freedom when I first recruited them.

And, right now, in the dungeon, I was looking at another choice. The moment I arrived, five of my students stood in front of me, wearing their strongest equipment, each radiating a sense of power and presence they previously lacked.

“I’m here as promised,” I said as I looked at them. They looked at me with grim expressions, aware that their latest request was not easy. I highly doubted they were ready for it. “Are you sure about this path?” I asked. “It’s not too late to change your mind. We can do it once you’re more familiar with your powers, maybe gain a few more levels.”

They looked at each other, as if checking their determination. After confirming, Terry nodded. “Yes, professor. We still want it. We need to understand our strengths … and our weaknesses. And, you’re the only one that can do it.”

I sighed. “And, you still don’t want me to hold back?” I asked.

Jessica interrupted, her tone as sharp and combative as always. “We know you’ll trash us badly. We need it to see how much we still have to go.”

“Fine,” I said. “But, I won’t use the dungeon to my benefit, either to replenish my mana, open gates, or to empower my attacks. That way, it’ll be a better blueprint for your future opponents.”

“We can begin whenever you give a signal,” Terry said.

I grabbed a rock. “We start when it falls on the ground,” I said, and threw it into the air. They all tensed, their Health and Mana gathering in preparation for a casting.

The moment the rock hit the ground, they launched into action. Terry and Rebecca cast their area spells. I expected a forest, so when a thick foliage of grass and vines burst out, surrounding me, I was surprised.

Moreover, they were empowered by Ascended, making them even stronger. If I let them wrap around me, things would have been a challenge. I swung my blade, clearing a small circle around myself.

Logan charged forward while I was setting my environment, while Jessica approached from the side, her class making her presence melt against the foliage. If it were before I had received Perception, I would have failed to catch her. It was impressive just how much her skill was empowered after Ascension.

Moreover, her position was picked perfectly. If I tried to face Logan directly, she would flank me. If I tried to dodge, she would interfere with my movement, letting Logan deliver the blow.

And, while all that was going on, a spell structure appeared above us, with Spencer taking command of the vines, using the multitasking from Intelligence efficiently. Several smaller spells burst out of the vines, clouding my vision even more.

I had to admit, their formation was impressive. Five ascended, moving with an implicit coordination, each playing to their strengths.

They were far more impressive than the ascended I had faced before. If it were before, when my best attack against the enhanced defensive capabilities of an Ascended was limited to an uncontrolled burst of decay, they would have destroyed me.

Too bad that things have changed significantly since then.

I thought about playing along a bit before finishing it, but it would be an insult to what they had asked. I flicked my left hand, and an explosion of ice burst around me, each rune empowered by Wisdom, yet balanced perfectly.

[-600 Mana]

It cut a large swathe through the foliage to my right, right between Logan and Jessica. Both moved to cut my path, but it was only a decoy. I made a sharp cut to my left, swinging my blade to destroy even more of the vines and grass.

I picked my path toward Rebecca, my blade already flaring. Terry rushed to cut my path, his Health flaring to reinforce his armor. One advantage of his skill, that it empowered both his Health and Mana significantly.

Too bad it did nothing against me grabbing him.

The Strength difference between us was too much to be bridged by Ascension. I threw him back toward Jessica, and Logan wasn’t fast enough to catch up with me. I shifted to my hammer while I closed in the distance, two blows all I needed to take down Rebecca and Spencer, whose Health lacked the defensive capabilities of the other three.

The sound of shattering armor and broken bones was shocking enough to destabilize what remained of their formation. Logan overextended, and I cast an ice wall around us to keep Terry and Jessica away. Deprived of the assistance of the plants, the matchup between me and Logan went from bad to worse.

Another spell, this time creating an encasing of ice around my blade, an active runic pattern to deliver a short-range slash, strong enough to cut through the protection aura around him. I was followed by several punches through the gap.

When the ice dome had shattered under Terry’s attack, he was lying on the ground with broken bones.

They could have called off the spar at that point, but Terry and Jessica still rushed forward. I respected their decision enough to treat the two as the same as the other three.

“Fifteen seconds,” Jessica spat as she forced herself to a sitting position. “We only managed to stay fifteen seconds. It was pathetic.”

“It’s not that bad,” I replied. “You have played to your strengths, and the approach was impressive. The only problem is that you have overcommitted to your attack. It would have gone well if you managed to keep me pinned down.”

“But, by overcommitting to your first feint, we failed,” Terry completed.

“That’s the most dangerous part of fighting someone with more raw power,” I said, remembering my own close calls with death. “One mistake, and it’s all over. Remember it well. The next time we spar, I expect a better showing.”

Looking at their determined expression, taking their defeat as a source of motivation, I felt confident about the future.