[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 215 — The Guilty Choices Are Often the Best Ones

[Focus Crafting]

(Blacksmith Skill) (F-Class)

(★★☆ Limited)

You have displayed a drive and passion for crafting that few others are capable of attaining. You possess what it takes to become a Master Craftsman, a title earned through years of blood, sweat, and toil over the anvil and at the forge. To aid you in your march toward greatness, [Focus Crafting] provides you with a bonus to Experience earned using your Blacksmith Profession. However, performing tasks that grant Experience Points without also granting Blacksmith Experience will stop the bonus Experience and trigger a cooldown until the bonus can be reapplied. Grants a minuscule bonus to the effect of Strength and Vigor, when using [Focus Crafting].

[Smithing Apprenticeship]

(Blacksmith Skill) (F-Class)

(★★ Unusual)

Few smiths craft alone for all their days. Growing and learning through study and teaching is a natural part of the process that elevates smithing techniques and recipes to new heights. Unlocks the ability to offer Smithing Apprenticeships to teach others your unique style of crafting, allowing your students to attain the Blacksmith Profession. The master and student both gain accelerated Experience, an increased crafting success rate and access to additional recipes. Grants a minuscule bonus to the effect of Strength, Vigor, Dexterity, and Awareness when using [Smithing Apprenticeship].

Okay, that’s not fair, Sam thought. He wanted to find a way to make the dullahan his apprentice, but to get an actual ability for it?

Not just one tempting new ability, but two as well! [Focus Crafting] would grant him extra Experience which was almost idiotic not to get. At 28 Blacksmith he was just a couple of levels away from 30 and another set of abilities…he could get [Focus Crafting], grind out 2 more levels, and then pick up either the apprenticeship or weaponcrafting.

Both of which would be incredibly useful.

On the other hand, [Smithing Apprenticeship] also gave increased Experience and it didn’t have any sort of cooldown. The dullahan that was acting as his apprentice never seemed to tire except for something akin to sleep late at night. Even then, he slept less than Sam, unless he was trying to pull an all-nighter.

Every new set of abilities seemed to push him farther and farther away from the initial choice he wanted to take.

But the more he focused on Blacksmith, the better equipment he could make for his friends. Weaponcrafting was a valuable ability, there was no arguing that, but getting boosts to Experience? That was too good to pass up.

The earlier he acquired them, the more effective they would be.

Just because he didn’t have weaponcrafting didn’t mean he couldn’t create weapons. It meant he wasn’t as good as he could otherwise be. The same, unfortunately, couldn’t be said for [Jewelcrafting Foundation].

The amount of gold and precious metals he had was quite high. They had been a gift from Matt in thanks for saving his life, but Sam couldn’t make use of them without the skill. Besides, his tools were not delicate. He would need to create different, lighter and more refined tools to work with something as ductile as gold.

He could see why Raiko didn’t want to stay stuck as an Alchemist. As a Blacksmith, Sam could create a ton of different items that lasted longer than temporary buffs and health potions.

Truthfully, their group needed a magical equivalent to his Blacksmithing, anyway.

Beside him, his dullahan friend was banging away at a dent he had accidentally made in a pot. Still better than some of the things I made at that skill level, Sam thought to himself.

Watching the dullahan closely, he began to notice how the living armor was struggling in little ways. It was more than just the missing arm.

Something integral was holding the guy back, no matter how diligently he worked. It seemed little different from Sam failing to pick up a Profession until the Aker Academy unlocked it.

It was almost painful to watch. It reminded Sam of the difference between using his [Basic Maintenance] fighter skill to repair gear and then wielding his hammer and anvil to do far more than just fix his equipment, but improve its parameters.

With [Focus Crafting], Sam could power level himself and be better equipped to repair the dullahan. Not just his apprentice, but all of them. At the same time, as soon as he hit 30 he could pick up the apprenticeship ability.

Surely that would help the dullahan?

Sounds like I’m trying to rationalize being selfish, Sam thought bitterly. I want to level as fast as possible, and judging by the Limited rarity of [Focus Crafting], I’m willing to bet the Experience boost is larger.

He could have just asked the dullahan what it wanted, or what was bothering it. Though he was pretty sure that it would say whatever it thought Sam wanted, making the whole affair somewhat of a circuitous interaction.

The dullahans were loyal to a fault, and though they were chiefly loyal to Raiko first, many of them were almost as loyal to Sam. A few, he was sure, were more dedicated to him.

Not that I want a repeat of that deadly match-up again, he thought. The way Void and Chaos mana interacted was terrifying.

She never tried to take control over the dullahans, or even seemed bothered in the slightest, so there was little chance of there being some kind of power struggle.

It was just 2 levels. The monsters that spawned could be taken care of by everybody else, but if he did need to join the fray…well, he was pretty damn sure there was a secret ability his Paragon status afforded him.

When he had seen Bal’daz beset on all sides, and monsters in his home, he nearly lost it. However, he felt something different than pure rage. It wasn’t quite like he had eyes in the back of his head, but it was close.

He felt…connected to every monster. Like they were all pieces on a grand chess board that he could see from above, only it wasn’t vision. It was a sensation, like knowing where your hand was when it was behind your back.

He could feel the monsters moving, their bloodthirst and utter hatred for him.

Unfortunately, he lost the sensation after only a few seconds when Komachi farted in his armor.

She denied it, of course.

It didn’t help that Chompers, being a mimic, mimicked Komachi, though Sam had no idea how the creature managed to sound so identical.

Chompers is practically a wooden box! Sam thought, still mildly disturbed by the whole affair. How did it sound so…wet?

The noise was enough to startle him out of whatever concentration he had been able to tap into. If he could learn to use that…Sam stopped the train of thought and shook his head.

He was probably just overthinking it.

Paragon didn’t mention anything about getting new powers or abilities. This could be a simple evolution of his Bloodline or perhaps his natural combat ability coming into its own. He was supposed to be the Incarnate of War, after all.

Still, it was difficult to let go of his curiosity. The Shard typically was rather specific in how it named things. The words it chose, or called upon, meant something.

He wasn’t just any Paragon, but the Paragon of War. That had to mean something important.

Despite himself, he pulled up his title again, hoping to find some clue.

Title: Paragon of War

Through your many deeds, Incarnate and otherwise, you have shown the willingness to not only break, but utterly shatter your limitations. Your flagrant disregard for your own wellbeing at the cost of greater power has not gone unnoticed. You are now a Paragon, the first of your kind among your cohort and part of a small group within the Shardrune itself.

Paragons have truly become their Legend, cementing it as their foundation of power and more. Their ability to break limits allows them to tether their Job, Path, and Profession to the Rank of their Legend. From this point on, your Legend is all that will increase in Rank, bringing the rest of your Pillars of Progression along with each Ascension.

After reading through the title a couple of times, Sam didn’t come up with any new ideas. The title mostly referred to ranks of his Job, Path and Profession being linked.

It basically says Paragons break limits, which is definitely me, Sam thought. He felt there was one line that might suggest something more, but that was stretching it.

“Paragons truly become their Legend, cementing it as their foundation of power and more,” he said quietly to himself.

It could mean more power awaited, provided he climbed steeper ranks.

Unable to come up with anything more, Sam put it aside.

With a guilty look over at the dullahan, Sam selected [Focus Crafting]. Immediately, his mind lit up like a Christmas tree. While the Shard never told him everything (or really much of anything), he understood that the bonus was quite significant and the cooldown was in direct relation to how long he had the bonus to Experience.

How long, Sam wasn’t quite sure. It was more than a 1:1 ratio though, and given how powerful the buff was, he wouldn’t have been surprised to learn it was a 1:4. Meaning, for every hour of the Experience bonus he used, he would have a cooldown of 4 hours if he did something like killing a monster for Swordsman and Void Experience.

Glancing out of the corner of his eye, Sam looked guiltily again at the dullahan. The one-armed creature was so affable, so kind, and infinitely patient.

The dullahan was none the wiser to his treachery.

It even gave him another thumbs up.

Sam felt terrible, even though he was half-sure it was all in his head and he hadn’t done anything wrong at all.

I’m a monster. He looked at [Focus Crafting] again. But at least I’m a monster with an Experience bonus!

Sam turned back to the furnace. Extending a hand, he drew on the power of the Archflame. Through cunning conduits set within the ground and into the building, the Archflame could surge to his call within a few heartbeats.

The forge’s furnace brightened and Sam could feel the powerful heat of the Archflame. It was the perfect companion for a Blacksmith.

The additional benefit of making him immune to its flames was just icing on the cake.

And so Sam crafted. Occasionally, the dullahan would (unintentionally) guilt trip him by bringing over iron scrap, nuggets, and rarely ingots when Sam was running low.

He had no idea where the dullahan was getting the materials. He tried his best to assess the dullahan with a look, and he was pretty sure the thing wasn’t trying to sacrifice itself to give him iron.

Besides, he was confident that there wasn’t much iron content on the creature’s body. Even [Crystalline Steel] wouldn’t be an appropriate material to reforge their bodies, but that wasn’t the point.

The steel was just the beginning.

It was enough that Sam felt confident their bodies would work appropriately–better than they did now at any rate–with the new steel-and-crystal forms.

From there, Sam could upgrade them into newer and better forms, sleeker and more refined with improvements every single time. He could practically see adaman hinges and orichalcum joints glistening blue and coppery-red.

Sam paused. Wait, what? How do I know what those things look like? I’ve never seen them!

From time to time, the crystalline imp returned with another haul of specialized ore. Sometimes it went to Sam, but more often it went to Komachi and Chompers, who sorted and stockpiled it.

Though she could have easily sold it, Komachi didn’t stock her shop with the crystalline imp’s finds. That seemed to be filled out with her other commissions and trades.

Sam focused on creating as many [Crystalline Steel Ingots] as he could, and when he made enough–with a healthy bit extra–he went to work making the final pieces. They were significantly harder to create than [Steel Ingots], but with the constant supply, and the solid Experience boost, Sam was hardly bothered.

His [Alloying] skill was proving its worth.

[Alloying]

(Blacksmith Skill) (F-Class)

(★★ Unusual II)

Certain metals are too soft, too malleable, too brittle, or too rough to work well on their own, but they impart useful enhancements and imbuements all the same. Any decent Blacksmith knows how to fold disparate metals together to create alloyed metals. Alloying allows a new Blacksmith to combine multiple types of metal together in order to create a superior material.

This practice bridges the gap between certain crafting recipe difficulties by opening up a greater selection of materials to work with, while potentially tapping into a wider avenue of enhancements and imbuements in crafted weapons, armor, and equipment. Grants a minuscule bonus to the effect of Strength, Vigor, and Awareness when using [Alloying].

Even with magic helping the process along, he couldn’t just slap a cart full of steel ingots onto a dullahan and call it a day. There were countless smaller parts he had to make from the steel ingots.

Hinges, joints, scales, sheets, molded parts, and more were added to the pile on a sturdy table equipped to hold such heavy materials.

The day wore on and to Sam, the entire world fell away as he crafted. [Focus Crafting] did more than just grant greater Experience, it made it easier for him to tunnel on Blacksmithing.

Normally, that wasn’t the best because he tended to forget about pesky things like going to the bathroom until his bladder nearly burst, or eating, but he was grateful for it now.

He vaguely noticed more materials were being gathered together for the special group commission. Heaps of alkahest, lumps of odd [Ironwood Resin], and cube-shaped [Mana Vessels]. That one, he wasn’t sure how they managed to make.

Every so often, the commission updated itself. He used it to keep a running total of how much more he needed to make. Being a Blacksmith, and with the dullahans made almost entirely out of metal, the lion’s share of the ingredients was his responsibility.

That meant he gained the most Experience, but it also meant he was saddled with the hardest job of all.

Not that Sam minded. He was catching up to his Void Path and his Swordsman Job. Even though he didn’t need to worry about their individual ranks anymore, Sam wanted them all as close as possible to empower his next Ascension.

Sam was determined to get a Perfect Ascension, and though he still felt a twinge of guilt whenever he saw the diligent dullahan helping him around the smithy, he remained steadfast and focused.

It’ll all be worth it in the end, he told himself.