Blacksmith vs. the System

My dreams of focusing on how to use my new stats were nice, but I knew that first, I needed to walk around the town, and show my presence.

It was hard not to do that after the vivid experience I had, one that had been far too vivid to be a dream. And, in a way, I owed them. After all, it was their intense loyalty — unasked as it might be to me — that triggered the hidden feature of the System and gave me the new class I had received.

Walking around to shake a few hands and show my presence to receive three new stats, two new class skills, and a comprehensive upgrade to every stat I owned. Not to mention, it also gave my soul a chance to settle.

Upgrading the class wasn't as painful and disruptive as connecting to a dungeon, but considering the first connection had put me out of commission for three long days, that didn't tell much. Only after examining my connection with the dungeons many times, I had developed a sense of awareness of my soul, but that wasn't a perfect sense.

The best I could tell, the new class somewhat unsettled things, and it was best not to push myself too much before an emergency. No matter how tempting was to start playing with my newest stats, I could wait for a few hours.

"At least, it gives me an opportunity on exactly what to reveal," I muttered while I arrived at my room, and wondered whether having a talk with Rosie was a good idea, or if I should try to hide the true nature of my class from everyone.

The total secrecy was certainly a tempting idea, but after spending more than a few seconds, I decided against it. For one, if I tried to hide that, it would mean I would be blind about the possibilities — and possible dangers — about it.

Then, there were the practical concerns. My knowledge about how Charisma operated was limited to how to resist the impact and nothing else. A part of it was the classified nature of the information, but it also had something to do with how little time I had spent gathering information about it.

I always had better things to do. I certainly didn't expect it to suddenly turn out to be my strongest class.

Things might have been different if I had the luxury of disappearing into a cave and slowly experimenting on beasts of the wild, but with everything going on, such a retreat was not in the books. Just to be on the safe side, I wrote a note and used a chute to pass it to the servants, summoning Rosie urgently.

It was a method I used many times, so it wouldn't be suspicious.

Comparatively, I felt that hiding the existence of Perception would be easier. It had no obvious impact, and for a long time, I had been effectively using Advanced Observe and Wisdom in conjunction as some kind of pseudo-perception. As long as I play it carefully, it should be easily kept hidden.

The only one that was impossible to hide would be Intelligence. Luckily, I had no intention of hiding it in the first place. Trying to do so would mean abandoning every single grand project I had to do, and that was not even a question.

Ironically, I expected it not to be too much of a threat. My status of being linked to the dungeon was pretty much known at this point. The potential of a mage who could use both Wisdom and Intelligence, yet able to bring near infinite mana from a dungeon was an interesting strategic challenge.

In a way, I was similar to a machine gun in the First World War. A defensive threat that was too costly to take down, but with little offensive risk. No matter how strong of a spell-casting threat I could bring, I could never threaten the city of Drakka, or any of their important outposts.

That assessment would suit me just fine.

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I crossed my legs and sat down, closing my eyes once again, trying to suppress the temptation of playing with my new stats. A struggle that lasted until the door opened, and Rosie entered. Between summoning and arriving, about half an hour passed. She must be out of town.

"Everything alright?" she asked, trying to look calm, but I could sense her worry bubbling underneath.

"Mostly, yeah," I answered. "Take a seat." My evasive answer didn't quell her worries much, but her reaction was nothing compared to the next move. I could feel that my new class had settled enough to start using my abilities.

I put my hand on the wall, mana flooded the walls as every single door and window melted into a smooth surface. That was just the visible changes. Between layers of metal, I added many different runic schemes, each coming as easily.

I let the changes happen slowly to not push limits, but even with that, it had been incredible changes.

"What's wrong?" Rosie repeated, even more worried.

"Nothing bad, I promise," I said as I took a seat across from her. "I have successfully upgraded my class. Initially, I had many offers. I selected Master of Rune Forge."

"Sounds impressive," she said. "While I don't know about that class in particular, no class that comes with a title can be considered weak." I couldn't help it. A chuckle escaped my mouth. "Something wrong?" she asked, her attitude halfway between cross and concerned.

I didn't blame her. "No, it's just what you said might be a bit more accurate than you think. I selected Master of Rune Forge, and just as the class transformation started, I found myself floating in a dream."

"Like the dream you had about the other worlds?"

"No, it was a dream about the town. For a moment, I watched every single person in the town. I had seen their worries, their desires … and their loyalty to me. It shocked me."

"It shouldn't," she answered. "They owe their lives to you and more, and they know it."

I sighed. "Apparently, they are not the only ones that know," I said. "During the dream, a System notification popped, and declared that the domain was acknowledged. Have you heard anything like that?"

She shook her head. "No, not even close," she replied, looking lost. "Tell me that's the end of the surprises," she said.

"No," I said. "Then, my class name changed to … King of Rune Forge." She gasped in shock. I decided to finish the explanation. "That gave me Intelligence, Charisma, and Perception. It also pretty much doubled my already existing stats."

That earned another gasp. "D-doubled your stats," she stammered, more frazzled than I had ever seen her. "If anyone else said that, I would have assumed they miscalculated, but…"

"Yeah, my math is not that bad," I replied, laughing. As far as jokes went, it was the bottom of the barrel, but sometimes, even a fake laugh helped to drain the tension. She stood up in silence and went to my cabinet, pulling a bottle of strong vodka, something the farmers managed to distill from super-strong crops.

Even with Vitality, it had a kick.

She took five shots without pause, then poured a glass for me. I took a small sip, nodding in thanks. I didn't say anything while she came to grips with the information. "Do I dare to ask how high is your Charisma now?" she asked.

I gave a dry smile. "I don't think I keep enough alcohol in my office," I said.

"Don't tell me it's higher than —" she started.

"I strongly recommend not asking it before you get your bearings," I recommended.

"I didn't even tell you which stat I was thinking."

I decided to give her a clue. "You don't have to."

"Holy hell," she gasped. "That…" she took a few more shots, which soon drained the bottle. However, with her level and Vitality, it was barely enough to give her a buzz. "You're right. You don't have enough alcohol in your room for me to handle that information. What's the plan?"

"Easy," I said. "Assuming it's possible, I plan to hide both Perception and Charisma. You can help me learn both of them secretly. I won't reveal them unless it's an emergency."

"That's smart. Perception is easy to hide. And, you suddenly having Charisma would make us a bigger threat to Drakka. But, are you sure you want to keep it hidden? There's a reason Charisma is so revered. If you use it efficiently, you can turn this town … no, this city into a true powerhouse."

I shook my head. "Believe me, it's not as critical as you think. What will truly elevate this place is Intelligence. That, I would never hide. The real problem is how to handle it if we suddenly need it."

Rosie smirked. "It's easy for occasional uses. Maybe I should start planting some stories about a mysterious guild leader about to visit our glorious Steel City for support, to see where the hype about the great King of Steel is coming from…"

I met her chuckle. "You're in a good mood already," I said. "Good, it means you can help me get a handle on this Charisma."

"Open a gate for a forgotten corner in the dungeon, then," she said. "Let's make sure you won't accidentally slam people with your aura while walking around."

"That's a valid strategy," I said and opened a gate, one leading to a faraway corner of the fifth floor, with no one around.