Blacksmith vs. the System

Once I returned to my private forge, with the intention of focusing on my work, I found myself facing an unexpected challenge.

What would be the first item on the agenda?

The list of tasks was long and tempting. I wanted to completely redesign my forge, including every single tool I had.

I wanted to reforge my personal equipment, along with the equipment that my students were using.

Then, there were other tempting tasks, like stat-enhancing items that Maria had, which I previously dismissed as too complicated to be deciphered anytime soon.

The temptation to neglect forging to focus on ascension was another possibility, especially with the pile of material and written guides waiting for my attention.

Also, the current state of automation in our factories was a nice project to focus on. Maybe I could figure out some tools that would help others to imbue weapons with stronger concepts, scaling up the production of weapons of decent quality.

"Or, maybe I could even try to solve the current power system," I muttered. Currently, our town—city, I corrected — still relied on steam power for everything, from operating the forges to every single device.

It was useful, its rugged endurance being its greatest advantage. But it was also clunky in many aspects, its dependence on water being one of them. It still served us well for our current scale, but it was not difficult to foresee a water shortage if the city continued to grow, and our dependence on technology grew.

Too bad electricity was not an easy option to implement, not with how reactive it was with mana. Even if I found a way to isolate the system perfectly from outside interference at a low cost, it would still not be viable.

It would be too easy to sabotage.

With Intelligence promising solutions to tackle problems that previously had been too tricky to dare to touch, a part of me wanted to start with the most impactful one. Too bad the current situation of our world was, with everything getting more and more complicated, forcing me to prioritize the practical concerns.

I started with the simplest. I reforged my work equipment. Only the simple ones, like the furnace, the hammer, the anvil, and the other objects. I didn't interfere with the other, more complicated stuff like crushers, centrifuges, condensers, and other stuff I used to build and scale my production. Those, I wanted to redesign properly, maybe even conduct a few experiments to adjust their core principles, before I touched them.

Focusing on the primitive forging equipment first didn't mean I was sacrificing quality. On the contrary, it meant following the guidance of the skill as much as possible, resulting in far stronger equipment, each inch covered with runes.

I started with two sets of armor, thick and covered with runes that effectively created a thick mana shield as long as it was activated with external mana. It was a design from the skill that I then modified wildly, leveraging Creative Forging, one of my less glamorous perks.

One that would shine once again, as I reached it, I could feel its incredible synergy with Intelligence, allowing me to run rapid prototyping in my mind. Hundreds of designs, I tested and scraped in my mind in less than ten minutes.

A shocking efficiency.

I doubted that the mental prototyping loop was perfectly accurate, but it didn't have to be. As long as it worked as well as a computer simulation, and helped me to hasten the cycle of invention, I wanted nothing else.

Soon, I finished creating two sets of armor, with only one feature. They could take an injection of mana, and turn it into a shield that would hold … for about five minutes before the runes gave out. As far as tools went, it was a clunky tool, not fit for most battles. Especially since it took about thirty thousand mana to activate them in the first place.

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[Rune Craft (Mythic) 102 -> 109]

The key being the most important. These two sets of armor only had one function. To keep my students safe while they engaged with boss monsters.

Compared to the armor, the weapon design was simpler. I was familiar with the combat style of both Logan and Terry, and it was easier to design weapons for them. A greatsword for Logan, and a spear for Terry, both designed to deliver devastating blows in exchange for flexibility.

[Rune Craft (Mythic) 109 -> 113]

Once they were done, I started forging another chain, this time stronger and bulkier, designed to contain. This time, every link was bigger, larger than my hand, and thicker. I still used the basic hexagon pattern in its design. Six runes for each link, each six links creating a pattern.

However, this time, I took things a step further. I used six different patterns to create a larger, secondary pattern, which then repeated thirty-six times. That meant the chain would have over a thousand links. Lengthwise, it would be just a touch below four hundred yards.

It was not a quick project, not even with my most recent class upgrade. I was not even halfway forging it when I heard a knock on the door. Terry and Logan were on the other side of the wall, their presence unmistakable.

"Come in," I called. They walked in. With the forging of the chain going on mostly automatically, I examined their condition. The good thing was that they were not as exhausted as Maria and Eleanor … but then, they didn't have the pressure from the ascended stats.

I could still see exhaustion in their eyes, signaling that they had been fighting almost non-stop. Their equipment, showing signs of damage despite their endurance, further confirmed just how far they had been pushing themselves.

But, one thing I couldn't see was the deep weariness of someone who had just lost men they had trusted. It meant that their hunting team outside managed to avoid casualties. It helped that they only brought the elites with them, each armed with weapons and armor I personally forged.

Still, it was an achievement.

"You're out of your retreat, professor," Terry said, taking the lead as usual. I was happy to hear my old title now that we're in a more private setting. It felt better. "How are the results?"

"Better than I expected," I replied, my hammer dancing on the metal. "I finally got what I wanted."

His eyes widened. "You finally acquired Intelligence, professor! That's great news!" he celebrated, his smile getting bigger despite his clear exhaustion. Logan had a similar expression.

"Yes. It's finally there," I said. "Also, I had a small upgrade to the rest of my stats, making things even easier."

Logan just nodded, while Terry caught my teasing omission. He knew me well enough. "A small upgrade, sir?" he asked, the switch in title clearly deliberate.

I shrugged, smiling innocently. "I mean, some of my stats didn't even properly double. It does count as a small upgrade, right?"

Logan gasped in shock while Terry just sighed. "Really, professor?"

I shrugged. "Hey, I can't let you youngsters pass me by too much? I might be old, but that doesn't mean being useless."

That made Logan sigh. "You're in your early thirties, professor. Not in your seventies."

I laughed. Objectively speaking, the banter was weak, but after everything, it felt like a balm to my soul. "As much as I want to chat more, we have more important things to focus on," I said, and pointed at the armor and weapons. "I have reforged them for you. Try them," I said.

"Thanks, professor, but you shouldn't have. Not in this busy schedule. Our weapons are more than enough to hunt the corrupted monsters. If they continue to get stronger, we should be able to reach level one hundred in less than two weeks."

"Still too long. That's why I created those weapons. Your old ones are good enough to deal with the ordinary monsters only, not the corrupted bosses," I replied. "I'll bring you two along to deal with the ones spawning in the dungeon. It'll take at most a day to bring you to your target level."

I couldn't help but feel touched when they just nodded in acceptance, not asking anything about the potential risk it posed. Their trust was encouraging.

"Put on the armor, and start getting familiar with the weapons. I have designed them for your combat skills, but tell me if you want any adjustments." They nodded, and changed into their equipment. "Also, do either of you want my help to upgrade your skills?"

They both shook their heads. "My has hit its limit on Legendary, with no upgrade, professor," Logan said.

"How about you?" I asked Terry.

"Mine has upgraded to Mythic, and got maximized there," he said.

"Already?" I asked. "How did you manage it?"

"Spencer managed to replicate your spiral-construct for growth spells. It helped me to maximize my skill quickly."

"That's good news," I said. "Focus on practicing while I finish this chain," I said. They started practicing. I watched them practice, making mental notes to adjust some small aspects of the design. Luckily, there had been no interruption from dungeon boss monsters before I finished the chain.

[Rune Craft (Mythic) - 136]

I had been interrupted once by a monster horde at the surface, but that, I handled alone. Killing the boss monsters with ease was one thing, but I wanted to keep my trick to help others kill them hidden as long as possible.

The more ascended we had before our enemies realized the side effects of their plans, the better…