Blacksmith vs. the System

I was halfway to forging a new spear for myself when I felt the warning from the dungeon, alerting me about the birth of a new boss monster.

One underrated benefit of Intelligence, it allowed me to multitask much better. They weren't as efficient as the main task, but focusing on every single floor of the dungeon while also using the gates to keep an eye on the surface was far easier.

"I can feel a boss in the dungeon. Ready for action, kids?" I asked.

They nodded. "Should we try to call the others?" Terry asked.

"No point," I said. He looked ready to argue. I continued. "For me, keeping an eye on the two of you is easier. Once you two successfully ascend, I can switch to supporting the rest."

That was enough to silence their concerns. We stepped through the gate, once again on the fifth floor. "What's the plan, sir," Logan asked.

"It's simple," I said. "I'm going to immobilize the boss with the chain and suppress its regeneration, then I'll activate the mana shields of your armor. Then, you'll move forward and start chopping it until it dies."

"Effective," Terry commented. He caught Logan's gaze, sharing a silent message. Logan moved forward, while Terry reached into his pouch, and pulled a bunch of seeds. "Do we fight here, or should we pick another location?" he asked.

"Here is as good a place as any," I replied. "The beast will be here in a minute. Start your preparations."

Terry nodded and dispersed the seeds, followed by a burst of mana. His maximized Mythic skill. The trees started to grow even faster than I expected, showing that the improvement they showed was no joke. Even more interestingly, he didn't grow them as a tight formation, but dispersed.

Trees were quick to reach ten yards, and stopped. Curious, I examined their structure, and found them unfamiliar. "A new strain?" I asked.

"A little collaboration between Spencer and Rebecca," Terry answered.

A project that I had no idea about, from its inception to its results. I smiled. What a beautiful display of initiative. I would have been proud even if I failed, but feeling the power radiating from the trees, I was truly impressed. The trees were pulling nutrients off the ground aggressively, Terry's mana assisting them to convert it to Health.

The effectiveness was impressive, but not without a cost. Thanks to my external Nurture skill, I could feel that the tree was not particularly healthy. Left alone, it would probably burn under its own power in less than ten minutes.

Ten minutes were more than enough for most fights. I just needed to see how they used it. The answer came soon after when Logan touched one of the trees, and one of the branches snapped and transformed, wrapping around the length of his sword.

Just as they finished their preparation, the corrupted boss came lumbering. It was a grotesque monster, even worse than the previous one I killed, its chitinous armor warped and glistening with purple-black sludge.

Wings twitched uselessly on its back, malformed and crusted with crystalline growths and fleshy tentacles, making it even worse. "Ready?" I asked. They nodded. "Good," I called. "Show me how much you came."

I raised my hand, and filled the chain with my mana.

[-10000 Mana]

[-10000 Mana]

[-10000 Mana]

It glowed with a deep green color, radiating decay as it launched forward, wrapping around the beast thrice before it could react.

In terms of mana usage, it was completely wasteful. Now that I had reforged my sword, and imbued it with several enchantments, a lone slash would have been enough to take down the boss. But, that wasn't the point.

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The point was to let the other two kill it in a way that would maximize their gain.

The monster thrashed, but the chain was different from the old one I had created. It wasn't a weak prototype.

Terry and Logan rushed forward. Just to be on the safe side, I partially activated their armor, ready to intervene for more.

"Let's go," Logan growled. "Pattern six."

Logan moved first, his great sword already coming down with a devastating hit, burning vitality to turn it into a deadly one. For a moment, I was about to admonish him for wasting too much Health, then I realized the trick.

The health was coming from the transformed branch around his blade. Two more hits, and the branch turned into ash. I expected him to retreat, but Terry had already solved it. With a spell, he pulled another branch and passed it to Logan.

Then, he joined the battle. Unlike Logan, who had been next to one of the legs, chopping it aggressively, Terry used the reach advantage of his spear to target the eyes — which, unfortunately counted in dozens after the corruption — each blow not only destroying one, but also leaving a lingering spell effect that forced the growth of a smaller plant.

Too bad that the corruption aura of the beast destroyed those plants the moment he stopped providing Mana.

Even with that, his damage was significant. He alternated between supplying Logan with new weapons and his own attacks.

Barely a minute later, the beast stopped struggling against the chain, realizing that there was no escape for him. At this point, Logan had already chopped two legs, and the chain was preventing the growth of new ones.

The monster snarled as its mouth parted open, spitting out a glob of corrosive energy. I would have called it decay, but it was not. It was a darker, corrupted variant.

Ironic that even the concept of decay could be corrupted.

I was ready to intervene, but I didn't need to. Terry shouted a warning to Logan while he stabbed forward, a mana shield blooming in front of him. It merely slowed the attack down, but it gave them time to escape.

After dodging, Terry didn't even skip a beat. He moved forward, stabbing his spear right into the monster's still-open mouth. This time, he used not only mana, but also a good chunk of his Health, the growing plant filling the mouth of the beast and continuing to grow inside.

Nasty trick. I approved.

Meanwhile, Logan's fighting style was stable, without any frills. He just used branches to empower his attack far above what he should be able to sustain, and chopped. In a sense, it was similar to my connection with the dungeon, allowing him to steadily deliver full-power blows without pausing to recover his reserves.

His variant class might not have mana, but there was no neglecting it.

If his style was steady rock, Terry's was a constant bag of tricks. He pulled many different seeds, vines, trees, moss, and even flowers. Some, like the tree he forced to grow inside the monster, had been effective. The others, like the cloud of pollens from the flowers that had been eroded by the corruption aura before they could reach the target, not so much.

But, he didn't let it stop him. He continued to test his tricks.

It was an interesting style. Watching him, there was no doubt that he was a Farmer, yet no one could underestimate him. I couldn't help but feel inspired. While I had used my forging to great benefit, it was rare for me to try weaponizing it directly.

Maybe I should experiment more.

"Almost there," Logan shouted when he cut the third leg, and the monster toppled to the side, unable to shake. Logan climbed on top of it. First, he chopped down the deformed winds, his greatsword cutting into the corrupted flesh more and more. Though, I had to admit, it was gruesome when Terry's internal tree forced itself out of a cut Logan created, only for Logan to use it to fuel his next attack.

Every attack cleaved deep trenches in the corrupted chitin and flesh. The monster shrieked again, anger and hate prevalent in its tone. Even toppled down and its regeneration impaired, it took almost ten minutes for them to finish the corrupted beast.

"Finally!" Terry shouted once the beast stopped twitching. Logan jumped down.

Any other creature, it would have been a sad, pitiful view. Instead, it was an epic victory.

"Good work, boys," I said. "Your progress is incredible."

Terry looked down, ashamed. "I … I don't think so, professor," he muttered. "You could just take it down with a few attacks. And, we only won after ten minutes, and that is with you immobilizing it and suppressing its regeneration. I don't see how —"

I cut him off. "And, three months ago, I would have died if this monster breathed in my general vicinity. Comparisons like this are not helpful. I have the advantage with the classes, but things will change after ascension. But your creativity … that will stay. I'm proud of the way you two developed your style."

They didn't answer, but I could see that it was them getting overwhelmed by my praise. I sighed. It wasn't enough that I was suddenly being elevated as a king, but even my students were also treating me as a celebrity.

Annoying.

"What's your current level?" I asked instead.

"I gained six levels," Terry said. Logan raised seven fingers. "It makes us both ninety-two."

"Excellent. Just two or three more bosses, and you'll be ready for the ascension," I said, opening another gate to leave.

Since it was so close, reading through the material wouldn't be amiss.