Blacksmith vs. the System

The decision to understand ascension didn't put too much of a snag in my plans. I still stayed in my forge, accompanying Terry and Logan, the books sent by Asterion floating in front of me, supported by mana, while I forged a new class of elite equipment, which surpassed the old weapons in the shadows.

Once again, they were not the absolute best I could create, but a compromise between quality and speed. Creating ten mediocre weapons was better than the absolute best I could create.

Especially since that 'absolute best' was a vague concept that always seemed to move. I might change my attitude when I finally hit my limit with my Skill, but until then, the compromise between volume and quality was necessary.

Frankly, the only reason I didn't focus on figuring out how to mass produce runic weapons was to focus on deciphering the books on ascension, which proved to be annoyingly complicated and contradictory.

Not in terms of the basic steps. That much was clear. But, the meaning behind methods … or even what ascension truly meant, that was a difficult issue.

I would have assumed that Asterion was trying to mislead us, but they had shared many books on the subject, each clearly penned by different people, coming from different cultures. Some of them were even damaged.

Interestingly, that, more than anything else, gave me the impression that Asterion was trying to show their respect. The process itself could be summarized in a small booklet, but rather than sending that, they sent a lot of material, as if trying to say that they respected my ability to decipher it.

Unfortunately, it also meant that Asterion's spying was even more serious than I expected. The information itself was not hidden, but someone had to pay attention to me to catch that. My public reputation was mostly focused on my identity as a warrior or a blacksmith.

"I'm ready, professor," Terry called, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "It has been just three hours since you reached level one hundred. You can delay it a bit. I won't blame you if you try to push through the Mythic skill. There's a chance you can still upgrade it."

He shook his head. "No. I decided," he said, his voice calm and certain. "Maybe I can improve the skill, but with everything going on, I'm willing to forgo the opportunity. I need to do my part as well, professor."

I nodded. Ultimately, it was his decision to make, and I wouldn't blame it either way. I said nothing, my work on the spearhead before I put my hammer down, and gestured to them to sit across my desk. "You have read the documents."

He paused. "I did, but … it was confusing. So many contradictory views."

"Don't worry about it. Proper literature research takes time as well. I will give you a summary of salient points." I opened the box that was sitting on my desk. Inside the box, locked in a transparent glass bottle, there was a floating ball of material, halfway between liquid and pure energy.

Ichor, the source of ascension.

It took a lot for me to resist my desire to start analyzing it. The name alone was intriguing. Ichor, the so-called source of divinity of the old. Admittedly, it was probably just a translation choice, but selecting something that was linked with legends of the divine among so many other options suggested a lot.

As for it not being just an easy translation choice … I decided not to delve that particular rabbit hole for the moment.

The other thing that prevented me from doing it was the nature of the bottle, and the warnings that came with it. The bottle was made from a material that isolated mana pretty well, layered with multiple enchantments for that purpose. I could bypass it, but not without risking shattering the containment.

The warnings state that ichor would fade away quickly the moment the containment shattered. And, while Asterion had delivered us a hundred sets, even wasting one felt like a crime. Well, one more. One bottle, selected at random, had already been cracked and analyzed by Maria while I was working on my skill, to confirm there was no trap.

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Wasteful, but better than being plotted.

"After reading the material, I can state that the core process is deceptively simple. You will need to absorb ichor, which was apparently not any more difficult to channel than vitality. Once you pull it, you have to turn inward, and create a scaffold around your stats."

Terry frowned. "I'm not sure what it means," he said.

"Honestly, I don't either," I replied. "Even with the dungeon connection, my own soul awareness is limited. Apparently, ichor will also provide you with awareness once absorbed. But, based on the books, the structure is simple."

I pulled a paper, and drew a star at the center. "This is your soul, the core of your whole being," I added a circle around it, and added several points. "These are your stats, they are essentially floating in the first orbit of your soul," I added another circle. "Your class skills are here."

Then, I added a third line, far more distant than the other two circles. "And, this is where your external skills rest. One thing that all texts agree on is that you have to ignore external skills, channel the ichor through your class skills, then split it among your stats. The partition of ichor is critical, affecting the scale of your stats."

Terry frowned. "What about the other stages of Ascension, like Lady Maria and Lady Eleanor are delaying for?"

I sighed. "It seems that there's one thing your lower stats are actually being useful," I said. "It is about the nature of the ichor. While it's a resource that can be divided easily, the same didn't apply to mixing different sources together. Apparently, the attempts can be explosive."

"Since they are supposed to visit their source again, there must be a method," Terry commented.

"Presumably, but let's not focus on that for the moment. It's not relevant for us. Your stat total is still below a thousand, which is what the bottles we received are rated for. As long as you split it accordingly, it should work."

"And, when I do that…" Terry added. "Is it just an upgrade?"

"No. They like to say that, but reading between the lines, I can see that it's not. That's just a generalization, because almost all classes that get upgrades are combat classes, and their capabilities are measured by combat. It's more accurately somewhere between a direct upgrade, and making the output of the stats more fitting for your class skills."

"So, my combat capabilities…" Terry asked, concerned.

I flicked his forehead. "Think clear. Where does your current combat skill come from? External skills, or?" It was an obvious point, but sometimes, such points were easier to miss.

"My class skill, of course," he gasped in relief.

"Exactly. And, there, you actually have the advantage," I added. "The texts are less clear, but they are clear that the biggest challenge of the ascension is the scale of the stats. The bigger the blocks, the more difficult it was to transform the ichor. Meanwhile, the quality of the skill is helpful. Combined…"

"It should be easy for us."

"True, especially since you truly understand your skill. The texts are unclear about it, but I believe it should help. Still, that's no reason to be neglectful during the process. Be careful, and if you feel anything wrong, just release the ichor out and let it dissipate. The texts are clear that a mistake might result in soul damage. We have ninety-nine bottles of the stuff."

Logan chose that moment to interject. "Actually. I'm the stronger fighter. I will go first, professor."

I didn't need to interfere, not with Terry's amused glance. "No, Logan. I appreciate the clumsy attempt to risk yourself first, but as a caster class, I have too much advantage to allow it to happen."

Logan looked at Terry, looking ready to fight, but Terry managed to glare him down. I had to admit, there was a reason Terry, despite all his apparent disadvantages like age or sunny disposition, managed to end up as the default leader among my students.

… Well, except two mysterious ones that chose to disappear.

"Fine," Logan grumbled.

"I still appreciate the offer, buddy," Terry said and turned to me. "I'm ready, professor. Unless you have other advice."

I thought about it, but decided against it. "No, I have already provided all the salient points," I said. "The rest of the information is too fragmented for me to truly guide you. Maria and Eleanor might have helped more, but the mysterious vow preventing them from giving information makes it inconvenient. I trust you to have the initiative."

"Thanks, professor," he said.

"Just, don't push yourself if you feel in danger. I can't ascend. Neither can Rosie. It means, you're the best one to guide the rest of our community on the subject. Strategically, we can afford to lose about ten bottles before it becomes a serious expense."

"I —" he started.

I didn't let him finish. "Promise me, kid. Or I can find another candidate."

He sighed in protest, but I continued glaring at him. And, unlike his attempt to intimidate Logan, I was far more practiced in intimidating the unruly assistants. "I promise, professor," he replied.

"Excellent," I said. "Wait until I finish creating the mana shield around you, then open the bottle."

He nodded. I created a complicated pattern around him, one that was only there to protect, and not examine. I was tempted to delve deep into the process, but it wasn't worth the risk of interfering.

He opened the bottle. Ichor floated out of the bottle, but he easily absorbed it.

What followed was a long wait. For the next half a day, he did nothing, just stood still with his eyes closed. I felt the stress of waiting, but I could only trust him.

Then, he opened his eyes, his smile leaving no doubt about the result.

Success.