Blacksmith vs. the System

I arrived at the fifth floor, only to find it surprisingly crowded, with all my students — well, all that stayed around instead of mysteriously disappearing — in the small fortress we had built away from the other outposts.

The presence of some of them was not a surprise, as the plan was to have at least one of Rebecca, Spencer, or Jessica down here at all times to streamline the leveling assistance, with them hunting for ordinary beasts in the process.

Terry and Logan, on the other hand, were supposed to be on the surface. Their presence meant the process was completed. Properly ascended as well, unless I was reading his presence very wrongly, which I highly doubted I was doing. I had not practiced with Perception much, but the base improvement in my senses was difficult to distinguish.

I would have called Logan to congratulate him immediately, but the sight of an argument stopped me. Rebecca and Jessica were clearly in the midst of an argument; one that likely had nothing to do with anything serious if Logan and Spencer's exasperated looks, combined with Terry's clueless one.

Too bad I had to announce my presence so as not to be rude. "Congratulations, Logan," I called as I disengaged the gate. Rebecca and Jessica stopped arguing the moment I appeared, but their glares just got subtler.

"Thank you, your majesty —" he started, only to correct it under my gaze. "Professor."

"Better," I called. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I'm reborn," he said. "The intensity of the power, it's…"

"Intoxicating?" Terry offered.

Logan nodded. "Like everything is possible."

I nodded. "Careful about that sensation. It's a side effect of a sudden power-up, and it can be misleading. All it takes is a bad decision to ruin everything, especially against the corrupted bosses."

He nodded, and fell silent. From anyone else, I might have been afraid that the criticism wasn't taken as I intended, but a way to put me down. Luckily, Logan had an earnest way to approach such things, and his stoic consideration radiated strongly.

"Anything peculiar you want to share?" I asked. Predictably, he shook his head, still not a fan of talking much. I turned to Terry. "How about you?"

"The ascension process took just above two days, which supports the possibility that ascension can be affected by skill rarity or class type, but it's too early to make a conclusion. I have compiled all the environmental readings for you to peruse."

"Excellent work, both of you," I said, then turned to the other three. "So, who wants to go first?" I asked. Rebecca and Jessica both took a step forward, glaring daggers at each other. Spencer did not. I turned to Spencer first. "Any reason why?" I asked.

"I want to spend a few days to see if it's possible to reach Mythic level with my skill, maybe by creating a variant that gives both Wisdom and Intelligence like your skill, professor," he said.

I looked at him, wondering whether to admonish him, or congratulate him. Not because I would disapprove of him taking a few days, or even months, to attain it, but because I could tell that it was an obvious excuse to avoid Rebecca and Jessica's argument.

In the end, I decided he deserved commendation more than admonishment. A smart man knew which battle to pick, and only an idiot would knowingly put themselves in the middle of the battle between Rebecca and Jessica in their battle for Terry's affection.

A battle that Terry was still clearly unaware of, which made it even smarter for Spencer to avoid.

"Fine. Feel free to take as much time as you want," I said, giving him just enough side-eye to make him realize I caught the source of his deflection. Then, I continued with a more sincere tone. "Actually, consider delaying it for even longer if you prefer to stay in a research role. The improvement the ascension brings is more geared to direct operation of the skill than anything else."

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"No, professor, a few days are enough," Spencer replied, sounding determined, which was a surprising change of attitude. He clearly wanted to fight alongside his fellow students.

"As you wish," I responded, giving a serious nod, and turned to the other two. "Let's bring you two to a fight," I said.

"Can't I go first. I have some very critical missions —" Jessica started.

"And, I don't? Do you think my projects are any less important —"

I coughed pointedly. Normally, as a principle, I didn't intervene with their arguments, especially when the subject was something that I should best leave alone. "The corrupted boss is already on the move. And, you will fight it together," I said. I could see an argument brewing. "Just like how Terry and Logan did. Unless you believe you have a reason not to, of course," I replied. That cut the wind out of their sail.

"No, professor," they replied at the same time, neither wanting to have that particular argument with me.

"Better," I said. While I didn't want to intervene in their fight, that didn't mean I couldn't take an indirect route. Making them fight against a giant, corrupted monster was a good way to do so. I was there to intervene in case they were out of sync. "Follow me," I said, opening the gate.

All five followed, and soon, we were looking at yet another corrupted boss. A flash of mana, and the enchanted chain wrapped around it, suppressing its regeneration and immobilizing it at the same time. Not yet completely helpless, but just enough for them to fight without direct assistance.

Thankfully, the System wasn't exact when calculating the contribution, caring more about proximity and direct damage over strategic impact.

Rebecca and Jessica attacked it together. I was tense at first, ready to intervene. While the boss was immobilized, it was still extremely dangerous. A direct blow would still cause significant problems without activating the special armors I had created for them.

To my surprise, I didn't need it even for a moment. Rebecca and Jessica moved as a surprisingly effective tandem. From a high-level perspective, their approach to battle was similar to Terry and Logan's. Rebecca grew a small forest around the beast, and Jessica used it to empower herself while bringing the battle to close quarters.

But, in detail, they differed quite a bit. Despite having the same skill, the fighting style of Terry and Rebecca differed significantly. Terry stayed near the battle, intervening in the battle, while Rebecca stayed at a distance. Yet, that didn't make her a weaker combatant. The trees she created had a robust conceptual weight that Terry's trees lacked, the aura of decay that the trees made mixing perfectly with the dungeon, making them more effective.

The finesse of her approach was impressive enough that I took several mental notes. Some of them had the potential to actually enhance my forging.

Meanwhile, Jessica's style contrasted greatly with Logan's, who used the trees to empower his attacks directly, delivering devastating hits. Jessica preferred a different path. Her skill allowed her presence to meld against the forest Rebecca created, so much that, without my newly acquired Perception, I might have had trouble detecting her.

The boss certainly was, often reacting to her attacks rather than directly to her. It allowed her to charge her attacks longer, and avoid danger. She would be a menace anywhere with significant foliage.

Their coordination, despite their argument, was impeccable. Enough that I felt safe splitting my attention. I added a subtle silencing field around me and Spencer. "So, you want to take a more direct combat role," I said.

"I … I changed my mind. I don't want to stay in the town, not when they go and fight. I'm sorry—"

"There's nothing to be sorry for, Spencer," I said. "Just like I have said from day one, you are free to do whatever you want. I won't force any of you to take a role you don't want. It applies to research." I gave him a reassuring smile. "But, I have two conditions. First, I need you to oversee the research team until you are confident enough to hand over your work to your assistants. But, split it into multiple jobs."

"It'll be done," he replied. "I don't want to stop my research. I just want to fight alongside them as well."

"Good. And, second, I want you to develop a proper style before ascension. Once you reach, the amount of time you can spend will be reduced. If you hurry up, you will make things even harder for yourself." Unlike the previous request, which made him pause thoughtfully. I preferred that to a hasty confirmation. "I won't put any conditions directly, as I'm not exactly a good combat mage."

That made his eyes widen. "Really, professor?" he replied sarcastically.

I chuckled. "As much as I would have liked to claim it's false modesty, it's not. My whole approach is to throw as much mana as possible at the target, and hope they die. Unless you have a hidden source of infinite mana, it won't work."

That finally earned a nod. "I'll do it, professor."

"Good," I said, and removed the silencing spell. "Let's talk about your research on the semi-organic reactive crystalline lattices. It was a good first attempt, but there are several points that could be better."

"Really, professor? Right now?" Spencer asked.

I shrugged. "Why not? Taking a boss down is not instant. We'll be here for a while…"