Blacksmith vs. the System

After I had finished dealing with the boss monsters, reinforcing the connection between me and the dungeon further, I faced a plethora of options, ranging from trying to improve my new repair variant to going up to have a talk with Harold, each important in their own way.

"Maybe I should take another trip outside, a secret one," I muttered, remembering the gate I had created in the cave. Using it, I could sneak out for some extra observation. "Or, maybe not," I added once I focused on that direction, but failed to find the mark of the temporary gate.

It showed me that it was a temporary effect, which I was happy to learn sooner than later.

Returning to the defensive encampment for a small break was still a good idea. If I could use it to open a second secret gate leading outside, even better. A brief focus on the connection later, I was on the first floor, where Harold was busy training another batch of hundred in spear usage, their rapid improvement visible.

Visible, but not exaggerated. Without actively using their Health or Mana, their improvement speed was limited. But, considering it was merely taking hours instead of minutes, I let that slide. Since they were unable to absorb the Rare variant due to their limited skills, it felt appropriate.

Especially since, only due to bringing the Common variant to completion, were they able to absorb the Uncommon one. Rare variants would only be possible if they could push above level fifty, which was not exactly viable considering the nature of the enemies, and how hard it was to level up after thirty-five.

I had, but only by killing more than a hundred thousand monsters. There were not enough monsters to bring everyone to that level … thankfully.

"Move faster, you little children! We still have fifteen minutes until the next break!" he shouted.

I watched, noticing something interesting. The more time that passed, the less I was seeing Harold the Guard, and more of Harold the Marine Sergeant. But, I didn't know what to make of it, especially because I still had no idea about the mechanics of how Class affected our thought process.

Instead of spending my time there, I moved outside, where the smiths were still working hard to install the new defenses. "Sir," they greeted me excitedly as I arrived.

"Looks good," I said as I glanced at the area. Twenty cannons had already been installed, ready to go, with the others in the process. But, they were not the only ones. "Go over what this is," I said as I pointed at another steam device.

"It's a bolt launcher, sir," Liam declared loudly, trying to look confident, but uncertainty was present as well. It was the pride of a student that had managed to solve a complicated problem, but wasn't sure whether the solution was actually correct or not.

"Explain to me what it does," I said.

"It's a weapon against flying enemies, sir," he added, my lack of visible excitement quick to demolish his fake confidence. I sighed. Useful as it might be, life was easier before I could catch every single emotional fluctuation people experienced.

However, seeing he still went through his explanation, I said nothing, letting him continue. Just because I could feel him getting stressed didn't mean I needed to coddle him while he was giving a simple presentation.

He took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts as he stepped closer to the bolt launcher. "Well, sir, the bolt launcher is designed specifically to target airborne enemies," he began, but seeing no reaction from me, his explanation hastened. "It's not a waste of resources. I swear. I know that they hadn't been too much of a problem until now, but there's no guarantee that they won't —"

"I know, Liam. It's a reasonable caution to develop enemies that might appear. Continue."

He took another deep breath, trying to calm down. I wondered if he was naturally skittish, or was it the System somehow making him fearful.

He continued. "So, we believe that having a weapon that can fire bolts like a ballista, but with a similar steam-launcher to the cannons is a strong advantage." He pointed to the main body of the device, a sleek construct of metal, with some unnecessary wood plating that nonetheless looked very good. They clearly went a long way to sell the idea to me.

Unnecessary, but I refrained from pointing it out. Liam was clearly proud of the wood paneling, and he was too excited to take any criticism at face value. And, finally seeing someone showing a hint of innovation, I didn't want to ruin their mood. "It's good," I said approvingly, gesturing for him to continue explaining.

At the same time, I used the touch to Observe it, which instantly gave me the internal structure. There were no accompanying methods to elevate its conceptual presence, but whether it was about the nature of the device, or the low level of my new skill, I didn't know.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

What I did know was I could feel that the device had been forged by eight different people, their presence somehow lingering on the parts they created, but already fading, unlike the weapons I created — even the ones I created before I had received my Wisdom.

Another interesting point.

"The launcher uses a high-pressure propulsion system, which then releases to propel the bolts at high velocities, giving them enough speed to hit the target before they dodge."

I nodded, encouraging him to continue. "Go on." Find exclusive content at empire

He moved to the side of the launcher, pointing out a complex arrangement of gears and levers. "We've integrated a targeting system here. We're still trying to figure out how to aim it better, but once we do —"

"A question," I interrupted. "Have you tried to see if you can combine it with a shooting skill?"

"No, sir," he said, looking confused. Curious, I moved behind the device, engaging the boiler until it built enough pressure, before I launched a few attacks, focusing to see if it could be done.

But, no matter how much I tried, it didn't work, which didn't surprise me too much. I wouldn't go as far as to state it was impossible — it was a question that was best explored while there was no emergency going on — but it was not a quick project.

"It's a good first attempt," I admitted, and his expression immediately fell. "But, you haven't considered the full implications of the device, have you?"

His excitement immediately turned into dread, but this time I ignored it. Not puncturing his enthusiasm was one thing, but actually producing something impractical was something else. I was tempted to give him a full explanation — my massively improved memory allowing me to pull some really niche details of the modern theory of warfare — but I didn't do it.

Instead, I called Harold, even though that meant that he had to leave the trainees alone for a moment, and turned to Liam. "Now, present the device to him as well."

Liam delivered the same explanation, though considerably more hesitant, and then I turned to Harold. "What do you think?"

"Is it possible to increase the rate of fire," he asked. "The flying hordes are rare, but when they arrive, their numbers are the true menace. An increased rate of fire will help much more."

"We can't. Attacking too often will ruin the aiming mechanism —"

"So what," Harold asked. "There's no need to aim when we're dealing with a true flying horde. There'll be thousands of them flying, and every attack will eventually hit one."

I looked at Liam. "I like the initiative, but sometimes, talking with the potential users before starting can help, as long as you don't let it sway you from your vision too much," I said. "Trust yourself, but validate."

"Yes, sir," he said.

I looked at Harold. "I'll take over the training while you work on the design," I said as I moved toward the farmers who had been working hard to improve their skills. "Continue working. I'm only here to observe," I said, which did little to cure their nerves.

However, occasionally giving them advice on aspects that weren't included in the current rarity of their skill was different, which helped them to improve even faster. I had two aims in teaching them. First, after the disaster with the guards, I decided to interact more with the little ragtag army we had to prevent alienation.

Though, more importantly, I was looking for an opportunity, one that had appeared while a team had ripped a portion of the floor to set a proper foundation. While they were distracted, I opened a gate, only to close it immediately. Seconds later, they sealed the area again to turn it into a foundation, building a thick wall on top of it.

Giving me the secret entrance I needed to leave the dungeon.