Blacksmith vs. the System

Once Harold returned to lead the training, I went back into the dungeon, even if only temporarily. The moment I was out of the view of the others, I immediately opened the weakness I had created earlier under the foundation to move down.

The moment I appeared in the mountain, I closed the gate behind me and started digging, holding my breath as I moved down the mountain. Slowly at first, both to not make any noise that would make people suspicious and to use Nurture to grow some underground fungus to make the area untouched.

For a secret exit to work, it needed to be secret.

Despite my speed, I didn't dig too much, merely two miles. I stopped when I came across a large underground cave, and opened another gate. Opening another gate was easier than I had expected, showing that constantly killing boss monsters to enhance the connection further helped. I made it lead to the fourth floor, but it immediately slowed down the speed the dungeon had been processing that mysterious energy that gathered during the night.

That wasn't the only interesting finding. There was also no flow of that 'darkness' when it was underground. "Curious," I said as I processed the details I had just realized. When I had opened the gate earlier, there had been a distinct flow inside. It was either about the fact that it was on the fourth floor, or deep underground.

Considering its dependence on the day and night cycle, both were distinct possibilities.

I shifted the entrance to the workshop on the first floor I had been using before I went there, but there was no flow there either.

"Interesting," I said as I built a thick metal casing on both sides of the gates to prevent unauthorized access which can only be unlocked by breaking it by brute force, or by opening a very complicated key mechanism that I had built.

One that I would have had trouble remembering if it wasn't for Wisdom helping me to remember.

Soon, I had my secret exit, though I still needed to dig a tunnel to get out if necessary. "Well, since I already have it," I said while I dug a few extra rooms around the entrance, bringing the resulting dirt inside the dungeon.

The cave was already large, and by adding some extra room, it could be used as a waypoint for evacuation if necessary. As much as I was encouraged by my latest power boost, I didn't want to assume that I would be able to handle the next attack.

However, the fact that they had triggered a beast wave was good news. It meant that they didn't have hundreds of ascended warriors that they could send for a second attack casually, and instead spent time probing the situation.

It wasn't as good as them leaving us alone, but I would take what I could. Still, none of it was a reason to not prepare, so I dug a large space at the edge of the cave, glad that my strength allowed me to tackle that task in minutes rather than days and weeks it would have otherwise required.

It would barely hold the current population of the dungeon if the people were stuffed like rush-hour trains, but it was enough. If we needed to use it, we could always expand it further.

"Now, what to do with you," I said as I looked at the pile of dirt I had brought inside the dungeon, their fresh look suspicious. "An excuse to use Nurture," I decided, wondering if I could use it together with Mana.

Up until now, I hadn't tried to use mana with Nurture, only Health. Even in my hydroponic gardens, mana was there just like water and fertilizer, applied indirectly for the plant to absorb. I tried to replicate the method of using mana attacks through weapon skills. Focus on the skill, and push out the mana, letting the structure do the rest.

[-10 Mana]

My first attempt killed the sampling. So did the second, tenth … and, the hundredth "Alright, it's not that simple," I muttered, stopping my efforts to push things blindly.

Ultimately, what I had achieved with Forge had looked simple, but it reflected the endless smithing combined with months of studying everything I could get my hands on about material science. I lacked the same preparation for farming.

"But, I'm not alone anymore," I said as I grew several trees to cover the displaced earth from the cave. The project to teach them how to use Mana had suddenly climbed to the peak of my list of priorities, even above the beast wave.

After all, the farmers that had been able to reach Epic naturally were yet to upgrade their classes, on my orders. And, if we could figure out a way to do that before the beasts arrived, even better.

I visited the third floor, asking them to gather all the farmers who had managed to reach Epic on their own. Then, I sat down to wait for them at the edge of their encampment.

While waiting, I closed my eyes, taking note of the differences between Epic and Legendary Nurture. My enhanced memory helped me to do so with relative ease. But, noting the changes was one thing. Actually putting them to use was something else. Especially since I hadn't worked too hard to analyze Health before, which had completely different working principles compared to mana. Not something I could solve in a few minutes.

"But, I don't necessarily have to, do I," I asked even as I moved to one of the empty forges nearby, planning to forge a simple set of gardening tools, maybe a watering can, a trowel, a hoe, or even pruning shears.

Things would have been harder if I had tried to copy my work with the swords back when I was trying to figure out ranged attacks, which required me to know how to channel Heath correctly through a tool. Instead, I applied my earlier learnings to focus on the action behind every piece of gardening equipment while engaging my Wisdom.

The forge I used glowed softly in the permanent low light of the dungeon. I examined the embers as I tried to focus on the purpose of every item, frustrated that, unlike weapons, my skill didn't have any convenient epic plans that I could leverage.

Yet another sign that the System had treated Farmers as the lowest class.

"Focus," I muttered as I did my best to ignore the socioeconomic weight of the situation, instead focusing on the concept behind every single piece of item. Luckily, I was familiar enough with Nurture to have a good idea of how it worked.

It wasn't enough to give me instant success. The first attempt had been an abject failure, and so was the second one. I stood before the anvil, the rhythmic sound of bellows helping me to concentrate on the purpose of each item, trying to find a common line.

A watering can seem like a perfect tool, allowing the user to slowly infuse their Health to trigger Nurture, but I failed to marry the concept with how Nurture worked. It had been the same for a rake or a spade, though neither, I tried too much to make work.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Find your next adventure on empire

Because, after the third try, I had found my point of entry. Pruning shears that I was holding on my hand, which was somehow able to channel Nurture better than I had expected. I carefully examined its structure, the newly transformed Observe helping me to understand what I had created better.

"Fascinating," I gasped as I examined its conceptual aspect, and realized how I had succeeded. Ultimately, a pruning shear worked differently than the other equipment I was trying to create. It didn't just help the plant to grow but incised the attributes that weren't desired by the farmer, cutting them permanently.

A concept that meshed well with all the swords and other implements of destruction I had gotten used to creating. It was not perfect, and without a corresponding recipe, I couldn't simply use my new skill to elevate it further.

So, I forged several more, focusing on a clearer image. Now that I had a better idea of what was going on, I was able to focus on the idea of Nurture on top of the clearer image of cutting that came with the skill. It was a form of renewal, clearing away the old to make room for the new.

After several tries, I ended up with a shear that actually worked to empower Nurture when channeled through it. The amount it empowered was ridiculously low, but it was still a success. I was tempted to play with it more, but at a distance, I could see farmers I had summoned walking toward me.

It was time to see if I could assist them in turning into Mana Farmers…