Blacksmith vs. the System

I kept my meditation skills active, closing my eyes. A part of it had been about supplying the dungeon with mana, as no matter what was going on, it was clear that the dungeon required such strength.

Also, it kept me focused on my 'soul' allowing me to see what was going on better than otherwise. As I turned inward, the first thing I felt was a sensation of fire, spreading. However, as I focused, my sensation of the dungeon turned sharper despite staying outside.

Five floors, layered on top of each other in a matter yet connected … but this time, my first focus was on the fifth floor, the source of my pain.

I couldn't discern much, just the fact that all the mana the dungeon had stored was rushing to the fifth floor in a desperate attempt to reinforce it against whatever danger it was going against. A danger that was giving a desperate burning feeling.

My best guess: it was the dungeon breach Rosie had warned me about.

I was very glad that I took her warning seriously and evacuated the dungeon, but that didn't solve the problem at hand. The sensation of pain might be just a phantom pain, but even if that was true, I couldn't just let the dungeon be damaged. The strategic value it provided was simply too high.

I opened my eyes again, and burst out of the cloud I had created, pushing my speed to the limit as I suddenly reversed my direction. Strategically, it was a bad move. I was forcing myself deep into the enemy formation, which not only put me in the middle of the lizard army, but also gave the enemy many angles to attack me.

I was betting on the cowardice of my enemy.

I ignored my beating heart as I barreled toward the densest part of the enemy formation, with several boss monsters packed together, no doubt preparing for a dangerous strike. What better way to rattle the enemy formation than destroying their next weapon.

Without the constant mana replenishment from the dungeon, the reckless attack was nowhere as effective as I tried to represent it to be. My crazy gambit was nothing more than a high-stakes game of chicken, which felt ill-advised at best.

Unfortunately, in a desperate battle, good options were a luxury.

I charged deeper, ignoring the cloud of tainted energy and the stench of charred scales at once. The lizards hissed and raged as they rushed around me, their sheer presence enough to cook me in my armor if it wasn't for the blocking effect.

I pressed on, leaning into my speed, darting around so that each blow had to injure at least two bosses while killing one.

[Level 67 -> 68]

[+5 Vitality, +4 Strength, +3 Dexterity, +5 Essence, +3 Wisdom]

The increased level was welcome, but the ambush that followed mere seconds later was less so. A squad of armored figures came down from one of the bosses that had drifted too close, every single one of them releasing that bright white light.

I had enough time to fake my shield, but that didn't prevent that energy from wrapping around what I tentatively called my soul, cutting my connection with the External Skills as I feared.

Luckily, this time, I was prepared. With my weapons forged to replicate my skills as much as possible, I was able to fake not being affected far more effectively. I closed the distance, not willing to let a full squad retreat safely.

The nearest boss monster attacked me, but I had enough mobility to dart between its snapping jaws, using the angle to take it down perfectly, an arc of mana enough to kill it with no chance of regeneration. I kept my gaze fixed on the prize.

But, before I could close in the distance, their leader raised a large orb, filled with a dark red, suffocating energy. I prepared to defend myself, but he slammed it to the ground. In response, a dungeon gate appeared.

It was an unusual gate. Not a gentle circle of stable blue energy, but a pitch-black one with jagged, unstable edges, radiating danger.

Another phantom stab hit my soul as it appeared, giving me a good idea of what the others were.

Having an excellent guess about where it connected, I didn't try any suicidal moves like jumping through it. I felt even more glad for my intuition, as the gate collapsed a second later, leaving two of their members behind … well, two and a half.

It was not an appealing sight.

In its place, I could feel some kind of gap, similar to the effect that had been left over whenever I closed a gate from outside. But, the sensation of that wound was similar to the shape of the gate. Dark, jagged, and revolting.

I pressed forward, cutting down the last two members before they could use their backup plan. Ultimately, the objective was to force Thomas to retreat, giving me a chance to return to the dungeon, and watch the invasion in a more direct manner.

Once I killed the two, I smashed a boss monster's claws, absorbing the tainted energy. While it was wasteful to ruin a high-value crafting material, the intense burst of energy it supplied was critical to reinforcing the dungeon, while replenishing my own mana as well.

[Meditation of Decay (Mythic) 103 -> 104]

I funneled as much of my own mana as I dared through my meditation. Tainted energy was not a restricted resource, but the time to stand still without being buried under a horde of monsters was.

I should have spent more time learning to use Meditation while fighting.

I ran forward, directly toward Thomas, whose location was easy to identify thanks to the thick blue shield he maintained since my first attack. However, his flying mount was very useful when it came to dodging. He both picked up altitude and retreated back.

It was not what I wanted. I needed him to retreat. Trying to maintain a dual focus of constant fighting while also supplying the dungeon with mana was difficult enough, and the constant phantom stabs weren't helping.

Another bluff, I decided. "Come on, little Thomas. This time, there's no Eleanor to save you from your disrespect. Sooner or later, you'll run out of an army," I said and dashed forward, ending between ten boss monsters.

Which I dealt with by covering my hammer with mana. This time, I didn't spend it all, but maintained an aura. Each blow shattered a head, destroying their claws in the process.

[Level 68 -> 69]

[+5 Vitality, +4 Strength, +3 Dexterity, +5 Essence, +3 Wisdom] Discover stories at My Virtual Library Empire

As I killed it, the tightness around my soul tried to constrain me, only to stretch … but, compared to the previous times, it was weaker, reinforcing my earlier guess about it being less effective on higher-level targets.

It wasn't enough to shatter it completely, but two more levels, and it would disappear immediately.

Assuming, of course, they didn't have another ambush waiting for me.

I climbed on top of the small hill, created by the remains of ten shredded boss monsters piled together, and absorbed the combined mana and tainted energy they radiated. As I did that, I kept my hammer high in a threatening pose.

It seemed to work, as no one had attacked me while I finished absorbing the majority of the released energy.

[Meditation of Decay (Mythic) 104 -> 110]

The mana I had provided doused the burning sensation I had been dealing with for the moment, which gave me the chance to focus on the flying object.

I needed one last step. Maybe a bluff, but for that, I needed metal, and unfortunately, the metal plating hadn't extended to this point. I returned to where I had slain two armored figures. All I needed was a touch to treat their armor like putty, and the area had more than enough claws to create a weapon.

Together, I fashioned a giant spear, one that I pumped with all my available mana. Fragmented javelins. One of my favorite tricks.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a way to simply bypass Thomas' shield. I needed to intimidate him in another way.

So, with the large javelin in one hand, I dug a tunnel, five yards down, then a hundred yards forward. When I burst out, I didn't throw the javelin immediately, but waited for one of the boss monsters to attack me from behind. This deep into the enemy army, I just needed to wait a second. It gave me all the excuses I needed to miss.

Instead, the javelin smashed against another flying boss, shredding not only its wing, but a majority of its torso, making it fall.

"You're lucky, Thomas," I shouted, loud enough to be heard even with the cacophony of the battle. At the same time, I waved my hand once again, and a glowing mana appeared. I didn't have metal to create another javelin, making it useless, but considering my aim, that didn't matter. "Let's see how many times you can avoid it," I said, and disappeared underground again.

This time, I dug down directly, and a hundred yards in, I shattered the ground with an Avalanche strike, making it very difficult to track me.

And, I opened a portal directly to the fifth floor.

I just had to hope that my gambit would give me enough time to deal with the incursion.