It was already dusk before I could start experinting again, but I couldn't say that the day was wasted. One reason was that I had forged myself a set of anti-corrosive armor out of dense mana, a chainmail made of anti-fla tal I could put over my armor; and two sets of weapons, one anti-fla, and one anti-corrosive.
I had considered limiting myself to only one set of anti-fla equipnt, but I decided against it after testing the performance of the two pieces of equipnt. The dungeon crystals allowed to forge a much better alloy, which translated into infusing more mana into my attacks.
Considering the possibility of facing human enemies, it felt like a reasonable ti investnt even if it prevented from experinting.
Luckily, my new weapons allowed to upgrade my skills quickly. I just needed to hunt a dozen bosses before I was looking at a very welco screen.
[Hamr of Avalanche (Epic) - 300 [Shattering Strike]
Blade of Bulwark (Epic) - 300 [Adamant Stance]
Spear of Storm (Epic) -300 [rcurial Movent]
As much as it bothered to not understand the chanic behind why automating the process — be it with mana or with machines — weakened the presence of the sword, that did nothing to steal from the enjoynt of discovering another trick to improve my skills, this ti completing their Epic nature.
Selecting the perks had been simple. A devastating new strike for the hamr, a defense-focused perk for the sword, and another movent perk for the spear, a familiar setup. All that remained was to test them.
But, before I did that, I used the dungeon connection to check the area around the gate, only to be t with a sight that changed my mind.
The defenders had been split into two groups, looking like they were about to co to blows. On one side, almost all of the fighting classes lined up, their weapons drawn, and several carts piled up with supplies behind them.
At the other side, stood Harold, supported by a team of Farrs brandishing their weapons.
"I wonder whether to call that good timing or bad timing," I muttered. I was annoyed that it interrupted before I could properly test my new Perks. But then, I was also glad. Having the skills at the limit ant that I was ready to deal with any application of force if they wished so.
I opened a gate to the first floor, and stepped outside, wanting to join before the situation escalated.
"You can't expect us to stand and fight just to save a bunch of worthless farrs," one of the guards shouted. "We're leaving."
"Over my dead body —" Harold replied, his blade drawn.
"What's going on?" I asked imdiately as I arrived.
"Nothing important, sir. We're having a slight disagreent, but as soon as I explain to them the folly of their actions —"
"Enough. Stop treating that upstart Blacksmith like a noble. He's nothing more than a servant who got a few rare skill stones by getting into the good graces of a noble. I'll die before I listen to him! And, you're a fool if you think I'll risk my life in a beast wave for him!" the guard declared, sohow looking confident despite the situation.
I could see the source of his confidence. About ninety percent of all guards stood behind him, clearly supporting his decision. As for the emotional empathy granted by Wisdom, it only made the situation worse. Their disdain toward was intense, far more than I had expected.
More importantly, I could feel that their determination was solid. Far more solid than I expected. Why, I didn't know —
A flash of epiphany interrupted as I realized the possible source of it. They leveled up.
The guard force was cobbled together by Maria and Eleanor, and as a result, they were low-leveled; yet the special nature of the dungeon ant that they didn't use it to level up rapidly. But, things were different at the dungeon entrance, where each guard killed likely thousands of lizard monsters, allowing them to level up aggressively.
At this point, I had long realized that the classes were sohow indoctrinating us to a certain set of behaviors, but I hadn't considered what the impact of leveling would be. And, if the situation in front of was any indicator, leveling up enhanced the indoctrination effect.
I would have been happy with that discovery if it hadn't arrived in the form of a rebellion.
Admittedly, I wasn't sure how much of it I could bla on the System. While it clearly played a role, there was more than enough ordinary discrimination going on. Moreover, I had been doing my best to improve the fighting capabilities of the Farrs despite their class, which wouldn't help.
That was the dangerous thing about prejudices and discrimination. Any evidence to the contrary, rather than damaging their warped beliefs, actually made them stronger.
Cognitive dissonance was a dangerous phenonon.
"You want to leave?" I asked, feeling a strange sense of resignation at my failure.
"Of course, you worthless manwhore," he declared, his anger and disdain bubbling to the surface, once again repeating his comnts.
I didn't bother to defend myself against his absurd statent, knowing that it would be useless. I paused for a mont, considering the implications. "Even with the risk the wilderness possesses," I said. Though, as I said that, I knew that it was about the news of the beast wave.
Even without talking with Harold, I could guess that the beast wave had sothing to do with so kind of a boss monster. And, if my experience with the gargantuan insects was any indicator, I knew they could control the beasts that were around them. The beast wave probably cut the arrival of the new lizards from the dungeon. It would give them an opportunity to escape.
One that they probably considered as their only chance.
He just spat on the ground. "Are you going to let us go, or are we going to fight?" Behind him, the other guards nodded, looking excited at the prospect.
It looked like their recent leveling filled them with unfounded confidence.
It was not an easy decision. Ethics was one challenge. A part of wanted to dissuade them from risking their lives pointlessly despite the intensity of the situation, but I didn't have an option. I had clearly underestimated just how much they would hate the idea of being commanded by a Blacksmith.
Maybe keeping them forcibly was the correct decision, but I wasn't able to bring myself to it.
Another part of it was the secrets. They knew not only my true class, but the existence of the factory underneath, and my ability to mass-produce mana weapons. Letting them go would an the dissemination of that information on a large scale.
However, the mont I revealed that secret to the thousands of people that currently occupied my dungeon, it had stopped being a secret. While I would have preferred to keep that under wraps for a while more, it would inevitably leak.
Similarly, I could find dozens of reasons to keep them in, but none of them were strong enough to keep a potentially violent group of dissidents as a part of our group. And, there were perks to it as well. At this point, I was confident in our ability to defend the dungeon against the forces the city lords might presumably send, and making so kind of trade deal might be possible.
Especially if I was willing to sell Forge and ditation skill stones cheaply, sothing I was more than happy to do.
"Fine, you can leave," I said, coming to a quick decision. Next to , I could see Harold look at in shock, but he managed to keep himself from interjecting. I appreciated it.
"Good. We just need a bunch of farrs to keep us fed during the journey, and we'll be out of your hair … sir," he said, the last word delivered with all the smug satisfaction of a schoolyard bully.
"And, you have volunteers?" I asked.
He smirked. "Give a minute, and I'll find hundreds of volunteers —" he started.
I didn't need the emotional reading from Wisdom to guess he was planning to forcibly drag them away. I could have argued for a long ti. Instead, I raised my foot, and slamd on the tal floor as I tried to deliver an inferior copy of my hamr skill. It was a trick I had discovered so ti ago, though it was more of a parlor trick than anything. Without a weapon to properly engage the skill, the effect was a pale imitation at best.
[-100 Mana]
The whole defensive encampnt shook as the tremble spread through the tal, making them take a step back.
They looked shocked, but I didn't bla them. I was equally surprised. The attack ca out far stronger than I had expected, and sohow, I knew Wisdom was responsible. It looked like I had discovered my first clue on how to actively leverage it.
Too bad I couldn't focus on that for the mont.
"Try that, and I might decide to change my mind," I threatened.
"You think —" he started, but I interrupted him again, this ti with a flash of my blade that turned into a real ranged attack, destroying one of the carts they had prepared.
[-200 Mana]
However, the choice was not random. The floor was tal, and the carts had enough tal content as well. Together, it was enough for to identify which cart was filled with skill stones, and I destroyed it.
"How dare —" he started, but I slashed three more tis, each passing near the carts that were filled with their supplies. I didn't destroy them, but the display was morable enough.
"I promised Maria to let you bunch leave without intervention. Don't make reconsider it," I said as I raised my blade to tap to his throat.
He let out a threatening growl. "You'll regret this," he challenged, but considering he was already retreating, I decided to let him do so.
I watched as they pulled their carts down the mountain, glaring at them to make sure they didn't pick the discarded skill stones. Only after they were down the mountain, I turned to Harold.
It looked like we needed to have a talk.
Reviews
All reviews (0)