Blacksmith vs. the System

Chapter 166

When I reached the frontline, the lizards were merely three hundred yards away, and rapidly closing in. "Be ready for the attack," Harold shouted as I approached him, then looked back at me. "Is everything in order, sir?" he asked.

"Yes," I responded. "Keep a lookout for the armored men hidden among the lizards, and don't forget to raise an alarm whenever you meet an irregularity," I said even as I glanced at the lizard army. The normal variants were almost non-existent, shredded by the artillery strike. Their numbers were lowered, but their threat was elevated.

Still, it was better than drowning under sheer numbers.

"We have all the scouts with Perception at the center, sir," Harold said.

I was about to respond that we didn't have any, but then I remembered we did. As the members of our last remaining guild. Rosie's team.

"Good, handle the operation. I doubt I'll be able to focus," I said. As much as I wanted to talk about my latest oversight of trusting Rosie's guild members in such a critical spot, I couldn't say much. Not under current circumstances.

I didn't waste my time before raising my sword, and slashed.

[-250 Mana]

A mana slash spread horizontally, taking a good number of lizards out, some as big as an elephant. I was happy to see it was effective enough. I followed it with several attacks, each slightly stronger.

[-300 Mana]

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[-400 Mana]

[-500 Mana]

Each attack was stronger than the previous one as I tested the limits of my attacks through my hastily-modified weapon. Thankfully, the combination of Wisdom and the concept of the sword worked wonders together, especially when synergized with my previous training.

I sent several more, even stronger attacks. It worked, but the coherency of the attack suffered. I could feel that five hundred mana was a practical limit of efficiency under the circumstances. I could have upgraded the attack if I had the time to practice … Unfortunately, the wild army that got closer and closer meant that I had no such luxury.

I used Fleeting Step to move, but this time, I merely moved twenty yards, which meant I managed to stay upright. My blade flashed, taking another hundred large lizards … then another.

Then, I received a very welcome surprise.

[Level 53 -> 54]

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

The larger variants might be far more dangerous, but there was no questioning the rewards they provided either. I took a deep breath to ignore the sudden sense of empowerment that hit me as I repeated the same trick again.

For the first wave, I could have killed every single large lizard, but I decided to let some pass. After all, every single successful kill meant at least one, maybe more, for the rest of the army.

I had a feeling that those levels would become useful sooner rather than later.

As I moved around, throwing mana attacks, I also paid attention to the flying forces. The lizards that had been carrying the armored figures pulled back, while the rest of the flying forces started to approach as well.

Only for our steam-powered air defenses to respond in a devastating manner. The raining lizard bodies didn't exactly help the situation. I attacked again and again, dealing with the large lizards. My dedicated performance soon had another reward.

[Level 54 -> 55]

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

Despite everything, it was hard to argue about the convenience of rapid leveling. However, this time, as the warmth spread, I felt a sense of tightness around myself, one that was difficult to point out. It was not physical. It was very similar to the pain I felt when Maria tried to connect with the dungeon. But, that was actual torture, whereas this was merely a passing discomfort, like trying to put on an old shirt after gaining ten pounds.

Something was amiss.

Another detail for me to ignore for the moment, I decided while I shook my arms, and continued to deal with the attacks. Since the enemy was happy to maintain the status quo, I fought, and the rest of the army was steadily leveling up with me.

However, even as I dealt with it, I couldn't help but feel frustrated, wondering about their sudden lack of reaction. Wouldn't it have been better to send the boss monsters in the front and overwhelm the defenses at once, rather than letting me get stronger and stronger —

Then, a thought flashed in my mind, realizing that, most likely they were overestimating my level, thinking my constant fight was giving me nothing but a slowly growing mental exhaustion. Not only that, but I was repeatedly using ranged mana attacks, maybe enough to convince them whatever happened to my External Skills had already expired.

A big mistake on their part, but after all the strategic blunders I had committed, I was due a break like that. Soon, I fell into a routine … if one could call delivering three attacks every second such.

[Level 55 -> 56]

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

Another level, and a similar sense of tightening that disappeared equally soon. I continued to fight, letting more and more large lizards slip through my defenses. Partially, I wanted to convince our attackers that their efforts were paying dividends, and letting the farmer corps improve their levels was a bonus.

At the same time, the shells continued to cut through the horde on the outskirts of the mountain, preventing them from creating an overwhelming majority.

[Level 56 -> 57]

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

Things were going good … until I noticed something unfortunate. The mana reserves of the dungeon started to dwindle, faster than I had estimated. I cursed. I was already aware that the dungeon was also using mana, but it was clear that the extra mana reserves increased that consumption more than I had expected.

Either that, or the storage was not perfect.

Ultimately, it meant that, when I finally saw a gargantuan lizard, at least twenty yards tall and a hundred and fifty yards long approaching, I had another excuse to close in. "Make sure we don't have any attacks," I said as I noticed the armored figure on top of the lizard, and rushed forward.

As I closed in the distance, a bright light targeted me once more. Knowing I couldn't escape, I didn't even bother making an attempt, but it didn't mean I would let it slide.

It was time to see how effectively I could bluff.

[-2500 Mana]

As the ray of light hit me, my hands were already raised, pushing my mana. It was mostly empty, wasteful mana. But, out of my sword, I managed to add an effect of fire, and from my left, a burst of decay-natured mana.

It was a mere illusion. I had used too much mana for it to be truly effective. Combined, they created a beautiful commotion of light, one that might be enough to convince the enemy that I had blocked the light.

While, in practice, it resealed my already sealed skills. Hopefully, whatever effect it was didn't stack.

But, even before the commotion dispersed, my mana was recovered, and I responded with multiple ranged attacks. Only the first one targeted the man on top of the boss monster, carrying as much decay as I could pack in my quick attack.

He must have been confident that it would work, because he failed to avoid the first attack. It didn't help when the next three attacks all hit the right leg of the huge lizard, cutting it off.

It was merely a temporary problem for the boss monster, but it was enough to ruin the balance of the man riding the lizard, suggesting that he lacked Dexterity. Convenient, I decided as I targeted him with multiple decay attacks. Falling, he lacked the leverage to dodge, and focused ranged attacks were enough to ruin his armor.

When he fell to the ground, his armor was already ruined, once again showing signs of transformation. To my surprise, the lizard breathed fire on my path, trying to cut my way. It was strong enough to damage the metal floors, but my armor was made of higher-grade material.

It tried to cut my path physically as well, trying to protect its rider, but its leg was cut leg, albeit recovering rapidly. But, the recovery wasn't fast enough to prevent my approach. As I got near the giant lizard, the air turned uncomfortably warm, similar to insect bosses and their decay aura.

Things would have been far more troubling without my armor protecting me from getting cooked.

As I arrived next to the fallen man, struggling with his painful transformation, I had already switched to my hammer. With his armor gone, one hit was all I needed to finish him off.

Once I killed him, I was prepared to turn my attention back to the boss monster, but I was caught flat-footed with a surprise. All the lizards around me … went crazy, losing their driven mad, going so far as to attack each other.

"Convenient," I muttered while I was hit with the realization as to why they were sending men suffering through a transformation that they had to keep in order. The mutation process was likely a critical vector of their control.

It gave me an interesting thing to focus on, one I wanted to handle as soon as I dealt with the boss monster in our midst.