Blacksmith vs. the System

I put some distance between me and the fortified walls, but I wasn't feeling as confident as my rapid footsteps implied, not that it was a hard feeling to understand. I was moving forward alone with no support, my view was filled with the great horde of lizards. There must have been millions of them, which was more than the amount we had dealt with until the moment.

Moreover, they didn't look as weak, with several gargantuan ones that looked big enough to overshadow the boss monsters of my own dungeon, representing a dangerous presence. The area around them shimmered as their fire aura overlapped, creating a desert mirage.

No wonder dungeon breaks were the scariest natural disaster imaginable.

"At least the first group doesn't have any large beasts," I said as I examined the smaller group that split from the main group to test our defenses, numbering around fifty thousand, alternating between the blade and the hammer as the first tool. After a moment of consideration, I decided on the sword, the sweeping mana attacks would allow me to deal with the crowd faster than I had expected.

"Here I come," I shouted even as I closed in the distance, acting like a reckless warrior to show off even more. Just as I attacked the ones in the front line with a sweep of my sword, the shells started to rain, aiming for the back portion of the initial attack force.

Everywhere the shells landed, lizards fell by dozens. Technically, it was nothing compared to hundreds that fell with my blade with every swipe, but that didn't ruin my mood. Not only was the artillery using weakened shells to mislead the enemy, but also it was easier to scale.

The true impact of my power was coming from my link with the dungeon, which not only had its limits but was also unique to me — as far as I knew. That meant it was not scalable, unlike the cannons that were spitting out shells, their numbers could easily be scaled up.

"The first step to free us from the yolk of the monsters," I grunted as I swiped my blade, taking down another group of lizards with ease. "If only I could believe people wouldn't kill me just for revealing its existence."

[-350 Mana]

I continued swinging my sword, slowly reducing the number of the lizards I had to deal with, skittering around the group.

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Until I couldn't anymore. A bright energy shone over me, too fast for me to avoid without using my full speed. I dodged, or thought that I did, but it followed me. Worse, it ignored my hastily raised mana barrier, which was scarier than actually breaching it. Then, it hit me, but after a moment of dizziness, nothing happened.

"What was that," I muttered in shock, absentmindedly patting myself for damages, but there was no change. I frowned, ready to retreat. Maybe it was just a fake attack, but with the first horde decimated enough, it represented a little risk.

But, when I tried to move back, using Fleeting Step as usual, I stumbled. "What the hell," I muttered, shivering as I recovered from the stumble with a maneuver that would have been impossible if it wasn't for my Dexterity.

It had been merely a second, but it was enough for the first attack group to reduce the distance significantly. I still didn't understand what was going on, but the sight of the main horde suddenly picking up speed was not good news.

I swung my sword, deciding to destroy the first attack group before the situation had been dealt with. I swung my sword.

[-1000 Mana]

… And a mess of blue energy burst forth, losing its consistency merely after ten yards rather than significantly diminishing the attacking group. My eyes widened at the failure of the attack, as well as the clumsy manner I had swung my sword.

Something was wrong.

Panicked, I summoned my System screen.

[Smith of Decay - Level 53]

[Health 3180/3180] [Mana 2140/2650]

[Vitality 265 / Strength 212 / Dexterity 159 / Essence 265 / Wisdom 159]

[Skills (9/15)

Meditation of Decay (Mythic) - 100 [Controlled Flow, Superior Sensing, Purification]

Reformation of Quintessence (Legendary) - 1 [Advanced Observe]

Mana Forge (Epic) - 314 [Advanced Creative Forging, Advanced Mana Control]

Nurture (Legendary) - 53

[Hammer of Avalanche (Epic) - 300 [Shattering Strike]

Blade of Bulwark (Epic) - 300 [Adamant Stance]

Spear of Storm (Epic) -300 [Mercurial Movement]

Fire Bolt (Basic) - 25

Shoot (Basic) - 25]

There was nothing wrong. All my skills were there. I just couldn't use them. Yet, monsters got closer and closer. I rapidly switched to my spear, which had been equally unresponsive. I raised it to trigger Fire Bolt, but it failed as well.

"This is bad," I grumbled in shock. I had no idea what they had done, but clearly, my initial attack had been predicted and countered.

Luckily, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. My Stats were still in place, or I would have collapsed by the weight of my armor alone.

I would have loved to have time to ponder on the changes I had just experienced, but I lacked the time for it. Instead, I had to deal with the sudden appearance of a man, appearing from behind one of the larger lizards, rushing toward me with a shocking speed, encased in thick armor that radiated a shocking amount of enchantments.

Luckily, despite his fancy armor, he didn't give me the same oppressive feeling the ascended warriors had been radiating, which meant I didn't have to open an emergency gate and escape, which was one secret I wanted to keep.

I decided to fight.

I switched to my hammer even as I prepared myself for his assault. I chose my hammer, as not only was it the easiest weapon to use against an armored foe, but it was also the weapon I could use the easiest without the assistance of a skill.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

At the same time, I sent a mana flare to the sky, one that signaled Harold to switch to real shells. Faking weakness to drive the horde closer had been a good plan when I had my skills, but with the way they were blocked — hopefully temporarily — some adjustments were necessary.

"Nasty spell, blocking my skills like that," I said as I raised my hammer, absent of mana. Not because I could not. Thanks to discovering the tricks of the Wisdom, I knew I could use my weapons as a bridge to attack with the help of the quality of my weapon.

"That's your punishment for trying to delay the arrival of the true Divine," he growled back, his blade lashing out with a Vitality attack … one that felt extremely weird, yet somehow familiar. However, a burst of mana was enough to shield me from it.

Then, the first wave of the real shells landed between the lizards, eviscerating the majority of the first wave in one salvo. I would have loved to examine the reaction of the main wave, but my sole enemy covered the distance, and without my skills to help me, I didn't have the luxury of not paying attention.

I was tense. Without my skills, I was vulnerable in a way I wasn't ready for. So, I kept my focus on my attacker, which was good, as it helped me to see him gasp in pain as the shells shredded the majority of the attacking wave.

It was a perfect opportunity for me to deal with him. I slammed my hammer down, delivering a mana blow. After all, while skills helped, they were no longer a necessity to deliver a direct attack. It was weaker, certainly, but that didn't matter much when I delivered the attack with the support of my full Strength, directly against his head.

He survived thanks to his armor. Well, the enchantments layered on his armor, to be more accurate. I could feel that, even before the contact, the power of my blow was being sapped, and the helmet he was wearing was good enough to disperse the rest of the momentum, and his Health likely handled the rest.

However, while it prevented the attack from being a death blow, it didn't prevent him from staggering. Even with Health, such a blow to the head was not a simple thing.

Too bad I had no idea how his armor worked without my skills to help. As I pulled back from the contact, I reflexively tried to use Observe … which, to my surprise, actually worked.

My eyes widened as I realized the possibility, and doused his armor with my mana, using my Forge skill to solidify the joints of his armor. It didn't work, but only because one of the many enchantments on his armor repulsed the mana. From my side, the effect worked perfectly.

Despite my failure, I smirked. My Class Skills were still working. It confirmed that whatever trick he had used only worked for External Skills.

It meant I still had many options.

Instead of pulling back to deliver a full blow, I used my Meditation of Decay as a bridge, transforming the mana around my Hammer to the strongest decay effect I could manage.

It wasn't enough to destroy his armor completely, but it melted a portion of his helmet, as well as spreading across his armor somewhat before he recovered enough to move back to put some distance. Without my skills to help me move, I couldn't chase him.

Especially not when I could see several flying lizards separating from the main horde, with other armored people on their backs.