"And, this is the last one. Five hundred pieces, ready for any emergency," I said, annoyed that all that work didn't give me even a handful of points. It wasn't surprising, but that didn't prevent the blooming annoyance. "Along with the upgraded condenser, we're ready to help the farmers improve as necessary. It's time to leave."
"Are you sure you want to take this risk?" Maria suddenly asked.
I sighed. While forging, Maria had asked the same question in various forms almost fifty times. In an abstract sense, having someone to care about my safety was nice. Unfortunately, that abstract acknowledgment didn't prevent it from getting annoying. "No, Maria. My answer hasn't changed in …" I said, making a move of checking my nonexistent watch, "the last two minutes."
"No need to be sarcastic," she grumbled.
"I disagree. This is the perfect time to be sarcastic," I said, a little snippier than I had expected. "Sorry, it's just the best way, and we live in a dangerous world. There's no truly safe option."
"Fine. I get it. I just don't like it when you're putting yourself at risk for me."
I shrugged. "Not much we can do about it," I said even as I started packing my stuff. I had to travel light, but I still wanted to bring a full set of tools, several ingots prepared based on an epic recipe, ready to be transformed as necessary, and about a dozen javelins made of the same material. And, after some thought, I put two full lure potions I had looted from the previous dungeon attack.
It was one advantage of being a superhuman blacksmith. Anything else I needed, I could prepare on the field.
Together, we moved back to the first floor, focusing more on the practical side, including how to set a second
"Before you leave, I have a gift for you," she said.
"Yes, a gift," she said as she pulled a paper, and started writing on it. A bunch of partial differential formulas, mixed with some topology. I quirked an eyebrow. "This is how I fold my mana while I help you," she said. "I have done my best to turn it into a formula in case you face any danger. "I don't know if it'll work, but…"
"I …" a gasp escaped my mouth, only to freeze. This was a big gift. No, more than just big. Incredible. I didn't even have an idea how to start mapping the flows. When it came to physics, I was a novice at best, and fluid dynamics was one of the most troubling problems that plagued modern technology, often requiring supercomputers to solve most of the time.
And, in the old world, physics had been working with materials that didn't suddenly decide between being liquid and gas for absolutely no reason.
While I examined the lines of the formula, trying to comprehend it, she finished writing another set of formulas, but she folded it up before I could read it. "This is the other part of my gift. But, I want you to promise you won't open it unless it becomes absolutely necessary, and even if you do, you'll do your best to be careful."
"What's that?" I asked.
"My meditation formula," she added, then paused. "At least, the best approximation I had."
I paused, not knowing what to say. It was an incredible gift, far bigger than the previous one, which was only a representation of my own skill, just in the form of a more generalized formula. This one represented one of her core secrets.
One that could potentially prove deadly to her if leaked, considering how fragile meditation skills were.
"I don't know what to say," I muttered.
She gave me a gentle smile even as she put it into my hands. "Then, don't say anything. Just make sure to return safely."
Before I could even figure out how to respond, she turned her back, and sped up with a flare of her mana, leaving me behind. I sighed as I watched her leave, trying to wrangle my own confusing feelings. This might be the single most thoughtful gift I have ever received.
And, I had no idea what I was feeling.
I let out a sigh even as I put both papers into a special container under my armor, securely fastened. Strangely, I felt no temptation to open the sealed letter, when a few weeks ago, the prospect of getting stronger would have been enough to treat that as a wish that was easily ignored.
I sighed even as I moved toward where Harold was waiting for me, with a metal box that previously held arrows. "Hello, sir," he greeted me when I approached.
"Harold," I greeted back. "Everything ready?"
"Yes, it's as you have guessed. We detected another attempt, but this time, I decided to change the pace a bit. Let's see how they'll deal with an ambush," I said, doing my best to look more confident than I was feeling.
Luckily, the longer my list of victories got, the less my acting mattered. Harold nodded in satisfaction. "That's good, sir. But, what about the sudden change with the Farmer? I didn't expect Lady Eleanor to help."
I did my best to look smug. "I managed to convince her to train a team of elite fighters out of them, using a secret method," I said. "That way, when I return, I'll have a thousand elite warriors waiting for me in my guild."
It was a lie, but it had enough truth mixed in to keep Harold focused and pacified. I didn't like lying, but under the circumstances, the emergence of the dungeon was one.
"That's ambitious, sir," he said. "But, isn't it a bit risky?"
"Not at all. It's a reasonable precaution, and if it helps my finances somewhat, even better."
He nodded. "Is there any way I can help?"
I was about to refuse, when I realized we had missed one detail. "Actually, yes," I said. "You can make several plans, outlining the process of evacuating the town directly to the dungeon, and share them with Eleanor. The more serious we take the threat, the harder she would work to train our members."
He nodded, looking like he had accepted my rationale. "And, are we going to maintain the same hands-off approach when it comes to the ones that don't want to upgrade their classes, sir? Maybe we shouldn't miss the opportunity."
I shook my head. "Don't change anything for the moment. I have made a promise to them. Anyone who wants to focus on their skill improvement is free to do so. Don't pressure them indirectly either." Then, I paused. "Not that I expect too many of them to persist once the first batch of farmers return with their improved stats and show off," I added.
Harold's expression shifted into a big smile. "I see, that's your plan all along. Very clever, sir," he said. "We'll do our best to hunt on the fourth floor and gather more Rare Nurture skills."
It was not my plan. On the contrary, I was sad that the excellent experiment I had in place had been ruined in merely a few days. I could have convinced Maria that the experiment was too important, but it didn't feel right to manipulate the situation to keep it going.
Not when it could affect their survival. We had initially planned that experiment to take six months, because we were under the impression that the worst thing that could happen was a monster wave, which would give us two weeks to prepare.
A surprise dungeon nearby was something else. I wondered just how much of it was pure misfortune, and how much of it was a part of Thomas' — or more likely, his supporters' — plan.
My best guess was that it was fifty-fifty. The appearance of the dungeon was pure misfortune, but I would be willing to bet a lot that the timing of the breach had nothing to do with its natural lifecycle. It was more likely that they had a way to prematurely shatter a dungeon.
However, ultimately, it didn't matter. I just needed to find a way to infiltrate the dungeon, or should I fail at that, stay near until the breach occurred so I could get a glimpse of the monsters that it spewed.
"Yeah, a storage of Rare Nurtures wouldn't be amiss," I said. "Make sure to stockpile them. The more, the better."
"Even if we collect a thousand?" he asked.
"I won't say anything even if you collect a hundred thousand, as long as you don't neglect your other tasks," I said even as I started walking toward the large metal box. "Now, that's enough chit-chat. Seal me up."
He did so, and I ended up in the dark. I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the violence to come, once more against an enemy of unknown caliber.
This time without the home ground advantage our dungeon had provided.
I called in the System, hoping for a sense of security.
[Mana Blacksmith - Level 43]
[Health 1290/1290] [Mana 210/210]
[Vitality 86 / Strength 86 / Dexterity 65 / Essence 21]
Mana Repair (Epic) - 102 [Advanced Observe]
Mana Forge (Epic) - 313 [Advanced Creative Forging, Advanced Mana Control]
Cleansing Meditation (Uncommon) - 139 [Controlled Flow, Superior Sensing, Purification]
Quake Hammer (Rare) - 200 [Persistent Tremor]
Blade of Retribution (Rare) - 200 [Strike of Retribution]
Breeze Spear (Rare) - 200 [Floating Stride]
Fire Bolt (Basic) - 25