It was already dusk before I could start experimenting 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-flame metal I could put over my armor; and two sets of weapons, one anti-flame, and one anti-corrosive.
I had considered limiting myself to only one set of anti-flame equipment, but I decided against it after testing the performance of the two pieces of equipment. The dungeon crystals allowed me 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 time investment even if it prevented me from experimenting.
Luckily, my new weapons allowed me to upgrade my skills quickly. I just needed to hunt a dozen bosses before I was looking at a very welcome screen.
[Hammer of Avalanche (Epic) - 300 [Shattering Strike]
Blade of Bulwark (Epic) - 300 [Adamant Stance]
Spear of Storm (Epic) -300 [Mercurial Movement]
As much as it bothered me to not understand the mechanic 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 enjoyment of discovering another trick to improve my skills, this time completing their Epic nature.
Selecting the perks had been simple. A devastating new strike for the hammer, a defense-focused perk for the sword, and another movement 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 met with a sight that changed my mind.
The defenders had been split into two groups, looking like they were about to come 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 Farmers brandishing their weapons.
"I wonder whether to call that good timing or bad timing," I muttered. I was annoyed that it interrupted me before I could properly test my new Perks. But then, I was also glad. Having the skills at the limit meant 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 farmers," one of the guards shouted. "We're leaving."
"Over my dead body —" Harold replied, his blade drawn.
"What's going on?" I asked immediately as I arrived.
"Nothing important, sir. We're having a slight disagreement, 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, somehow 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 me 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 me 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 meant 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 somehow 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 me 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 blame 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 Farmers 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 phenomenon.
"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 comments.
I didn't bother to defend myself against his absurd statement, knowing that it would be useless. I paused for a moment, 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 something to do with some 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 me 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 mean the dissemination of that information on a large scale.
However, the moment 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 some kind of trade deal might be possible.
Especially if I was willing to sell Forge and Meditation skill stones cheaply, something I was more than happy to do.
"Fine, you can leave," I said, coming to a quick decision. Next to me, I could see Harold look at me in shock, but he managed to keep himself from interjecting. I appreciated it.
"Good. We just need a bunch of farmers 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 me 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 time. Instead, I raised my foot, and slammed on the metal floor as I tried to deliver an inferior copy of my hammer skill. It was a trick I had discovered some time 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.
The whole defensive encampment shook as the tremble spread through the metal, making them take a step back.
They looked shocked, but I didn't blame them. I was equally surprised. The attack came out far stronger than I had expected, and somehow, 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 moment.
"Try that, and I might decide to change my mind," I threatened.
"You think —" he started, but I interrupted him again, this time with a flash of my blade that turned into a real ranged attack, destroying one of the carts they had prepared.
However, the choice was not random. The floor was metal, and the carts had enough metal content as well. Together, it was enough for me to identify which cart was filled with skill stones, and I destroyed it.
"How dare —" he started, but I slashed three more times, each passing near the carts that were filled with their supplies. I didn't destroy them, but the display was memorable enough.
"I promised Maria to let you bunch leave without intervention. Don't make me 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.