Blacksmith vs. the System 280

There was a way to understand their true objective. I changed my path slightly, trying to cut directly to the city. However, I didn’t display my full speed, instead, I kept it similar to what I had displayed during my last battle against Drakka, just somewhat higher to be explained by my class upgrade.

The moment I did that, they had split, the archers and some of the guards moving at an angle to cut my path, their attacks focusing on blocking my path rather than damaging me. I tried to shift toward the swamp. The same strategy applied.

That left two routes. One that would force me to meet the rest of their team, and one that would drive me away from the town. I picked the latter route. If they had no other reinforcements, they would have tried to herd me away from that direction as well.

This time, they were content with the following.

Damn, I thought. If they had another group ready to intervene, it meant I had to deal with the attackers. That meant, I had to change my direction again, and risk meeting with the other group. At least that path didn’t bring me away from the swamp, meaning I would still be able to regenerate my mana.

Already slowed up by the distance, most of my regeneration was spent on my deflection attacks, something that was barely possible even with all my advantages. The combined assault from a squad of Ascended, even the weakest kind, was not the kind of challenge that could be handled trivially.

Yet, I continued to sandbag, not showing the full extent of my speed and escape. There was one reason for it. One hidden weapon.

Charisma.

Among all the tools the System gave me, that was the one I had the most complicated relationship with. A mystical force that rewrote the people’s emotions and thoughts alike, it was rather unsettling. But, that was when I used it on my allies.

Against my enemies, I had no such problems, especially when I planned to use it as a blunt tool. Yet, I didn’t reveal it.

The ambush already revealed that our strategic priority had changed, but with the importance they put on Charisma, even when a class merely received a point every two levels, revealing my own situation would flip the situation too much.

Therefore, I was happy to treat it as a safety measure I would only touch when things turned bad while I parried the attacks of the ascended.

It looked like a stalemate, but it was not, as I was letting my mana reserves recover slowly, even at the cost of letting some of the weaker attacks slip by, relying on my armor to tank the attack. Moreover, I had another great advantage. They would get tired, strained by their Ascended nature.

I would not. I could fight for the whole day, especially if I could get marginally closer to one of the dungeon gates, whether back to the city, or toward the swamp. But, to do that, I needed to cut through the second team, which was the reason I was accumulating mana.

In case Maria and Rosie were not there to support me. I trusted Rosie to respond to the commotion I created, but I still needed a backup plan. Drakkans might have another contingency plan blocking Maria’s path.

Those concerns were laid to rest before I could meet the second team, the sound of an explosion reaching my ears, one accompanied by a great flare of mana that I found very familiar. It was Maria’s elemental casting.

I couldn’t see what happened as the explosion happened on the other side of the hill, the landmass blocking my sight, but I could rely on my other senses. With their stealth measures destroyed by Maria’s spell, I could feel the location of each Ascended easily.

I checked my reserves to see if I was ready to act.

[Mana 4551/10000]

Not ideal, but far better than the worst case. I changed my direction and charged right to the center of the second team, climbing the hill. At the peak, I stayed on top for a fleeting moment, taking stock of what was going on, while the wind carried the thick scent of charred soil and burned grass.

It was nothing compared to the huge circle of fire surrounding the ten ascended warrior, pinning them in place, forcing them to create a circle with their shield to protect themselves from the fire; shields enchanted to resist fire, strong enough that the roaring fire storm around them merely delayed them rather than threatening their lives.

They came prepared.

Maria probably recognized that as well, yet still chose to pin them to their place rather than trying to take down one or two. She was trying to give me a chance to retreat, which I appreciated.

I could see her floating a hundred yards above the mess, air warping around her as her mana radiated the aura of her flames.

Even in the middle of a fight, I couldn’t help but wonder just how different the concept of her flame and the flame from the dungeon was; both devastating in their own way.

Though, she soon stole my fascination as she delivered another spell, a beam of condensed fire leaving her elegant fingers, only to crash at the center of the enemy. Too bad one of the Ascended pulled a stone, and a ward appeared, taking the brunt of the attack before it shattered under the weight.

“It was supposed to hold for the whole battle, what’s going on!” shouted one in panic. Not a genuine reaction, I recognized. A bait. An invitation for her to exhaust.

I had to admit, it was a good trick. Maria was an incredible friend, kind and patient, always willing to defend the weak. But, those qualities were when she was in social situations. In any kind of conflict, she was hotheaded, and quick to act. That was how she played chess.

And that was how she fought.

Worse, I couldn’t even interrupt, because her reaction was immediate. Her mana flared, and a giant spell appeared in front of her. Rosie’s warning shout was similarly ignored.

Only for the leader, they had to pull another artifact, and crush it. A pulse of mana appeared around them just as Maria’s fire spell was half-formed, interfering with the structure. The spell, already a complicated overcommit from her part, destabilized, the backlash hitting her hard.

It didn’t take her down, but that was only because of the last-minute shield that she put up, taking the brunt of the damage. It left her even more exhausted.

Worse, the others activated their own spells, and started flying toward Maria. Their method, driven by an external spell, was neither smooth nor particularly fast. She could have easily escaped if she hadn’t been battered by the mishap.

I wished that I could use Charisma, but I hadn’t practiced enough, not enough to bring it down in a few seconds without Skill assistance, and the current form was not geared up for it. In my desire to keep it hidden, I made it useless to be relied on.

I just never thought it would be the circumstance I would need it.

I gulped, realizing that I had only one way to help her. I needed to …

Fly.

I gulped. Flying was no risk to me; not with the way the System assisted me. I could jump from a plane and get away without getting hurt, but our fears and phobias didn't always make sense. The idea alone threatened to clamp down.

Yet, I knew that the alternative wouldn’t be enough. I couldn’t take down nine Ascended from the ground; certainly not when I was lacking in mana. I switched to my spear, trying to activate Mercurial Movement perk, one that would allow me to float. I was able to use it when I had a metal ceiling preventing me from flying.

Yet, looking at the blue sky, I found it impossible to do. The sky hovered above me, heavy, oppressive, and scary. I wasn’t looking at a beautiful blue canvas, but a dark void, one that threatened to devour me, corrupt me, until nothing remained of me.

“W-why?” I muttered as I felt the time stretch as the adrenaline pumped through my veins, yet it only made me more afraid. Why was I afraid of the sky so much, when there was nothing there? Helpless, I blindly reached inward, trying to recall my skills one by one to find a solution.

Including some half-baked theories that I didn’t dare to try because I was afraid of the backlash.

A desperate touch to my Runic Craft, combined with another theory that I had been working on, created a wave of decay when I stabbed my spear, thickest and the most controlled I ever managed, delving deeper into my connection with the dungeon.

I wasn’t just directed by my skill, but by the dungeon. Like I had touched something even deeper.

I felt my Health and Mana mix in a way I had never experienced before. Runes were created by Health, with Mana creating layers around it, all stabilized by my soul, using Meditation as a conduit.

Acting like a hammer, each blow leaving me more exhausted.

[-4913 Mana]

[-4913 Health]

[Rune Craft (Mythic) 216 -> Rune Creation ( Ethe— ]

[Rune Craft (Mythic) 216 -> 391]

[Mana 0/10000]

The devastating wave of Decay had been the most impressive attack I had ever created, threatening to devour everything in its path; its extraordinary nature confirmed by the way the System glitched. Any other time, I would have loved the realization. But, this time, I was fully focused on the results, and the results were not good enough.

Of the nine flying Ascended, only four of them were hit by the wave, which was enough to destroy their flying spell and most of their armor, and they fell to the ground, hitting with a loud, painful sound.

Lost in my fear, I expected that sound to throw me off kilter even more as just another visceral evidence of the perils of flying.

But, it did not.

I felt the time stretch as I tried to understand the reason. For some reason, I knew that, if I could understand that reason, I might actually save Maria.

But, I had seconds to achieve it.