Blacksmith vs. the System

The moment I picked up my equipment, I rushed out, ready to cut a path. Behind me, I could see the four bodyguards trying to chase me, but it was clear that their full speed wasn't enough to match mine. Without an obstruction, they wouldn't be able to catch up with me.

Unfortunately for me, with an army positioned around the fortress, they had plenty of obstruction. If I could use the Floating Stride efficiently, I might have a hope of ditching them, but the last thing I needed was to end up rolling down the hill.

Similarly, trying to find a cave to somehow ditch the observers was not an option. I could conceal myself from them when I was at the peak of the mountain, and they were looking in the wrong direction for any possible visitor, but against people that were actively looking for me…

No, running in a straight line was the best option.

"Anyone that slows him down earns an Epic skill!" one of the guards shouted, which changed the attitude of the army significantly. Several people proved fast enough to cut my path, especially since their position was more favored.

Running around them was likely a better option than fighting, but killing them would have been a more intimidating option. I switched to my hammer even as I closed in the distance, Mana covering its surface. However, it wasn't a blow of Quake Hammer, but Forge skill.

[-40 Mana]

One blow had been enough to distort and ruin the integrity of the armor, so the following Quake Hammer devastated his body. I didn't know whether he was dead or alive. Either way, the visuals worked well.

Especially since the only thing that illuminated the valley was the ongoing forest fire I had triggered … was it five minutes ago, maybe even shorter.

"It'll take a lot to get that Epic Skill!" I shouted as I continued to run forward, their hesitation was all I needed was to dash forward. Looking down, I could see that the bodyguards didn't have the same mobility through the rocky surface.

For a moment, I thought that I would be getting away freely. Then, things changed. Everyone in the army paused for a moment.

It was too ominous for me to simply write it off. I pushed myself to run even faster, only for the people in the army to spread again, their sudden pattern of movement difficult to comprehend. Some of them moved to cut my path, while others took alternative paths to cover the gaps.

It was hard to describe, but it was as if I was playing a computer game, and I switched from easy to brutal. Even as I was trying to comprehend that, a distinct cry of a Griffin reached my ear.

Charisma, I realized even before I looked back, so it wasn't a shock to see Thomas riding a griffin that had just burst out of the fortress. He wore a helmet, but his decorative armor was too distinctive for me to forget.

I knew it was a problem, but the full extent of it I only realized once the first three fastest soldiers caught up with me. Even as I smashed down one of them with my hammer, the other two rushed to tackle me, uncaring for their safety.

A kick threw one of them away, while a switch of direction enabled me to avoid the second. Unfortunately, even with the hammer attack caving half of his head, the third one managed to grab my leg. I switched to my sword, and a blow to the weak shoulder joint of the armor solved the issue, but not before the second wave caught up with me.

Reflexively, I slammed my hammer to the ground, triggering another landslide.

[-100 Health]

That created enough of a gap for me to ditch them, but a bigger part of the army was closing in.

I picked the least crowded part and continued to dash wildly toward the peak, I started to understand why people with Charisma had been treated like such a threat. The only thing that gave me even a fighting chance was the dispersed state of the army.

Otherwise, I would have hated to fight against even ten people who were 'encouraged' by Charisma. The perfect coordination and all the self-preservation instincts of a zombie were an overwhelming combination.

I continued to climb, glad that I was already out of their envelopment. Ten more seconds and my fate may not have been as bright.

Thomas must have also realized that, as suddenly, the army had lost their cohesion. Realizing what was about to happen, I immediately pulled one of the epic javelins I had prepared, pumped it with my remaining mana, and threw it at Thomas' mount.

Just as I did that, a primal sense of terror hit me. It was hard to resist such pure and instinctual fear, when one's body refused to listen to their orders. Luckily for me, I fought against a similar sensation whenever I stepped on a griffin, or used Floating Stride.

And, my phobia of flying was stronger.

I ran, refusing to allow the artificial fear of Charisma to have a hold on me, even if it slowed me down, and interfering with my ability to focus on the technique I had learned.

It seemed like he couldn't use the two effects simultaneously, which made my life considerably easier. The shout from his griffin, filled with pain to confirm I had hit the target, encouraged me to run even faster. I refused to look back, as I doubted that I could handle the sight of someone trying to fly with an injured mount.

Unfortunately, Thomas' pressure didn't disappear even when the sound of hitting on the ground reached my ears. A glance back showed a bloody, unmoving griffin, proving that the attack worked, while Thomas' figure was difficult to pick.

"Let's add some more confusion," I said as I staggered. I rapidly grew another extremely flammable tree, this time focusing on creating even more smoke, the farming tricks I had picked from the study group working wonders.

Some, I rolled down the hill. Some, I left burning in place, releasing plumes of smoke into the air, creating thick clouds that were impossible to see through. It turned out to be a good choice, as soon I heard the angry cries of several griffins, indicating that more reinforcements had arrived.

"What a trap," I muttered as I reached the peak and continued to run in a straight line, stuffing my face with Health dense food. Giving into my arsonist tendencies and burning even more trees was fun. I had deliberately spread it at the cost of slowing down, as just one path of smoke was equally easy to follow.

However, as I did that, I wasn't sure whether Thomas would dare to follow with his army out of position. He didn't seem like a person who would brave the risk of facing a person who took down his griffin mount with just one attack with limited support.

If he was, he wouldn't have run away with his tail between his legs during our earlier confrontation, where he accidentally reached the conclusion that I had broken through the level hundred barrier.

That assessment turned out to be true. He could have switched to one of the other griffins and chased me, but instead, the griffins were ridden by the four bodyguards and some scouts.

Unfortunately for them, the forest canopy was too thick to catch me, particularly in the middle of the night. They might have succeeded if the area lacked vegetation, or if it was still daytime, but their failure suggested that even Perception had its limits.

At least, with the amount they seemed to have.

Ditching them wasn't too difficult. Trying to use griffins on a moonlit night was yet another tactical error, allowing me to pinpoint exactly where they were against the starry sky, allowing me to adjust my route. I was ready to take down their mounts with the javelins I had prepared, but luckily, it seemed to be unnecessary.

Once I got away from the mountains, I started encountering beasts, their aggression significantly more overwhelming during the night. Luckily, in a mana-dead location, they weren't too dangerous. Some still managed to deliver hits that would have been devastating if it wasn't for my armor, but even those merely caused a few scratches.

When I was sufficiently away, I had removed the disguise from the surface of the armor.

I had no idea whether they could follow me back to the town, and whether my little concealed trick would hold, but either way, I would lose nothing by trying that.

It was near dawn when I managed to return to the town. I didn't go inside immediately. Instead, I moved to a nearby hill, and cast a Flame Bolt to the sky, a signal we had agreed upon with Maria … one of many. The flame bolt wasn't the most urgent one, but it was close.

Maria and Eleanor appeared there a minute later. "You're alright," they declared happily.

I smiled, trying to look more confident than I was feeling. "Of course. I said I can handle it," I said. Looking at their worried state, I decided that they could live without hearing just how close of a call it had been. "But, let's go into the dungeon. We have a lot to talk about."