Blacksmith vs. the System

As we moved around on the fourth floor, I said nothing other than pointing directions, which was only partially about the undignified nature of my current transportation.

It was more about getting a sense of my new connection with the dungeon. Just the act of passing through the dungeon gate had turned into an adventure that was hard to describe. There was the usual sense of weightlessness, but there was more as well.

As I shifted floors, I realized that I had some kind of connection with the floor than the dungeon. It wasn't very intense, even the barest hint required my full focus, and processing that information was equally challenging.

But, as we reached my fourth-floor base, some of the details were obvious. The sensation from the floor I was currently on was the most intense, while the sensation from the other floors was muted. Yet, even muted, the sensation of people using gates was one I could identify.

Now that I was on the fourth floor, it was hard to distinguish whether that movement was on the third floor or the second one, but knowing I would feel any possible interloper on the fifth floor felt promising.

Assuming, of course, they didn't have a way to block it, which was not out of the question.

"What's the plan," Maria asked once we arrived at my base.

"I think I can feel them entering through the gate, but I'm not a hundred percent sure," I admitted. "I think the first thing we need to do is to discuss the capabilities of the ascended warriors," I said. "That way, I can contribute to the situation."

Eleanor paused. "It wouldn't be wrong to define them as … better in everything," she admitted. "Their stats are more effective, their external attacks are stronger be it vitality-based or mana-based, and even their skills are better."

"An all-around improvement," I said, frowning. It was not exactly good news. "When you say their external attacks are stronger, do you mean similar to Epic skills?"

"No," Maria answered. "The denseness of an Epic skill comes from the way the mana is folded and structured. The ascended people just have … a different kind of Health and Mana."

"Superior?" I asked.

Eleanor nodded while Maria shook her head. "It's superior, isn't it?" Eleanor questioned, looking at Maria.

"Well, before I started working with Devon, I would have called it simply superior as well, but it's not as simple. Their mana is certainly more impactful, but also less flexible."

"Less flexible like solid?"

"No. You would have defined it as higher viscosity," Maria corrected. "It's still flexible, but it feels more determined to stay liquid rather than shifting between gas and liquid. Also, it feels harder to transform," She added, blushing. "Sorry, it's not an ideal description."

I waved my hand. "You watched them in a battle. It's not fair to expect you to have a perfect analysis report," I said. Unfortunately, the practical implications of that information were limited. "What about the practical side of things? Is it too different from the Epic variant?"

"More potent but less flexible," she admitted. "But, the quality doesn't look the same between different users. But, as long as I can replenish my mana, I think I can defeat one of them easily. Maybe two of them."

"Is it because of the class difference," I asked. Maria nodded proudly. "Good news," I said. "We already have the vision advantage, and it's far stronger on the fifth floor. Hopefully, they won't come with a counter to corrosion effect, and we can deal with them."

"Do we need to discover the gate," Eleanor asked. "If so, we need to start moving."

It was a good question. I closed my eyes, and focused on the connection once more. This time, I didn't focus on the movement, but on the floor underneath us — assuming that it was actually underneath, which it might not have been.

"Give me a minute," I said instead. "I think I can feel the location of the gates."

"Don't push yourself," Maria requested. Eleanor clearly had the same idea.

I did my best to give them an assuring smile. "Don't worry. Now that I rested, I'm feeling better," I said. It was an exaggeration to say that I was feeling better, but at this point, we couldn't afford to wait. The moment I bonded with the dungeon, retreat stopped being an option.

And, the situation in the dungeon was a siege. An unconventional one, maybe, but still a siege, and their attempt to breach the defenses was our greatest advantage. We couldn't afford to delay reinforcing that point just to keep me safe.

I nodded before I closed my eyes, pushing deeper into the connection. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced. In a way, it was like trying to play with a poor VR set, causing dizziness more than anything.

My awareness of my immediate surroundings faded, replaced by an abstract sense of the dungeon. I could feel all five floors at once, each with a different intensity … almost a different taste.

I pushed some more, and that abstract awareness turned into something more real. I could feel every single gate connecting the floors … not only that, but also the energy flowing between them. The tainted energy circulated inside the dungeon, going between the floors.

The moment I focused on the energy, I could feel that it was something that the dungeon treated as hostile … no, not hostile, I corrected, but something to deal with.

However, it wasn't the only thing that was going on. The tainted energy came from the gate leading outside, while the mana entered the dungeon from the certain nodes on the fifth floor, rotating in the dungeon.

It was an early, weak conclusion solely based on nebulous feeling, but I had a feeling that, by opening the gate on the fifth floor, I had interrupted something critical in the way the dungeon functioned. As if I had closed the air intake valve for a mine, which interrupted the breeze that was needed to let out the methane.

However, it was just an impression. I was careful not to make any rapid judgment.

Having a direct connection with the dungeon was an interesting thing, giving me an instinctual understanding of what was going on inside just like how people had an understanding of their bodies. But, just like our bodies, I couldn't be sure the instinctual feedback I had received was correct.

There was a reason it took thousands of years for medicine to develop. We couldn't trust every sensory feedback.

However, that didn't mean I needed to ignore and write them off either, certainly not during an emergency. I still wanted to shift the dungeon entrance back to the first floor as soon as possible, as when in doubt, maintaining the status quo was the smarter short-term solution most of the time.

Then, just as I focused on the fifth floor to pinpoint the location of the new gate, I noticed something interesting.

The corrosion.

Up until now, I had always assumed that the corrosion was just a side effect of the tainted energy, a hostile part of the dungeons like the creatures … but it was not. Nor was mana its source.

It was hard to describe, but I could feel the way the flow moved. It felt like an inherent part of the dungeon, one that seemed to be breaking down what we called tainted energy. Unfortunately, it was once again a brief sensation more than anything else, meaning I couldn't be sure that what I felt was accurate.

Understanding the process was even more of a pipe dream, at least in the short term.

I ignored both, and focused on the gates, trying to feel their positions.

The fifth floor was huge, almost a hundred-mile radius … which I found absurd even with everything else that came along with the System, but since we were under an imminent siege, I had to focus on the location of the gates.

Which was easy to discover. The gate leading outside was in the middle of the wilderness, almost ten miles away from the nearest gate, which was apparent on the map I had drawn on the ground.

"That looks far away. We need to move before they enter," she started.

"We do," I answered. "I feel like I can open another gate near them, but …"

"You're not sure whether you can close it on time," she added.

I nodded. "It looks like a risky experiment to avoid traveling a few miles through the swamp."

"Should we bring some of the guards?" Eleanor asked.

"No," I responded. "I expect they will lead with the ascended, and considering the way we fight, their presence will make little difference. It's better to let them level up." I was reluctant to use anyone as sacrificial lambs, but it was not why I said that.

For what was about to come, their presence would be a hindrance.

At least, for the first wave.

"Let's go," Eleanor said, but I gestured for her to wait, and started to pile all of my available metal that could resist the corrosion of the fifth floor into a cart, which was more than a hundred metric tons, some shaped into simple a form, some as a raw pile. "You can't be serious?" she gasped.

"Why waste the opportunity to properly reinforce the entrance," I responded, my smile wide despite my exhaustion.