I arrive at the blacksmith, bright and early to get started with one project of mine that I have delayed too long already. Now there are no more excuses and I will be putting in the time to complete it. Though I can’t blame myself too much, with all the different directions I am pulled in, it was to be expected.

And I doubt concentrating on a single direction would work for my style, branching out to encompass the entire world, both metaphorically and in reality is how my powers are developing, and it is fitting.

Max can concentrate on a couple of aspects and will always be able to skewer me if we had similar levels, the same goes for Greg and even Alex to an extent, but what I lack in combat potential against a single strong high-level opponent, I make up for in sheer numbers and variety of skills. Skill able to keep entire armies at bay if there isn’t any stronger user in their midst. I even manage to keep the system confused about my capabilities.

I help everyone get the forge ready for the day and sit in the familiar place to send my mana into the runic formation feeding air into the forge. This is another skill that probably would seem useless at first glance, but the exercise is something that helped me. Maybe not for throwing bigger fireballs around, but not everything is about sheer power. Having the right tool and wielding it correctly is just as important.

I start to meditate going as deep as I can, which is significantly deeper than the last time I was sitting here.

A steady and smooth stream of mana flows from me, except this time I don’t keep it to very low levels, I increase the output, trying to see if there are any advantages to this approach.

With a mana point every 3 seconds going into the forge, the airflow starts to heat the forge past anything we ever saw, and the smithy changes. Droplets of sweat fall from my forehead and arms. Being so close to the fire I get the worse of it, but the entire shop starts to heat up. I find it strange, but following the long-practiced response, the thoughts drift away like clouds in the sky and I keep the flow smooth and steady.

I approach my mana pool, much more intimate with it now after the time in the trial and pushing at the middle waves ripple out like I had dropped a stone in it.

I let the very waves rippling out determine how much mana went into the plate, and the sinusoidal waves of mana speed throughout the input plate bouncing and resonating within the runic formation.

The system picked this simple runic design for the air blower and limited how good of a product Blackwood could bring forth by the almost random action of inputting mana into it.

The creation he starts to forge goes much further than any he brought forth before. The rhythmic pounding of metal has an intent and intensity that I never felt before, and it’s almost as if something is forging my own body.

The heat is overwhelming and trying to trace the changes I go deep and let all thoughts fade.

Barely as I start to get my rhythm, I feel pain coming from my mana pool and I open my eyes. Just 3 mana points left in the tank. Looking over I see Blackwood working on a longer blade than a spear, but it’s not finished.

Getting up, I watch as he rushes trying not to ruin the halberd’s blade. Close enough to a spear that nobody in our village would feel ashamed swinging it.

Though describing a couple of holdouts still wielding swords as ashamed would not tell the whole story. They are keenly aware that for as cool as swords are, they are weapons of practicality, not dedicated weapons of war. Even most of the die-hards have moved away from using swords as their main weapon. Though plenty had backup weapons to be drawn in close quarters in places with little maneuvering room and that is where swords shine.

Our identity as spear wielders, with a few people branching into other polearm weapons like war hammers and halberds starting to be felt even in the Aether on the air, though my sensitivity was not enough to parse what was happening more specifically.

I watch as the system forces the smith to miss his intended blows during the forging process. With my improved perception field and a lot of training, the system’s interference in his movements is glaring, and I try to feel where he intends to strike and glen as much as possible, not based on his movements, but where he was aiming before being restricted by the system.

I barely start a smile forms on his face, though he doesn't stop or acknowledge my actions in any other way keeping his concentration on the successive strikes. So he somehow noticed what I was doing. It seems my perception field, even without using the skill, is not quite as stealthy as I had hoped for, but at least using it in the bookshop is still an option. Or he is just a much better poker player and was watching me looking for signs of me using the perception field.

Though I’m distracted as with each of his hammer blows my heart wrenches. What had been about to become the most beautiful and well-crafted weapon I ever saw, is further and further twisted and bend in unnatural ways before he fixes it.

Thankfully he finishes in a couple of minutes before going to the grinding stone. Everyone else stops gawking and return to their work.

I frown at his movements on the grinding stones. I never saw much difference between his intended moves and what he did as he was sharpening the weapons, and this time is no different. Does the system not care about the sharpening as much?

After a few seconds, I look at everyone making themselves useful and I start work on my project, though before I’m far on the runic design faze, tweaking the design from Burges for my next staff, about a pound of silver arrives from the smelters. Too bad Stuart isn’t in the village at the moment, that meeting will have to wait for later, but at least I had all the metal I could want.

Blackwood looks along the edge of the blade and nods emphatically at his work.

“I could only salvage a +5 with this halberd.” He says.

“I just wish I had enough mana to last until you completed the weapon. I doubt it would have been just +5 in that case.” I say, lowering my head. If this was how long these weapons need to be forged, I won’t have the mana for weeks, maybe months.

“You guys didn’t tell him?”

“Tell me what?” I ask, placing a pair of deep steel ingots in the forge to begin work.

“Take them out for a moment, you are going to want to pay full attention to this.” I follow his request and as I see a spear in his hands, the hammer falls from my grip, and I realize how right he was.

Any pain from the ruining of the Halberd is gone. All thoughts of my own projects vanish. Tentatively, I inspect it, already knowing what it says in my heart, but wanting confirmation nonetheless.

Spear of the Wielder

Attack +7

Agility +7%

A named weapon made for the Wielder of the Spear.

It isn’t just a small improvement, but two steps up the ladder.

The description is simple and short, but the percentage bonus is beyond my wildest dreams. For people that focus on one or two attributes, the percentage would be better than any equal flat bonus. Plenty of people were at over 100 points in their primary attribute, and there are a few with more than 200.

“You made that with Alex in mind? Is that some title of his?”

“I saw an opportunity and I took it. We sent out a message, but he hasn't returned yet and from what I heard the village’s finances are tight at the moment. Even if he had come, the price is quite steep.” He says.

“Did we unlock something good?”

“You don’t know the half of it. You skipped a step and got a ‘hidden achievement’, I can now forge +5 weapons freely and I can start working on armor.”

“Will I be rich now? I mean with all the +5 items?”

He looks at me through the corner of his eye and says:

“No, unfortunately not, you only get paid if you make a better weapon than the normal weapon I produce, though in compensation your cut has increased.”

“Who comes up with these rules? They seem so … random.”

He shrugs his shoulders, before placing the spear on a wall-mount and answering me:

“That is the system for you. There are stories from times long past, before the council. If they are to be believed, the system was a lot looser back then, and this myriad of intertwining of rules ware quite different back then.”

“Uhmm…how much do I get?”

“This weapon costs 2 gold, so 40 silver for you,” Blackwood says extending his arm. “And the other one was just a +5, so you don’t get anything for the halberd… But talk with Charlie about the fact I now can make dozens of +5 weapons a day. You can negotiate a cut from any sales outside of the village, it was your contribution that allowed it and you are not technically part of the village. There are a few rules about that.”

“I hadn't thought about that.”

“if he tries to stiff you, you can always say you don’t want me producing any weapons with your achievement. The rules over it are a bit iffy, but most Blacksmiths would respect a request like that.”

“Uhh, can I?” my heart beats faster as a thought crosses my mind. “Can I go to work on other village’s smithies and help them forge +5 weapons?”

“Permanently, no, there are limitations in place. All you can do is send you mana like you do here.”

“What else about these limitations you can tell me?”

“You can only improve weapons on a single forge per day, and you still only get paid for weapons above +5, no matter which forge you are working on.”

“Ohh… it would be too easy if I could just spend the whole day going from one forge to the next. Hell, I could probably work on them simultaneously if it was allowed.” I say slumping my shoulders. Though as I move back to start working again I remember my sub-class Creator. I still haven't picked the skill from it.

Creator.

Unlocked skill slots: 1 (50% of 2 skills.)

Imbue - Level 10 unlock

Create - Level 25 unlock

There are no descriptions, the names are short and I have no context to know what each skill does. Looking at the blacksmithy, already gifting us more knowledge after the double tier I just unlocked, perhaps he can tell me something about it.

“Master, I have a sub-class with a couple of skills and I don’t know what to pick.”

“I shouldn't even be surprised. Two subclasses at level 50, ok… What skills?”

“Either Imbue or Create. I got the creator subclass.”

His eyes go wide hearing my words, and he looks around saying to everyone.

“Nobody heard a word about this, do you understand me?”

Everyone nods, and I relax my shoulders, each of them is trustworthy, but there is no sense in spreading information more than necessary, they had no reason to know stuff like that and it wouldn’t help them in any way. I just didn’t expect this to be such a big deal. He puts down his hammer and we head to the wood storeroom at the back. After raising the runic protections in his smithy he starts:

“I shouldn’t be surprised you managed to unlock another subclass after you got the level 10 one. But Creator? That is something very rare.”

“I could have chosen it as the main class, but ‘one with the world’ seemed a better fit.”

“That is the most important aspect, though with your capabilities, instead of a stone around your neck a bad class would probably still be manageable. Especially with the right choices for subclasses as you unlock them.”

“Uhm, so what is your recommendation?”

“The Create skill. Imbue is very good, but against Create it is no contest, and if you unlock the upgrade choose it over anything else.”

I grimace, thinking over the other skill I had upgraded, though this time it is probably different.

“Ok, so what does it do?”

“Chose it and see.”

So I do as he suggests before looking at the description.

Creation - Lv. 1

Passive effect - Provides insight into any creation of the user.

Active effect - Use mana to create something out of nothing.

“Ohh, it’s open-ended, but I can see the possibilities.”

“It will make anything you make better passively, and the active effect comes with a lot of restrictions, but you have plenty of mana to burn.”

“What are those limitations?”

“That is too expensive to tell you, try them out for yourself, and come back with any doubts you have. I will just give you a hint: you should use it to alloy into something you are already making.”

“What do you mean?”

“I already said too much, now go on.” He says pointing to the main room as he lowers the isolation runes.

I think over his choice of words, does that mean…. Can I just conjure stuff out of thin air? That’s way overpowered, it’s no wonder the original class was ranked Legendary. But what is it about alloying?

We go back, and the thoughts of what I could make with this new skill don’t leave me. Another tool in my ginormous toolbox. Not the toolbox with a couple of specialized tools, but like something right out of an informational with over 300 bits and bobs for your Dremel, let’s just hope they won’t break in their first use. Though have a feeling this tool is way more special than anything I have unlocked in a good while.

I am discounting my perception field, but that was something achieved on my own and the future of that class will be something else entirely.