Blacksmith vs. the System

I nodded at Eleanor, and with the signal we both rushed forward while Maria used the crusher to replenish her mana. She only needed a few seconds to replenish her reserves, but the three ascended we faced were more than fast enough to take advantage of it if we didn't slow them down.

The idea of facing even one ascended warrior was a scary idea, let alone three. Luckily, we didn't need to actually fight with them. Just delaying them for a few seconds, until Maria could replenish her mana, was a valuable strategic objective.

Especially since they were busy trying to return through the dungeon gate after having met an uncomfortable environment, only to realize that it was not an option.

It cost them a dangerous second.

My hammer was glowing with all the mana I could channel — which was unfortunately still limited by my Essence — as I caught up to the first one, and brought it down.

[-210 Mana]

His reaction speed was incredible. Even as I burst out of the mist, which he could only see three yards through, he still managed to twist and react. My hammer landed on his shoulder, and his blade landed on my chest. My hammer strike, even at full strength, didn't manage to damage him a lot. His attack, on the other hand, sent me away flying.

Unfortunately for him, I had two advantages. One, the disparity in equipment was as wide as our power. More importantly, as I was delivering the mana attack, my mana transformed into the aura of decay. His ascended Health was strong enough to deal with it.

His armor wasn't as lucky.

Meanwhile, Eleanor was more successful than I was, able to parry the attack against her. I righted myself even as I hit the water hard, and dodged the next attack by moving away. "Stop running, rat," he growled.

Unfortunately for him, that was all he was able to say. That exchange was all Maria needed to replenish her Health. The flash of a fire attack was all that was needed to evaporate him, his ascended nature wasted.

Showing what a dangerous world we live in.

The one that was tangled with Eleanor was unable to retreat, while the third one proved to be faster, running to the opposite side. Unfortunately for him, I was able to chase him, especially since the mist didn't hide him.

Two hits from my spear were enough to destroy his armor and weapon, and the newly acquired decay attack was enough to deal with him. It was a fortunate benefit. Not worth the torture I had gone through to acquire it, but a silver lining was better than dark, suffocating clouds.

With his equipment gone, he had two options. Either turn and fight, risking a quick death. Or escape, and risk a slow, torturous one as he ran to the fifth floor, the corrosive aura slowly burning him up.

He chose the former, and proved that, even with his bare hands, an ascended warrior was very dangerous. A bare punch threw me back like a rag doll.

But, it hurt far less than the flash of intense fire from Maria. Then, another. And, just like that, three ascended warriors, each dangerous enough to threaten a town in their lonesome, were gone.

Eight still remained.

I noticed Maria was flying toward the exit gate once more. "Stop!" I called hurriedly.

"Why? We already dealt with three of them. We can destroy the rest!" Maria shouted, more angry than excited. I was guessing that she had a story with that frost mage.

A story that was making her miss our great advantage. "No. If you appear there alone, they will know that something is wrong, and that this is more than a desperate last stand," I said. "And, we certainly can't hunt them outside the dungeon."

"What are we to do, then? Just wait?" she asked sarcastically, confirming my guess about personal hostility.

"Exactly that," I said. "They have sent the three ascended warriors to chase you, and they should be expecting them to have the absolute advantage since they didn't choose to return. We can deal with them at once."

"Good point," she admitted. "Are they still approaching?"

"Yes," I said. "They will be here in less than a minute. Let's take our positions."

"Good," she said, then paused. "What was that attack?"

I sighed. "It's like the attack of the dungeon monsters, only better," I said. "Now that my connection with the dungeon is reinforced, I can impose a stronger variant of the corrosion aura to my attacks," I explained, then paused, wondering if I could focus it even more.

"It was weird. It lingered out for a while before it dispersed. As if the dungeon doesn't absorb it back."

I paused, realizing that she was right. I had just missed that detail while being thrown like a toy, surviving only by the merit of my armor. "You're right," I said as I rushed toward the gate they would arrive, raising my hand, the mana flowing out boundlessly.

The dungeon wasn't absorbing it back, and the aura of decay stuck around at the entrance, but without my control, it was already dissipating. It was a devastating attack, one that was only possible to deliver under the very rare strategic conditions I had been dealing with.

Including the gate allowing me to know exactly when to retreat.

"A question, is that frost mage ascended?"

"Thankfully, no," Maria admitted. "If he were, things wouldn't have gone that smoothly. He's an old enemy."

I would have loved to ask more questions, but there was no time. "Two seconds," I declared as I watched the other eight ascended and position themselves toward the entrance, while I stood in front of the metal bulwark, side by side with Eleanor.

With the combined aura of decay and corruption, the eight ascended warriors had met with a very unfortunate situation. Their armor and weapons melted like they were made of ordinary iron dipped in sulfuric acid.

Their bodies, with the assistance of their elevated effectiveness of Health, managed to resist it better, but it still caused some damage, enough to leave them vulnerable to Maria's attacks. With a burst of fire, one of them disappeared, making me very glad that I had picked the path of friendship with Maria.

She was a good friend, an almost scary ally, and an absolutely terrifying enemy.

Even with all their disadvantages, the ascended warriors rushed forward, realizing the precarious nature of their situation, with their possessions already destroyed.

Eleanor was fast enough to dodge them in close quarters, while I stuck to my spear, maintaining the distance. Occasionally, an explosion would reduce their numbers, but at one moment, I rushed forward, my spear carrying the energy of decay.

Just as the frost mage appeared at the gate.

I knew that he was a dangerous enemy, but I also knew from experience that equipment played a big role when it came to the strength of a mage. One hit, along with the leftover aura of decay I had pumped, had been enough to destroy his armor.

A good thing, as the immediate spell I received in response was devastating enough. I found myself frozen in the water. A desperate blast of decay aura destroyed the ice and I jumped away, just in time for a jagged blast of icicles to pass through where I was standing.

But, that was all he was able to do before Maria flew toward him, her hands burning. "Finally. You'll pay for your betrayal," she shouted.

"Wait. I can —" he started as he flew away, but Maria had the decisive advantage. I prepared myself to rush forward … only to see another amazing sight. Eleanor, dancing between four ascended warriors, the mana from the crusher wrapping around her sword, increasing the devastation she delivered several times.

It would still have been a desperate last stand followed by a defeat if it was a fair duel against any of them. That much was obvious. However, she was fighting against four barehanded naked warriors that had been softened by Maria's fire spells.

The fate of the battle was inevitable.

I rushed toward the gate, making sure to cut their path even if Eleanor failed to deal with them. The last thing we needed was one of them escaping.

We couldn't let our enemy learn just how much of a close call our victory had been, and not just in terms of our most recent power-ups. If the enemy showed even a modicum of care while entering the dungeon rather than chasing us piecemeal, things might have been horribly different.

Soon, Maria landed, a vicious smile on her face. "Carla has been avenged?" she said, earning an equally vicious nod from Eleanor.

"What next?" Eleanor asked.

Maria looked at me with hesitation. "You're going to leave, right?" I asked.

"We have to," she said. "The fact that this bastard is working with Thomas is not good news. We need to go back to my family compound. It's not normal."

"Alright," I nodded. I understood where she was coming from, and even if I didn't, it wasn't like I could imprison her. And, I could sense her urgency. Also, it was a good time for her to leave, before the dungeon creatures spread too much to cut her path completely.

"But, before you do, I want you to promise something," I added.

"Like you promised not to experiment on yourself."

Despite everything, I smiled. "Hey, I fulfilled my promise and didn't experiment with Meditation before I received your approval." Then, I looked at her seriously. "I want you to travel in disguise, and if possible, don't go back before ascending."

"But, what about the money —" Eleanor started.

"You can sell the spears and other equipment we forged. I'm sure it'll earn all you need and more."

Maria looked hesitant. "But, your concerns about the city lords targeting you," she asked.

I chuckled as I glanced at the dungeon around me. "I have a feeling that it won't be my biggest problem anymore," I admitted. "But, if you're worried, return as quickly as you can. I have a feeling that I will need a lot of reinforcements soon." Then, I paused, thinking about how an organization would react to an unexpected but devastating loss of such a strong lineup. "But, not too soon," I added.

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