Blacksmith vs. the System

Once my deal with Rosie was done, I didn't even wait for her confirmation before visiting the workshop to resign and empty my apartment.

One underrated benefit of Strength was that it made moving much easier. No need to call friends and arrange for pizza and beer. And, once I brought things to the storage room Rosie provided at the basement of Broken Tankard, I spent the rest of my time rearranging my books, wondering if I should bring any.

Ultimately, I decided to pick some scientific journals that were about mechanical engineering and metallurgy, which I had purchased when I was still making good money. They hadn't been as useful as I had hoped, partially because I lacked the basics. While having one of my bachelor's degrees in Math helped me to understand the gist of the topic easily, ultimately, I wasn't familiar with the basics of engineering enough to make a difference.

Though, to be fair, I didn't really push myself. Back then, I was still confident that my career as a Blacksmith was temporary, a blip before I once again started working as a researcher.

Now that I was facing another opportunity to make serious money as a blacksmith, I didn't want to miss my chance. The dungeon without mana was a good opportunity regardless of what it would produce.

This time, I planned to take advantage of the opportunity in front of me before it was gone.

Naturally, the dungeon would stay there for a long time, but sooner or later, other blacksmiths would join the fray. Perk Reset stone was not unique to me, and it wasn't my genius that gave me the ability to repair enchanted weapons. It was easy to figure out as long as someone was willing to spend some money.

The number of blacksmiths capable of it would increase, and as a consequence, the money we could make would go down. Simple supply and demand.

Once I picked the books I would bring along, I went upstairs to her office. I knocked, and she invited me in.

She wasn't alone. Two other people were sitting on the other side of her desk, both female. One of them was a redhead, and wore a robe while the other was a blonde and was dressed in a thick chainmail. Their outfits radiated the distinct aura of an enchantment. It was subtle, but working with enchanted weapons for years had given me a good sense of their potential.

Neither enchantment was weak, but the one on the robe was much stronger than the armor's.

The one with the robe spoke first. "So, you're the reason we have to take the long road. Merely Level 7, how disappointing," she commented, which earned a glance from her armored friend … bodyguard. Not for nothing. Using skills that checked other's abilities was considered as rude as just going through someone else's phone pre-Cataclysm.

"I presume so. Assuming, of course, the deal is complete," I answered, not reacting to her rude and obvious attempt to establish control. She was clearly unaware of how much information she had revealed by declaring that. Not only was she rich — identification skills were strategic resources, therefore very expensive — but also that she was coddled. The entitled declaration was not just rude, but also it revealed a pretty important secret of her own.

She reminded me of one of my more entitled students.

From her wince, I could see that the blonde understood exactly what her companion did but said nothing.

"Mostly. You just need to check the details," Rosie said as she pushed a piece of paper toward me. I read, doing my best to keep my expression neutral, but I wasn't sure that I succeeded. The deal was good. Too good.

"I hope that he's as good as you promised," the redhead spoke. "If not, I might change my mind about the rest of your promises."

"Don't worry. Ten more blacksmiths that fulfill the conditions, and a hundred warriors, in two weeks. I keep my promises."

That explained the generosity of the deal even more. Rosie was using me as some kind of proof of concept. It actually made me feel better about the extremely generous deal.

First of all, I would receive two silver every hour while I was at the repair station regardless of the work, with bonuses based on my success rate and efficiency. That alone was an incredible deal.

Then, there were additional lines about them supplying me with tools with different enchantments if they needed me to repair anything other than a simple sharpness enchantment, as well as giving me the right to join the fighting for two hours under the protection of someone called Eleanor to help me level up.

There was even a line about compensation if I got attacked any other time than my leveling journeys.

It was a good deal. Too good, even. I looked at Rosie, whose smile looked very soft and friendly. At that moment, I realized that maybe I shouldn't have just believed that I got lucky. Rosie had another reason for arranging it.

What, I didn't know. I was tempted to pull back, but I couldn't. I got greedy, believed myself smart, and swallowed the bait. Now, I had to deal with the consequences. At least they wouldn't be deadly.

Rosie had a weird sense of humor, but she was not malicious … at least toward people who didn't antagonize her.

"I can't believe we have to travel all day just to pick up a mere blacksmith," the redhead muttered.

"Maria," the armored one whispered, her tone kind but filled with a warning, no doubt warning her companion about being rude. Maybe she was a friend as well as a bodyguard. Amusing.

"What? I'm right. We have more important things to worry about," she said.

"You should have double-checked your calculations, then," she replied, and the redhead blushed. It gave me a better idea of what was going on. Then, she turned to me. "I'm sorry about Maria, sir. It's her first time leading an expedition and she's tense. I'm Eleanor," she said.

"Devon," I said as we shook hands. "I hope that I can help you, but do you mind sharing the details?"

"Later," Maria cut in, even more abrasively after she had been admonished. A spoiled student, indeed. Too bad I couldn't threaten her with dropping her participation score. "We need to be at the camp by dawn. I don't want to delay the raid any more than necessary."

I looked at Rosie once more. She had explicitly mentioned that the dungeon was a week away. She responded with an amused smirk. "See you around, Devon," she said with a big smirk. "Make sure to hang on tight."

Then, it clicked. "We're going to fly there," I said, my face getting paler.

"Is there a problem?" Maria asked.

"No, just surprised," I said, not willing to admit my … distaste for the spoiled young woman who was clearly looking for a chance to mock me. It would be unpleasant enough.

Eleanor seemed to catch the reason, but she just nodded. Not ideal, but better than nothing.

"Good. Then, let's go. We have wasted enough time," Maria declared as she stood up, her gaze locked on Rosie. "Make sure you hold up your end of the bargain. You don't want to cross my family," she declared, with a hint of threat.

"Of course not," Rosie replied, but I didn't miss the way her smile tightened. Another mistake on Maria's part. Rosie didn't like being threatened. But, coming from someone that might as well be a spoiled trust fund kid — or, whatever the equivalent was in our new society — it was easier to shrug off.

Looking at their maturity, it was hard to believe that they were more or less at the same age, just below twenty-five. Then, I chuckled, realizing that, even in my mind, I sounded ancient rather than my true age, merely thirty-two.

Starting to work as a professor before my twenties distorted my perspective a bit too much on that.

"Let's go," Maria said as she looked at her bodyguard, and didn't even look at me. I followed them after putting on my helmet. There was no hiding my identity from anyone relevant, but I preferred not to be a part of the gossip.

I followed them to the outskirts of the town and arrived at the gates. According to the laws, the gates were supposed to stay locked all night with no exceptions. Eleanor didn't even need to say anything. She just made a gesture, and the guards opened the door, looking nervous. I would have understood if their nervous glance was targeting Maria, but they were looking at Eleanor like that.

There must be a story behind it, but I didn't ask. I was too busy psyching myself up for the upcoming encounter, wondering about the exact method of flying. The destruction of the technology meant there were no planes or helicopters — good riddance — but the replacements were hardly better. A slew of magical items, starting from flying carpets, replaced them. I never had the money to use them in the first place, so it didn't matter until now.

But, when I saw our mode of transportation, I froze. Mounts. Flying mounts. Two griffins, tied to a tree like horses, a glowing shield around them, though whether to keep them captive or to protect them, I didn't know.

"Have you ever ridden a Griffin?" Eleanor asked kindly. I shook my head, not in the mood to answer. "I'll help you," she said. I followed. The beast looked calm and obedient, not unlike a well-trained horse. I wasn't scared of it, at least as long as it was on the ground.

As I climbed behind it, the straps of the saddle moved automatically to wrap around me. "Now, all you need to —" Eleanor started.

"Enough, we wasted too much time already," Maria called from the other griffin, and started to fly.

"Sorry. Just relax and don't worry. You don't need to worry. It's actually very safe," Eleanor said, which made my apprehension even worse. It reminded me of the constant insistence of the flight attendants about how their flying death traps were actually perfectly safe.

Then, the griffin stretched its wings, and we were in the air. I grabbed the saddle desperately and closed my eyes. It was worse than a plane. At least, there, as long as there was no turbulence, I could convince myself that I wasn't flying.

It was impossible here, not with the wind flowing around my face like a whip. Not with every flap of the wings shaking us worse than even the worst turbulence.

Worse, soon, the cries of monsters reached my ears, interrupted by a sudden flash of red. I couldn't keep my eyes closed, not with the monsters around us. I watched as Maria casually burned a flying monster that would have killed me instantly.

I hated my new job already.