Blacksmith vs. the System

I was happy to leave Eleanor outside while I worked on her armor. It wasn't that I had disliked her presence, but as I got better and better as a smith, it turned into a calm, meditative practice. Exactly what I needed after the ambush that we lived through.

An ambush where more than a hundred other people didn't survive.

Even as my hammer danced against the anvil with a steady rhythm, I pondered on my reaction. Or, more accurately, lack thereof. I had played a role in such a massacre, going as far as killing many of them with my own hands, yet I didn't feel any guilt.

There were no trembling hands, no wandering thoughts replaying the same event again and again.

It wasn't that I was struggling with the idea of killing them intentionally. They were the ones who had decided to plan an ambush for the express purpose of killing Eleanor and framing me, which would have driven me to an ambush of eight … whatever those were.

I was just rattled by my own lack of reaction. It wasn't natural. Yes, it was possible to make people more accepting of taking lives — hell, the militaries of all nations across history had many such methods — but those methods required a dedicated application.

Unfortunately, I had too many candidates to suspect. Maybe it was just a natural aspect of the System, somehow transforming my perspective as it got stronger — a scary thought if it was true. Spending so much time in the dungeon was another suspect. I had been spending a huge portion of my time fighting against mindless monsters, and it might have impacted me.

Even the crystals I received from the boss monster were suspects. Or, maybe I was dealing with a completely different issue.

"Maybe I can actually run experiments about it," I said, a genuine smile appearing on my face. It wasn't even too difficult. I just needed to create a detailed questionnaire, devise a few tests, and collect the data from the farmers every day, measuring their responses.

It should give me direction.

My smile widened as I realized just how big of an advantage I had. For three years, the best I could do was to hire a few people to do interviews, their answers suspect for many reasons. Now, I had access to a great number of subjects who would be happy to answer my questions.

My mind wandered over which principles I needed to adhere to so that I could collect the most accurate data without violating the ethical boundaries of science. The last thing I needed was to resurrect a scientific approach, only to immediately replicate shameful episodes like the Stanford Prison Experiment, or worse, the Monster Study.

My hammer danced, mingling with my mana to handle the creation process of the chainmail, every ring perfectly aligned, imbued with the right amount of mana and dungeon products, balanced perfectly to resist the corrosion effect of the fifth floor. The armor I forged for Eleanor might not be on the same tier as mine since I lacked time, but that didn't prevent me from creating the best one I could of a previous tier.

Luckily, with Advanced Creative Forging helping me handle most of the small details, I was able to split my attention between my work and my ethical principles for the upcoming experiment. It was a good feeling to have many thoughts flying in my head, designing the core principles.

The first principle was informed consent. It would be wrong to use people as scientific curiosities just because I was effectively their employer. They needed to understand what I was doing, and why. Also, they needed to understand that they had the right to opt out with no repercussions, and that their dungeon access was not dependent on their assent.

Then, there was the matter of confidentiality. In a world where magic worked in ways I couldn't fathom, I couldn't just rely on keeping my notes hidden to ensure privacy. I needed to devise a way to collect their input truly anonymously … even if that could potentially risk the accuracy of the collection.

A necessary sacrifice to maintain my ethical principles.

Finally, I had to ensure my research was just; which was not exactly an easy principle to define, let alone adhere to, in a world where people had been ruled by their inherent differences. It had already reached an unhealthy degree, as evidenced by my own experience of being rejected just because I didn't have what they deemed necessary.

I needed to be vigilant that any potential result shouldn't further the divide — regardless of the temporary practical benefits.

Of course, the ruling principle was still non-maleficence, the commitment to do no harm. Just like my discoveries relating to the system, I simply lacked the context of the potential implications of my discoveries, meaning I needed to be very careful about the ultimate aim of those studies —

My thought process was interrupted by Eleanor slamming my door open. Considering both the door and the wall were made of metal, it was … loud.

"I didn't know knocking on the door required a skill," I said bitingly, annoyed by her approach. Sarcasm was not the most ideal way of communication, but I didn't enjoy being interrupted while working on my real job.

Eleanor flinched at my words, and for a moment, I feared her anger. After all, she wasn't a post-doc trying to stay in my good grace. Luckily, she seemed not to be as arrogant as I feared. "Sorry, I didn't think. I was just … frustrated. I can come later."

"Not a problem. Just remember to knock the next time," I reminded her. I could have asked her to leave, but I had already lost my train of thought, and trying to reestablish it was not worth the effort, especially since her armor was halfway done. "Now, what drove you that mad," I asked.

A frustrated growl escaped her mouth. "The method you told me, switching the skills. It's not working," she said.

"Show me," I said, my hammer still moving rapidly, curious why it didn't work.

She raised my hybrid weapon, and it glowed with her vitality attack. Yet, a moment later, she paused, and the vitality dispersed. Only after five seconds, she managed to hit.

"Why are you lingering that much? Just switch between skills."

She looked at me, frustrated. "What do you mean, just switch between the skills. I'm trying. That's the fastest I can manage. And even that is painful."

"Really, painful?" I asked, surprised. I had been switching between skills for a long time, and it never caused pain.

"No, painful is not the right word, but I don't know how to describe it," she said.

"Uncomfortable?" I suggested.

"In a way, but uncomfortable doesn't feel like an intense enough word. It's far more intense. Almost like …" she started, only to fade. "I don't know. It's just difficult. Show me how you do it."

"Fine," I said, glad that I was making a chainmail for her, which was easier to interrupt for a moment. She threw me the hybrid weapon, and I pushed my health, covering the edge near the tip with Health.

[-10 Health]

I started a slow piercing attack, only to switch halfway, with only a momentary pause, finishing it as a spear attack. "That's how I do it."

"Is this the fastest you can manage?" she asked.

I was so glad I didn't have to consider the implications of every single detail I revealed to her anymore. "No," I said as I repeated the action, the delivery even faster.

"How can you do it that fast?" she asked.

I shrugged. "Probably practice," I said.

"Really, were you using that switching trick for a long time?"

"Not the switching trick itself," I admitted, feeling frustrated. If only I had been experimenting with the System properly since the day I had received it. "My life would have been much easier if I managed to discover it earlier. But, while using Repair on damaged weapons, I often ignored the suggestion from the skill. It's always a grating and uncomfortable sensation. Maybe I just got used to it."

"That's your answer? Practice for three years? We don't have the time for that. Don't tell me I wasted a precious skill slot for a Rare skill I can't develop."

I did my best to hide my smile, aware that Eleanor would take it the wrong way. I was familiar with her brand of freak-out. I had many high-performing students react that way when they finally faced a topic that they didn't immediately resolve.

Admittedly, it was also a habit I had to break through, back in the far-away days when I was still a student, which felt a lifetime away … well, two lifetimes.

"How about we solve the issue of improving your skill first, and work on switching skills later?" I offered.

"You have another way to improve skills quickly?" she asked.

"Not all of them, but it'll work for this one," I said even as I stopped working on her armor, and instead started forging a spear, using the composite method, following the pattern of the skill. Since I owned the skill, I knew exactly how every attack of Breeze Spear worked, which should be enough for Eleanor. "Try pushing your Health without shaping, and complete a basic attack," I suggested once I passed her the first spear.

"Just a simple attack. Are you sure?" she said.

"There's no harm trying, right?" I asked even as I started working on a second spear.

She nodded as she made the attempt, her burst of smile enough to confirm the efficiency of the method.

Forging the spears and occasionally guiding her about the Breeze Spear slowed my armor-making somewhat, but even then, it didn't even take half an hour to finish everything, and started traveling toward the fifth floor.

Eleanor insisted on bouncing around like a kite, using the Floating Stride. "Wow, you're right. This perk is excellent," she said even as she took another great stride. "Too bad I can't seem to switch skills as quickly as you. It would have been an excellent combination with my sword skill."

"We'll work on it once we take down a few gargantuan beasts and return to the first floor."

"Promise?" she asked.

"Yes, promise," I replied.

After all, I wouldn't have turned down the opportunity to have her willing cooperation.