Blacksmith vs. the System

I had a large smile on my face, flipping and playing around with a coin in hand, using Observe to examine it. There wasn't anything other than perfectly aligned microstructures inside the metal, surrounded by a complicated enchantment I couldn't even begin to comprehend.

However, this time, my aim wasn't to solve anything. I just wanted to push Observe to its limit, to get a better understanding of what was going on. It had been easy to empower the spear attack and the Fleeting Step. Ultimately, it was an external object.

The Observe Perk wasn't as clear-cut. I didn't even know where to target. The object I was observing? My eyes? My brain? The latter two, in particular, weren't exactly easy concepts. I still remembered how close I came to killing myself when I had tried to reverse Meditation.

Pushing a burst of life energy that I had modified blindly to a weapon was one thing, my brain was something else. Still, even with the risks, it was hard to ignore the temptation —

My thoughts were cut short when I arrived at the gate and saw two people waiting. From the way their posture shifted, I guessed that I was the target. I shifted my shield slightly while I looked at them at the same time, trying to see what was going on.

Unfortunately, due to the dungeon mist blocking my view, when I saw them, they were already forty yards away. Not exactly a dangerous distance, but not safe either.

"Hello, friend," one of them called loudly, their weapons in hand. It wasn't exactly a friendly call.

I didn't bother hiding my sudden tenseness as I looked at the two. I vaguely remembered seeing them at the dungeon, hunting monsters with a relatively decent success rate. They were not weak. However, unless they were hiding their power very well, they weren't strong enough to threaten me.

Even with what I had revealed to the public — a strong warrior, capable enough to start his own guild — it shouldn't be enough for the two to target me. Then, there was another problem. How did they know I would be at this gate?

It wasn't the one I used in the morning. I chose to use different gates, as it made cleaning them easier. Then, why were they waiting here, where it was more dangerous, instead of ambushing me when I appeared on the other side.

It was already suspicious before one of them touched a ring, a thin line of mana appeared, and went through the door.

"So, what's this about?" I asked, staying in place, trying to decide what to do. The message explained how they were at the gate, as obviously, they were just on the lookout.

"Since you are lucky while hunting, we thought that you might share some of your riches with the less fortunate," one declared, trying to sound confident, but unable to hide his tenseness.

I didn't need to read his tone perfectly to understand what was going on. This was a premeditated ambush, one that had nothing to do with the shells, or a mere payout of sixty gold coins. While that sounded like an incredible payout at face value, they had used an object that was capable of sending messages across dungeon floors.

While I wasn't exactly familiar with the high-end magical item market, even the cheapest communication devices were measured in gold coins, which was the reason the world once again relied on letters and parcel delivery for communication.

To send messages between dungeon floors, which were famously isolated, would be expensive. Prohibitively so for two robbers who were weak enough to restrict themselves to a low-level dungeon with a hostile environment.

Meaning, they weren't here for the cart. Still, it required one last test. "Fine, take it. I don't need any trouble for measly sixty gold pieces," I said as I started walking away, though I picked a diagonal route so that their target would be obvious.

"Hey, wait," they said and started to move toward me, but before they could pick up speed, I was already running back. However, I didn't run away.

No, I had a different plan in mind. Whoever planned the ambush was targeting me, and running away meant that I would be blind. Instead, I deliberately took a wide circle, the Fleeting Step allowing me to move easily. When I arrived at the gate, they were still searching for me in the mist, too loud.

I ignored them as I put the camouflage ring from my pocket, and put it to my finger. However, I remembered how the slight glow allowed me to discover its previous owner, and also hid behind a rock. Also, the camouflage effect was hardly flawless. It wouldn't fool anyone with Perception if I waited out in the open.

I took a deep breath, trying to ignore the fact that I might end up taking another life. It was not the first time, and I was just trying to defend myself, but it was still an uncomfortable thing for me. Waiting for them to arrive while the two desperately searched for me made it even worse.

It felt more like cold-blooded murder than self-defense, and not for no reason. There was neither a judge nor a jury that would classify what I was about to do as self-defense, claiming that I had ample time to retreat. The legal system was long gone, along with the other conveniences of modern civilization, but for three years, I refused to embrace the Wild West mentality.

I would have retreated … if it wasn't for my most recent discovery about the so-called peace wards. I could feel in my bones that their existence was a bane to humanity, but I couldn't simply rely on past laws as my personal ethical framework.

But, I was also aware of how bad of a slippery slope it could be. A complicated question … one that I failed to resolve when six people stepped out of the dungeon door, only to see a full cart, but no sign of fighting.

The way they dressed was interesting. Their armor looked poor, and they were carrying a sword and a wooden staff, like they were here to hunt in the dungeon. However, the way they walked showed that they felt no danger from the dungeon.

"What's going on?" their leader shouted while one of them split from the group, moving to deal with an approaching insect.

"Sorry, sir. He turned out to be a coward. He escaped," the lookout shouted, and the leader started shouting about incompetence. However, seeing that the two lookouts were alive, their alertness had dropped significantly.

The two returned, and the leader chewed them up. Meanwhile, I carefully watched the one dealing with the monster, trying to get his measure. It was not a simple task, but as I watched him bisecting a charging monster easily, I could make a few guesses.

The first was his sword skill. With my own sword skill near the peak, I was able to read it relatively easily. It wasn't exactly an accurate call, but it was at least a Rare one, with the potential to be even better. However, from the smoothness of his actual delivery, I would guess his proficiency wasn't too high. Merely in the twenties if it was Rare, potentially even lower if it was even better.

Something I could use to my advantage. The higher the proficiency of a skill, the more it helped its user deal with more complicated situations, something I knew from experience.

I stayed hidden, now observing not the one dealing with the stray beasts, but the others.

Right now, with the distance between me and them, there was no benefit of charging forward. Whether I let them go while staying hidden or wanted to attack, time worked to my benefit.

Also, if I was being honest, I wanted one of them to confirm that they were here to kill me. Killing people was a more difficult decision than killing mindless monsters.

I waited and watched, trying to see where they had come from. The leader was clearly not too experienced, as he was wasting time chewing out failure when he could chase me. Of course, it would be the wrong move with me hidden behind them, but he didn't know that.

Instead, I turned my attention to their weapons. Unlike their armor, their weapons were works of art. Smooth, made of an alloy I couldn't recognize immediately, and clearly enchanted with something far fancier than a commonplace enchantment like Sharpness.

Not the kind of weaponry a bunch of bandits who wanted to make a quick buck would carry, which further confirmed a ploy. Technically, they could be here to make me an offer, but at best, it would be the kind that came with the dreaded 'or else' statement.

"Alright, just find him and kill him. I'm sure he went to the nearest gate," the leader called soon enough. I smiled darkly. At least it solved my ethical dilemma.

I watched, waiting for them to act … and maybe learn how they discovered my identity.

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