Blacksmith vs. the System

I took a deep breath in preparation for using my Meditate skill, my gaze already turning toward the only source of mana available.

The ingots.

I knew that what I was about to do was wasteful. It was like destroying a brand new phone for its materials, so far below its value it was borderline disrespectful. I still didn't have a good idea of how much mana each ingot contained in terms of mana points, but if I were betting, I would be betting on single digits.

Low single digits.

"Doesn't really matter," I muttered as I reached the first ingot, heated it up, and started to destroy it methodically. It wasn't the first time I was trying to extract mana from the ingots, so I was familiar with the process. At first, I destroyed a tiny portion, hoping that it would be enough to trigger the skill.

It was not. The little mana I managed to generate dispersed no matter how much I tried to interact with it. I repeated the process again, doubling the size of the pieces, but I failed every time. There was not even a response from my Meditation skill. It didn't even engage with the mana.

I focused on the remaining half. First, I heated it up more, not just turning it red, but even melting the edge. Then, I raised my hammer, took a deep breath, and demolished it as quickly as I could, turning it into a liquid putty.

Then, I closed my eyes, and engaged my new skill once more. This time, I felt momentary feedback, similar to the instructions I got when I tried to repair something. I crossed my legs and took a position, but unfortunately, those instructions disappeared before I could pull some mana.

"Close enough to show viability, but not enough to actually work," I muttered even as I heated up another ingot. The skill required a really strict pose and flow, very different from the ease Maria had displayed while she was gathering mana, but I couldn't compare myself to her when it came to mana manipulation.

Not when my skill was just at one point.

"Let's try again," I said as I positioned myself perfectly before I destroyed the ingot. The mana radiated freely, and I let the skill run, not bothering to ponder on its impact or process. I just let the skill do its job. Most of the mana still dispersed, but I didn't care about it, not when a small part of it stuck around me, grabbed by the skill.

The mana slowly circled around me before it started to approach closer. It took more than a minute, but I was fascinated with the process. The tendrils of mana circulated around me, getting closer and closer as if they were planets orbiting the sun.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Then, they touched my skin. From there, they disappeared with a soft tingle, replaced by a notification.

[+1 Mana]

I tried to understand the process. I tried to touch the reservoir of mana in me, but it failed utterly. Not a surprise. I had Health for three years, and I could barely channel it, and I needed to injure myself beforehand to trigger the flow.

"Now, let's see if I can use it," I said as I raised my work hammer, and used my Mana Manipulation perk. A glow appeared on my hammer as I felt a tingling sensation travel through my hand.

[-1 Mana]

I tried to absorb it back … but it just dispersed. All my effort had just evaporated in one blow, but I didn't let that bother me. Ultimately, it was just another experiment. One that was more expensive than I would have liked, but an experiment nonetheless.

I destroyed another ingot, once again letting the skill catch some of the mana while the rest dispersed. This time, I paid more attention to the movement of the skill, feeling a sense of rotation inside me, similar to how I felt whenever I used to inspect.

The mana pulled toward me. It was a slow, painstaking process, too complicated to understand with just one attempt. I let the mana seep into my skin once more.

On the next attempt, I tried to interrupt halfway. It worked to give me a better understanding of the process, but the mana that was under my control had dissipated before I could absorb it. A waste, but considering I wouldn't have been able to do anything with a few points, not exactly a big one.

I thought about using the last five ingots, but I decided against it. Every ingot represented a chance to improve my Mana Forge skill, which was more important than another ineffectual experiment. I had already understood the basics, and while I wanted to experiment more, I needed hundreds, maybe thousands more repeats. One more repeat wouldn't help.

I just needed to decide what to do with the sole point of Mana I had. "I wonder if I can release it by reversing the meditation technique," I said to myself. It seemed like a reasonable risk. I closed my eyes, trying to visualize the same effect, wanting to see if I could control it like my other skills.

Unfortunately, I failed to engage the skill. Helpless, I destroyed another ingot, the presence of mana allowing me to trigger the skill. I tried to replicate the same effect, but pushing the mana instead of pulling. An operation that was much harder than the summarized description would have suggested.

But, I did it —

[-1 Mana]

[Meditation (Common) - 1 - 8]

Any other time, I would be very happy to see seven points of jump in my new skill. But, right now, I had other priorities. Like, the worst pain I ever felt hitting me hard, like someone had been ripping my insides. I pushed my Health into overdrive in panic, trying to fix whatever I had ruined even as I vomited blood, dazed and shivering.

The discomfort lasted for minutes while I laid on the ground, somehow managing not to shout, but it was a close call. I kept my voice suppressed, and only because I could feel that whatever damage that was done had recovered.

[-582 Health]

"Well, that was a way to improve," I muttered as I stood up, realizing just how close I had pushed myself to death. It seemed that I had become arrogant in my recent chain of successes. It was a close call. I had lost almost two-thirds of my Health in one mistake, and that was with all my leveling up.

I didn't even want to imagine what such a botched attempt would do to a mage. Most of them didn't have Double Vitality to absorb the damage of accidental self-harm. And, that was only one point of mana.

Even though I had improved my skills far more than I had been expecting, I wasn't entirely happy. The pain had been horrible, and the damage had been devastating. I stood up to go to the small attached pantry, cooking a large piece of monster steak. It would slowly recover my lost Health, but it would take a while.

So, before eating it, I took one of the emergency concentrated potions designed to replenish Health, filling it completely. Luckily, a workshop was a dangerous place with a lot of fire and sharp objects, so keeping a stock of health potions was always a smart idea.

A chain of notifications appeared, showing the slow recovery. Even with the potion, it wasn't exactly an instantaneous process.

[+1 Health] … [+1 Health]

At the same time, I grabbed a second one, preparing myself for another attempt. Painful and risky as it might be, the ability to rapidly increase my Meditation skill was too valuable. Not only did I need to support my two skills, but I also needed to discover its secrets as fast as possible.

I wanted to see if I could improve it to a higher grade before reaching level fifty, and see if I could get a new class. The risk was acceptable, especially since this time I had brought a second potion, ready to assist.

First, I destroyed another ingot, using Meditation to absorb it. The initial pattern stayed the same. Some kind of illusory orb inside me, spinning while it captured a point of mana into its orbit, slowly dragging it close. However, the higher skill level allowed me to absorb mana faster.

[+1 Mana]

I crossed my legs, taking a deep breath to prepare myself for the torture … and reversed the flow.

[-1 Mana]

[Meditation (Common) - 8 - 11]

[Perk Options — Efficient Absorption / Controlled Flow]

As much as I would have loved to ponder on the new stats, I was too busy vomiting blood as I trembled. For ten more minutes, I lay down, trying to catch my breath as Health did its job.

[-519 Health]

"The damage wasn't as bad," I muttered as I forced myself to accept the pain. It was a good sign. Maybe, someday, I could repeat it without almost killing myself.

I drank the potion as I stood up. I pondered on which perk to choose, but after a while, I settled on Controlled Flow. Once again, if it turned useless, I could just use a Perk Reset stone. Then, I destroyed one last ingot, absorbing the mana. There was a slight increase in absorption speed, but not enough to be about a new perk.

Then, I used my mana attack trick, and noticed the gathered mana was easier to control. "Excellent," I muttered. Control was a much better perk than faster absorption for me; both as a blacksmith and as a scientist.

And, if it made my reversal trick less suicidal, even better.

I wanted to go and sleep. Depleting my Health twice left me even more exhausted than I had ever been, and the mental load of a close call with death wasn't any easier to swallow. Yet, before going to bed, I cleaned the forge twice, making sure I got rid of all of the evidence.

No need to ruin everything due to a bout of carelessness.

My bed looked even more inviting than I had remembered. I threw myself to its depths. The darkness claimed me before I could hit the bed.