dirk_grey

Blacksmith vs. the System 36

The moment I stepped through the gate, I got charged by multiple monsters. I could easily count forty of them around me, making it a challenge. That would have been dangerous enough, but a few of the insect monsters had stopped their charge to spit out some kind of discharge.

Eleanor had m...

Blacksmith vs. the System 16-20

— Chapter 16

My dreams of sleeping until noon had been ruined by a sudden stirring. Panicked, I opened my eyes, only to see Eleanor looking at me with a sharp expression. “Explain!” she ordered.

I froze. I hadn’t expected to be discovered, not after spending the whole night c...

Immortal Freeloader 138

“That’s intriguing,” I said even as I approached to the cave that supposedly led to the ruins, surprised by the lack of savage beast attacks even as I isolated the whole mountain. Previously, even the smallest disturbance of the ruins had triggered their reaction. Right now, there was nothi...

Immortal Freeloader 137

“I did the right thing by not trying to purchase it myself,” I muttered even as I examined the pavilion from a distance … from a great deal of distance, examining the formations around it.

When I had first visited to exchange for Aisnam’s pill, I wasn’t able to understand the tru...

Immortal Freeloader 136

“… And, another checkpoint complete,” I muttered even as I put the finishing touches on another formation, about to fill with more plants letting out constant Qi that could refill my boat. Since I needed them to accumulate Qi, I decided to add ten of them in a row before I started expanding...

Blacksmith vs. the System 35

I let my mind wander even as I moved with the group, walking toward the dungeon, easily matching their pace even as I walked on foot.

High Vitality meant that running while wearing thick armor barely counted as exercise.

Using Nurture had reminded me of the plight of the Farmers, wh...

Blacksmith vs. the System 34

“This is your new house,” Eleanor said. “You have until the return of the caravan to make it a livable place and move here permanently.”

“Beautiful place, very airy,” I said teasingly. Not an unfair comment, considering I was standing in front of an empty stretch surrounded by ...

Blacksmith vs. the System 33

“Do you think anyone would recognize you?” she asked.

“I don’t think so,” I said. “To their knowledge, the blacksmith you brought along is already dead. And, I didn’t interact with many people. As long as my beard grows a bit more, no one should.”

“Good,” she sai...

Blacksmith vs. the System 32

Eleanor arrived as I was in the middle of another fight. She walked toward me rather than running, but I could see her freeze for a moment even as I fought against the monster, throwing it around easily.

It was hard to pinpoint the skill level without some direct tests, but a rough guess w...

Blacksmith vs. the System 31

After killing another three hundred monsters — half with their shells ripped, half left intact — I had received three rewards, with ascending importance. I had collected six skill stones. I had reached level thirty-five.

And, I gathered enough data to reinforce the idea that the intact...

Blacksmith vs. the System 30

I walked around the battlefield, collecting the skill stones. Not that it took a long time, as there were merely fifteen of them. It meant, about only one in thirty of the beasts had dropped a skill.

Of those fifteen skill stones, nine of them didn’t react, showing that I lacked the prer...

Blacksmith vs. the System 29

I took down a few monsters while Eleanor walked away, still holding back, ripping the shells carelessly from their bodies. I didn't absorb the mana from them, both as a test of my abilities without mana assistance, and as a precaution in case she was still nearby.

Naturally, there was no r...

Blacksmith vs. the System 28

“Don’t forget to keep your helmet on, just in case,” Eleanor said even as we landed. Only when the movement of the griffin stopped, I opened my eyes once again. “Your beard is impressive, but let’s not take a risk.”

I scratched my beard. Forcing it to grow faster was one of the ...

Blacksmith vs. the System 27

During Eleanor’s next visit, I wasn’t able to bring my Meditation skill to a higher level, but it was close. A few times, I tried to practice my combat skill, but without an enemy to target, its progress was very limited.

I had dispersed my attempt to devour mana and instead grabbed th...

Blacksmith vs. the System 26

As much as I wanted to spend the next month reading every book Eleanor had brought and carefully learn everything I could, I knew that it wasn’t the best method to go forward. Improving my skills as far as possible by creating mana alloys was the far superior option.

The amount of inform...

Blacksmith vs. the System 11-15

— Chapter 11

When the evening finally arrived, I had no plans other than eating before collapsing onto my bed. My day had been incredibly productive, but also exhausting. I just needed to sleep, wake up early, and come up with a new proposal that would convince Eleanor to provide me with ...

Immortal Freeloader 135

As much as I wanted to spend a long time in the ruins, I did not. The beast wave that had been triggered by my operations at the ruins was too big. I could have dealt with the beasts, but there were too many Golden Core cultivators around the region.

I didn’t want to risk facing them. 2024-07-27 05:07:29 +0000 UTC View Post

Immortal Freeloader 134

For once, I didn’t feel tense as I used my flying boat to cut through the mysterious existence that was misty mountains. With my new formation in place to isolate me from the effects, I wasn’t feeling tense as I went deeper and deeper.

My destination was the location of the first ruin,...

Immortal Freeloader 133

Visiting Janassa had been relatively straightforward. I just needed to ask her a couple of questions, and she was more than happy to turn that into a long, detailed lesson, more than happy to go even deeper about the practical aspects of the technique.

However, even with that, it took thre...

Blacksmith vs. the System 25

“You look tired,” was Eleanor’s first words when she visited me the next morning, pushing a huge cart that was taller than her with ease. It weighed at least three tons, but stats were useful for more than just fighting.

“I want to make sure I don’t disappoint you,” I said, whi...

Blacksmith vs. the System 24

“And, that’s the last piece,” she said as she placed the forge. Thanks to its nature, it had been easy to carry, though how she excused its extraction from the forge building, I didn’t know … or care. All I needed was to connect the fire to the building chimney, and that would be enough...

Blacksmith vs. the System 23

Finding myself mixed in a conflict I had no idea about was not a pleasant feeling, but it was far from the worst case. I certainly didn’t expect to end up as a primary assassination target as the sole blacksmith.

However, the flip side of the problem was equally interesting. Since their ...

Blacksmith vs. the System 22

I was glad that I chose to fake repairing a sword, as it meant that I could cede control to the skill while I observed the approaching mana cloud … one with a roughly humanoid shape. Considering they had to open the door to enter, it was less likely to be a spell.

What was more likely wa...

Blacksmith vs. the System 21

When I woke up, my body was still aching somewhat, reminding me that using Health from the System to heal wasn’t exactly perfect, or painless.

“I can’t believe I was that reckless,” I muttered, my body reminding me of the cost of trying to use a skill without understanding it fully...

Wild Dragon of Rome - End of Book 1 notes

Hi, everyone.

The battle is finally over, and our dear bastard Marcus has finally taken the first step of his revenge.

A few quick notes about the schedule. First, the schedule. I'll stop publishing Wild Dragon for a while to plan the second book and tidy up the first book for publi...

Wild Dragon of Rome 55 - End of Book 1

As I retreated from the burning remains of the sorcerer, I couldn’t help but lament the easy death he had experienced. Cursed and burned at the same time was not exactly pleasant, but it was quicker than he deserved.

“It’s a problem,” I muttered even as I started running, feeling m...

Wild Dragon of Rome 54

I started running forward at full speed, ready to use the distraction of the sorcerer to my benefit. 

While their attack had ruined my initial plan, I had to admit, the opportunity it generated wasn’t too bad. They attacked two sides at the same, which, combined with my earlier effor...

Wild Dragon of Rome 53

Three mages flying toward me at full speed was the first problem I needed to face. Fortunately, they had all but gift-wrapped themselves to me. 

Of the four elemental specialties, each group had its own advantages, and just like earth mages had an incredible advantage on defense, espec...

Immortal Freeloader 132

“It’s lucky that you’re unconscious,” I muttered even as I started examining the imprisoned being. Looking at him, it was clear that his imprisonment was not some kind of punishment, or even a way to suppress some kind of evil that couldn’t be suppressed. 

Nor, it was a way t...

Immortal Freeloader 131

Once I had left Janassa for her studies, I moved immediately to my next challenge. 

Creating a proper alchemy room. It wasn’t exactly a great challenge. While alchemy knowledge didn’t come with plans on how to set one, my two alchemy techniques came with hazards to avoid. Some were...