Chapter 87: I Am the Blacksmith
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 87: I Am the Blacksmith
The steel refining chamber was descending into chaos. In the center lay the crushed Golden Golem, and next to it stood Constable Neko, the wizard.
A short distance away, two rogues were locked in a fierce struggle: Back Attack and the Avian Rogue.
The Avian Rogue was a higher level than Back Attack, but the fight was far from easy. There were two reasons for this. First, he couldn't fly due to a prior wing injury. Second, the liquid gold.
‘There’s nowhere safe to step.’
Back Attack had dragged the druid over and had him gold-plated, and the area around them was now flooded with a large amount of liquid gold from the Golden Golem.
He had to be cautious with every step. The ground, warped and raised by the steelworks' structural transformation, was a mess of uneven surfaces and debris. He had to move by using the few safe spots, each about the size of a frying pan, as stepping stones.
For the Avian Rogue, paying such close attention to his footing while constantly trading blows was no simple task. But surprisingly, Back Attack moved as if he were running on solid, flat ground.
This wasn't just due to good instincts or agility.
The ancient transcendent being devoured by the Labyrinth was guiding him, telling him where to place his feet and how to center his gravity.
As long as there was enough space for the tip of his toe, the rogue would never fall.
‘Skill: Careful Steps.’
Watching Back Attack land like an acrobat on a steel pipe, no thicker than a wrist, that jutted out from the liquid gold, the Avian Rogue felt a sense of despair.
‘Just how many fucking skills does this bastard have?’
So far, he had seen Knife Throwing, Invisibility, Leaping Ambush, Shadow Leap, Sleeping Gas, Wall Walking, and now Careful Steps.
It was an arsenal unimaginable for a low-floor rogue. He already had more skills than the Avian Rogue himself.
And on top of that…
CRACK!
Whenever there was the slightest opening, Neko's psychokinetic punch would slam down.
In a battle that had lasted only a few dozen seconds, the Avian Rogue felt the chilling threat of death.
"Rise, Earthen Wall!"
Backup arrived in the nick of time.
A spell cast by Ingelam caused an Earth Rampart to rise from the ground, creating a safe zone for the Avian Rogue.
"Get back here!" Ingelam shouted.
‘Shadow Leap!’
The Avian Rogue quickly teleported next to Ingelam and gasped for breath.
"Hah… hah…"
"Was he tough?"
"He has too many skills."
Back Attack and Neko didn't press the attack recklessly. They had noticed it too.
Another monster besides Ingelam had entered the scene.
‘It's the Blacksmith, isn't it?’
Everyone was frantically calculating their next move in this chaotic situation.
Ingelam, in particular, was deeply confused. Because…
‘Something’s wrong.’
Having spent a long time on the 4th floor, Ingelam had seen the Blacksmith several times before, but something felt distinctly off right now.
The first reason:
Normally, it would have already charged in, either chugging or throwing its Magic Acid, and smashed everything to bits with its hammer. But it hadn't moved.
It was just watching them.
"The Constable's confirmed spells so far are…"
Next to Ingelam, who was wrestling with a sense of foreboding, the Avian Rogue relayed the information he had gathered.
"Psychokinetic Fist, Scorching Ray, and Whirlwind. Three of them."
At the same time, the Barbarian let out a yell.
"Our druid got gold-plated!"
An adventurer who was gold-plated would eventually be freed, but they would suffer severe burns and respiratory distress.
"We have to get him now!"
The Avian Rogue grabbed the impatient Barbarian.
"Attack after we see what the Blacksmith does."
In terms of pure strength, Ingelam's side had the clear advantage.
Back Attack was an excellent rogue, but without Neko's backup, the Avian Rogue could handle him.
If the Barbarian charged Neko, she would have no way to defend herself.
The problem, however…
"We don't have much time either."
Ingelam had shattered the floor of the production control room with a ground collapse spell.
It was a Tier 3 spell that created artificial sinkholes and fissures, causing the ground to collapse.
It was especially powerful on the 4th floor because what erupted from the shattered ground wasn't dust, but lava.
The explosion caused by the instantaneous release of high-temperature magma, unique to the volcanic zone, and the high-pressure steam trapped within it, elevated the spell's power beyond that of a typical Tier 3 spell.
"But I couldn't kill them."
They had already experienced the steelworks' structural transformation once because of the Blacksmith. Yernil and Aimus had taken the priest and skillfully hopped to a safe zone.
The lava field had merely isolated them, and it would take them time to catch up.
"Still, they have movement skills like Sentry Relocation, so they'll be here soon."
"Then let's kill them all now!" the Barbarian shouted.
"Let's take down the Constable and that rogue bastard first!"
"No."
But Ingelam's order was directed somewhere completely unexpected.
"We're hitting the Blacksmith first."
At first glance, it sounded insane.
It was a matter of common sense, barely qualifying as a strategy.
In a 3-on-2 standoff, they were going to provoke a powerful neutral monster first?
That would be handing Neko and Back Attack a golden opportunity.
"Are you sure about that?"
The Avian Rogue double-checked the order.
Ingelam smiled slyly.
"Yes."
The wizard, once the greatest prodigy of the magic university, had now solved the puzzle.
"That thing is Caleb."
*
That Blacksmith isn't real.
It's an adventurer in disguise.
Evidence 1: A real Blacksmith would have already attacked.
Evidence 2: If you look closely, something is tucked into the Blacksmith's side.
‘A Watcher's Scroll.’
The Blacksmith doesn't carry things like that.
So who could possess such a rare artifact? Even Lilweed didn't have one. And the Public Security Headquarters was too poor, so it was definitely not them.
It was hard to believe, but it must have been brought by Caleb's party, who had just arrived on the 4th floor today.
That also explained why everyone's disguises had been dispelled upon entering the steelworks.
The locations of Caleb's entire party were now confirmed. The rogue was right in front of them, and the Monk and Elf Archer were isolated over by the production control room.
The last missing person: Caleb.
"He transformed into the Blacksmith."
So why would the wizard pull such a stunt?
The reason was obvious.
To avoid being attacked first.
Neko's team currently had no frontline fighter, and it was impossible for Back Attack to protect two wizards by himself.
Caleb must have grasped the situation with the Watcher's Scroll before entering. And as a last resort, he chose that disguise.
At this point, after Back Attack and the Avian Rogue had just been trying to kill each other and the druid had been dunked in liquid gold, it would be difficult for the two sides to suddenly team up for a Blacksmith raid.
Especially if the druid was freed from the gold plating; the question of whether to let him die from his breathing difficulties or save him would become a sharp point of contention.
The moment the two sides clashed, that cunning wizard planned to drop his disguise and start casting spells.
Until then, he would walk a tightrope, exploiting the tension and wariness between the two teams while remaining neutral.
"We can't give him that opening!"
But Ingelam wouldn't fall for such a shallow trick.
"Kill him!"
He shouted, pointing at the Blacksmith.
The Barbarian stepped forward. The Avian Rogue was exhausted from the previous fight, and he needed to help Ingelam keep Neko's team in check.
"Uwoooaaah!"
The Barbarian's war cry echoed.
The same berserk rage that had nearly clashed with Aimus in the production control room activated again.
The savage warrior charged forward, his steps shaking the ground.
"That's Caleb…?"
Back Attack froze, his judgment clouded for a moment.
‘You made a mistake, Caleb.’
Ingelam was certain of his victory.
His junior was brilliant, but he had made a fatal miscalculation at the end.
‘You should have just joined Back Attack's side and fought with them.’
The wizard, disguised as the Blacksmith, pulled a vial from his waist.
‘Magic Acid.’
What a ridiculous bluff, right to the end.
"That's an illusion!"
Ingelam's party were all masters of disguise magic. They knew full well that the illusionary weapons and consumables it created had no real effect.
‘Barbarian Rush.’
The Barbarian, charging in a straight line, raised his axe. The Blacksmith threw the Magic Acid at him.
*
Smash!
The sound of the vial shattering was jarringly physical and real.
What poured from the vial that broke on the Barbarian's forehead was a superacid said to melt anything it touched.
It even dissolved the ferocious fighting spirit of the charging warrior, melting it away in the cruel, corrosive liquid.
"Gyaaaargh!"
The Barbarian dropped his axe and collapsed. His hair and forehead melted away.
His skull was exposed beneath the flesh, and smoke rose from it.
The acid bored a hole through his skull.
Before that wicked thrown weapon, the massive, muscular body was like fragile cotton candy.
Like cotton candy dropped in water, the Barbarian was dissolving.
He spewed a massive amount of smoke and blood.
"What…"
The fallen Barbarian could no longer even groan. Half of his head had already turned to liquid. A slush-like substance flowed from his head, making it hard to tell what was brain matter and what was Magic Acid.
"Wh-what the fuck…"
The Avian Rogue's shoulders trembled. Neko and Back Attack also wore expressions of pure shock.
"It really is the Blacksmith!"
"N-no way."
Ingelam couldn't easily shake off his shock.
The scroll still tucked into the Blacksmith's side was causing cognitive dissonance.
The Blacksmith collects items?
He had never heard of such a thing.
Was that really the Blacksmith?
Thud, thud.
The Barbarian's charge had drawn the Blacksmith's aggro to Ingelam's side.
The monster took a step toward them and raised its hammer.
It took a pitcher's stance, ready to throw with all its might.
*
The magic-grade belt I got from defeating Antonelli had the practical magic 'Potion Regeneration' on it.
It was a good thing the Magic Acid was also classified as a potion, not just a simple thrown weapon.
Whoosh!
Normally, my physical strength wouldn't be enough to throw a hammer that size, but the illusionary hammer was weightless.
Now, after I had just killed the Barbarian with Magic Acid, a hammer flying from my hand was terror itself.
When something like this came flying, the Avian Rogue had only one thing to do.
‘Shadow Leap!’
He grabbed Ingelam and moved about ten meters, dodging the hammer.
Which meant their side had just used up their escape skill.
Plus, now they were standing right next to each other, clustered together nicely. Perfect for pouring on the magic.
"Dispel Disguise."
I shed the Blacksmith's form and raised my wand.
The Avian Rogue's beak chattered.
Ingelam's face was a mask of confusion.
You get it now, don't you, Ingelam?
This is how you use disguise magic.
And one more thing.
What's about to happen is probably going to be much worse than you imagine.
"Hailstorm."
"You son of a…"
The wizard's curse, uttered at the same time as my incantation, was cut short.
[Your turn. Time remaining: 60 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■■■■■]
Because I had flipped the hourglass.