Rise of the Living Forge - Chapters 241-242 (Patreon)

It took Arwin and Lillia about ten minutes to give Wallace the short of things. He didn’t need to hear the details of what they’d been doing since they’d gotten their classes back. Arwin didn’t mind telling Wallace about the truth of the adventurer’s guild, but the dwarf had no business poking his nose into their personal life.

The look on Wallace’s face told Arwin that they’d made the right choice. If they’d gone into too much detail, he might have collapsed on the spot. The dwarf had been doubtful at the start of their story. He doubted no longer. His lips had pulled apart catching flies and his eyes bore into them with rapt attention. Shock and disbelief mixed in his features, joined by abject realization.

Once Arwin and Lillia got up to the point where they’d both found themselves on the streets of Milten — leaving out the details of their classes — the smithy fell silent for several long seconds.

“How deep does this go?” Wallace asked, tugging on his beard in distress as he finally found his voice once again. “Treason — no. This isn’t treason. The guild controls the kingdom. Something at this scale couldn’t possibly be executed by just one or two people at the top. It would have to be dozens. The guild leader. The branch leaders. All of them, and the demons as well. But… why?”

“That’s the question we’ve been trying to find the answer two ourselves,” Arwin said with a shake of his head. “We don’t know. Lillia and I still don’t know what saved us in the first place, much less why they chose that way to get rid of us. Maybe we weren’t even meant to kill each other that day. They could have planned to keep the puppet show going on longer. I just don’t know.”

Wallace gave his beard a tug so violent that Arwin feared that the dwarf would rip it straight out. Fortunately for all of them, the hair stayed stuck steadfast. Dwarf hair was evidently made of sturdier stuff than that of humans.

“Earth Father save us,” Wallace murmured. He released his beard and shook his head. “I can’t even tell the council about this. They could be part of it. Many of them have close ties to the top members of the Guild. How did you know I didn’t?”

“More of a good guess than anything else,” Arwin admitted with a small shrug. “You couldn’t recognize how I could have both saved and killed that many innocents. Anyone responsible for what happened to me and Lillia would have been able to deduce it pretty easily. You were also so focused on getting rid of what you perceived as evil that I find it hard to believe you’d be willing to compromise your morals to orchestrate the death of far more than I could ever kill on my own.”

“Got me there.” Wallace finally took control of his facial features again and chewed his lower lip in contemplation. “This is deeply, deeply concerning. The more I think about the scale this operates at, the colder me feet get. It must have been going for years. Longer than I’ve been alive. Has the war always been fake? Agh. I have so many damned questions.”

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Lillia asked, arching an eyebrow and crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“What now?” Wallace asked wearily. “What else is there?”

“Shouldn’t you be thankful we told you all this?” Lillia’s lips pulled up in a small smirk. “It isn’t like we warned you that you might prefer to not know. Oh, wait.”

“Oh, fuck off,” Wallace said with a short bark of laughter. “You sure know how to hold a grudge, lass.”

“This isn’t a grudge,” Lillia said with an award-winning smile. “I have a grudge against the adventurer’s guild. This is just a little revenge. There’s a difference.”

“Aye, I suppose there is,” Wallace allowed. He massaged his brow and then let his hand drop back to his side as he blew out a slow breath. “I need a drink.”

The dwarf shot Lillia a sly look. She let out a snort.

“Don’t push your luck. I’m still a little mad at you.”

“Eh. Can’t blame you.” Wallace chuckled. He scooped his hammer off the ground and slung it over his shoulder. For a moment, he stood in silence. Then he turned his gaze to Arwin, his features turning serious. “We’ve got some business to complete before I fuck off, lad.”

“We do?” Arwin blinked.

“Not more tests, I hope,” Lillia said, idly picking at her pointed thumbnail with the nail of her forefinger.

“Nothing like that. I need to officially recognize Arwin’s work,” Wallace replied. “That will complete his exam and turn him to a proper trainee. Give him all the goodies he racked up in the process as well. The Mesh is waiting with bated breath.”

“Oh, that sound’s like a good…” Arwin trailed off and blinked in surprise. “Hold on. Did you say the Mesh is waiting? You can make the Mesh wait? How?”

“Challenge, lad. Just like everything else,” Wallace said with a small wave of his hand. “It’s what runs everything. If you’re working in the Mesh’s best interests and creating challenge for others, then it gives you a whole lot more leeway. That includes not screwin’ an exam with a bunch of flashy words. Weren’t you wondering why you didn’t get any magical energy for crafting a damned cursed item or learning Dwarven Smithing?”

“I’ll be honest, I was a little preoccupied,” Arwin admitted sheepishly. “So what do we have to do?”

“This,” Wallace replied. The dwarf squared his stance and blew out a sharp breath. His gaze went steely and he locked eyes with Arwin and extended his hand. “I, Wallace Gentletongue, rescind my offer of apprenticeship on grounds of your completion of judgement. I name you Dwarven Smith. May you reap what you have sown.”

Arwin took Wallace’s hand. A sharp buzz ripped through the air and a jolt of pain bit into Arwin’s palm. He let out a curse and yanked his hand free, shaking it furiously as the scent of burnt hair filled the air.

“What the hell was that f—”

A brilliant flash of light exploded in the air before Arwin with such intensity that he was momentarily blinded. He let out a slew of curses to join his first and blinked furiously as energy poured into his body like a raging river. A contented purr rolled across the back of his mind from Verdant Inferno. It seemed like he wasn’t alone in receiving the magic.

The Mesh erupted before his eyes, several different sentences made of golden letters overlaying on top of each other in their haste to form. Arwin squinted through the burning light and the sentences finally snapped out, separating themselves and flashing before his eyes one by one.

Milestone 1 of [The Dwarven Smith] has been completed.

Reward 1: You have been recognized as a Dwarven Smith.  [Molten Novice] has upgraded.

[Molten Novice] (Passive) – You have spent enough time working immersed lava that it has begun to recognize you. It will respond to your song, should you sing well enough. You have become a Dwarven Smith. Your potential depends only on your creativity — and how hard you can swing a hammer.

 No sooner than Arwin had managed to finish reading the first message did it vanish in a spray of golden sparks, replaced by a new one.

[The Band Three: Cursed] has been forged. Forging a cursed item has granted you a significant amount of magical energy.

Achievement: [Oops.] has been earned.

[Oops.] – Awarded for forging your first Cursed item. Effects: Gain an extra Class Specialization option.  This achievement will be consumed upon your next Class Specialization.  

Title: [Harbinger of the Forsaken] has been earned.

[Harbinger of the Forsaken] –You reached out to the deepest reaches of your soul and welcomed the shadow that lurked within into the light. That might not have been a good idea. You can now sense and forge the emotion contained within materials — whether you want to or not. In addition, Cursed items you craft are shrouded from all but the strongest of gazes.

Arwin stared at the words floating before him, a knot forming in his throat. A class specialization that would almost certainly be related to making Cursed items. A Title that gave him affinity toward putting emotion into the items he crafted. One that, judging by its name, probably leaned a little more toward negative emotion than the alternative. Arwin didn’t imagine that the things he killed were going to have very much positive thought in store for him.

He didn’t have much experience with Cursed items, he knew they were strong. That their power came at a price. That price didn’t have to be too much to bear, though. Everything came at a price. They weren’t going to be able to defeat the Adventurer’s Guild playing by the established rules. The corner of Arwin’s lips pulled up.

Yeah. I can work with this. The Band Three isn’t completely evil. It has at least one option where things turn out well. That means not every single Cursed item is going to be malicious. If the price to pay isn’t too much, they could be a huge advantage.

“What are you smirking about, lad?” Wallace asked. “Get something interesting?”

Arwin didn’t get a chance to reply. Even as he drew in a breath, one final message from the Mesh carved itself into the air before his eyes.

 Your Tier has raised by 1 rank.

 Your Tier has raised by 1 rank.

You have advanced to [Journeyman 1]

 [Oops.] has been consumed.

New Class Specialization Available.

Choose a Class Specialization:

[Dwarven Smithing]

[Cursed Dwarven Smithing]

[Offensive Items]

[Defensive Items]

[Magical Consumption]

[War Smithing]

“Oh, shit,” Arwin breathed, his eyes tracing over the floating words. His muscles rippled beneath his skin, seemingly coming alive with a mind of their own. He could feel the magic coursing through him infusing every part of him. Making him stronger. Faster. Hardier. It took him several moments just to process everything. Then a smile split his lips. “Now this is a reward.”

Chapter 242

Even with his excitement, Arwin took care to spend a few more moments thinking about everything that had just flashed through the air before him. The Mesh really hadn’t given him much time to process it all. He’d gotten two levels while he’d been working, though he was pretty sure he’d been really close to reaching Apprentice 9. Wallace’s Challenge had upgraded Molten Novice and given him a new class specialization, and by reaching Journeyman 1, not only had his physical body grown stronger, but he also had the opportunity to choose a Class Specialization.

Lillia and Wallace both watched Arwin with interest. They were more than familiar with the Mesh and could obviously tell at least a degree of what had happened. Both of them remained silent to give him space and avoid distracting him.

I need to stay focused. The Class Specialization comes first. This is what I’ve been working toward ever since I got my very first taste of this class. Journeyman is where your class truly becomes yours. Granted, I don’t think anyone else is walking around with the Living Forge class, but the point still stands.

Whatever choice he made here would be sticking with him for a long time. It wasn’t something he could afford to choose on a whim. Arwin scanned over the glowing options before him once again. Unlike some of his skill choices, he wasn’t willing to dismiss even the most basic options until he had fully thought them through. There were no second chances with a Class Specialization.

 [Dwarven Smithing]

[Cursed Dwarven Smithing]

[Offensive Items]

[Defensive Items]

[Magical Consumption]

[War Smithing]

Arwin temporarily skipped over both Dwarven Smithing options. They were a lot more complex than the other options and he wasn’t sure if they would involve further dealings with the dwarven council. It wasn’t like he was going to lose the abilities that Wallace had just taught him, so he wanted to analyze the other options at the very least.

That brought him to Offensive Items. The meaning was evident enough. Swords, daggers, bows, everything that was mean to hurt and kill. There was always a need for weapons. Getting better at them certainly wouldn’t hurt. But, even as Arwin’s eyes ran over the glowing words, he knew without a doubt that this wasn’t the path he planned to take.

Focusing in on making weapons was great if he planned to sit on the sidelines of a war or if he didn’t truly care about the people he crafted for. Weapons were needed to defeat an enemy, but they didn’t keep someone safe.

I have no plans of moving away from making armor to focus purely on killing. I’d prefer to kill nobody and keep everyone I care about alive than stand alone on a mountain of corpses made from my enemies and allies alike.

Defensive Items could grant him the safety he desired. He’d never say no to a way to keep his guild safe. But there would be no victory if he removed his own teeth. As much as Arwin desired to protect everyone, he had no plans of giving up and letting the war wage on forever.

Survival was the bare minimum. It wasn’t the ultimate goal. Limiting himself to either offense or defense would simply come at too great a cost. His eyes drifted down to the next option on the list and a small frown pulled at his lips. Arwin shifted his footing as he studied it.

Magical Consumption. That’s definitely [The Hungering Maw]. No doubt about it. If I take that, I’ll make it even stronger. Or will I learn how to control it? That’s… temping. Really tempting. As of now, I’ve only found ways to temporarily hold the Maw back. Lillia’s cooking is doing a great job at that, but I’m not truly in control of it. Taking this might even be the path I’m meant to follow if I want to complete my Challenge.

That thought sent a wave of concern lapping against the shore of Arwin’s mind. Taking a specialization that only focused on his ability to consume magic would do nothing to let him protect the others unless it made him so strong that—

No. I can’t do this alone. I tried that in my past life. I tried it in this one too, but I won’t keep making the same mistake. Even if this is the path the Mesh wants me to take for my challenge, I’m not going to trade away the potential of empowering my entire guild. I’ll find a different way to deal with the Maw.

Arwin shifted his attention to the final non-Dwarven Smithing option on his list of Class Specializations. War Smithing had more potential than some of the previous options. It didn’t limit him to only making weapons or armor. It could still provide benefits for the rest of his guild… but he just had absolutely no idea as to the details of what War Smithing would entail.

It could have been mixing combat with smithing, or it could have been making large scale constructs and equipment for wars. Arwin blew out a slow breath and chewed his lower lip. Neither of those were bad, but they weren’t exactly what he needed.

This isn’t it. It’s probably the option I would have gone with if the Dwarven Smithing paths hadn’t been open to me, but they are. I suppose I really shouldn’t have been surprised. At least I don’t have to sit and wonder if I made the wrong choice later on.

Only two options remained. Dwarven Smithing and Cursed Dwarven Smithing. Arwin was pretty sure that he could call himself an idiot for choosing either of them over the other. The non-cursed version was safer, and it wouldn’t exactly get rid of the title he’d gotten that let him craft with emotion.

On the other hand, going with Cursed Dwarven Smithing could give him a way to control the Cursed items he made. Then again, there was also a chance it would just make them even stronger and more dangerous to their own wielders. Arwin’s fingers drummed against his thigh. He knew what Wallace would say. The dwarf would tell him to choose the normal Dwarven Smithing and stop being an idiot.

But Wallace doesn’t know what it’s really like. He might have been in battles, but he hasn’t seen what Lillia and I have. Cursed items are stronger than normal ones. They’re dangerous, but they’re stronger. Nobody would ever bother screwing with them otherwise.

If that danger can be controlled… I’ll take it. I can’t get strong enough to protect the others by taking the safe route. But if it can’t be controlled, then locking myself into specializing in pure evil items effectively makes my class completely useless. There’s too much riding on this for me to gamble with it.

Fortunately, I don’t have to.

Arwin had gone through every option he had on his own, before the Mesh had a chance to pitch in its own influence. Sure, he’d landed on the two options that were probably the smartest options to take, but he’d done it himself.

Now it was time to cash in a little advice that he’d earned himself some time ago. He summoned one of his Achievements with a thought.

[Smart Set] – Awarded for forging a set made entirely of [Awoken] items. Effects: Gain guidance on a single class-related choice. This achievement will be consumed upon usage.

[Smart Set] has been consumed.

How do I do this? Do I just… ask a question? How detailed will the answer even be? I need to avoid anything that could be subjective. What the Mesh thinks is best and what I think is best may not be the same. All I need is facts.

Arwin cleared his throat. Nothing had changed since he activated the Achievement. It would have been a cruel prank if the Mesh had just removed it and given him nothing because he’d gone about it the wrong way or some equally stupid reason.

 “Give me details about every Class Specialization offered to me,” Arwin said, then quickly amended, “and if I’ll get more by narrowing down the focus, then only give me detail on the first two.”

“Who, me?” Wallace asked, blinking. “I don’t know what classes you got, boy.”

“Me neither, but you should go with the one that your heart tells you to,” Lillia suggested. “Either that or the one that lets you make the biggest hammer. Hitting things hard never fails.”

Arwin bit back a snort. The Mesh shimmered and the glowing words changed, drawing his gaze back to them as the bottom four options fell away and left only the two at the top.

[Dwarven Smithing] — This specialization will allow you to further the knowledge you have earned and continue in the way of a Dwarven Smith. Accept tutelage from another smith or set out on your own, both paths are open to you.

[Cursed Dwarven Smithing] — This specialization will allow you to twist the way of a Dwarven Smith to your own goals. Though you may seek knowledge from others, this is a path untrodden. There is no line between smith and cursed item. There is only power and the one with the desire strong enough to take it. One will become the weapon, and the other the wielder. 

That wasn’t much to work with. Arwin sucked on the insides of his cheeks. The Mesh hadn’t exactly been generous with its information, but it had answered the question he needed to know. Cursed items could be controlled. A weapon that could be controlled was just that — a weapon.

Power wouldn’t come if he didn’t seek it out. It wouldn’t be long before the Menagerie had even more attention on it. He hadn’t heard any word from Melissa yet, but the assassins would find her soon enough. When people found he could make magical weapons, there would be some that wanted to control him. There always were.

Arwin made his decision. The golden words shimmered one last time as they melted and flowed to obey his will.

Name: Arwin Tyrr

Class: Living Forge (Unique)(Tier: Journeyman 1)

Specialization: Cursed Dwarven Smithing