Chapter 51 marks the end of the main story for book one of three (estimated). In addition, there will be side stories with other characters' perspectives. The first part of one of these side stories will be posted for free for readers on Patreon and RoyalRoad, and then the rest of one of the side stories will be posted to Patreon for Brawler tier subscribers, and finally there will be book ex...
2025-04-18 17:55:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe rolled up monster accelerated as it rolled towards the Smith. Hurriedly he moved out of the path, just barely succeeding as the ball, taller than James was, whooshed past him close enough for the wind of its passage to blow against James and push him onward.
He continued for several steps to open more distance, then turned and readied his shield. The monster was unrolling itself and f...
2025-04-16 18:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostSome time later James awoke, sore from the awkward position he had passed out in. His armor felt heavy and restrictive on his body, and it took several tries to stand back up. He scanned around, ensuring there were no monsters nearby and he was within the wards, then removed his helmet.
The gentle breeze felt cool on his sweat-damp head and hair. Now able to see clearly, or as clearly as ...
2025-04-14 18:00:27 +0000 UTC View PostJames advanced directly to the second passage on the left side of the cavern. It was far enough down the side of the cavern that this path took him nowhere close to the passage filled with plants, and there were no other monsters lurking about the cavern at the moment.
The passage was narrow, barely wide enough for James to advance with shield raised and not at all wide enough to strike w...
2025-04-11 18:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostAfter a somewhat prolonged rest within the ward, watching the bat flutter about at the edge, James hauled himself back to his feet. His armor clanked, feeling almost as heavy as his old [First Armor] set. The back to back fights had been exhausting.
Over several trips, James managed to get the monster carcasses back to his main camp. He wanted nothing more than to eat and sleep, but he wa...
2025-04-09 22:24:12 +0000 UTC View PostThe passage, for the first few yards, was the same natural looking tunnel as the rest of the cavern, spotted with glowshrooms. But after that it was teeming with plant life. Broad leaves, creeping vines, and large orchid-like blooms covered the walls which quickly widened, leaving a comfortable five yard wide path out into the apparent forest.
He scanned behind him, then slowly advanced. ...
2025-04-07 20:24:26 +0000 UTC View PostJames thought for a split second, and dropped the Green Iron War Hammer in his hand to the ground as he set his footing and readied his shield. The monster continued charging at its shuffling pace and James reached his hand into the magic bag saying “Earth War Hammer.”
His hand closed on the handle and withdrew it from the bag, flat striking face at the ready, and was just shy of bein...
2025-04-04 18:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostFrom the three bats, James harvested one green magic crystal and two purple magic crystals. He remembered his lessons about the magical elements and their associated colors, but purple wasn’t on the list.
[Material Identification: Purple Magic Crystal]
Well, that was a bust. In any case, leaving the carcasses there, he stored his new magic crystals in his magic ba...
2025-04-02 18:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostJames returned to the small room and set up his wards. Even with just three stakes, he managed to cover over half the room. Once he was sure the wards were in place, he removed his armor again. Annoying as it was to put it all on just to take it off, James wasn’t going to take any chances when a mole monster could show up at any time. He took a pick-axe out of the magic bag and set to work on...
2025-03-31 18:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostThe Smith returned to camp with his prizes: two bat wings, a Green Magic Crystal, and knowledge of what lay beyond his home cavern. The bat monster was disconcerting, to be sure, but James knew that he could kill it if he had to.
The question was, was there a better way than swinging a shovel around until he got lucky?
The bat, ironically, had provided him the solution.
... 2025-03-28 18:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostFirst, the Smith dismantled the ward around the exit to the old iron mine and stored the metal stakes in his bag. He wanted at least three in case he needed to form a ward in an emergency and couldn’t make it back to camp. These, along with the two spares already in the bag, put him at five stakes.
The journey of a few minutes to the other end of the cavern was uneventful. At the passag...
2025-03-26 18:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostThe Smith, growing more comfortable with fighting the mole monsters, carefully stepped away from the carcass on the cavern floor as this new monster approached. This time, however, he wanted to test out the [Reflect] enchantment. He poured mana into his shield and felt the enchantment activate, just like [Heavy Blow] had. Like before he set up and thr...
2025-03-24 18:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostOne result of the [Reflect] Enchantment on the Green Tower Shield was that the outer face of the shield became perfectly reflective, in the manner of a mirror. Before, the shield was a dull metal with a hint of a green reflection, but now it was as reflective as the finest polished mirror, and for the first time in nearly a year, James was able to see himself.
He was...
2025-03-21 18:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostSweaty, exhausted, famished, thirsty, but satisfied, James took up his cup of the remaining Aqua Magia and tossed it. Yes, it cost him some mana to create, but at the moment having a cup to drink from took priority. Yet, as he moved to splash the Aqua Magia on the ground, it vanished from the cup, as though responding to his intent to discard it. James was too worn out to care overly m...
2025-03-19 18:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostJames woke slowly, as one does on those blessed mornings when one has slept well and woken naturally, without disturbance. Eyes still closed, he stretched, then sat up and stretched again, before rubbing his eyes and taking in his surroundings.
A dim cavern.
An ever present soft breeze.
A primitive campsite and open air smithy.
The remains of a monster, yet to be cleaned...
2025-03-17 18:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostAlthough James wanted to first return to the old iron mine and see if he could get another brown magic crystal from the first mole monster he had killed, he wisely decided to stop and focus on forging a new war hammer and enchanting it with [Heavy Blow]. While his first war hammer had been devastatingly effective due to its sheer mass, realistically it was too large. The Smith ...
2025-03-14 19:00:16 +0000 UTC View PostFirst, wisely prioritizing safety, the Smith topped up the magic power in the ward around his camp, then checked the wards around the exit to the old iron mine. It turned out they had plenty of magic power remaining, but the Smith topped them up all the same. Now he knew they would last at least a few days without needing a recharge.
Next, the Smith took the magic bag and hobbled painfull...
2025-03-12 20:53:38 +0000 UTC View PostAt the moment James felt the impact of his hammer strike, he also felt a strange sensation and heard an ominous cracking sound.
The shaft of the hammer broke.
He had been holding it near the end of the pick-axe shaft to which he had affixed the war hammer head and it snapped somewhat in the middle, leaving a short length of splintered wood.
The mole monster, meanwhile, took an...
2025-03-12 20:47:47 +0000 UTC View Post[Synergy] Skill [Design] has reached level 2.
[First Armor] Design memorized.
Over the course of a day and then some, the Smith designed his first set of armor. A much simpler version of the plate armor James had once seen at the Lord’s manor in his hometown, the operating principle was maximum coverage and durability. For the material, regular ir...
2025-03-12 20:43:05 +0000 UTC View PostThe mole monster prowled around at the edge of the wards, keeping an eye on James. After hurriedly ensuring the ward was topped up with magic power, he had retreated, gripping the haft of his newly-forged war hammer in his hands. Unfortunately, the pick-axe haft was a sub-optimal choice for a war hammer. It was now unwieldy to use single-handedly, but too short to use properly with two hands. 2025-03-12 20:36:45 +0000 UTC View Post
Many aspiring Smith-Enchanter hybrids bring a small bellows into the dungeon with them when they attempt to recreate the Legend of the Smith who Saved the Kingdom. It stands to reason: neither Smiths nor Enchanters have the leatherworking skills needed to break down a monster corpse and produce a bellows in situ. Those who try inevitably fail and find themselves returning to civilization far so...
2025-03-12 20:32:30 +0000 UTC View PostYoung and inexperienced as James was, not even yet sixteen years old, he did his level best to think about his decision. He had, perhaps, learned that his decisions had consequences, even if he did not always remember this lesson.
Currently, James was inside a cavern of dubious safety, but with sufficient resources to last at least several months, and able to sleep peacefully tha...
2025-03-12 20:17:42 +0000 UTC View PostAs it turned out, the slavers had been storing their stock of food for the winter in the magic bag. James withdrew countless bags of oats and flour, a bag of yeast, a large bag of salt, several dozen bags of dried meat, and several ceramic pots full of sauerkraut. Missing were any herbs for flavor or fresh meat, but James already knew that the slavers were hunting and gathering in the vicinity ...
2025-03-12 20:12:37 +0000 UTC View PostAs James grew closer to what had been the dead end of the mine, he found a sizeable crack, almost a gash in the far end of the tunnel where he had done most of his excavating. The bottom of it had been expanded and widened into a hole large enough to crawl through, probably by the monster he had killed moments ago. It was through this hole that light shone into the sealed mine. Cautiously, he c...
2025-03-12 20:05:51 +0000 UTC View PostWith incredible precision born of a double dexterity boost from his classes, and the strength boost of his Smith class, James struck true. His green iron hammer struck the top of the monster’s head as it was twisting to investigate his scent. Following through on the strike, there came a soft cracking sound from the neck as the head of the creature was forced into an unnatural angle, and a sq...
2025-03-12 19:10:51 +0000 UTC View PostThe Legendary Smith found himself trapped in the iron mine where he had, until moments ago, been enslaved. Behind him, the entrance to the mine had been closed off in a landslide, and on the other side of that massive pile of earth and rock, a pack of dire wolves and a red wyvern had been laying waste to the camp and killing everyone there. James had managed to escape by fleeing into the mine, ...
2025-03-12 19:00:57 +0000 UTC View PostThe next morning the boys woke to a foul stench emanating from the corner where the injured boy was shivering violently. One retched and hurried to exit the lean-to, quickly followed by the rest. James gagged as well, before forcing down his bile and going to the injured boy.
His back was black and green and his wounds, rather than closing up, were weeping pus and blood. Bits of leaves an...
2025-02-21 15:57:02 +0000 UTC View PostThe Smith sat there for a minute, ruminating on the information about the ward. He didn’t know anything about wards at that time, but his skill did tell him it was an Intermediate level enchantment, so he could believe that the ward had multiple strong functions built in. Still, even based on what the boy had said, his spirits were too riled up from his argument earlier to give in to despair....
2025-02-21 15:53:06 +0000 UTC View Post“Just leave him? Leave him to die? That’s crap. This whole stupid thing is crap, but that’s the worst of it. We’re really just going to turn on each other, abandon each other?” The Smith glared at the grey-eyed boy and was shocked to find a look of fear on his face.
“Smith, calm down, listen. He tried to run-”
“So did I!” the Smith roared bac...
2025-02-14 20:04:22 +0000 UTC View PostJames sprang up, disoriented, but quickly scrambled out with the rest of the slave boys. The grey-eyed boy was dragging along two other boys, one in each hand, who had panicked and frozen in the lean-to. In less than a minute they were all out and lined up in front of the slaver, whip already in his hand, and in his other hand was the new boy, barely standing upright with his makeshift crutch, ...
2025-02-14 19:59:45 +0000 UTC View Post