Blacksmith vs. the System

Chapter 9

I woke up at dawn. And, a quick bath later, I rushed downstairs — my room was conveniently above the workshop — feeling very enthusiastic about getting back to work. Normally, I would say that my work ethics weren't driven by external factors, and it was true … to an extent.But, not only was my new employer far more generous than I had expected, giving me a higher salary and assistance for leveling up, but I was also doing something other than just following the instructions of my skill.

A better salary, incredible benefits, and more fulfilling work…

While I was still a re

"Huh," I muttered as the notification popped without a warning, informing me that my Repair had been improved ahead of schedule, giving me multiple dilemmas.

The most obvious dilemma was which perk to choose from. Warm Blow was the most obvious choice, which would boost my ability to repair the swords even faster. With it, there was a chance I could further cut the duration of my work in half.

Efficient Repair was also useful, providing me with a chance to make a living even after leaving the camp. I didn't even know that Efficient Repair was offered in Level twenty-five again. If I knew, I might have committed to a different plan — not that I was complaining.

Ultimately, however, I chose Inspect, the advanced version of Analyze, which was supposed to provide even more information. I might have chosen differently a couple days ago, but now that my earlier commitment to Analyze had proven its benefits, I decided to lean on it.

But, even as I made that choice, my mind moved to the next implications. Namely, the speed at which my skill had managed to reach the next stage.

It was enough to throw away my earlier model of skill improvement. Worse, I had no idea about what had caused the change. Maybe my rapid leveling allowed it to get to the next stage. Or, maybe it was just the quantity of the weapons that allowed me to improve them, as I had been repairing them at a far faster pace.

But I was not repairing them with perfect adherence to the suggestions of my Repair skill either, which should have slowed down the process.

"What a fascinating question," I muttered as I smirked, feeling excited. I couldn't answer it alone, but soon, I would have multiple experimental candidates who would work directly for me.

What better opportunity to actually collect some data to build a better model could there be? I had tried to collect that information before, but self-reporting was notoriously unreliable.

I didn't expect to discover anything new, as I had no doubt many people had been working on how skills worked. The direct benefit of such knowledge was too important. Unfortunately, the importance also meant that it stayed a secret. There were many differing public opinions, but gossip deferred from the scientific process.

"Finally, a chance for proper scientific study," I said in excitement. It wasn't exactly the way I preferred. I rather worked on the mathematical models and conceptual designs while my doctoral students dealt with the boring experimental stuff, but at this point, I would take even the most boring experiment over the monotony of repairing the same weapon over and over.

I was actually starting to like my new job.