"What are you doing?" Eleanor asked the moment she entered the forge, her gaze immediately locking on the device in my hand.

"I'm trying to find a way to get the shells off the beasts faster," I said.

The moment I said that her interest faded. "Already trying to make your guild more profitable," she said, but I could sense a hint of disdain in her tone. I didn't exactly blame her. Hunters were production classes just like Blacksmiths, but, unlike us, they had a reason to actually be outside.

That meant that finding Hunters above level twenties was far easier than finding high level Blacksmiths, which meant they didn't need to deal with the same problem. And, unlike Warriors, they would be more than happy to work in a low-risk, low-pay dungeon. In a world where skills could increase by killing monsters rather than working for years, the value of labor was not much.

And, more importantly, unlike Blacksmiths, Hunters would be arranged by the guilds, meaning it was not her problem.

"Not exactly," I said. "It's just a good way to test the elasticity of the metal while I work on trying to discover something that can resist the corrosion. It helps me focus," I said even as I pointed at the various materials that were cluttered about, trying to convince her that I was focused on helping them.

"Good," she said as she noticed the fresh sign of experimenting. I had used those to improve Nurture, but she didn't need to know that. "How was your first proper day as a guild master? Anyone suspicious?"

"No. The story about an old friend deciding to set up a new guild works well enough. Altogether, very believable. The weapon change especially helped. No one should suspect a genius swordsman to be a blacksmith."

"Genius? Someone's feeling arrogant. Come, we need to solve it."

I chuckled as I followed her. Her desire to have another spar was transparent. I wasn't complaining. Not only did I want to impress her, but also watching her fight was interesting. I might always learn something from her.

I still couldn't figure out how to use a mana attack with my sword. It would have been very helpful.

This time, she brought me to a sparring room, and threw me a wooden sword and shield. She just grabbed a sword. "It's going to be painful, isn't it?" I asked. With a real, enchanted blade, she had to hold back. With a wooden sword, she didn't have to.

"I don't know what you mean," she replied.

"Well, no pain, no gain," I said as I positioned myself, focusing on the technique. While being beaten painfully was not my ideal midnight activity, I wasn't exactly complaining either. Sparring with her would be a good way to figure out a few new tricks.

At least, it wasn't as ghoulish as constantly cutting myself to bleed on metal, which had been the method I used to push Mana Forge and Repair.

"Attack first. I want to see just how much you have improved," she said. I attacked, not bothering to hold back the slightest. After all, for that reason, I hadn't pushed my Stalwart Guard to the sixties. Her eyes widened as she took a note of my improvement, which was the only sign of distress. Her blade still easily blocked everything without even taking a step.

It felt intentional, so I started to rely on my shield more than it would have been reasonable in another situation. "Fine," she growled as she took a step back, then lunged forward.

Her sword lashed, but I managed to avoid it … barely, and only by somehow mixing the Fleeting Step into the mix. It allowed me to avoid her attack.

[Stalwart Guard (Uncommon) 58 - 59]

It was a fascinating feeling. It felt like something clicked for a second, before disappearing. And, it was equally clear that the System had acknowledged it. It was very difficult to improve skills through sheer practice, especially after pushing them higher.

Her eyes widened once more. "That's not a part of the Stalwart Guard," she said.

"I guess not. It was just a stroke of inspiration," I replied. "I tried to copy the way you moved, and it … worked.

"You truly have talent. Too bad you're not a warrior," she said. "Still, once you reach level fifty, I'll gift you a Rare skill."

"Is this what's needed to use Rare skills?" I asked.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Indirectly," she said, and I looked at her. "Unlike uncommon ones, where you just need to have the Stat in question, rare skills have higher Stat requirements. Not all of them are the same, but the ones that are worth using usually require a hundred at their Primary stat. There are very few strength-based styles that would fit your style well."

"That would be excellent," I said as I nodded, more than happy with the prospect of a hard-to-get Rare skill that would fit well with my style. Especially since it would just replace the Stalwart Guard rather than occupying a new slot.

"One condition. I want you to bring the proficiency to at least eighty before you reach level fifty."

"I think I can bring it to a hundred," I replied, deliberately acting proud. After all, since the aim was to impress.

She just snorted, clearly not believing it. I didn't blame her. If I hadn't been abusing the way skills overlap, there was no chance that I could even get close to it. What followed was an hour of non-stop sparring that had been as intense as I had feared. I tried to mix Fleeting Step in as many times as I could manage.

It didn't work as much as I wanted, but considering the impressed expression on her face, even that was exceptional.

[Stalwart Guard (Uncommon) 59 - 66]

"Actually, you might be right. You are learning even faster than I expected. You might reach a hundred, easily. Maybe I shouldn't wait until you reach fifty."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"When you push a skill at Common or above to its limit, it gives you a perk," she said. "Usually, it's not worth going through all that effort for an external skill, but there's a benefit. When you have a Perk, it brings the requirements down for the next tier skill. That way, either you can get a Strength focused one early, or go with a different Rare skill."

I made a show of looking surprised. "Then, wouldn't it be better to learn the Common skill before upgrading it step by step?"

She chuckled. 'Unfortunately, no. Upgrading a skill through a skill stone resets it," she said. "The perk goes away."

"Even for class skills?" I asked as it was not my experience. "Not that it's really relevant for us poor Blacksmiths."

"Yes, even for them," she replied. Interesting, as in my experience, the Perks stayed. However, maybe there was a difference between making the skill evolve directly and using a skill stone.

Of course, even if that Perk disappeared, I wasn't exactly willing to write it off as a loss. It still taught me a lot.

I decided to change the topic. "I'll still try to bring it to a hundred. It teaches a lot," I said. "Do you mind if I use the other floors to practice?"

"Go ahead, if you think you can handle it," she said.

"Of course, I can," I replied. "Actually, why don't I clean the gates for you. I can easily deal with the giant ones. After all, I have a hammer to slowly break their legs."

She frowned. "Are you sure? Ranged attacks can be troubling to deal with, especially with the corrosion effect."

I smiled. "That's easy. I just need to make a shield out of stone to defend myself against the ranged attacks. Then, I can just discard it and make a new one."

"Still, it can be dangerous," she muttered. "Try to defend against this," she said as she took several steps back. I waited, expecting her to pick some stones or other ranged items. Instead, she had raised her sword. When she brought it down, some kind of energy cut through the air, targeting me. It was a thin, weak blade.

I raised my shield to block it. Before it even landed on my shield, she attacked again, this time moving slower. I defended myself to the best of my effort, doing my best to rely on dodging rather than blocking, which got even harder as she started moving around.

"Alright, you can defend yourself," she cleared. "You just need to be careful if there are multiple giant insects on the third floor. It's not likely, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Good point," I replied. "Still, having stronger enemies should help me to raise my skill faster. And, once I do it, I can take over keeping the gates secure. I owe you one, and you're too busy to waste a full day there."

"You would do that?" she asked.

"Of course. As I said, I owe you," I replied, acting like having access to lower floors wasn't a treasure for me. "However, I'll need the maps for the second and the third floor. I shouldn't get lost."

She nodded. "Easy. Now, let's spar some more."

"Before we start, may I ask what that attack was? Some kind of mana attack?" I asked, despite knowing it was not the case. I wasn't able to feel any mana in her attack. Yet, it was somewhat familiar.

"No, it's a special attack from a class skill," she said. She didn't mention the perk name of the skill name, clearly intending to keep it a secret.

"How does it maintain its shape without mana?" I asked.

"By using Vitality, of course," she replied, which surprised me. I didn't even think that such a thing was possible.

"Really?" I asked. "Do you mind if I examine how it works from a close range?"

"How?" she asked.

"I think I can use my Analyze skill to properly examine it," I replied. I wasn't faking my enthusiasm. While it was a big request since it potentially touched the secrets of her skills, the possibility of learning from it was more important.

"Alright, but never reveal anything about it to anyone else."

"Of course," I said as I stood next to her, and grabbed the hilt together with her, my fingers over hers to catch the movement of Vitality. She froze, and I noticed that her face was red. For someone of her level to be exhausted, she must have had a tiring day. "Go ahead," I said.

"A-alright," she stammered as she swung the sword. Meanwhile, I kept my eyes closed, using my best to stretch my Advanced Inspect to the limit to carefully examine the way the sword shifted. The way Vitality had been shaped inside the sword had been fascinating.

The best part, unlike the complicated patterns of mana, it was easy to understand … well, relatively. At least, I had a rough idea after she had repeated it a dozen times.

"I think that's enough," she pulled. "I … I have a long day tomorrow."

"How about the spar?" I asked, but she was already walking away.

"I'll just take a rain check," she replied and walked away.

"Whenever you want," I called, which was a completely genuine reaction.

Why shouldn't I be, when that meeting had solved three serious problems at the same time.