Before going home for a well-earned rest, they needed to check the guild's updated ranking. Cless found Sondra in an office after getting directions from a clerk.

"Your new ranking is eleven, guild master," Sondra reported to her. "What are you going to do with the Steelhammer's charter? You'll raise to rank six if you merge."

Cless felt a longing in Sondra's voice, ending in pain when she said 'merge'.

"What do I get for being in the top twenty? And what does it change for the top ten?"

"The discounts from the Association increase," She answered in an emotionless tone. "You can cut in the queue of the Dungeon. You get the first choice in requests."

"I'm sorry for your loss. It is obvious one of them was important for you. I won't pry. Can I transfer the achievements without merging the charters?"

Sondra shook her head. "No. Merging is the only way. Otherwise, people would use achievements as trade goods and fix the ranking."

Cless wanted to give Sondra the charter after she stripped it of its achievements to bolster her ranking. No more wait times.

"I'll merge. I have all the items from the Steelhammer delvers here with me. If there are any mundane personal effects you want from them, you can have it."

Cless showed Sondra their objects. Except for their clothes, she took everything. Armor, weapons, backpacks, and belts with pouches. Sondra searched and took a silver locket.

"Thanks. You can keep the rest."

They transferred the achievements and Sondra officially disbanded the Steelhammer guild. Cless stored her own charter and left Sondra to her grief. Outside, she took her guild back home. Annoyed once more to go around for thirty minutes to reach a place that was less than thirty meters away from the street next to the church. They reached the gate and didn't bother to unlock it, the whole guild teleporting inside and Kurt flying over the wall with the two tiny monsters.

They reached home, seeing that it rained recently while they were delving. Cless focused on [Tremorsense] and found that the flood in the crypts was reaching a new floor. It seemed the water had nowhere else to go. Maybe that's the reason they found moisture on the undead floor. She wondered if the water could flood the Dungeon. Her musings were interrupted by Helga and Heimdall at the front door... archway, waiting for them.

"Welcome home, milady!" Helga enthusiastically greeted her.

Cless was surprised to see Helga here. The house wasn't ready. Apparently, the girl read her thoughts.

"We moved our things to the third floor while you were out delving. A friend helped to put shutters and a door..." She trailed off, trying to read Cless' reactions. "I'm sorry if we moved without asking, but the schedule..."

Cless smiled and raised a hand. "There's no problem. The schedule went to hell because of the floods. Welcome, Helga. Did anything else happen while we were out?"

"A letter from the City Planner arrived for you. It wasn't sealed so I read it. A convocation to present your land deed for minor adjustments at the city planner's office whenever you are able to. There was also a note thanking you for returning the entire vault."

Cless read the note and placed it in her pocket. "Thanks, Helga. Please prepare a meal in the kitchen in half an hour. I believe everyone wants to take some time to decompress but we are hungry."

They split up and she moved to the basement. In one of the big rooms at the back, she dumped the bull plates and the chains from the butcher. It was underneath the meeting room. Cless wanted to turn that room into her workshop. She tried and saw she could use the Skill she gained to mold the metal, including the chains. They resisted and moved slowly, but she could work the metal. Next, she closed the room with a wall of stone and removed the weapons and equipment in another room near the stairs on a workbench she created from the stone of the floor. That room would serve for the maintenance of their equipment. Cless intended to clean up the loot from the dead delvers to redistribute or donate. She was about to climb the stairs when she remembered not all gear was unloaded. Cless left the massive cleaver there too.

She retreated to her room and blinked inside the secret space with the staircase linking the second floor with the basement. She left the two books there as they couldn't stay exposed. Retracing her steps back, she saw the need to take another path from the kitchen to the second floor. Going through the grand stairs all the time was a bother. She'd have to cut part of Venaris' balcony. And break the symmetry. Nope.

Cless knew she was going to work on her house again. Change the layout. Maybe expand it. They ate and rested for the entire day. Dungeoneering punished the body as the constant state of tension and fighting took their toll on nerves and muscles. The next morning, Cless ate with everyone in the kitchen's dining table. The four from her guild were already bonded with her Hird. As a fifth tier class, it gave eighteen Stats per five levels, evenly distributed. She wondered what techniques it gave also. There were already two.

> [Recruitment IV]:

>

> Offers a willing person a lifetime contract to enter one's Hird. While contracted, subject earns all the benefits of the class. The Hird size is limited to one plus one per two class levels. You cannot recruit a person in another Hird or another Hirdmaster. Hird members do not count as party members for Exp division and receive the same share as the Hirdmaster.

>

>  

>

> [Bolster]:

>

> With encouragement from the Hirdmaster, grant a combat boost based on the class' level to one Hird member that lasts for ten minutes. This technique, if available, automatically triggers on the nearest Hird member if the Hirdmaster is rendered unconscious in combat. Cooldown 1 hour.

Maybe it would be a good idea to experiment with Bolster but they needed a combat situation to try it out. One thing she knew straight away was that [Recruit] didn't work on monsters. But the real strength of this setup was that they would earn Experience as a single person, not a party. It would double their Experience rate. The lifetime bonds she made with the boys using her Skill were already akin to a Hird but without the bonuses as their combats only counted her and Venaris as a party.

 She also checked the class detailed info.

> Hirdmaster (5th tier)

>

> A Stat-less class that focuses on gathering and reinforcing a cadre of followers sworn to live as one. All Stat progressions apply only to members of the Hird.

>

> Main Progression (+24): Strenght or Magic (whichever is higher for the Hird member).

>

> Secondary Progressions (+14 each): Intellect, Agility

>

> Bonus Progression (+10 each): Health, Strength, Health, Agility.

>

> Level 25 bonus: +2 to all Stats.

She noticed it after they defeated the butcher. Fifth tier classes doubled their progression bonuses but only after your main level was above one hundred. After the fight, she tallied her points and there were some extra Stat points she didn't know the origin. Now she did.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"We are having the next few days for ourselves. I'm going to make Kate and Shad go through their evolutions, I don't know how long it will take. There's also the issue with the City Planner's summons and some side projects. Have fun guys."

She dismissed her guild members for now and returned to her room. She wanted to read the history book she got but she wouldn't be able to savor the book properly with the house in that... unfinished state. Rummaging through her books, she took two spellbooks with her.

Cless Blinked to the secret staircase and went to the basement. She required stone so she went down into the catacombs and brought up a golem with stone bricks. She reached the workshop-to-be room and started working. First, she shaped one brick of stone into a reinforced stone anvil. It would be better to have a cast steel anvil, but there was no way she was getting seventy-five kilograms of steel during these times and all anvils in town were already taken. She tried.

Maybe she could just coat the stone with the miasma-treated steel from the chains. Cless split a link using her metal-shaping Skill and took the piece of chain to the anvil she created, shaping the metal into a coating for the stone. It took three hours to finish but the anvil looked fine. The layer of iron she placed over the top was as thick as her pinky and the stone would be protected from chipping. With another piece of the chain, she made a hammer. If she was going to work the miasma steel, she needed tools made of the same or a stronger metal.

She had no forge but she really didn't need it anymore. She had [Pyromancer] and one of the spells on the second or third tier books for Fire magic had exactly what she needed. Cless shaped a lectern on the far end away from the anvil and placed the book there, flipping to the right page. She read the spell once and tried to use it. She was able to cast it right away. She had the multiplier from the Skill, her Dabbler, and Princess classes, not to mention Instructor and Thaumaturge professions. Her learning rate for Fire magic was over sixty times faster than normal since the learning multipliers stacked.

Cless returned to the workspace and separated another piece of chain. She used her newly learned spell.

"Heat Metal."

The chain glowed red hot after a few moments, softening. Cless smiled and shaped that metal into tongs and a vise, noticing how much faster it would obey her commands in that state. Now with the basic tools of smithing ready, she could start working on her projects.

The first order of business was to make the head saw. A contraption with several sawing blades that could convert a log into planks. It required a mechanism to power the saws from an external source, usually the water wheel of the sawmills. She wanted a portable one, that could be carried and powered by the golem. Carefully she made the gears and pulleys. With the right tools and her Skill to mold metal, she spent the rest of the day to finish the item.

It would've taken any blacksmith without her Skill setup a whole week to make it. Her [Crafter] Skill reduced the time by a factor of three and [Metal Mender] halved that. She also needed a fifth less material because [Curmudgeon Crafter] made her waste almost nothing as she created a minimal amount of scraps, slag or other kinds of shavings or swarf.

The darkened miasma-laced steel from the Butcher's chains was stronger than steel. It allowed her to slightly reduce the saw width, what would, in turn, waste less wood on the saw grooves.

Cless felt comfort and satisfaction hammering the metal. She felt as if entering a working trance. Looking around, she decided to take the weapons and armor they captured from the Steelhammer guild and work on them, repairing flaws, minor damage and removing any identifying traits. She could sharpen the swords to the point they could split a hair with her rising proficiency and molding Skill. Thinking of that, she noticed that indeed the previous owner of that Skill probably did the repairs on their metal items.

Working the metal was addicting, resonating deep in her being. She thought as to why she didn't feel like that during her two weeks of blacksmithing apprenticeship. The answer she came with was that she was just going through mechanically, restraining herself from going full-throttle and using her Skills to the maximum. Right now, inside her own space, she could go wild. And so she did.

To finish her day and smithing session on a high note, she made a sword and a small targe shield with miasma steel from the chains. She needed to use leather for the straps and hilt, but the metal parts were all done. While she forged the sword and shield, she noticed a small amount of miasma leaking from the red-hot metal. The end product was slightly weaker than the chains. If she kept reforging the metal, it would degrade until it became ordinary steel.

Cless stopped working and set the pieces she worked on a table. Looking around, she created notches on the wall, shaping the stone with her spells to store her tools. Stretching her arms and yawning, she wondered what time was it. She felt hunger and thirst now that her focus was gone. And she had some notifications to look at.

> Blacksmithing reached level 100. For mastering a proficiency you gained +1 Strength. You learned Mythic Blacksmithing level 4. For using your class proficiencies, you earned 30,000 Experience.

Getting that notification meant a lot of things. For one, she spent the whole day working. And two, working the miasma steel was a task above her level threshold. She could earn some levels by making items with the Butcher's chains, of which she had almost half a ton.

Status:

Name: Queen Cless Hreidmar of Myrkheim and Infernal Realm (in exile)

Race: Human.

Level: 104 ( 5,386,000 / 5,460,000 Exp ) [Experience Threshold > level 44]

Class (tier) level (Experience):

— Dabbler (1) 25 — Beast Tamer (2) 25 — Vicar (3) 25 — Wizard Princess (4+1) 25 — Hirdmaster (5) 6 (545,000 / 621,000 Exp)

Professions — Veteran Warmaster 25 — Master Instructor 25 — Lady Thaumaturge 4 (216,000 / 265,000 Exp)

— Crafter 25 (*) — Farmer 25 (*) — Herbalist 25 (*) — Alchemist 25 (*) — Diplomat 25 (*) — Administrator 25 (*)

Base Stats — Strength: 124 [314] — Agility: 149 [378] — Health: 171 [434]

— — — — Intellect: 277 [592] — Wisdom: 218 — Charisma: 324 — Magic: 328 [701]

Available Status Points: 128

Skills:

S-rank: [Absolute Contract]

B-rank: [Fear Aura] — [Perfect Might] — [Succubus’ Kiss]

C-rank: [Appraise Immunity] — [Craftsmen] — [Dangersense] — [Dragon Skin] — [Earth Magic] — [Eat Anything]

— [Elven Longevity] — [Master Miner] — [Monster Wrangler] — [Perfect Accounting] — [Pyromancer]

— [Seductress' Charm] — [Shadow Eminence] — [Sharpshooter] — [Shrinking] — [Sword & Board]

— [Underdog] — [Will of the Mage]

D-Rank: [Acute Smell] — [Alchemical Tolerance] — [Alchemist] — [Architectural Ingenuity] — [Breathless]

— [Curmudgeon crafter] — [Dancer’s Grace] — [Darkness Resistance] — [Diplomat] — [Druidwalk] — [Eagle Sight]

— [Farmer] — [Gemsense] — [Giant's Stamina] — [Great Leap] — [Grounding] — [Herbalism] — [Intimidating Authority]

— [Ladykiller] — [Merchant sense] — [Metal Mender] — [Miasma Sight] — [Ore sense] — [Poison Resistance]

— [Runner's Dash] — [Sharp Mind] — [Shield Mastery] — [Singers’ Talent] — [Snakes' Flexibilty] — [Spell Resistance]

— [Sundering Magic] — [Tinker] — [Tremorsense] — [Woodworking]

E-Rank: [Air sailing] — [Boxer] — [Burrower Bond] — [Cat User] — [Chick Magnet] — [Coin Sense] — [Enhanced touch]

— [Food Conservation] — [Hearth’s warmth] — [Heavy Lifter] — [Howl] — [Lady’s Countenance] — [Pack Rat]

— [Pathfinder] — [Pickpocket] — [Seamstress Talent] — [Silk Hair] — [Splinters] — [Sword User] — [Virility]

— [Wanderlust] — [Water Sprite] — [Weavertouch]

F-rank: [Florist’s Wonder] — [Gardener’s touch] — [Inner Compass]

Techniques:

Beast Tamer: — [Beast Taming VI] — [Beast Status] — [Share Skills *]

Vicar: — [Sanctuary *]

Princess: — [Stronghold II] — [Demesne] — [Knight *]

Hirdmaster — [Recruitment IV] — [Bolster]

Spells (Master Instructor: +6 to all. Spells without a number are at the cap / * denotes a level 25th ultimate):

Divine: — Mending — Detoxify — Light — Turn Undead — Blessing — Holy Bolt — Purify — Protection

— — — Hallow — Flametongue — Cure — Uncurse — Banish — Heal — Warding — Revivify*

— — — Censure — Bulwark — Mass Mending — Sacred Dance — Judgement — Song of the Accord*

— — — Water Breathing — Shield of Faith

Arcane: — Detect Magic — Mage Bolt — Armor — Firebolt — Icebolt — Lightning Grasp — Shield

— — — Fireball — Resistance — Shockwave — Magic Missiles — Wind Blade — Deeppockets* — Blink*

— — — Soften — Earth Armor — Spike — Stone Shape — Earthen Maw — Earthwave — Terrakinesis — Golem*

— — — Earth to Stone — Grasping Hand — Spike Wall — Construct* — Crystal Dart — Gem Amulet

— — — Crystal Messenger — Gemcutter — 95 ?? — 99 ?? — 100 ??? *

House: — Detect Dust — Doorwatch — Prestidigitation — Never Overdone! — Touch Up — Dry — Repair

— — — Clean — Bloom — Hearth Recall*

Wiz.Princess: — ???? — ???? — ???? — ???? — ???? — ???? — ???? — ???? — ???? — ???? — ???? — ???? — 24: ????

Proficiencies (Master Instructor: +6 to all. Values under 10 hidden / {A} = Automatic Proficiency: Soft Cap +5):

Appraise: Status: 80

General: Prayer — Reading: 70

Academic: Magic Theory: 60 — Spellcraft: 60 — Architecture: {A}

Crafting (+9 Profession): Tailor: {A} — Embroidery: {A} — Knitting: {A} — Glassblowing: 85 — Mythic Blacksmithing: 4 — Carpentry: 85 — Pottery: 67

Farming, plants (+38 Profession): Foraging: 30 — Forestry: 30 — Gardening: 40

Farming, livestock (+13 Profession): Dismantling: 30

Production (+9 Profession): Mining: {A} — Weaving: {A} — Quarrying: 35

Social (+25 profession): Negotiation — Persuasion — Bluff — Flirting: {A} — Sexual Technique: {A}

— — Etiquette: {A} — Dancing: {A} — Singing: {A} — Gambling: {A}

Movement: Running: {A} — Athletics: {A} — Balance: {A} — Jumping: {A}

Martial (+18 profession): Leadership — Intimidation: 80 — Tactics

Weapon (+18 profession): Long Blades — Unarmed: 80 — Archery — Maces: 60 — Pickaxe: {A}