The blacksmith awoke to flames in their eyes once more, surprised to see the haunch end of the great dragon as she rolled in a pile of half-melted coins. What little they knew about dragons was verified.
In wonder tales, they were greedy and hoarded wealth.
Though this beast before them rolled in coinage, the blacksmith found it hard to believe this was a true hoard. Perhaps a pile.
In any case, this dragon flopped around in the metal like a bird in a birdbath, or a white horse let out to pasture the day after rain. The molten metal slipped off the dragon’s scales, drying in cracks and flaking off with movement.
While the blacksmith knew nothing of beasts – nothing past the butchershop and blue ribbon affairs at town festivals – but they knew metals. The gold and silver were soft, easily flaking away after they engulfed debris and dirt alike under the dragon’s scales.
It was a fascinating cleaning process for such a great beast.
The blacksmith couldn’t look away; they didn’t have a choice in the matter, regardless.
The subject of their inhumanity was still one left unprocessed, incapable of understanding. With a mirror, things would progress in an instant. Without… the blacksmith retained doubts.
Eventually, the beast fell asleep. Small flakes of metal chittered to the ground as the dragon’s breathing expanded and contracted her sides.
With nothing remaining, the blacksmith reexamined the message from earlier. Whatever spirit controlled the other end of this communication, it did a good job at assisting the blacksmith in their understanding.
[ soul rehabilitation ] was revealed in a convenient diagram. A figure shaped like the blacksmith’s human body was struck by ink-drawn lightning while holding a Jack O’ Lantern.
Their soul escaped – bringing up many uncomfortable religious questions – but passed through the electricity-charged lantern. When it emerged, the soul was dragging along a doodle of the same Jack O’ Lantern, both of which combined when brought to a new land.
Instead of becoming a person, the soul became a Jack O’ Lantern.
Regrettably, blinking wasn’t an option. The bewilderment and uncertainty did not show on the blacksmith’s face as it was, in fact, a lantern shaped like an All Hallow’s Eve decoration and therefore had no facial expressions.
The smith felt… numb to this information. It was certainly far-fetched and preposterous; however, their thoughts were punctuated by a dragon’s snore. One could not argue with the fantastical nature of this world.
They took some time to grieve and lament. The smith was not one to swear or lambast their station before. Being a pumpkin ornament only slightly changed that stance. The occasional damn could be permitted.
After a bout of wallowing and contemplating, the blacksmith reengaged with the typewriter mechanism. Did this concept have a name?
The System, they were informed.
The tab remained open on the system’s noticeboard, waiting to be read. New words stuttered the blacksmith’s understanding.
Landwise, saltsmith, [ skill: capture ].
Click-clack, a series of new messages
Landwise – noun; a class that focuses on developing their relationship with the natural world and environment. Landwise are commonly farmers and agriculturalists; however, Landwise is a mixed-type class with both labor and combat applications.
Further: grovetender, stormcaller, putrescient, wildstriker, saltsmith*
* unlockable subclass that is not commonly known to the public
Saltsmith – noun; a Landwise subclass that focuses on the armament and defense of the user’s body by manipulating natural elements, primarily (but not exclusively) metals, minerals, salts, and ores.
Saltsmiths can create armor and weapons directly from natural elements (ex. bone sword) without the use of crafting benches; however, most Saltsmiths carry their materials as wearable armor until they can use them as forging materials.
Saltsmiths are rare due to the requirements to unlock the subclass. As the requirements mirror the Artisan subclass Blacksmith, the majority of interested parties choose the Artisan: Blacksmith route rather than waiting for an unknown subclass to unlock.
[ skill: capture ] - active skill (level 1 of 5); As a [soulbound artifact], you gain the ability to incorporate new materials into your being. Capturing the essence of an object allows you to manipulate it as a detached, floating limb. Captured objects augment your base stats and provide you with temporary status changes, such as more magic or stamina.
Captured objects: 0/1
Practice Completion: 0%
Level 1: Range (short), weight (tiny), control (weak), persistence (weak)
Capturing & Practicing with 10 objects of Level 1 class will randomly increase a category of that level.
The blacksmith failed to understand everything once more, but they left the tabs tucked into the corner of their mental desk. They could review the words later.
They were clever and good with their hands – but smarts were not their strongest suit. Studying was hard because reading was difficult when the letters refused to behave. The smith learned enough to keep their books and stay afloat, but no more than they had to.
Now, they had no hands to speak of, but that [ skill: capture ] suggested that they could acquire more limbs over time.
With an imagined intensity, the blacksmith concentrated and tried to cast [ skill: capture ].
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
There was a reaction from the ground. A small, square copper coin with a hole in it began shuddering.
Shocked, the blacksmith accidentally released the skill.
Captured objects: 0/1
Practice Completion: 1%
That 1% was enough for the blacksmith to continue, even if it took all night.
They had no awareness to contemplate why they were awake for longer this time, why the nothing didn’t claim them after an hour as before.
Inside the stationary Jack O’ Lantern, a small candle sat, lit by magical dragonfire.
The flames produced by the sentient beasts could reduce an adventurer to ash with ease, but the system – or, rather, the magic itself – was capable of picking and choosing what to destroy and what to maintain.
Candles, books, and enchanted objects all remained untouched by dragonfire unless the dragon itself specified it wanted everything to burn.
The magic wanted this candle to remain lit, without the wax burning low and throwing the blacksmith into the nothing. And so it would remain flickering while the smith practiced their new skill, flame secure until snuffed by wind, water, or beast.
🎃 🎃 🎃
When the beast awoke, the blacksmith froze. The she-dragon stretched and shook, scratched and yawned. In time, she flapped her giant wings and grasped the exit of the cave above, a crevasse that only she could reach.
With the scraping of scales, the blacksmith was left alone in the dragon’s lair. A gentle beam of light broke the vast emptiness of the stone cavern, casting a glimmer on the fragmented coins below.
The blacksmith made significant progress while the beast slept. It was tedious to work until their practice completion counted to 100% – repeatedly, as they now possessed 5 captured objects – but this accursed form did not require sleep. They had no other tasks to occupy their thoughts.
A new missive awaited on their internal noticeboard.
NEW! [ skill: convert ] - active skill; Convert captured objects into repair material, decreasing the repair necessity. Captured objects will be lost.
[ repair necessity 35% ]
Tentatively, the blacksmith drew one of their few copper coins closer. The coin rotated idly in the air – the smith had yet to learn how to precisely control the captured objects.
Upon the use of [ skill: convert ], the coin melted into red-hot metal, applying itself to the blacksmith’s… form like a coat of paint.
[ repair necessity 35% ➢ 32% ]
Captured objects: 4 / 5
Practice completion: 76%
The blacksmith refused to complain about the small size of the change. It demonstrated that improvement was not only possible, but easy to achieve. Presumably, the better quality the captured objects became, the better [ skill: convert ] would become at repairs.
Perhaps in this world, they might have a different body, but the blacksmith’s mind remained. They were well-known for their determination in their prior life.
Not stubbornness, not unyielding and defiant pride, but the will to achieve their goals through hard work and effort.
The blacksmith would persevere, but not out of spite. For the promise of hope and hope alone.
🎃 🎃 🎃
After 10 objects were captured under the blacksmith’s control, something changed in their internal paperwork.
improvement to [ skill: capture ]
Level 1: Range (short), weight (tiny ➢ small), control (weak), persistence (weak)
The coins flitted around in the blacksmith’s invisible grasp like hummingbirds, zipping this way and that. It was difficult to control them now; practice was needed to avoid throwing the tiny objects about when concentration lapsed.
But, as the smith strained to re-capture a coin that flew out of their magical reach, they discovered something new and exciting.
The Jack O’ Lantern wobbled.
Their [ soulbound artifact ] lay between small and medium in size, therefore the smith’s meager abilities could barely move it about. It couldn’t float like the coins, but… with enough wobbling and a concerted effort, the blacksmith turned their round lantern on its side.
The world spun in a slow carousel of motion as they methodically rolled along.
The cave became a place of wonder now that they were no longer stuck to one side like an ornament. The pile of half-melted coins sat in the middle, a makeshift bath and bed for the dragon all in one.
As the smith rolled over a large flake of precious metal, they pressed their [ skill: capture ] into use once more. It assimilated easily; the smith applied it to repairs.
[ repair necessity 32% ➢ 31% ]
Captured objects: 10 / 11
Practice completion: 12%
The coins jingled loudly within the lantern, stored there for safekeeping, but the weight slowed the blacksmith down. It was slight, but an anchor nonetheless when every wobble cost so much effort. They applied the objects to repairs as well, feeling… sturdier, almost tougher from the magic.
[ repair necessity 31% ➢ 1% ]
Captured objects: 0 / 11
Practice completion: 12%
Their explorations were very fruitful. Perhaps this part of the cave was reserved for sleeping and gold-bathing, but behind a cluster of rocks lay a hidden passage. The walls of the hallway were carved from stone and, presumably, human-sized.
The constant rolling of their view meant the blacksmith had to stop and truly assess the world in order to understand it.
They meandered down the hallway, examining open rooms lining a winding passage.
A bedroom, decorated beautifully. There was a gently coating of dust on the floor, but only at the edges of the room. Someone maintained it well; the blacksmith had the experience of being at insect-level, they presumed, which was an angle no maid considered.
A kitchen. Fresh herbs hung from metal beams, a pile of wood near the doorway for cooking. Someone lived here.
There were several rooms whose contents the blacksmith could not directly see, as a magical barrier was set in the doorframe. No push, no matter how determined, would break through the barrier. Something more readily guarded than gold and silver?
Their curiosity was directly rewarded.
improvement to [ skill: capture ]
Level 1: Range (short), weight (small), control (weak ➢ low), persistence (weak)
What was once a wobbling, staggered roll became more smooth and intentional. The blacksmith couldn’t maintain the control over the motion for extended periods of time, but each sprint of motion felt easier to direct now that the smith wasn’t constantly fighting their trajectory.
Their motion down the hallway rang out with a thin rolling noise, the resonance of a hollow metal lantern amplified by the uneven stone floor. They clanged out of a storage room filled with crates and sheet-covered furniture, bumping over a piece of wood in the way and paused in the doorframe.
Something caught their attention in the periphery.
With a swivel, the tilted Jack O’ Lantern made questionable eye contact with a humanoid figure at the end of the hallway.
They stared. She stared back.
Gathering all their might, the blacksmith began rolling, trying to escape the figure.
A low hiss came from behind. In their sick-making swirl of vision, the blacksmith caught sight of a beast the size of a lion, green and wingless.
Claws outstretched in a pounce.