"Is it…" Rosie asked.

"Done. I stole the fire dungeon," I said, feeling giddy at my success.

Rosie looked impressed at my declaration. "So, what's next?"

"A bunch of experimentation," I replied.

"Should I evacuate the dungeon?" she asked.

"A good call," I replied. "It's for the better if you evacuate while I play around, just in case. You have the surface command."

Rosie nodded before she drifted away, talking with the temporary guards before she led them to the third floor, which had another phase of evacuation.

I didn't start experimenting right away. Instead, I focused on examining my newest gain: four dungeon floors, almost completely intact, tethered by a mere door at the lowest floor. It felt fragile, but I wasn't ready to enhance the connection immediately.

Though, it soon gave me its first surprise. A stirring of mist occurred at the door, and large salamander beasts emerged from its depths, as though summoned by the dungeon's last gasp. They hissed, spitting molten globs at me. "A good attempt," I chuckled before I waved my blade, cutting it down in one blow.

I could feel it was another attempt from the fire dungeon to reject the influence of mine, but it was too little too late. Still, I did nothing but examine the four floors while I waited for the all-clear signal from Rosie about the evacuation.

It wouldn't have been the first time the dungeon gave me a nasty surprise.

It was not wasted time, however. I had spent most of my time mentally inspecting the four dungeon floors, doing my best to understand how it worked with the 'subordinate' dungeon — calling it felt rather accurate.

I poked mentally, feeling the dungeon's ineffectual attempts at flaring its fire at me. It was different than the decay of my dungeon, which, despite all its destructive potential, was as tame as a loyal puppy. The fire, on the other hand, repeatedly tried to harm me, but the decay shielded me.

When I received the all-clear signal from the surface, I visited every floor, making sure the evacuation was properly completed before I returned, ready to start the next step of work. I reached the dungeon mentally once more, and pushed my perception deeper.

My first focus was the connection between the two dungeons, soft, weak, and tethers. Luckily, I knew exactly how to repair it. It was nothing more than a mental forging exercise, where an imaginary hammer purified and strengthened the connection with every step.

The fire dungeon reacted rebelliously with nasty flares, but decay was once again enough to contain it, and every second, the connection got stronger. Soon, I wasn't afraid of the dungeon drifting away.

"Cool, it's time for the real work," I said, a tense smile on my face. Another dangerous experiment was about to be conducted without proper safety measures, but with the situation forcing my hand, I had no other chance.

My eyes closed, I dispelled the decay that was protecting me, and the heat from the dungeon rushed to me, desperate to burn me … only to splash ineffectually. A part of it was the weakness of it, but as I let the heat wash over me, I questioned whether that was the only reason…

Or whether my class had a role in it. After all, I was a blacksmith, which was deeply mixed with the concept of heat and flame.

It was an interesting conjecture, but one that I wasn't able to question for long. Instead, I focused on imposing my will on the dungeon indirectly, channeling some of the stored mana between dungeons. Immediately, the lizards reacted, appearing at the gate. Other than killing them, I stayed focused on the fire dungeon.

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Minutes ticked, turning into hours. Slowly, I could feel exhaustion building. My entire body was drenched in sweat, even though it had nothing to do with physical exertion. It was once again challenging to my soul.

I accepted the challenge, trying to understand the domain at the other side. Despite the familiarity with the dungeon, I couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. Compared to decay dungeon, the fire dungeon had a certain wildness, almost a rebellious attitude.

"I'm glad I didn't try to bind it at its full power," I muttered while I cut down several more lizards — no boss monsters — while I continued working, my will clashing with the fire dungeon, assisted by the constant waves of decay to blunt its strength.

Until, I was sure that it had been stabilized, and I moved to my new experiment.

Forging Radiant Flame equipment … which came shockingly easy. But then, I shouldn't have been surprised. Previously, the biggest challenge was to prepare the fire material before carefully mixing it with decay. For all the inventions to make it easier, it was still a fragile process.

Things were different now that I was able to pull the fire and decay concepts from the same connections. I didn't have to mix it myself. I just needed to draw both concepts together, and use the mana directly.

It meant a substantial increase in the production of Radiant Flame equipment. Not just in quantity, but also in quality. Without handling the complicated mana preparation stage, I could channel the full might of my Wisdom into the forging process, creating far stronger equipment. Cannon shells, arrows, and swords; all improved substantially.

"It'll be a nice surprise if Drakka decides to attack again," I said smugly as I channeled the combined mana into the metal, increasing our armory.

I was still alone in the dungeon, observing the changes while I forged. I didn't want to risk other lives in case of a complication; while every minute substantially increased our anti-armor reserves. I planned to stay still all night to observe…

Only for fate to throw me another wrench in the form of an emergency flag raised at the dungeon entrance, calling for my attention. I opened a quick portal — dragging along a cart filled with the equipment I forged just in case — and returned to the surface.

There, I saw Rosie, Harold, Jessica, and Terry waiting for me, an anxious energy radiating off them. Well, all but Rosie. "What's going on?" I asked.

"War," Terry commented with a tight expression.

"Another force, already?" I asked. First sееn оn

"No," Harold interrupted. "Not between us. Drakkan and Asterion forces are seen clashing all around their border, with full mobilization from both sides. Things are getting complicated."

"It's a tragedy," I said, but even as I said that a part of me couldn't help but question whether that was a perk for our situation. After all, if those two forces were fighting, they couldn't pay too much attention to us in the short term. And, with the improvements we were able to achieve, every day was extremely valuable for us.

I caught Rosie's gaze, seeing the same thoughtful expression, showing that I wasn't the only one looking the potential tragedy as an opportunity … but I still felt bad. Tens of thousands would potentially die, yet I was thinking it as a positive thing.

It was ugly how quickly one's perspective could change.

"What are we going to do?" I asked.

"I have received several contacts from towns that fall into the battlefield," Rosie said. "They are asking to move here temporarily."

"Too risky," Harold interrupted.

"We can't leave people helpless," Terry argued immediately. "We have to save their lives."

"Not if it puts us in a dangerous position," Harold responded.

"I don't —" Terry started responding, his anger flaring in a way I hadn't seen before. I could see that he was invested in a way that surprised me. But maybe it shouldn't. Just hours ago, he had experienced a battle, memories of lost lives still fresh. I could foresee that, if I rejected him, things could escalate.

Luckily, I had no such intention. I silenced him by raising my hand. "Maybe we can find a compromise," I said. "We have already established a second defensive ring. Let's put a third line as well, garrisoned by anyone willing to fight. People that are unable to fight can live in the second ring, while our forces stay in the inner ring unless they are fighting."

"Risky," Harold said.

"Not as much as you think," I countered. "I have already figured out a way to create better anti-armor ammunition. We can deal with even a bigger force easily, especially since we don't have to worry about another flanking attack from the dungeon." I turned to Rosie. "Of course, that still relies on those forces being reasonably reliable. They are your contacts, so you call the shots."

Rosie nodded grimly. "That, you can trust me," she said, the way she gripped her dagger giving me the impression that a certain number of new arrivals would disappear on the way.

Another decision I silently accepted, giving her the nod of approval. Rosie turned and left, and Jessica followed, leaving me with Terry and Harold.

"We have more strategy to discuss," I said as I looked at Harold.