Blacksmith vs. the System

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

The world had changed when the System arrived, alongside the Cataclysm that filled the world with monsters. The technology was gone, replaced by classes and skills that allowed the people to fight back.

When Devon ended up as a Blacksmith, a class that didn't grant Intelligence, he had to face the reality, that his old career that he loved - mathematical sociologist - was over. Instead, he had ended up as yet another discarded member of the production class, overshadowed by the existence of the System Shops to the point of total marginalization.

But, what if all he needed was to reapply his scientific thinking to the System...

The schedule will be 5 chapters a week, from Monday to Friday.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2024
Author: Dirk Grey

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.4/ 5.0
Followers: 5,545
Views: 3,480,016

Chapters(275 total)

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

Continuity ManRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
When you see a title with Blacksmith in it you expect lots of crafting and the things that get crafted. It is safe to say that has nothing to do with this story at all. It is more about overcoming a difficult world structure made exponentially more difficult by alien Nazi brainwashing and artificial classism. The MC is stupid in the way the very smart people are, and so it is believable. The LitRPG elements are so light you sometimes forget they are there. The story is so focused on the MC that the side characters are less impactful but that said they are very fleshed out and consistent.
Its a fun ride over all and I recommend the read.
Trees_Trees,they_are_usRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
I am feeling conflicted
It is a fun read buuut the MC is not much of a blacksmith
he finds himself in a world to changed by what was a very reccent system and portaly invasion
interesting dynamics arise from conspiracy he is very slowly developing
If you are on the lookout of smithing fiction without sudden unexplained leaps in logic and complexity look elsewhere
It also takes aaaages for other characters with any depth to appear
It starts to turn into a ruling class esc fic
Kept interesting by the oblique motivation of the invading factions
But 1300+pages in it remains to be seen if any of the intrigue pays of in a meaningful way
So far it is mostly a decent system exploration fic with the occasional refreshing sociological inquiry
jsbachRoyal Road
★★★★ 3.5
I really wanna love this one, but it’s a bit too slow. It really is after chapter 30. I found myself skimming about half the chapters waiting for something interesting to happen.
Also, it’s a misnomer and should be called scientist versus the system instead of blacksmith versus the system because much more of it is about the scientific method and small portion is about blacksmithing. It feels like half the story is a narration of the events of one man’s life who happens to be a scientist during the apocalypse, instead of actually telling a story. And this is coming from Someone who loved the the Runesmith and generally crafting litrpg. This one moves at a snails pace.
RikkiUWRoyal Road
★★★ 3.0
The MC is supposed to be a genius which is why he is discovering so much. Supposedly when the system came technology died so everyone threw away the scientific method and used skills in only the obvious ways without ever experimenting or pushing the boundaries. That seems entirely unrealistic for most people. Humans are curious by nature. The book seems to rely less on the MC being a genius, and more on everyone else being morons. This also extends to him levelling skills, but in a way it's worse because many of the 'hacks' he comes up with to level his skills super fast aren't exactly complicated and are simple to reproduce, implying the system is pretty broken in general.
Ascended RaccoonRoyal Road
★★★ 3.0
Honestly, the premise is great, everything is very well thought out so far. It’s a great take on a System Apocalypse, the writing is good, but the characters could stand to be a little more interesting (especially Maria and co., they come off as stilted and one dimensional sometimes). However, I absolutely cannot stand the main character. He is utterly insufferable. The sheer arrogance that he displays regarding his own intelligence and perceived superiority while being an absolute, inflexible moron when it comes to the decisions he makes because “I am a genius” is ridiculous. The only way he could be more unlikable and un-relatable was if he was legitimately evil and not just so far up his own ass he’s shitting in his own mouth. He makes a few good points here and there, but mostly bemoans how unfair it is for him to be a blacksmith without an Intelligence stat when he is “such a genius” and how awful it is that other people with an Intelligence stat look down on him. I get it, it’s unfair, guy also probably is a genius too, but he’s a jackass and entirely unlikable. Reading an entire story about someone so intensely unlikable just isn’t for me.
Beetle JonesRoyal Road
★★★ 3.0
The story or at least the way it's written is interesting in relation to the way the protagonist handles problems. The rest though is another issue.
Up to where I've read, the world isn't properly fleshed out, the 'system' has not been thoroughly explained, the characters seem shallow or one dimensional, but the one thing that really drags this story down for me is the protagonist.
The main character is, for a lack of a better word, a hypocrite. It's really hard to like him, especially when he comes off as an a**hole. He disparages those with a high intellect Stat, while seeing himself as the only person who actually uses his brain.
In short, the MC is just not likable.
ChaosRuneSmithRoyal Road
★★★ 3.0
summary:
My review is unfortunately inherently subjective and probably useless. However i feel a strong need to write it in hopes that you, who read this before jumping in might avoid what happened to me. I fundamentally think that this story can be seen as Great and very enjoyable But this requires you to have one right assumption Before you start reading. I will therefore include a spoiler revealed in chapter 107 at the end because I genuinely believe that it is a better reading experience to know this spoiler before reading.
Style and grammar:
the writing is very competent. The phasing and dialogues are well written. I especially commend the author for very skillfully weaving the MC’s inner thoughts, reactions, manipulations, and when he’s talking to himself. I was never unsure which character was talking, what the mc was thinking, how he said his words or his intentions.
Characters:
I don’t like the MC. This is very unfortunate since there is exactly one character of import in this story and that is the MC. I have never been a fan of overly intellectual, condescending, manipulative, secretive characters and having to experience the story through his cynical eyes is to me fundamentally unpleasant. I’d have liked some milk to my coffee; a trusted friend, family, idealistic colleague, something to ground and contrast the MC. This is however a matter of taste, some people like their coffee black and I am not judging. But those with similar taste as me will likely experience the same dislike of the MC.
the story and the spoiler:
This stems from the fact that my biggest gripe with this story is that I found a specific part of the plot very frustrating. I was under the impression that it was simply a flaw, a common problem of dystopia narratives. I stubbornly kept going hoping to find what I hoped to find when I first started reading.
I instead found the complete opposite, the frustrating part of the story that I specifically didn’t like is not a flaw. it is not just d
HumanprototypeRoyal Road
★★★ 2.5
Six chapters in and I actively dislike every character including the mc. The setting and back story really stretch my suspension of disbelief, mainly the obviously malevolent system that everyone but the mc is somehow too stupid to not take at face value, also all the one-dimensional caricatures. From other reviews it sounds like it doesn't get any better so I'm done.
NinnixRoyal Road
★★ 2.0
The main issue I find is that the author makes the MC out to be a genius by making everyone around him very simple-minded. For instance, the system has been around for 3 years and no one has discovered how to upgrade productive class, he was able to do it in a week by mixing his blood and mana. His boss who is supposed to be some kind of scion of a large house is extremely incompetent. She can't even tell that she is being led by the nose by the MC, she doesn't ever question his motive.
YayPeptoRoyal Road
★★ 2.0
The first 25 chapters were what drew me from QQ onto this site. As I started to read more once he reached the dungeon, the crafting became a MAJOR back seat to the MC kill mobs in the dungeon. His "experimenting" literally glossed off and just everything became boring. The MC gaining tens to hundreds of skill levels and still never really making anything. We never have a clear level of gear so far at 84 chapters. Is a lvl 200 rare mana blacksmith event good? Because -SPOILER--------------------------- The dude is making arrow heads for profit. I like slow burn, but the same time, an "epic" skill at "200" to me should be further ahead than arrowheads. The Author literally has the MC have 0 connection with any of the other characters other than a transaction. It's really annoy because even the transactions are just really passive in order to keep the story afloat. I'm advice, please give a powerscale reference. When you bring a skill into the 100s, even it it's upgraded, to me represents an AMAZING proficiency in the skill. The later chapters might address this, but I've spent 60 chapters trying to justify the rest of my time and it's not worth it. I wish you the best of luck, but this is not for me now. I hope the muse never leaves you, writing is hard enough.