blacksmithoftheapocalypse

513. Polyarkanate

Thanks to the blueprint he also knew exactly how much material he would need. This was important, because Seth intended to meld the elemental soul into the material, before he forged it into the frame.

This was how he originally revived the Faer or Evee's brother. Only by infusing the soul into every part, could the frame take the place of what would originally have been the skeleton from which a body could then regenerate given enough mana.

However, again Ceres was a special case...

512. Makes Sense

Over the following days, Hoen worked on the ring foundries. Contrary to Seth's experience, the dwarf claimed this was a dwarven specialty.

According to Seth's time with Tored, this kind of practice would be frowned upon in a place like Ora. When the blacksmith asked about it, Hoen blushed a little.

“There are many old people that think like this in my former clan, but that is a custom of he past.” he explained it as a cultural difference. After all, they were speaking about pe...

511. Mining

“Are you trying to crash the accessory market?” Jane cried out exasperated when he returned to the workshop with Wedan and Hoen. Mina and Fin had decided to go to the training room and work on their skill to prepare for their journey.

“Oh! How did you know?” Seth exclaimed surprised.

“Are you serious?!”she asked raising her hands to the head.

“Why not? I recently accompanied a small party and it seemed like accessories are currently really valuable and my <G...

510. Not just Pipedreams

First came building up a good stock of medium to high-grade products.

For this Seth used his last bits of  rare <Bones of Seth> he had made all the way back in Y-City. This were still over 50 metal bars, even after giving most of what he had to Hoen for the certificate tokens. Each bar was big enough for maybe 10 rings.

Since the material alone would guarantee a rare item, Seth decided to simplify the production process. The improvements an item got from something like ...

509. The Gate Keeper

“Is this really all, master?” the mighty Minotaur asked as he stood awkwardly in a wide hallway, that fit his size quite well.

He held his Labrys in his hands and looked at his small master and maker with uncertainty in his eyes.

“Of course! I think you are perfect for this job. Just relax a little.” he told the stiff and serious bull.

If Seth had to be honest, then he would have to admit that he had actually not made any plan for what came after he made Asterion. Th...

508. Accursed Asterion

Outside the dungeon, he found the restaurant where his friend already waited. It had already become evening again.

“Did you get what you wanted?” Mike asked curiously.

“Yeah, a really good catch. I'm all giddy to go back to Minas Mar and see if my idea works.” the bard answered gleefully.

“Then we should return,” Mina stated with a smile. Seeing Seth all excited made her happy, too.

“Already? Fin still wanted to walk around a little more with everyone.”...

507. Buying a Boss

Gossip and laughter filled the bar of Delta's Adventurer Guild. It was a busy scene with many people coming in or leaving after choosing their quests. Even in the middle of the day, the were adventurers and parties spending time in the integrated tavern.

A new group of people entering suddenly spawned hushed whispers.

“ Aren't those Yulecat's Fur from Minas Mar? “ a whisper could be heard.

“Yeah, but who is the man with them?” someone answered.

“Oh, I remembe...

506. Buying in Bulk

“Hey, Mark!” Seth greeted Mark Baker.

“Seth?” the other exclaimed.

The next day, the blacksmith and the secretary were sitting in Mary's office calling the man who had experienced a meteoric rise since his collaboration with the Princess of Chrona and the undead of Arget Nore. Thanks to his quick and open mind, he was one of the quickest to adapt after their initial mistakes in handling outside powers.

One could say that Baker had gotten into a position of power and ...

505. To get a Discount

Everyone's eyes went wide when Seth summoned the mighty machine.

“Wait a moment, I will show you what it does,” Seth said with an amused smirk and stepped to the Golem Forge.

On the display, he chose a blueprint he had prepared beforehand. This was not a finished golem, but the basic frame for his Golem Knights. This was another great function of the Golem Forge, The blueprint used did not have to be a completed golem, Seth could even use it to just build specific parts.

504. Back Home

Using Home Call the dryad and the blacksmith arrived in the system church of Delta.

“Oh, hey Simon.” he greeted the rotund priest who happened to be close by.

“Seth, you are back! Are you returning to Minas Mar immediately?” the old priest asked.

“Yes, why do you ask?”

“Then you should prepare yourself. Mina seemed a little... agitated lately.”

“I see.” Seth nodded seriously.

It was probably because he couldn't tell her about the journey...

503. Mountain Tree

“Nas'Korn, it's been a long time.” Seth greeted the statue of the god.

“Everyone else may leave now.” the god directed Manila, Kargo, and the others.

They waited for everyone else to leave before they continued their conversation.

“I'm glad you decided to come by. There is something I have to tell you. I time of great turmoil is upon us.” the got finally said.

“That's nothing new, is it? I would not call the current situation calm.” the blacksmith asked...

502. Tough-Scale

After a good meal, Seth returned to his tent. There was one more thing he wanted to test. What really impressed him was the fact that the Golem forge was able to clad a body in leather, as if it was the original skin.

This time the blacksmith wanted to see what it would do if he gave it some good quality materials to work with. Before he started, he refined the big soul of the lizardman chief to improve its chance to develop an ego and he looted some of the swamp crocodiles.

Altho...

501. Rag-Tag Golem

The boss of the dungeon was called the Lizardman Chief and he was surrounded by his elite guard. Despite the imposing name, it was not a big hurdle, especially since Tatzel was acting together with them.

Seth didn't want to waste any more time and only harvested the soul of the chief.

<Chief's Soul (big, uncommon) Crafting Material,

The soul of an indignant leader who suffered an unfair end. Holds a talent for leadership.>

Seth had made the golem hold down the ch...

500. New Function

“Checking minimum requirements...

Blacksmith (Craftsman): Check,
Enchantment (Craftsman): Check,

Advanced Reinforce(Craftsman): Check,

Energy Circulation 3: Check

Unlocking Storage Function: Successful.”

Seth followed Tatzel down the cave and soon came across the first group of decimated lizardmen. Upon touching the first corpse, he once again heard the robotic voice checking his skills, but this time successfully.

The successful unlock of the storag...

499.Vepar of the Deep

For the last horns, Seth had another idea. During his work on the Sagaris, he kept thinking of the Minotaur and the myths related to it after the labrys came up. The description had mentioned Minos and the blacksmith had another idea from that.

…

Somewhere in the dark rotten depths of a tumultuous ocean resounded a rare tune. A bored merman sitting on a throne of sunken warships slowly swayed his head from left to right. Around his lips played a tiny smile.

It had been so ...

498. Labrys and Sagaris

The first items he brought out for forging, were six Minotaur horns.

The most fitting weapon he had chosen to make from these was called Sagaris. A Sagaris could take on the form of a battle-axe, a war hammer or a war pike at times. It was great for something like the horn of a Minotaur and had a place in Olympian Myths.

However, although these were the most fitting, Seth wanted to try something else first. What he wanted to try first was the signature weapon of a Minotaur. A gian...

497. Golem Forge

“... Say, Uncle. How much of the power of a champion did he inherit through the class?” Hephaestus asked Hades beside him.

The blacksmith god was sure that it took quite a lot of dedication for a champion to gain this many skills from someone like Hades. How had that dwarf gotten so far with his uncle? To the point that his successor was able to inherit the <Permit of Hades>

“Oh, don't worry, this is the second to last,” he said with a sardonic smile playing around h...

496. Rented Golems?

The two-horned ones did find a few more dungeons, but the expedition only marked them on a map. If everything worked as planned, taking care of the dungeons would be a task for the next expedition Minas Mar would send along the trade route.

Because the little break they took had put them back on time and Lydia decided not to make any more unplanned stops. Especially since Seth agreed with her. He was sure that the planned dungeons left were enough for him to reach lv. 71.

Una and ...

495. Permit of Hades

<Ding! You have unlocked new class skills! Please check your skill window.>

<Ding! You have unlocked new blueprints! Please check your crafting menu.>

Seth heard the notifications in surprise. It had been a while since he had unlocked a class skill. He couldn't pay attention to the quest reward or the unlocks, as he was still singing. The golems and the elemental were still occupied with killing birds.

His experience bar kept filling and he couldn't let this chan...

494. Harvest Festival

Seth had let loose all the golems he still had in his inventory, which were arguably not that many.

He had to leave most of his abominable golems behind because they all needed individual inventory slots.  At least, the 25 he currently possessed were the strongest he currently had. Seth really lamented not having something like a housing skill, that some high-ranking tamer classes possessed.

After freeing the surroundings of their wildlife, he was getting close to the next le...

493. Stymphalian Birds?

“Their armor is really thick,” Seth commented while he watched the golems fight a swamp crocodile.

The quest spoke of the bird plague, but they were far from being the only creatures that lived in this dungeon. One of them was these swamp crocodiles. They were tough as a nail, comparable to the statues in the lovers' cave.

But they were good prey since they were normally alone and ranged around lv. 70. They were not hard to fight for the group of golems and gave Seth a good ch...

492. Pest Control

With Una and Tearlach securing their safety, they were able to travel quicker than expected and soon reached the next dungeon.

This one was similarly a natural cave, but it reportedly only went up to level 50. No surprises awaited Seth this time, and not a lot of experience either. He was able to fill his experience bar to about 65%. Still almost half a level away from lv. 68.

It couldn't be helped, even out here, high-level dungeons were not as common as one might hope. Seth was ...

491. Idol Couple

After the quick introduction, Una could not be held anymore and she went to look for Karina. Seth didn't know how, but the humanoid easily found her way to the dryad, like a dog following a trace of smell.

While the female had completely shifted gears and was freely moving around below the crown of the Hangingtree, Tearlach on the other hand kept looking up at the tree in worry.

He and Seth followed the excited Una slowly from behind. The blacksmith did not think they would do any...

490. What are you two doing?

“You heard the two, nobody will come to your rescue. Hand over everything you have, if you cherish your life!” he threatened the dungeon core.

It was a practice he learned a long time ago from Fin and had perfected ever since. His voice was rough and intimidating with the power of <Voice of Seth> swinging within it. His pose was practiced and intimidating.

Like a fountain of wealth, the crystalline dungeon core started spitting out gold, silver, and items. The two horned...

489. Brethren

The floors past the 40th floor changed from the look of a natural cave. The ground became smoother and the walls seemed to have been carved by someone.

It was not necessarily a difference one would immediately notice in the darkness, but it caught Seth's attention as he could see clear as day with night vision. After walking down a simple tunnel, they reached a wide room.

This was actually different from the report of the chimeras. According to the information Seth had gotten, the...

488. Twin Rocks

Puffles refused to further comment on his behavior. Still a little confused, Seth tried to loot the body of the demonic millipede. He got a few rare-rate scraps of its carapace that were fit for making armor.

Since he took no hunter with him, he could only use the loot function of the system.  The following floors after the anticlimactic boss battle had no increase in level. The difficulty rose because the beasts on these floors used abnormal status attacks like poison, sleep, or p...

487. Golem Knights

“The scenic Lovers' Cave“

“A must-visit for any nature lover”

“Home of the Twin Rocks”

Seth was barely able to read some of the rusted signs as he made his way past the overgrown shrubbery. It reminded him of a time when people were still spread around Urth when the districts were just being built and people still “traveled”

Of course, this was long before his birth and he only knew it from old movies or movies and games set in such a time period. In hi...

486. Lover's Cave

Jess and James followed Lydia and the rest of team three to the main exit of Minas Mar. Their path led them past the great bridge and the gatehouse where they found themselves in the middle of nowhere.

The gate opened to somewhere in the mountains below Delta, tucked away from the streets and highways that originally led to the district.

“Is that her?” Jess asked interested and pointed at a  beautiful lady that did not seem too sure about her presence there.

With sk...

485. Progressing

That day he only finished five weapons, which was still quick, but slow for his own rate. He quickly found out, that his first success was not easily repeatable. The other four weapons, a mace, a spear, and two daggers were epic.

They had similarly high base stats, but they lacked something to become a relic. Maybe Seth's concentration had waned a little after the sword. If this was true, Seth might start making only one weapon a day, as the epic-rated ones did not do a lot for his prof...

484. Developing Weapons

The bard described his idea to them. Mary still looked concerned but she finally gave in to their plan.

“That sounds crazy, but it might work.“ Evee supported Seth's idea

“Let's talk about the details at a later point,” she said with a sigh.

“You said there was more?”

Seth shared their idea of the token coin with them. Alison and Evee also listened this time, as this could be applied to all high-grade items. As the two people in charge of the most potent po...