blacksmithoftheapocalypse

275.Stumped

Seth looked down at the pair of gauntlets and the dagger. He could keep those!? Why didn’t the quest mention this?

His heart started racing in excitement. He was actually able to keep the item he used his first own ballad on, and he got the dagger from a completely unlocked Cerberus on top of it.

The dagger didn’t fall back behind the item Seth normally made. Once he added a soul to these items there was a high chance that they would become relics.

The question was which...

274. Ode to the Queen

To Seth, it was not a race against time. He stayed calm and closed his eyes to activate <Song Writing>. The skill was able to help write a song based on the knowledge of the user. It could give suggestions to accomplish the desired effect.

It could even be used to improve texts he knew or had already written. It was like an app for a challenged musician.

In this was a test of his skills he also wanted to use a song he wrote himself. His eyes burned with desire as he correcte...

273. The Exam Preparation

“We are almost done setting up the dungeon pillars” a worker reported to the Vice-Master. Jane stood to the side and watched the workers scramble around the stadium.

“I would have never thought something like this was possible,” she commented.

“Well, the guild is not exactly going around bragging about this. “

Minas Mar would take care of renting the stadium while the guild would take care of the adaptations for the exam. The guild would also take care of adverti...

272. Mina’s bling

It was decided that the exam for Minas Mar would be managed by a joint initiative of Minas Mar and the Adventurer Guild. The Vice-Master had offered them a way to make it a great festivity. In exchange, they would split the proceeds.

Seth wasn’t really involved in the preparations for the exam. On one hand, he wanted to be entertained himself and on the other, he had better things to do.

Back in his smithy, he started working on Mina’s accessories. The first item was a ring. H...

271. The Exam Registration

Seth only needed to look over some of the budgets for the exam before they left for the city. This time they used the elevator.

Two months after the incident in the Willis Building, they were able to buy the burnt-out ruin. Above the elevator shaft, they build a small office building for their dealings in the city. It was easier to have a second way out, other than the teleport to the church.

It was not finished yet but was closer to their shop than the church. They just wanted to...

270. Somewhere Else (4)

A terrible headache wreaked havoc in his brain. What happened? Where was he? It felt as if he just woke up, but he had no idea whether he had slept or not.

Just what had happened? He looked around himself. It was a dim clinical room. Weird devices surrounded him to the left and right with displays he couldn’t make sense of.

As if left in a hurry, plates of various syringes with colorful liquids and other tools had fallen to the ground. Some tubes hung free while some led to cath...

269. Mina’s Gear Solid

<Ding! The item has improved due to a synergy between the item and your trait “Olympian myth”!>

With a surprised look on his face, he pulled the finished dagger back out of the water. He HAD taken some symbolism from Greek mythology, but he definitely had not planned for this.

<Asclepius’ Needle

Relic

Damage: 1075

Durability: 2000

1. 25% Chance to inflict Strong Malady on hit

2. 35% chance to cause mental disruption on hit (Effects: Stu...

268.Preparations for the Exam

While Seth was busy making equipment, the other members of Minas Mar were also busy with their tasks. The leaders of Field Service were working on the preparations for the exam and the management of the Oathguard.

Monique had spent the last few days tracking down an old acquaintance. He was perfect for training and operating the Oathguard.

The sounds of her high heels hitting the ground announced her arrival in the narrow run-down hallway. At the end of the hallway was a door with...

267 Jonah’s Bling

After recovering from his hangover Seth returned to his Blacksmith Lair where he brooded over his dark machinations. Also known as: he was planning out the gear for the Lords of Minas Mar. The first was Jonah.  

He talked with the vampiric swordman for quite some time. The result was that he would make Jonah a new set of accessories. 

Jonah didn't want a new armor. Seth agreed as he had already chosen the best possible material for it and there was not much improvem...

266. Cheater

266. Cheater

“This was your doing, Seth!” the bearded god said angrily. Hephaistos was cranky because Seth had not chosen the class he had offered. The three gods were currently sitting in the little cinema dimension and watched the highlights of Seth’s life.

“I have no idea what you are even talking about.” the god of chaos said with an ambiguous smile.

“oh, yeah. Sure “Trith”. You totally didn’t get involved.” the blacksmith god snapped sarcastically. 2021-09-13 14:55:15 +0000 UTC View Post

265. New Class

-------Delta------

“Are you sure he’s here?”

“Yeah, I had someone observe the church in case he leave it alone, slurp.”

“Uhig! He hasn’t left the church alone in three months... what’s different?”

“Now we have an army guhirgh hihi! Imagine what we can do with them after capturing! That catgirl and the spear girl! Hohoho- Oh god, just what is happening to me?”

“Get a grip! You can’t succumb at such an important moment!”

“Yeah, y...

264. The Future is now

------------Delta-----------

“Hey James, did you see these flyers?” his good friend Jess showed him a piece of paper. He had seen similar ones everywhere in the city but didn’t bother to read. Wasn’t it just some stupid advertisement again?

“Isn’t it just another scam?”

Last time it was a scam about health potions with an 18% higher effectivity and before that was jewelry that claimed to heal all diseases. These trashy scams would surface occasionally.

Si...

263. Neeco Boos

“What did you mean?” the lanky man rushed into the store following Seth. With a roguish smile, he indicated for Neeco to follow him to the second floor.

The second story was only for people who had the needed cash to buy things from this place. There were only a few people present right now. Neeco only saw the silhouette of Seth vanishing on the stairs and followed him to the third floor.

Seth sat at one of the tabled and talked to the waiter, ordering food.

“What did ...

262. Days of Development (3)

Seth had prepared enough merchandise for the store and decided to concentrate his efforts on his studies. The success in making the “Necrotic Troll Skin”-Set showed him that he did not have to concentrate on just the crafting aspects taught at the Bard College.

If he got a better idea of the demons and their history, he would not need the advice of others like Trith to know where else he could look for good effects. He also visited other courses like Song Writing, Poetry and tried t...

261. Days of Development (2)

The night outside was dark when Seth returned to his Batcave with a new plan in mind. With some of Al’Zalsa’s advice, he was sure that he would succeed. The first step was making the actual armor. Seth had 40 pieces of ice troll leather but only need 2 for the part of the armor.

For the torso, he made a long brigantine using the untreated troll leather as a base and fixing hardened reinforced plates on top of it. A pair of streamlined pauldrons made of reinforced leather for the sho...

260. Days of Development

After three days the construction work was finished. Seth had moved his smithy from the private quarters to the new workshop.

In the meantime, Seth started preparations for the grand opening of their shop. He split his time between visiting the Bard college and making uncommon and rare items for the store’s first floor.

Some of these items were practice pieces used to learn new ballads and poems. The effects of these items were the ones he was most interested in, but sometimes h...

259. Building A Workshop

As his duty in charge of the Production Seth had to make sure everyone had the fitting crafting stations for their work. The only one currently without such a thing was himself.

Since it was soon time to open their store, he needed a fitting place for grinding. There were quite a lot of ideas that had built up over the past few weeks that he wanted to implement in his workshop.

The first step was choosing the fitting spot. Seth stood in the command room with a 3d hologram of Minas...

258. Voice of Smith

The decision was made, and Jane left to speak with the owner. Set on the other hand got on his way to visit the bard college. If he remembered correctly there would be a singing practice in the afternoon and they planned to join it.

He wanted to try and gain the singing skill himself before he ended up buying it at the auction house. If it didn't work, he could still spend the money. The singing skill was very common, and few people looked for it.

It still cost a few gold coins, s...

257. Grinding the etch (3)

-------Somewhere in Delta-------------

“I still can’t believe they managed to kill Uncle Valen.”

“Stop calling that monster uncle already. What are we supposed to do now?”

“I might have an idea. I met a bunch of people during my last journey. They might be able to help us.”

“That sounds like a plan.”

---------------------------------Bard College-----

The next day after gaining the etching skill Seth visited Trith’s shop. A very dishevele...

256. Grinding the etch (2)

Seth already had a plan on what to use for practice.

Cerberus had been pumping out more than enough blanks that could be used as practice pieces. After refining them, he could etch them. If he succeeded, he could assemble them into a finished weapon.

It was also a way to build up a stock of general merchandise for the store.

Compared to the simple exercise at the college, this was a step up in difficulty. It was not just copying the runes, but he also needed to adjust their ...

255. Grinding the Etch

Ember brought him to a big alchemy store. The showroom was vast and open with isles of potions and shelves of ingredients. It gave him the impression of a mix between pharmacy and a witch’s kitchen.

The strong smell of herbs, dried stuff and potions filled the air. Beside the clerk at the counter, there were 2 or 3 employees helping customers find and choose what they needed.

Seth felt satisfied when he could not only buy a bulk of common ink but even got it for free on top of p...

254. Music Mantis

Etching the runes became quite fun once he got into the rhythm. His high dexterity and experience in engraving were a big help in guiding the brush.

If he kept going like this, he would be able to gain the corresponding skill in a matter of hours. He could have gone on until then, but the exercise ended after two hours.

Seth had the books on runes and ballads and a rough idea about how etching worked. It was time to leave for the day.  He wanted to get some ink from Trith and...

253. Working!

Seth’s break ended that day and he started to seriously work on the development of Minas Mar and his own skills. The first step was leaving everything concerning the store to Mary and Jane!
The two wanted to be the administrative personal? Then they should take care of finding a good location, registering a business and everything else needed.

Seth took care of connecting the tower to the college. It was easier than expected. The demon district had its own interference field and w...

252. Flyte or Flight Reaction (2)

“Puny human, hear me preach! Don’t grasp for stars you can not reach!” Keegan shouted as he charged toward Seth swinging his mace. He didn’t bother letting Keegan get close and struck down with his mighty rod.

The Demon barely evaded the half-heartedly swung staff.

“Errm, my stick is long, yours is short, seeing you wave it makes me snort.”

He rushed forward and stabbed Keegan’s abdomen, hurling him across the ground. Keegan tried to prop himself up and speak b...

251. Flyte or Flight Reaction

His chance to run was gone. He could only sit back down and pull the cloak deeper into his face. Did Trith run because of this tradition? The noobs had to take ridicule from their seniors?

Maybe not, but Seth had no idea about flyting. He would probably be ripped to shreds.

“Don’t worry, if you are lucky you might be able to hide after the lesson.”

“You aren’t planning to play nice now and call me out later, are you?”

She only answered with a mischievous sm...

250. Bard College

Seth’s eye twitched.

“You are telling me to go back to school?”

“No, college. As long as you join you can use the facilities and visit the lessons in any manner you like.”

“And what do I need to join?” Seth sighed.

“Only the recommendation of a certified master.” the demon said with a big smile.

“Like you?”

“Like me! I will give a recommendation letter.”

“Why would you do that?” Seth asked warily.

“Oh, don’t wor...

249. Ballads and Epics await

Seth decided to stay open-minded for now. He had a goal in coming here. To sightsee and maybe find a demon blacksmith to learn new ballads. At this point, blacksmithing had become his hobby just as much as his class.

There was a lot of satisfaction in creating things and watching his skills grow. he had developed a zeal to make even more and greater stuff.

It didn’t mean he gave up on his dream of lazing around with Fin and playing games! It just had to wait until he found a way...

248. Victory Break

The next few days went without a hitch. Everyone did as they liked.  Seth sent his letters and checked his finances. On their days off he would explore the city with Fin and Mina, otherwise, he would stroll around alone.

Delta was different from Y-City or Alpha, his hometown. Other districts were a vast megalopolis. As a district built as the seat of government, Delta had a smaller population and a much better structure.

It was split into residential districts, governmental d...

247. Farewell

Seth did not have the chance yet, to check his loot. He brought out the sharp tooth and very long thick fingernail. The fang was okay, but the claw provoked visible disgust from the others, It was not pretty to look at.

<Old Vampires Fang, Crafting Material, Epic

The fang of an old Ori Vampire who managed to survive for centuries in a world without magic. High compatibility with blood magic and life force. >

<Old Vampire Claw, Crafting Material, Rare

The claw ...

246. Morning Mood

What was left of Valen after Cerberus was done with him had hardly any resemblance with a living being. This was how far they had to go to bring it close enough to death. Vampire really had a scary vitality.

The fire from below had now reached where he had fought Valen. Seth had no idea what other useful thing there could be on these minced remains and decided to use the system option to harvest them.

He got one vampire fang and a claw. And a grey powder he could not identify. Not...