blacksmithoftheapocalypse

71. Arrival

“Hello! We just reached Oriekot and wanted to ask for the general information about inns, dungeons, and what else would be important to know.”

He put his adventurer card into the tray on the counter. She checked is information and was mildly surprised that he was an ori huma. A C-Rank human and a B-Rank fairy traveling together would be an odd pair anywhere else, but Oriekot was the hub of many races. C-Ranks were quite common in Oriekot and B-Ranks were not rare, so their strength ...

70.Oriekot

They did well in trusting the B-Rank party. These people knew what they did and the journey commenced without any hiccups. The money for the ticket was well-spent.

During this journey Fin and Seth could be mostly found lazing around either in their cabin or on deck. The little Ivicer especially enjoyed the time it could sun on the deck.

Don´t misunderstand, Seth also did something productive! Seth checked the contents of the weapon crates they had gotten from the dungeon. He had ...

69. River Tour

Seth spent the time until their departure collecting information on the continent. He had roughly known the characteristic of this place after he had talked with Simon, the priest from Starta. However, the church did not give him a lot of info up front. After reading and skimming through a bunch of books in the library he had a better idea of the place he had entered. The books helped him to fill his <Map> with names.

The world was called Namia and as Cerno Bolk, the Ivicer had to...

68. A good read

“Oh! Seth! There you are!”, a haughty voice with a tint of friendliness called out as they returned to the palace. It was the diabolical looking, but not so evil wizard Megito!

“I have what you asked me for! I already had it the last time I visited, but you were on your little excursion- I mean dungeon dive.”

Some weeks ago, Seth had asked the wizard who kept traveling between Oriekot and Zhiqe to try and buy him a skill book for the skill Ikram had mentioned. With this, h...

67. Revisit

Seth experimented a little more and guessed that he needed 10 to 20 small souls to change one into <Soul(medium)>. What did not change was the rating! Even these medium souls were rated as common. This meant he probably could not make uncommon souls from common ones.

He could think about it all day and get nowhere, so he just tested around and soon found a clear answer. He remembered that the vengeful Soul in his bow had been small, so he simply started infusing souls into the bow...

66. Experimenting

In the small cocoon, maybe the size of a handball was a small baby Ivicer. It had felt the warmth of the sun for the first time and promptly heard someone talking of taking it away from it again! It collected all its power and gave off a weak telepathic shout of disagreement. Its weak and soft voice startled its carrier and the evil witch that wanted to take the sun away from it!

"I guess it can hear us? Hey, little one, did you listen in on the conversation we had with your dad, too?",...

65. Pet?

“You know...”, Fin whispered in his ear, “maybe you could register it as a pet once you reach lv.20?”

““What?””, Seth and Cerno Bolk said at the same time. The giant boss and an unbelievable fine sense of hearing.

“A pet, really?”

“What do you mean a pet? I will let you know; all offspring inherit the memories of their parent! Don´t think you could treat the child like an animal!”, Cerno said indignantly.

“Oh! No! That’s not how it works!�...

64.Ivicer

"Now then, Foolish human, has your curiosity been satisfied?", a deep booming voice echoed through the darkness and their minds. Both turned around in shock!

<Ding! You have witnessed the terror of Dungeon Master "Cerno Bolk Ivicer". INT +1 Experience gained.>

They completely froze. Fin even forgot to fly for a moment and almost fell to the ground. It was almost the same as the holy beast they had seen! Just five times bigger!

The golden head with a neck frill or shiel...

63 The Reach

Under the light of the fairy´s magic, the walls sparkled in a mix of green and copper. They had walked deeper and deeper for several hours. They wanted to reach places no one else had before. That why they used Seth´s <Map> to always choose the ways leading down. Fin had taken care of everything and packed rations for several weeks! Which would probably last for a week, if the two were honest about the eating habits. They kept making frequent lunch breaks on the way.

Anyways, co...

62.Joint Dungeon Dive

Seth raised his eyebrow. "And why would you want that?"

"Oh, please. I don´t mean any harm. It´s just, no skillful blacksmith has been to Zhiqe for years and suddenly someone appears and offers to equip the personal guards for a fraction of the market price. And in just a few weeks to boot. You have to understand that I am a little suspicious. What if you are not as skilled as you say, or just run off with the money?"

Seth thought for a moment about it. Megitos concerns were und...

61. Guild Master

In the afternoon Seth had just finished the fourth blade and quenched it in the water when Fin suddenly came rushing into the armory. She excitedly started talking like a waterfall!

"Seth! Fin knows now where the old guild master is hiding! Fin used her impeccable interrogation skills to have Old man Jenkins tell her! She is called Yudrid and is hiding somewhere in the old district! Does Seth remember? The maze-like part of this town. That's where she is somewhere!", while talking at hi...

60. Ancient Bronze

Ancient Bronze. Seth had used the last day to collect more experience in smelting and the use of his new skill. The skill had improved his efficiency tremendously and after yesterday he felt like his <Fire Manipulation> was close to level up!

He wanted to start and melt down the ancient bronze trinkets and weapons he bought. Maybe he could even find out the recipe, if he managed to split the alloy! He would be the only one who could produce Ancient Bronze at the present, a materia...

59. A Day in Zhiqe

Now that this was out of the way, Seth could concentrate on all the small things that had cropped up until now. The easiest thing was to finally scan the Ancient Bronze trinkets that held some damaged enchantments!

He had 5 trinkets that showed sign of simple magic circuits! When he scanned them, he got fragmented circuits?  Luckily 3 of the 5 were complimentary and turned into one enchantment that could increase the wearers defense and health regeneration.  So, it did somethi...

58.Aftermath

“hmm, I see. You are only briefly visiting.”

Seth stood in a wide black desert under a black sky with a dim gray sun. Before him stood a giant dwarf made of Soul Fire, illuminating the dreary scenery. His booming voice vibrated deep in Seth´s chest.

“You combined my class with an interesting skill. But you still have a lot to learn. It´s good you are only here temporarily; you have barely started inheriting my legacy!”

“Who are-”, Seth started, but the giant dw...

57. First Dungeon(2)

Seth walked along the dark and narrow basement corridor with just the little magic lantern. It led like a brick-walled tube further and further into the darkness. He kept checking and marking the doors on either side of the way. he had not seen any forks or crossroad yet.

Recently most of the new rooms he came across were empty. Once in a while there was one with some furniture or other junk. He would have probably stopped walking or changed direction if the corridor was not slowly chan...

56. First Dungeon

The little magic lantern was just enough to illuminate the narrow staircase down. The steps were moist and the air smelled of mold, earth, or maybe it was decay? Seth understood now, how their weapons were in such a bad condition. The humidity of the surrounding marshland was ubiquitous, but it became really clear as he entered the damp basement vault.

It reminded him more of a maze-like medieval prison, than a storage area. There were many doors to storage rooms along a narrow corridor...

55. Explanations and Excuses

"And what would you trade me for the karfunkel?", Seth asked interested. An experienced hunter such as Yudrid could have all kinds of interesting material! Upon his question the dwarf left the room and went back into her workshop, only to soon come back with a sizable chest in her hands.

"In here are two ingots of dark steel and 5 chunks of black iron ore. I will waive the costs for dismantling the Snake and give you another 25 gold on top. All of it together should come to a worth of a...

54. Library and Karfunkel

The lord was not that old, but he looked like a middle-aged as the hardships and worries of the past years had taken their toll. His clothes sat lose as if he had lost a lot of weight and the otherwise dark hair was crossed by grey streaks. Listening to his son explaining Seth´s suggestion brought some color back to his face.

Seth had no idea what hardships this man had weathered, for a noble and powerful man like him to react as such to a simple offer from a blacksmith. BUT! He did no...

53. A Deal?

Ikram smirked at that offer. Where had such a person suddenly come from in these sticks? No blacksmith worth his money had visited Zhiqe since the surrounding had become this dangerous. Not to mention living here. Ikram did the best they could to stabilize the cities situation together with his father the lord, but the surrounding kept becoming more dangerous and regular trade had almost stopped. They could not buy better equipment, even if they had the money to!

"Hmm, yes go ahead. Naz...

52. The Bazaar

"Simon!"

The priest hurriedly blocked the fist of justice aiming for his face. In further consequence he had stood up and his towel unraveled a little, threatening to deal tremendous psychological damage to Seth, if the towel were to slip any further!

"Please wait, Seth! Calm down! Neither of us want this towel to slip down!", this blatant threat stopped Seth in his tracks. Right, if that towel fell, it would be a whole other kind of personal apocalypse for Seth. He took...

51. Grumpy Hunter?

Seth and Asso were at the border to the old district. he really had not missed these dark and damp alleyways that formed a confusing maze.

"Why would anyone open a shop in this place?", he asked not really expecting an answer, but still got one.

"The land is cheap here, I guess.? This was once the most vital place of the city, you know? Wares and supplies would all via the river into the city. So many shops and jobs were located here and man people lived here."

There really ...

50. Becoming an Adventurer

Seth had talked about this with Fin in detail. He had opened up to the fairy about his class and needs during their leisure time on boaty. Fin had been very surprised that Seth actually had a unique production class, but did not say much else about it. They had concentrated on his options form here on.

As a registered adventurer he could enter dungeons to level up and gather materials. It also made travel easier since locals often held a higher opinion of adventurer, than people from ot...

49. Zhiqe(3)

After a small introduction Seth, Fin, Mary, Asso and the secretary of the former guild master and head receptionist, Olivia, were all sitting in a big meeting room of the guild hall. The room was not dirty, but you could see the lack of care it experienced over the years.

What it lacked in maintenance was made up in hospitality. Seth and Fin were settled with a hot cup of tea and a plate of sugary pastry native to Zhiqe. It contained very sweet honey and tasted quite succulent. The tea�...

48.Zhiqe(2)

The change was like a completely different word. Like breaking through the water surface after a long dive or seeing the light of day after wandering through dark caves.

Before them lay spacious streets bathed in the bright light of the sun.

"See! Asso did not lie to you. Asso told you he would bring you here.", the lizardman said jovial and turned around. his eyes squinted and a faint golden glow came from his eyes. With a deep voice he continued.

"And now we are at the poi...

47. Zhiqe

Magna Buzzy, a monster resembling a hippopotamus the size of an elephant and additional teeth like a crocodile.

Such a beast lifted its head out of the water in front of Seth´s and Fin little boaty. And it was hungry for human meat!

"Fin!", he grabbed the little squishy fairy in his fist and started shaking and spinning her around to wake her up!

"Puak! I´m awake, stop sha~king me!", she screamed in desperation.

"Look!", he pointed the little fairy towards the beast ...

46. Last Words

The sun had finally returned to its rightful place, and so did Seth´s clothes.

"Seth! Are you okay? Fin was re~ally worried!", the little fairy asserted.

"Don´t give me that! I heard you laugh up there!", he said while fixing his travelling clothes.

"Buh! It´s not Fin´s fault Seth jumped around naked like a deviant!", she pouted sulky and turned away, so the young man couldn´t see her blush.

"I did this for survival!", Seth defended his actions.

"Ding! Title...

45. A little Break

Hidden in the flames of the burning guild branch, Seth had finally some time to take a breather. He massaged his sore body, that had been hit by a few more dark projectiles during their escape. he was lucky, that it hit the plate armor this time and not the cloth. Big dark bruised came to light after he had unequipped the dented steel plates. Seth had finally time to really check his status.

Name: Seth Smith

Affiliation: System Church

Title: "Faster than the Thought"

L...

44. The Holy Beast?

So far, the strategy was working. When the crowds split up because of the fire, Fin was also able to interrupt the priests. As a caster class, their defenses were much lower, so the fairy could finally deal some heavy damage among the opponents.

The burning status had also started to show it´s worth as a DOT (damage of time). Most of the Temple Guardians were missing 1/4 to 1/2 of their health bar. Still, their numbers kept increasing.

Seth had spent about a third of his flaming ...

43.Cheese for Everyone!

Once the hateful sun vanished behind the horizon and left the world in darkness, they left the depths of their lair.

They had been the guardian of the temple and servants of the gods in a time immemorial. Their realm had been great and their influence reached far across the continent. They had sacrificed their lives and the vitality of their domain to seal and age-old evil below the foundation of their deity.

Here they had found their final resting place as honorable heroes of the...

42.Guild Log

The book was half filled with the personal logs of the guild master, with the last written pages in the middle smeared with blood.

"Try starting a few pages before the last ones.", Seth suggested the obvious.

23rd day of  Snowfire, Yr. 564, Namia Calendar.

Guild operations are nominal. Our request for the deployment of a A-Rank party, and a high-level scribe, for the further exploration of the Ancient Temple has been granted...

Monster activities of the temple rui...