Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Chapter 621: Feather of the Beast

Relic

Durability: 1500

1. +70% Earth Affinity

2. +150% to the effect of all Earth-Attribute Magic

3.+45% additional Curse Damage to Earth-Attribute Skills

4.+15% health regeneration when standing on firm ground.

5.+75% Power to all Spells

6.+125% Mana Regenration

7.+45% Chant Reduction

8. Passive Skill: Prospector

A diamond in the rough made by the hands of Craftsman Smith and blessed by a primordial existence pleased with the purity had been refined by Master Al’Zalsar’s enchantments.

Once rumors of the ring’s power spread or it plays a role in the user’s ascend to a legend, the item might become legendary.>

Al’Zalsar’s Skills were nothing to scoff at. The power of the ring had multiplied compared to its previous state and it had gained several more functions that improved its benefit to a mage, especially those of the earth attribute.

Seth was intrigued by the skill that could strengthen one’s earth spells based on the ground below their feet. When he asked the sorceress how she did it, she explained that she had linked it to the blessing of Behemoth that improved health regeneration when standing firmly on solid ground.

He looked forward to how much more powerful it could become if he found the fitting soul and enchantment for the soul. He was quite happy with the ring, and it didn’t seem like Al was in the mood to entertain his curiosity much longer.

The blacksmith grabbed what was left of his chain-breaker items and scampered back to Minas Mar. With these potential legendary items in his bag, he would have to rearrange his plans a little depending on who he would give these to.

A sword, a helmet, and a dagger. On the way back, the blacksmith deliberated who to give these to, but after thinking for some time, he found that there was no perfect answer. The final powers of these items were too much of a mystery.

This was why he let his gut decide. Although Mike was the Sword Demon, he decided to give the angel sword to Jonah, the Vampiric Swordsman. The overall aesthetic of the sword, its mystical power, and the potential it had just fit a lot better to him. In the end, he was not only giving them items to strengthen them, but also to make them more attractive to gods. A streamlined image was important.

Unlike the sword, Seth had even less of an idea of what the dagger and the helmet were capable of. Since Mina had already told him, that she wouldn’t switch weapons, the choice for the dagger was quite clear, Lydia. If she ended up not liking the dagger, he would make her another one anyway.

Lastly the helmet… Seth could make an educated guess, that it would probably come with some types of resistance and probably effects that would support a caster which was why he decided to give this one to Bulko. Powerful resistances, especially against mind effects, would have a powerful effect on the whole party thanks to Bulko’s class as a Mirror Cleric that could share his own stats with others. With this, he could technically tick off three people on his list of people that needed a legendary item. Four including Monique.

The only question left was whether he would get proficiency for the items, once they were recognized by the system…he didn’t expect it, but if it happened it would be a nice surprise. However, he didn’t bet on it.

Seth had slightly adjusted his plans since he finished Tatzel’s Sacrifice. After his initial shock over the amount of proficiency needed died down, a preposterous idea blossomed in the blacksmith’s mind. Who said legendary items couldn’t be mass-produced?

If he made some concessions and streamlined some processes… Others may call him crazy, but Seth liked to think of himself as efficient. He decided to optimize his workflow by standardizing the items, similar to how he did it with the oath armors and accessories, although to a lesser degree.

The casters like Lyxiss, Alison, Jess, Elly, Evan, Ray, or Shay had only asked for accessories without closer specifications. They wouldn’t each need individual forging ballads which allows Seth to make the same base for all of their items. He decided on his tried and true method to make ring blanks.

Making the same base ring for all of them would cut the production time by a lot, while it wouldn’t really lower the quality of the final result, since he would customize the rings using the enchantments and souls.

He was just thinking of this, when he noticed that his step had brought him to the city center, instead of the system church. He was close to Minas Mar’s surface office but decided to pay a visit to the Turquoise Anvil.

Upon entering the store he found it rather…empty. The usually filled shelves and rags were almost devoid of merchandise. Had someone gone on a shopping spree?

“Hello, Tower Master! What brought you here so early in the morning?” the clerk asked with her well-trained smile.

“I was just close by and thought of visiting. Did some big spender suddenly appear, or why is the shop almost empty?”

“Ah, yes! The great Nelgiv Guild was here last week and bought a lot on credit!”

Seth had been quite happy, hearing that someone had bought so much, however his face fell when he heard the last words.

“Credit?” he asked very seriously.

“Yes! It was great. Especially their guild master is so dashing!”

“But we don’t give credit. Items are to be paid upfront.” Seth said coldly, ignoring the clerks swooning.

“The boss made and except-“

Seth squinted and suddenly shoved Laraweg on the clerk’s head.

“T-Tower master? What are you doing?”

“You sold items on credit?”

“Of course no- No we did… why did we? I’m sorry Master, I have no idea what happened!” the clerk suddenly pleaded in panic.

The clerk may have been clueless, but Seth was quite clear about what had happened. Someone had used mind tricks to swindle items from them. By putting his helmet on the clerk’s head, the item’s effect had gotten rid of the manipulation, since it gave 100% immunity to mind effects.

He was more concerned about Jane. If it also happened to Jane, who wore soul armaments, it had to be a very powerful magic or skill.

“Where is Jane?”

“She tending to our guests… from the Nelgiv Guild in the restaurant.”

Ill-humored, Seth ascended the stairs with heavy stomps. He really had enough work and now he was forced to deal with something like this. At least the culprits were present and didn’t force him to search them all around the city.

He found the restaurant empty, while Jane was personally serving 8-10 rowdy guests at a central table.

“Jane. What are you doing and why is the restaurant empty?”

“Oh, Seth! I’m serving our guests of honor! They have rented the whole restaurant for the day.”

This small exchange was more than enough for Seth to see, that Jane was also under some spell. To even be able to manipulate Jane, he could only suspect the perpetrator to be a chosen. He doubted any normal skill could permanently enchant her, despite wearing soul armaments.

“Hey, who are you to disturb us? Are you her boyfriend?” one of the drunks asked, suddenly putting an arm around Jane’s shoulder. His face was red from alcohol.

“Hehe, sorry but she’s with us now. I hope you don’t mind if we have some fun with her later?” The rest of the table laughed. Seth watched his grubby hand move, to grope Jane’s chest…

The table suddenly fell silent. Together with a cut-off hand, the mood hit rock bottom.

“Seth?” Jane cried out, as the guy squealed like a pig, holding the stump of his arm.

“Who allowed you to touch my things? I’m not her boyfriend, I am her employer.”

The rest of the table didn’t listen to him. In their drunken stupor, they belatedly jumped up. They unsheathed their weapons and donned their armor, of which many were made by Seth himself.

“I am also the owner of this place and I heard some disturbing things. Stuff like “buying on credit” and “renting the whole place”. Can you even imagine my displeasure?”

They jumped at him, but he had already grabbed Jane and changed places using the star escape. Although Seth was speaking calmly, he was boiling inside after seeing that someone had used a kind of charm on his people.

However, after the initial cut, he put the Ravenous Sog back in his inventory. The real perpetrator was not among them, so he didn’t intend to cripple them any more than already done. Seeing their weapons, he was assured his fists were more than enough to teach them a lesson.