Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Chapter 1292: Neecoʼs Obsession

When Seth entered Neecoʼs workshop, he could not avoid noticing the set of robes placed on the dress form in the center of the room. The Judy, adjusted to fit Dowloonʼs height and measurements, was wearing clothes that resembled the traditional style cultivators usually wore, but with a clear influence of its maker.

Seth had come to know Neeco Boos as a tailor with the goal to put adventurerʼs into super hero suits. As the main tailor of Minas Mar, the blacksmith had managed to dial his ambitions down to the suits, padding, and robes that were worn under or in combination with armor.

Eveeʼs Death Set was a good example of this style of mixed armor in the style of the system. However, left alone with Dowloon to come up with the design of her robes, they had obviously managed to influence the poison user.

From what Seth had seen o the robes of cultivators so far, they usually consisted of several, cumbersome layers, with the lowest being something resembling a shirt and pants. The set of robes on the dummy resembled that at first glance, but his appraisal told him that there were actually only two pieces of clothing; a shirt and a robe.

Apart from the structural difference, it looked like what a comic artist from Urth would picture a warrior from the Cloud Continent. The inner shirt was a kind of tunic, or surcoat, falling all the way to the knees.

Made from a smooth, black fabric, it featured silver clasps and gray embroidery to give it contrast. At least the embroidery seemed to serve the purpose of hiding the embroidered enchantments on the shirt. The silver clasps were simple .

On top of that came the robe. The body part had a pattern of various layers of cloth sewn into it, making it resemble a kind of cloth armor. The sleeves of the robe were very wide and seemed reinforced to hold a kind of oval shade like fins, ending in smooth curves.

What made it look like a fantasy outfit was the fact that the overcoat was shorter than the surcoat beneath, making it look like the wearer fought in a knee-length skirt. On top of that, the wide sleeves would make the wearer look extremely top-heavy, like a spinning top.

“Please tell me you are at least giving her pants to wear with this...” were the first words the blacksmith mumbled as a greeting, nodding at the unfinished outfit on the Judy. Neeco had stood up from his work desk, when Seth entered to greet him, now he stopped in place.

“Of course, the pants are over here, “ he said awkwardly, pointing at a folded pair of pants on the corner of his desk. Seth bet that they were skin tight, but at least they seemed to be made from a thicker, durable fabric and not just leggings.
“Okay. So, why did you call me?” the blacksmith asked the tailor. According to Dowloonʼs wishes, she wanted heaven-grade robes that could withstand her poisons. It seemed like the major part of the fabric used was actually made with a thread Neeco had spun from Dowloonʼs own Poison Energy, making the robe not just immune to poison, and maybe poisonous to touch.

Although couldnʼt judge the final rating, with the embroidery and tailor techniques, Seth was pretty sure it was going to be relic-rated, meeting the heaven-grade requirement.

Following his question, Neeco brought out a few papers with sketches on them. Reading out loud as he looked through the papers, he counted down what he wanted one by one.

“We need about 50 small, triangular blades, set in tracks that can be sewn into the fabric of the sleeves to create retractable serrated rims. A pair of bracers that can be added to the sleeves of the inner tunic. A fine chain shirt to be worn between the layers. Protectors that can be added to the pants, and a special pair of boots as described on this blueprint-” he ended, holding up the last paper with a sketch of a pair of boots with gimmicks like retractable blades.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The blacksmith stared at him for a long moment with pursed lips, then he took away the stack of papers, too quickly for Neeco to react. The tailor was clearly out of his mind, completely entranced by the project. No matter how excited the tailor was, the blacksmith wasnʼt going to be taken advantage of.

“Ask the workshops for the tiny blades, that is not worth my time,” he started off, placing the sketches of the small triangular baby blades on the desk. “Same goes for the protectors and bracers. Epic materials will suffice for either. Any of the craftsmen can take care of that. Donʼt even try to bother Tored with this,” he stated, putting the blueprints for those on the stack with the blades.

“Those two are clearly not part of the agreement,” he said, putting the pages for the mail and boot in a second stack on the desk. “Neither boots nor mail were part of her original request. If she wants custom armor and boots, she has to request and pay separately, like any other member of Minas Mar.” S̩

The 10-year-contract with Dowloon stated heaven-grade robes that would not decay through the use of her skills and powers as down payment for her service. As mentioned, robes could mean a lot in the definition of a cultivator, but not shoes or metal armor.

Especially armor was excluded from the agreement, since Seth had felt mildly offended at the time, when she requested clothes from a blacksmith. Since she kind of tried to abuse the promise of a legendary item, not specified what exactly, the blacksmith had made sure she wasnʼt going to get anything more than she asked in the contract.

“Then...?” Neeco asked, unsure what exactly he should even ask, but Seth kind of understood what he meant. The tailor was unsure how to proceed, as the blacksmith didnʼt just agree.

“Donʼt bother Hoen or Wedan. You will get what is missing to finish the outfit from one of the new hires, I think Neill will be good for this. He recently reached the Journeyman Tier and ranked up to an Indomitable Blacksmith. Liam still has a habit of over-stylizing everything, and even if he has a higher level, Neilʼs item will probably have better base stats.

Iʼm guessing you will ask Grant to give the pieces arcane enchantments when everything is done, right? “ he halted for a moment to give Neeco the chance to answer. The tailor was listening as if in trance and simply nodded.

“Then Neill will definitely be the better choice. Complete those three pieces and inform Dowloon as soon as possible that she has to request the mail and boots separately from the Workshops or have a look in the guild safe, once she officially joined,” the blacksmith ended his explanation.

“B-but what if she doesnʼt agree?” Boos asked unsure. Seth squinted at him and could imagine how his previous talks with Dowloon went. He could bet that Neeco didnʼt even remember the wording of the contract in his excitement to make a full fantasy set, probably giving the impression that all of it was part of the contract agreement.

“Tough luck. Tell her that we can void the contract and keep the finished pieces if she disagrees with the fulfillment requirements. After all, we donʼt want to force her into 10 years of servitude. Thatʼs bad for the workplace climate,” Seth said with a shrug.

They could always find someone else interest in a relic-rated set, whether it was among their members or simply selling it to someone outside. If Dowloon wanted to take advantage of the wording of a promise but broke a contract over the same transgression, she wasnʼt the person Seth judged her to be, and not the kind of person he wanted to hire either.

“Oh, I see then, if she disagrees I will explain this to her,” Neeco said a little unconvinced. Seth could understand him. He had been quite excited about tailoring this set for her. The set not going to the person he made it for was a disappointment, but there was only a small chance that would happen.

On the other hand, there was a bigger chance Neeco may do something stupid to make sure it didnʼt happen.

“Donʼt even try to request these things for her in your name. I will tell the guys about this, and they wonʼt make boots or mail like this for you,” Seth warned him. On the other hand, he couldnʼt stop the tailor from using his money to buy the stuff from the armory or outside, so he didnʼt mention that. Seth could only make sure he wouldnʼt waste the time of the blacksmiths.

“I would never!” Neeco said indignantly.

“Sure.. anyway, I will get back to my work now.”