《Blacksmith of the Apocalypse》927. Forgot to close the door
Advertisement
The hammer that had taken shape under the rhythmic strikes of the blacksmith resembled a big judge's gavel made of silver with golden ribbons. Seth chose this design because it fit Tyr's justice aspect while the requirement for Maxwell's silver hammer was a hammer with two flat faces, instead of a traditional war hammer. But it also wasn't just a solid hunk of metal.
While its faces were solid, the body of the hammerhead was a hollow skeleton made of different geometrical shapes. This lightened the head and saved material for the handle, while not compromising the structural integrity of the weapon.
Now, this would have still been a risky play because of the softness of the base material, but Seth didn't worry. He had taken this into account when he changed his mind on the enchantments he would use. This was the next step, he would-
“Seth? What was that just now?” Hoen and Wedan suddenly appeared at the door of the workshop, some of the other Blacksmiths like Neill standing behind them.
“What do you mean?” Seth asked puzzled.
~They were affected by your song.~ Oz commented. The bard had forgotten to close the door to the workshop correctly
“It's okay if you need our contribution in a forging ballad, but you should really inform us beforehand,” Neill added. He had been slightly disturbed by the weird feeling, although it didn't really interfere with his work.
“I'm sorry, guys. I didn't know it was a ballad that affected you, otherwise, I would have put up a barrier,” the blacksmith apologized to his friends and colleagues. There were not many forging ballads that could be improved by having several craftsmen join and had not known Maxwell's Silver Hammer was one of them. On second thought, maybe it made sense since it was the song of a bard troop and not a single artist.
“I will be more careful in the future,” he assured them.
“It's okay. Just like Neill said, just give us a message beforehand. It's not like I would complain, I managed to finish my item as a relic because of this,” Hoen said with a smile and brought out a forging hammer made of epic . It seemed that he had coincidentally been working on a new hammer for himself when Seth's ballad took control.
Advertisement
“Congratz!” “Well done!” Seth and the other craftsmen around congratulated him on his work. Although Seth was able to constantly create relics when he was a craftsman, it wasn't the same for others, who couldn't just infuse a soul into their works. After a moment of celebration, everyone got back to their work, since the misunderstanding was cleared up.
Seth took the hammer he had just forged and brought it over to the enchantment table. The next step was adding the enchantment that would make up for the hammer's low durability. Although the first thought was adding the master-level Durability enchantment, even that would not have been enough to make up for the material's weakness.
The blacksmith sat down and activated the system guidance with the blueprint he had made. It was not that he needed it, but it was better to have some assistance on a complicated project, as he was planning to cover the whole hammer in a complicated enchantment.
Now, this wasn't some divine enchantment that Hephaestus' Automaton Core Circuit, but actually one commonly known, although it was not used often, because it took almost all of the space on a workpiece.
The circuit which looked like a complicated mix of geometric shapes that covered the whole hammer, was the highest level of the Mending enchantments. It was not an enchantment that was useful in combat or strengthened the wielder, but it allowed the craftsman to endow an item with a property similar to memory steel.
That was a metal that could bend itself back to its original shape when heated. Mending was similar. The extensive circuit was like the memory of its original shape. If the hammer was damaged, the user just had to infuse mana into the material to repair it. Of course, the mana cost depended on the damage and the material of the item.
Usually, it was not a very popular enchantment since it took away a lot of space and the mana cost was immense, even for common materials. The mana cost was not Something Seth had to mind, since that would be shouldered by the soul he was going to infuse. This way the hammer would instantly repair itself, if it was damaged.
Advertisement
In addition, Seth also added the strength enchantment. However, it was the one he used to use, not the master tier since he was able to do that on his own. The blacksmith feared the overall enchantment would become too complicated if he used the automated circuit fusion.
The shape of the hammer head itself was already tricky to engrave as it was. By weaving the less complicated strength circuit in by hand, he was able to place it on an easier part, like the handle. Apart from the difficult structure of the head, there were no problems with the enchantment and Seth finished the enchantment in time for lunch.
“What are you even making, Tower master?” Neill asked him on the way to lunch break. He was still uncomfortable calling Seth by his name and Seth wasn't going to force him.
“I'm working on the holy hammer for the leader of Gamma Resistance. It will be our first legendary item to go public in preparation for the Tournament, “ the blacksmith explained.
“It's not even funny anymore, how casually we are talking about legendary items at this point,” Hoen commented with a wry smile. Back in the day, just seeing a legendary item was one of his greatest dreams, now he was constantly surrounded by them. He even had a good chance that Seth would at some point give them legendary materials. Then even he could...
“That's just how special new worlds of the system are. There is a reason why the elites scramble to get a piece of the cake whenever another world is added to the Pathworks,” Wedan commented disparagingly.
In the very beginning, Seth had always thought that forces like Chrona, Spatia, or the Muir Empire invaded because of the improved stats of Ori Humas and their lack of a level limit or the world's resources. Ori Huma were a resource to reckon with and the resources were also a big draw, but the bigger reason was Age of Gods.
The gods would choose people in a new world to either represent them or to spread their name. Their power was far above a normal player in many cases and sometimes they even brought along special material. Legendary materials that did not need anybody to fight a legendary creature or find it in some dangerous place.
It was actually Leana who had explained to him the true importance of Master Craftsmen to forces like the Chrona Empire. It was part of the explanation why he shouldn't publicize his true skills too early.
As seen with Minas Mar, a single master that could constantly bring out powerful items was an immense gain for any organization. Coupled with an empire that would support them with materials and equipment, the results were incredible.
The loot from the Y-City and TS9 were a good example. Even the forces they sent out to support allies from the shadows were equipped with legendary items and many of them showed that Spatia had at least two master-tier enchanters who were able to create legendary items. The cost of legendary enchantments was another question but the conclusion this all led to was:
If the scene and the representative of Chrona in Delta had not royally messed up and driven all the people to Minas Mar, Seth would have ended up competing with foreign powers, vying to give the chance to make these special equipment to their own craftsmen.
He would also have to face recruitment offers and threats, once his skills became public. At this point, however, Seth did not have to fear it. The blacksmith felt prepared for what was to come.
Advertisement
- In Serial249 Chapters
Maker of Fire
On a world where magic kept civilization firmly in the bronze age, the Gods dropped an accountant and a mining engineer to start a political and industrial revolution. They wanted enlightened governance and a fast track to the iron age. They got indoor plumbing, paper airplanes, a cranky queen, and one very grumpy prophet. Dramatis Personae Aylem was a bookkeeping student when she died. The Gods reincarnated her as the greatest mage ever known, born into the ruling class of gigantic, magic-wielding humans. The Gods expect her to conquer the world and introduce double-entry accounting. Though Queen and numerical reformer, world conquest is stalled because everyone is scared of her and she doesn't like war. Emily was a retired engineer when she died. The Gods reincarnated her as one of the enslaved class of small, magicless humans. The Gods expect her to drag the world out of the bronze age. Though she's already recreated matches and wrought iron, introducing technology isn't going well because she was born a slave (oops) and having escaped, wants nothing to do with so-called "civilization." Asgotl was a whale when he died. The Gods reincarnated him as a griffin and expect him to have the same role he played in his previous life: to keep a reluctant prophet from walking off the job. If only they had remembered to tell him about it. Revised update schedule will be once a week on Saturdays, noonish Mountain Time (in North America)
8 217 - In Serial28 Chapters
Beyond Floating
Muse thought her life had ended twenty years ago because, well, it had. Existing aimlessly for two decades as a ghost, she finds herself yanked along in a rip-tide of strange events. Thrust unwittingly into the midst of a group of paranormal hitmen-for-hire led by a man named Isaac. Michael, a normally rational and righteous holy soldier of God, succumbs to revenge and hatred, sacrificing everything in the fight to destroy Isaac and everyone who associates with him. Muse, by virtue of her inadvertent association with Isaac, is on that list. This is actually my first 'finished' fiction that I've ever written, which I completed about 8 years ago. I dug it up recently and I'm posting it as I thought people here might get a kick out of it. So, take that for what you will. Chapters will be released daily at 6:00pm EST.
8 114 - In Serial89 Chapters
Why I am me
You may know me as the worst tyrant in history, as the enemy of all life, as a mistake or maybe the greatest leader of all time. Maybe you even know my real name. Petrió Mill. Most likely you know what I did, but not why. I'm going to give you the full story on how I became hated by almost everyone, from the start of my life all the way here. To my message for everyone. To the end of my reign. To... my death.
8 160 - In Serial26 Chapters
The Demon Eye Gem
Life for a swamp goblin is usually pretty straightforward. Avoid the giant snakes, gators, wild boars, and the other creatures of the wetlands. Steal whatever supplies you need from the nearby farms, and go on raids against the nearest towns for the sheer thrill of causing chaos. Dizzy was just a goblin. A swamp goblin. The kind of guy that adventurers kill without a thought while on their way to their real adventure. Mischievous but kind, silly and not an actual threat to anyone. At least that was the case before the pirates came. Orcs with sharpened steel arrived on the shores of the goblin swamp. His friends and families were taken. Everything and everybody lost. Now Dizzy has to be more than he ever thought he could be. Now Dizzy must become an adventurer and fight to free his people. But when a murderous minotaur pirate and his crew of orc swashbucklers arrive in the swamp, intent on turning the coastal region into his own pocket kingdom, Dizzy must find a way to escape and rescue his tribe before they are used as expendable sword fodder. With fellow goblins Kitty and YDB at his side, what could possibly go wrong?
8 158 - In Serial44 Chapters
Gamer
This story is abandoned and has not been authorized for distribution on any sites but RoyalRoad. Given the Gamer ability after shattering a crystal inside a game, Jon's world is upturned as he is thrown into a life he considered fantasy. Making new enemies and encountering a god, he cannot escape the quest which is forced on him. Different worlds and different situations, can he come out on top? He's neither perfect nor a saint, he is Jon. Welcome to Gamer. This has been dropped, I didn't like the way I forced a few plotpoints and I lost my notes on the story itself. Read below if you want to be spoilered. As far as I recall, he would change race into a higher human after using a spell to overload his mana repeatably until his body forcibly adapts, he would train up his rift usage spell with some better targets than God's Realm because he keeps hitting his stats limit until the cost lowers enough that he can actually grind it. His world is being invaded by multiple worlds, so the god had many backup plans where a lot of people went into their own fantasy settings and came back to defend Earth. Jon never is the strongest one out there, he has to keep grinding and grinding before he gets stronger than the other heroes, and at that point the invasion is nearing the final stretch. Jon's two biggest advantages is that he can keep grinding without hitting a cap he can't evolve, and that even when he is eventually killed. He would have respawned in the nearest 'Safe Zone' after dropping a level and everything he did to gain that level. I also had a bunch of ideas for mini-arcs where he would play in multiple worlds in multiple situations, not that great of an idea in retrospect.
8 96 - In Serial24 Chapters
SandersSides Oneshots
Welcome guys, gals and non-binary pals to my book of oneshots! We've got pure fluff galore, some good ol' angst, hurt/comfort and everything in between, all based around the wonderful SandersSides (I love my boys) Main ships are Prinxiety, Logicality and Polysanders, but there are some platonic fics n stuff :) I hope you like what you read!
8 138

