Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

--POV of Rando

He entered the skyscraper that was once the main office of the Limar Group but had now become the property of the system church. It was really a shame for one of the biggest enterprises in Y City to vanish overnight. It was an unmistakable warning to all actions and authorities of the district.

Never thoughtlessly mess with Otherworlders and most importantly don't offend the system church.

Today he had come because he was personally invited to a "public" auction on the premises of the church. Public, in this case, meant that anyone with enough money and the means to come in time was welcome.

A huge crowd of mostly familiar faces filled the venue for the auction. Anyone of rank and name, who had the means to reach the church in time had come. He knew many personally and some only fleetingly.

Everyone had come for the chance of obtaining powerful equipment. They had kept their money and property but... No matter how much money and property they were able to amass, the last months had made it obvious that strength was the only solid currency in this world. To preserve what they had built up they needed to adapt to this world. Even the old monsters who had long retired had decided to show their faces here.

There were not just the elites of the old world. A good portion of the guests were up-and-coming players. There were people with special classes like the Saintess. Nobody knew her exact class but she was able to singlehandedly keep a row of tanks alive during a raid. And others that were lucky like the Golden King, who had golden hands and was lucky enough to gain uncommon items from dungeons. It was even rumored that he had some rare ones.

It did not matter what they were before, these people throve in this new era. Success was now decided by one's class, skills, effort, and talent. This made items so important. They were the only way to balance out what one lacked. They could turn a kitten into a tiger or add wings to a tiger. Like in the case of the Golden King, he managed to become a prominent figure with his fortune alone.

"All of the guests have now arrived. I greet all of you to today's event!"

The priest of the system church, Samuel, had made his entrance on the stage. His imposing stature made the hall fall silent.

--------Seth

Samuel fulfilled his part of their little deal perfectly. For the blacksmith, this was just a little additional income. For the church and the upper society of Ora, it was an event that might change the course of history. It was the first time that such good items were simply sold in such a way.

It was a full house with several hundred of the richest people of Y City and accomplished adventurers. This auction was merely an appetizer. The biggest act of advertisement. Today they would sell 7 Swords, but this was just to whet their appetite.

After today the info would spread far more powerful. Once all of these people started talking and bragging to their friends and acquaintances. Then during the next auction, all the rich people of the district would come to throw their money at them.

Seth had entered the hall in his good attire from Ora; effectively disguising as an otherworlder of the church. He came to take a look and collect some information. He listened to the gossip of high society.

"Isn't that the adventurer that managed to close a dungeon in the southern district?"

They were pointing at a woman in her late twenties. She looked pale, almost sickly. Her robe and other visible items were common, but her pointy witch hat was actually an uncommon item that strengthened "Witchcraft" and affinity with plants. It was most likely a dungeon drop.

"The Forest Witch?"

"Quiet. Don't call her like that. She doesn't like that name."

"Ah, sorry. She's a C Rank now, right?"

"Forget her. Look over there. That's the Paladin. He got an epic class and used the money of his family to fully equip his own guild."

They pointed at a man who attended the auction in a full suit of silver plate armor. They were all good common items but lacked any interesting effect. They increased stuff like endurance slightly. The armor was nothing special, but his weapon and shield were both uncommon. The effects were mediocre, but they shined like pearls in this environment.

"Wow. Even if we have money, we can't compete with an epic class."

"Don't talk about epic classes. We could not even compare to those with rare classes. "

Another good use for this auction. Seth could get a picture of the current strength distribution and powerhouses in the region. He had an easy time in the other world because he had technically double the attributes. It was not the same on Urth, he was clear that he lacked this advantage here.

When he imagined the power of the beasts on Urth he was afraid, but there was also tingling of excitement. The beings of Urth would push him to the limits but he couldn't wait to make and improve his items and grow stronger.

When he thought back to his greatest enemy, the titano boa juvenile, he was still unsure whether he could beat that monster in a fair duel. That was the advantage beasts had, they were strong even without gear. On the other hand, he still had truckloads of materials from that one monster and all of it was uncommon.

Imagine the amount of rare or even epic materials he could get from a genuine field boss!

This was the reason he was looking at the prominent people of this world. If Seth wanted to harvest whatever this world could give him, he needed allies, a party. Most people that were able to carve a place for themself in this dangerous world were now here. If this was not the best opportunity to get an impression of possible companions, what was?

It was also a good time. Right now, he had kind of a monopoly on good items but he could not keep his technological advantage forever. The players of Y City were slowly gaining an upper hand as their levels grew. The stronger they were, the easier they could farm better items from dungeons. This was a long process, but it could not be stopped.

~So, this is what the high society of your world looks like, eh? There are not many promising people here. Are you sure you can make a party? ~

The Lich on his belt asked unconvinced.

"What are their levels, Al?" Seth whispered. This was the reason he wore this inconspicuous token and masqueraded as an otherworlder. He could freely appraise people's items, but <Observation> would immediately alarm the target. Al'Zalsa on the other hand had genuine <Appraisal> and could spy at people's status.

~ The good ones range between 35 and 40 with the highest being level 43. It's not bad considering they had less than a year to reach those levels. ~

Those were the people that had gotten this far without many chances to gain appropriate equipment. Just how much further would they be able to go in the future? They would be strong allies if Seth could use- get them on his side.

"As mentioned in the invitation every one of you has received, the church will auction off 7 swords today. Each of the swords is rated uncommon and features 2 enchantments. The ability to be bound to an owner and a superior fire enchantment. Which we will now demonstrate."

At this point, Samuel paused and gesticulated to the people backstage. A few people brought out a big cage onto the stage. Within the cage was a terrifying roughly humanoid sea creature. Seth and Samuel had talked about this before. In the beginning, the greatest threat for Y City was an oceanic empire that attacked the coast.

It was not widely known to the people of the district but Samuel told him, that the humans had actually lost 4 and not just 2 satellite cities at the coast. Even if they managed to push back the enemy forces, those cities were razed and these beasts were still roaming the ruins. These were mindless soldiers and could be easily caught by the church's hunters.

Everyone in the hall knew or even fought these things in the past and they were easy to come by, as such they were the optimal test dummy for demonstration. For this demonstration, the church had asked a well-known swordsman onto the stage.

----Stage

Inigo Monte was already slightly older. His class was uncommon and he already knew how to wield a sword long before the apocalypse. Everyone knew his prowess even so he was not one of the strongest or most prominent figures of Y-City. This man took one of the swords on display and scrutinized it with a surprised look. He gave it some test swings before channeling mana into the sword.

A fierce flame surrounded the blade that surprised even him. After getting used to the sword he nodded towards the man beside the cage.

The door of the cage opened and the man rushed in, slashing at the beast. These creatures had once brought true terror upon the citizens of Y City and it had taken many losses to drive them back. Inigo himself had fought hard battles against these creatures. He knew just too well how hard it had been to even injure these things. It was a bitter memory, watching his companions die one by one as they could only chip away at its health.

Now, one of them was almost helpless as it tried to back away from the man's burning sword. The weapon did not bounce away or slide off the mucus of the beast's skin like he experienced before. Big burning gashes opened every time he slashed at the beast. It was only a matter of 3 or 4 slashes before the monster shriveled up and burned to death.