Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Alison called. She stood at the window and looked outside with a shocked expression. Seth stepped beside her at the window just in time to see a giant leg descent from the thick fog above them. The leg was comparable to a bus in size and covered in a rough carapace. The faded cement-gray color resembled the surrounding building-like structures. It smashed the street's surface and created a deep crater.

Seth stared at the giant crustacean leg.

"Alison... this is too big for our cooking pot. Stop being greedy."

"I-I didn't mean that!" she said blushing.

"I know. We should-"

He was interrupted by the sound of falling rubble and breaking buildings. They could hear a muffled war cry swelling in the distance. The next moment the thick pillar of a leg lifted off the ground and started toppling into the structures on the opposite side of the street.

Following from the fog was another leg and somewhere in the fog above them, they could make out the silhouette of a giant knee or joint that stopped lowering somewhere above the buildings.

Did whoever owned those legs just...falter?

"Maybe we should get some distance..."

Everyone nodded and hurriedly left the building running in the opposite direction of the giant legs. They heard another cry and the knees that had floated in the sky crashed to the ground.

Standing to the side they watched the landscape get crushed under the falling colossus. Like a previously floating island, the body came barreling down flattening several apartment complexes.

"I really want to go home..." Tekar mumbled. Everyone nodded in agreement.

The creature's knees had buckled and its shape became vaguely visible. What became visible in the fog was the shape of something like a giant spider or harvestman. They all were twitching in disgust, it really looked like it would harvest one's soul with just its looks. Alison and Link already had a problem with the small representatives of their kind, imagine seeing a creature like this, but the size of a small mountain.

This time they could hear the war cry clearly as a mass of light exploded somewhere above the creature's body and made it finally crash onto the structures on the ground. Big regret grasped the group's heart, they would have preferred if this thing had stayed up in the fog...

Various tentacles, mandibles, and feelers were still moving vigorously until there were a few more harsh explosions and they started moving slower before going limb. Someone or something had killed this giant.

"Let's leave. I suddenly feel like going back to the hospital." Seth suggested and everyone agreed to evacuate the area. Nobody argued in favor of trying to talk with whoever just killed that thing.

Seth thought about whether he would have been able to kill this thing... it was definite maybe. With all the power-ups he had gotten for his fire, he might have been able to turn it into charcoal. On the other hand, he would have rather chosen to cripple it and run away. He could really go without the terrible headache that came with overexerting an ability.

"Where are you going?"

"Didn't we just agree to get as far away, from this place, as possible so we would not meet-" Tekar had started answering when he realized his mistake. Everyone else had frozen in shock. It was not any one of them that had asked the question.

Except for the big tank, everyone was staring at a tall figure standing behind them. She had a swanlike neck, long slender limbs, and big almond-shaped eyes. She looked off, but very ethereal and beautiful, only at the cusp of the uncanny valley.

If Seth had not already met elves before, he might have mistaken her for one. What calmed down him slightly was that she did not quite fit the people from the diary. She had no halo and her clothes were covered in dirt and a darkish blue ooze.

Considering that she took the initiative to talk to them instead of immediately attacking made Seth believe there was a chance of survival. He had no doubt this person was the one that just ended daddy longlegs's life and had almost blinked right behind them. As such, he put on his best business smile.

"Greetings. Is there something you need from us?"

Confused at the sudden change in attitude, the new guest made a step back.

"What are you doing in this place? Humans are prohibited here," she said with a serious tone after she adapted to the situation.

"Be assured, we do not wish to be here either. Wherever here is, we were pulled here against our will. Could you maybe tell us how we get back to Urth?"

"No idea. But this is my first time meeting a human. Are you guys strong? I, the amazon Lyca, challenge you to a duel!"

Seth had black lines on his forehead. They had met a muscle brain... How to disarm a muscle brain?

"Oh, I'm sorry, but none of us are fighters that could rival you in strength. We have a tank that can take a beating, but not put up a fight, those two are pure ranged fighters and I'm a blacksmith. Really none of us would be a match for an amazon like yourself. I hope a great warrior like yourself won't take joy in beating up the weak?"

She fixated on the four of them for a while and ended up sighing.

"I guess you are right. Looking at you people, there is no enjoyable fight to be had with you."

The four heaved a sigh of relief. No beating today.

"Well, then, take care of yourself." With that, she turned around and attempted to leave.

"Ah, one second, please! Didn't you say humans were prohibited here? And where are we?" Seth asked her before she could leave. It would be very helpful to hear from a person that might actually know...

She scratched her head for a moment as if thinking about stuff.

"I'm not an enforcer so why would I care about the rule? As for what here is... Nah, too hard to explain. Just make sure to find a way home soon. This place can be ugly for humans."

With that, she vanished. It was not magic or anything, but more like a martial arts movie, when someone is too fast to see their movement. Seth had experienced meeting magical races during his trip to Ora. He was a lot calmer than the rest, despite this being his first Amazoness.

"Is it just me feeling aroused?" the gourmet hunter suddenly asked.

"What are-?"

"Come on! Didn't you see her? And she's not just sexy but also really strong. Who doesn't have a thing for tall strong women? Do you think I would have a chance if-"

The look in Alison's eyes made him shut up. Had she been a witch, Link would have already turned into a cockroach by now. Maybe Seth could buy her a skill scroll with that skill?

Before they left, Seth checked on the daddy longlegs, but it had already turned into fog and sludge.

The party found a new building to make their base for the next 6 days. Hopefully, Al would be able to come up with a way to return. As the only person that had traveled to a different world before, he was the expert of xenobiology in their group. Excluding the 200 years old sorceress.

"Did you ever meet an Amazoness before...are they all this strong?" Alison asked him as they sat around the fire.

"No, not really. I met quite a few weird races, but not Amazons. Until today I too, thought they were just myths."

"Do you think... all Myths are actually true?" she continued a little shaky.

She thought of all the terrifying mythology out there that might prove to be true. Seth thought of the fact that Gods, Demons, and Angels had already started moving, what guarantee was there that not all of the ancient folklore would come down on them?

"Looking at the world, it might be the case."

They spend the next 3 days there while occasionally hunting the weird monsters of this place. Although they varied in size and design; their skill sets were all similarly focused on mind attacks. As such, they were no big hurdle, once they were suppressed by <Dragonmight>.

When they encounter creatures like the chameleon Seth would rigorously set the whole building on fire and they would wait outside. This was not just a great way to have a bonfire and get rid of enemies in these narrow environments, it also helped Seth increase his <Fire Affection> to lv.6.

The most valuable that came from these hunts were the uncommon souls the creature dropped once in a while.

It was the fourth day of their stay when they heard the sound of chimes for the streets outside.

A small group of people, with flags and chimes like a procession, was traveling along the road. They looked very clean and unearthly with their head being illuminated by a faint halo.