Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

"Jess, did you get what you wanted from the storage?"

"Kukuku, marvel at my new epic wand, peasant!" the woman laughed to herself and swung around the new wand she had gotten from the storage.

"With a staff of <Thaumatic Oak> and a <Mystic Ruby> at the tip, the power of my flame has doubled!"

James could only smile wryly at the antics of his girlfriend, but he could understand her. His eyes burned with zeal when he just thought of the new sword at his waist. He did not wish to argue, but he was at least three times stronger after choosing a sword that fit his style.

The couple had managed to connect with Lydia on the trip and were allowed to join Field Team 3 under her. As official members of the field team, they were allowed to purchase epic items from Minas Mars storage at a discount.

Of course, they were provided with the Oatharmor and equipment, but unrestricted items were a little stronger. Especially the newer ones the Tower Master was currently churning out were a nudge above the others.

Most importantly: they were their own. It was one of the greatest privileges in the field team and if they ever left Minas Mar, they would be able to keep them.

In the last three months, they had worked hard and saved up money to upgrade their equipment. When they heard that Team 3 was chosen to accompany the Tower Master to Chrona, they scraped together all the money they had saved and got a new weapon each.

"...Say, is it really okay for the Tower Master to leave right now?" she suddenly said solemnly.

"Woah where did that come from?" he asked in surprise as he kept stuffing personal belongings in his inventory.

"It's just..."

The days in Delta had become colder in the past months. Snow started covering the streets of Delta that had been quite summerly despite its high altitude. It seemed like a change was drawing closer.

The climate in the city was not much better. Travelers from other world had become more numerous and conflicts with locals and local business kept rising.

Especially the situation in Beta had riled up many people.

"Don't you trust the Tower Master and Monique? The evacuation of Beta is almost finished, and Monique has already proven that she can take care of Minas Mar, in the Tower Master's absence."

"But it sounds like the invaders in Beta are giving it their all."

The "reclamation efforts" ended in crushing defeats. The little information that made its way back implied that the invaders were pulling all registers.

"Don't worry. They would first have to cross the mountains and even if they did- I would bet that even if everything else crumbles, we will not lose our place to return to." James appeased her worries.

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Seth unknowingly shared their concerns. Things were looming on the horizon, and it made him unsure whether it was right for him to leave at a time like this, but Monique the progress they made in the past months gave him confidence.

The Golems and Chimeras had gone through massive improvements and most of the Field teams had breached lv.70. He felt they would be able to deal with whatever might happen in the close future.

And if all things failed, there was Al'Zalsar. She was the grey eminence in the shadows. Few of the members knew what exactly the sorceress was capable of, but even if a Dragon decided to strike down on Minas Mar specifically...

It was simply courting death.

Seth had gotten a glimpse at the sorceress' works. She had taken quite a few of materials of Minas Mar, but the kinds of items she made, had Dragon bane pale in comparison. It was a shame that they were 100% anti-dragon equipment.

With Al'Zalsar in Delta, he had no need to worry about this place.

Aside from Team 3 that came along as bodyguards, Fin and Mina joined him on Vacation together with the rest of Team 2 aka Yulecat's Fur. While Fin, Bulko. and Lyxiss were looking forward to visiting the capital, Seth was sure that Mike was aiming for a little vacation with Lydia of his own.

While the higher ranks of Minas Mar were occupied with preparations, Seth was zealously working on the last Golem. It was his biggest project ever and he had worked on it for almost a whole month straight.

He had to go as far as to build a special assembly room because of the size and even after he managed to assemble and engrave all the bones and cover them in armor, Seth still had to face the biggest hurdle.

It had taken him a bunch of tries and a lot of persuasion with the help of Tatzel to finally succeed. With this had finished everything he thought necessary before leaving for Chrona. He had long since finished his equipment and even the <Sky Silk> clothes had been prepared.

The only thing still bothering him was that he was unable to see the stats of the Helm of Hades. Even with his <Blacksmith's Eyes> on lv.7, he was unable to appraise the divine artifact. But he had a clue, the <Bones of Seth> he had made from <Meteoric Iron>.

Its rank as a material was "Special" instead of legendary or unique. And Al'Salzar had once mentioned that it could need special requirements to take a glimpse of divine might. So maybe it was not dependent on his skill level, whether he was able to see the helm's power.

This probably meant he was not yet worthy to take a look at the divine power. Just what would it take to be able to please such a magnificent and dignified existence like a god?

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"What? What did I miss? I finally get out of isolation, and you are telling me he tries to lay low?!" Seth complained regretfully.

"Just go away and watch the VOD." Hermes barked.

"How can you tell me to go away? He's MY Champion, too! I'm going nowhere, I'm already hyped for the adventure!" Seth hollered his head beet red.

"Then just watch in silence." Hermes threw popcorn at the furious-looking God.

While Hermes and Seth were bickering, Hades and Hephaistos were having a serious conversation.

"Apollo won't like that one at all." the blacksmith god commented

"Don't tell me he still isn't over that." the god of the underworld argued.

"You know it's not something he is able to let go of."

"Maybe we should prepare something. It will soon be time. We would want unneeded conflict."

"Says who!?" Seth suddenly joined the conversation. "I've been locked up for 6 months. I want to see as much unneeded confrontation as possible to make up for it!"

"Shut up, you mongrel! I will have a word with brother Apollo." the messenger god proudly proclaimed.

"Anyway, I can't wait to see that one in action!" The system god interjected.

"I hope he can make its entrance epic." Persephone agreed.

"It's a shame he intends to stay low-key on the trip. We might have to wait for a while." the system god lamented.

"You really think he is able to do it?" Persephone asked with a smirk.

"What?"

"Lay low."

... the gods thought about the question in silence.

"Haha, she's right. There's no way someone bearing my name will hold back when the time comes." Seth broke out in laughter.

The gods nodded in silence. None of them attested Seth the kind of willpower needed to hold back if things got annoying.

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"Are you ready? We have to go meet the Princess now!"

Seth had just felt a way of vast underestimation, but he had no time to dwell on it. They had an appointment with the Princess at the System Church, and it was important to be punctual.

Today, they would not travel via the system church channels. Leana had explained it to them during the party. To evade the system god's randomization, the empire had prepared true interdimensional teleportation.

Since it worked completely without the assistance of the system god or the patchworks, the cost and difficulty were immense. It also had a lot of constraints, such as the correct time. If they were too late, they would miss the time window for their jump.

It was very similar to the way Seth had managed to return to Minas Mar but on a much greater scale. It simply showed, how important this evaluation was to the empire.

The formation was prepared in the central courtyard of the church. It was a wide magic circle drawn with sparkling crystal dust.

"Just enter the formation and we will send you off," Simon explained it with little words.