Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

He had gotten what he came for. Answers and a deal to have Al'Zalsar research <Ithildin>. In exchange, he was given a new worry. The sorceress had given him a copy of her notebook, where she summarized some key points that she found out about this foreign world from the invader and her conjectures.

Seth was in deep thought on their way back as he skimmed and read through the lich's notes.

The world the invader came from was called the "Voracious Cloud Continent". According to Al, this foreign plane could be labeled a "predatory world". It was not part of the pathworks but independently connected to other worlds to leech from their resources like Mana.

Her assessment was based on the prisoner's information, that it was normal for their world to connect with others and wage war on them. Most prominently something he called the "demon world". They would even gain what they called "heavenly contribution" which helped them in their cultivation.

Considering that Urth once had an ample amount of mana, this might not be the first time this world, or a similar one, connected to Urth. However, the sorceress had no evidence for this theory, as Urth could have simply lost its mana in a natural way.

The people of this world had their very own system to gather strength, which was based on the collection and condensation of the energy surrounding them, within their bodies. They went through 9 stages of training to become an "immortal".

The land was ruled by sects and great families that specialized in cultivation, while "commoners" were reigned over by monarchies. It really read like a fantasy setting.

Her notes also included a more thorough plan for the floating islands. The sorceress had not just irresponsibly put the islands into the sky. She planned to refine the enchantments on the island and turn them into a system to regulate the mana around Delta.

This was another headache he would have to bother Leana with since they could just go ahead and implement something that would have such a serious effect on Delta and its surroundings. It was at this point Seth understood the far-reaching consequences of Al's actions.

Monique beside him was easily able to affirm, that they had not been able to work this topic out with the responsible authorities, for the simple fact that Al had been unresponsive...

The leadership of Delta and the ambassador from Chrona had been waiting for an answer from Minas Mar for roughly a month now.

"I-I didn't mention it because..." Monique attempted to explain.

"I already understand. You wanted to leave me some time to relax, right? Don't worry, I'm okay. How is Mary doing?" Seth asked worriedly.

As his secretary, Mary technically held the real power in her hands. She was the one dealing with most business decisions and of course also their relationship with Delta's government. She would have been enduring most of the pressure during these last few weeks.

"We had a hard time holding her back," Monique said awkwardly. "B-But it's not as bad as you think! Princess Leana supported us from Chrona, so the pressure for a response was not terrible," she added.

Thinking of Mary reminded the blacksmith of his promise to Yvette Marlow. He had promised to help her build a church for her god Samhach and take over dealing with government and financing in exchange for keeping the dragon scales.

Ultimately... this was another burden Mary would have to deal with. He kept rubbing his eyes as he felt the stress piling up. He had relaxed for the past few days, but now everything he had to do kept filling his mind.

It would have been so great if becoming stronger and training skills were his only worries. He was also the leader of their crafting team. Before anything, he would also have to check back with Hoen and Wedan to see if there was still enough merchandise for The Turquoise Anvil.

Although he had met them yesterday, they had not talked about work. Maybe they had also held back their worries and complaints?

The first thing he did when they returned to Minas Mar, was binge on the cake that was left from the welcome party and get a meal from Link in the cafeteria. He sat in his private quarters, surrounded by empty dishes.

"Seth! Here you were! Why didn't you tell me?" Mina called out to him. She had heard that he returned and came looking for him.

"You look like you have something on your mind," she commented, languidly hugging him from behind. Seth sighed.

"There is just so much to deal with and so much I want to do. I don't know where to start."

"Tell me about it," she said, hugging him tightly.

As if a dam broke, Seth simply started confiding his worries to her.

"What should I do?"

"hmm, talk with Mary first. I know you are afraid of asking too much of her, but unless you talk with her you won't be able to solve these problems.

"Leave it to Mary to decide what is too much for her. I'm sure she can help you with all the other things you have to do and then... you do the things you want to do."

"It sounds so easy when you say it," he exclaimed sorrowfully.

"Of course it sounds easy. Things always sound easier than they are," she answered with a chuckle and stole a kiss.

"Now go, I bet Mary is already waiting all grumpily. She probably squeezed everything out of Monique."

"Fine." Seth agreed with a sigh and laboriously stood up.

He found Mary's office dark. When he opened the door, a single light theatrically lit up, illuminating only the former priestess turned businesswoman.

"I have been waiting," she said, steepling her fingers like a villain.

"Aren't you overdoing it a little now?" Seth asked awkwardly.

"Am I?"

The following conversation took several hours as Mary kept unloading all the business and problems she had been dealing with on a regular basis and the things that were added since Seth left. The stuff she needed Seth to do, sign, and take care of.

When he finally found the chance to tell her about his deal with Yvette, it was as if the conversation was re-winded and it took until deep into the night until they finally sorted out everything that needed to be done.

It had taken a lot of time, tears, sweat, and screaming but when they had finally dealt with everything that had cropped up and came up with a plan to continue from here on, Seth felt a lot better.

As much as this conversation had burdened him and added to his work in the future, it had helped him a lot in clearing out his thoughts and worries. Mary also seemed very satisfied with the outcome of their talk.

Overall, Minas Mar was doing quite well.

The expansion of the trade route was working smoothly and there were no losses so far. The pressure from the government was actually one of Mary's smallest problems. With Leana back and the sorceress finally responding, it was not even a problem anymore..

As for Minas Mar's business, with the rise in levels more and more people were able to afford their high-end products. The Alchemists under Alison and Evee had also improved a lot and The Turquoise Anvil was now also selling Rare and Epic potions.

As for concurrence, there was virtually none. Even after now almost 2 years, it was hard for Delta's blacksmith and alchemists to catch up with them. The only concurrence to be mentioned was the polyarkanate imports from Y-City.

They could not compete in rating, but they were cheaper than the items in the Turquoise Anvil. Still, the products of Minas Mar had attained the level of a status symbol at this point. Any self-respecting adventurer would want equipment from the Turquoise Anvil.

Except for their supply that depended on Cerberus, Seth, Hoen, and Wedan, the only problem in business that cropped up were actually copycats. People would sell mediocre items for a higher price, saying they were second-hand items from the Turquoise anvil.

Seth already had something in mind to deal with this problem, for now.

Corresponding to Seth's deal with Yvette, Mary would meet her to talk about the plans for the temple. With the additional money for Seth's rights on the evaluation clips and what Yvette might add to the table, Mary was appeased.

"I'm glad we managed to iron out everything." the secretary said with a tired but happy smile. It seemed that she, too, had needed someone to talk with, just like the blacksmith had done to Mina.

"Me too," Seth answered with a smile before he left for his private quarters.