Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

"58 minutes-Urgh!"

Her whole body was immersed in the sensation of reverse pooping, a feeling she had gotten used to over the past weeks. Tired, she flopped down on the giant bed. Giant for the size of a fairy, that is.

Fin had been working hard to prolong the time she could spend in a human size, to the point she could now transform for almost one whole hour To the point she seldomly left her own room at this point.

It would have been a lie to say that Seth's engagement with Mina didn't depress her a little, but she knew that Mina supported her. Fin came from a background of nobility, it was not weird for someone to have more than one wife if both agreed.

This was why she didn't stop working on improving. She also didn't just train to become a human, but also different kinds of beasts that could help increase her power in combat, like that one time in Sigma.

"Fin, are you in?"

A sudden knock on the door and Seth's voice scared her. She was too tired to move, it was one of the side effects if she went to the limit. Ignoring her sore muscles screaming, she hurried to take a more natural pose on the bed before answering.

"Ah, erm, you can come in. " giving her consent, the door was unlocked by the Tower ego.

"Fin? Oh, are you resting right now? Am I bothering you?" "No! No, just come in. What did bring you here?" she asked hurriedly, trying not to let him notice that her whole body was aching.

"I finished your items, of course! I know it took a little longer, but had to wait for the right materials."

Saying that he placed an intricate cuirass the size of a thump on the bed beside the fairy. It was a bright silver with slightly darker inlays covering it, making it like something that should be worn on a necklace, not as armor.

The fairy's eyes sparkled, but at the same time, she felt tears in the corners of her eyes. She wanted to try it on right away! But her body felt like creaking old wood that would splinter if he moved too quickly.

"I-is it not to your liking?" Seth asked worriedly.

"No! No, I love it! I'm just so...touched! I want to appreciate it a little longer," she hurriedly found an excuse.

"Err...Alright. Want me to explain its effects while you appreciate it?" he asked with a smirk.

"Oh no, he knows something is up!" she screamed internally.

"Yes please, go ahead." she pressed out.

"Hm, alright. Well, as you can see, it's a cuirass made of legendary <Olympian> silver with inlays of urthan <Ithildin>. It helps with magic and skills but especially improves melee combat thanks to the Anthem of Violence.

I know you prefer robes, but you will have no problems moving in this. The reason it took so long, was that I waited for a soul with a special trait. This cuirass has the trait of a shapeshifter and will follow the shape of its wearer. So no matter what you turn into, the cuirass will take an appropriate shape. "

"You know about it?!" Fin exclaimed horrified.

Seth wasn't supposed to know. She wanted to surprise him once she was ready, one her heart was-

"Of course. I heard you learned some kind of gigantification skill. Don't worry, even if you turn into a giant again, like in Sigma, the cuirass will protect you."

The tiny brute's heart calmed again. He didn't know, she just misunderstood.

"And for the finish, this cuirass holds the Blessing of Arke. She was a titan and messenger goddess, unfortunately for the wrong side. The skill allows you to break out in divine speed for a short amount of time. You will be intangible to physical attack over the duration of the skill."

Hearing that her calmed heart started beating faster again. She was in a panic before but she finally got to process what Seth just told her. Even more importantly, she could simply wear the cuirass on top of her robe, so she didn't lose anything.

The amount of damage she would be able to cause and the possibilities this opened up for battle. Especially since she could keep using this in other forms, unlike her other items which were restricted to humanoid bodies only.

"You seem to be a little sore, I understand if you don't equip it right away. Just let me see how it fits before we leave, okay?" he said with a cheeky smirk and left.

Noooo~ Fin screamed internally. He had known the whole time. How embarrassing. That he unsuccessfully tried to hide it made it even more embarrassing.

…

Fin's armor was the last item he had to deliver.

The Doctors of Chrona believed him after a few tests and Seth left the fine-tuning of the soul-whisking membrane to them. The blacksmith had spent the past days completing the rest of the items for his friends.

With a week to go, he had just delivered the last item to Fin, hoping she would be able to master it somewhat before they reached the Holy Land. With his preparations for his friends finished, he turned to himself again.

In the department of crafting, all his skills were still at level one of the master tier, though <Enchantment> was already past 50%. His singing skill and the earth magic had stagnated a little since he didn't really have the time to concentrate on them.

One would think the forging ballads would help improve at least <Singing> but they counted more towards <Enchantment> than <Singing>. However, with a week to go, he probably wouldn't be able to learn another spell, nor would he be able to significantly raise his proficiency in <Singing>

He came to an empty guest room and put two bottles on the bed stand. One was Alison's potion, the alchemist had checked and told him that he would be able to take the next dosage without problems. The second was a jade bottle given to him by Master Mountain for his help with Al'Zalsar.

Inside were 5 earth-ranked Body Refining Pills. Although Seth had no idea how helpful they would be, he wouldn't say no to anything that could help him become stronger. The information they had gotten from the guild about their holy land had made the blacksmith relieved about the preparations he had done so far.

The reports talked about expansive dungeons with massive caverns, filled with beasts stronger than their levels may suggest. Many of the dungeons had a minimum level of 80 with many of them having broken out several times ever since the apocalypse.

Even when the no man's land and especially the mountain range had become more dangerous since the complete synchronization of Urth with the Pathworks, the guild's holy land, and its surroundings were even a notch above this.

This was a blessing for the people that had been stuck at the higher levels, but even if all of them stormed the mountain range, they wouldn't be enough to bring it back down to previous levels.

Sometimes he thought it was quite ironic. There were over a billion people in Chrona, but the number of high-level people was barely in the thousands. Once enough people had stepped up to protect the status quo, most people fell back in their way, almost as if the world wasn't trying to kill them with all kinds of supernatural bullshit.

Well, it wasn't Seth's concern. He just had to protect what he had and if he had a hand free, he would reach out to those in need. Maybe.

But for that, he needed excess strength. Throwing his head back in his neck, he gulped down Alison's potion, once again improving all his physical attributes by five points. Next, he eyes the bottle of pills.

Seth decided on this order because Yu mentioned in his explanation that the Body Refining pill would get rid of toxins and impurities. If that was true, Seth hoped that it would enable him to take his fourth portion of Alison's potion before they left for the holy land.