Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Seth had accumulated a whopping 133 Attribute Points and 12 Skill points. However, the point his eyes wandered to first was the secondary class advancement that was unlocked when he reached lv. 80. He wanted to decide where to use his points after choosing the direction of his Infernal Scald class.

Checking his status he had, once again, four traits he could choose from to decide on a specialization of his class. It was quite similar to his primary job advancement, especially when it came to the vague description of the traits. The four options were:

<Calling of the Minstrel, Trait>

<Calling of the Vocalist, Trait>

<Calling of the Smith, Trait>

<Calling of the Maestro, Trait>

The first being an overall improvement of the musical aspects. A minstrel would master singing and playing one or several musical instruments at the same time. The only thing it left out were the crafting aspects of the Infernal Scald, like <Rune Mastery> and <Enchantment>. In exchange, it would strengthen the power of his performances in battle.

With the first giving an overall boost to all musical aspects, the second promised a strong buff to solely everything based on the voice. Pure a cappella singing, orations, and persuasion/taunting would be strengthened and supported with skills like <Multi Song> that allowed the musician to recreate the effect of a choir, or sing multiple songs at the same time.

Seth dismissed <Call of the Vocalist> right away since he already had skills like <Voice of Seth> and <Orpheus' Voice> that did similar things. He found the trait redundant. For the same reasons, he dismissed the third.

The bard was already a master blacksmith, he doubted the specialization of a class that was focused on music and enchantments, could give him any great boost at this point. He might have thought differently before, but after reaching the master tier Seth was more interested in strengthening what he was lacking in.

The last trait, was really what surprised him with its name because of the recent news that a Maestro was in the process of conquering the Holy Land. The <Calling of the Maestro> was quite similar to the <Blood of the Inventor>, the trait he has chosen when he advanced to the Spirit Blacksmith class.

A Maestro was not just someone that could create armies of demonic monsters. They also created devices by mastering and combining many different disciplines, unhindered by classes. One could have thought of the <Call of the Maestro> as the opposite of <Call of the Minstrel>, as it said to buff all crafting-related skills.

But there was one unique thing about this trait that made it the trait of Maestros, long, lived demons that bloomed in their work. The buffs the <Call of the Maestro> gave were not some flat improvements to all crafting skills or items made but were based on the number of crafting skills mastered and used on an item.

Many demons had unimaginably long life spans. The older a maestro was, the stronger and more fearsome they would become, as they perfected the fusion of the disciplines they mastered. It was the perfect trait for someone with all the time in the world and the motivation to master skills.

Or for someone with the buffs and capital to level crafting skills really quickly. Dismissing the second and third options, the question was now between an immediate growth in power or a slow-burning coal fire with explosive potential-

Who was he kidding? The choice was obvious. Looking at the path he walked so far, he already was not so different from a Maestro. Despite being apprehensive at first, he had long been dedicated to his role as a craftsman.

<Ding! You have gained the trait <Call of the Maestro>!>

< New skills have been added to your skills. Please check your skill window.>

Seth felt a power flow through him, as the trait was engraved on his status window. Now that he had chosen this option, he looked at it again in his status.

<Call of the Maestro: Proficiency and Power of all crafting skills are improved.>

Its description had slightly changed from its introduction, but the other effects were probably helpful in the skills he had gained. But even this trait was quite good, as it also improved his proficiency. Curious he checked his skill window.

The additions to his skill window that accompanied the trait were the passive skills <Master of all Trades>, <Composer of Fusion>, and two new perks. <Blueprint> gained an advanced simulation function that took all possible materials the blacksmith could use and make with his skills into account.

<Blacksmith's Eyes> had gained the ability to appraise all materials and items based on the level of the dominant skill used in the production or processing of the item or material. That meant that if he learned <Alchemy(Beginner)> he would be able to appraise all materials a beginner could use and all items a beginner could make. However, it lacked the ability to get blueprints, or in this case, potion recipes.

The perks already seemed quite useful. Next, he checked the new skills.

<Passive Skill: Master of all Trades

Allows the user to learn all basic crafting skills as primary skills and eases the acquisition requirements for all crafting-related skills.>

This was a great skill. Although it meant more work, since a primary skill had two tiers more to reach the master tier, the passive bonus of a primary skill was much stronger because of this additional growth.

This meant, when it came to crafting, the only restriction to the quality of his products was his own will to grind the skill and no longer any class traits. Looking at the next skill, Seth was surprised when he found that it was already lv.3.

<Passive Skill: Composer of Fusion

Helps with the fusion and understanding of different crafting disciplines. Improves the power and resonance of items based on the mastery of the skills used during crafting. May improve an item's stats based on skill level, currently 15% to 30%.

Skill level depends on every crafting skill that reached the master tier or max-level.>

There was the promised strengthening based on the number of mastered skills. This also explained why the skill was already on lv.3. But it wasn't just strengthening, as he understood it, it could also help Seth in creating synergies in items.

This fell in line with his resolve to concentrate on concentrating in a specific direction when making items in the future. It was after he became a master and made the first batch of legendary items, that Seth realized something.

In the past, he had used all his abilities to imbue power into the items he made to artificially raise their rating. Although he tried to match the powers, the diverse skill sets were hard on the users and also lowered their quality, even with a higher ranking.

Most relics he made only had a low chance to become legendary and Seth was convinced this was the reason. Until now it had been a habit he acquired from trying to raise his skill as quickly as possible.

Now, however, he had realized that it was not necessary anymore. He was already a master and no matter how hard he struggled, he wouldn't be able to raise his tier any time soon again.

The Bringer of Winter Woes was his first step in this new direction. Although it had no few effects, they were much more concentrated on strengthening a single kind of effect instead of being partially solitary effects.

This skill would help him mesh such skills even better together, but it would be an even bigger help when making golems or other devices that needed many different enchantments and materials to guarantee their function.

With the addition of other crafting skills, he would also be able to bring a higher variety of materials into the mix that could lead to better results and synergies with souls and enchantments. A good example was his bow. The mind reaper bow was made from a piece of wood, that had previously not been acknowledged as a crafting material by <Blacksmith's Eyes>.

Looking at all the skills and possibilities Seth already possessed when it came to production, it made little sense if he kept restricting himself to the materials fit to be used by a blacksmith alone. The Golem Forge was a good example, that Forgebrand had also gone in a similar direction.

The crafting station did not differentiate between materials and obviously used more than blacksmith, goldsmith, or enchantment skills in its working process. Forgebrand was not the only example, Hephaestus was also a god of craftsmen, although being a blacksmith was his most prominent feature.

Thinking about the possibilities that opened, he realized that his growth as a craftsman was far from over.