Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

In the evening they finally left the smelly dungeon. Unfortunately, the smell had already stuck their bodies. A rigorous bath was desperately needed! They returned directly to their inn to get exactly that.

At least this torture was not for naught. The Ivicer had reached a proud lv.6 and its magic improved. It was now able to even kill those lv.7 raccoons and learned how to create a light shield and a basic healing spell. It still lacked Fin´s iron fist, but it might be able to take on the role of the healer very soon. Its skills were very close to what Seth would call a priest, but when he thought of the size it could reach... an Ivicer was probably closer to a Paladin or a Monk if it had a class.

If only it could learn some life magic, it would be very handy if it was able to use magic to clean off the terrible smell. Seth was seriously considering buying some skill books for life magic and learning it. Only now did he understand the importance of such skills.

The monsters of this dungeon had no special materials, entering the dungeon and killing monsters was just a generic task to keep the sewers clean. The pay for the task was pitiful, but Seth didn´t say no to money for something he did anyway. Especially since he managed to collect almost 30 small souls from the Ivicers massacre.

Seth managed to fuse them into 2 medium-sized souls and used them on the one weapon he was sure he would not change any time soon.

<Vengeful Hunter Bow

Unique

Damage: 200

Durability:1300

1. Arrows shot with this bow show malice and will correct their trajectory to hit vital points.

2. Inflicted wounds will hurt more, heal worse and get infected.

A frightening weapon made by an aspiring blacksmith. A bow possessed by a strong malicious will to hurt its benefactors' enemies.

Usage Condition: Seth Smith>

The stats had increased again and this time the chance for the wound to become infected became a guarantee. This became a really terrifying option. Even if someone or something managed to escape, healing was impeded and infection guaranteed. His targets might die a slow and painful death long after they escaped from him! If he was an archer, he would become the terror of the battlefield with skills like <Multishot>.

And like this their first day without their tiny energy bundle Fin ended. Seth hugged the Ivicer tightly, as they both fell asleep thinking about their missing friend.

The next days were uneventful. The Ivicer would wake Seth early in the morning and they would go to stuff themselves with food. The caterpillar tried hard to keep up with Seth´s voracious appetite, but could not eat several times its own body mass, unlike a certain fairy.

They spend these days farming souls and experience in the low-level dungeons. The not so smelly ones. This also gave Seth the chance to explore the different kinds of dungeons. Generally, there were those that grew in already existing structures like the sewer, a tomb, or an actual dungeon. But there were also those that would grow as an own structure. There was a tower in Ora that had 25 floors above and an unknown number of floors below ground. This was the place they spend most of their time in these days.

The most interesting ones were dungeons that existed as a portal that led to space bubbles. They could randomly appear independent from the surrounding. They were the most dangerous and unpredictable kind of dungeons. Sometimes they would lead to a completely different environment, or to something like a parallel version of the real surroundings. One would know where they led before they were explored and they had no divisions when it came to levels. If you randomly entered one such dungeon, you could end up in a forest with mostly harmless animals and suddenly get killed by a dragon coming by.

After diligently farming all kinds of monsters in the low-level areas like goblins, kobolds, orcs, wolfs and such the Ivicer reached lv.10

Kyuu-Kyuuo!

~I think I am ready to choose my name! ~

It suddenly said one evening after they left the tower. The Ivicer had explained it to him and Fin back then. It was a tradition, that an Ivicer was not given a name by its parents. It would choose a name based on its racial memories and experiences, once it deemed itself ready.

Kyuuaa!

~From now on, the great me shall be known by the name of- Puffles, the Mighty. ~

"Puffles?"

~ The Mighty~

"Are you sure about Puffles?"

~The Mighty. You keep forgetting it. It´s Puffles, the Mighty! ~

"I will call you Puff."

~Puffles, the Mighty~

"Puff."

~Puffles...?~

"Puff."

…..kyuouu

With a sad noise, it acquiesced to be called Puff from now on.

Now Puffles was strong enough to accompany Seth into the dungeon with higher levels so that Seth could use the second week before the exam to strengthen himself.

But first came a break to celebrate Puffles finally having a name. They really had enough from the lunch boxes they ate during the dungeon dives. Although they were no gourmets, they still grew to like the higher cuisine in their time on the airship. They washed up at the inn and left to celebrate. Seth wore his best set of clothes; one he had bought when he went to find a tailor to make the Ivicer cloth.

The style in Ora was different from what he had seen in the other cities they had visited. The clothing here was high-quality, but of simple yet elegant design. It lacked the gaudy decorations and colors of noble fashion he knew. He was told that it was the dwarven influence. While dwarfs were known for their intricate works when it came to masonry, weaponry, and jewelry, their taste for fashion tended to prefer simple and practical attire.

As such Seth wore a simple black coat, trousers, knee-high boots, and a white shirt. All of them were rated uncommon and had cost Seth a few gold coins. Only those knowledgeable in the subject would be able to judge the quality of these clothes, but their stats were almost as good as common leather armor.

Their aim today was a high-rated restaurant from the guild's booklet. The dining room was split into several floors with galleries like a theater. Normal people would eat on the ground floor, while higher up were private rooms and suites for special guests.

They had no reservation, but money rules. The floor before them was filled with tables and interestingly enough, Seth was not the only one with a pet here. Restaurants often forbade the guests to bring out their pets, but this was one of the rare exceptions. An already elegant and greatly decorated room was enhanced by the sight of all kinds of magical beasts sitting beside their owners.

Ladies in expensive dresses with exotic magical birds. Burly men in evening attire accompanied by wolves, dogs... there was even a lion! Based on their pets one could also recognize the adventurers among them. About half of the guests had pets fit for battle, this meant this restaurant was well-frequented by high-level adventurers. Only high-rank adventurers made enough money to dine in a place like this.

Seth only noticed these things on the side, as he waited for their meal. He had ordered the whole menu, twice. Tonight, they would eat until their bellies exploded.

Waiters came with all kinds of dishes, making Seth think he was sitting at the wishing-table. Filling the table were several kinds of meat like roasted birds, a giant steak, the obligatory pyramid of anime-style meat with a bone in it. But also, a soup with colorful vegetables, bread, cake and something that could have been pizza. For drinking, there was wine, but also different exotic fruit juices that Seth could not identify, but tasted great.

As they were in the middle of decimation their meal, suddenly two elbows rested on his shoulders and chin on his head.

"Nyaa~ Who would have thought I would see you again in such a place?" said a teasing voice from above.

He looked up into the green eyes of a cat beastman with maroon-colored hair and fluffy cat ears. His sugar mommy- … The girl he had spent a nice morning with was standing behind him. She wore a long wine-red evening dress that fit well to her tanned skin color and fit even better to her lithe figure. Behind her were three more people.

A beastman with similar ears and eye color to the girl. He was tall, attractive, and looked well-trained. Her boyfriend? Maybe her brother? His expression looked complicated.

A guy even taller, definitely above 2m, and easily the width of three people. His face looked like he inherited the blood of an ogre and his suit threatened to rip if he just barely flexed his bulging muscles.

The third person was a girl with short black hair and a lean, agile figure. The nice way to say, that she was flat as a board and the tight blue evening dress didn´t do her a big favor there. She had a col expression and her ears were slightly pointy. An elf? No, Seth had seen some elves on his journey, their ears were longer and pointier, so maybe a half-elf?

Seth swallowed what he had in his mouth.

"Yeah... Nice to meet you?"