Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

After his interview with Paolo, Seth was finally done with the castings, though the harvest was not very good. He had found a few people that were to his liking and the best candidates for now. There were three he currently preferred and some others like Paolo he wanted to keep in mind.

As a candidate for the Jaws of Apep, there was Ortega, the current commander of the Oathguard. Previously he was the leader of the Oathguard's elite team when it was still smaller. As a knight his build was tall and wide The blacksmith really hoped he was going to be chosen by a god similar to Maahes or Wepwawet. If Ortega got a transformation skill, it would look really imposing.

Then there was, of course, Marco. Seth remembered the young party leader from the time when he bought the raw materials for Asterion. The young man had matured a lot and racked up a good track record ever since joining the Oathguard, similar to his friend Paolo. Still, he would have to prove his skill, to earn this chance.

However, the one he was actually convinced by the most was Morgana, the current leader of the Elite Team of the Oathguard and formerly the wizard of Ortega's party. Although she was not a chosen, she had managed to change her class from wizard to Tornado of Terror, a sorcerer class specialized in terrifying wind magic and ability. She was the best fit for a staff like Storm of Death.

On the other hand, like Alison, she was another proof that Wizards, even former ones, were a little cracked. If she were to ever get a Lunacy Seth, Seth might have to obligate her to wear an accessory set specialized in willpower, or she might lose it.

It was good that the bard had long dropped all hopes to have “normal” people in his ranks. In this world, only the cracked ones could really rise to such heights. Although saying that might be a little unfair to the more normal members of Minas Mar, like Monique

After facing the consequences of his actions, he was finally able to set his focus on his new toys. Arget Nore had delivered the master tier enchantment. Once he learned all of them, the quality of his new item would make a great jump. At least in the department of more common enchantments like attribute or mana enhancement.

Before, the realm of master-tier circuits and engraving was not Seth's expertise. It still wasn't, but after his exchange with Arget Nore, he found that there were not as many as he hoped for. Not every handy effect had a master version of itself. It was simply because enchantment, which worked through physical channels had its limits in what it could achieve.

Unlike <Enchantment> a magician used, which had near infinite possibilities, <Enchantment> as used by Seth had not as many practitioners or researchers. There were simply not that many blacksmiths who were also master enchanters. There were many things engraving and circuits could do easier than traditional enchantment, but it seemed they also had their limits.

Seth would have to be satisfied with his current means of enchantment, after all, it was not like he was restricted in that area. Now he had everything he currently could get to start with Evee's armor and it had high chances of becoming the best armor he made so far, apart from his own, naturally.

Planning to start the next day, Seth intended to end early, when someone passed him up on the way to his quarters.

“Seth! Wait! Do you have a moment?” Neeco Boos came running up from behind. The Tailor was completely out of breath by the time he caught up to him.

“Neeco, what's up? I was about to get back to my quarters.” the blacksmith greeted the man, and patiently waited for him to catch his breath. He would never say it out loud, but their last meeting, when the tailor managed to turn fire into a thread had impressed him. Unconsciously, he treated the other man a little better.

“Would you be able to help me make another ball of fire yarn? I still need some more for the prototype fabric of the robe for Lyxiss, “ the tailor explained.

“Is it that urgent?” Seth couldn't help but ask.

“Actually it is. I have to quickly finish weaving the four elemental threads or else their balance goes off and the fabric might unravel,” the tailor summed up his problem. Neeco had already managed to replenish his wind, water, and earth threads from other people in Minas Mar, only fire was missing.

“Okay, okay, I will help. Let's go to your workshop. Tower?”

With a single word, the tower ego teleported the two craftsmen to the tailor's workshop. Seth's eyes widened when he saw the bale of cloth that ended in rows of loose strings. One would expect fabrics woven from the four elements to have four colors, but it was actually almost white with an iridescent sheen.

“How intriguing..This almost looks like a finished product, not a prototype.” Seth uttered as he scanned the unfinished cloth. It was a shame that his <Sewing> skill was not high enough to allow his <Eyes of the Maestro> to appraise it. Apart from <Carpentry> the other crafting skills he had acquired stagnated at Adept lv.1 since he had not much need for them so far.

“I managed to improve and refine the initial <Flame Yarn> we made as I kept practicing with it and the other threads. Although it already looks great, I'm sure I can do much better when I start from scratch with my current skills,” the Tailor asserted confidently.

His confidence was not without reason. The two quickly started creating more yarn from the fire. Not much changed for the blacksmith, he was still using using ordinary fire, although highly concentrated thanks to his various passives and equipment. The changed one was Neeco Boos, who managed to tame the fiery yarn with much greater ease. As his practiced hands moved, the thread of fire Seth created turned into yarn.

<Fire Yarn, Crafting Material

Epic

A refined thread of yarn spun from pure fire by the hand of Master Boos, with the help of Master Smith. Well-practiced advanced skills worked together in the creation of this exotic material.

Properties: High Fire Affinity, Can absorb a certain amount of Fire Damage on impact.>

Neeco's practice bore fruit, as the material was rated a whole stage higher than previously. Instead of a chance to hurt the user if used in equipment, it now had a chance to absorb fire damage. This was like a complete turn-around of the side effect, simply the tailor gaining more proficiency in his skills.

This time, they were able to go on for a good while, creating three balls of yarn form fire. Before Neeco finally collapsed, unable to continue.

“I think this should be enough for you to continue,” Seth commented with a smirk. He had no idea why the tailor had pushed himself so much, but there was no way he could keep up with the blacksmith. They were simply built differently. Literally.

“It's not I could keep going, even if I wanted to, “ Neeco gasped, melting in his chair.

“Neeco, what resource do you use for this skill? It's mental power, isn't it?” the blacksmith suddenly asked the tailor, his thoughtful look focused on the yarn.

“Y-Yes, my ability uses mental power. Why do you ask?” the Tailor asked a little surprised.

“If you had more willpower, do you think you could handle a stronger flame? One a little more special?” the arsonist hinted at his idea. In his current condition, Neeco's knee quivered at the thought of working with an even more brutal fire. However, he swallowed his fear and answered.

“I-I think could do it if I had more willpower. ” the Tailor agreed.

Unlike Seth who, despite being a blacksmith, had a strong focus on Willpower, Neeco was a True Tailor and pumped most of his Attribute Points into Dexterity. As such, his Willpower was quite low and limiting the Mental Power needed to use his abilities. However, Seth could offset this with equipment.

The reason he was ready to go that far, was because he just had an idea how to improve one of his most fundamental items.

“That's good to hear because I just had a great idea for later. You should keep practicing your skills, I will make sure you have the energy to succeed in my request,”