Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

To Seth, it was not a race against time. He stayed calm and closed his eyes to activate <Song Writing>. The skill was able to help write a song based on the knowledge of the user. It could give suggestions to accomplish the desired effect.

It could even be used to improve texts he knew or had already written. It was like an app for a challenged musician.

In this was a test of his skills he also wanted to use a song he wrote himself. His eyes burned with desire as he corrected and tested the song with the help of the skill.

The workshop shook under the power of his voice as he rehearsed the demonic ballad. He could even feel the deep bass of his own voice, like the sound of huge speakers, return to his chest.

Seth put the metal into the forge. Using his <Pyrokinesis> he added his soul flame and controlled the heat to the maximum. The material behaved like steel in the forge as it slowly reached forging temperature.

When it got close to the perfect temperature, he even used the <Voice of Seth>. With this, he could feel the power of the ballad growing as it bounced back and forth between the walls of the workshop. It even affected Seth who fell into a trance with a manic smile on his lips.

Despite his expression, his mind stayed calm as he grabbed the <Necronite> and started forging it on the anvil. He was using a foreign hammer and a foreign anvil, but it didn't stop him. The droning ballad was now accompanied by the rhythmic hits of his hammer.

Even <Energy Circulation 2> fell into the rhythm of his song as it flowed through the hammer and strengthened the <Necronite> with every strike. If the aura of the <Necronite> was unholy then the demonic power of the note he forged into the metal was atrocious.

It was the first time Seth could really feel the connection between himself and the demon he was pleading for its blessing. This was the difference between just any ballad and one written by oneself.

He could feel the gaze of her many multi-facetted eyes rest upon him. In the back of his mind, he could even vividly imagine her figure.

This demon overlord had no name. She was the Queen. The Queen of the Swarm. And her attention was directed at him despite being in a quest space of the system.

Seth didn't become nervous. On the contrary, his smile widened. This meant the effects of the ballad might end up outstanding. As the notes fused into the metal its purple color kept turning darker and darker until it became black with a dark purple sheen.

One by one he forged the billet of metal into armor plates. It was something he had already forged quite often, and he didn't plan for anything fancy. No, he even kept it simple on purpose.

He heated the plates with his own fire and bent them to shape. With pins of <Dark Steel> he connected the many plates into a pair of simple but elegant gauntlets. With their smooth design and black color, they were reminiscent of the carapace of an insect, like that of a millipede.

But it only looked this featureless on the outside. Since these were meant for a fist-fighter, he installed the structure of a knuckle duster on the inside. The user would be unable to hold a weapon, but it would increase the damage compared to an ordinary gauntlet.

With the last pin, his song finally fell silent. He looked up to a big clock on the wall between the two stations. He swiped the sweat off his forehead so it wouldn't run in his eyes. 5 of the 10 hours had already elapsed when he was done with the metal part.

Seth took a deep breath and a huge swig from the water bottle provided at his station. Only when he started drinking, he realized how thirsty he had been. He looked over to Cerberus where the hammer had also quieted down.

The Golem was sitting at a workbench hunched over whatever it had forged. Had it already started engraving its piece? Seth stretched and returned to the pile of materials and chose something call <Gloomstep Leather>.

He felt that he had heard the name Gloomstep somewhere before, which was why he chose it. The leather was quite soft and malleable despite its thickness. The pattern for leather gloves was already ingrained into him and he almost didn't need the help of <Blueprint>.

<Ding! Your skill Sewing (Beginner) lv.9 has become Sewing (Adept) lv.1!>

The announcement surprised him when he had just finished the pair of gloves. He looked at the clock. More than an hour had passed. Looked down at the pair of gloves... He decided to make another one with his ranked up <Sewing>!

8 hours and roughly 30 minutes had passed when he finally assembled the gauntlets completely. The soft leather felt good on his hand and would do a great job of protecting the hand and knuckles during punches.

It seemed that Cerberus had finished his piece as he was simply standing beside his forge without moving. With more than an hour remaining Seth started engraving enchantments. One enchantment he could not avoid was the automatic size adjustment.

Seth engraved two complex circuits, one on each gauntlet. On the left gauntlet, he engraved the circuit of fear, and on the right, he engraved paralysis.

Sweat was running in his eyes and the engraver became slippery in his hands. With just 5 minutes left on the clock, he finished his "weapon". A wave of relief washed over him hearing the announcement that he had finished the item.

<Left Glove of the Swarm

Epic

Epic-set 1/2

Damage: 570

Phys. Def: 648

Mag. Def: 345

Durability: 3200

1. +30 % Overall Increase to Undead in the surroundings

2. 20% Chance for a corpse in the surroundings to be revived as an undead Subordinate

3. +40 Agility (20Mana per Minute)

4. +30 Strength (20Mana per Minute)

5. Auto Size Adjustment

6. 35% to inflict fear on hit (20Mana per Minute)

7. Weaponless Strikes deal 20% additional damage

.... A gauntlet made by the wicked Journeyman Smith.

Set Effect:

The Bees

No! Not the bees!

Every hit with the gloves of the Swarm has the chance to spawn a group of Demon Wasps that will attack and poison nearby enemies. Stings have a 10% chance to paralyze and 25% to inflict hysteria on an opponent.

The effect needs to be charged by making sacrifices to The Queen. Current Charge: 2500/2500 >

<Right Glove of the Swarm

Epic

Epic-set 1/2

Damage: 570

Phys. Def: 648

Mag. Def: 345

Durability: 3200

1. +30 % Overall Increase to Undead in the surroundings

2. 20% Chance for a corpse in the surroundings to be revived as an undead Subordinate

3. +40 Agility (20Mana per Minute)

4. +30 Strength (20Mana per Minute)

5. Auto Size Adjustment

6. 35% to cause paralysis on hit (20Mana per Minute)

7. Weaponless Strikes deal 20% additional damage

.... A gauntlet made by the wicked Journeyman Smith.

Set Effect:

The Bees

No! Not the bees!

Every hit with the gloves of the Swarm has the chance to spawn a group of Demon Wasps that will attack and poison nearby enemies. Stings have a 10% chance to paralyze and 25% to inflict hysteria on an opponent.

The effect needs to be charged by making sacrifices to The Queen. Current Charge: 2500/2500>

Seth was tired but quite proud of his work. But what was up with that flavor text? When had he turned wicked? He just tried to make the best and coolest he could. If he could ever find <Necronite> in the auction house, he would definitely reforge these and infuse a soul armament. These were the kind of gauntlets he imagined for Evee.

They didn't end up as Relics, but he couldn't really expect it without an infused soul. Still, the amount of experience he got for these was quite high, probably due to the new high-quality materials.

The time finally ticked off.

< The quest has ended. The contestants are now to put their workpieces on the table for judgment.>

The crafting stations of the workshop had vanished and, in their stead, stood a table with 2 sections to put down the item they had made.

Seth stepped forward and put the two gauntlets on the table. Cerberus also stepped forward and put a dagger on the table.

The golem's weapon was like a fine work of art contrary to what one would expect from the colossus. It was silvery in color with dark grey fragmental patterns in the metal. The enchantments were made with inlays of copper-colored metal.

The handle was a maroon-colored root wood that fit the inlays and patterns on the blade.

<Starmetal Sliver

Epic

Damage: 870

Durability: 1700

1. +25% Damage on starry nights.

2. +25% Damage in forests

3. 30% Chance to cause Blindness (15 mana per minute)

4. Wearer's presence is lowered by 25% (25 mana per minute)

A beautiful and elegant weapon from the deft hands of Journeyman Cerberus. >

They stood there for a moment observing each other's weapons. The dagger was a really great work, it optimally used the properties of the materials to their fullest potential. It was a work that bore witness to the maker's experience.

On the other hand, Seth's weapon was a testimony to his creativity. Although there were things that could be further improved, it was the weapon with higher potential in battle.

Cerberus suddenly bowed to him. Seth reciprocated with a bow of his own out of respect. If he watched the golem, make items in the future he would be able to learn from its experience.

<Ding! You have successfully beaten Cerberus in a forging duel. He is now unlocked as an "Affiliate Blacksmith" >

The challenge dimension slowly faded around the blacksmith and his golem until they finally stood in Minas Mar's workshop again.

The only thing that stayed were the items on the table in front of them.