Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Since Persephone's Necklace had become a crown, the spot of the Necklace was now free. Seth had deliberated for some time over what to do for this tenth soul armament. He had blown most of the Olympian enchantments that were fit to be used on armors, on previous items.

He still had the <Blessing of Hades>, but he still saved that one for the time he got a soul for the Lucky Trinket. Since it presumably would boost his luck, he wanted to make the ring into the ultimate lucky charm.

Some of the others didn't fit him, like the <Blessing of Cocytos>. Seth had no interest to add more elements to his roster of powers. Since the range of options wasn't very wide, Seth ended up choosing the <Guard of Krios>.

Where the blessing had given Mike's helmet the titans physical prowess, this enchantment seemed to be based more on his mystical powers as the titan of constellations. After all, he was the ancestor of Astraios, the god of dusk and astrology.

However, this guess was purely based on the shape of the sigil, which looked like an eight-pointed star or a wind rose. It was Seth's best choice and it came with the perfect design for a pendant already presented.

Although a wind rose Seth on several fine rings was a rather generic motive, it wasn't any less beautiful. It wasn't a blessing, so the blacksmith had no presence looking over his shoulder as he engraved the sigil on the back of the pendant, mirroring the wind rose in the front.

It seemed like the right choice, since the sigil immediately sunk into the pendant, the moment it was finished and he got the announcement that the soul armament was finished.

<Star of Krios

Mag. Def: 6000

1. +50% to Light Attribute Attacks in the Dark

2. Passive Skill: Guard of Krios

3. +1000 Mana

A special armor created by Master Smith the first Master Blacksmith and Master Enchanter of Urth.

The pendant depicts the star of Krios and grants the titans protection.>

it was to be expected that the effects would be something along the light of stars in the knight, but the <Guard of Krios> actually still gave a solid buff during the day. It just grew even better during the night, especially if there were stars in the sky.

<Passive Skill: Guard of Krios

+10% Defense during the Day +25% Defense during the Night

+10% Damage to all Attacks during a starlit Night.>

Seth was satisfied with that, glad even. Although he had imagined that Krios might also offer something based on the powers of Constellations, because of his title, he was glad that was not actually the case. He already had a lot of things to take note of, if he got some power that was dependent on something like what constellation was currently visible, he might have gone crazy.

Having finished the reforging and forging successfully, Seth felt a refreshing sense of accomplishment. It wasn't too late yet and the blacksmith thought of getting out for some time with Mina and Fin.

He found the two in one of the training halls together with the rest of the field teams. He also spotted Elza and Marcel together with some other members of the boulder guild.

Currently, everyone was waiting for Evee's return, so nobody went to the dungeons, instead, they trained among themselves to get used to their new powers and the legendary items.

"Fin! Mina! Let's go on a date!" he called out bluntly, making the whole room stand still.

"In this situation?" Lyxiss asked doubtfully.

"I believe everyone here needs a break to relax a little. However, I want to spend quality time with my girlfriends, so you guys have to find something you can do on your own."

Maybe he enjoyed saying "girlfriends" a little too much. Maybe he was a little too blunt... but he didn't want this to escalate into a group outing, so was simply honest. However, he couldn't just decide on his own. Mina and fin came over to him. Mina leaned against his shoulder.

"Oh ho, a date with both of us?" she purred teasingly.

"Right, right. Aren't you getting a little too comfy, too quickly?" the fairy harped from his shoulder, playing along.

"A real Casanova. You already have a girl in each hand and still try to make a bargain and have two dates in one," Mina playfully whispered.

"Ah, I didn't mean it that way..," Seth said suddenly flustered, but the girls already broke out in laughter and left the training room. The blacksmith could only follow the two.

"So, where are we going?" Mina asked a little more seriously once they were in the hallway outside.

"I actually planned to take you to the demon district, since they have no curfew and there are a few places Tano'Mol mentioned to me," Seth explained.

With how often he visited the demon, they would have quite a bit of idle talk, which often led to the soul trader swooning about the different restaurants he had recently visited. Some of them were obviously only fit for demon customers, but there were also a bunch of places that sounded really enticing.

It was just that the blacksmith usually only entered the demon district for business reasons, not really for fun. This time he wanted to go and experience something new with his two important people. Even if they took a break and played around at Minas Mar, they were still stuck in the tower. Getting outside and experiencing something new would help all of them to free their mind a little.

…

"Leana, are you sure? If we return now you will-?" Cade spoke to her, as the Princess was fiercely packing her clothes into bags.

"I will what? Lose by spot as governor? Don't you see what they are doing? They are just wasting my time, while their people mess up my hard work. What is the point of returning as the governor, if they already wasted all my efforts? This petty little bitch!"

She specifically spoke of the 12th prince, but it was actually meant for most of the brothers that had banded together to get petty revenge on her for what happened during the evaluation. Even though it wasn't her fault they lost most of their promising talents, they all banded together to bully her.

It was true, the tallest tree catches the most wind. She was unable to get much news from Urth, but the few she got had already painted a dark picture. The biggest source was when Seth contacted her about the independence of Minas Mar.

The princess had decided to stay and endure for their sake. Even when her brother's people completely mismanaged Delta to the point of it being run down, she could have still stayed with Minas Mar. it took a lot of effort, but she managed to have Minas Mar be acknowledged as its own independent allied nation by the eyes of the Chrona Empire.

All the while enduring the bureaucratic bullying of her brothers. Being invited to pointless meetings, to the dozenth questioning where she answered the same questions over and over. All of these time-consuming "necessary" investigations. She endured it all because she was the only close ally Minas Mar currently had in Chrona. However, it was Seth's new letter that broke the camel's back.

The blacksmith had written to her everything that happened in a sealed letter only she could open. He recounted everything they had come to know about during the siege of Agra and the talks with Cromwel. The news that it wasn't just her "substitute" mismanaging the district on purpose, but a criminal organization pulling the strings from the shadows meant that Leana could no longer waste her time with the childish squabble of nobility. She had to return personally.

"Leana, what is going on?" Hardwig stood in the open door of her room, watching her pack her stuff in a hurry.

"I don't have time to play with our useless brothers anymore, that's what is, brother," she said seriously and threw the letter at her brother.

As one of the few relatives she truly trusted, she saw no problem in letting Hardwig read the letter the Tower Master of Minas Mar sent her. Although Hardwig wasn't close with Urth and its people, he may have also counted as an ally of Minas Mar. While Leana was furiously packing and Cade stared cluelessly, Hardwig's face grew serious as he read the letter.

For him, it wasn't just the fact that Seth had found signs of a criminal organization manipulating and taking control of districts, or rather nations with several billion citizens. It also wasn't the description of obvious apathy to human life they showed as they sacrificed said citizens as weapons of war. It was the confidence oozing from the letter when it talked about picking a fight with that organization and a whole nation in extension.

Just how much had the little blacksmith grown? Was he already at the threshold to become a legend, or was there something else that gave him such confidence? After reading the letter a few times, Hardwig came to a decision.

"I will cover your back, Leana," he said with a huge sigh.

At this word, the princess perked up and suddenly stopped packing. She stared at Hardwig for a long while. Hardwig, her older brother, would always be there for her with advice but it didn't mean he was ready to act to help her.

He himself was a prince who vied for the throne, so she understood when he didn't always make a move to help her if it brought him into a disadvantageous position. Covering for her leaving during the investigation was definitely bringing him into a disadvantageous position.

She felt grateful, but also couldn't help questioning his reasons. Nevertheless, she didn't have the time to doubt him. She needed his help and would take it. Trusting Hardwig to have her back, Leana finished packing her stuff and got ready to return to Urth as quick as possible.