Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

People were turning their heads when Seth ran past them. But as he was sprinting towards the church, he felt the compulsion wear off and became slower. Was it over? Oh no...

"Seth!" a fat old man with a Santa-clause-beard wearing a red robe came running towards him.

"No!" Seth denied reality.

"Seth, you have to flee! They are coming!" Simon insisted as he grabbed the young man and started pulling him away from the street.

"Ok, ok, I'm playing along. Who?"

"Angels!" answered the old man and pulled him into the shadows of a dark alley close to the church, while vigilantly staring into the sky.

"Angels? You got to be kidding me."

"Messengers, Angels, call them whatever you want. Hurry, they are after you!"

"But why? I don't think I offended anyone! I even fought demons just a while ago."

The priest looked at him flabbergasted.

"So that is how they knew. Look, here we don't have much time. To sum it up, some really evil god in an antagonistic relationship with the Chrona Empire is not OK with ori humas joining us and somehow found out your location. MAYBE because someone was spotted by demons. Not blaming anyone, of course."

He paused slightly and gave Seth a meaningful glance.

"Anyway, do you still have the teleport stone I gave you in Zhiqe? You should be able to escape if you -"

"I don't have it anymore." Seth interrupted him embarrassedly.

"Look, once you have an Inventory, it gets really bothersome to keep things on your person! Don't look at me like that. I forgot it during a stay in an inn..."

Seth tried to explain himself while Simon looked at him with bulging eyes.

"Do you have any idea how expensive tha- No, we don't have time for this. We have to get to the church and immediately prepare a portal to-"

His last words were drowned by the roaring of a giant flaming gate that opened in the sky above Ora. What came out of the gate looked not much better than the demons that appeared recently.

The humanoid bodies were covered in pitch-black skin with a metallic or wet sheen. Featureless blank faces and too long limbs that ended in delicate hands. They were just there in the air, no floating, no wings, they stood there as if on solid ground.

"Hurry, come!" Simon urged and pulled him along into the church building.

An unsettling voice that sounded like dissonant static noise, but with clear meaning, echoed through the city without being hindered by distance or walls.

"Resistance is Futile. There is no escape."

"Prepare the Warp-tunnel!" Simon screamed at a clerk while he kept pulling Seth further into the church.

"What?! But the warp tunnel is-"

"Just do it! We have no time!"

"Wait, what is the warp tunnel?"

"No time to explain!"

"Resistance is Futile. There is No Escape."

Simon pulled Seth into a big hall with a big bottomless pit in the middle.

"The pit of death?" Seth uttered.

"Activate!" Simon called and a row of runes around the border of the round hole lit up.

"Take care over there!"

"No, you can't be serious about this. You really gonna-?!"

Simon kicked him into the pit of death.

" This is all I can do for you!" he screamed as Seth started falling. It was drowned his Seth's earth-shattering scream.

Seth fell and screamed and fell. He took a short break from screaming because his throat was sore. He also tried to take a break from falling, but that didn't work. He soon lost his motivation to scream and his sense of time as he kept falling down this black tube.

Seth finally had the time to calm down and used the time to think about his situation. Simon arguably tried to help him, so this warp thingy would probably bring him to Urth... somehow.

This happened at a really... inopportune time. At least he managed to finish his training.

There were no changes in his status but he felt really satisfied to look at his skills.

Blacksmith (Journeyman) lv.1 (0%)

Enchantment (Journeyman) lv1 (0%)

Goldsmith (Adept) lv.9(30%)

Blacksmith's Eyes lv.5

Blueprint (Adept) lv.3

Soul Infusion lv.3

Spirit Smithy lv.5

Spirit Capture lv.4

Spirit Forging (Adept) lv.1

Orpheus Voice (Passive) lv.4

Weapon Mastery (Expert) lv.3 (2%)

Calm Reaction (Passive) lv.7

Fear Resistance (Passive) lv.8

Poison Resistance (Passive)lv.3

Fire Affection (Passive) lv.5

Pyrokinesis (Ability)lv.2

Map lv.4

Observation lv.4

Concealment lv.4

Energy Circulation lv.9

Sewing (Beginner)lv.6 (45%)

Universal Translation lv. max

Compulsive Precognition (Ability) lv.1

It was not just the 3 crafting skills that had grown a lot. The new skills like < Energy Circulation> and <Orpheus Voice> had grown and brought him many surprises. Especially the latter. Not only did it now increase the success chance by 100% but it also increased the effects of ballads by 30%.

He felt confident that he would be able to make great items to survive on Urth, especially with the materials he had swiped from Tored's storage. But Seth would have preferred to make those awesome items before being thrown back into that world. Who knew how Urth looked now, after over half a year?

He would have to make things work with the items he had for now. As for weapons, he had his Hammer, his Bow, and several demonic weapons. Armor-wise there was still the dark knight armor which should serve him well for some time. He also had the gambesons made from ancient and celestial bronze. He also finally had some time to take a look at Nädel's new work.

<Celestial Gambeson

Epic

Phys. Def.: 750

Mag. Def.:250

Durability:3000

1. Strengthen Defense by 50% for 10s Manacost:50

2. Weight of the armor is decreased by 75%.

3. +40% Power to all Fire- and Light-based attacks

4. Item is immune to Fire or Light damage

A high-quality cloth armor made by the experienced hands of Talor Craftsman Nädel. Excellent weaving and sewing techniques imbued this item with overwhelming performance and effects. >

His eyes almost fell out of his head. This was a cloth armor whose pure physical attributes surpassed the cuirass of the Dark Knight-Set, which was plate armor. On top of it came the abilities it inherited from the <Celestial Bronze>. Just what would become out of this, once he infused a soul?

Above all it was immune to fire, so he would not end up naked anymore!

Aside from this he also had a box with some rare rings and accessories he had not yet brought to the shop. He would have to see if he still had something fitting. There were also the epic ring "Dragon Bane" and the token.

He was occupied with his inventory when things started appearing that fell together with him. A broken chair and table that looked rather modern. Papers with printed text. Trash made up of plastic wrappings. He could also feel that his fall was slowing down. Was he getting closer to his destination?

Seth equipped the Token, maybe the Lich had something to contribute in this situation.

~ You! You put me away for several weeks! How dare yo- Is this a warp tunnel? What sick fuck threw you into a warp tunnel?!~

"What do you mean? Is it dangerous? Simon kicked me in without explaining anything."

~Is it dangerous, he asks! Noo~ The travel is really safe, it's the landing that's the problem. Some might call the exit point of these things unprecise; others would say totally random. ~

"Oh. If it's only that, then it is ok. Even when I travel with the pathworks portals the exit would be random." Seth said relieved. He had been prepared to come out in some random location, to begin with.

~Pff. Those are not the same. The system god's interference will still make sure you come out in someplace where you have a good chance to survive. It's not random. This tunnel can spit you out at any place that gives enough room for you. A tiny hole in the ground or 3000meter above the open sea. Guess what will happen then? You will starve, suffocate or fall and turn into a fine paste upon impact with the ocean. 100% death. Do you get now what random means? ~

She sounded really smug about explaining his possible deaths.

"Oh. Yeah, that wouldn't be nice. Let's pray and hope I'm lucky. The both of us."

~Why should I pray for your luck? You cheated several meals from me and kept me sealed in that inventory!~

"Think about it. if I die in the open sea this token will sink to the bottom of the ocean. How long would it take for someone to summon you again? Spending Eons on the sea bed, surrounded by silence and fish. Maybe you are lucky and we both die when I land on solid ground. At least it would be over fast, right? "

~… just summon me, if we come out somewhere dangerous. ~

His fall had now drastically slowed and at this point, it suddenly felt as if the world had turned upside down. He was not falling anymore but rising. Then appeared a circular hole in the distance, the exit!

~ Put on whatever items and armor you have. I can't help you if you die from a sudden attack or impact before you summon me.>

Following her advice Seth put on the Nädel's Set and the Celestial Gambeson he got from Nädel, then the Dark Knight Set from Tored. He wore the bracelet that increased health, the Dragon Bane, the Pendant of the Nightcrawler, and a ring that increased his endurance and strength by 25 each.

And lastly, he equipped Charon's Obol and the big shield he had made from the snake skull of the titano boa.

With that all preparation to ensure his initial survival were done.