Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

The night outside was dark when Seth returned to his Batcave with a new plan in mind. With some of Al'Zalsa's advice, he was sure that he would succeed. The first step was making the actual armor. Seth had 40 pieces of ice troll leather but only need 2 for the part of the armor.

For the torso, he made a long brigandine using the untreated troll leather as a base and fixing hardened reinforced plates on top of it. A pair of streamlined pauldrons made of reinforced leather for the shoulders.

The leg guards were also a mix of soft and hardened troll leather, just like the boots. Evee had a circlet similar to Seth's as headgear and he wanted to make her a pair of gauntlets separately.

Aside from these, he finished a complete armor set from only leather. This came not without benefits as his <Sewing> level up to lv. 8 halfway through. As it was the armor gave resistance to cold and an increased HP regeneration. But this was only the beginning.

In the next step, Seth brought out the big soul that was dropped by the ice troll leader. This would be the centerpiece in this project. He followed the advice of the sorceress by creating the whole armor as a set similar to his Wyvern Set.

This meant that he now stretched away sections of the soul to get a piece for every part of the armor. He proceeded to use <Soul Forging> to recreate a partial soul armament for the brigandine, the two pauldrons, two leg guards, and the pair of boots.

He enchanted these soul armaments only with size adjustment to leave enough mana for the effects of the armor once it turned undead.

After infusing these armaments and dipping them in the waters of Styx to affix the souls, he took a break and went to the cafeteria for a meal. There was a notification, but Seth was too tired to listen to it. The fatigue had caught up and hunger plagued him.

The cafeteria was empty. This was not new. Since people started going to the dungeons, he met them less often. The kitchen was empty. This was weird.

"Minas Mar, what time is it?"

"5 am, Master."

Seth had totally lost his perception of time as he was crafting away on Evee's armor. Of course, everything was empty. Everyone was asleep in their beds. Seth returned to his workshop and gobbled up a bunch of rations from his inventory.

Seth liked good food, but he was not a picky eater. He also drank a stamina potion to shoo the fatigue away. He wanted to finish the armor in one go.

Looking at the armor he found that the notification was about the synergy of the troll leather and the troll soul. This mix of a rare soul with its own rare material led to additional effects that were nothing to scoff at.

But he was not done yet. Kept pumping 20 small and another 2 medium-sized troll souls into the set until the effects stopped increasing.

<Troll Skin

Epic Troll Set 1/4

Epic

Phys.Def.: 985

Mag.Def.:405

Durability: 3100

1. +120% Health Regeneration

2. 10% less damage from Frost related attacks

3. +15% resistance to physical damage

4. +27 Strength

5. +30 Endurance

6. Armor will lose 30% more durability to Fire related attacks

7. Auto-Size Adjustment

The brigandine part of an Epic Armor set by the hand of Journeyman Smith. Mysterious methods have strengthened the set that will bestow the wearer with the power of a true troll.

Set Effect:

Skill: Troll You thought I was dead? You should have double-tapped!

Once a day the wearer won't die when the HP falls below Zero. They will instantly regenerate 20% of their full health but only when their head was not destroyed. >

The full troll set increased HP regen by 250% and lessened frost damage by 40%. These were already tremendous effects and would also fit as an Armor for Jonah. But the one Seth had made for him was actually slightly better when it came to overall stats.

Seth had created this armor as a set because of Al's advice. Although she had no experience with this kind of necromancy, having one soul connecting all parts would be more advantageous for turning into an undead than when it was 9 completely separate parts.

Seeing the result as it was calmed his heart. Even if the attempt with the ballad failed, this was still a great armor set he could give Evee. But he could not give up to at least try.

It was time to finally chant the ballad. Seth had a hard time deciphering the notes, but Al had helped him, and he was able to practice the song a little in the library and while making the armor. There was no effect without the chanting skill, so there was no problem with rehearsing it.

How was he supposed to use it if he didn't have the chanting skill?

Who needed <Demon Chanting> if they had the voice of a god of chaos? <Voice of Seth> was a divine skill! And coupled with <Orpheus Voice> Seth was sure it would work out.

Confidently Seth started the deep and fast chant of the Song of Unlife. His voice was drenched in a demonic charm and seduction thanks to <Voice of Seth>.

-------Somewhere in a different dimension-------

A half-rotten skeleton sitting on a throne of the cold dark stone in the center of a necropolis lifted its head. It had been a long time since someone sang for it. There were not many demons left with an interest in corpse puppets and the skill to move it.

This song was different. He knew the text but the performance was different from anything he had heard before. The singing was one of the best it had ever heard but that was not the end. There was a special note in this voice.

It conveyed intentions and feelings. It felt honest and pure and moved his heart. It didn't matter what these intentions were, they were backed by strong desire and skill. The demon felt almost compelled to help. The skeleton lifted its hand covered in dry flakey skin and a stream of power followed the sound of the song to fulfill the musicians' desires.

------------Workshop-------------

Shortly after Seth started singing a ray of dark green unholy power bathed the armor set in front of him. The grey troll leather was drenched in energy. Slowly its color and aura changed. It turned into a shiny almost wet-looking black with a sick green sheen.

Just the look and aura could make the onlooker feel uncomfortable.

<Necrotic Troll Skin

Epic Undead Troll Set 1/4

Undead Armor

Epic

Phys.Def.: 1000

Mag.Def.:500

Health: 3100

1. +120% Health Regeneration

2. 20% less damage from Frost related attacks

3. +15% resistance to physical damage

4. +30 Strength

5. +40 Endurance

6. Armor will lose 30% more health to Fire related attacks

7. Auto-Size Adjustment

8. Regenerates 5% health every 10 seconds

The brigandine part of an Epic Armor set by the hand of Journeyman Smith. Mysterious methods have strengthened the set that will bestow the wearer with the power of a true troll.

Set Effect:

Skill: Troll You thought I was dead? You should have double-tapped!

Once a day the wearer won't die when the HP falls below Zero. They will instantly regenerate 20% of their full health but only when their head was not destroyed.

Skill: The Horde Even dismembered, we stand united!

Undead in the surroundings have a 15% increase in Health, overall Defense, and Attack. >

Seth looked at the changes blinking. It had worked and became even better than expected. Durability had turned into health and regenerated at an alarming rate if damage was taken. It was a shame that the weakness had increased, but the additional skill made it worth it.

Now dying and becoming an Undead came with a 15% boost in defense, attack, and health. Maybe Evee could take a necromancer class as a secondary class?

It was closing in at 6 am. Seth put the finished armor on a stand and went back to his private quarters to sleep. He found Mina sleeping in his bed and snuggled up to her, immediately falling asleep.