Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

The two-horned ones did find a few more dungeons, but the expedition only marked them on a map. If everything worked as planned, taking care of the dungeons would be a task for the next expedition Minas Mar would send along the trade route.

Because the little break they took had put them back on time and Lydia decided not to make any more unplanned stops. Especially since Seth agreed with her. He was sure that the planned dungeons left were enough for him to reach lv. 71.

Una and Tearlach kept their promise and never harmed Karina. They talked with her a lot and observed her attentively during the periods when she nurtured the Hangingtree's offshoots. Things were going well.

Quite often Karina would suddenly halt and stare in the distance. When asked what happened she would answer things like:

"One of the offshoots just hunted prey." or " One of the branches just had a big meal."

According to her, their idea was working. The hangingtrees they had raised were already happily hunting and growing, returning more energy for further growth to the network. She would only halt when one of the trees was locked in a serious battle.

The dungeons of a lower level on the journey were no problem to Seth, he would often finish them long before Karina was done with erecting another tree. The blacksmith used the time, to work on some more items.

Although working in the middle of the mountains was not optimal, he noticed that he slowly got closer to perfecting the silver weapons. Something to note was, that the only enchantments he used were forging ballads.

He specifically used ballads without any attributes, like those that increased durability, attack power, or one he was especially fond of: one that could increase the skill damage. There was a simple reason for this.

One could say they were blanks for improving his etching and engraving skills. It was not about the functionality, but Seth found that his enchantments were not always pretty. This was also something a craftsman should keep in mind.

Just because the enchantment would function, didn't mean it was not important where and how it was placed. He had learned the basics for this and how to hide the enchantments in decorative engraving, but he never truly practiced it.

It was all to consolidate his basics and build a firm foundation. On one hand, there was his pride as a craftsman, but there was also the thought of the Olympian enchantments and blueprints. Back then he didn't have the time to care, but the power of the enchantments and items was also based on the approval of the deity.

The better the item was, the better the result. The improvement of his practical skills also translated to his <Soul Forging> and also improve the effects of his <Soul Infusion>.

On the third day after the swamp dungeon, they reached the next lv. 70 dungeon.

Similar to the one from Una and Tearlach, this one was also a natural system of caves. The opponents inside were a tribe of High-Lizardmen. Interestingly enough, Seth had heard that, like Orcs, High-Lizardmen could be met as dungeon mobs and as players.

This meant that they possessed the basic requirements to be players in the system. From the rumors Seth heard, this discrepancy was because of their origin. The mobs in dungeons often came from worlds without the system and appeared in dungeons because of the dungeon god.

On the other hand, it could even hit ambiguous existences like Al'Zalsar. She never specified whether she was a player or had turned into a monster by becoming a lich, but she WAS forcibly transported to a dungeon in a different world and forced to serve as the boss. She never talked a lot about her time in the dungeon or her time before the dungeon.

The point was, that High-lizardmen were strong and intelligent humanoids that were able to use equipment and magic with strategy. They were a great whetstone to sharpen the golems' fighting style. As they collected actual combat experience, their ego developed and so did their combat efficiency.

Seth entered the dungeon through a gaping maw at the side of a smaller mountain. It really was what one would expect of a "dungeon entrance". Past the tooth-like stalagmites and stalactites waited only and thick blackness.

Like with every dungeon, one could not see inside from the outside. Only when he entered, did the blackness recede and gave free the view of a dimly lit cave. There were torches here and there and there were other signs of habitation. A smoothed ground and patterns carved into the walls.

The blacksmith brought out the five Golem Knights he wanted to raise and started to explore the dungeon. They didn't have to walk far to find a group of lizardmen that were talking in a mix of croaking and hissing.

<High-Lizardman Warrior lv.69>

<Observation> alarmed the troop, but the golems were already in formation. Seth did not start a surprise attack, as he wanted to see how the golems would fare against the intelligent opponents.

Both sides were evenly matched if it wasn't for the difference in equipment when it came to the golems. The balance quickly in favor of the golems as they cut down the lizardmen after a short struggle.

The experience gain was okay, but the drops were a little lacking. Like most humanoids, the lizardmen didn't drop good materials and their equipment was not worth it, for Seth to sacrifice inventory space.

He could only sigh when he picked up 2 medium souls. He had already collected a bunch of medium and some small souls in the previous dungeons. What he had hoped for, were some uncommon souls from these more intelligent creatures.

The blacksmith lamented the lack of souls with an aptitude for a job that had to do with magic. Those were rare mostly because beasts seldom learned magic. Seth really hoped for some souls with the qualification to become a mage, as he lacked golem casters.

It was what the golems needed to make up a functioning party, as he was currently the only mage.

They continued on and came across several more small groups when they finally found a group with a lizardman that wore robes covered in script and a staff in his hand. This had to be a shaman.

Seth planned his next step thoroughly. Not really. The bard decided to take this into his own hands. He wanted to harvest that soul, which meant that he needed to get to the shaman before it died.

Two fire lances immediately burned down two lizardmen, before they could react to the attack, the cave was filled with a thick sandstorm that extinguished the few torches. Only screams could be heard in the impenetrable sand.

The lizardman caster had just started chanting something, when the dark glinting tip of Seth's giant's rod, clad in fire, pierced his chest. Its primeval scream of pain and anguish fill the blacksmith's ears, as its chest cavity was flooded by fire.

At the moment, when it was about to die, the spirit blacksmith grasped its soul and ripped it out from its body. In a matter of seconds, he had killed the group of lizardmen and harvested the caster's soul.

<Healer's Soul (Medium, Uncommon), Crafting material

The almost complete soul of a high-lizardman with a small talent for healing magic.>

"A healer, not a mage?" Set thought to himself in surprise.

A healing golem...? This was not quite what he wanted. Maybe he could use it for an item, or...A golem healer could be quite popular if he were to rent it out. There were not many players that chose healing classes, despite the importance of healers for parties.

Healers also often lacked in physical skills, which made them an easy target. A golem with healing powers would have none of the weaknesses while keeping all the strengths. It was an interesting thought, but not appropriate for the situation.

Stashing away the souls, he continued deeper into the dungeon, followed by his golem party.