Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

A week later, the Merchant returned. It took a while, but Hubert delivered. And what he delivered was not bad at all. The dimensional merchant was able to bring in a bunch of foreign metals. The variations of iron were the most numerous.

Although iron had no high conductivity for mana, it seemed quite reactive to the power of nature, if given enough time. Variations of silver on the other hand were not as common. Despite Hubert offering many options of epic metals, not all of them fit Seth's criteria.

There were many ways to refine metals to a higher rating through different means. These were out of the question as Seth needed ores that were epic by nature, so he could refine them to above epic. Whether it was the special rating, or the legendary rating was not as important for now.

Of the different materials Hubert offered, only three fit his criteria.

The first was called <Sea Iron> which was an iron ore that had somehow absorbed the aura of the ocean. It was his first time seeing it, which gave him a new entry in his materials catalog.

<Sea Iron, Epic

Iron refined from an ore found in the depth of the ocean in places where dragon veins cross. Over millennia the ore has absorbed the cold and pressure of the sea, granting it a high affinity with water and cold. >

Although it was most likely possible to refine it into <Bones of Seth>, the blacksmith wasn't sure about the outcome. Not only were there few members in Minas Mar that had water attributes, he feared it would clash with the attributes of the god himself.

Although Seth, the god, was a god of chaos, he leaned more in the direction of earth, desert, and storms. There was a possibility of these properties clashing with each other. The other two were a little better in this regard.

One was called <Scur Ore> which was like the crystallization of <Dark Iron>.

< Scur Ore, Rare

Iron ore rarely found among deposits of dark crystals. The ore has been drenched in darkness, by being adjacent to places where the power of darkness has collected for eons and formed crystal-like stalagmites. The material has a high affinity to all dark powers and can be refined to <Scur Iron> in a furnace.>

Although it was just rare, it was iron ore and not the refined metal. The <Scur iron> mentioned was guaranteed to be of an epic rating. This was a great material to refine into <Bones of Seth>. With his improved luck and the Lucky Trinket ring he made together with Al'Zalsar, he didn't worry too much about the chaos factor.

If the resulting material kept the dark properties of the <Scur Iron>, it would be perfect to use on light armor for shadow assassins like Mina and Lydia. The only problem was the scarcity. Even if Seth was ready to buy all of it, there was not a lot to buy. McCarthy managed to scrape together roughly 10 kg of raw ore, that still needed to be refined.

Lastly, there was <Gale Silver>, probably the biggest surprise the merchant brought him.

<Gale Silver, Epic

Silver from veins found on high peaks. The metal was ground out of the rock and battered by strong storms that raged for centuries, slowly polishing and refining the silver. Materials had a high affinity to all wind elemental powers.>

This was the only promising candidate to make his first above-epic <Olympian Silver>. Although he didn't know how the wind affinity would react with the refinement through pure fire, but this seemed to have more chance of success than the <Sea Iron> had to become good <Bones of Seth>.

The silver also came in an unexpectedly high quantity with 50kg being ready for purchase.

Despite only these three being fit for further refinement, he bought some of most of the metals McCarthy could offer him. He saw some use in these materials for the armors and weapons of the other members of Minas Mar, not just the Lords.

Some of them helped him cover up the lack of metals of all elemental affinities. While elemental affinities were not as important for a pure melee fighter, they were quite important when it came to the equipment of specialized mages.

He could have also bought most of these at the auction house, but there was a distinct advantage to using the Dimensional Merchant. The auction house only accepted system gold, while the Merchant could be bartered with.

Seth could exchange weapons, armors, and materials he didn't need for the materials he wanted. The other reason was that it could help McCarthy increase the level of his dimensional trading. Obviously, he didn't help the man because he liked him. This was a pure business decision.

Once McCarthy's skill improved, he was expected to be able to deliver legendary materials. This would make things a lot easier, if he could directly use legendary materials, instead of having to try and refine them.

After this first deal with McCarthy, Seth gave him a permanent order to look out for these and similar epic materials. He also had another Idea. His third dose of Alison's attribute potion was due and thinking of her he had a sudden inspiration

He planned to introduce the merchant to Alison and Evee. If someone had an even more significant use for the merchant's set of skills than Seth, it was the pair of alchemist and witch that needed even more exotic materials for their craft than the blacksmith did.

"Alison, you here?"

"Psht!" he was scolded.

The alchemist was currently holding a pair of beakers and seemed to be slowly pouring a liquid from one into the other. She wore thick goggles, like ones sued for welding and her unkempt hair stood off in unnatural directions.

She was the spitting image of a muddleheaded cartoon scientist. The blacksmith patiently waited for almost half an hour until she finished whatever she was doing. Only after she put down everything and lifted the goggles, did he dare to approach.

"Did you come for your potion?" she skipped the greeting.

"How did you know?" Seth asked back, mildly surprised.

"You don't really have any other reason to show your face here."

"What if I simply came to spend some time with our lonely star scientist?"

"Don't need it. Come on, we both have too much better stuff to do than this small talk. Get your potion and leave."

"Sure, but I actually have a second reason to visit you and Evee. A reason for you two to go out and get some fresh air."

"And what would that be?" she asked skeptically.

"I will introduce you to a man."

"Fuck off."

"Just a joke. It's not that kind of man," the bard cleared up the intentional misunderstanding.

"He's the dimensional merchant Hubert McCarthy and allegedly a chosen of a God of Trade."

"Why would we want to meet him?"

"Well, he has good skills in procuring materials and other stuff. I just finished a deal with him before coming here and thought to myself. "Wouldn't Alison and Evee also profit from a guy who can directly purchase all kinds of stuff from other dimensions?" I think you get what I'm playing at."

"Yeah, I'm not stupid. I will tell Evee when she comes back. Now get your potion and leave."

Although Seth was still some distance off from leveling up to lv.72, he didn't feel driven thanks to this potion and Link's food. Despite not leveling, his stats kept rising slowly. And with this potion, his Agility finally rose to 204 points.

<Ding! Title: "Snakeperson" gained. "Your Agility had risen above 200 points" +2 UAP.>

With the reward of the title, he gained another two universal attribute points, making it 8. Now his only normal attribute that had not breached 200 points was intelligence.

As it didn't seem like Alison was up for more small talk, Seth returned to his workshop and occupied himself with the new materials.

While Seth concentrated on his own tasks and skills in general, Delta didn't stop moving either. He would get updates on the progress of the trade route from time to time. The preliminary selection for the first settlers was about to finish, while their various partners in this endeavor had sent out first teams to scout and set up outposts for possible settlements apart from the Tree Route.

It seemed that after checking old maps, they had marked several old cities and mining locations as possible locations for new settlements. Refurbishing the old ruins to quicken the process was an idea Seth found quite ingenious. It seemed that not just he was progressing.