Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Following the peaceful morning, a messenger appeared asking to meet Seth. It was not someone sent by Delta, but one of Al'Zalsar's people. The sorceress had assembled a sizable collection of boy toys, but also useful people in her property at the red light district.

They were not technically part of Minas Mar, but they were in charge of the <Ithildin> Refinery Al had set up inside the building. It was one of the few connections to surface Delta, and a reason why they decided to set up something like an embassy.

Another one was the auction house and the system bank. They were still in the middle of talks to set up branches of the auction house and the system bank in tree station one. Still, from Minas Mar, the magic tower, Delta was still closer.

They didn't worry about Delta making a move on Al's property and the people living there. The reason was simple, the Lich's abode was probably the safest building in Delta. Even better secured than the parliament or Minas Mar's embassy.

The same could be said about her people. Seth doubted that the sorceress would leave her lovers defenseless when she was a master enchanter able to whip up relic and legendary-rated items on the go.

A couple of days earlier they had sent the proposal they made to the staff from Delta, to the people of Al'Zalsar's home, but received a unanimous refusal. With Al's preparations for them, none of them had any reason to move, even if Delta turned into a hellscape.

Instead, they assured their services to continue to refine <Ithildin> as the sorceress had instructed them to and that they would soon send someone with the first big batch. The day after the big announcement, the carrier of presents appeared on their doorstep.

Hearing that a whole box of <Ithildin> arrived for him, Seth got slightly excited. He couldn't deny that he had neglected the material in the past months, because of his success in making legendary <Olympian Silver>.

Although <Ithildin> was "only" an epic metal, it was the best epic metal there was and something that had to be kept in mind, that every <Ithildin> was different, despite being <Ithildin>. Since it was <Mithril> that was refined with the power of the moon, its properties could slightly differ depending on the world it was refined in.

Its basic property of the highest mana conductivity of all materials, not including materials of specific elements, always stayed the same. It also seemed to have a good affinity with souls and the night, but there could be additional effects depending on the moon. With the one refined on Urth, Seth had experienced three kinds of <Ithildin>.

One was the spear made by Forgebrand and made of <Ithildin> of undetermined origin. Compared to the <Ithildin> he had gotten from Polter's people it had an even higher mana conductivity but no other special characteristics.

Then there was the huge amount of <Ithildin> that he had gotten from the dwarfs in exchange for the Mithril door they had looted from the cursed dragon's hoard. This <Ithildin> was surprisingly sturdy, as sturdy as <Olympian Silver> of the same tier. Which was why Seth had decided to also use it for vessels and some armor.

Now the one of Urth, he had not yet worked with. Al'Zalsar formation for the refinement of <Ithildin> only worked on full moons and the first full moon since the completion happened while they were away. Although the sorceress had brought him samples, Seth had been preoccupied with other projects at the time.

Despite the whole business of going independent, he was a lot freer now than before. Many of his friends had gained power from the gods, whether they were chosen or received blessings. They had also returned with a sizable force of Golems and Undead.

Since he also reached the master tier in most of his skills, he was not as driven for results anymore. With all the materials they brought back from the Holy Land, Seth could spend more time refining his craftsmanship and experimenting on items.

The messenger of Al'Zalsar's Domicile was not the last one. A lot of people came by congratulations, presents, and proposals after the public announcement of Minas Mar's decision. Many belonged to businesses that had joined them or followed their expansion outward.

Some also belonged to businesses that had held to Minas Mar previously and experienced especially harsh treatment in the recent weeks thanks to this. Most of them directly, or indirectly, asked to move to, or even play a role in the development of the other tree Stations along the Tree Route.

They shared their intention to not just invest but commit and move their complete businesses and what was left of their assets. Obviously, they hoped for preferential treatment. Seth left those kinds of people to Mary. As the chosen of Hestia, she didn't just gain strength, but she was now a champion of domestics.

Seth only met three people personally. The first was Al's handsome boy toy that brought the box of <Ithildin>. The second was actually a messenger of the Auction house and not just anyone.

"It is great to finally meet the great craftsman personally. My name is Majdi Barr, I'm the branch manager of the inter-dimensional Auction House in Delta. I'm sorry for my late visit," he introduced himself politely and apologized with a bow.

This was the first time they met personally. Although Seth was an avid user of the auction house, he never bothered with the staff there. He knew that Mary had met him a few times in their attempt to have a branch set up in Tree Station One.

"Hello, Manager Barr. What brings you here to visit personally today?" Seth asked with some interest. After all, the manager had asked to meet him in person, despite coming without a prior appointment. Intrigued the blacksmith invited him to his lounge where they could speak comfortably.

"It is to deliver something of great importance. I know how this may look, but please do not misunderstand our intentions, because of the circumstances," with this Majdi placed a device on the coffee table between them.

It was roughly the size of a smartphone with similar dimensions. The difference was that it looked like a smooth slab of silver and not an electronic device. Curiously, Seth kept looking at the manager, waiting for him to explain.

"This is a personal VIP terminal to access our Auction House. I had ordered it's production as a congratulatory gift for your ascension to the master grade. It is simply that this kind of device takes a long time to be made and can only be handed over to the recipient in person, " Barr explained.

He knew that currently it just looked like the auction house was currying favor with Minas Mar. The manager knew this which was why he explained the process and stressed that it really wasn't the case.

Seth didn't mind either way. It was a bigger revelation for him, that there were probably many people who knew he had become a master at this point. A master of several skills at that, since all his items, even those he made in the past now stated his name and skill tier.

He knew it subconsciously, but this was the first time he faced the consequence of this. At this point, did it even make sense to hide his name on the rankings? Anybody with a good appraisal skill that saw one of his items would probably make the connection at this point.

"Even if you are an ori huma, we were very surprised how quickly you reached the master tier, in several skills at that. This is the reason why we decided to offer you a personal interface."

Right, they weren't currying favor with Minas Mar, the new and rising district, but with Seth. Why? Because he was a money printer. As long as a master used the auction house to sell items, they would make tons just from their small split on the final price.

"You just have to infuse your magic power onto the terminal and it will register you as the owner, granting you VIP access to the auction house."

he also explained what VIP access meant. It came with quite a few quality-of-life enhancements when using the auction house. Preferential advertisement of his products, lowered prices when it came to inter-dimensional purchases and he could even buy on credit up to a certain limit Overall, it was something Seth happily accepted.

"I understand your intentions. Thank you for such a gracious gift. I will definitely use it to my heart's content."

They only talked for a short while longer, since the manager was a busy man and had to return to his branch. Also, the third visitor was already waiting for Seth in the lobby. It was the guild master of the adventurer guild.