Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Although Karina had charged in like a confused deer, she suddenly halted when she saw a stranger, Cromwel, sitting opposite of Seth.

"Talk to me if it's urgent," the blacksmith asked her after a short deliberation.

"I lost connection with the sapling on Mount Agra."

These were serious news, as it could only mean that the tree was killed. The sapling in Mount Agra was by far not the biggest one, but something that was able to break into the city and defeat it was worrisome. Both the fact it got through the divine barrier and it defeated the Hangingtree.

"Mary please call the advance troops and warn them," Seth quickly ordered. "In the meantime, I will go to the workshop and finish up." Mary nodded and told a subordinate to contact them.

"Cromwel. Do you want to come along when we set off?" Seth offered. He was also interested in what the doctor could do. The doc agreed, it was also a chance for Cromwel. It was decided that he would wait until Seth and the others were ready.

The message to get ready for departure was announced across Minas Mar while Seth vanished in his workshop, to finish the mask and the bat. Since the mask was less finished, the blacksmith decided to start with the bat's soul.

Shaping it into the mirror image of the truncheon was the easier part, at this point- The soul's enchantment was already decided on and would be the mammoth part of the task. Since he used the weight control enchantment on the bat, Seth needed to engrave Hephaestus's Basic Automaton Core Circuit for the soul.

He felt drained after the effort of engraving the circuits once again. It really didn't become easier the second time. With the Oni Maneater's Soul turned into a quasi-sentient soul armament, Seth didn't take the time for a break and inserted it into the physical bat.

<Ding! You have finished a special item! >

<Ding! An antagonism has refined the power of Molag and changed your item.>

<Ding! The effect of a tool has changed your item.>

<Ding! A synergy between power has changed your item.>

Looking at the bat, most of it was as expected. Except for two things.

<The Bat

Special

Phys. Damage: 3000

Durability: 6000

1. +300 Strength

2. +350 Agility

3. 50% chance for an Attack to carry the Death Attribute

4. +260% Physical Damage

5. Grants the Trait: Kanabō Demon

6. 35% Armor Penetration

7. 20% Armor Breaking

8. Passive Skill: Gravtiy Bat

9. Passive Skill: Anesthesia

10. Active Skill: The Bonkening

A true classic reborn by the hands of Master Smith, the first Master Blacksmith of Urth, as the holy weapon of Wepwawet. Another weapon of choice for any thug, delinquent, or mobster in its most high-caliber form, yet. Enchanted by the first Master Enchanter of Urth, Master Smith using divine and mysterious means.

It fits another of his stellar works and may become part of a set in the future.

Requirement: Chosen of Wepwawet>

The first one was the small addendum of the flavor text. It mentioned that there was a chance of it becoming part of a set in the future and it was not part of one with the bow...

The other was the skill added by Charon's Obol

<Active Skill: The Bonkening No Cost, 12h Cooldown

Chant: "Vibrant Scape of a Thousand Violent Bonks"

Summon a copy of The Bat for every successful hit in the last 30 minutes, up to 1000. They possess 70% of the original's power output and automatically attack surrounding enemies.>

Staring at the hammer in puzzlement, Seth was at a loss for words as to where that one came from. The others were as expected. The <Gravity Bat> was the option to increase and decrease the bat's weight in cooperation with the ego.

<Anesthesia> on the other hand was a skill that gave a 50% chance to knock someone out with a hit to the head. This seemed like an adequate result for when one got hit in the head by a massive piece of metal. Of course, there always came resistance into play that tweaked these chance and their results. But since it was a skill powered by divinity, the chances of resisting the skill with just a thick skull or a normal skill were small.

Putting the bat aside, the blacksmith immediately brought out the mask. He didn't start right away. Seth gave his body a moment to recover while he checked the mask and planned the layout for the enchantments.

At this time, he really had to commend himself. Although it was a pain for him and he worked quite a long time on it, the resulting mask was praiseworthy. Chiseled from the bright silver was an androgynous face that emitted an aura of pride and indifference.

Jonah would really hate it, but it perfectly fit the swordsman's aura in battle. It was definitely more fitting than the demonic mask. That didn't mean Jonah would have to give on similar effects as the mask had.

Seth had purchased two rather expensive items for the sole purpose of taking them apart and learning the enchantments. One was the epic item Oculus of Trurun and Monocle of the Lunatic. Both were epic items with just a single effect.

The first was an artificial eye, and the other a monocle. The first lent the power of the Fearful Evil Eye, the other that of the Maddening Evil eye. Now, the price would have already been high just for these effects being rare.

Yet it was even higher because the technology to make something like this was rare. This was the point. They were actually, physically enchanted with these effects, and not the result of the dungeon's RNG or the magic enchantment of an Enchanter.

This meant that Seth would be able to learn them with his <Eyes of the Maestro>. He cried some bitter tears at the almost 200 gold he had spent on these as he used his skill to dismantle them. It was an unfortunate necessity to truly understand them and enter his enchantment catalog.

Once they appeared in his catalog, their difficulty was actually quite shocking. The items were rated epic, but the enchantments actually required a master-level of skill to be used on an item. He was just lucky that he was already a master.

From a picky standpoint, Seth would have preferred to get something like the evil eye of Charm or Paralysis, as they would have been more fitting for Jonah's overall new aura. Well, beggars couldn't be choosers. He was lucky that he even found items with these kinds of effects, and enchantments. The soul's trait would have to take on the charming part.

Although they required the level of master, Seth heaved a sigh of relief, as they were still less complicated than the Basic Automaton Core Circuit. Instead of disturbing the perfect face of the mask, he planned to engrave the enchantments on the inside.

Using the enchantment table's features, he managed to plan out the optimal placements for the circuits so that the right eye would be the Maddening Evil Eye, while the right one would be the Fearful Evil Eye.

He had long forgotten how much time had passed when he finally finished the two enchantments successfully. Now came the third most dreaded part of this built. Seth would have to replicate the mask's perfect features once again in soul form.

He already started sweating at just the thought of perfectly replicating that face again. Despite his concerns and his heart quivering, he didn't have the time to doubt himself. But before he could start on the soul forging, there was an important step that came first.

~Anybody present?~ he asked in demon language using <Telepathy>.

~I don't want to talk.~ it echoes back from the soul. The put was clearly audible.

A demon had lost its soul, it was kind of ironic. It was understandable that she was embarrassed or sulky and not in the mood to talk.

~Well, but you will have to since I'm putting your soul to use and want to speak about the conditions of your cooperation.~

~Are do you plan on doing?~ the voice asked slightly frightened.

~Well, I was going to engrave some magic into your soul and infuse it into an item as a power source.~ He answered frankly.

~P-Please don't hurt my soul.~ she squeaked afraid.

~Everything will be fine if you cooperate. You will be reborn as a mask, and if you agree to help the wearer I choose for you, I can forgo the enchanting on your soul.~

~F-Fine.~

~By the way, what's your name?~

~T-Tryx, why?"

~How would we be able to make a soul contract otherwise?~