Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

It was a group of big tents, like you would sometimes see in historical movies. They were made of thick black canvas-like cloth. It was heavy and rough to the touch, but it was darker than any cloth he had ever seen.

The insides were pitch black. Seth had to affix the flap to stay open, so light could fall in. the interior had rich decorations and the floor was covered in fine carpets. This must have been the tent of someone with a high rank. There was a soft looking bed a table and a big well-made chest.

"Were they in a hurry?", Seth asked when he looked at a bottle and half-filled goblet on the table. The contents reminded him a little of wine. But the smell definitely didn't.

Unfortunately, the chest only contained spare clothes. As terrible as his current clothes looked, he would never wear something as frilly and pompous as the stuff he found in there. Even his hopes that they might be enchanted were dashed by <Blacksmith's Eyes>. Just ordinary ugly clothes.

Most tents were like that. These people were really stingy! Couldn't they have left something good for a poor young man trying to make a living in the apocalypse?

Most of the tents looked the same level of luxurious, but none actually contained anything helpful.

All he could do was collect the tent's tarp. They seemed very sturdy, maybe they came in handy later.

But Seth didn't give up! He would thoroughly loot- err, search! All the tents. It actually happened as he was wandering in between the tents that he heard the jingle of metal.

When he looked down, he saw the glinting of a ring he had kicked with his foot. Did someone lose it?It was a simple smooth silver ring. He picked it up and appraised it with <Blacksmith′s Eyes>. Worst case it was just a crafting material, but...

<Magic Ring

Uncommon

Durability: 12/20

1. Increases Mana by 2%

2. Increases Intelligence by 5

A mass-produced magical ring worn by low-ranking members Arget Nore`s Army.>

It was actually an item with stats! Although the options looked unremarkable beggars can't be choosers. Seth had nothing and now he had something. And having 50 points more mana lifted his mood tremendously!

Seth mood fell again, when the ring stayed the only useful thing he found in the camp. There were no food supplies he was willing to trust and not a glimpse of equipment.

He could only sigh and move on! Time spent looting was time well spent, but he had to decide on a place where he could hole up and grind his skills! A base!

Looking around, the Buildings surrounding the central plaza were... no very good options. Ignoring the fact that the gate could open again at any time, the structures around here were very open public buildings or shopping malls. All of them sported a very fashionable shattered glass front door, most building were wearing it this year...

Worst thing was, that they had all looked like they had already been ransacked.

Seth had to go and look for something sturdy for his base. Something he could defend. In the evening he finally came to a neighborhood he liked.

In the end he chose one of those apartment houses similar to the one he had hidden in last night, with sturdy wooden doors at the entrance and barred windows on the ground floors. It was close enough to the city center to have no zombies around, but not too close, so he had time to get away of the Pathworks opened again.

Looking around the entrance hall he found a bundle of spare keys at the janitors place and locked the front door behind him. With a securely locked door between him and the world, a weight finally fell off Seth's shoulders, he had not noticed before.

He leaned his back against the reassuringly thick wooden door and slid to the ground. For some time, Seth just sat there on the ground and enjoyed the silence and chill form the floor tiles. This might have been the first time he actually relaxed since... the apocalypse started.

After a good while he stood up and inspected the door.

"Should I reinforce it…? No, no... it should be enough for today.", Seth decided.

He went up the stairs to see which place would become his new home. Regrettably, most of the potential homes were drenched in blood and filled with the stench of death. Not really places he wanted to live in. They were still places he wanted to loot, so his luggage kept growing.

He kept going up the stairs until he reached the rooftop. Then he went back down and inspected the first floor again. He had noticed something weird. After some looking around a little, he actually found a private elevator!

Seth knew there was something wrong with the last staircase! There had been no doors for the floor right below the roof.

This elevator probably led to a private suite! But he could′t trust the elevator. So, he used the maintenance ladder to climb up. This reminded him that ladders also really weren't his thing... Especially not with a big sack of foods he had to tow up with him.

At the end of the ladder, he really found the elevator doors to a suite! The whole upper floor was one big clean apartment with high ceilings, wide hallways, and big rooms!

It was just perf-

"Uargh..!", the previous owner asserted his claim over this living space.

It was the zombie of an old man, who probably could not leave because... let's be honest. Regular zombies are too dumb to use an elevator, even if it works.

Seth ended his preposterous claims with a quick swipe of the billhook. Some corpse pulling and a kick later he had delivered the man, who returned to the afterlife, out of a window and onto the street with a splat.

The whole upper floor was one big clean apartment with high ceilings, wide hallways, and big rooms. No previous owners!

Yes, this place was just perfect!

Since he had chosen this place as his new permanent home, Seth started to unload the food from his inventory and the backpack into the kitchen. It was a very big and modern kitchen with counter tops made of marble and all the appliances with stainless steel. It was as if someone took it straight out of a catalog. It actually held a big surprise for him, the cabinets were well filled with non-perishable goods and the fridge was filled to the brim, too.

Deltan's power grid was still working so the things were still edible! How lucky!

Seth was so happy that he cooked up a feast to enjoy. There really was more food left in the world, than he had thought!

After filling his belly to his hearts content he stumbled into the bedroom and enjoyed the soft embrace of a high-quality bed.

"Ahh, yes.. I′m home!", he mumbled and fell asleep.