Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

"You seemed to be brooding about something."

"It's just... it's about Puffles."

"Puffles?" Mina asked surprised. .

"Seeing all these people and parties with their pets... it's already been over three months, Mina," he said depressed. The Ivicer had not spoken to him ever since he closed up. Seth was worried.

"I know you are worried. But he's Puffles the Mighty, the great Ivicer. I bet he will come back as if nothing happened and make fun of you for worrying."

"You are probably right. I should believe in him," he said with a smile.

"Look, the second round is starting."

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"Oh god, are they serious?!" James blocked the strike of a heavy war axe with his shield and almost lost his footing.

The second round had a tremendous increase in difficulty. The first mob to appear were the last ones from the last round. A team of hobgoblins had appeared before them. Although their power was greater, the couple could manage with room to spare.

What came after them was the real challenge. A pair of Orcs. And orc warrior and an orc shaman. The over two-meter-tall humanoid were hulking mountains of muscle. Even the shaman had more muscle than a bodybuilder.

The biggest problem was, that Orcs were not simply monsters. They had a human level of intellect coupled with several times the power which made the fight a lot harder.

"I am Ir-Grash, Warrior of the Wolverine Tribe. Be honored to become a sacrifice to my axe!" the green he-man hollered in a flurry of strikes.

James could compete with the Orc thanks to the level difference, but this didn't hold up for long. The shaman in the back kept throwing hexes at him and Jess.

He could feel his strength weaken and his body slowing down before he got the notification of the status effects.

" Can you manage Jamie? I might need a little longer to cast!" Jess pressed out of her lips from behind him.

He only nodded and used his armors effects to counter the shaman's debuff and keep exchanging blows with Ir-Grash.

Finally, Jess finished casting her spell and shot a fire lance at the orc warrior. With a snort, the warrior dodged cause the lance to pass by him and hitting the shaman in the back in the kidneys.

With an ear-shattering explosion and a pitiful scream, the lance exploded and ripped off the left side of the chanting shaman's abdomen. Burst and scrambled intestines could be seen in the wound as the shaman fall to the ground.

Seeing his comrade fall because of his plunder enraged the orc warrior. The hits of his weapon numbed James's arm and he could only desperately try to block the attack and keep the orc away from his partner.

He tried his best but when the orc barely dodge a fireball coming for its head he lost the aggro. Ir-Gash diverted his sword and shoved the human away as he stormed at the mage girl.

James used a quick slash from behind aiming for the Orc's calves and missing tragically. The mage girl didn't stop chanting, even when the Orc's oversized axe came down at Jess's face. The blade was blocked just inches away from her face.

On her shoulder sat a small blue owl with amber eyes and a golden marking around its eyes looking like glasses. She had trusted this little fella, her pet Eustas. Jess finished her chant and another fire lance shot at Ir-Gash, this time at point-blank range.

The warrior pulled the wide axe blade before his chest in an attempt to block the magic. In an explosion of fire and smoke, the lump of muscle was catapulted away while Jess staggered back and fell on her but.

She looked at the cloud of dust and smoke where the orc had landed but she could hear angry grunts and screams from within! It was not enough to end the orc warrior once and for all.

He had raised himself. The axe blade had molten and he only held a handle with scrap metal at the end. The muscular chest was covered in burns and blisters but the orc still stood strong.

The strike had ended his rage and he tried to calmly judge the situation. The shaman had died and turned into particles. The mage was getting back on her feet and staring at him in shock. The warrior-

A sharp pain assaulted him and he saw a long sword blade emerge from his left chesticle. There was the warrior. Behind him. He heard his own skull crunch when the attacker smashed his shield into the back of his head.

Ir-Grash fell to knees as the sword was pulled out of his chest. Blood spurted from the wound and the orc had a hard time catching a thought.

"Ir-Gash...has lost."

The orc fell limp after muttering this. Moments later they got the kill notification and he started turning into particles like any corpse left in a dungeon.

They sighed a breath of relief. This was a huge jump in difficulty. Jess was even forced to summon her pet against mobs almost 5 levels lower than them.

Like in the previous rounds, they were given a short break they could use to prepare for the next spawn. Jess chugged a mana potion while James had a stamina potion and half a water bottle. A siren notified them that their next spawn was about to happen.

The couple got in formation and awaited their next opponents. Jess already started chanting a fire lance to greet whatever was coming out of the portal. The orc pair had really ruffled their nerves and brought their head back in the game.

Immediately after the portal opened and a humanoid figure stepped out the fire lance was launched at the creature. Instead of an explosion of fire and smoke, the lance puffed out of existence when it hit the humanoid.

The portal closed and they got a good look at their opponents.

"Dragonnewts! Shit!" Jess cursed like a sailor behind James.

The two figures were covered in orange scales and elaborate leather armor. Their faces were more humanoid than those of lizardmen but resembled a cute newt more than a lizard. These people were allegedly related to Dragons like Dragonoids, but a lot more distant.

James also wasn't happy about this development. Dragonnewts were comparable to orcs in physical strength, but they came with high magic resistance. Especially against fire magic, Jess's forte as a fire mage.

He had to prepare to carry this fight. When he wanted to drink a buff potion but was interrupted by one of the newts charging at him. It wielded a quick rapier he managed to evade in the last moment. Behind the amphibian fencer, his companion already started chanting a spell.

On top of being resistant to magic, they were even good at using it themself! What an unfair race! He had not much time to spare for the caster as the fencer kept him occupied. At least the passive taunt skill seemed to work, as both focused on him.

The caster shouted a signal and the fencer suddenly distanced himself. A huge fireball had formed between the hands of the dragonnewt and he was about to fire it when he was hit in the face by a waterball.

Jess had waited for this moment. Although these low-level spells did no damage, they were quick to cast and it was enough to disrupt the attack. The fireball was diverted and James was able to evade the spell in the nick of time.

Eustas, the little Lapis Owl, shot an Ice Pike at the fencer; giving James the chance to land a hit when he evaded the magic. A deep, heavily bleeding gash now impeded the fencer's movement while the caster put his attention on Jess.

James didn't have the time to use a skill to gain his aggro and was forced to reveal another card up their sleeve. An armor wolf, James's pet, attacked the caster, getting his attention. The wolf had a great defense and would be able o take a few hits.

In the meantime, Jess and Eustas worked with James to take down the weakened fencer. Three on one the fencer had no chance and succumbed soon. His wolf had suffered quite some damage in and James unsummoned his wolf to save it from further harm...

"And this concludes the first day of our event!" the announcer said after the last fight of this round ended. Jess and James had successfully finished their fight and watched others fail or succeed.

They were in a good mood right now. They could take a break the next day and only had to enter the third round tomorrow evening.

The first round had already eliminated many competitors and judging by how many others got through this part of the second round, there would probably be no more than 150 others on the third day.

Their chances were good.