Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Like Orry Abell, many people that were professional craftsmen before the apocalypse had chosen to return to their profession and chose a fitting class later on. They also had much of their merchandise confiscated which crippled their businesses.

Seeing no future like this, many applied to join Minas Mar or migrate to the Tree Route. It was the first time that Seth actually became busy in his position as head of the crafting department, It was on him to decide who would be scouted and who would be allowed to migrate.

The blacksmith moaned at the stacks of papers that filled his desk. Despite these already being pre-sorted based on several criteria by other staff, they were still a discouraging amount of work. He wanted to get back in his workshop and work with the new materials and souls.

But he knew this work was necessary. They had brought a lot of materials from the holy land. Even more, than they could store. Much of it was below the level that could help him, Wedan, or Hoen. They could have sold them, but it seemed like a waste. Finding some promising people and growing them to bulk up their craft force was more attractive.

This was also a way to diversify and make the best use of the stored material. There were not just blacksmiths, but also leather workers and bowers, like Bess and Daimon. They had a great source of powerful wood with the Hanging Tree and a huge stockpile of leathers that would finally see some good use.

Even some Herbalists and Alchemists that showed promise applied to join. Similarly, Minas Mars had a great herb garden that became even more powerful with the help of Hebalist Otto, Karina, and Karina's pupils.

Compared to their facilities and supplies, Alchemists and Herbalists were underrepresented. But they couldn't just provide the materials. With people like Alison, the dwarfs, and the Faer to coach newcomers, there was no doubt would be able to grow quickly and become just the people they needed to supply the new Copper Anvils they would open in Tree Station One and along the tree route.

The new Turquoise Anvil would also open in Tree Station One. Seth had no intention of selling things directly in Delta ever again. If people in Delta wanted something from Minas Mar, they would have to rely on merchants from the Tree Route to sell it with a hike-up.

While people needed to undergo a thorough background check to join Minas Mar, the criteria to move to the tree route were a lot laxer. As long as someone had the right skill level, they would be directly allowed. Depending on their skill level, they may even get preferential treatment. Seth had nothing to do with these people as they had already been sorted out of the applications that made their way to him.

By relaxing their strict requirements for the migration, they siphoned out most of the talented people in Delta. The reason was not overly complex. Their actions would have consequences. If the useful production classes left, the supply within Delta would decline, making the district more reliant on external sources.

At first glance, this may seem like they were playing Ichabod right in his hands. The current chancellor of Delta had been moving to strengthen external powers and weaken the local ones. However, now something had changed. The people had a way out.

Before Delta was a land surrounded by deadly mountains, the citizens with a low average level or classes with low combat power had no choice but to stay, they couldn't seek their fortune in the wilderness. They were an easy-to-exploit human resource.

But now Minas Mar had opened their gates. You don't like how things are in Delta? Explore the tree route! Maybe settle in one of the Tree Stations? Or join one of the many ventures that branch out from the tree route. Emigration into the no man's lands offered a chance for success for everyone. At least more than Delta.

By indirectly "helping" Longbottom turn Delta into a shitty place to live, they got an unending stream of people filling the tree route and got to play the good guys.. On that note, Delta did surprisingly little to stop them or go against them in any way. It was an easy-to-predict trend, but the leadership didn't seem to have any intention to move to stop it.

The best part was, that all they had to do was keep doing what they had been doing anyways and raking in rent. Governing people was hard and complicated, and none of them wanted to do that. They were all normal people before and had no interest in these things. Not even Mary who was the most fitting to be one didn't want to become a politician.

This was why they chose a hand-off approach and decided to let the people govern themselves based on the laws of Urth. Even when the tree stations were given autonomy and they would not interfere much with people's lives, the whole city was still owned by them. The money would come to them either way.

Although that was a risky approach as the success depended on the elected leaders, they had been lucky so far, since Vlad had been doing great work in leading the people of Sigma in Tree Station One. Although Seth did not really like him for his actions in the past, he was a good governor. As long as similarly dependable people got the job in the currently smaller tree stations, there was nothing to worry about.

"Are you still working? You should take a break," Mina entered his office.

"Yeah, come eat with us?" Fin invited, sitting on her shoulder.

The blacksmith was tired of reading applications and stood up to take a break without hesitation. His girlfriends asked for his attention. He still had an incredulous smile, every time he thought about it.

These days, the only relaxation Seth experienced was when he spent his time with Fin and Mina. He had been a little worried about things becoming strained after that night, but if anything changed, then it was that their relationship had become even less complicated.

If anything threw a shade on their time together, it was the state of the current Delta. Clubs and bars had to close early. The curfew effectively killed the nightlife. They could not even go out to have a nice meal in a fine-dining restaurant in the evening.

One could feel it. The heavy atmosphere that hung over Delta also ruined shopping or simply eating out. New movies had been indefinitely delayed, so going to the movie theater also fell flat. They couldn't really enjoy going out on dates anymore. Although the demon district was not as affected by these changes, it wasn't a place to go on dates.

The silver lining was that they had more time for "couple stuff" at home. Seth wasn't going to complain about it.

Seth wasn't the only busy one. While the blacksmith was preoccupied with the administrative work for the crafting team, it was the same for the other Lords. After all, there were not only production classes asking to join. Although craftsmen were at the forefront of people applying to join, there were also many adventurers that wanted to use the chance to explore the outside.

In general, Minas Mar would not send any good people away. The trustworthy ones were offered to join the Oathguard or were deferred to the new auxiliary guilds, like the Boulder Guild and the New Chequers guild under Gin Ness.

Other talented individuals that didn't wish to join Minas Mar but just wanted to migrate were offered preferential treatment. Everyone else couldn't expect any help, but they also wouldn't be denied entry to the Tree Stations, if they managed to get there on their own.

A big help in this was actually Jack Felton. The Instructor was at the forefront of interviewing promising applicants. Thanks to his class and life experience he was the most practiced in judging someone's character and skill.

Not only that, but he had also indirectly shaped the structure of the Oathguard, a growing Dependable leader like Ortega that could also take on some of the administrative work. Apart from the few leaders with the talent to help the Oathguard, the Faer, and the Chimeras were the only people not doing anything actively.

Many had either reached lv.90 or their personal max-level. As their most presentable force, they were on standby in case Delta unexpectedly ended up doing something. They currently spent most of their training or technically having a break since there were no dungeons or hunting grounds in Delta that could help them grow further.

The same was true for the other members of the Oathguard that had stayed behind. They were around lv.66 on average now and the dungeons in Delta that could allow them to level quickly were scarce and many were now occupied for exclusive use by Delta.

This made Evee's task one of the most important.