Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

"Are you already done with the tour?" Seth asked a little puzzled.

The princess seemed a little more excited and irritated than he expected. He was pretty sure that Leana had at least some inkling about their magic tower. After all, they were still selling them mana crystals. This deal was one of the few things nobody dared to touch.

They had even allowed a technician inside to install the mana converters. Although they had never revealed much and made sure that man didn't see much, someone as capable as her would have known. On that note, the technician had also gotten the soul contract treatment, once Seth had gotten the skill. It acted on top of the original magic contract that already forced him to keep anything he might see the secret.

Voicing his doubts, Leana looked at him, stumped for a moment.

"Of course, I knew there was something! But this- THIS?!" she kept waving her arms around like a lunatic.

"Even Chrona would have to invest huge sums of money to build something like this... and it was right under our feet the whole time."

"It is our very safe and cozy home. I'm sure you now understand the reason for the soul contract. Any more questions?" he asked her after she nodded awkwardly. It seemed calling a highly advanced mage tower, that could act as a fortress in warfare on a continental scale, a "cozy home" was not quite how she would describe it.

"...I have a lot."

Seeing her jaw lower with every answer to her question was kind of funny. Sitting in his workshop in the bowels of Minas Mar, Seth was absolutely honest to her, just like with his other friends. They talked about many things and a few answers were so shocking she even seemed to regret the question.

Especially when they started about Seth's interactions with gods, soul armaments in general, the Faer, the Golems, and finally his assortment of legendary items he made himself. If it was not firmly attached, Leana's jaw may have fallen on the floor.

"H-How many legendaries have you made already?" "Dunno, I didn't really count them. Maybe 30?" he gave a random estimation. He couldn't help but enjoy seeing her reaction to something that had already become something normal to him. Fin had a hard time holding back her chuckles.

"Th-thirty?!" she choked. "And- And those people you revived...?"

"The Faer? There are about 200 of them in Minas Mar. 230 if you count the first generation, too. You probably saw them while Fin brought you around. They are staying in the tower during normal times. There are about as many running around the world since they had their own dreams and goals."

"Is that what you would do, if you got your hands on my soul?" she asked after a long pause.

It was Seth's turn to look surprised. How had she arrived at that kind of thought? The blacksmith had not actually thought about that.

It was true, if she were to break the contract, he would get her soul as collateral. However, he used the contract as a safety measure, not to collect materials. What was even more interesting was that Leana showed more curiosity toward this subject, than fear or disgust.

"I have not given that any thought before. Why? Would you want me to do that with you? An eternal life as my creation, with absolute freedom once I draw my last breath?" he provoked her, quickly getting her dumbfounded expression in return.

"I-I didn't mean it like that! I am not interested in a fate like that...just, you know, I wouldn't mind a second chance if I die some unfair death or something. It's not like the future I chose here is very safe."

"You mean to say, I have your consent in advance?" Seth asked amused.

"...Call it whatever you like," she said with a pout and turned away. It seemed like Seth had teased her a little too much.

"Come on, I was just joking. Do you have any other questions?"

"N-No, let me process this stuff first..."

"Well, you would better hurry with that, we are going to meet the Adventurer Guild Master soon."

"Until later then. " Leana said and tried to leave, but stopped dead in her track when Fin suddenly turned into a human.

"Don't work too long today, "she whispered before she pressed her lips to his for a sensual kiss.

When her lips finally detached from his, they both saw Leana who had frozen solid at the sight that had become rather common in recent times. Suddenly, Fin started chuckling out of nowhere.

"I guess, I and Leana also have some stuff to talk about before your appointment," she excused herself with an excited smile and dragged the broken Leana out of the workshop. Seth could only watch them leave with a puzzled look.

The blacksmith on the other hand returned to his gauntlet. After searching through the books and testing Urth's <Ithildin> he had come up with a blueprint for his first original armor set that was purely based on a material synergy of the individual parts. To further refine it, he was now forging the prototype.

Similar to the elemental resistance armor, he would then start testing what enchantment would change when added to the armor set. Although the <Blueprint> skill had a function to simulate the effects, Seth could only see the full extent of his skill and the synergies once he really made it.

Soon after he finished the gauntlet a messenger came by to tell him that the guild master had arrived.

…

"Tower Master, we meet again," the man that looked like a villain with his slicked-back hair and a scarred eye greeted him with a friendly smile.

"Guild Master Bryce, it has been a while," Seth greeted back and shook his hand.

Looking into the room, he saw Leana and Mary already present. When he met the princess' eyes, she quickly avoided his gaze and slightly blushed. What had happened? Did Fin that little troublemaker tell her something unruly or embarrassing? He would have to make sure to squeeze Fin out later. The Vice-Guild Master had also come along, though his existence had stepped into the background.

"We had tried to contact you earlier, but to no effect. Why the sudden request for a meeting?" Bryce directly stabbed the crux of the matter with a hot knife, the moment they were all seated.

"We had been waiting for our Advisor from Chrona, Princess Leana, to arrive," Seth unapologetically used her name and absence as an excuse.

"Of course, I know the princess. If this meeting is because of her advice, then it seems like our suspicions are correct?" Bryce asked calmly.

Seth saw no reason to beat around the bush with the Guild Master.

"If your suspicions are, that we managed to salvage your materials and set up a Teleportation Hub with it, then yes. That is correct."

The blush on Leana's face immediately vanished when she saw Seth simply blurting it out like it was nothing. Even Bryce widen his eyes and needed a moment to process.

"What, isn't it what you suspected, seeing us assemble our people? Or did you think something stupid like Minas Mar preparing for war?"

Bryce cleared his throat at Seth's remark.

"I-I would lie if we didn't suspect you to have taken possession of the materials, but it was not to the point where we would have dared to openly accuse you. If I heard correctly, you already succeeded in setting up a functioning teleport formation?"

"Yeah, it was very costly to get the blueprints and secure the construction. I hope for the Adventurer Guild to reimburse us for our efforts,"

"R-Reimburse?"

"Of course, if you want to cooperate with us in the future and use it until you manage to set up the planned Dungeon City, you should also pitch in with some financial support. I think that is only fair."

"Y-You stole our materials and still want us to pay you!?"

The vice guild master finally couldn't take it anymore and exploded. But before Seth or anyone else could say anything, Bryce had already slapped his subordinate across the face.

"You are speaking out of turn, Vice Guild Master," Bryce said with a murderous tone in his voice.