Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Engraving the <Enriched Necron> demanded a lot of care since the material was very crystalline. It was hard to make clear lines without the edges chipping. Especially when working on these very complicated layouts with thin, crossing lines. This was why Seth worked deliberately slow and meticulously.

It took him all morning just engraving the part of the modified circuits onto the body armor, but he was very satisfied with his work. The fact that he didn't have to use so many skills at the same time, allowed him to immerse in the concentration. It was kind of meditative.

When he finished the engraving, he took a break and changed his utensil to the brush. The center of the breastplate was still untouched and pristine, this would change now. Slapdap in the middle, Seth drew a magic circle using <Conjuration>. Etching a long poem of demonic runes surrounding the circle, the bard channeled Murmur once again.

After the last rune was drawn and the acid ate into the <Enriched Necron>, a rush of dark energy flowed into the etchings and the surface of the circle surrounded by runes turned into a bright mirror covered in frost.

This was not actually an enchantment, but an application of <Conjuration>. Demonic Enchantments usually came as permanent effects with varying degrees of cost depending on the demon who lent its power. The cost always had to be paid, either by the bard, the user, or the enemy of the user. However, this usually happened passively.

What Seth had added was something he genuinely thought would be able to benefit Evee. Usually, a necromancer himself was the weakest link in their class, like with any summoner-type player. This was why the necronite Armor he made for Evee last time boasted a balance of great defense and magic offense.

However, Evee was not just some necromancer. She was an Immortal Witch, a class that could compete with the class of Underworld Fairy she got after being chosen by Persephone. The witch had no need for great defense since she would keep reviving.

Then what option he could add that could give her actual merit in battle? Of course, one that could help her continuously grow even stronger in battle.

The circle Seth added was an active sacrificial formation that would allow Evee to sacrifice undead to Murmur and gain mana and magic power through the ceremony. With the aura of death, the armor would give her, she would never be short on undead to sacrifice in the middle of battle. This way her army could become a resource to buff her, if needed.

Seth didn't like undead, so the thought of getting rid of them was always a happy one. Looking at the finished cuirass in satisfaction, he finally noticed the time. It was already evening.

"Sivri, you should have told me how late it is already," Seth complained as he put the cuirass away. He had gotten a little closer with Sivri and spoke more normally to her like she was actually his assistant and not part of his skills.

"Sorry, I didn't want to interrupt your work," she said with an apologetic smile.

"It's okay. I think we should finish for today and-”

He was interrupted by his communication orb vibrating across the table. Someone was calling him.

“Neeco? Why are you calling me?” he asked surprised when the tailor's face appeared in the orb.

“You finally picked up! I already called you five times already!” it came from the orb.

“Did you?” “Yeah, he did. You didn't notice while working,” Sivri answered happily from the side.

“I was calling because I have enough yarn to start weaving. I should be able to finish the gloves and lining tomorrow.” the tailor explained proudly. He had immediately jumped into action after he was given a power-up and had conscripted Luf for the whole day to make yarn.

“Can you bring me the headpiece so I can take the correct measurements for the lining? “ he finally asked. “Sure,” I will come by right now. I wanted to finish for today, anyway.”

Moments later, Seth was about to enter Neeco's workshop when he recoiled, startled by the scene inside.

“What in the world happened here?” Seth exclaimed when he entered the tailor workshop. The whole floor was covered in loose black thread and three pitiful assistants were busy winding them up on spools by hand.

“Oh! You are already here... I might have gotten a little too motivated...” Neeco answered embarrassed at the sight of his workshop covered in a cloud of black yarn with the aura of death. No wonder he was so convinced that he had enough. Maybe this was already enough for the gambeson, too?

Seeing the immediate effect of his items on the tailor's skills also made him optimistic about the personal project he was thinking about.

“It's great to see you so motivated, I'm looking forward to the results,” Seth said happily as he handed the circlet with chain veil to the tailor. “Here, just keep it until you are done.”

…

The next day, Seth concentrated on the armored boots. There was no way of adding a master-tier enchantment to the boots, on top of the part of the unified circuit, which was why Seth only added the complex enchantment of Agility to each of the boots.

Speed was key, no matter the class. A ranged fighter as well as a melee fighter needed Agility for their job. Evee already owned Lunacy Accessories to boost her power as a caster. Enchanting took much less time than the cuirass and it was still late morning when the blacksmith finished.

The blacksmith did not want to add souls to any of the items, yet. He wanted to be able to assemble the armor and attune the pieces to each other before he began the <Soul Forging>, in case he needed to make adjustments.

This only left him with the the arm guard and the pieces of the gauntlet for now, since Neeco currently held onto the headpiece. There was not much to do for the upper arm guards, as all their capacity was taken up by the integrated circuit. To begin with, they were only there to connect the set.

“Welp, I will take a break until Neeco is finished with the -,”

“Seth!” A brightly smiling Neeco Boos barged into the workshop.

In his left, he was holding the circlet with the veil of black glittering chain mail, which now had a fine lining of black padding. In his right, he held a pair of gloves that looked almost elegant, except for the fact that the back of the fingers and hand were reinforced with black leather. Proudly, the tailor held up his work of the morning.

“I finished the lining and the gloves for you!”

Observing the man with a bright smile, Seth noticed the dark bags under his eyes and the slight shaking in his movements. Had the tailor spent all night weaving the fabric and continued to finish the items in the morning...?

“Great work Neeco, but listen... you should take better care of yourself. I didn't want you to pull an all-nighter for this,” Seth said, reluctantly worrying about the man. Although Seth had some misgivings, he still respected Neeco and saw him as one of his comrades.

“What are you saying? I'm okay, really!”

“That's because of the items, but you shouldn't abuse this. Take off the items and get some good rest, please.”

Endurance was the attribute that also indirectly affected someone's stamina. Neeco who had notoriously low endurance and suddenly had a huge increase because of the items. However, stats like health regeneration and stamina were special. Although the feeling of fatigue was driven off or wounds were healed, it didn't mean that this came without repercussions to the body.

If the body was not built to take the strain, there could be a big side effect to overdrawing one's energy. Just like when someone kept drinking stamina potions to stay awake. Abuse would always have consequences. Someone like Neeco, who was built like a stick figure was the last person who should abuse these kinds of effects.

“I-I'm telling you, I'm okay- Wait! Wai- Urgh...”

As Neeco was waving his hands, assuring Seth he was okay, the blacksmith took the chance, grabbed his wrist, and pulled off one of the endurance rings. The effect was immediate. Neeco started to slur and lost balance. The tailor almost fell unconscious.

“See, I warned you. Tower, put him in his bed.”

“B-But...” the tailor tried to argue but was interrupted by the tower ego.

~Affirmative~

The next moment Neeco vanished from his arms, only the glove and circlet were left of him. Seth also put the ring he took away into his pocket. Maybe it was better to confiscate these items, and only let Neeco use them when he needed them...