Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Chapter 1301: Rising from the ground

The leather he placed on the anvil was the leather of the undead shadow panther that Natina used to attack Delta. From what they had gathered, it had been a legend when it was alive, but itʼs level fell when it was killed by Kalzemir, the Bone Dragon.

This material was similar to the “quillin horn” Master Mountain had once brought him. It was the material of a creature that used to be a legend or a god, but lost this status due to dying or losing a battle.

Striking the leather, Seth circulated his magic power through his body and Charonʼs Obol, as he had learned when he created the hammer. He deliberately didnʼt use the skill, as it would harden the leather, and he didnʼt want that. He only circulated his power to activate the hammerʼs power.

For the refining, the blacksmith relied on the hammerʼs ability that it had attained when Seth used the Body Refinement Pills that master Mountain gave him. Ever since then, Charonʼs Obol had gained the passive power to refine and purify the materials he was working with.

Refining the material would concentrate this power, bringing it closer to how it would have been when the original owner was at their peak, but it would also physically shrink the materials. This was how the horn, which could have been a great sword or two, became just enough material for a rapier.

The hide of the shadow beast was quite big, so Seth didnʼt worry too much that it wouldnʼt be enough for a set for Mina. Things looked even better now, as he had a master-level enchanter apart from AlʼZalsar. Rún would be able to enchant the items Nädel would make to improve the legendary set further.

With every hit, his magic power and the Obolʼs power entered the hide. This had the additional effect that the hide became leather, as the fur fused into the skin, turning the hide into a smooth, thin leather.

There were no changes yet. Judging by his experience with this process, the changes would only begin once the whole material was soaked with his magic power and the refining energy of Charonʼs Obol.

Seth began around the center and started working outward towards the edges of the thick hide, before going in reverse back to the center. After three or four passes, the leather started to show signs of changing.

He didnʼt know why he expected it to shrink, but he definitely didnʼt expect it to react like a metal. As he hammered on it, scale and dust started flaking off, just like when he created the Harbinger of Winter Woes. As he worked the hide, it became thinner, but not smaller.
Under his constant hammering, the roughly 5 mm-thick hide kept growing thinner, finer, and softer. He started to worry, but he couldnʼt stop now. He had to keep going until all impurities the hammer could get out were out.

...

“Neeco Boos can never see this...” Seth thought to himself in horror when he found what was left of the thick shadow panther hide. A leather so dark and thin that it looked like a materialized shadow, and it flowed like silk in his hands. At this point, it was much closer to a thin fabric with a certain stretch to it.

The refined shadow hide was the perfect material for a superhero suit. If Neeco Boos ever found out about the existence of this material, Seth could see him go crazy and demand that he would be given it for a personal project.

He couldnʼt let the tailor find out, at least not until Nädel was done with the outfit for Mina. This was also exactly what Seth explained to Nädel when he secretly delivered the rolled-up leather to the craftsman.

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“I understand...” Nädel said hesitantly, appraising the shadow leather. “ I will need some time to adapt my blueprint to this material, but tit wonʼt take long. I will do my best not to let Neeco see this until Iʼm done,” the old tailor guaranteed.

“He canʼt find out, no matter what,” Seth reinforced. Since Neeco had calmed down a little in recent times, Nädel didnʼt know how absurd Neecoʼs obsession with superhero suits was.

“I will work as fast as I can without the quality of my work being impacted,” Nädel promised.

“Alright, and donʼt forget: Donʼt let Boos get anywhere near this.”

...

“I finished setting up the enchantment circles,” Rún greeted him when Seth returned to the workshop. To his surprise, the golem had already finished all the preparatory work. Surrounding the secondary furnace and his anvil were complicated magic circles drawn on the ground, fashioned with the materials he had bought from the auction house earlier that day.

All preparations were done, and nothing stopped Seth from making Namʼs detox artifact. One thing not specified by the blueprint was what material to use for the detox plaque. This was also something arcane enchantment and cultivator artifacts shared. The base material could improve performance, but the magic would work on anything.

Although there was no requirement for the material, Seth didnʼt hold back in this regard, especially since he didnʼt need much for this item. The blacksmith had long since decided to use the , salvaged from Elder Bad Gackʼs destroyed blade.

Once he heated up one of the two bars of silver he had salvaged from the blade, he split a quarter off to place it in the furnace. The plaque described in the blueprint of Namʼs master was only half the size of a palm, so this was enough.

The next step was to bring up the heat of the furnace. In this step, the metal had to be close to the melting point for the magic of the enchantments to seep into the material. Seth had praised cultivator furnaces earlier, but the system furnace also had its own uses.

The functions of the furnace of the , at least the heat regulation that was tied to a minigame, were nothing out of the ordinary. The epic secondary furnace Seth had bought was actually more advanced than the one Forgebrand had added to the .

It was comparable to modern gas furnaces, kilns, and tempering ovens, allowing a smooth control of heat inside, without any great effort from the blacksmith. Although this was more convenient, Seth doubted he would have been able to learn the beginnings of so early on if it wasnʼt for the slightly outdated furnace. Also, his furnace had other strengths, like changing size.

Seth let the idle thoughts flow a little as they waited for the metal to reach the appropriate heat. Once this happened, Rùn jumped into action to activate the furnace enchantments. The blacksmith looked in fascination as the arcane enchantments started up. He had seen it a few times now, but not often enough to lose his wonder.

The magic circle on the ground lit up, as Rùn supplied it with magic power. Growing brighter and brighter as the flow and fluctuations in light became faster, the various materials and foci placed at key points of the circle began lighting up and dissolving into the circle.

When they had fully integrated into the magic flow, the magic light gained a certain solidity, like thin bands of white material. These bands then began lifting off the ground, becoming a three-dimensional construct that rotated around the furnace.

Watching fireball and lightning strikes was cool, but it was sights like this that made Seth feel like magic was truly real. It struck a similar chord as Charonʼs Obol, being able to freely manipulate the shape of material, as well as their softness and hardness to a certain extent.

As it turned out, the complicated construct of materialized circles and formulas became simpler and simpler to the eye. Parts were vanishing as the power processed the material inside the furnace, and the enchantment took effect.

Seth had watched for roughly 15 minutes before only a handful of rotating rings were left, which lost their light one after another. As they dimmed and fell apart, dust was all that remained of the magic circle and materials.

“Itʼs done. The first step finished successfully, I would say,” Rún gave his verdict, once the last ring finally fell apart. For the blacksmith, this was just a spectacle to watch, but for Rùn, this was professional business. At no point had the golem taken his eyes off the magic to make sure nothing went wrong.

“If you say so, I trust you. That means we can finally start with the fun part.”