Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Chapter 1336: The Secret Mission (2)

With Hubertʼs secret mission accomplished, all other projects were suddenly put on ice. Seth put a hold on the Sky Dragon Set and sent Rùn to Nädel to work on Minaʼs Set while he locked himself in the workshop.

Although their proper relationship started out with a lot of hesitance from his side, since he already had Mina, Seth had come to fully accept Fin as his girlfriend. Between Fin and Mina, he could no longer say which he loved more, a she loved them for completely different reasons.

Seth may have had a hard time quantifying his love, but he knew that he loved her and didnʼt want to be without her anymore. At this point, Fin and Mina were both dear to his heart, but there was still one status that gave them a different standing in this relationship.

Minas was his fiancee. It didnʼt matter that their engagement resulted from a happy misunderstanding; he was serious about officially marrying her one day. Whether in the customs of Urth, the customs of some god, or just in general with an official ceremony, he would marry her.

And he wanted Fin to know that he had the same intentions for her. Seth doubted that the fairy had any worries in this direction. It was an unspoken understanding that he wouldnʼt just marry Mina, and she would stay “a girlfriend” like some kind of affair. But the blacksmith wanted to make it official. Fin deserved a ring, or a pair of rings, she could show off, the same way Mina could.

All Seth had needed this whole time was the right material for Finʼs rings. Minaʼs rings were unique because he had used special

and the Olympian enchantments, but the power of

didnʼt fit the melee priest and Chosen of Bes.

He had given Hubert this task some time after Mike brought him back from Emerald City and had been waiting since then. A lot of stuff had happened that took his attention, and in the past weeks he had busied himself with work, but now that he had the proper materials, he didnʼt want to wait to make it.

Maybe it was a little disrespectful to Beashaz to reforge their legendary item created through an honorable and valiant sacrifice, but Seth was sure that a monk would understand it if they knew that it was to create a symbol of love and connection in a semi-holy custom.

The first step to the crafting process was brainstorming ideas for the final item. The bead of brass of the size of a walnu,t with a slightly worn off pattern of scales engraved on the surface. It was clear this was never meant to be the centerpiece of a accessory, or even more than just part of said rosary, one of many beads. Although the rosary itself bust have been a heavy thing.

Looking at it and weighing it, there was more than enough material for one ring. Even if he made two, there would still be material left, but it was a bad idea to try and separate the bead by using the rest for something else. No, instead, the blacksmith had an even better idea.

He would turn the bead into a whole set of accessories. Two rings and a pendant were possible, if he handled the materials without wasting anything. A full goldsmith project from start to end. He would probably have to get Sivri involved, too.

Seth would need her to come up with his design, as for the supplementary materials... The blacksmith started browsing on his personal Auction House terminal. When talking about jewelry, he wanted some stone to set in at least some of the pieces.

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The auction house would hardly offer anything legendary, he was clear about that. However, he didnʼt need anything legendary, just stones that would augment the already existing powers of the legendary material.

If he had more items like the Sun Bead, he would have used those. Unfortunately, the dungeons in the Abyss dropped their best stuff only during the first few runs. For now, he started browsing the auction house. He remembered seeing some promising stuff in the past when browsing for other stuff.

Epic

Also called the stubborn stone, as its unique coloring will make it look rough and sharp, spiting any elaborate cutting and carving. Used in items, the gemstone is known to raise Endurance and Willpower. It also corresponds well to buffs and enchantments of a similar nature.>

was the first that caught his eye, although it was not your typical healer gem. Actually, that was the reason it fell into his eyes, as Fin also wasnʼt your typical healer. A stubborn stone? The

aligned well with the materials effects and its story.

Epic

A stone well known for its healing properties for the body and mind of the wearer. rare and clear mountain crystals that absorbed the pure energy of high mana and altitude environments. Improves resistance and recovery.>

was another one that caught his eye, as it was a good stone for healers in general and could make Fin more resilient, but it didnʼt quite fit as good as the jasper. In times like this, Seth wished he could go to a store and have someone advise him.

It was a very, very rare occasion, but even after several years, the blacksmith simply didnʼt have enough knowledge of the possibilities out there. Especially since this was about engagement presents. He wanted to do it properly, so he quickly grew tired of looking at random search results.

Brooding over the bead and the auction house terminal, he suddenly clicked his tongue. When his thoughts came around to maybe ask something from merchants, he realized that he should have asked Hubert. The man had traveled a lot and technically lived in his dimensional merchant HUD.

There was also Sivri, the golden dwarf was an experienced goldsmith. She could probably aid him with a lot of ideas of what to look for. He would have to let her in on the secret anyway, since he wanted her help with the designs.

Tored... no, not Tored. The dwarf had a surprisingly big mouth. If this was supposed to stay a secret, he couldnʼt involve the dwarven master.

“Sivri, can you come here for a moment?” he called out, so the golem outside in the workshop. Listlessly browsing the auction house, he waited a moment before the dwarf entered through the door.

“Seth? What can I help you with?” the automaton asked curiously. The blacksmith had yet to tell anyone why he had put the dragon armor on ice for the time being, so it was understandable that she was eager for some info.

As if drawn in by a magnetic field, her eyes wandered to the bead on the table and remained glued to it for a moment. It was obvious that she inadvertently appraised the material before her. It was an occupational disease, so to speak.

“Ah, sorry. I got a little distracted,” she said awkwardly when she noticed Seth staring at her.

“Donʼt worry about it. I called you in to tell you about this, since I will need your help on this,” the blacksmith informed her.

“You just have to order me, if you need my help,” she joked.

“Yeah, but you know thatʼs not how I want to do things, so...” and in the next 15 minutes, Seth revealed the big secret, explained the origin of the bead, and shared his initial thoughts and plans. He didnʼt hide that he was in somewhat of a creative dead end for a lack of options, or maybe it was an oversupply of options.

Seeing the vast sea of possibilities in the auction house and knowing that this was just the tip of the iceberg, generated a lot of fear of missing out in the blacksmith, which blocked his usual decisiveness.

“Yeah, you are pressuring yourself too much on this, because you love her. Letʼs see...” she said and picked up the bead to look at it once again. Then she joined him in looking and discussing what stones would fit best.

“This one! Thatʼs the one you need.”