Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Chapter 1357. The car

“Iʼm sorry, Seth. It will take at least another day, I think,” Nädel informed him. Seth came by the tailor workshop in the morning of the next day to ask when Minaʼs set was going to be finished. The blacksmith clicked his tongue, hearing the answer.

This meant there was another day of walking on eggshells, so he wouldnʼt accidentally reveal his secret. As much as he would have liked to spend the day with Fin and Mina, he was afraid of his loose tongue.

After finishing the Climatic Gloves, a name he had given the gauntlets, there wasnʼt much he could currently do. He couldnʼt assemble the masters to finish the dragon armor blueprint, as Rún was needed here, and for similar reasons to why he didnʼt want to be around Fin and Mina.

“I see, thank you for your hard work. If you need anything, please ask Tored. I will be leaving Minas Mar for a day,” the blacksmith announced. Since he was afraid to blurt out the secret when staying in Minas Mar, he just had to leave.

The bard would make a trip to TS12, the station in Y-City where Bart and Baker were staying. It wasnʼt little Ypselon, for the simple reason that TS8-TS12 were all within the region of the fallen district, so its name stayed TS12, despite a rise in populace. He already had the perfect excuse for the journey.

“...and Iʼm supposed to believe that? Is that really the reason?” Mary asked suspiciously. Seth just came by to inform her of his absence, but he was suddenly doubted.

“I will deliver the gauntlets for Bart and explain their power, and get an update from Baker concerning his newest project. It doesnʼt really matter what you think; there is no other reason at all,” the blacksmith insisted.

Baker had started what he had pitched to Seth during his stay at Spring City. With Bart in TS12, they had already started reclaiming the local subways and moved toward the train connections between Ypselon and Delta.

“Iʼm just saying, if there is something I should know, please tell me. Donʼt you usually hate traveling? You usually only leave when you go on vacation or need souls,” Mary asked, worry in her voice.

Mary was genuinely concerned to suddenly see the shut-in going on an unnecessary trip. They could just call Baker for an update, and Bart could come to Delta just as easily as Seth could go to TS12. Seth thought for a moment before approaching her.

“Fine, listen. Iʼm preparing a surprise and am trying to get out so I donʼt tell anyone by accident,” the blacksmith whispered.

“You just told me, though.”

“I only told you that there is one, not what it is. Thatʼs the reason Iʼm leaving, so stop worrying. Iʼm off,” the blacksmith gave a quick explanation and was on his way. Fortunately, the way to TS12 was as easy as traveling to Spring City.

Thanks to the System Church, now staffed by their own local congregation trained by Simon, having a branch in every tree station, Seth could directly teleport from Minas Mar to the one in Y-City.

“Name?” the priest guarding the teleport hub asked bored, ready to write the name down. He had not recognized the Tower Master. Probably because he had yet to look up.

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“Seth Smith, Iʼm here on a spontaneous business trip,” the bard said calmly. Despite having a few public appearances, it was not common for him to be recognized in public, unless of course...

“Seth Smith?” he asked quickly and looked up, observing Sethʼs face diligently. “The Tower Master of Minas Mar? But nobody warned me that we were getting an important visitor today!” the priest mumbled in shock, suddenly remembering his rather lackadaisical work ethic a moment ago.

“As I mentioned, the visit is spontaneous. I have to meet the Chosen of Krios, and it would be a good idea to inform Baker that Iʼm here now,” the bard suggested with a smile.

“Itʼs already too late for that,” a voice interrupted their conversation. Looking at the entrance of the Teleport hub, they found Mark Baker already standing there. His breathing was irregular, and his suit was slightly ruffled, but he did his best to hide that he had come running here.

“Lady Mary called me a little early and informed me of your surprise visit,” the mayor of TS12 said, correcting his clothing.

“Itʼs not a surprise if you were informed. At best, it is on short notice,” the bard argued.

“5 minutes is very short....” Baker mumbled but didnʼt seem like he wanted to keep talking about that.

“I guess Mary told you why Iʼm here?” Seth asked. Since the administrative head of Minas Mar called him, she would have at least explained why he came here.

“Yes, she told me. I called for Bart, but he is currently on a mission, raiding a dungeon outside the city,” Baker mentioned as he invited Seth to follow him to a more private setting. Seth followed, but continued talking as they walked.

“I guess it will take a while for Bart to come back, then you can give me an update on your progress here,” the blacksmith suggested. He thought it would probably take an hour or two to talk about their progress on cleaning the train tracks, and then he could simply spend his day in the station, waiting for Bartʼs return.

“Oh, I actually intended to show you, on the way to meet Bart, “ Mark said with a bright smile. Seth was unable to see any cheekiness in his expression, but he felt like he could hear it. Baker was trying to pull a prank on him, but the blacksmith had no idea what he was trying to accomplish.

“We are going to meet Bart? Does that mean the trackʼs?”

“Yes, up to the dungeon Bart is currently raiding, we have already managed to free, repair, and fortify the connection. Itʼs also a chance to give you a taste of our new train cars, which we developed for the travel between stations,” the mayor said excitedly.

Following Baker, they didnʼt stop at an office to talk, but went directly down the new subway station of TS12, which connected to Y-Cityʼs underground and the main lines leading to other districts.

Baker was right; this was actually the first time for Seth to get a look at the new trains the technicians of Ypselon had developed. In shape, the new design seemed more rounded, but in size, they were no different from the standard train cars.

After all, why would they? It was a tried and true standard. But that was already where the similarities ended. These cars were automobiles and didnʼt need a tank engine to pull them. This was where the more roundish design came into play. Where a normal train had rows of wheels at the bottom, this one had eight rails of light protruding from the body.

One under it, one on its roof, one on the left side, one on the right, and one for each “corner” of the round car. It was a design perfectly adapted for propelling this tampon-shaped train through a tube-shaped tunnel.

“Using hover pad magic, we developed a new kind of low-friction propulsion, similar to a maglev train,” Baker stated proudly when he saw Sethʼs look.

“But it is not confined to tubes. As long as two rails come close to a surface, it can drive perfectly fine, wherever it is. Albeit a little slower,” the mayor explained as they entered the train car. The inside was decorated with high-quality furnishings, like a VIP-section. There were three rows of windows, left, right, and on the ceiling.

“If the car is made to turn and tumble, wonʼt the people...?” Seth asked curiously. If the car could drive, no matter which side was up and down, what would happen to the people sitting inside?

“You donʼt have to worry about that. The passenger cabin is actually suspended within the car, using a magic force field. This way, the only effect of the carʼs rotation is that you will see the windows moving,” Baker answered.

“You will get so experience it soon.”