Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Chapter 1425. Crowd of Craftsmen

When Seth came to the tailor workshops, he found them empty. Well, not all of them. Nädel’s workshop, where he was looking for his gloves and boots, was currently deserted. Looking around, he found the small crowd of craftsmen at Neeco’s workshop.

“Great work.” “What a fascinating cut.” “To think such fabric exists,” he heard the murmur and praising of the crowd before he saw what they were talking about. At the center of the shop stood a female dress form displaying a splendorous cloak.

The fabric was pure white, like snow, but carried an aura like honey. It was glowing from the inside out and looked incredibly soft to the touch. The blacksmith knew immediately what he was looking at, even before he used his appraisal skill.

This had to be the robe Neeco made from the threats of Puffles. The threats of searing light that the Ivicer had used to smother the legendary Lich to death. The tailor had finally managed to weave it into a fabric of his own.

Without any additional enchantment, the cloak added 75% to the overall power of the wearer under open skies, improved Support and Light magic by 125%, Damage Dispersion and held the free skill to double the cloak’s defense for 5 minutes.

Although it was conditional, becoming almost double as strong under the open sky was tremendous for anyone, but what made it 100% a supporter item was the second option. Improved defense and Damage Dispersion were nice to have, but paled in comparison to the fabric’s special effects.

“Really a fine work,” the blacksmith also praised from the back, scaring the crowd that was focused on the robe.

“Seth, did you come to see my masterpiece?” Neeco asked confidently.

“Ah, no, sorry. I came to see whether Nädel was done with the gloves and boots I ordered for Monique’s armor,” the Tower Master said apologetically. Neeco visibly deflated when it became clear that Seth had not even heard about his big announcement.

“Your items are ready, I have them at my workshop,” Nädel answered, friendly. “ Sorry that nobody was present, but Neeco was about to explain his work process for the fabric,” the old tailor explained with his warm smile.

“Oh, really, no need to hurry then. I will also listen,” the blacksmith said readily. Although he was not a tailor by class, he was a craftsman in . He held a certain interest in fabric materials, even if he didn’t have the skill to weave for himself.

“Well, alright, then I will continue,” Boos said, regaining his drive and beginning to talk about his journey. Apparently, it had not been as easy as simply taking the thread and weaving it. Of course, he tried that at first, but the resulting fabric was actually harmful.

“Although it had roughly double the power you can see in my final product, any item made from it would also continuously cause Light-elemental damage to the wearer, which had an almost curse-like quality to reduce maximum health over time,” the tailor said, as if cautioning the others not to try using it like that.

The only other one in the room capable of weaving a special-rated threat would have been Nädel, so it was probably just theatrics. Theatrics that didn’t work on Seth. While Neeco talked about how he used various combinations of Puffles’ thread and his own magic threads to create the fabric for the robe, Seth was thinking in a different direction.

A pure fabric could more than double overall power and triple the power of light and support magic. Seth was not bothered by the negative side effects. Unlike the tailor, who was only considering his individual pieces, Seth thought of the whole picture.

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To benefit from it the most, the user would have to be a healer capable of using , which usually also came with and resistances. On top of that, the wearer could also equip items to raise their Light Resistance. There was no negative effect on the fabric if the wearer was immune to light damage.

Considering the power one could develop by stacking several items made of this, it made reaching an immunity to light damage worth it. Almost cheap, even, depending on the specializations of the wearer.

Seth stashed that idea away for now, since he would have to see whether any of their healers, like Lynri or Ferdinand, or maybe Angelique, were viable options for this approach. For now, he simply stood by and listened to Neeco end his explanation.

When the tailor was done, he followed Nädel to his workshop, where he received the finished owl leather gloves and boots. Looking at the finished items, Seth recognized once again that although Neeco became a master earlier, Nädel’s techniques were superior. Both items actually came with a skill, born from expertly choosing pieces and sewing the leather in a way to channel its inherent powers

Apart from having the same effects as the Sky Dragon Loafers, namely Soft Soles, Supported Ankles, and +30% movement Speed, the boots carried , a skill that could create a strong cold wind, which would slow nearby enemies, while it allowed the user to leap high up into the air.

The gloves had increased defense and held the skill, which could create a forceful gust in the direction of the strike and throw back opponents. Seth had only chosen the owl leather for its potential connection to Athena, but Nädel turned it into a contributing component. He expected nothing less from a master tailor.

Having secured the boots and gloves, Seth left the tailor workshops again and made a detour to get lunch before he returned to his smithy. With these two pairs of items, he had everything he needed to finish the armor, except the Aegis.

But Monique said she already had a hint to find a gorgon, so that was only a question of time. Until then, he had the pauldron, the gauntlets, and the armored boots to finish. If Monique had not found a gorgon by then, he would continue working on sky dragon armor pieces.

Although Cade had resolved herself to accept the armor, he had yet to hear from Leana whether she succeeded in convincing everyone. She still had time until he finished the armor. If the production of the Aegis got postponed, he was willing to reserve the materials for the full set, while making the items that were guaranteed.

Thinking idle thoughts like that, he sorted the pieces he needed for the next piece of armor. With a “plonk!” the boots made of owl leather found themselves beside the anvil. A few clanks later, they had placed four ingots on the anvil.

Seth started with the boots, because he already had the cuisses he adapted the knee guard to. The overall design of the armored boots differed a bit from the greaves- sabaton- poleyn combo he had used for the Sky Dragon Armor.

Inspired by the depiction of Olympian armor, Seth decided to make the greaves and knee guard in one piece, but also use his own armor experience to encase the calf for protection. Although Monique had said that she preferred the Damage Reflection, Seth had deliberated using the ballad of Seere, like the one he used on the Sky Dragon Loafers, on her boots too.

However, after Athenaʼs Skin revealed its potential, there was no more question about the forging ballad. The more armor pieces reflected damage, the higher the damage potential of .

Singing the familiar ballad, Seth forged the ingots into sheets and then started to shape the greaves. He was using a template he found online when looking through image archives. It was a version that was shaped like a stylized owl, with the head of the bird being the knee guard.

First the right, then the left, then matching them. Time flew by as the two pieces of armor took shape. The finished parts were then attached to the boots. Although it was not necessary thanks to the system options, the boots could be opened and closed at the back of the calf to put them on or take them off.

Although Seth doubted it was necessary, he could rarely see the future. It was best not to be 100% reliant on the system option. He always tried to leave an, albeit uncomfortable, way to use the items, even without the system.

Soon, the base boots were done, and it was time for the enchantment.