“Things became a lot calmer in the vige,” Mina told him over dinner.
“Really?” Seth asked surprised. Although he did make an example of the croaking Cricket, or whatever his name was, he didn''t expect the cultivators to tone it down. Master Mountain had told him that they were usually very stubborn. With the many different factions now mingling on Urth, it was hard to believe they were able to hold back.
“I exchange, the mountain range outside of our influence seems to have be pretty rowdy,” Bulko added, sipping on his cocktail. Seth raised an eyebrow, it was always a spectacle seeing the massive man with a liking for special drinks, sipping from colorful cocktail sses.
“Although it''s not perfect, isn''t it better when they take care of their business outside? If they want to kill each other, who are we to stop them?” the cksmith asked, also taking a sip.
“If it was only that. We are having more and more reports about merchant caravans being attacked,” Mina sighed.
“Not just that, they are tantly ming it on people of “the dark faction” or “the fiend path” or whatever. Like, do they think we are stupid? They are clearly the criminals, but they act like there is some ominous evil force that is to me for everything...” Lyxiss ranted, clearly intoxicated.
“Are you sure?” Seth asked a little confused as to why someone would act like that.
“Yeah! They me people who have clear witnesses for being somewhere else and don''t even bother hiding the blood on their swords, so to speak. They even try to sell the stolen goods!” the elf eximed, mming her fist on the table.
“Pff, yeah, they call us Savages, but they don''t even have an idea that all the stuff traded on Urth has meticulous records and serial numbers that identify it,” Ray added, shaking his head.
“How are the people with rmendations faring?” Seth asked for the natives from the worlds of the Pathworks. After all, they would have to face a simr culture shock, yet he heard little about problems with them.
“Quite well actually. Although the adventurers are a little rowdy sometimes, Bryce is keeping a tight grip on who he actually gives the pass to. Same with the System Church. They know it''s them losing trust if they let troublemakers in,” Mina answered.
“That''s good to hear. And the others? Are the cultivators also attacking them?”
Minas Mar advertised the tournament everywhere, but that didn''t mean they would let just anyone into the city. In general, people from other worlds would arrive through the the System Church, as its branches were usually located in the middle of a Tree Station, they had to make sure to somehow regte the people that were allowed to enter the city from there. That was the rmendation system.
There were different rules for the Pythian Vige. Since they also expected a lot of spectators and participants, almost everyone was allowed to take residence in the Pythian Vige. However, they would have to get there through thend route, mostly traveling from Delta to Little Gamma.
Ray clicked his tongue.
“Not that we would know. They leave the group under the banner of Minas Mar alone, but we have no idea about the others since there are little to no records. Even if we find out that a group of visitors vanished, there is no telling whether it''s monsters or people that got them,” he said depressed.
“How far are baker and his people?” Maybe we could make an extra station for the Tree Express, to make sure people from Delta can reach the Pythian Vige?” Although this would require some more nning, maybe this was the safer option. It wasn''t like they could start patrolling the mountains. That would just spread out their people, making them prone to be picked off.
“I don''t know, but it''s a good thought. You should call Mary or Leana for stuff like that,” Ray answered. Grabbing hismunication orb, as Ray mentioned it, Seth found that he actually had a missed call from Hoen.
Excusing himself, he called the dwarf back. Hoen was currently making preparations using the <Durable Olympian Bronze> Seth had created before setting off for Y-City. He just hoped that the dwarf had not met any problems.
“Seth? You called back quickly!” Hoen answered the call surprised.
“Hey Hoen. Why did you call? Did you meet a problem somewhere?” Seth asked worried.
“No, on the contrary. I called you to let you know that I finished all the stuff you asked for. Everything is ready for the next step,” The dwarf told him with augh.
“What, you really...?” “Yep, the warehouse is full of crates now. The guys are alreadyining to me, so it would be good if you returned soon and took care of it.”
“I see, alright. I think I can return in a few days. I only have Mike''s swords left to make. When the quest is finished, I will return.”
With a smile, Seth returned to the restaurant. As exciting as it was to follow an exotic blueprint and learn something new, it couldn''tpare to seeing one''s own creationse into reality. With his new experiences from the ughterer''s Set, he also had a few ideas to refine his previous design.
“You are beaming, was it a good call?” Fin asked, emerging from a cake.
“Yep, it has to do with my ns when I return to Minas Mar,” he said with a smile.
“Are you going to return soon? You can''t go already, you just came!” Fin eximed crestfallen.
“Don''t worry. I will be here for a few more days and I will be back once I''m done with the project,” he assured her.
Apart from the ongoing two, Seth currently had no other pressing projects. The golems in Y-City could also do without him. Nothing spoke against taking a vacation afterward. Mina''s and Fin''s moods rose, hearing that Seth was going to spend the time up to the Pythian Games with them.
…
When Seth returned the next day, it was finally time to forge the ughterer''s des. From the 12 bars Seth originally cast, only two remained. The amount of materials Mike had gotten perfectly fit the required amount, as long as the cksmith didn''t fail the production.
Before he could get to the forge, hismunication orb started vibrating. Someone called him this early in the- Looking at the clock, it wasn''t early anymore by any means. Unable to be reasonably upset about the call, Seth took it.
“Seth.” “Leana? What can I do for you?”
“I just called to ask when you will return,” the princess answered calmly.
“Errm, it will be a few more days, why did you ask?” he estimated roughly.
“Don''t worry, it''s nothing pressing. I just wanted to inform you toe to the embassy before vanishing in the workshop again. There is someone who wants to surprise you,” she exined.
“Surprise me, who?” the cksmith asked curiously.
“If I told you, it wouldn''t be a surprise. Just remember toe to the embassy first.”
“Alright?” “Good, don''t forget,” she said and ended the call. A little puzzled, Seth put the orb back in his pocket. A surprise, huh? He was curious but didn''t think too deeply, since the tasks at hand needed his full attention.
Heating the bars in the forge, Seth grasped Charon''s Obol. The ughter des were pretty straightforward. Once the metal was up to heat, the cksmith started driving the first bar into length and width.
Under his practiced hands, a single-edged shortsword took shape. It only had a slight curve, but a very wide-bellied de. One could stab with it, but it was obvious that this de was made for hacking and shing.
After the de, came the handle. No scales, no binding, no crossbar, the ughter des were one continuous piece of <Blood of Maahes>. After the first de was shaped, he created the second as its mirror image. Then he ground them. The design had no bevels, the whole de was all edge. When the shaping was done, he started engraving.
Unlike the other items, the des were not embellished at all, they were spartan in their decoration, and brutal in their design. The engraving for the des was very fine,plimenting each other. They concentrated on the handles, with only one small strand of illegible characters flowing across the wide de, from the handle to the tip.
Seth was forced to use magnifying sses to properly engrave the fine yet dense symbols.
<Ding! You have created a special item! +100p Power of Existence>
<Ding! You have created a special item! +100p Power of Existence>
<Ding! Your Skill Enchantment(Master) lv.1 has be Enchantment(Master) lv.2!>n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
<Ding! Your Skill cksmith (Master) lv.1 has be cksmith (Master) lv.2!>
<Ding! You have unlocked new enchantments.>
Shocked, he heard thest two notifications. It had been so long, he had stopped paying attention to their progress! More shocking was that both rose at the same time. When had <cksmith> caught up? Curiously he checked <Goldsmith>, which had also made a big jump, reaching 80% of lv.1.
He was intrigued to hear about new enchantments, but he decided to have a look at the ughter des first.
<ughter de(R)
Special
Durability: 4444
Phys.-Damage: 2222
1.+150% Power of Maahes'' Divine Skills
2. de Master
3. ughter de
4. Crimson Flood
5. Passive Skill: Scourge of the Battlefield
The right ughter de made of special materials and created by the hands of Master Smith,
the first Master cksmith, Master Enchanter, and Master Goldsmith on Urth. A holy armament of Maahes designed by Ptah, the Heliopolian God of Craftsmen.
Requirements: Chosen of Maahes>
<ughter de(L)
Special
Durability: 4444
Mag.-Damage: 2222
1.+150% Power of Maahes''Divine Skills
2. Weather Master
3. ughter de
4. Riptide
5. Passive Skill: Messia of the Desert
The right ughterde made of special materials and created by the hands of Master Smith,
the first Master cksmith, Master Enchanter, and Master Goldsmith on Urth. A holy armament of Maahes designed by Ptah, the Heliopolian God of Craftsmen.
Requirements: Chosen of Maahes>