Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

The next morning came as a surprise. Seth was woken up by knocks on his door. Drowsy he got off his bed and went to the door. What were these guys doing here so early?

At his door stood not a clerk, or maybe his two employees that lived on the same floor, no. There stood his three-party members with unkempt hair and ruffled clothes, Alison was even still in her pajamas, just like Seth, and they stared at him with a huge grin.

"What are you guys doing here...?" he asked lazily scratching his head. The others were undeterred.

"What do you mean? You asked us to come, right? You send us messengers so early in the morning. It has to be important, right?" Link said excitedly. Seth's gears started running smoother as woke up more and more.

Had these guys come running the moment they heard he would give them gear? The guys had at least worn streetwear... Alison's hair looked like a bird's nest and she was wearing wide pajamas with cute bears on them. Did she run here barefooted?

Despite looking hungover, her eyes were the brightest of them all.

"Tekar you have something hanging there...is that a sock?"

On the shoulder of his crumpled black t-shirt stuck a pink children's sock.

"Ah, oh! It's my daughter's." He said with a warm smile before putting the sock in his pocket.

"Stop evading the topic! Let's start the meeting right away!" Link interrupted them. This guy was totally hyped. Seth had to throw a cold bucket of water over the gourmet hunter's expectations.

"No. You guys look like you rushed here right after waking up. You have to take better care of yourself. I will go wash up. You guys can take turns using the bath in the empty flat over there. And then we will go for breakfast. And THEN we can have the meeting."

With that, he got rid of these three intruders and did what he said. Although the breakfast was not as enjoyable as usual with these three rascals urging him to hurry, he still made sure to get his fill.

After a proper breakfast, they gathered in the cozy meeting room. Seth put down the file about Arigiri City so they could read it themselves. All of them made a complicated expression. Unlike Seth who had only recently come to Y-City, these three had been part of the war with the oceanic empire.

All of them had fought hard in that war and had almost lost their lives more than once. They were still low-level back then and the invasion was repelled, but even now it was still a dangerous zone for them. On top of it came a slight trauma about the aquatic enemies.

But none of them complained or argued not to go. To say it in a nice way, they were touched by the brother's tenacity to try and return to his sister. To say it in a realistic way, Seth was the leader and the guy that offered them a huge number of benefits. And the thought of coming back after a power-up and taking revenge on the monsters that had scarred them in their beginner days was also no small motivation.

"Okay, shall we come to the distribution of gear?"

The eyes around the table lit up like bonfires.

"Let's start with Tekar since he already has his armor set."

Seth brought out a big box from his inventory and set it down before Tekar. Inside were the two Fang Shields and Seth explained their function as Tekar took them out.

"it's cursed?!" Tekar called out when Seth explained the "Cursed Fang Shield".

"Don't worry. Al assured me, that together with your heightened resistances and the bonuses from the shields, there is no danger. There is a reason why only one of them has that option. If you feel that something is wrong, you can change to the raven's beak."

Besides the two shields was also a blood drinker raven's beak, like the one Seth had used to kill the Zarkists.

Below the offensive gar was a smaller box with a Necklace and 4 rings, the maximum number of rings one could usually wear. They were nothing fancy, as hey we originally meant to be sold in his shop. The only change Seth had done was to infuse souls to make their effects a permanent buff, instead of a temporary buff the user had to activate. Two of the ring increased endurance/strength and the other two increased agility/willpower by 15 points each. The necklace increased HP regeneration and mana regeneration.

He prepared similar sets for the other two and had spent about 80 small souls to upgrade these accessories.

Alison's and Link's eyes twinkled when they heard they would get something comparable!

The wizard's box was a little smaller since Seth had fewer things for her. He was simply not as versed in caster equipment and lacked the materials to make a good staff for her. This didn't mean that her gear was any less impressive.

The woman in her pajamas squealed in joy when she appraised the long golden padded jacked. It was the first epic item of the day and it was hers! The others looked at her with envy, when Seth explained to them the effects of the golden jacket.

Alison's rings primarily increased her agility and intelligence, as she had asked for. The Necklace was focused on increasing mana regeneration. Seth had also found the time to make her a pair of leather shoes from the leftovers. They were rated rare and increased movement speed, wind, and earth affinity.

The gourmet hunter was close to exploding from excitement when it was finally his turn. The first items from his box were the different parts of leather armor that would increase his survivability. Next were his accessories. The rings increased strength, agility, and dexterity, while the necklace had the shield skill. It was meant as a lifeline for the squishiest of their party.

Link's eyes had slightly dimmed. He could not complain as all of them were awesome items and several times better than his current gears but... compared to what the others got he felt left behind.

They lit up in excitement once again when he saw Seth pull out a dagger in its sheath. Finally! Would he also get some epic, super special item?!

"A dismantling knife made of mithril. With this, you should be able to even dismantle dragons. It can also dabble as a kitchen knife on a field trip."

Seth could not help but grin in schadenfreude as he saw the other's face fall. He had dashed the hunter's hopes once again. Of course, he could only act like this, since he knew what the last item would be.

"And lastly, the Nightmare Crossbow!"

Seth pulled out the almost black crossbow, with silvery engravings, white bone handles, and the golden glimmering crossbow string made of <Celestial Bronze>. Seeing the item in the blacksmith's hands, the gourmet hunter was petrified, since he could not express his emotions anymore at this point.

He started explaining about the magazine and the effects of the crossbow but there was no reaction from Link. His eyes were simply glued on the crossbow. And when Seth finally handed it to him he hugged it like a lost child and started cheering!

The rest of them could not help but laugh with him. His mood swings were simply too adorable.

When he finally calmed down, Seth spoke up again.

"Alright, how about all of you equip your equipment now? I want to see how they look will look on you."

The party looked quite impressive after completely gearing up. There was the giant dark knight wielding two intimidatingly pointy shields. A female wizard in flowing golden cloth armor and a big new witch hat. A hunter clad in a full leather outfit and a fancy-looking crossbow. And lastly Seth in his dark red/black Wyvern Armor, silver/black gauntlets, and a big blade on his waist.

"Let's visit a dungeon today, to get used to the power-up.. I think we can set off for Arigiri the day after tomorrow."