Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

A vast stretch of mountains, covered in a blanket of fog and clouds. The Unclaimed Mountains as this piece of land, west and northwest of Deta came to be called. An unusual party, that had left from Thres a few days ago, finally faced the massive landscape.

Mike had only come through here once, but he had not seen much of the place back then. It was during their Travel with the Adventurer’s guild to their holy land, which was found further south. As fascinating the expansive mountains and valleys, much greener and lush than the snowy mountains around Delta, were, they could not hold his attention.

His eyes were drawn to his own team, which’s... peculiarity had spiked after their stop in Thres. There were him and Lydia, a beastman and an ori huma sitting on their mounts. They were chosen of gods, but still quite normal to look at.

The next step up was the animated Automaton, Ceres. The eagle made of silver metal and covered in an aura of lightning that made it look like a bird made of electricity. In a world of magic, this was not as weird as it could be.

Going over the edge was that this Lightning bird sat atop the head of a chimera with a head and almost 7m long neck, that ended in the massive body of a leopard with the hooves of a stag. Yet, Ceres was not flying in the sky, but perching high up on the Questing beast that was solemnly treading along beside the other two.

Ceres, the Tormentor, had helped Governor Adam in the most unexpected way. Ignoring the Questing beast's high resistance to all but holy damage, it used lightning to strike fear deep into the creature's mind. Instead of letting them subjugate the beast, the elemental had tamed it without causing any great visible wounds.

~Stop glancing at my mount like this. We had this discussion already. ~ Using telepathy, the Elemental barked at him when it noticed his glances.

“You are a mechanical bird that doesn’t get tired! Why would you need a mount? The Questing beast is-” The chosen of Maahes was about to open that topic again but was interrupted.

~ Blotches,~ the elemental corrected him about the name if its mount, ~is already registered as my underling by the system. Deal with it. ~ Ceres ended the conversation with an audible period

The Questing Beast looked depressed, being reminded of its new name. It was its usual reaction to hearing its name. It was mentioned every time this topic came up, and it came up a lot during the past few days.

At this point, it looked so tragic every time the name fell, that even Mike, who was against taking it along, didn’t feel like continuing the argument. Who would have thought the reptilian face of a snake could be this expressive?

To have turned a creature above lv.170, according to Adam, into such a tragic existence... Mike and Lydia held no doubt anymore, that Ceres had already breached the threshold and became a legend, although the parrot of doom kept denying it.

With a sigh, Mike looked forward. Through circumstances he couldn’t control, his originally solitary journey had turned into an expedition with this ragtag bunch. He didn’t mind Lydia; how could he mind alone time with his girlfriend? But why did Seth have to send the bird...

“Let’s go. Seth gave you the rough coordinates of the place where the caravan was attacked, right?” Mike finally asked Ceres.

It was time for the mission the Tower Master had given them, to look into the kidnapping of the merchants and hopefully find the aunt of the little girl alive. From the information Seth gave him, there was a possibility to face a human trafficking ring. In the worst case they would have to chase down some people and clean out some bases but then-

Then he could finally go on his holy quest to go and look for the <Storm Ore>. And then he could finally get his holy equipment made by Seth. And then his strength would skyrocket. He was looking forward to stepping on his Path to Legend and making a name for himself.

His path was called “Storm Emperor”, and it was focused on battles using the power of wind and weather. He chose it because it was completely in line with the skill inherited from Maahes. All he needed to collect Power of Existence then, was make a name through duels and accomplishments.

But this was all talk of the future, first, they had to track some people down.

~Sure, just follow. I will take you there. ~ Ceres said succinctly and the Questing beast, or Blotches, took the lead as they entered the forested, almost tropical mountain range. Here, close to Beta, the mountains benefited a lot from the warm ocean climate. Of course, this would change once they got deeper in there.

Until then, they would have to deal with the thick jungle-like vegetation. Especially Ceres, who was adamant about sitting on the questing beast’s head, high up in the air. As a consequence, Blotches also had to deal with its head being constantly stuck in the lower branches and leaves of the trees.

They traveled like this for almost two hours before Ceres finally conceded and allowed the beast to lower its head, while the eagle changed locations to the creature’s back.

“Phew, it’s really warm and muggy here...” Lydia lamented, wiping away her sweat. Despite all the system improvements, the harsh climate stayed harsh climate. While the beastman was relatively okay, Lydia who had lived all her life in Delta was having a hard time when suddenly faced with such humid weather.

“The underbrush also keeps getting thicker in these mountain valleys, we might have to get off our mounts soon...” Mike mentioned. The steep mountain faces did not allow them to travel above the tree line, forcing them to search their way through the thickly forested valleys.

Unlike their equipment supplied by Seth, their mounts were rather ordinary. Although the Alpeka they were currently using were bred by Evan and had higher stats in general, they were beasts most adventurers had. They were great for long journeys, but not for these kinds of forests with offensive vegetation.

And like Mike worried, they soon had to get off their Alpekas and walk on foot. Except for Ceres, whose mount was the Questing Beast and not bothered by pushing through the dense foliage.

“We would be faster if you let us ride it, too,” Mike commented on the elemental’s selfish actions, as it denied them a seat on the Questing beast.

~You could also walk a little faster, what do I care? You were against Blotches the whole time, why would I let you ride it? ~ the lightning bird scoffed. It couldn’t care less about the two people currently marching along his Blotches.

While Mike could only look disgruntled, Lydia chuckled beside him. The beastman turned to her with a puzzled expression.

“He’s not wrong;” she said with a shrug and an apologetic smile. With a deep sigh, Mike could only let go of his grudges and run along. He didn’t even get a chance to do anything else, since all monsters within a kilometer would take a hike the moment they heard the Questing beast breathing, sounding like a mighty pack of wolves on a hunt.

Whatever was not smart enough to flee, or too slow, would face its death breath. Before any of the two could even unsheathe their weapon, the opponents would have turned into half-rotten corpses, that were quickly gobbled up by Blotches.

All the two chosen of gods could do, was awkwardly follow the Parrot of Doom, riding its new mount, the Questing Beast as they waltzed through the jungle, which was like a second home to the reptilian giraffe.

However, the beast suddenly halted. There was a spark in the eyes of Ceres. One more than the ones that were usually there.

“Why are we stopping?” Lydia asked the bird, looking in the same direction, but she was unable to see what it could be looking at. The elemental snorted, which was a very weird and disturbing sound, coming from a mechanical bird.

~There is something I want to check out. You guys stay with Blotches. ~ Ceres told them through telepathy and flew up into the air, flying in the direction it had been looking at.