Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Seth's insistence paid well. After a cup of tea, the pair of dark elves not only scraped together 30 gold, but 60, asking for two golem knight squads to be sent. The blacksmith was not someone who said no to free money and accepted their payment readily. After all, this was not a down payment, but rent for 60 golem knights for one week. They would still have to pay the price later on.

Since he couldn't just squeeze out the full amount and there was nothing more he could do in this place, Seth's next stop was the system bank. Using his crystal card, he cashed out a whopping 2000 gold, only leaving 10 on his account. With over 2500 gold in his inventory, he returned to Minas Mar.

Motivated, he knocked at the door of the laboratory.

“Alison~ Do you want to grind a potion? Come on, let's go and raise a skill!” he serenaded.

“I'm busy!” “I never see you anymore, come -” “Stop singing out there and just come in....” she interrupted him defeated. “What do you want?” she asked after he came in. She had been bend of an old grimoire she had taken from the Tower library.

“Ask you what you want,” he answered with a smile. “I decided that the best direction for me to pursue is to raise my other crafting skills. Since your goal was to become a master alchemist, I thought that we could do it together.

You come up with an efficient grinding plan, I will buy us the materials we need. No need to think about what Minas Mar needs, we will just make the potions that raise the most proficiency.” Seth explained, waving his portable VIP access to the auction house in front of her face.

Neeco Booz was able to become a master tailor because of the support from Puffles, now Seth was going to support Alison, and himself, to do the same. If they kept buying epic materials to make epic potions in great quantities then Alison, and especially, Seth would be able to raise their skill quickly.

“Are you serious?” she asked, looking up from her book in wonder.

Although Minas Mar had their own herb garden that was tended to by the children of Karina using the nature magic she taught them, they still needed to buy in many ingredients that were normal to the system and many recipes Alison and the other alchemists they employed had unlocked as part of their profession.

“Yep, I am,”

“Anything I want?” she asked again, to make sure.

So far, Alison had been quite frugal, since even the normal alchemy ingredients were expensive and had to be supplied through the System Church. Seth offering her to make whatever she wanted to improve her skill made her happy, but she needed a moment to grasp the concept of not trying to save money.

“As long as you make the plan for both of us to reach the master tier, I will pay for all the materials from my own pocket,” he assured her.

“..Alright, I will make a plan and a list of materials,” she finally answered with w twinkle in her eyes. It was rare to see Alison this motivated, which was inexplicably heartwarming and alarming at the same time. He slowly retreated from the alchemy lab, leaving her to her own devices. Seth's next destination was outside Minas Mar's gates.

“Asterion, how are you doing?” he asked the massive Minotaur, swinging his axe in training. His body was glistening as he moved in the cold mountain air.

“Great! Tatzel and Puffles are very considerate and I actually got the chance for some workouts since Ceres and Python are gone.” the gatekeeper said happily. Seth didn't quite know what one had to do with the other, but he smiled anyway.

Before he could say something, a big shadow appeared over their heads. They had called Puffles earlier and the nightmare centipede had arrived. Like always when they were home, Puffles and Tatzel would do their own thing, instead of hanging around in his pet space.

~You said you needed the help of the great me?~ the centipede with a white ceramic-like carapace and golden marking landed before them and asked haughtily. As he spoke, his size started to reduce until he was the size of a stola. It was the magic he learned from Tatzel, but he refined it to keep his appearance of a centipede, instead of becoming a cute little, chubby bug.

~ Right to business, did I interrupt you on something?~ Seth asked, a little surprised by Puffles' attitude.

~Nothing that can't wait. Don't forget that you promised me 10 tubs of ice cream.~ the Ivicer reminded him of his promise. Ah, so that was it. Puffles just wanted to hurry, so he could get his promised munchies. Seth still had a hard time understanding how the Ivicer became such a sweet tooth. Maybe it was a natural disposition when one took into consideration that Ivicers would usually eat minerals and ores that should be quite savory by definition.

~Okay, okay. Nädel and Tored will join us soon and I also want to raise my <Sewing> skill together with Nädels to the master tier. Puffles, I need to you produce a lot of <Ancient bronze> and <Celestial Bronze> thread until then. ~ he explained telepathically.

<Ancient Bronze> was an uncommon metal when molten down, but as a thread, it had a rare rating. <Celestial Bronze> on the other hand was a rare metal, but an epic thread. To raise his <Sewing> he would need both since he was only an adept, while Nädel would mostly benefit from the latter as a craftsman. Of course, there was <Skysilk>, but only Neeco and Puffles were currently able to effectively work with it. The other two were enough for the start.

The Ivicer's now tiny mandibles moved a little, secreting fluid, as he thought about Seth's request.

~Okay, but that will be 20 tubs! ~ the Ivicer agreed, but he drove a hard bargain. Seth squinted at the cunning business bug but finally agreed with a sigh.

~ Alright. Ten tubs now and another ten after the first batch, deal?~

~Deal!~

...

After coming to an agreement with Alison and making a deal with Puffles, there was only one person he had to spring the good news on. Soon, Seth with Puffles wrapped around his shoulders like a scarf, crashed into the tailor workshop.

“Good news, everyone,” he announced happily, to the crowd of tailors and Neeco Boos, who were staring at him.

“All of you will get the chance to raise your <Weaving> skill in the coming week,” Seth announced happily.

“Wait, wait, wait, Seth! What do you mean?” the tailor master asked perplexed.

“Nädel, a Tailor craftsman will join us soon, and I also want to raise my <Sewing> skill. While Puffles will produce the needed thread, you guys will turn it into fabric over the next week,” he explained the good news.

“But, most of us have their own project right now, we can't just-” Neeco attempted to argue.

“It's not often I make it known, but I AM the Tower Master and head of the crafting team. You will keep doing what you were doing. Everyone else will work the looms to prepare the fabric for me and Nädel. That has the highest priority from now on until I say otherwise.”

Seth knew that he was a little unreasonable, but it was all for the sake of preparing for the future. Their projects could wait for a week or two. It wasn't like they didn't gain anything from it, since <Weaving> was a tailoring skill that could improve the power of the produced fabrics. They would only gain from it in the future.

“Puffles will stay here for the time being and keep making thread.”

“Master Puffles will stay here, too?” Neeco asked even more shocked. After all, Puffles was like a mentor to Boos who had become a Tailor of Ivice. And the Ivicer was a strict mentor.

~Yes, I will stay and make sure you aren't wasting my efforts. ~ the nightmare centipede announced to all of them. They all had conflicted expressions. The Ivicer's advice could help them grow, but having someone constantly looking over their shoulder would be quite stressful.

“Well, then, I will leave it to you guys! Don't disappoint me.”

After dropping work on them, Seth scampered off to see Karina. The easiest material to come by for the skills he intended to raise was wood for <Carpentry>. Since it would take time for the fabric and Alison's plan to be prepared, he decided to start there first.