Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

“Scrap Armors,” was Simon's quick and cost-effective solution.

“Scrap Armor?” Seth asked, to make sure he understood the priest correctly.

“Hmm, yes. As you know, the Pathworks are not the most peaceful place. There are hundreds of wars across hundreds of worlds raising the demands for items at all times. It might take a week or two to get over 2000 full sets of new armor, even if your requirements are not high.

But it's a different story if we are talking about scrapped items. All of these wars leave battlefields filled with bodies and damaged items that are being scavenged at all times. If I use my connections I could probably collect the number you need in a few days, but they would need to be repaired.”

Simon suggested a trade-off. Instead of getting new gear that was in high demand everywhere, getting used goods that may need repairs. Of course, repairing would also cost time, but would it take longer than the time they saved?

“What range of repairs are we talking about? What conditions would these scrap armors come in?” the blacksmith asked, not deterred by the possible work he would have to put in.

“I don't really know off the bat. There are items that won't be much more than scrap and others that may just have a few dents or holes. The latter would be the more common condition,” Simon estimated.

“Fine, let's go with a mix. I will give you a week. Get me as many armor pieces as you can get in this time, I don't care whether they are new, or scrap that is still the shape of an armor. And don't collect them, send them to me the moment they arrive,” the blacksmith finally decided.

Although they couldn't make thousands of armor pieces with their number of blacksmiths, just repairing finished products was doable. Especially with him and Cerberus. Although Seth disliked the idea, the golems would probably end up with a colorful mix of items, instead of proper sets. However, there was nothing he could do about it if he wanted them finished by the time of the Pythian Games.

“And the price?”

Seth halted for a moment. Despite spending quite a lot on alchemy ingredients, he had been making a fortune selling Golems to Arget Nore and slowly selling his practice items at the auction house. Together with the money he got for the quests his personal capital reached roughly 8000 gold in gold, silver, and crystal cards.

He was quite rich, but it didn't mean it was enough. By a rough estimate, uncommon gear usually costs tens of silvers per item, depending on materials, performance, and enchantment. To fill all the equipment slots with uncommon armor would usually cost no more than four gold. A well-made set of uncommon armor up to 10 gold on the high end, about as much as a low-end rare item.

With 2600 sets, they were talking about a price of 10400 to 26,000 for functional items. It wasn't something he could support with his personal funds. But what was Minas Mar for? Renting out whole cities, even cheaply, was a money-printing business. It was just, that he had to talk with Mary about spending their business money.

“You know what? The price does not matter for now. Try getting them at market value, and offer slightly more if necessary. I will talk with Mary to settle the bill.”

Simon nodded. They didn't talk for much longer, as the priest wanted to get to work immediately. While he did that, Seth would have to do something he had severely neglected to do. Informing Mary what the hell he was even up to currently.

…

Pock, Pock, Pock, Mary kept stabbing at the paper with her pen, pondering, as she stared Seth straight in the eyes. Finally, she sighed.

“So that's what you were doing, holed up in the workshop? “

“I'm sorry. I was just ...” “Preoccupied, yeah, yeah... You didn’t even open a door when I sent someone to get you three days ago.”

“You sent someone three days ago?” Seth asked confused, roughly remembering that Sivri had answered the door at some point. “Why?”

“Lydia and Ray returned with McCarthy. He is recovering. You came too late to meet them though, they already left for Little Gamma, to help test the venue for the games,” Mary explained.

“Testing? I thought you sent Yulecat’s Fur to guard them…” Seth commented, a little disappointed that Lydia didn’t wait for him. He would have liked to hear from her in person about what had happened in Morranto.

“I left the memory storage and damaged energy core to Baker's people since it seemed like advanced technology and not magic,” Mary answered when Seth asked about the loot of the Hashing Bird. He was interested in the energy core, but he agreed that Baker's tech magicians were probably better for this job.

Mary also added that Holly, the receptionist of the Adventurer guild, had returned to the guild. Although Seth didn’t really care, it was good to have the guild owe them, again. After letting off some steam and complaining to him and about him, Mary let out a sigh and got back to business.

“You should have told me earlier what you were up to. I could have helped you…” she said with a little pout. “At least that explains why you suddenly ordered for <Stainless Steel>. With such a huge batch of golems, I feel a lot less worried.”

“You shouldn’t. We have to stay vigilant. Another thing is, I wanted to send the golems into the dungeons. Can you help me prepare some?”

While the better golems he would make soon could train in the Abyss, the weaker ones needed a fitting environment. Another bonus was that the golems would be able to collect loot in the dungeons. The patchwork of armor they would be wearing could only improve with dungeon loot.

“I might have a better idea for the golems to gain experience,” Mary suddenly said with a mysterious smile. “Well, it’s an initiative Luf came up with, so I can’t take full credit,” she added and placed a stack of paper from her drawer on the table. The title read:

“Punitive Expedition to Y-City?” Seth read out loud questioningly. The content was what could be expected from the title. Ypselon, or what was left of the district, had completely turned into a lawless place filled with monsters, invaders, and savages.

Many citizens were still trapped in the ruins of their homes. Daily small numbers of people reached the Tree Station at the city’s border to seek for refuge. The paper suggested that Minas Mar organize a punitive force that would clean out the city and look for survivors.

According to her estimates, Y-City was probably lost. After their technology stopped working in the chaos, the city had been especially hard by dungeons, creatures, and invaders from the Pathworks. Especially the eccentric beings that appeared with the awakening of the slumbering realm showed a strong presence in Y-City. Possibly because of the world boss Lezzekhan’s presence.

When Luf suggested it, it was not much more than a humanitarian publicity stunt. But since Seth now needed oodles and oodles of creatures to sacrifice to the golem army, this seemed like a great opportunity to hit two birds with one stone.

The golems could slaughter their way through the city, gain experience, and collect loot and Minas Mar would further increase their public image.

“It’s really not a bad idea and who knows what we find in Y-City? Maybe the golems will come back with better equipment than the one they came with?” the blacksmith praised. Because of the sudden rise of Lezzekhan, they had not been able to thoroughly search and loot the headquarters of the Scene.

Seth still missed the gear Mike lost dearly. Especially the helmet of Krios and the ice glider boots he improved into legendary footwear. Nobody knew what happened to the stuff, the Scene had taken from Mike.

“On that note, did Mike call back?” Seth asked out of context. It had been almost a month since Mike's last update.

“No, there is still no contact from him…”

“And Ceres?”

Mary just shook her head.

“Hmm...”