Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Donnchadh, a creature that had appeared with the awakening of the realm. An undead beast that was actually native to Urth, with similarities to vampires and liches. The creature had been fighting an army of golems for days.

It was the first ex-sized soul he had harvested since Al'Zalsar. If he was honest, he had been hesitating because it was such a rare resource. He had been looking into its potential to make a weapon or armor, but ultimately, there was never a choice other than making it a golem.

If the situation hadn't been dire, he may have kept hesitating and procrastinating on it, but now the decision was made. At least he had not been slacking off when procrastinating, the plans for a golem were already finished. The only thing left was to implement them.

After taking his leave from the meeting, Seth returned to Minas Mar. However, he did not directly return to his workshop, instead, he paid a visit to the Herb garden, or rather what was growing beyond the herb garden in Minas Mar.

The tree chamber was as breathtaking as ever, looking like a starry knight with the magic lanterns in the crown of the massive tree in its center. Climbing the huge roots, it took him a few minutes to reach the thick trunk.

“Karina? Are you there?” he asked, knocking against the trunk of the Guardian Tree.

The second piece he needed for the golem, was the wood of the hanging tree.

In the blacksmith's opinion, the only material that could match the powers of Donnchadh was the wood of the Guardian Tree, especially its original traits as a Hanging Tree perfectly aligned with the nature of the nem marvo's powers.

The compatibility of Donnchadh's skills and the wood of the hanging tree was undeniable. The blacksmith still vividly remembered the devastation of the large-scale drain skills the undead had used to refill his mana, health, and stamina.

“I'm always here, at least part of me~” he heard and a clone of the dryad stepped out of the trunk of the massive tree. “How can I help you this time? Do you need more core wood?” she asked playfully, knowing that this was probably the only reason Seth would visit the tree chamber.

“You caught me there, sorry,” he apologized a little embarrassed, realizing that he really only came here when he wanted something. Nonetheless, he was here because he wanted something. “Not core wood, but would it be possible to get wood with the original properties of the hanging tree?”

The dryad looked at him with surprise, before she pondered for a moment.

“I could try condensing some of the original nature, but it won't be comparable to the core wood. Is that okay?” she asked innocently. The blacksmith couldn't help but think that the personality of these clones somewhat differed from the current dryad.

Karina had changed a little ever since the Hanging Tree became legendary, However, these clones she was able to create were actually close to how the tree spirit acted in the beginning after Seth recreated her.

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“That will be fine,” the blacksmith answered with a nod. As long as it fit the souls, the wood didn't need to be too sturdy. The wood was going to be the golem's “flesh” while the blacksmith intended to make its frame from .

Ever since Master Tored managed to create his own version of , their supply was only limited by Seth's Power of Existence. Unfortunately, Tored's alloy was not as close to the final product as the ingots Seth had looted from the Theocracy of Chains back then.

It took over 3000 points of Power of Existence to refine one ingot of the faulty alloy into an ingot of genuine . He was barely able to afford it now. His point gain per day had risen quite a bit since the Pythian Games, especially after the Award Ceremony. This was why they now had a small supply of .

After he gave his okay, the dryad stepped back to the trunk of the massive tree and started deploying her magic in synchronicity with the tree. A little shiver ran down his spine when he recognized the energy that was collecting under her hands.

It reminded him of the pressure when he witnessed the hanging tree that grew at the center of his home district. It was an experience he could never truly forget. Slowly, a thick branch, the size of a normal tree, started growing from the bark of the Guardian Tree.

The aura surrounding this branch was dark and ferocious. It matched the feeling of The Hangingtree to a T. His heart beat a little faster, not just because of the unhappy memory it brought back, but at the thought of creating a golem exuding this kind of aura, coupled with Donnchadh's skills.

He didn't even need to appraise it to know that it was exactly what he needed. Karina had easily fulfilled his request. After growing to the length of a person, the branch grew thin at the base until it broke off from its own weight.

“There you go~” the clone prompted him to take his material with a kind smile. The mesmerized blacksmith shook his head to get back to the present and appraised the trunk instinctively.

Relic

The culmination of the dark aspects of Urth's Guardian Tree. Incredibly hard wood filled with the unbending desire to devour and grow in a never-ending cycle. You can feel power draining from your hand with a simple touch. Trait: Hangingtree's Absorption. >

The Hangingtree's Absorption was the original power the tree used to extract nutrients from its victim, only leaving them as a dried-up husk hanging from its vines. It fused Life, Health, and Stamina drain as well as Blood Absorption.

Seth froze when he saw the stats. Was Karina always able to make this kind of wood? This sounded like an incredibly strong power for a weapon if the trait could be controlled, but it activated on touch. An item that drained resources from the user every time you touched it the wrong way was inconvenient, but at the same moment, Seth could also think of a way to minimize that inconvenience. Maybe he was going to make some stuff with the shavings, once he was done.

“Thank you, Karina. Well then, time is pressing, I hope you understand,” the blacksmith said, hurried to store the trunk of in his inventory.

“Of course. Are you going to use that wood for another golem?” She asked curious as he was about to leave.

“Yes, I hope to add another friend to our forces, before things start,” he said with a smile, before he vanished, teleporting to his workshop.

...

As its reputation implied was a bitch to forge. The toughest, most resilient metal barely budged, despite being brought to heat and filled with to the brim with the power of which had recently turned lv.2.

It didn't help that the bard had gotten a little ambitious with the build. Not only was he singing the ballad of Elufsiv the Esurient and paying the demon off with souls, but he was also running lv.9 at full force to meld half of Donnchadh's soul into the golem's Adamantium skeleton.

While Seth was busy with that, he left the cutting of the wood to Cerberus. There was no modern chainsaw that could easily chew up magical woods. But the workshop guard was almost as good with a manual saw that his speed equaled to a sawmill.

The wood Cerberus was cutting would become the armor and flesh Seth would attach to the frame once it was done. While the golem was done filleting the trunk in a matter of a day, Seth took three days to manufacture the parts of the frame, despite hurrying as best as he could.

If forging was a bitch, engraving was hell. Just engraving and assembling the parts of the frame took just as long as forging the whole thing. But now he was at least finished the foundation.

He had worked for three days straight, only taking a break to eat or chuck a Stamina Potion to get through the fatigue. He was tired and drenched in sweat, but at no point did he entertain the idea of stopping. Radiant Forgeright's and had him in their grasp.

The positive thing was that at least Donnchadh's ego, or what was left of it, was not in a position to resist or sabotage him during the crafting. With just 12% of its original nature left, Seth intended to add one of the prepared cores with the Olympian automaton ego, to give the remaining ego a new nucleus to take root.

He was just about to wipe his sweat away, when-

“Tower Master?” someone suddenly asked from behind and started him.