Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

The crimson blade suddenly took the initiative to speak. The explosive beauty had a surprised look on her face. She was just as surprised as Seth. The voice did not match the owner's outward appearance at all.

~Ke Ke ke, just wait, there is more. ~ Al laughed to herself. Seth didn't know what the sorceress was playing at.

Once the beauty understood what Jonah had said, she nodded vigorously. Monique also wanted to test the weapon before making a decision.

"Sure. But if you want to test them, we should probably change locations."

The two were the only two that stayed. Now was the time to hook them. He saw no problem in letting them test drive his weapons. Once they did, they were his.

They left the meeting room and went to the reception. An employee brought them to a wide empty room. There was a stage on one side and a few rows of stacked chairs on the other.

"What kind of weapons do you usually use?" he asked since he had a big range of different weapons in the box. Seth had not made any awesome weapons for practice since he arrived in Urth, but there was a large assortment of rare blood drinker weapons.

Jonah's weapon of choice was a slender longsword. His face lit up when his hand wrapped around the handle of a blooddrinker bastard sword. As one would expect, he felt a resonance between his class and the options of the weapon. The joy was visible in the few practice swings he did to test its weight and balance.

He only moved through a few basic swords moves but the proficiency and precision in the moves were obvious to the beholder.

Monique looked at the crimson blade's reaction in fascination and listened to the blade sing along with his moves. She also carried a sword but began to deliberate for a while before suddenly asking.

"Do you... a-also have a spear? O-or can you make one?" she asked shyly in a high-pitched rough voice. It seemed that she had not talked for a long time. Although she was not used to speaking, even Seth could read her expression. This question was important to her.

"Hmm, I don't have a normal spear on hand, but I can make one. Though it's not a spear, I have a halberd if you want to test it for now. And don't forget, if you like these weapons, I can custom make even better ones for you, as long as you join me." he could not hold back with the advertisement now.

Seth liked Monique a lot since she was easy to read even for him. The moment he said that he did not have a spear her face had fallen, and it lit up the next moment when he said he could make one and she could test a halberd for now.

He felt that she would be a comfortable person to be around if she joined his party.

The moment she grasped the halberd he handed to her, something happened. It was almost as if she had turned into a different person. Her aura became sharper and more serious. Her body moved with utmost precision as she went through various stances and spear moves with the halberd.

An aura of power filled the room as her moves became faster and more complex without losing even a tiny bit of precision. These were movements based on years of training and an aura honed by life-threatening scenarios.

Watching her move with such obvious passion Seth knew that he had her in the bag. He could only guess why she had been carrying a sword and not a spear. As a warrior class, she had several different proficiency skills for weapons.

The possibility was high, that she just could not find a spear better than the sword at her hip. If this was a world without magic Seth would have thought it was stupid to rather fight with a weapon you have no experience in, than to use one you are very proficient at.

However, in this world with the system it was different. The damage output was mainly determined by the weapon and your skills. Even skills that multiplied your damage by 5 were worthless if your weapon only dealt 100 or 200 damage.

That is why it made more sense to use the better weapon, even if you had little proficiency with it. It was preferable over being able to it the enemy a lot, but not breaking through the defense at all.

He didn't worry about Monique anymore and focused on Jonah. His sword had stopped moving as he watched the goddess of war furiously fighting invisible enemies. Seth could easily sneak up beside him.

"Quite the sight, eh? I think she is quite satisfied with the promo item. How about you?"

Although Seth had originally planned to get only one vanguard, he didn't say no to two. The more people in the front row they had, the safer everyone would be. The blacksmith's question had broken the spell on the crimson blade.

"I-I... I normally am not interested in joining others." he looked away. The velvety smooth voice raised the hairs in Seth's nape. He could spot a bit of cheek with a slight blush between the hat and the cloak.

"I can hear a "but" in there. Come on, say it. Join me~"

Seth was inadvertently using <The Voice of Seth>. Two were not planned, but now he was eager to take them both. Just what kind of creatures could they kill if those two joined. The materials and experience they could earn after they joined.

"N-no. I can't join you. I wouldn't mind accompanying you to Delta, but I know that if far from enough to deserve such a weapon. I can only-" the vampiric swordsman was struggling to overcome his desires. A good weapon would make everything so much easier. But his secret might be exposed if he spent time with others, not mentioning joining a group permanently.

Seth saw the inner struggle. The swordman was quivering and he held back his voice with balled fists. No, he couldn't let him make a conscious decision. He had to overwhelm his desires! He had no choice but to bring forth his ultimate move.

The shine of a long blade lit up in the room. Even Monique stopped moving when Seth suddenly pulled out a long single-edge blade. As seasoned warriors, they could feel the strong presence of the weapon.

"Here, try holding it." he said and passed Jonah the "Wyvern Blade". Seth was not afraid of theft, nobody but him could use this weapon. But holding it was enough. Instinctively the crimson blade grabbed the handle of the kriegsmesser. He stood there as if petrified.

The blade had the same enchantment as the blood drinker sword he had held earlier, but they were much stronger, and he could barely resist the resonance it had with his class.

Now to close in for the kill.

"I can make you your very own weapon, just like this. Maybe even better. You just have to join me." he whispered from behind, close to the other's ear. His mana was rapidly depleting as he used his divine tongue.

Silence. Jonah just kept staring at the blade while his thoughts were in chaos. But when the final decision fell and the tension left the swordman's body, Seth knew he had won his second vanguard.

"I think both of your answers are positive after this little test, yes?"

Both nodded. Monique enthusiastically, Jonah rather unwilling. Both their face fell into despair when Seth collected his weapons back. Some places liked to gift away promotion material. Seth didn't.

"Let's make a visit to the church.. I can introduce you to the rest of the party and we can finalize our deal!" Seth said with a joyful smile and took the lead on their way to the church.