Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

“We have to clip Ember's face at that moment!” Seth couldn't stop laughing at the dazed smile followed by the incredulous shocked expression of the demon girl. It was a good thing there was more than one golem eye, keeping watch over the situation, otherwise, they would have gotten such a good shot of her. The blacksmith would let her live this one down.

“The viewer already made dozens of clips of it. Ember's Shocked reaction is trending,” Fin said with a chuckle, as she was playing around on her tablet. During her stay, Fin and the others had ample time to get used to Urth's technology and culture, although it stepped into the background during the past years.

In the wake of the Pythian Game, Minas Mar had made sure that a traditional stream was available. Even going as far as to support the expansion of internet access in the tree stations. It worked out. Although the live stream was only accessible on Urth and not across the Pathworks, there were over two hundred thousand people watching it.

Who would have thought that so many devices still existed? Despite an apocalypse happening, the people of Urth, and especially those from Delta, had stuck to their habits and customs, not giving up modern comforts even in a time of hardships.

Although Seth and the others mostly used communication orbs instead of smartphones or tablets at this point, since the phone network was not reliable far out, it seemed many Urthans still had some kind of traditional device to access the internet. With the safety of the tree stations guaranteed, it was no wonder that many picked up their old style of living. or did their best to do so.

“it's kinda nice to see people having fun in the chat. It feels almost normal if you disregard the actual content of the stream, “ Monique mumbled in the back, getting a thoughtful nod from many members in the room. Seth also agreed, seeing people active in the chat, gave a sense of nostalgia and peace, almost as if they were back in the time, before the apocalypse.

“Just another reason to bring the Pythian Games to a successful end,” Tekar voiced Seth's thought. “You are right. The better we solve problems during the games, the safer people will feel. Only when they feel safe, will they be able to regain a sense of normalcy,” Seth added his own opinion.

Of course, they couldn't completely go back to how things were but they could make the new normal as close to the old normal as possible. And the more normal and peaceful the people were, the more stable Minas Mar's income would be. Peace was the best business opportunity for a Landlord.

“Who do you think will win?” Mina asked, sitting beside him and eating a pack of chips that were recently released.

“Probably Megan. Her hover disc is pretty fast and she already found a feather,” Seth said with a shrug, stealing some of her chips, and earning an evil stare.

<Ding! Your Stamina-, Mana- and Health Regeneration are increased by 1% for the next 10 minutes.>

“These taste really good,” he said positively surprised. This brand of chips was founded after the collapse and they were producing chips using skills and ingredients introduced through the system, making them also buff food on top of being snacks.

“If you wanted to know how they tasted you could have just-” Mina stopped speaking as she ravenously assaulted him, leaving hers and the taste of the chips in his mouth. The blacksmith felt his face become hotter than when staring directly in the smelter. He didn't expect her to suddenly kiss him while everyone was watching.

“Hey, no fair!” the fairy cried out and Seth was caught up in another match of tongue wrestling as Fin made sure she was even with Mina. “hmm, these chips really taste god! Gimme some too!” the fairy brute proceeded to demand her share of snacks.

Seth leaned back with a satisfied smile. He was a little embarrassed, but life was good. Shit was going down elsewhere and in the future, but he was glad he had his little bubble of peace in the present. All the more reason to mess up anyone threatening his peace.

“Wow, this Hannibal Cho is pretty strong, isn't he?” Link's comments pointed their attention back to the broadcast where the man with fists and feet fists of steel was busy creating a bloodbath with bare feet.

It was one of the monster traps prepared to protect a feather. Saying it was prepared may have been too much. It was a cave where a group of lv.80 Man-eating Troglodytes had taken residence. They were creatures with a vague resemblance to primates or great apes.

They were not human-level smart but had a higher intelligence than ordinary monsters. Being able to use weapons and tactics, mixed with their great strength and agility made them a great danger for ordinary travelers or adventurers.

But all that didn't help them in the face of the balled feet and fists of the cultivator who was twirling in the air without losing speed from crushing their skulls when passing by. Covered in a blue aura, his fists and feet left gouged-out trails of flesh and blood, leaving clean holes in heads and bodies.

Five minutes after entering the cave, he already reached the golden feather Mina had stealthily placed there without the troglodytes even knowing. Behind him, the bare stone floor of the caves was drenched in a sea of blood and covered by the fallen bodies of its former inhabitants.

originally, this was supposed to be an opportunity for a thief or assassin class, since troglodytes were not very perceptive. It was easy to sneak past them, avoiding an open confrontation. However, Hannibal Cho showed quite impressively, that even people below lv.100 could just brute force their way through such obstacles.

“He is, isn't he? This race is actually a good opportunity to show how greatly the strength of cultivators can differ despite having a similar level,” Seth added, taking into account the other people currently in the race. For example, the sword rider that had tried to charm Ember, who was miserably taken down by the giant snow leopard, nobody even placed it there.

Although the leopard actually had a lower level than the troglodytes, one-on-one they were about the same when it came to their threat level. While the charmer made a miserable figure in an attempt to fight the feline monster, Mr.Fister had easily dispatched a whole group of beasts with similar strength.

If one thought about it, it was quite normal for something like the level to only be a rough guideline, even when it came to players. Although the level was something equally set by the system, it did not necessarily mirror the strength of the being. Things like size, base stats, class, skills, and items could make creatures on the same level differ very much in actual power.

“I guess you were right,” Mina suddenly said, showing him her screen. It was currently showing Megan, escaping from a collapsing stone structure. it was one of the temples Vathon and the others set up using the overburden from the dungeon excavation. The statistics showed that this was already Megan's third feather.

“I never doubted her skill in puzzle solving, but how does she already have three?” Seth asked. he had not watched her, as his attention was on Hannibal Cho, but the last time he looked, she had only one.

“Like the first one, she found it. She's quite lucky in that regard,” Mina explained to him. This meant Megan found two feathers just traveling and earned another one from a puzzle site, further securing her first place with a full 1 hour bonus.

“Didn't we kind of create a stage for her to shine at this point?” Jonah mumbled.

Originally, this stage was meant for some of the slower participants to be able to make up the difference and make things more thrilling. Like how Hannibal Cho easily overcame the martial trial gaining a 20-minute bonus. But it just showed that Megan not only excelled in brains and perception but was also overly lucky.

“Or some of them are not hidden well enough to escape her strong perception. Didn't she have some skill to look into the past of a place?” Fin threw in between munching chips from the bowl she had annexed from Mina.

A big groan traveled through the room. Of course, this had to be it. If Megan was able to see the past or detect traces of the people who hid the feathers, it wouldn't be hard for her to sniff out the hiding spots as long as she came close enough.

“I guess the winner was decided from the start...” Leana sighed.