Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Minas Mar had really outdone themselves with the preparations today. Compared to the times before when they still lacked experience and things were done a little amateurishly, they had really managed to set up a massive press conference.

The vast entrance hall of Minas Mar’s embassy was opened to a selected crowd of VIPs and reporters. The place was filled with chairs and a small stage was set up. Bryce, the master of Delta’s Adventurer guild was sitting in the first row, right below the stage.

Other guests apart from him included the various Guild Masters of the last few prominent Guilds in Delta and from the subsidiary guilds of Minas Mar. He also spotted Majdi Barr, the manager of the Auction House, the current representative of Chrona in Delta, as well as the envoys from Gamma, a pair of dark elves. Even some of the foreign merchants Seth had bullied were invited and sat among the crowd.

He could also see the lords of Minas Mar, as well as the other high-ranking members of the guild sitting and standing in the back of the stage. They were not dressed in formal clothing but displayed their overbearing gear.

Even Bryce could help but feel a little envious. He didn’t need to be able to appraise them, to feel their power. All of them were wearing dozens of pieces, that could have a party fall out with each other. He had seen people kill their friends for stuff, that was worse. What a great occasion, with so much interesting stuff already happening.

An entertained smile played around his lips, and he waited. People were finding their seats; the crowd was still arriving. Everyone hurried to get seated as the conference would soon begin. Bryce glanced to the entrance, where a hard-to-ignore figure had appeared.

Gallwell Ropartz, the Leader of Gamma Resistance had just entered, and everyone could the see metaphorical sparks fly between him and the dark-elven representatives of Arget Nore, who had appeared earlier.

However, it seemed that today was not the time that they would fight in public. Others might have been in the dark about the reason why these two parties who were like cats and dogs, were acting almost civilized today, but Bryce knew. Even if Minas Mar had not given him a heads-up, he had his information channels and could make an educated guess.

At 11 o’clock on the dot, the Tower Master of Minas Mar entered the stage, wearing an ostentatious, yet weirdly elegant and tasteful robe. Walking with the leisure of a predator in a herd of sheep, he stepped toward the microphone.

“Welcome, Visitors, Reporter’s, esteemed Guests. All of you were invited here today to attend a historical day for Urth. And Minas Mar. I could make this a long and excessive speech here, but let’s make it quick and loud. Gallwell, come to the stage.”

Bryce smiled. Despite being a demonic bard, the Tower Master still was not one of many words. Still, there was an enrapturing power in his voice, that made it almost negligible what he actually said. The crowd, anyone with lacking willpower, was glued to his lips and their eyes focused on Gallwell, like a burning lens, as the massive man stood up.

The Guild Master had to suppress a chuckle, seeing the big rough man, usually unfazed by anything, now stand up and walk to the stage with and awkward smile. One was a bard of few words and the other a great leader with stage fright.

“You have all been invited here to witness the reveal and the handover of the first (official) legendary item of Urth,” the bard exclaimed and revealed the item with an attention-grabbing gesture. A massive silver hammer appeared in his hand, straight out of his inventory.

Its benign light showed down at the crowd, their eyes glued to the godly weapon. It was like they had been hypnotized. Even Bryce couldn’t stop his jaw from dropping a little. But not exactly because of the hammer.

His eyes kept flying back and forth between the hammer and the members of Minas Mar behind the stage. Could it be? This was the first time he actually saw a legendary item from this close and if Seth really told the truth, then... The guild master could feel that many of the items the lord and members wore were at least as good or even more powerful than this hammer. Yeah, truly the first “official” legendary item.

“Hereby we announce that I, Seth Smith, am officially a Blacksmith with the ability to process legendary materials and make special and legendary items. This is Tyr's Gavel, I have crafted for the chosen of the God of War and Justice, Gallwell.”

“What are its options?” “Mr. Ropartz, are you willing to sell it?” “Will Minas Mar be going to sell legendary items from now on?”

Following the announcement, the crowd was in an uproar. Reporters were jumping off their seats, incessantly asking questions nobody could understand. Guests and visitors were stuck in a stupor of disbelief or wonder, depending on their relationship with Minas Mar and the Tower Master.

Only people like Bryce or Majdi Barr managed to stay calm, outwardly at least. The guild master was sure that Barr was as excited and disturbed inside as he was. There were only a few organizations across the Patchworks that could match the Adventurer Guild, the Auction House was one of them. He had no doubt the local manager was able to come to the same conclusions as him.

“Please calm down. We will hold a Q&A after the second announcement,” the Tower Master spoke in a calm, not too loud voice but his sentence cut through the roar of the crowd like a hot knife through butter. The crowd’s torrent of questions calmed down to a murmur.

“Yes, in addition to announcing the first legendary item of Urth, we would also like to announce the rebirth of the Pythian Games in Little Gamma. In honor of the tree Station's guardian, Python, we will hold various contests of skill.”

“Another tournament?” “Again?” “It has been a while since the last one, but are they serious?”

“The Pythian games will be different. Although we will hold a PVP Tournament, that won’t be all. Contestants will not just battle it out, but compete in various disciplines, that will all offer their own prices.” the bard explained.

Bryce had already known about the fact that Minas Mar was preparing a Tournament, but he didn’t expect that they would turn it into something even more than the contest of strength from last time, which was meant for the applicants to prove their power to Minas Mar.

What very few people knew was that this change was made at the request of Python herself. Seth had really planned to just make it a traditional fighting tournament, now this tournament was relegated to the main contest among many.

The mythical Pythian Games were a place where people competed in various disciplines to show their physical prowess, their skill, and overall, the results of hard training. Python, who had inherited some of the knowledge of its predecessor, had put in the suggestion to make it not just about raw dueling power.

“Apart from fighting we will have various contests for players to prove the results of their struggle. Competitions in speed, strength, agility, skill, and more will give everyone who is confident in their skills, to shine and earn epic or relic-rated items, or their worth in system gold. The specific competitions will be announced at a later date.”

Now the reporters were stumped, even a little confused. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to put this message first? After all, it was not even remotely as spectacular as a legendary item appearing for the first time. However, their confusion was cleared once the Tower Master continued speaking.

“However, the grand prize for the martial tournament will be a legendary item. The winner will be offered a custom-made item, either from a material they themselves provide or made from <Adamantium>.”

The biggest announcement was met with silence. They could still turn into a raging mass of questions when someone else got a holy weapon because of their divine sugar daddy. But this was a chance for “anyone” to earn a legendary weapon.

What was a legendary weapon? Although it was an almost common occurrence in Minas Mar, for ordinary people who barely ever even saw a relic, they were like a myth. The epitome of gear one could possess, an item that could allow a player to jump a gap of several tens of levels, simply by owning it.

Bryce watched the silent reporters as the realization grew in their eyes. Even he was tempted to take part in the tournament...

“Okay, any questions?”

At the prompt of the Tower Master, everything broke loose. Many of the reporters even lost their reason and jumped off their seats, shouting their questions. Others didn’t bother asking questions and simply ran off to post the news as quickly as possible, even if they didn’t have details.