Chương 1395: 1394. Neeco, are you done?

---Minas Mar---"You know why I'm here, Neeco. Are you done with the gloves?" the blacksmith asked after a quick greeting.

"I want to make the gauntlets today and-""They are on the table over there. They have been finished for a couple of days," the tailor interrupted him. He pointed at a workbench beside the door, without looking up from the pure white cloth in his hands. Seth squinted at the sight of the cloth; he knew that thread. He had seen it not too long ago, used in the brutal murder of a legendary lich. So, this was where it went after the battle. Neeco had actually managed to weave it into a fabric.

The blacksmith deliberated for a moment whether to ask what he was planning to do with the legendary cloth, but decided to leave it to Neeco Boos. The man was a master tailor and deserved a modicum of trust after they had worked together for so long. He was sure Boos would proudly present a legendary robe to him when the time was ripe, probably something fit for the few healers they had.

"Oh, thanks for the gloves," he simply said in the end and grabbed the gloves after giving them a quick appraising look. Neeco was not as experienced as Nädel, despite reaching the status of a master earlier, so the gloves didn't come with as many additional options as the boots. However, the spell weaver had his own methods and managed to do something Nädel couldn't.

The gloves were made from the same wing leather as the boots, but Boos had managed to convert the power of increased flight speed into a different effect using his magic threads. Instead of increasing the flight speed of the wearer, the gloves had the option to increase the speed and damage of thrown weapons. Seth didn't know how often Faenys used throwing weapons, but it was a great option for someone like Monique, who hurled spears for a living.

Seth was sure the former mountain brigand had experience with throwing knives, so maybe the gloves that raised the speed and damage of thrown weapons by 35% would be helpful to her as well. The chance was definitely higher than Faenys suddenly learning a way to fly, to make increased flight speed a relevant effect. With the leather gloves at hand, Seth returned to his own workshop, where he found Cerberus already waiting at the forge. The workshop assistant had already placed one of the Heart Scales on the anvil.

Unlike the mitten design he had used for Bart's Climatic gauntlet that covered barely half his forearm, the gauntlets for the Sky Dragon Armor had articulated fingers and connected to the pauldrons at the elbow, covering the whole forearm. For the gauntlets, Seth had chosen the Blessing of Violence. The simple reason was that most effects of the armor that increased damage were either in general or best used in single combat. Faenys still lacked something that could help her fight groups of people.

However, he wasn't putting his everything into the performance, since he actually wanted the weakened version of the passive skill. At full power, the ballad would create a skill that would increase attributes and improve base stats by 20% with each kill, even permanently increasing a random attribute once in a while. However, this skill was hard to manage, as it came with strong mental corruption.

Considering all the other effects that would already burden Faenys, he decided it was better not to increase the chance of berserk or demonic possession. Stolen novel; please report. Since he had some experience with the song, the bard nerfed the ballad deliberately. He endured the connection to the Addict of Battle and Violence and delivered an okay performance. Although the demon's violent nature coming through the connection was disruptive, the forging proceeded without any complications.

Seth was able to fully focus on forging the intricate scales for the fingers, plates for the hand, and the joints that connect them to each other. With great care, he then attached them one by one to the gloves Neeco Boos had prepared for him. Like the ballad, these were not his first gauntlets of this kind. Still, it took a while to make two such intricate gauntlets, so it was around 14 o'clock by the time the two forged gauntlets finally rested on the anvil.

The blacksmith also sank down on a nearby chair and took a moment to rest. He had forged and sung for 8 hours straight. Although he barely felt the time fleet by, his body felt the fatigue. It was time to get a meal and replenish his energy reserves before powering through the next step of the process. On the way to the cafeteria, suspicion grew in him. It had been suspiciously silent all morning. He would have expected Faenys to try and drop by at some point…

not that he would have heard if she knocked at the door. She probably remembered his words and stayed away from the workshop while he was performing a forging ballad. Nodding to himself, he entered the dining area, also suspiciously quiet. Although it was already a little late for lunch, there was almost nobody there.

"Link, I something the matter, or why is it so quiet here? Link?"

"Oh, Tower Master. The head chef at Delta. Apparently, some of the guilds are holding a parade for the finished repairs in the district," one of Link's chefs holding the ladle in his absence informed him.

"A parade?" Seth asked, perplexed, as he held up his dish for her to shovel food in. Now that she mentioned it, he vaguely remembered seeing a flier about it. The reconstruction in Delta was one of the things Mary had been working on. But since he was not needed for it, he had simply forgotten in his crafting spree.

"I guess it may have been fun to take part," the blacksmith mumbled to himself, imagining the kind of spectacle Mary would have come up with.

"It's not too late, you can still go," the last chef standing suggested. Seth gave her a wry smile. Although it sounded like a fun idea, the blacksmith was not the kind of person who enjoyed big crowds.

"Nah, I'm good." He had gotten a long way from his almost chronic aversion against big crowds of people, which didn't mean he voluntarily subjected himself to such a situation. The thought of finishing the legendary set made him chuckle unwittingly. The blacksmith ate his lunch and left again, returning to his workshop. When Faenys returned from the parade, she would find the whole set finished.... ---Delta--- Music filled the streets of the sprawling cityscape, flourishing in the shadow of the guardian tree.

A long procession of golems on golem steeds and Oathguards on pets was walking down one of the main streets toward the foot of the tree. It was not just a celebration, but also a show might for Minas Mar. Most members of the guild currently free and present in Delta were assembled to take part in the event. The people of Delta were lining the street on both sides, cheering. Looking up at the sky, he soaked up the atmosphere and took in the sight of the giant tree, adorned by the famous floating peaks.

Delta, he had really returned, and things had changed since he was here the last time. Who would have thought their reputation would make such a turn? All it took was taking control of the place and protecting it from certain doom. Things were so busy, it was best he waited for the parade to end before going to the embassy. How would they react when he returned now? ~Do you really think they will remember who you are? ~ the annoying voice asked spitefully.

"I wasn't gone for THAT long... And I grew quite a bit since then. I'm sure I can join the field teams now," he said confidently. After a terribly chaotic journey through several worlds, he had managed to return to Urth and was not even too far away from Delta. He enjoyed the joyous mood, as if it were a welcome party for himself. When the parade finally ended, Paolo turned toward the embassy. Time to return home.