Azimuth: The Elden Throne

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"... Failure huh… I kind of understand why you said that." <subtxt> . </subtxt>

Dale stared at the spear before passing his finger through the edge, he could feel its sharpness and that if he applied even a bit of force, his finger would end up cut.

'This isn't half-bad...'

'When I was younger, my grandfather showed me the Obsidian knife he made on his own, he always shows it to me whenever I go to visit him.'

'It kind of felt like this.'

He grabbed the shaft and tried to bend it, but of course, he failed even after he used his entire power.

With a smile, he put the spear back on the counter and said:

"Even so… I think this is a good spear."

"Enough to be proud of, as most could only dream of working with such materials, much less actually accomplishing something with them."

'I actually don't know about that, but why not say a few good words and gain some Reputation?'

'Previously, my Reputation had been capped at Elder, but ever since, it has been steadily increasing, albeit not as frequently as before.'

'It's likely due to my current Rep Score already being very high, as even if some of my actions leave deep impressions on the Villagers, that doesn't change anything as they already respect me greatly.'

Dale shook his head, taking another look at the spear.

"One day, you'll make a true Masterpiece and inscribe your name in it, isn't that what you wanted?"

Barme's expression was dark as he looked at the ground but he smiled slightly as he raised his head, red flames of determination in his eyes.

"Heh, don't try to sweet talk me lad, I know very well what I want, and I'll keep going after it, this won't stop me."

'On the contrary, in fact, it has shown me that there is something way above myself, this is much more tangible than those books.'

He got off his chair and grabbed it.

"I have to go back to work, there are simply too many commissions and work keeps pilling up, not to say the time I need to set aside for studying and practicing…"

He raised his hand and waved it at Dale.

"I did everything I could for you, with my current abilities, I don't think there's anything I can do to help apart from basic periodic maintenance..."

"But even that you can do your own unless you somehow break that shaft in half."

Scratching his stomach, he walked to the backroom of the shop, and with his back facing Dale he said one last time:

"So make me a favor and… Go get me some damn ores!"

[DING]

[Your quest has been updated]

[Blood and Iron

The old smith of Resko's motivation has been reignited, burning fiercely like the fires on a forge.

But even a flame needs fuel, his materials will eventually end, and he shall once again rust...

Requirements:

Secure a supply line of materials for the old Smith so he can work to his heart's content! 0/?

/Optional -> Secure more Unusual and Unique materials so his experience may increase, further reducing the chances of failure/

*The final reward will be based on the quantity and quality of the materials.

*Thanks to a large assortment of lost knowledge, his Skills have greatly increased over the course of 2 weeks, massively heightening the chances of him succeeding in the creation of a Masterpiece.

*Barme's Class, Rusty Smith has been restored to Expert Smith.

*Barme's current Class went from Expert Smith to Master Smith(Minor)

]

"... I will." Dale replied with a half smile

'I wasn't expecting a Quest update out of nowhere... But I guess this is a reminder for me to go out there and do something...'

'The growth Event helped him greatly, his Skills aren't as rusty anymore, and now, up is the only way forward.'

'But 'Failure' huh… This could be something else...'

'What would happen to him were he to fail his dream?'

Dale gazed at the dark workshop behind him from the gaps in the door, faint heat emanating from within as Barme ignited the forge once more.

'How worrisome… One more thing to throw at the back of my mind.'

"I have to speed up… More than what I already did..."

Dale turned around, preparing to leave when… Barme hushed out of the room with a small wooden box, saying, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot about it." in an awkward voice.

"There's more? What's left to talk about?"

'Hum... Ah! I think I know what this is about...'

"Have you forgotten already? You asked me to fix these 2 weeks ago… Did you train so much your brain turned into a muscle as well like that Mercenary?"

"How funny of you…" Dale said with a helpless smile he scratched the back of his head

/Creak…/

The old man opened the box, revealing a series of trinkets no bigger than his fingers carefully laid atop a black silk cloth…

"!"

With a large smile, Dale now fully remembered what this was about.

'Right on time… I was indeed in need of stats to use this Armor properly.'

Inside the box was a series of rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and other similar jewelry, no more than 12 such items.

Some were pretty simple, others had beautiful gems or were full of details.

The gems had been cut perfectly and were flawless, while the details within the metal were intricate and complex, both clearly the work of proficient experts in their fields…

They weren't to be confused for normal items since those were… Accessories!

"Finally, I can get rid of these annoyances."

Very carefully, Barme grabbed one of the rings, one with a beautiful green gem, it reflected light in a very strong way and it was pretty neat.

Dale could also see an emblem inside the gem, a small eye with a lizard pupil…

It had a faint pressure, he even felt his skin itch...

"These are some of the ones I managed to fix the most… Ahhh what am I saying? 'Fix' is an embellishment as the only thing I did was polish them."

"I'm a smith, and throughout all of my life, this has been my first time seeing gems like these... Items like these... Designs this complex..."

"There are still many others tucked away in a chest, the ones I didn't dare touch for fear of damaging them."

"Some rings had their gems cracked, others were barely even hanging in one peace..."

"But they are better left in the box, left for the hands of someone that knows what they're doing and can see their worth... Though we'll have to wait for someone like that to appear."

"I was too fearful of damaging their original structure and unique characteristics, so I stuck with these, the simplest to deal with of the bunch."

"You could say they are the best out of the others due to staying in a rather good condition, or you could say they're the luckiest of them..."

"I hope it helps." He said with a nod

There was no expression on his face because he knew where these items came from.

There was a difference between working on a bloodstained sword and a marital ring with the message: May our love last eternally…

He felt more depressed than accomplished, shameful even because he wasn't on par with what these items truly deserved.

His hand was too rough to work on these delicate objects, this was what he believed in.

He was a smith, not a jeweler, but he was the best they had, so he was charged with this delicate mission.

"I'll take them, thank you for doing your best as always."

Dale smiled, showing his full teeth, honesty plastered on his face.

This made the old man awkward as he turned around, telling him to screw off as he went back to his workshop.

"How cute."

"I CAN HEAR YA!"

"Heh..."

Dale did not leave, placing the box on the counter and opening it, grabbing the centerpiece of all Accessories.

He had no reason for his choice, he just did it because it was in the middle…

It was a pair of earrings that were akin to two small cubes of iron hanging on a chain, pretty bland for a pair of earings, but at the same time not bad.

The edges of the squares were very sharp, clearly indicating that they had been sharpened long ago.

Making something like this should've taken quite the effort.

Looking closely, he saw many straight lines running across the surface of the cubes, like the veins on his arm, albeit those were akin to the circuits of a machine.

Those lines seemed to be made of a different material, like purple glass... Darker than the earrings themselves...

Something like obsidian might be a good comparison.

"It's certainly… Unique… And heavy!"

'Why are they so heavy for earrings?!'

'This is definitely at least 5Kgs if not more!'

'Wouldn't my ears rip apart if I tried to wear them? Are they meant to be used by Body Cultivators or something?'

'And… They aren't clippings… Will I have to open a hole in my ears to use it? Really?'

'I... Damn…'

With a look of interest, he inspected the item...

[Executioner Hyfor Remembrance earrings (Half-Fable)

Rating: 7-Stars

-25 to all basic Stats.

+150 to Prime Origin

Set Bonus -> I'll Ara-Yhull

Defeating an enemy temporarily increases all basic Stats by 0.1 up to a max value of 100, lasting for a total of 5 minutes.

Each consecutive Stack resets the timer.

Once the max Stacks have been reached, all Stacks will reset to 0 and the Axe of Execution will descend.

Axe of Execution -> A tangible manifestation of Hyfor's Ritual Axe will form from the life force of all slain foes to strike a single target down.

Mark a target to deal massive instantaneous damage proportional to 1% of the total Prime Origin of all previously sacrificed enemies, if the target is another player, it can be no higher than Level 85.

Successfully executing a target recovers all resources partially, draining 5% of the target's total resources and adding them to you.

(Blocked)

Special Effect -> Primal Pact

Consume 25 Prime Origin to enhance any attack with the shadow of Hyfor's Prime Origin, increasing its attack power vastly while also adding a portion of Hyfor's unique powers into the blow.

Requirements: Strength: 200; Constitution: 220; Dexterity: 80; Mental Power: 230; Reflexes: 80; Mana: 100

Hidden Requirements: Soul Power: 50; Prime Origin: 150

Description: Executioner Hyfor, Honorary General of the renowned Infantry of the Southern Corps was a Great Karkavan warrior, always the first to rush into enemy lines and fight on the battlefield, making blood pour onto the ground like rivers in a flood.

That was... Until his Axe broke apart…

In the Karkavan language, 'I'll Ara-Yhull' can be very roughly translated to 'The beauty of War', albeit a lot of its original meaning is lost to translation.

In memory of his great accomplishments, his shattered Axe's core was recast and reshaped into a pair of incredibly heavy earrings.

Legend says that a part of his Soul seeped into the Axe's core as his blood drenched its edge over the decades he held it.

The Karkavan believed that warriors of great honor are capable of leaving behind their will in the objects they cherished the most during their lives allowing the successive generations to learn from their mistakes and grow in the areas they neglected while alive.

This process effectively turns the Earrings into what the Karkavan call, Totemic Burial Artifacts.

Its weight symbolizes the will of Hyfor as only the strong were allowed to continue his legacy.

In memory of his great Attainments, the earrings were passed down from Infantry General to General, and it became a custom to bestow them onto the most promising candidate for the succession of the position.

A tradition that didn't last long as all candidates fell and the earrings were lost…

But eventually, they were found by yet another warrior walking on the path of the battlefield, would he be worthy of using it?

]

"..."

'These specs...'

Dale was momentarily frozen solid...

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Notes

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