Only after stuffing himself did Seth direct some more attention to the others at the table. Having just shared a touching moment with Fin, the rest of the table was looking at them flabbergasted. Only Mina was chuckling beside him.
Even Ellie and the other he knew for a little longer were put off. It was the first time seeing the blacksmith's unrestrained eating. Recently he had been holding back in public, but after the kind of journey he had been through, he didn't care about his image.
He felt warm and all around satisfied, not minding the glances of others. Competing with the fairy was refreshing and reminded him of the days when they were traveling together. At the head of the table, Hardwig cleared his throat.
"Since everyone finished eating..." he looked at Seth and Fin questioningly, but neither denied his assumption.
"I would like to talk with everyone about the future proceedings."
After giving everyone some time to rest, the prince asked for everyone to participate in a short interview, so they could sort out what had happened in Keväti Kuinen after the signal was cut. It was not specifically the group that fought Natina that was interviewed.
Although Seth and the others were the only ones that got close to the citadel and fought the Necromancer, they were not the only ones that survived. During the time Seth was asleep, the Empire managed to bring back the rest of two more teams.
Natina had lied a little in her speech for the dramatic effect. Just like how Seth and Polter were able to repel the attack of the undead Sparks, other Teams also had members that managed to survive and save some of their people.
The necromancer's rushed actions to try and take down several teams at once were what ultimately enabled them to survive.
"On that note, what is going on over there? Did Lord Astora manage to defeat the Zombie Dragon?" Ben Harker asked. Since they managed to locate and bring back more survivors, the fight must have ended.
Seth had also wanted to ask, but for a different reason. He was more interested in whether they managed to secure the dragon materials. If they really acquired them, it meant to Seth, that they had a way to deal with the dragon's curse.
However, Hardwig's face derailed for a moment, before he could manage his facial expression again.
"No. Unfortunately, the battle was interrupted when the Blood Sun suddenly rose. Lord Astora had to shield our people and return. As for the dragon and Natina Durnham, we don't know the current status." Hardwig admitted seriously.
Seth was a little disappointed that the Dragon got away, but he was more impressed with Lord Astora. He had witnessed the Blood Sun from afar and heard what it did to people. For this man to not only resist, but even shield that many people from the god's wrath was a testament to the man's strength.
The table became a little depressed, thinking that there was a chance that the girl was still out there somewhere. After all, she could haunt them once they returned home. The only one not worried in the least was Seth. He was actually looking forward to it.
So what if she had a Zombie Dragon? He had Al'Zalsar. A centuries-old sorceress who thirsted for the chance to kill dragons. Natina appearing with that Dragon at his doorstep was nothing short of delivering him materials for free.
Looking around, the ones looking the gloomiest or most angered were actually the people he identified as royals. Seth had not really listened when Hardwig introduced them all, but there was one thing the bard could ascertain from their expression.
These were the true losers of this time's evaluation. They had lost some or even all of their promising talents. Even if there were compensations, those would be no substitute for talented people that could have facilitated the growth and prosperity of the province.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
They had technically lost everything that could have helped them distinguish themselves and with it their chances to inherit an independent title. Only the ones who had at least some people return looked less agitated. Leana looked completely fine. After all, she had not lost anyone.
"Do not worry, we have people searching for her," Hardwig assured them.
The last point he talked about was the remuneration. It would take a few days to tally everything, and the empire would then inform them of their opportunities. With that, he released them to do whatever they wanted. Servants would approach them later to make a date for the interviews.
Once the Prince finished and they were released, Leana approached him. He also saw that the other royals approached the participants after they all stood up.
"Seth, Mina, Fin, how are you?" she greeted.
"Good, good. What are they doing?" he asked the princess curiously.
"Oh...well. You could call it headhunting? They are trying to scout some of the survivors. Without talents, they will have a hard time, which is why I'm so glad you and the others all made it back." she explained
"Well, not thanks to that dumb hero you threw at us," Seth commented dryly.
"Come on, I already explained to you why," she answered embarrassedly.
"I didn't feel any of the hero luck and the boost it gave the party wasn't that overwhelming."
"It depends on the affinity of the party with the hero but... True, his luck was probably to have such a good party," she admitted.
Even the princess had not expected the hero to be such a big problem. She was glad the group dynamic had fixed itself along the way and she apologized for not listening to him. She was awfully cordial all of a sudden.
"Let's forget about the uncomfortable things. Let's talk about the rewards." Seth changed the topic.
"I can't tell you much. Once everything was tallied, you will have a chance to choose your rewards accordingly."
"I know that. I was talking about something else. You mentioned we would get part of the proceeds for the broadcasts from the channels that bought the rights, no?" Seth asked with a smile.
"Errm, yes, but why do you ask?" Leana asked confusedly.
"Well, I used Ellie's and my recorders to broadcast the epic battle. Shouldn't that get a lot of views? Of course, I want my share." the blacksmith said triumphantly.
"You are admitting that you messed around with the recording equipment?" the princess asked as if she caught onto something.
"Yeah, so what? Really, I just started working on golems some 3 months ago and I can mess with your awesome technology. Shouldn't you be a little ashamed? No wonder the enemy managed to hack you." he answered nonchalantly.
"... I will have to look into it." she gave in exasperated.
"Anyway, I came because our researchers wanted to talk with you about the staff you lent us. They are done and hope to look at more things."
"Oh, really?" Seth asked pleasantly surprised.
However, the blacksmith was not as enthusiastic about their method. The reason was the change the weapons had undergone after the last battle. When the others returned the lent weapons to him, they had suddenly attained a description.
It was a little glitched and incomplete, however, it gave some information
----- Damage: 2500 Mag. Damage: 1000 Durability: ---- 1. Active Skill: Silence 2. Active Skill: Bind 3. 70% Chance to cause Stun/Confusion on hit 4. 1% Chance of Metallification 5. -15% on all of an opponent's stats 6.------------ 7.------------ Forged from the body of a living angel by Craftsman Smith during a chaotic battle. Still contains some of the angel's power and its guardian deity's divinity. > Similarly, the sword, the spear, daggers, helmet, and the shield had acquired a similar description after being used in battle. The abilities of the Weapons were all quite similar. However, only the sword and the shield had revealed their special powers in the description.. The sword was able to not only force people to answer questions but also had a small chance to automatically force a slave curse onto opponents that have been completely subdued and had no will to resist anymore. On the other hand, the shield was able to create a domain that blocked the usage of skills and gave the user control over those that were reflected in the shield's polished surface. It also had the small chance to turn those that were reflected in it into metal, after their attack was blocked. The blacksmith concluded that, although the system could not immediately come up with a description, one would be slowly generated as the weapons were actually used in battle. Leaving the troubleshooting to the people of the empire was fine, but Seth liked to get an actual item description using his "Okay, let's go and meet them." Seth with a smile. There was still one item he wanted to let them research. One he did not dare to use himself.