Chapter 1038. Hubert?

“Tower Master! Your guest is at the meeting room on the 24th floor,” the lady in the lobby greeted him friendly.

“Thanks.”

He didn't press her to find out who was waiting for him and simply thanked her before he turned to the elevator. He has some thoughts about who it would be, but the person sitting in the meeting room was-

“Hubert?”

Seated at the table was Hubert McCarthy, the dimensional merchant Seth came to know during the evaluation in Chrona. Seth had a short-lived commercial relationship with him before he simply vanished. Recently, Lydia and Ray had saved him from Emerald City, revealing the terrible darkness that hid behind the metropolis in the Unclaimed Mountains.

“Hello, Seth,” the man greeted him with a slight smile. He was very skinny, compared to the last time they met. The time in captivity had left its scars on him. Visible ones and implied ones.

“You have a present for me?” Seth asked surprised, as he still remembered the man as quite stingy.

“A present, yes. And a request,” Hubert added with a wry smile. Seth stared at him for a moment, before he sat down at the table, opposite him.

“Then let's see the present you have first. We can talk about the request afterward.” he finally said, not outright denying any quests the merchant may make. He decided to listen first. With a nod Hubert waved his hand and a crate appeared beside the table.

When he opened the lid...

<Tranquil Silver Ore, Crafting Material

Epic

A material found in the Resting Planes of Ishital. A highly sought-after ore because Materials refined from this have a strong calming effect on the mind.>

Epic Silver! It was a whole crate filled with ores of epic <Tranquil Silver>. It had been quite some time since he came across a material he could refine into <Olympian Silver>. This was a massive gift, indeed.

“I came across it during my... stay at Emerald City and thought I might be able get your help with it. In the end, I was saved by your people,” he said with a wry smile.

“So, now you are simply gifting it to me?” the bard asked. He wasn't going to refuse such a great gift. Especially since he was very interested in the effects of this new silver. What <Olympian Silver> would come out of this?

Hoen's Workshop was filled with a great number of furnaces of various sizes and shapes. The constantly roaring furnaces kept the temperature in the massive hall at a cozy 45°C. While it didn't bother Seth or the dwarf, the helpers they recruited were sweating profusely.

On the other hand, he had walls over walls with casting supplies for metal casting. As the dwarf from a world that veered off from the traditional image of dwarfs, he was specialized in casting magic items in great numbers. He was also the main supplier of their Copper Anvil Stores.

“Hoen, I'm back!” the blacksmith called out.

“Seth? Oh, finally!” the dwarf exclaimed relieved. “ The guys from storage were about to lynch me in the next few days,” he joked.

“Then let's go quickly and relieve them from their worries,” Seth laughed as he shook Hoen's hand and pulled him in a short embrace. As they bantered a little and talked about what Seth was up to in the past few days, the dwarf guided him down to the storage area.

It was part of the newer parts of Minas Mar, Seth had excavated, using the tower's drone workers. The hangars holding the golems for sale were also in this area. Hoen led him to a hall filled with crates and boxes.

“Which of them -?” “All of them. And another two warehouses in that direction,” he said, pointing his thumb down the hallway.

“Then let's see them,” Seth said, rubbing his palms.

Hoen broke open one of the crates, revealing the fruit of his labor. Rows upon rows of enchanted bronze plates. They glittered in the light of the magic lanterns that illuminated the room.

<Durable Olympian Bronze Plate of Magic, Crafting Material,

Epic

A plate cast from <Durable Olympian Bronze> the size of a hand and enchanted with a simple magic gathering circuit.>

This was it, the cornerstone for one of Seth's biggest projects, yet.

“I will need your assistance for the next few days, and we might recast a few of them, are you ready?” Seth asked, staring at the plate in his hand and then looking down the corridor, lined with crates like the one before him.

“I'm ready.”

“Good, then let's get to work.”