Chương 539: 538. Quest Rewards

Seth had no idea who Eos was. Although he had put some effort into researching mythology, there were simply way too many minor gods affiliated with the Olympian Mythology. He couldn't know them all!

"D-Does Lady Eos cherish this fine young man?" Seth asked diplomatically, pointing at the man he had messed up and dragged here. Finding out he was a descendant of a god was problematic, since he didn't know Eos' stance towards Orian. From what he knew, there were some very concerned parents among gods, but also some who didn't really care, even if it were their direct offspring. The priest's smile changed a little as if he knew Seth's reaction well. Maybe a little too well.

"Do not worry. The lad's grandmother won't fault you. One time they had to beat the brat black and blue, from head to toe, to bring him back. Looking at him almost unscathed, she will probably reward you handsomely," the priest gossiped a little. It seemed that Orian often tried to ditch his duties and run off to find adventure. He was a menace known all across the island, as he tended to make more problems than he solved. Like many Olympian heroes, he had some commendable abilities, but also many flaws.

The blacksmith entertained the man for some time, but at some point, he had to cut him off, as there were more pressing matters he had to take care of. As much as he would have liked to run from the consequences of his actions, he had to face Apollo.

"How about you send someone to inform Lady Eos or Orian's mother that he is here? God Apollo is awaiting me." Seth finally ended their little chit-chat. Dragging the still sleeping scorpion behind him, Seth entered the temple of Apollo. When he stepped before the statue a divine sound rang and the stammering, singing, and strumming bards scrambled to leave the temple, leaving Seth and Scorpio alone with the statues. Similar to how it happened in Chrona, the statue came to life.

"You have fulfilled your quest," it stated a little grumpy, but not as displeased as Seth had feared.

"Y-Yes, your holiness." the bard said devout and knelt on the ground. Apollo let out a sigh.

"At least you know your mistake." he said as if he knew exactly what Seth thought and felt. As if he had watched and read his thoughts on the way back...

"You know, that you can't keep Scorpio." Seth nodded hurriedly. He was clear that he couldn't possibly poach a divine beast from a god. He doubted the demonic runes would even hold for long.

"You are not quite right. You can't imagine the kind of problem the power of the First Lady can cause. But first, let's conclude the quest as promised." the god stated. Holy light gathered in the statue's hands and a small ivory chest appeared in his hands. It was radiating with pure divine energy.

"Take this vessel. If you put the defiled items into it, they will be cleansed by the divine power I have deposited inside." Apollo explained and handed him the little chest. With a length of 40cm, a width of 30cm, and a height of 30cm it was just big enough for a stack of dragon scales to fit. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Seth could barely contain his excitement. With this, he could finally cleanse the seven dragon scales.

Then he would have seven legendary materials. What kind of effects would they hold? What kind of armor would he be able to make with them?

"It seems that you are satisfied with this reward. Now you will work with me to release the curse from Scorpio," he stated. The god lifted his finger and a ray of light shot into Seth's brain. It infused the knowledge of a song into his head. The blacksmith couldn't understand the words or the meaning, but the bard in him was confident that he would be able to sing it. What surprised him was, that this was a duet.

"You will sing it together with me, while I quicken Scorpio's growth, " the god of music commanded. Seth didn't really have the option to say no.

"And don't use the voice of that brute for this," Apollo added. Seth immediately understood that the god meant <Voice of Seth>. He nodded and at Apollo's signal, he started to sing the unknowable song. He had never heard such a divine melody leave his mouth and it didn't really fit his taste. As he sang only supported by his bard skills and <Orpheus's Voice> golden runes he had never seen before generated in front of his mouth and sank into sleeping Scorpio's carapace.

He was so occupied not messing up singing, that he didn't even notice when Apollo joined him. But when he noticed, he was already in the flow of music. Like when he sang the lullaby, he was pulled along by the music. He forgot the thought of messing up and simply sang. Small cracking noises joined their singing and Seth could see shining cracks appearing on the indestructible shell of the scorpion. It started growing and molting! Scorpio had woken up.

Swaying with the music it slowly started to get out of its old shell. Leaving the carapace behind, the pristine scorpion now stood between him and the god. With the growing finale of the song, the golden runes grew in number and fused into the scorpion. Any trace of the reddish glow that was still clinging to the freshly molted scorpion disappeared. Once the divine beast was cleansed it dissipated into small motes of light. Seth almost broke down when the song finally ended.

He had not noticed in the process, but his mana and mental energy had been completely emptied put. Despite the absolute exhaustion, he couldn't help but smile. He was unable to hear the notifications, but some of his musical skills had improved. <Singing (Journeyman)> had become lv. 4 and <Orpheus Voice> had finally reached lv. 8. Although he didn't understand the lyrics, his <Poetry(Apprentice)> had also leveled to lv. 6.

"Well, done. Better than I expected, " the god praised him.

"Take this as a sign of my acknowledgment." <Ding! Title: "Apolloproved" gained.

"You were given Apollo's stamp of approval for your musical skills." +10% Effect on all Music. +15% to all music played on y Lyre. > <Ding! Your Trait Olympian Myths has slightly strengthened. > When he checked the trait, where only Hades and Hephaestus were previously present, was now Apollo added with a weak connection.

"Th-Thank you very much!" the blacksmith said repeatedly bowing.

"He, you really remind me of someone." Apollo finally grinned, when he saw the blacksmith's eyes wander to the carapace on the ground. It was the shell of a divine beast that was immune to all weapons. What blacksmith wouldn't think of making an armor from such material?

"Hmm, you know, although I cannot approve of what you did to Scorpio, you did so with your own skills. Since it would seem a little unfair to just take him away, you can have this shell, we created together," Apollo said magnanimously. It was also his unceremonious goodbye, as the statue lost all life soon after he finished speaking.

Seth waited for a moment to make sure the god was really gone, then he ran up to the shell to check it with <Blacksmith's Eyes> <Carapace of Conflation, Special, Crafting Material, the shell of a divine beast that is inhibited by a conflation of divine and demonic powers. Usage Requirement: Seth Smith> The rating was special, similar to the <Bones of Seth> he had made with the <Meteoric Iron>. In Seth's mind, this meant this also had the potential to directly make legendary items.

It was a jackpot comparable to the dragon scales! He realized that this meant, that he had finally, really finished this quest. All he had to do was find Yvette and – Yvette! She was with the others and all of them were still somewhere close to Sigma. What if something happened to her? His materials would be lost! Right, he was done here. It wasn't the time to think about the carapace. The others were in danger, it was time to hurry back. Putting the shell in his inventory, Seth stormed out of the temple.

Only to face an imposing figure. A goddess in the flesh stood before him.