While Dax and Levi were luring their pursuers to a place where they could act, Seth was at the Pennel estate working on a specific artifact.
After sending his people around Rosecoast for various purposes, he gave a list of items to the men that Duke Pennel had left to help him.
While waiting for these things, he had been meditating for a while until a few minutes ago when he received the materials he was interested in.
He then began to assemble an artifact he had been planning for weeks, following some recommendations he had heard from blacksmiths and other professionals he had met in Lastwood.
Duke Pennel's observers didn't understand what Seth was doing at first, but after more than two hours of him concentrating on creating components that aligned with his plans, they began to understand what it would be when he began the assembly of its parts.
Seth began to form what looked like an hourglass, similar to the cultivation evaluation items found in many forces across the continent.
"I didn't expect Senior O'Brian to actually be an Artificer." One of the men commented in surprise.
Artificers are masters in the art of creating magical artifacts and enchanted items. They combine craftsmanship with arcane knowledge to forge weapons, armor, and other items imbued with magical powers.
"You are mistaken. Those skills must be those of a Magic Engineer." Said another man there to advise and keep an eye on Seth.
Magic Engineers are specialists in combining science and magic to create magical devices and machines. They are responsible for building technological artifacts powered by mana, such as golems, flying boats, and enchanted armor.
Artificers and Magic Engineers were two very close types of professionals. But in general, the first type created things that relied more on the extraordinary part of their powers than on more ordinary inventions like those of engineers. In a sense, Artificers changed reality by creating fantastic things, while Magic Engineers used the fantastic to improve reality.
The work of Artificers was also more like that of blacksmiths, though they used the fantastic to alter reality, something ordinary blacksmiths could not do.
They were all wrong because Seth hadn't learned any of these paths. He had merely studied some of the artifacts he had come across during his time in Lastwood and learned a bit about forging from some common blacksmiths.
When he finished assembling that artifact, Seth smiled, happy to have finished the job. 'This must be better than the faulty object in Kevin's guild.' He thought to himself before signaling to one of the men near him.
"How can I help you, Senior?" The man immediately appeared before him.
"Place your hand on this thing and let it analyze you. I want to see what results it gives us." Seth said, eager to test his device.
The man was already familiar with such things and didn't bother to put a hand on it, knowing that it wouldn't work without a memory crystal, which usually came in identifications of organizations, families, guilds, and so on.
However, the moment he placed a hand on the device, he felt something different, as he noticed numbers and symbols appearing in his vision.
"This..."
He wanted to move away, but Seth's pressure made him stop.
"Let's finish the test first," Seth told the man, preventing him from taking his hands off the newly assembled artifact.
Meanwhile, Seth saw the man's features appear on a glass screen that he had added to this device, different from what one would find on similar devices around the continent.
{Body Cultivation: 3-Star Ancestor}
{Soul Cultivation: None}
{Bloodline: Level 2 Stone Resistance}
{Soul Force: None}
{Remaining lifespan: 98 years}
{Potential: 5th Stage}
Seth liked his result, seeing a much more complete and detailed analysis than he had received when testing his powers on Mystic Widowmakers.
The man saw the same thing as Seth and couldn't help but express his surprise and doubts on his face.
"This... This information... How can it be? Is it really true?" He asked as he looked at Seth, finally taking his hands off the item.
"Is your body's cultivation level correct?" Seth asked.
"Yes, it is."
"Then everything is correct. I've calibrated this machine to work together. If one thing is right, it's unlikely that the others are wrong." Seth said before placing one of his hands on the object.
Meanwhile, the man couldn't help but turn his attention to himself, wondering what it all meant.
"What does 5th stage potential mean?"
"It means that you have a chance to reach the 5th stage before your lifespan expires. But that could change." Seth replied, anticipating his own result.
However, just as he was about to have his questions answered, a strange sound came from one of the corridors leading to the training area where he was standing.
Turning his attention to the sound, Seth felt three individuals dressed in black with masks on their faces rush toward him.
"Oh? Two 2-star Kings and a 3-star King attacking me?" Seth opened his mouth as he felt these individuals' body cultivation.
He was the only one among the survivors of the Misty Woods Tribe who was already able to sense the body and soul cultivation levels of other people around him.
After assembling this artifact, he learned how to detect people's strength through his own aura.
When he felt those three move as daggers flew toward him, Seth released part of his terrifying aura over that area of the Pennel estate.
Time stopped, and everything within 30 meters of him froze in place under the effect of the ability of the ancient First Elder of Seth's tribe.
The three men stood no chance against Seth. As mere warriors with no abilities, much weaker than this young man, they all stood motionless under his power.
Seth didn't even have to move when he read their memories and discovered that they were assassins hired to deal with him and his fellow tribesmen.
They didn't know anything else, so as soon as he discovered this, he used another of his powers to make the heads of the three of them explode.
When the passage of time returned to normal, the men around Seth only heard the sound of the brains of those three splattering all over their surroundings, while they noticed that this guy was looking at the machine in front of him differently.
"Shit!" Seth said when he saw that his machine had broken while he was using his powers. 'I need to improve my knowledge of materials and devices like this!'
He was frustrated but not too angry since he had expected to fail at making something that could read his own powers.
He wanted such a machine just out of curiosity. He didn't only know how to identify powers to the extent that this machine could identify the characteristics of its users, so without it, he wouldn't know what his real power was.
But knowing his power would be essential if he and his group wanted to continue their journey through Ihaes!