Chapter 82: 15th Floor. Heaven-Endowed Blacksmith (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 82: 15th Floor. Heaven-Endowed Blacksmith (3)
A few hours prior.
Kang Jun-hyeok was hammering his greatsword against a wall deep inside the mine.
Clang! Clang!
The sound of metal shrieking against stone echoed through the narrow tunnels. Jun-hyeok’s expression was grimmer than ever. He was attempting to extract ore by striking the rock face with surgical precision.
However, perfection remained elusive. The edge of his greatsword slipped, straying a mere few centimeters off target.
Crackle.
In that instant, the ore disintegrated into sand and collapsed. Jun-hyeok clicked his tongue in frustration.
“As expected, this isn’t easy.”
Identifying the ore was one thing; extracting it was another matter entirely. The veins buried here were incredibly volatile. The slightest tremor or a fraction of misplaced force would cause them to either crumble or explode. Even a master Dwarf would likely fail ninety-nine times out of a hundred.
“It’s not easy,” Jun-hyeok muttered.
But failure didn't matter. His opportunities were infinite.
[Pixie’s Treasure Intuition.]
Vrrrring!
The skill hummed to life, and a sharp, supernatural intuition surged through his mind.
It was the instinct of a predator tracking its prey, or a shark catching the scent of blood in the water. A greed-driven hunger, akin to a treasure-obsessed fairy, swept through the tunnels.
Guided by that instinct, Jun-hyeok found his target in an instant.
He moved to a different wall. To the naked eye, it looked like nothing more than rugged, ordinary rock. The vast majority of players would have walked past it without a second glance.
But his skill screamed otherwise. This was a treasure more precious than anything else in the mine.
Jun-hyeok raised his greatsword.
Clang!
He struck the surrounding stone with immense power, yet tempered it with delicate control. As the wall was chipped away, the ore gradually revealed its true form.
Finally—
Clang!
The ore broke free. He lunged forward, catching it before it could touch the ground.
[The proficiency of your Observation skill has increased significantly.]
[You have acquired the Passive Skill: Mining.]
[The proficiency of Mining has increased from F to E.]
[Passive Skill: Mining]
• Rank: Lowest-Grade
• Proficiency: E
• Description: A technique for extracting ores. It usually takes years of grueling effort for even a talented individual to reach this level.
Jun-hyeok bared his teeth in a sharp grin. He had acquired the Mining skill. It was proof that he had found the "correct answer" to this floor's puzzle.
Rising to E-rank just by mining one piece.
It was a testament to just how absurd it was to successfully mine anything here. Jun-hyeok tucked the ore away, satisfied. The Master of All Weapons, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.
[...Marvelous.]
“I know, right? I thought there was a chance, but I didn’t expect to find it on the first try,” Jun-hyeok agreed.
Finding ore in this place was notoriously difficult. To put it in perspective, even the races of the earth—the Dwarves—had entered the Tower as players. Quite a few of them had set foot in this very mine.
Yet, not a single one had managed to find any ore. Even the Fairy race, known for their affinity with nature, had fared no better. Only a heaven-endowed talent that appeared once in a thousand years among Dwarves—one who could hear the voice of the earth and the song of metal—could hope to find ore here.
However, the Pixie’s Treasure Intuition he possessed belonged to Pixie herself. She had handed over her own primal instinct to him in the form of a skill. It meant that Jun-hyeok’s intuition now surpassed even a once-in-a-millennium genius.
“Just what kind of being was she?” he wondered aloud.
At the same time, a surge of excitement raced through him. He could obtain the legendary abilities of such beings through his skills.
[You seem to be mistaken. It is not the skill that surprises me.]
The Master of All Weapons corrected his assumption. That Pixie’s Treasure Intuition could find the ore was not surprising at all. Given her power, such a feat was as simple as breathing.
What amazed the entity was that Jun-hyeok had the foresight to obtain that specific skill in advance.
On the surface, Pixie’s Treasure Intuition didn't seem particularly valuable. It would have been more "rational" to climb the Tower further and save points to purchase her wings instead. Even the Master of All Weapons would have made that judgment.
Yet, Jun-hyeok had chosen the intuition. As a result, he was mining ore on the 15th floor—a feat that should have been impossible—and earning the blacksmith’s recognition.
How on earth...
To buy Pixie’s Treasure Intuition specifically before entering the 15th floor? The Master of All Weapons could not hide his wonder. Naturally, a single thought crossed his mind.
Does he possess the power of precognition?
Whether through lineage, personal enlightenment, or the gift of a god, there were beings who could see the future. Since the Master of All Weapons knew of a few such cases, he suspected Jun-hyeok might be one of them.
But that suspicion vanished as quickly as it appeared.
No, it doesn't feel like that.
Jun-hyeok didn't display the typical traits of those born with foresight. Above all, this was the Tower. Predicting the specific contents of a floor was impossible even for a God of Prophecy. If so, there was only one possibility left.
Intuition.
A pure, raw intuition that bordered on precognition. It was a quality even the Master of All Weapons did not possess.
How fascinating.
Of course, that wasn't actually the case. Jun-hyeok simply knew everything beforehand because he had lived it. But the Master of All Weapons, unaware of the truth, could only marvel at his "instinct."
While the entity was lost in thought, Jun-hyeok continued mining. With the help of his newly acquired skill, the process became much smoother. By the time he finished, he had managed to mine a total of seven ores.
[The proficiency of Mining has increased from E to D.]
“This should be enough.”
Jun-hyeok gathered the ores and returned to the forge.
* * *
“...”
The blacksmith stood frozen, mouth agape, staring at the ores scattered before him. A low, guttural groan escaped his lips.
“How... did you...?”
If he had brought back just one, the blacksmith would have been impressed, calling it a miracle of luck. If he had brought two, he would have wondered if this was the warrior he had been searching for. If he had brought three, he would have rejoiced, certain he had found his destined partner.
But seven?
It was a number beyond his wildest imagination. Even as the soot from the furnace stained his face, he forgot to close his mouth.
[You said you were looking for a warrior. Surely this is enough for your recognition?]
“Why are you the one acting all smug?” Jun-hyeok muttered, finding the Master of All Weapons' comment absurd.
The blacksmith finally snapped out of his daze and slowly picked up the ores. No matter how closely he inspected them, they were the real deal. They were perfect, without a single blemish.
In the end, the blacksmith had no choice but to admit it.
“I never imagined you would pull it off so perfectly... Fine. A promise is a promise. I recognize you as a warrior. I shall craft proper equipment for you.”
The blacksmith nodded with a hollow, disbelieving laugh.
[Hidden Quest Cleared.]
[Reward: The blacksmith will craft proper equipment for you.]
The quest was complete. He was now able to receive genuine equipment from the blacksmith—something no one in his past life had ever managed to obtain.
However, Jun-hyeok had no intention of stopping there.
“Proper equipment, you say?”
“Yes. I shall craft things that are not failed masterpieces.”
“I have no intention of being satisfied with just that.”
“Hmm?”
The blacksmith looked at Jun-hyeok. The young man was wearing a strange, ambitious smile.
To receive the hidden quest on the 15th floor, a player needed to be proactive. One had to personally question the blacksmith to trigger the quest. If so, would it really end with just one task? Or was there something more beyond that?
Jun-hyeok took a step closer, his shadow looming over the anvil.
“By 'proper equipment,' you mean you will craft them with sincerity. But in the end, that isn't your full power, is it?”
Crafting something with sincerity and crafting something with one's full power were two entirely different things.
“What I want from you isn't some mediocre work born of mere sincerity.”
A masterpiece. A magnum opus created by a blacksmith giving his absolute all, pouring in every ounce of his soul, strength, and passion. That was what Jun-hyeok desired.
“I want your full power, Blacksmith of the Tower.”
* * *
“...”
The blacksmith fell silent. He stared intently at Jun-hyeok, his eyes searching the player's face. After several minutes of heavy silence, he finally spoke.
“Ha... Haha! Hahahaha!”
It was laughter. A wild, manic laugh that erupted as if he could no longer contain it, vibrating through the very foundations of the forge.
“You want my full power! You want me to pour every ounce of my strength purely for your sake to create a masterpiece, a magnum opus!”
His voice rang out with a hint of madness. Excitement flickered across the blacksmith’s soot-stained face.
“Does that not mean you are asking for my everything? Do you intend to make me your vassal?!”
A blacksmith was, ultimately, one who crafted weapons for others. Since ancient times, they were beings who served. The blacksmith shouted as if delighted by the sheer gall of the request.
“How arrogant! Utterly arrogant!”
“I didn't think of it quite that far. I simply desire your full power,” Jun-hyeok replied, shaking his head.
The blacksmith laughed and dismissed his modesty.
“Throw away that pathetic mask! You are greedy! You are a being overflowing with desire! Yes! That is how it should be! Only then can you be called a player climbing the Tower! Master of All Weapons, you have chosen an interesting one! Then again, there is no way you would have allowed a half-baked fool to possess you!”
[Stop with the disgusting talk.]
The Master of All Weapons spoke with clear distaste. The blacksmith set down his hammer, looking more pleased than he had in decades.
“Fine! I, the Heaven-Endowed Blacksmith who has now lost his name—the Tuner of All Things and the One Who Hammers the Stars—hereby declare! If you pass all the conditions I set forth, I shall accept you as my master and serve you!”
[Hidden Quest: Clear all conditions set by the blacksmith.]
[First Condition: Descend to the bottom of the 15th-floor underground mine, defeat the Radiant Ore Golem residing there, and bring back its core.]
[On Success: The 15th floor will be cleared, and the blacksmith will recognize you and craft equipment with his full power. Conditions to make him your vassal will be unlocked in the future.]
[On Failure: The blacksmith will never recognize you again.]
The blacksmith thrust his arm out toward the dark tunnels.
“Go! Descend to the depths! Face what lies at the end and bring me its core! If you do, I shall give you my full power!”
“Understood.”
Jun-hyeok smiled broadly. Leaving behind the echoing laughter, he headed back down into the darkness.
“I didn't expect to hear him say he’d serve me as his master.”
All he had wanted was the man's full power. The Master of All Weapons muttered as if he hadn't expected this turn of events either.
[For that arrogant fellow to say he would serve someone as a vassal... Those are words he never even spoke to me.]
“It’s unexpected... but it worked out perfectly.”
Jun-hyeok spoke with cold enjoyment. The Master of All Weapons gave a short, sharp laugh.
[It won't be easy. He will set conditions for you that are near impossible. You might even die.]
“That’s exactly what I’m hoping for.”
Because the harder the challenge, the greater the reward. Jun-hyeok descended further into the earth. His feet never faltered, and the weapon he swung was relentless.
In no time, Jun-hyeok reached the end of the underground mine. At the very bottom lay a vast, glittering cavern. And in the center of that cavern stood a massive golem composed of countless rare ores.
Thump.
The golem’s eyes ignited with a brilliant light as it activated. A powerful wave of hostility radiated from the construct. Murderous intent so thick it made the hair on Jun-hyeok's neck stand up.
Jun-hyeok knew instinctively: this golem was strong. It was an opponent whose odds of victory he couldn't easily calculate.
But that was why he smiled. He drew his greatsword, the metal singing in the dark.
“Let’s do this.”
[Judgment of the Law.]
Thud!
He kicked off the ground, his body accelerating into a blur. The golem's massive fist and the greatsword collided, erupting in a thunderous roar that shook the cavern to its core.