The Master Crafter’s Forge

After finishing the tedious process of smelting iron ore in the crucible and refining it into steel ingots, it was finally time to craft the armor I’d need for climbing the Tower.

I’d spent a fair amount of points on these materials to make a padded cloth armor to wear underneath my main suit. I could have crafted the materials myself, but the process of creating sewing supplies was pure drudgery, so I bought them to save time.

I precisely cut the fabric with shears, blended in the linen extracted from the mana herbs, and stitched it all together with the steel spider web. It was a gambeson—a light, form-fitting cloth armor made by stuffing cotton and rags between layers of linen and wool. To maximize defense, one would typically wear a chainmail vest over the cloth armor, and then plate armor over that. While wearing three layers provided immense protection, the downside was the difficulty in regulating body temperature. Wearing a high-quality cloth armor that managed temperature well helped offset that disadvantage.

"The books inside the Dimension Workshop that burned knowledge into my brain are absolutely broken," I thought. It felt as familiar as if I’d done it thousands of times. In no time at all, I finished the under-armor.

"The materials are good, so the stats turned out great," ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I muttered. Even for an under-layer, the defense was high and the traits were excellent. I hung the completed high-grade cloth armor on a rack. Now, it was time to make the most important piece: the armor itself.

Since I planned to mix beryllium with the steel, the weight wouldn't be a burden. I needed to create armor that offered superior protection without hindering my movement. The Dimension Workshop had all the specialized anvils I needed for shaping curved surfaces. I set up the body measurement template I’d created previously. Unlike a sword, armor required attention to far too many details: fit, defense, flexibility, and so on.

CLANG!

I mixed the molten steel and beryllium in the furnace, cooled it into ingots, then reheated it to infuse mana before hammering it to ensure the components were perfectly blended. From there, I flattened it into plates of average thickness and used the specialized anvils to hammer them into the necessary curves for each body part. Because the beryllium made it lighter and stronger, a thickness of 2mm would result in armor with incredible defensive power.

CLANG! CLANG!

As I hammered the plates, the alloy began to bend according to the shape of the anvil. I quenched and hammered the plates repeatedly to increase their strength. For the gauntlets and shoulders, I used a sliding rivet system to ensure flexible movement even while armored. To compensate for the slight vulnerability this created against enemy attacks, I simply increased the ratio of beryllium in those specific areas.

I decided to use the hide of an Owlbear—a monster with the head of an owl and the body of a bear, found in the late teens of the floors—to connect the articulated plates. Since I was using so much of it, I figured I might gain a bit of magic resistance, too.

After hammering for what felt like ages and connecting the leather and rivets to the joints of the gear, I finished the item that would reliably protect my life. Finally, I applied rust-preventative oil to complete the process.

The armor, made of steel and beryllium, had a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠slightly dark hue, proving it was an alloy. It wasn't flashy compared to standard steel armor, but it felt heavy and substantial—quite satisfactory. I appraised the items, which now shimmered faintly after the rust-proofing.

"Appraise."

"Whoa! Look at those options!"

Not a single normal-grade item among them. I had a rare-grade armor piece and high-grade items for every other slot, all with modifiers. Equipment made by mixing special metals with steel! The durability, defense, and traits were all perfectly aligned. "I probably won't even get hurt if I take hits head-on until the middle floors."

I wasn't sure about the Lizardmen from the 21st floor onwards, but below that, wearing this armor, I didn't think I'd get injured no matter how much I was beaten. There were hardly any monsters with enough impact force to break this armor. For now, I’d make some swords with the remaining steel and sell them. I tossed the steel into the furnace. I’d set ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an alarm to trigger whenever rare or special metals appeared on the market so I could buy them all... Once I finished this, I’d really enter the Tower, push through to the middle floors, and start mining some rare metals myself.

CLANG!

I hammered the glowing steel. I’d used plenty for my own gear, but there was still a mountain of it left. I’d craft it all and release it into the domestic market. The stronger South Korea became, the easier it would be for me. CLANG!

"It's so difficult."

It had been about three months since I got stuck on the 45th-floor raid. I just couldn't output enough damage within the time limit. If my mana recovered faster so I could use more spells, or if my magic attack power were higher, I could clear it easily... At least I didn't die when the raid failed; I just got kicked out of the Tower.

Lee Yena sighed as she scrolled through the Gallery's sales posts, hoping a mage weapon might have appeared. The only mage gear she currently possessed was a rare-grade bracelet that increased mana recovery and a rare-grade wand that boosted efficiency and damage when casting. They were items she’d gotten purely by luck in the middle floors. As if to prove this, mages without wands or staves would pay exorbitant points just to get their hands on one.

Climbing the Tower was becoming physically exhausting. Wands and staves required high mana conductivity, making materials expensive, and even when crafted, high-grade versions rarely appeared, so they were often overlooked. Swords, by comparison, had a much higher circulation.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, the sales board was flooded with normal and high-grade swords.

"...I'm so jealous."

Melee classes at least had a supply of weapons and armor, but for mages, there was simply nothing on the market. In reality, there were only a few climbers abroad who could craft them, and not a single one in Korea. Plus, look at that production volume over such a short period. To think such a promising blacksmith had appeared.

"I'm seriously so jealous."

Ah... was there no crafter out there who could make me an artifact? Lee Yena seriously considered emptying all her points to place an order with an artifact crafter in the United States.

"I've made plenty... it's about time to climb."

I’d handled a ton of minerals, and while there was still no news of rare or special metals, it was time to start climbing the Tower and begin farming them myself.