Flames of Agni and the Lucky Forge
A scorching heat slammed into his skin like a fist.
Was it just the heat?
With that question in mind, he scanned ahead.
Damn...
What unfolded before him wasn't anything like a dungeon.
It was more like a vast plain.
In its center, a crater belched thick white smoke. It was unmistakably an active volcano.
A living volcano. Faint tremors rippled through the ground now and then—it wouldn't have been surprising if it erupted right that instant.
No way it'll blow, right...?
Of course, he couldn't be sure.
For all he knew, the volcano could erupt and kill him for real.
He had no choice but to hurry.
Mu-hyuk quickened his pace.
As he circled wide around the central volcano, a rock the size of a medium dog right below him suddenly shuddered to life.
He recoiled in surprise, but by then it had already taken full form.
A golem flickering with flames.
About a meter tall.
The problem was that four of these small flame golems had spawned at once.
Mu-hyuk muttered at the sight of them.
"Small Agni..."
Small Agni (Lv. 37)
Fire golem derived from the fire spirit Agni. Composed of stone but spews flames. Vulnerable core in navel area.
Agni: monsters spawned from the fire spirit Agni.
Though their bodies were made of stone, they spewed fire, making them a rare sight.
A typical Agni was around level 75.
But Small Agni were level 37—much smaller and weaker.
The issue was that they came in groups.
Are there full-sized Agni here too?
He shook his head at the thought.
Level 70 monsters? No way...
This active volcano must be influencing them somehow.
His thoughts stopped there.
"Skeleton Warrior Summon. Skeleton Archer Summon."
Five enemies? He had twelve summons.
Bone Sword 1 and 2: left flank.
Bone Sword 3 and 4: center.
Bone Sword 5 and 6: right flank.
Bone Sword 7 and 8: rear.
He positioned the Bone Bows to keep one Small Agni each in check.
Two Bone Swords and one Bone Bow per team, assigned to one Small Agni.
His summons had stats equivalent to a late-20s or early-30s player, but taking down level 37 Small Agni wasn't easy.
Just getting close meant taking flame damage, chipping away at HP.
And Small Agni had ranged attacks too—magic damage that ignored defense.
They were a hard counter to skeletons, weak against magic defense.
Bone Sword 1, fall back. Shield up.
Bone Sword 5, retreat.
Bone Bow 2, rapid fire.
Bone Sword 2, cover Bone Bow 1.
He issued rapid commands as the battle unfolded.
Without his direction, one or more skeletons would have been unsummoned already.
Monsters with magic damage like this were a real pain.
Troublesome.
Mu-hyuk paused commands and transformed his staff.
Nocked an arrow, aimed.
High-speed dash engaged. Speed and cutting power enhanced.
Paang!
The arrow whistled past the Agni's head, barely missing.
Damn!
In that split-second pause, Bone Sword 7's HP hit rock bottom.
Bone Sword 7, fall back!
Mu-hyuk kicked off the ground, taking its place.
He swung the Skull Staff down from overhead.
His high damage shattered the stones forming the Small Agni's body, sending them tumbling.
The Agni reached out from retreat, and the fragments flew back, reforming its shape.
Destroy the core.
Like a human navel—target that.
Click.
He pressed his skull helm, blade ejecting.
Bone Sword 8, shield charge.
The skeleton rammed with its shield, staggering the Small Agni.
Mu-hyuk, right on its heels, seized the opening.
Thrust the staff precisely at the core's spot.
Puuk.
-256 HP
Core destroyed.
Total HP reduced by 50%.
Regeneration disabled.
Destroying the core in one hit left the Agni stunned briefly.
Mu-hyuk swung mercilessly.
Thud, thwack!
He finished it before it recovered.
Lucky. Knowing the core's location made it easy—otherwise, it'd have been a nightmare.
Whoooosh.
Something felt off.
The fallen Small Agni's body vibrated violently. Then tiny stones scattered everywhere.
Mu-hyuk instinctively raised his arm to shield his face.
"..."
No real impact.
He lowered his arm slowly—and froze at the scene before him.
Kyuu!
Fist-sized, maybe?
Over a hundred ultra-small Agni swarmed around.
Their gazes shifted slowly to Mu-hyuk and the skeletons. They tilted their heads, then charged with hostility.
Mu-hyuk swung his staff in alarm.
Kieek!
One swing took out one ultra-small Agni.
What the hell...?
No one had ever mentioned ultra-small Agni spawning from Small Agni.
Startled, but not stupid enough to take hits—he swung wildly.
Too many to block all, though.
-10 HP
-10 HP
Thankfully, their attack power was pitiful. His panic eased.
First, create distance.
Cold focus settled in.
He backed off, observing. At range, they stopped attacking.
As he pondered closing in—
Kyuu.
The ultra-small Agni vanished in unison, making odd noises.
"..."
Experience gained.
The Small Agni's EXP came late.
*
He'd killed one Small Agni.
Ultra-small Agni spawned again. This time, unlike before, he mowed them down swiftly.
Some time later, the remaining ultra-small Agni vanished once more.
Only then did Mu-hyuk spot something on the ground.
Diamonds!
He assigned his idle Bone Swords and Bone Bows to other Small Agni, then picked them up.
His thoughts organized as he collected them.
Small Agni spawn ultra-small Agni on death. Ultra-small Agni drop one diamond each and vanish after time.
Drop rate higher than floor 1, but singles meant no huge difference.
Killing all ultra-small Agni would speed things up, though.
And finally...
Ultra-small Agni seemed like special monsters. He'd never heard of them anywhere.
He didn't know every monster, but from countless videos, he prided himself on knowing more than most.
If even he had no clue, something was definitely up.
Well, I'll find out soon enough.
Diamonds collected, he gripped his staff and headed toward a worsening skirmish.
Bone Sword 4, shield charge.
Same method: target the core.
-128 HP
Miss, but no matter.
Kept targeting the core.
Two more strikes.
Core destroyed.
Total HP reduced by 50%.
Regeneration disabled.
Finished the stunned foe.
Kyuu!
Ultra-small Agni spawned everywhere.
Slash.
One swing, one down.
They dropped diamonds at a solid rate on death.
It felt like a bonus round just for farming diamonds.
Unfortunately, they vanished before he could clear even half.
What a waste.
So damn wasteful.
How many diamonds was that...?
Couldn't resummon the vanished ones.
"Haa."
He sighed, glaring at the last remaining Small Agni.
This time, get them all.
Downed another Agni.
Bone Swords, halt attack.
Bone Bows, halt attack.
All advance.
Rapid orders to the skeletons. A hundred ultra-small Agni spawned.
Bone Bows, rapid fire.
Bone Swords, charge!
Bone Swords, attack!
Mu-hyuk joined in.
Staff sliced fiercely through the air.
Thud, thwack!
This time, he timed it while attacking.
20 seconds, 21, 22...
At 30 seconds—
Kyuu.
Ultra-small Agni vanished.
He'd taken out about half—still felt like a huge loss.
Clearing them all would rack up diamonds insanely fast.
Power up quicker, clear the dungeon faster.
Diamonds collected, Mu-hyuk sat for a mental break.
"Unsummon."
Pulled out a disposable crafting tool.
Tang!
Hammer swung.
Harsh metallic ring echoed.
Grain aligned perfectly.
Progress (3.8%) increased.
A few more swings, and focus sharpened.
Tang! Tang!
Immersed solely in sword-crafting.
Then—
Grain hit precisely.
Progress doubled.
Progress (7.8%) increased.
7 consecutive grains aligned.
Bonus progress (0.6%) increased.
Messages popped, but Mu-hyuk didn't see them.
He turned notifications off during crafting—too annoying to check.
Kept his focus unbroken.
Grain hit precisely.
Progress doubled.
Progress (7.6%) increased.
2 consecutive precise grains.
Peak focus achieved: perfect hammer strike.
First achievement.
Title acquired: Lucky Crafter.
8 consecutive grains aligned.
Bonus progress (0.7%) increased.
Sword completed.
Title effect applied.
Suddenly, the sword was done.
"...?"
Puzzlement crossed his eyes. No notifications—he couldn't grasp why it finished so soon.
Tilted his head, inspected the sword.
◈ Attack: 69
◈ +10 Additional Damage
◈ +3 Strength
◈ Durability: 150/150
The options jumped out.
What...?
Hard to comprehend.
Attack 69?
And those options below—what the hell?
+10 additional damage was better than +3 Strength alone, but the real shocker: +3 Strength boosting damage further.
Pure options added a whopping +19 damage, ignoring base attack.
Overpowered. He'd cheer just for this.
But...
No usage restriction—the biggest price factor.
Why not?
Doubt and hope.
Really none? Or something else?
Test-swing to check.
------------!!!!
All options active.
Like a hammer to the head. No restriction on this monster of a sword.
Still sinking in.
This jackpot...
As time passed, reality hit.
This was real.
"Ha, haha..."
Laughter finally bubbled from Mu-hyuk's lips.