Blade Fang Snake Farm

Even after acquiring the dormant infected bugs, Vulcan's excavation continued.

With Dragon Eye pinpointing their locations precisely, the work couldn't help but be swift, and the traces of digging were flawlessly erased using Leveling—a sub-skill of Architecture. Unless someone inspected the ground with intense focus, it would be nearly impossible to notice it had ever been disturbed.

"Five infected bugs, 21 lowest-grade beast cores, 13 low-grade beast cores, two mid-grade beast cores, and a bunch of other demonkin and beast byproducts... This should be pretty decent, right?"

- Eh, it's so-so. It's all about how you use them, isn't it?

The haul from all that numbered over a hundred items.

When he asked Tud about these items—whose types defied common sense—Tud gave a reasonably positive assessment. Over the long years, most had decayed or lost their power, and after the Demon King War, the temples had toured the land purifying corrupted areas. These were weakened compared to before, but they were still items that didn't exist anywhere in the world right now.

Most were Common or Uncommon, but what Vulcan could craft from them as materials—and to what grade—depended entirely on him.

"It's dawn already. Time to wrap this up."

But Vulcan had no intention of crafting with them right away. They weren't high-end items or materials, so it might make sense to whip up some mid-to-low-level gear to use or sell. On the flip side, nothing particularly useful jumped out at him.

Apart from a few accessory slots, wasn't he already decked out in gear that was unbeatable for his level bracket? If money was the goal, it was smarter to hold off, level his skills more, broaden his horizons, and then put them to use—rather than getting greedy now.

'They might come in handy during the main scenario quest.'

It was also a judgment call that these couldn't just be reduced to cash value. Sure, crafting gear with decent traits would sell well, but it'd only fetch a slight premium. And he had the confidence to produce better-grade, higher-performance items anytime now.

Since they were rare materials, it was better to stockpile them and find a purpose later.

'Oh yeah, I need to stock the shop with some items too.'

He had a ton on his plate—two bodies wouldn't be enough—but Vulcan was happy. Once everything settled into a steady rhythm, he wouldn't have to scramble desperately for cash anymore.

'Until then, no stopping.'

Steeling his resolve once more, he gathered his loot. To organize his thoughts, he rented a forge and got to work. It was partly to repair the items he'd found here, but mostly to craft something specific.

He'd originally planned to level up fully first before tackling repairs or crafting, but he'd tweaked that. Instead of pumping out shop stock, he prioritized a sudden inspiration.

The shop was set to buy materials and specific items over selling anyway, so it wasn't totally idle.

Finishing up, Vulcan headed straight for a nearby instance dungeon.

Instance dungeons differed from open-field ones: only parties could enter together, and even then, entrants ended up in separate spaces. That made this his chosen "infected bug farm."

"This should do it, right?"

- Rat poison for snake pups.

Snakes didn't spew venom, but their sturdy, razor-sharp fangs could pierce steel armor. Even Vulcan felt a twinge of tension facing these monsters.

The Shadow Hound set still performed excellently, but these things were nearly level 200. Fully reinforced level-200-restricted gear or not, a solid hit could penetrate and deal damage. And without extra stamina stats, even minor damage posed a real threat to Vulcan.

"You're all I need."

But that was just the norm. Vulcan smirked at the new item in his left hand, then glanced at the Blade Fang Snakes rearing up threateningly toward him.

"Shiiiiiik—!"

No sooner had he entered than tongues flicked out in warning from the Blade Fang Snakes.

They weren't strongly tribal or pack-oriented, but their numbers made them intimidating. Like the Weeping Cave, this was recommended for 4-5 player parties—par for the course.

"Eat this!"

Vulcan hurled a dormant infected bug from his inventory at them.

Thud.

"...Huh?"

Nothing happened. Did snakes not eat them? Or was it because Blade Fang Snakes were already beast-class?

"Kee-yaak!!"

The one that took a headshot got pissed, and Tud thwacked Vulcan's skull in disdain.

- Idiot. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠You have to wake it first to use it. Think a sleeping one's gonna spring to life just 'cause you toss it?

"Wake it? How?"

- Blood. One drop, and it'll wake right up and get moving.

"Easy then! Agility Boost!"

Whoosh!!

Following Tud's advice, Vulcan slid forward. He zipped past them in a blur, slashing his sword horizontally to cleave one in half.

It didn't die, but the gash was severe. Blood gushed out—plenty to soak the infected bug on the ground.

"Kak?!"

In that instant, the stone-like bug on the floor leaped up. It burrowed into the snake's wound and vanished inside.

Its scales turned black, eyes glazing over with darkness. The other snakes hesitated in confusion at the change, holding back from attacking Vulcan.

"Nice! That do it?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

- Seems so.

Vulcan retreated swiftly and scanned it with Dragon Eye.

Its level jumped from 191 by a solid 5. Black energy now rippled along its already vicious fangs. The beastification happened faster than expected, powering it up.

"Let's get started then?"

And that meant his Avenger title was primed for stacking. It granted 20% bonus damage to demonkin and beasts by default, scaling with kills. Aiming it for the day he'd face real ones, Vulcan thrust out his sword—no, first his staff in his left hand.

"Ice Storm."

Woooong—!

Vast mana surged to the staff's tip. Freezing chill whipped through the snake den.

"Kee, kee-yat?!?"

Ice Storm. A storm of frost that froze everything in range swept the narrow tunnel.

Weapon-engraved spells or skills demanded more mana than usual, straining Vulcan's reserves, but no issue here. The high-capacity mana battery from Alter supplemented it.

"Oh? Kicks like a mule."

It activated flawlessly, silencing the venomous Blade Fang Snakes. As temperatures plummeted, they curled up into hibernation to protect themselves—even with an enemy right there.

- That one's out too.

"Hope the infected bug didn't hibernate with it. That'd be a pain."

- Nah. Survived Demon World's harshness; a little cold's nothing.

"Good enough."

Vulcan didn't hesitate. He lopped off the beastified Mad Fang Snake's head in one stroke and waited.

"@$#^&%^!"

"Not today."

The infected bug burst from the corpse, lunging for Vulcan as a new host. He swatted it away with his gauntleted hand; it gave up and burrowed into another hibernating Blade Fang Snake. Self-preservation first.

"Next."

It mutated, and Vulcan beheaded it the moment it finished.

Thankfully, beastified monsters counted as beasts. Avenger stacks rose, and Vulcan happily moved to the next, and the one after.

This trump card was why. He'd destroyed the Blizzard Staff to harvest its Ice Orb as the core material for this magic staff.

'No need to just sit on it.'

Made from a Unique-grade item, it was guaranteed at least Rare, but Vulcan's skill pushed it to Unique.

He'd considered destroying the Ice Orb for a Glacial Heart and processing that, but Tud talked him out of it. His current rank and skill levels weren't ready.

'Even outside this, it'll see plenty of use.'

Options were straightforward: boosted Intelligence and Mind like a typical magic staff, amplified freezing spells. It enabled Ice Spear and Ice Wall for any Mage, but Vulcan added one more touch.

'Now I know it works, next gear I'll experiment more.'

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Using Magic Engraving, he'd inscribed Ice Storm onto the staff. Tough even for him, but the mana battery prevented instant exhaustion like before. That time, mana shortage plus engraving the advanced Rune language made it impossible; human magic was doable at this level.

Still stung destroying an expensive Ice Storm scroll via extraction. Freezing spells had wide utility, and once extracted, reusable forever—so he'd gritted his teeth and bought it just to smash.

'Fire and ice could stage some fun combos.'

He'd squeeze every drop from it. Freezing the snakes' actions let him decapitate without resistance, but potential was endless. Plus, didn't he have the Flame Ring and Legendary Craftsman's Work Gloves?

Switch between fire and ice, add variables with telekinesis, then overwhelm with sheer gear power—he could crush level gaps short of 300+.

'300's a different beast, but until then, I'll devour 'em all.'

Mulling combos, Vulcan pressed the infected bugs deeper, luring the den's snakes to infect them all. Whenever they clustered, Ice Storm for free exp.

Stacking Avenger wasn't all—sucking up that sweet 20% bonus exp, his levels shot up at insane speed.