No Need to Rush

There was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no need to hurry. The entrance was open, but it wasn't something you could just waltz into easily.

Vulcan, growing impatient, started moving ahead hastily, but Tud held him back. The barrier known as the Misty Labyrinth had been lifted, drawing crowds eager to uncover the secrets of Ornis Mountain. But no one could conquer it in a short time, so they should take it easy.

"……Understood."

He was right, of course. Tud wouldn't have prepared anything half-assed. Sure, famous players would attempt it, but even the barrier he'd made as a joke had never been breached by anyone before. Vulcan forcibly suppressed his impatience and regained his cool.

But he couldn't afford to slack off completely either. Gamers were the type who turned the impossible into child's play for fun.

- Better stock up on some materials. I've got something pretty fun prepared. Heh heh!

"Materials? Hmm, got it."

There wasn't much to reorganize anyway. He'd already finished crafting his gear, and all that was left was delivering the Secret Society Seal to the temple and clearing another main scenario quest. Plus, now that he'd hit level 200, he planned to craft some extra gear to sell and finally make some real money—but putting it off briefly wouldn't cause any disasters.

"Ugh… my gold……."

He'd scraped his accounts dry for Hye-rim's hospital bills and moving costs, and with so many loose ends, he hadn't saved much gold. But he wasn't starving yet. On top of that, he'd auctioned off his old Dark Hound set when swapping gear, which should tide him over for a while.

Trusting in that, Vulcan emptied his remaining gold to buy up material items. If Tud was insisting this much, they'd definitely be crucial.

- It'll come back dozens of times over, so no need to fuss. If they're useless, just make something out of them.

With skills in blacksmithing, alchemy, architecture, enchantment, and more—plus the ability to combine them—there was no such thing as "useless" materials for him. Anyway, now that he'd reached level 200, after handling urgent matters, he planned to dive back into skill rank-ups. Selling the byproducts alone would net him income that dwarfed material costs.

Thus, Tud prodded the slightly hesitant Vulcan into filling his inventory and sub-storage to the brim, leaving him utterly broke.

"Tch, they could've at least thrown in some gold as quest reward……."

In that state, Vulcan trudged off to the temple of Kabura within Alter's territory. Mage towers dotted the area, but the temples wanted smooth relations with Alter too, so nearly every god's shrine—big or small—was present in his lands.

He dropped off the Secret Society Seal and blueprints at Kabura's temple, completing the quest.

Thanks to preparing blueprints for mass production alongside the required seal, Vulcan scored bigger rewards than expected: more contribution points, more EXP, and the right to choose a Secret Society Seal.

It would've been nice if they'd tossed in some gold, but this was plenty solid. If needed, he could trade contribution points for items and sell them.

"I'll take this one."

Naturally, Vulcan picked the first Epic-grade seal he'd made. None of the later ones hit Epic, so it was the best, and the temple alliance didn't complain. The blueprints he'd brought allowed seals far beyond expectations. Without him, they might've settled for Common or Uncommon ones just for mutual recognition.

"Congratulations. Each temple's blessing will infuse it with greater power, so please continue serving the honorable ones."

And it didn't end there. Visiting each temple for blessings would strengthen the seal—that's why it was made with Seintera. Unfortunately, blessings required bishops, and Alter lacked anyone of that caliber. Not just Kabura's temple, but all of them.

- What a bunch of useless idiots. Still don't like 'em.

One might think Alter, being important, warranted high-rankers, but that could spark misunderstandings. So they kept it to quick-contact levels. Instead, they curried favor by aiding locals. Blessings could wait; Tud was just sulking over nothing major.

With preparations done, Vulcan took a deep breath and spent his last coins on a teleport magic circle. Direct to Ornis Mountain would've been ideal, but as a long-forbidden zone, no villages were nearby. Closest big city it was.

"Whew!"

No villages meant no carriages. From nearest metropolis Rokennal, it was walking—or riding, luckily for Vulcan, who had a warhorse. No hoofing it on foot.

"Wha…… what's with all these people?"

Ornis Mountain's foothills were a total bazaar. Not just NPCs, but players who'd heard the rumors, forming parties and swapping intel in the chaos.

'Forming parties?'

It looked like any village or hunting ground in Gloria Saga—ordinary. But right now, it hit different. These were high-level players dead set on raiding the forbidden zone.

No matter how rushed, they'd come prepared. Yet here they were, teaming with strangers instead of fixed parties or guildmates? Glancing back, it wasn't even single parties—multiple (2-3+) linking into raids.

'Weren't the monsters here weak?'

Raids were for high-level bosses. Ornis was forbidden due to the tricky Misty Labyrinth, not strong mobs. They were decent—mid-to-late 200s—but drops and EXP sucked, deterring traffic.

- Weak? Who said that? These guys swarmed sensing this body's presence—they can't be weak. Oh, maybe that?

'That what?'

- The barrier might've made mountain beasts seem like monsters. They were probably tougher than average, influenced by it.

'Moun…… tain beasts?'

Vulcan blinked. Tud nailed it. The occasional maze pop-outs were beast-shaped. Big, strong for wild animals, but not typical monsters.

But they were just mountain beasts? Not even local monsters?

'Then what's the real monster level here…….'

- Eh, mana expert-tier at least? With the dense mana since, maybe masters now.

"……Holy shit."

Casual as ever, but Vulcan was speechless. Mana expert meant 300+, master 400+. So Ornis wasn't mid-200s or low-300s—it was mid-300s+ hunting ground.

Now it made sense: serious faces forming parties, plotting instead of charging. Word spreading meant more high-levels and guilds rushing in.

Plenty here were mid-300s+, but many low-300s too. Death meant long treks back—no nearby villages for resupply. Hunting or raiding demanded caution. Soon, mega-guild elites would swarm.

"……But how do I climb?"

That worried Vulcan too. High-level zone meant issues for him, despite business at some spot. New gear boosted confidence, but even Dragon Eye-picking low-mob paths, he couldn't guarantee zero encounters. Sealed long, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠monsters were numerous and fierce.

- Tough, sure. But what do you think you are? Die and rez. Secure safe zones, save spots, move on—what's the worry?

"Hm?"

Tud scolded even that worry. Monsters were tough, but Vulcan had skills/items: Dragon Eye for sparse paths, stealth to evade, bases/saves midway. No sweat.

Vulcan brightened, grasping it, checking skills/items ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠swiftly.

"What's this? Spilling all these tips."

- Heh. Don't get too excited. Just warm-up till dungeon.

"Tch. Knew it."

- What'd you say?

"Nothing."

Tud wouldn't spill easy—cooperation was suspicious, but as expected. Tired of watching his incarnation bumble without finding entrance; real deal was the dungeon itself.

"They won't snag it first, right?"

- Possible, but not easy. Dungeon's open, but not for just anyone.

"Hmm. Good enough."

Vulcan smacked lips regretfully, face twisting into sly, wicked grin. He sauntered into the player crowd.

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

- What're you doing? Not climbing?

'Something good first?'

- Good? You?

'Good for me, obviously? Heh heh heh!'

Should've snuck past players up the mountain, but Vulcan claimed a spot among them. First, ditched identifiable apron/gloves. Then, blatantly spammed a skill.

"Tamp, tamp, tamp…… make way. Tamp, tamp……!"

Tamping the ground evenly over wide area. Folks grumbled, stepping back annoyed. PKing over mood with rivals everywhere? Risky—criminal status could draw pile-ons to eliminate competition.

Skill didn't harm anyway, so just frowns, no fuss. Until tamping ended.

"Stone foundation craft."

Thud thud boom boom boom-

That grabbed eyes. Foundations rumbling down, solid base manifesting fast from nothing—impressive.

"What's that?"

"Can't see his face?"

"What the hell's he building?"

Dark Shroud active—no IDing him. Players weren't NPC-dumb, but detection skills blocked by Shroud.

Trusting that, Vulcan pressed on.

'Ground's clear.'

- Building a village or what?

'Spot on.'

Architecture for basics: fences around foundation, flag on ownerless land.

'First claim wins.'

Not real flag—architecture squatting. Might demolish if owner claimed later, but now? Unclaimed. Eat first, mine. Anyone could demo, but no rights to. Vulcan asserted ownership.

"What're you doing?"

"Building on whose say-so?"

Tud called it village, but small-scale—just wide foundation. Murmurs, stares, hesitation game. Annoying squatter, but no one wanted to call it out first—risk rival checks.

Meanwhile, Vulcan claimed his village reward. No special powers yet, but scaling with villages meant future perks.

'Tradeable?'

Best part: trading. How much for a village? And "pioneered" count persisted post-sale. Eyes sparkling, but priorities first.

"Bed craft."

"Huh? Those?"

Simple log cabins in village, stuffed with beds. Barely more than beds, but shifted vibes—players', not village.

Beds meant local rez on death, no long treks. Shortened travel, bolder fights—everyone eyed it.

"Hey, mind sharing beds?"

Beds usable with owner permission, even sans ownership. Temp setups had user limits per bed, but unlimited till durability wore.

Buildings up, dozens of beds down—desperate players swarmed Vulcan. They sensed bed access was key.

Now, demolition impossible without losing beds.

"50 gold per bed slot, sir."

Invisible salesman grin, Vulcan quoted absurd price.