What the Hell is This Bullshit?!

"What the hell is this shit!!"

Clang! Thud thud thud. The work hammer battered Sharon's body.

Its gender was impossible to discern, but that body—every bit as pumped and sturdy as Tiran's in her battle form—made for a perfect anvil. No damage was dealt, but the hand hammer flew at it over and over.

Sharon flinched at the initial surprise of the attack but snapped back to reality when the hammer, which had seemed like some special weapon, inflicted zero impact. Gathering her strength once more, she unleashed a barrage on Vulcan.

"Hey! Quit squirming, you're making my swings slip!"

But Vulcan stubbornly swung his arm anyway. Bracing his core, planting his feet firmly on the ground, he refused to budge as he repeatedly triggered his Repair skill.

Sharon's strength was no joke either, but here was the payoff for dumping every stat point into Strength. Unlike Sharon, who'd spread her points evenly, Vulcan had invested everything in raw power—boosted further by the Tempering quest effects, title bonuses, multiple buffs, and stat-boosting potions. That let him hold his ground without getting flung back.

This wasn't a pure contest of strength.

Clang clang clang. No damage, but the hammering continued.

The glint in Sharon's eyes behind her helmet gradually steadied, but it was clear she was growing fearful of Vulcan's unyielding form—rocking with every blow yet refusing to die.

Vulcan doggedly swung the work hammer, oblivious to it all. Each failed Repair shaved off 20 durability. Normally it'd be single digits, but the item's grade and level were far beyond his skill rank. Even as a Legendary skill, his low user level limited it. If it weren't Legendary, the system might've blocked the attempt outright.

"Die, you fucker! Die!!"

Repair attempts and failures piled up, but Sharon couldn't shake Vulcan off easily. No damage registered, yet the sheer audacity of this bastard swinging a goddamn hand hammer enraged her. No need to dodge, but she couldn't vent her fury without smashing this zombie-like prick. Fleeing from some no-name when she wasn't even facing Tiran? Unthinkable.

She lashed out with fists, vowing to pulp his skull and tear off his limbs—but it was futile. With Roona's blessing and their massive level gap, direct hits couldn't kill him.

"Even a piece of shit like you gets her blessing?! Why not just me…?!"

Maybe she couldn't let go because she sensed Roona's aura on Vulcan. Unbearable that the goddess she'd lost faith in chose this lowly blacksmith over her.

It's starting to react.

Crack… craaack—

Undeterred, Vulcan kept hammering. At under half durability, cracks spiderwebbed across the armor.

Full-body plate with this little durability? Pathetic.

Full-body armor traded modular piece bonuses for overall defense and durability focus. Even Vulcan—or precisely because it was Vulcan—might've accidentally repaired it if his skill ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ranked up mid-hammering. But Denial of Faith had inexplicably low max durability. It'd already taken hits from Tiran, accelerating the drop. Amazing options, sure, but built on mediocre base gear.

Temple zealots think that way. Divine power covers weak defense and options.

Vulcan gratefully kept swinging.

Huh?

At under 30% durability, something odd caught Vulcan's eye. Gray spots appeared on the armor—unlike the prior repair guide lights. He hesitated but decided.

Let's try it.

A successful repair now would suck. But his instincts screamed to target them. Trusting his gut and Dragon Eye, he struck the gray spots instead of avoiding them.

"!!"

Incredible. Durability drops jumped from 20 to 50 per hit. He'd been right—those were destruction guides.

"Grrraaaahhh!!! I'll blast you to kingdom come!!"

"Guh!"

BOOOOMMM!!!!

Sharon went berserk. She'd been aiming precise kills before, but Vulcan's immortality fueled her rage into an all-out AoE barrage, obliterating the space around her.

"Shit!!"

Vulcan dodged the initial blast. But AoE had aftershocks—lingering impacts slamming into his flung body. Unlike direct hits, these forced a potion chug. At 30% HP base, stacking aftershocks had already bottomed his health. Fading damage, but lethal in his state.

Then healing spells propped him up. They yanked his near-zero HP back, buying time. Risky choice—priests pouring into Vulcan left allies dry, and they tanked blast fallout themselves. But they couldn't stop. They'd seen Sharon's armor cracking; only Vulcan could exploit it. Unknown how, but he was their sole hope. They sacrificed, dumping all holy power into him.

"Right… that's it."

But the real issue wasn't that. Sharon spotted Vulcan's weakness from his reaction. Potion-gulping on indirect hits clicked—direct attacks no threat, but aftershocks were. She switched to AoE spam, shattering space instead of punching.

Damn, can't get ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠close…

Sudden firepower ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠exchange. Blasts no real threat, but explosions blocked approach. A few more hits could've shattered gear, but constant knockback frustrated him. Low-level Vulcan couldn't counter her focus-fire.

"Lady Tiran!"

"Sharon!!"

But he had a solid tank. Personal grudge evident, Tiran—recovered in the rear—charged at Vulcan's shout.

Now.

Tiran's entry split Sharon's attention. Some skills Vulcan's way, but mostly Tiran's—higher priority. She knew Vulcan did something, but zero damage downplayed him.

Vulcan dashed in during the gap. Low posture against blasts, blind-spot rush for max speed.

"You idiot!"

"!!"

Point-blank, Sharon's head snapped—eyes locking Vulcan, arm thrusting. Whoosh— black laser beam like she knew it was coming. Blessing blocked damage, but sheer force repelled him.

His gear shattered—durability zeroed out across the board.

"That's my expensive gear, you bitch!!!"

Vulcan's eyes bulged. Self-blame for not unequipping in time, but utmost rage at Sharon.

His HP plummeted—not from damage. Roona's blessing had another skill option.

"Pay for it, you fuck!!!"

HP burned in place of holy power, massively boosting Strength. Risky—might die en route—but berserk Vulcan went all-in.

His torso straightened mid-repel; even mid-force release, he advanced. Roaring madness, hammer crashed down.

Minor jolt. Still no damage, but Sharon sensed ill omens—not just cracks. She felt the armor's anomaly but couldn't pinpoint it. Holy relic-empowered, she never imagined Vulcan could affect it.

"Die, all of you!!!"

Rage at the chosen, jealousy fueled killing intent. Pure malice erupted with power from her core.

Ruuuumble—!!

"…!!"

Massive damage—not one-shot, but DoT death energy seeped past blessing, stacking on bottomed HP to zero it out. Strength faded; death loomed.

"Fuck that!!"

Power surged back. Epic title Unyielding restored 1 HP at zero, granting 3 seconds invincibility.

Enough. Pallid skin flushed red; final strike plummeted.

Denial of Faith—the near-invincibility shield against Tiran—fully shattered.