...... Is This It?

Vulcan's reaction to finally getting his hands on the long-awaited Egg of Life was inevitably lukewarm.

For starters, its form was nothing like what he'd imagined. Sure, he'd expected an egg shape given the name, and since it was Legendary grade, he'd figured it'd be at least the size of some monstrous bird's egg—human head-sized, at minimum. But this thing was barely chicken egg-sized.

No, that alone wouldn't have been a problem. Looks didn't matter as long as it had abilities and options befitting a Legendary item.

But no options or effects showed up on the Egg of Life at all. Not in the standard item info window, nor when he inspected it with Dragon Eye.

Aside from its Legendary grade and the bare-bones info about containing life and earth energies, there was nothing to learn.

"What the hell is this?"

"Even Tud-nim doesn't know?"

It was probably because even Tud—the original owner of Dragon Eye—didn't know about this item. Vulcan had hoped something extra might show up in Tud's higher-rank eyes, but no dice.

Since it was a 'created' item unknown even to him, there was no way to figure out its uses, applications, or hatching method.

'At least I know something's there... should I count my blessings?'

He knew a hatching method was hidden, but he had no clue what it was. That was the precise situation.

Still, knowing it could hatch was some small comfort, right? Vulcan, who'd been half-ready to just sell it off, couldn't decide easily.

It seemed useless for now, but if he could hatch it properly, wouldn't something worthy of its grade emerge? That faint hope kept him hesitating, just staring at it.

'No way it's a dragon egg, right?'

A Legendary-grade egg. Surely not a dragon egg? Nothing else fitting that grade came to mind, so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he glanced back, and Tud spat out irritably.

"Ridiculous. You think we'd claim that pathetic pebble for our great race?"

"Well, not a dragon, sure, but it's still Legendary. Gotta be something impressive, right?"

"Hmph. Impressive my ass."

"Wanna bet on it?"

"What?!"

Tud steamed at the provocation, and Vulcan bristled a bit too. Sure, unless it was a dragon egg, it'd never impress Tud no matter what hatched—but pointless pride welled up anyway. It wasLegendary, after all.

"Whatever's in here... I dunno when it'll hatch, but if you admit it's useful, I win. Deal?"

"Hmph. As if—"

"Scared? Chicken?"

"Fine. You're on. My chocolate's the stake."

Tud tried to brush it off as absurd, but Vulcan poked just right, and draconic pride kicked in—dragons ranked second to none in ego. Moments later, he put on a grave face and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wagered his chocolate.

"That's the one I bought you..."

"Shut it!"

"Alright, then. If I lose, I'll buy you 1,000 chocolates—or whatever menu items you want. But if I win, you grant me one wish."

"Deal."

And so Tud fell for Vulcan's scheme. His options were limited anyway, so a 'wish' wasn't much—but played right, it could be a huge win. Banning his nagging or beatings, or prying out those contingency plans he withheld until the last second.

Sure, knowing Tud's other workshop locations wouldn't help now, but gamers didn't quit over 'impossible.' They conquered what devs called 'never,' then shrugged, "Worked fine."

Vulcan embodied that gamer grit.

"Bet's on, then—"

"Hey! Hold up!!"

As if eavesdropping on their bet, something drained from his fingertips, and the Egg of Life turned into a bound item.

He'd planned to raise it anyway, but this threw Vulcan for a loop. He'd been open to selling if the price was right—and buying Tud 1,000 chocolates.

"Damn it. Figures. As if luck like that'd come my way..."

This tanked the value of the other two items too. The Tome of Life Magic had spells, but only Life Mages could learn them—junk now. Same for the Life Guardian Blueprint.

"Screw it."

Vulcan learned it anyway. He skimmed the recipe, hunting viable uses.

"Shit. All tanky stuff."

Unfortunately, no immediate applications. Making a Life Orb needed a ley line thick with life energy like this place—and tons of time to gather power.

Even with an orb, crafting a boss like the last one demanded serious magic know-how. He'd need Magic Imbuement at least C-rank.

Repairing his shattered Life Orb with materials could yield passage-guardian-level golems—but those got wrecked by Vulcan solo. Useless at higher levels beyond meat shields.

"It can regenerate using my mana, so... guess I'll experiment later."

Luckily, post-repair, infusing his mana let it regenerate with his energy instead—but Vulcan's mana pool was low, limiting utility.

Not something to waste. He'd need research for real use, but gains were gains.

Vulcan packed up, backtracked the passage—no respawns as expected—then surfaced to Spirit Land.

No one had spotted his tombstone trick; no new entrants.

"Already swarming, huh."

Spirit Land teemed with users now. Mostly clustered at the entrance for canyon mine stairs, but plenty pushed inward to hunt.

His tombstone spot stayed deserted like a calm eye in the storm, but hunting here wouldn't be easy anymore.

'Miss the Senos ore and XP, but... whatever. Plenty elsewhere.'

Sticking for more Senos meant competing, but Vulcan had bulk ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ore already—and ways to farm more.

Undiscovered area buffs tempted a 3-day grind, but scrapping for spots beat proper gearing then sweeping higher-level mobs.

He headed back to town.

"Just crafting left now. What's your plan?"

As Tud said, only ranking up Legendary Item Creation remained. Crucial, time sink—but potentially fastest. Items took hours to days, but completion gave massive proficiency over other skills.

"Quality over quantity again. Thought about sellables, but I need gear now, so all-in on growth. Sucks burning premium ores, but it'll work, right?"

Probability-based, but Vulcan trusted it. He'd use bound premium ores again—like for alchemy rank-up. Pour 'em in, score rank-up and god-rolls.

'Can craft 200-level gear now; dump top mats in...'

"Dunno if it'll go your way."

Tud's meaningful jab? Just trolling. With Dragon Eye, E-rank Legendary Creation, and Artisan's Origin, he'd nail at least one goal. Low proficiency? Other paths existed.

He sorted gear types and mats.

"Watch me. I'll craft something epic."

Unlike his bold claim to Tud, Vulcan's mind raced. His absurd stats dwarfed peers, but all-in STR left him shaky.

Even against exceptions like the Life Guardian, lower AGI would've meant a beatdown. Despair Serpent's AGI saved him; otherwise, slow crumble.

'Higher defense, AGI boost, or HP for tanking counters. Mana's running low too...'

Leather or metal? Which stat? All viable—worse dilemma.

"Screw it, belly up. Let's see what rolls first."

Rented the forge, prepped, decided: craft everything.

His inventory brimmed with metals from Tud's secret forge—enough for several full armor sets. No matching required? Endless options.

"Agaphite first."

Rare 250-level ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠armor alloy. Defense/HP focus—done right, he'd be an untouchable fortress vs. sub-199s, like his 100-level hunts.

Shadow ore for AGI/stealth skills maybe; Gordyn for ogre STR.

Metals had traits; craft sets per, prioritize rares+.

"What if they all roll Rare or Unique? Heh!"

Brute force—but surefire. Item gaps ignored matchups. Players swapped styles/classes for gear; reason they obsessed.

Vulcan left it to luck. Not endgame, no set needed—but desire burned as he started.

WHOOSH!!

Essence-amplified forge heat filled the smithy; Vulcan's eyes sharpened.

CLANG CLANG

Per Dragon Eye's guidance, flawless timing: refine, hammer, smelt ores beyond his level.

To birth the impossible, he poured soul into every swing—creator incarnate, molding visions to reality.