Agnes
Valam could not make sense of the situation before him.
He had revealed his true power. Hellfire wreathed his body, and the surroundings had been fully reclaimed as his domain. Yet in the face of that lethal threat, Jinwoo had summoned his workshop and promptly started hammering away.
That should have been the perfect moment to strike.
"They're protecting him… that naturally?"
The thralls guarded Jinwoo as if it were second nature. Valam lost his window entirely. Their strength when defending Jinwoo far outstripped anything they showed when attacking him.
Kwaak—!
Then Jinwoo, as though something had clicked into place, came surging in. His eyes were fixed on Valam, and yet something about his gaze was off — as if he were looking through him at something else entirely.
"For all that…!"
Jinwoo leapt in and brought a devastating blow crashing down.
Kwagagagagagak—!
Valam braided his hellfire into ropes and caught the strike. Even so, he could not block it completely.
"!"
He had expected another rush — but Jinwoo had already pulled back. From range, he swept the Dragonstone Scythe in a wide arc.
Kwak—!
Valam's face twisted at a combat style designed to minimize risk. The trap he had just laid was the kind that demanded an all-or-nothing charge. Jinwoo, however, had stepped back as if he saw straight through everything.
Valam kept pressing, trying to seize the initiative, but it was not easy.
"Bon!"
"Yes, Master."
Bon stepped forward.
"That Bone Dragon. Don't tell me…"
"This should look familiar too, right?"
Valam's expression darkened.
"You made that dragon your subordinate?!"
"First! Pur!"
Valam stopped holding back. Once the hellfire was out, there was no point in restraining his power.
Kwadeuk—. Kwadudeudeudeuk—!
Jinwoo pulled the two thralls back and put Bon out in front. From head to toe, Bon was clad in UR-grade gear. Against Valam's crushing blows, no thrall was better suited for the job right now.
"Go show him."
Hwaljjak—!
Bon unfurled those enormous wings and skimmed low, hurtling straight at Valam. The speed kicked up a howling gale in every direction.
"I'll burn you to ash! I'll send you back where you belong!"
Kwadeuk—. Kwadudeudeudeudeuk—!
Arms began to erupt from Valam's body. Two became four. Four became eight.
"Tremble before a greater power."
Fists wreathed in flame poured down on Bon in a frenzied storm.
Kwagagagak—! Kwagak—! Kwagak—!
Bon made no effort to dodge. Just as First had done, he took the hits and answered with crushing force of his own. He swung his tail hard, sweeping Valam with the scythe-blade at its tip.
"You…!"
Seeing Bon barely flinch under his assault, Valam reeled in shock — then caught the incoming tail-scythe with both hands. Six arms still remained.
"Let's see how long you can hold!"
Kwagang—!
Valam threw himself into a full barrage of punches, and Bon — tail still seized — tried to pull away. He could weather a few hits, but a continuous assault like this was another matter.
That was when First moved.
Kwak—!
Two of the arms blocked First's attack. Then Pur brought World Tree's Judgment crashing down. Two more arms intercepted Pur. Only two arms left.
Mortus unleashed a blast of dark energy.
And the last one—
"Pin—!"
Every thrall swarmed Valam at once. He had no hands left.
"My hands…"
Jinwoo did not miss the opening. He gripped the Dragonstone Chain Scythe hard, stepped back, and hurled it with everything he had.
Kwak—!
"Keuhk…"
Mortally wounded, Valam's body swayed. The arms pinning the thralls lost their force as well.
"Si.mul.ta.ne.ous.strike."
On First's cue, the thralls hammered Valam without mercy. Jinwoo watched him carefully — and every time Valam gathered himself for a counter, Jinwoo flung the Dragonstone Scythe with perfect timing.
"Keueu. Keueueueu."
Whenever he tried a proper counterattack, Jinwoo's assault followed. Whenever he failed to put full power behind a blow, he could not pierce Jinwoo's gear.
Valam began to crumble.
"Keueoeoeoeoeo—!"
With his health below five percent, Valam roared and gathered his final strength.
"I will not die… alone."
Shaaaaaaak—!
Flames engulfing every inch of him, Valam erupted with hellfire on the spot.
"Perfect!"
As if he had been waiting for exactly that moment, Jinwoo pulled the Magma Bottle from his coat and opened it — the same glass vessel that had once held the Shadow Wing's flame.
"I'll take all of you!"
Valam, reduced to pure flame, poured straight into the Magma Bottle. Whatever remained, the thralls crushed without hesitation.
Kuuung—!
"Damn… it…"
Spent, Valam collapsed.
"Thanks for keeping your promise."
"Keueueueuk. Keueuk. Bullshit… I never made any such…"
Valam crumpled where he stood.
The Incarnation of Evil, Valam, has entered eternal rest.
Valam's power enveloping the temple fades away.
The temple has been restored to its original form!
Shaaaaaaak—!
The moment Valam died, the twisted temple began returning to its true shape.
The temple radiates sacred power.
Having dealt with Valam, Jinwoo drew a long, steady breath.
There was still a realm I didn't know.
He had thought himself fairly seasoned — and yet so much remained beyond his understanding. That fact filled him with an unexpected sense of relief. And joy.
From fallen Valam, Jinwoo saw a light. He reached toward it slowly, and the light drifted to him as if it recognized him.
"Found you."
Jinwoo stretched out his hand and took hold of the light.
The Great Dwarf God bestows a blessing upon you.
The hammer once wielded by the Great Dwarf God.
◈ Crafted by Brokk, the Great Dwarf God
◈ Infinite durability
JBS Director's Office.
"Aigoo, our Han PD! You've really outdone yourself. Truly!"
This was the same director who had once told him he would have to take full responsibility — that if this one tanked, he should prepare to leave. That director's attitude had flipped completely. Of course it had.
This production had poured new life into a JBS that had been on its last legs. Compared to KBC and OBC, they had created high-value content at a fraction of the cost.
"Thank you, Director."
"It's a hit. A total hit. An absolute smash. I knew you could do it. I knew it. How did the Netfelix meeting go?"
"Well. We locked in three additional episodes…"
After a brief sit-down, the director beamed and thumped Han PD on the shoulder.
"I knew you'd pull it off. I just knew it. Keuuuu. Master PD material. Before long, Han PD will be a star PD too!"
The sudden turnaround left him a little dazed, but Han PD didn't mind. If anything, he was grateful for the chance he had been given.
"I only succeeded because you gave me the opportunity!"
"Nonsense. I know I said some ugly things. Sitting in this chair forces that out of you. You stop taking risks and just cling to the safe path… Still. You proved me wrong, and for that I'm the one who should be thanking you!"
The director meant every word.
"This is only the beginning, so go even bolder. You've got the results to back it up! Of course, the noise from the peanut gallery will only get louder."
Beginner's luck. People were already muttering that viewers would grow tired of Jinwoo once the novelty wore off. Han PD paid it no mind. That was the talk of people who did not know Jinwoo — and who did not know him at all.
"Thank you!"
After the meeting with the director, calls poured in from Netfelix and countless other companies.
Advertising offers flooded his phone without end.
"Eunseong… Resitech… every major corporation is piling in."
Han Ingu PD, long the perpetual underdog, could only be stunned by ad inquiries from industry giants. Still, the corners of his mouth refused to come down.
"The Netfelix deal is already handled."
Netfelix had been the first to reach out — a commission to produce content based on Jinwoo's footage. On the surface it mirrored the offers that had gone to KBC and OBC, who had centered their shows on Slayer and High-tech. The same framework, but the details were not the same at all.
"We've already delivered hard results on our side."
They had signed for three additional episodes and secured an enormous contract fee.
"I'm just glad I can properly repay him."
More than anything, Han Ingu was happy he could answer Jinwoo's faith in him with results.
"Honestly, he could have gone anywhere else."
With talent like his, any network would have been his for the choosing.
"Looking at how JinTube is blowing up, he never needed JBS."
JinTube's numbers still trailed the JBS channel uploads, but they were climbing at a breakneck pace. This had never been JBS choosing Jinwoo. Jinwoo had chosen JBS — and Han Ingu PD.
"I can't just handle the ad deals alone. I need to sit down with Jinwoo and take only the ones that are actually worth it."
Setting up another meeting with Jinwoo felt like the right move.
Beep—!
Amid the endless work calls and messages, one very special message arrived.
Wooooooong—!
It was from Jinwoo. He had set a custom alert for Jinwoo's messages, so the vibration ran long and deep, unlike any other notification.
"!"
A message saying he had sent the Episode 2 footage. Han PD flew to his inbox.
The subject line was simple.
Episode 2 — [Dragon Hunt, Crafting, Tower Assault]
"D-Dragon…?"
Jinwoo had said Episode 2 would be more fun to film than Episode 1. So Han PD had assumed he would clear another tower — or maybe showcase the forging of some incredible piece of gear. What he had not expected was this.
"I never thought he'd put all of it together…"
Han Ingu PD watched the rough cut.
Gulp—.
Hunting a dragon. Then using that dragon to create Bon Dragon.
"Whoa…"
The scenes of crafting with dragon materials alone could have carried Episode 2 as the main feature. Dragon-hunting footage was common enough — but video of someone personally hunting a dragon and then forging UR-grade equipment from its remains? That was unprecedented.
"Wait — UR-grade? He was making SSR+ right up until now…?"
And it was not just UR.
"It's UR+."
On top of that, every thrall's gear had been completely overhauled.
"Whoa…"
Explosive growth in such a short span. No — growth like this could no longer be called "explosive."
"For Jinwoo, this is just… regular growth?"
It was the kind of pace befitting the undisputed rank-one player of Eternal Sunshine.
"Which tower did he clear for this? The difficulty looks seriously high."
He had heard that KBC and OBC, after watching Episode 1, were grinding their teeth and coming back hard. Word was that the Leap Guild — Slayer's guild — had clenched its jaw as well.
"They said they were clearing a four-star tower…"
So he had figured they would need an even stronger punch. Turns out they already had one.
"This tower looks like at least four stars too…"
A much bigger punch than he had imagined.
Gulp—.
Han Ingu PD took a deep breath.
"This time, I have room to breathe."
When Episode 1 went up, the deadline had been so tight he had pulled all-nighters. Not anymore.
"I can do this properly."
And this time, they would compete on the same stage.
"We'll prove it on Netfelix."