Chapter 25
Myth Workshop was heating up fiercely.
Flames roared in the furnace.
It was only natural, with premium firewood charcoal brewed from top-grade flamewood and even firestones infused with the power of flames thrown into the mix.
And this wasn't limited to just one furnace.
"Move it, move it!"
"We need to decompose the mithril from the ores and equipment!"
"These minerals are essential for this project—gather as much as you can!"
Mithril.
A unique-grade material that had a massive impact on weapons or armor even in small quantities.
Its effect was simple: it allowed the user's energy to flow more smoothly and amplified its power.
Because of this straightforward yet potent effect, mithril boasted one of the highest collection difficulties among unique-grade materials.
As a result, equipment using even trace amounts of mithril or scrap iron mixed with it fetched exorbitant prices.
And right now, preparations were in full swing to extract as much of that mithril as possible.
But the preparations didn't end there.
"From now on, we're forging Thousand Refined Steel."
"Whew, time to steel ourselves for death."
"Alright, let's give it a shot."
Thousand Refined Steel.
True to its name, born from a thousand refinings, it reigned supreme in durability among unique-grade materials.
It was one of the few unique-grade materials humans could produce with their own hands, so its value was slightly lower than others—but that didn't mean it was undervalued by any stretch.
Clang! Clang! Thud! Clang!
The sound of hammers rang out madly.
Iron was thrust into the blazing furnace, pulled out and hammered, then returned to the furnace. This process repeated a thousand times to birth Thousand Refined Steel.
Crack!
"Damn it, again!"
"Again!"
And if it failed midway, they had to start from scratch—making the ordeal indescribably grueling.
The culprits who had set the entire workshop ablaze with heat were now pondering over a single material.
"How should we melt this demon iron to make it legendary...?"
"Should I wrap it in holy power?"
"Oh, that's good. If we melt it while the demonic energy and holy power clash and shock it, we might get an amazing reaction."
Demon iron.
Alongside sacred steel, it was one of the top unique-grade materials.
Primarily used by demons, and mishandled, it could corrupt the user into one—few dared touch it, but its value was unparalleled.
Given that, the two wrapped up their in-depth discussion on handling the demon iron.
"Mithril and Thousand Refined Steel? Aren't we overdoing it?"
"If you lack skill, you need material power. I'm not you, hyung."
"Three unique-grade materials including demon iron, plus plenty of rare and rare+ grades."
"Yeah, as auxiliaries."
"...This is gonna be something insane."
After the discussion, Se-jin clicked his tongue watching Shin-hyuk dump in materials with reckless abandon.
It was an amount worth buying a building outright—a natural reaction.
But Shin-hyuk didn't care.
Overkill is a risk. If this wasn't enough, I'd have pulled out more.
Shin-hyuk wanted the absolute best equipment.
For his Metallurgy skill's growth and his own strength.
Confirming the materials for himself were ready, Shin-hyuk stepped up to the workshop master's dedicated furnace.
"Let's start."
"Yeah."
Whoosh!
With Se-jin's nod, Shin-hyuk immediately infused holy power into the demon iron.
A massive surge of holy power that could heal even severe wounds in seconds.
Combined with Shin-hyuk's precise control, not a single strand missed the demonic energy.
When the incompatible energies collided, a world-shaking change erupted.
Rumble!
The demon iron vibrated wildly, bellowing thunderously.
Shin-hyuk spat out blackened blood from the backlash of the clashing energies.
"...Kuh!"
"Don't stop the holy power infusion! This is the crossroads!"
"I know!"
Whoosh!
No time to heal or catch his breath, Shin-hyuk kept pouring in holy power.
After wrestling with the demonic energy for ages, his eyes flashed.
"Now!"
"Got it!"
Fwoosh!
The demon iron, its demonic energy amplified to the limit by holy power, was hurled into the blazing furnace.
But that was just the beginning.
Rumble! Rumble!
"Control the flames! The demon iron's rebelling against the furnace fire!"
"How?"
"...Spirit. Right! Let's use a spirit."
"A spirit?"
"Yeah, I've thought about it before. If mana wind helps in crafting, a spirit—nature itself—directly joining should create insane synergy."
"Having the spirit itself participate, not just infusing its power... Not bad."
To tame the rampaging demon iron, they put their heads together and arrived at spirits.
Anyone could think of involving spirits directly.
But it never worked because of one reason.
"Kasa, go into the furnace and help suppress the demon iron."
-Kiiit!!!
"As expected, no dice."
No spirit liked it.
That was why other spiritists sold spirit-infused soil instead.
Of course, Shin-hyuk had ways.
"Go in now, and I'll give you this."
-... Kiiit?!
"Lowest-grade fire spirit stone. Deal?"
-Kiiit!
When refused, check if the offer's too low first.
Shin-hyuk dangled his lowest-grade fire spirit stone.
Kasa snatched it wordlessly and dove into the furnace.
"Demon iron's under control now."
"With fire spirit energy infused into demon iron... Can't wait to see what comes out."
As soon as Kasa entered, the demon iron's frenzy calmed somewhat.
Not gone, but no more furnace collapse worries.
"Alright, now let's remelt these."
"Whew, already breaking a sweat."
"Tired? I can take over."
"No way."
Setting demon iron aside, Shin-hyuk wiped sweat from the gathered mithril and Thousand Refined Steel, waving off Se-jin.
Even one demon iron drained him dry, yet he eyed the same-grade mithril and Thousand Refined Steel like a greedy Scrooge—for good reason.
[Handling materials beyond your ability.]
[Metallurgy is growing.]
[The more materials you handle, and the more perfectly, the greater the growth.]
[Growth completes when the equipment being crafted is finished.]
See this and I'd be a fool to hand Thousand Refined Steel and mithril to Se-jin hyung. I'm taking it all.
His eyes burned with greed to skyrocket his Metallurgy skill, proving why he was master of the Predation trait.
Se-jin wouldn't level up from mere unique-grade stuff anyway.
Thus, Thousand Refined Steel and mithril fell to Shin-hyuk's hands.
Fwoosh!
Carefully selected mithril and blood-sweat-forged Thousand Refined Steel were sucked into the furnace with Kasa.
Once fully melted demon iron mixed in, Shin-hyuk invested heavily in rare materials.
Three unique-grades and dozens of rares fused into one in the furnace.
Sizzle—
Shin-hyuk and Se-jin carefully poured the glowing molten metal into a mold of spirit-infused clay, exchanging nods.
"Sylph, wind."
-Hmm~ Should I~ or not~?
"Spirit stone."
-Wheee! Gotta do it for my contractor!
Whoooosh!
This time, wind spirit Sylph hardened the metal as Shin-hyuk hammered furiously.
Clang! Thud! Clang! Thud!
Even Se-jin, sweating buckets by the furnace, smiled at Shin-hyuk's divinely inspired swings.
Yes. That's it, Shin-hyuk. A blacksmith must pour that love into their work. You've become a true artisan.
Shin-hyuk had barely held the hammer twice, but his talent and passion reached artisan level.
Confirming that, Se-jin stepped back and plopped into his chair.
"A prodigy surpassing the master... I gotta step up or get left behind."
Se-jin pondered seriously if Shin-hyuk might truly eclipse him someday.
The All-Master's talent spurred on God's Hand.
Unbeknownst to Shin-hyuk, God's Hand Se-jin advanced toward the God's Hand of his memories.
"Whew..."
After hours of hammering and sharpening, Shin-hyuk exhaled held breath and collapsed.
Even with Gold-tier physical prowess, his legs gave out—proof of the ordeal.
Se-jin brought cold water and checked the window.
"Shape's perfect. Black and red combo... Got roots."
The long shaft and blade were artistic masterpieces.
Black-based with red accents, it drew even non-spear users.
"Options matter."
"Right."
Appearance was secondary; options were key for Platinum use.
Unable to contain tension, Shin-hyuk handed the demonic spear to Se-jin.
"You first, hyung."
"Me? Sure?"
"Hands shaking."
"Can't be helped. Let's see... Oh!"
"Good options?"
"See for yourself."
"...Tch, teaching me won't hurt."
Grousing but excited, Shin-hyuk checked the spear from Se-jin.
"...Oh!"
His reaction matched Se-jin's.
Simple reason.
◈ All Stats +42
◈ Attack Power +1,000
◈ Bound Equipment
◈ Grants Demonic Energy stats to bound owner
◈ Unique Skill: Black Flame
Shin-hyuk's demonic spear was a jackpot.
Like Se-jin's holy sword, Unique+ grade, but All Stats +4 higher.
Attack Power at max 1,000 for unique-grade.
And a rare unique skill—worth billions.
That vaulted Metallurgy from D to B in one go.
"This... is insane."
"Total prodigy move. Lifelong smiths gonna cry~"
"My treat today."
"Hanwoo?"
"Top-grade!"
"Sweet! Call Su-a and your parents too."
"Hyung prefers over friends and kids. Got it."
"Hoo, all done?"
"Yeah."
Only after checking options did they slump.
But briefly.
Grip!
Shin-hyuk bound his creation, smiling.
"Now, just the World TOP 100 Promotion Match left."
"Oh right, you're entering? What rank?"
Se-jin gulped ice-filled cola from his chair; Shin-hyuk grinned as if to say, what else?
"First, obviously."
World TOP 100 Promotion Match.
Where the strongest Silver 1s gathered.
But to Shin-hyuk, just claiming his reserved first place.
A few days passed.