Chapter 201: Blaze Awakens

Hephaestus’s Forge had appeared out of nowhere.

However, I calmly organized my memories and recalled what had happened while I was in a Transcendent State.

“Blaze?”

I had always been with Blaze whenever I entered Hephaestus’s Forge, but now, Blaze was nowhere to be seen.

Instead—

-Whoosh!

The forge’s brazier flared up as if to greet me.

It could have been a coincidence, but I could feel it. 

That flame was Blaze’s response. 

Blaze’s will permeated this entire forge.

Once I realized that, the forge looked a bit different from the Hephaestus’s Forge I knew. 

The forges I had visited through the Mines before felt like abandoned places where the warmth had completely vanished. 

This place, however, overflowed with warmth, as if someone had been using it until just moments ago.

Yet, this was definitely the forge I remembered. 

That was because I could see the items I had crafted scattered throughout the workshop.

[Hephaestus’s Brazier]

[Hephaestus’s Gloves]

[Hephaestus’s Anvil Base]

[Hephaestus’s Apron]

More importantly—

“A storage room?”

A new area had appeared in the forge.

Since it was filled with piles of unknown materials, I naturally realized it was a storage room. 

Being a blacksmith, I reflexively approached to check the information on the materials.

[Sunlight Fragment]

Type: Material

Grade: SSS

Description: A fragment of pure sunlight that only the Sun God, Apollo, can create by refining sunlight over a long period.

“An SSS-grade material?”

I saw an SSS-grade material right from the start. 

Just in case, I checked the next ones.

[Divine Beast’s Fang]

[Titan’s Malice]

[Golden Fleece]

[Divine Crystal]

[Ancient Rune]

Every material piled in the storage was SSS-grade. 

No, wait. 

I had to correct myself. 

As I followed an unusually intense energy and checked the item information, I saw: [Last Branch of Yggdrasil]

Type: Material

Grade: L

Description: The last branch of Yggdrasil, which has already burned away. It contains the full power of Yggdrasil that resisted destruction.

‘An L-grade material…’

It was a material that surpassed SSS-grade. 

There was an L-grade material.

Recently, while passing the Trial of Ordeals on the 90th Floor, I had seen the items dropped by those powerful monsters and assumed the highest grade for materials must be SSS-grade but I was wrong. 

L-grade materials existed.

How powerful would an item made from this be? 

With this, wouldn’t I be able to create an item even more powerful than Laevateinn? 

For example, the lightning of Zeus, the King of Gods, known as Astrapē. 

Or Gungnir, the spear of the All-Father, Odin.

If I could create such weapons—if I could use Myth Creation with all the materials in this storage—climbing the Tower wouldn’t be impossible.

The problem was time.

‘I don’t have enough time.’

The materials were ready, but time was short. 

The fourth Monster Wave was only two days away. 

Even if we somehow managed to block that, the fifth Monster Wave would arrive the following week. 

No matter how hard I tried, it didn’t seem like we could stop the fifth Monster Wave.

In fact, I started to think that completely conquering the Tower might be easier than stopping the fifth Monster Wave.

My item production had become faster, but it still took a significant amount of time. 

Could I really turn all these materials into proper items before the fifth Monster Wave began? 

Even if I worked harder and faster, it was physically impossible.

But then—

-Whoosh!

The flames of the brazier shot up high, as if asking me to look. 

The flames pointed toward a clock. 

It was a clock made of fire that hadn’t existed in the forge before. 

And as I watched, the hand moved.

“Tick.”

The minute hand moved one space.

The clock was a bit strange. 

The time displayed on the clock made of flames was 12:01. 

Beside it, a second hand made of faint fire was moving, but its speed was incredibly slow.

Judging by the speed, it seemed only one minute had passed outside since I entered the forge. 

I had looked around in surprise and marveled at the materials in the storage; at least several dozen minutes should have passed.

‘Only one minute has passed in that time?’

It was unbelievable. 

Just as I was thinking the clock must be broken—

“Runes of Time?”

I saw Rune Scripts carved into the forge. 

Since I was already quite familiar with Rune Scripts, identifying them was simple.

These were the highest difficulty Runes of Time, the kind I could only use by borrowing Blaze’s power.

Those Rune Scripts were engraved around the clock, holding immense power.

As soon as I saw them, I understood the situation.

‘Is time flowing differently than in reality?’

Yes, that was it. 

The clock wasn’t broken. 

Due to the Runes of Time, the forge existed in a flow of time different from the outside world. 

The clock was displaying the time outside.

‘If that’s the case…!’

It was possible. 

I could do it.

Materials and time. 

Since both were provided, I could craft items to my heart’s content. 

If I could create all those items, I might be able to stop all the Monster Waves and climb to the very top of the Tower. 

No, I could do it. 

I would do it.

“Alright.”

[Hammer of Vulcanus]

I nodded, my mind made up. 

From the beginning until now, I had always been a blacksmith. 

No matter the situation, a blacksmith simply had to silently swing their hammer in the forge.

“Shall we try, Blaze?”

-Whoosh!

Facing the flickering flames of the brazier that seemed to answer me I began to swing my hammer once again today.

“Clang!”

***

The day after Vulcanus had challenged the Tower.

The promised time arrived, but none of the party members were teleported into the Tower. 

Nothing happened, making all their preparations feel embarrassing. 

Consequently, the Sword Saint, who could be considered the leader of the climbing party in Vulcanus’s absence, stepped forward to find him.

Since Vulcanus wasn’t taking personal calls, she contacted Nam Bora of the Vulcanus Guild.

“Have you heard from Master Vulcanus yet?”

– “No, not yet…”

“The time has already passed…”

– “I’ll keep trying to reach him.”

“Please do.”

Even Nam Bora didn’t know where Vulcanus was. 

It was a bit unsettling, but it wasn’t a major problem. 

This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. 

Vulcanus sometimes became unreachable for one or two days, or even over a week, while crafting items.

Since Vulcanus had said yesterday that he would prepare a countermeasure for the 95th Floor, he might be running late because he was crafting items for that purpose. 

Yes, that had to be it. 

There was no other reason for him to be out of touch.

However—

“Still nothing?”

– “…Yes. There’s no answer.”

Even when night fell, there was no word from Vulcanus. 

The fourth Monster Wave was scheduled for tomorrow. 

To miss the promised time and remain silent was worrying.

As the Sword Saint grew anxious, one of the party members—Pado, a ranker from Taiwan and a Lightning Caster who had recently joined the climbing party—spoke up cautiously.

“Maybe there just isn’t a way…”

“What do you mean by that?”

“The trial for the 95th Floor. We failed, didn’t we? Even after five re-attempts, there was no sign of success, and Cheongryong almost ended up in serious danger.”

“That…”

“Master Vulcanus said he’d find a way, but honestly, what more can be done? I know his smithing skills are incredible, but in a situation where there aren’t even any proper top-grade materials left…”

The Korean party members, like the Sword Saint, Cheon Seung-heon, and Cheongryong, all believed in Vulcanus, but the foreigners who had recently joined the party felt differently. 

They acknowledged Vulcanus’s skills, but their lack of trust was unavoidable.

Honestly, the Sword Saint almost nodded in agreement internally, but she shook her head and comforted the Lightning Caster.

“That can’t be it. He must be preparing a countermeasure. That’s why he isn’t answering.”

“I hope so.” The Lightning Caster nodded. 

Although they didn’t say it out loud, others who shared the same thought as the Lightning Caster also accepted the Sword Saint’s words.

Well, even if they didn’t believe it, they had no other choice. 

In the current situation, Vulcanus stepping away would mean they could only watch the world’s destruction. 

While one or two other people leaving the climbing party could be replaced, they could never reach the top of the Tower without Vulcanus.

Time continued to flow. 

While everyone was on edge—

“Rumble!”

The Tower began to shake. 

It was the sign that the fourth Monster Wave was about to begin.

“Master Vulcanus…”

– “Still nothing.”

There was still no news from Vulcanus. 

The new party members grew even more anxious, but even in this situation, the Sword Saint believed in Vulcanus. 

‘He must be silent because he was coming up with a more perfect countermeasure or crafting a more powerful item.’

Thinking that the moment Vulcanus’s message arrived, they would be able to finish both the Monster Wave and the Tower climb in an instant, the Sword Saint shouted.

“We must hold them back!”

“Attack!!”

They began to repel the fourth Monster Wave.

“Groooar!”

“Grrr.”

“Kaaaa!”

“Wooooooh!”

A wave of monsters poured out from the Tower. 

It was an incredible number. 

It wasn’t just the quantity; the quality of the monsters had also risen overall.

During the first wave, even with large numbers, there were quite a few Rank 5 monsters mixed in. 

Now, not only were there no Rank 5 monsters, but even Rank 6 and Rank 7 monsters were nowhere to be found.

The weakest monsters were Rank 8. 

And those were just the weakest; the average grade of the monsters would easily exceed Rank 9. 

For the level of a much larger Monster Wave to exceed Rank 9 meant the situation had already reached a point where it was normally impossible to hold them back.

“Fire!”

“Boom!”

“Bang!”

However, the Hunters defending against the wave weren’t normal either. 

Using the fortress walls and cannons built around the Tower—which had been reinforced and improved—they held the monsters back.

Nonetheless, because the quantity and quality of the monsters had increased, it was not easy to stop them. 

Most importantly, the roar of cannons from the Vulcanus Guild, which usually provided powerful fire support, was not heard.

Just as people were beginning to wonder—

“Booooom!”

A loud blast erupted from the direction of the Vulcanus Guild, and shells began to fly, striking down the monsters. 

The Sword Saint hastily sent a System Call to Vulcanus, but there was no response. 

Instead—

– “I’ve brought the guild members up.”

– “Fortunately, we have quite a few shells stockpiled, so we should be able to provide proper fire support.”

“I’m counting on you.”

She heard Nam Bora’s voice. 

It was disappointing that Vulcanus hadn’t arrived, but it couldn’t be helped. 

First, they had to strike down the monsters opening their jaws right in front of them.

“Attack!”

The Sword Saint shouted, drawing Excalibur. 

It would be a difficult fight, but she believed that with the equipment Vulcanus had made for them, they could certainly break through.