Hephaestus’s Mine. A mine exclusive to me, inaccessible to others. A few swings of my pickaxe against golems yield rare gate ores in droves—a true goldmine. Every time I entered, it gleamed like a treasure trove.
But today, it felt unusually dark and foreboding. The torchlight seemed dimmer, and the uncertainty of when or where the Giant Vampire Bat might appear made my movements feel heavier.
“Come out already if you’re going to!”
Even the usual golems were nowhere to be seen. Were they hiding in the walls, scared of the bat? Recalling yesterday’s path, I headed toward the boss room.
Maybe the bat returned there? If it stayed in the boss room until I came back, I could mine safely in the tunnels and leave.
Just then—
Rustle.
I sensed something ahead. A shadow wriggled in the torchlight’s shade. Despite the distance, it noticed me.
“Screech—”
The bat raised its head, its red eyes locking onto mine. The moment our gazes met—
“Arghhh!”
I couldn’t help but run. How was I supposed to fight that? I hoped it would ignore me from afar, but the Giant Vampire Bat spread its wings and—
“SCREEEEECH!”
It furiously flapped after me. As expected, I couldn’t outrun it. Soon, a corner blocked my view—a déjà vu of yesterday. But I couldn’t give up now. Gritting my teeth, I spun around and thrust my spear at the bat.
Thud!
“Screech?”
An unfamiliar sensation hit my hands—the feeling of piercing living flesh, so different from smashing golems with a pickaxe.
Opening my tightly shut eyes, I saw the trident’s three prongs embedded in the bat’s belly. I’d aimed for its wings but missed. My first plan had failed.
As I moved to grab a backup weapon—
Zzzzt!
“SCREEEEECH!”
The Thunder Fang’s effect triggered. Electricity surged from the three prongs, electrocuting the bat. Though I missed the wings, I realized this was my chance and shouted the spear’s unique skill.
“Thunderburst!”
ZZZZT!
All the spear’s electricity erupted. The discharged spear lost its yellow glow, but the bat’s body crackled with yellow currents, briefly illuminating the mine’s tunnel.
“SCREEEEEEECH!”
A scream unlike any bat’s echoed loudly. Too stunned to follow up, I clung desperately to the trident. Moments later—
Shhh.
The electricity enveloping the bat vanished, leaving only a charred husk. I pushed the trident slightly, fearing it might spring back to life, but—
Whoosh.
The bat’s body crumbled into ash and scattered in the wind.
“Huh?”
Was that it? Did it use some kind of shedding skill to escape? No way a boss monster could die this easily. But bats don’t shed like snakes.
Maybe it was a gimmick with two bosses? Even with an SS-grade lightning weapon tailored to its weakness, killing a boss in one hit seemed…
[Defeated the mine’s first boss monster, ‘Giant Vampire Bat.’]
[Access to the mine’s second zone is now available.]
[Mine time limit increased to 4 hours.]
“It worked.”
I actually did it. I took down the boss I’d been terrified of in one hit.
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
My level shot up, hitting 10 in no time. I’d heard other Awakened spend months grinding gates to reach level 10, but I did it in days. It was all surreal.
“Was it that weak?”
I was dumbfounded. To think I was so scared of such a weak boss. Or… was I just strong? No, it was the weapon in my hands. But since I made it, didn’t that mean I was strong?
Staring in disbelief, I noticed items among the bat’s ashes.
[Giant Vampire Bat Wing Membrane]
[Giant Vampire Bat Fang]
“Good stuff?”
I wasn’t sure, but after browsing the auction house earlier, I knew even mediocre monster materials fetched decent prices.
Used as crafting materials, they could make even better items. I pocketed them and moved to the boss room.
“Are those ores?”
I hadn’t noticed before, distracted by the bat, but the walls were lined with red veins. No golems meant I’d have to mine them myself, but boss room ores couldn’t be ordinary. I grabbed my pickaxe and started digging.
Clang, clang, clang!
Mining in a safe, boss-free mine felt liberating. My backup weapons went unused, but—
“I’ll just list them on the auction house.”
No problem. They weren’t SS-grade since I made them as backups, but they’d still sell well. I planned to list Thunder Fang too—now that the bat was gone, it’d just gather dust.
Clang!
A vein broke open with a crisp sound, revealing red ores.
[Bloodstone]
“Bloodstone?”
Its description mentioned blood-related abilities. I didn’t know how to use it, but boss room ores had to be valuable, so I mined them all. There weren’t many, but enough for a few items.
“Time to head out?”
[Time Remaining: 2:37:12]
“Oh!”
The message about the time limit increasing to 4 hours had taken effect immediately. I was tired from the tension, but I couldn’t waste this chance.
My gaze turned to the end of the boss room, where a path—likely to the “second zone”—awaited.
I’d explore it eventually, but…
“Let’s play it safe today.”
I didn’t want to deal with more monsters. Turning back with a calm heart, I spotted familiar figures.
Clunk.
“Long time no see, buddies!”
I’d seen golems just yesterday, but it felt like ages. With the bat gone, they roamed freely. I swung my pickaxe with gusto.
Clang!!
Crash—
***
After mining, I headed straight to the bathroom, covered in sweat and dust. Usually, I’d rush to save on hot water, but today, I hummed and took my time. The luxury of wealth.
Emerging relaxed, my stiff muscles from hammering and mining felt melted away.
“Money is nice.”
Looking in the mirror, I saw a toned body. I was never fat, but I used to be scrawny with no muscle. Was it my Awakened stats or the days of relentless hammering and mining? I looked pretty decent.
[‘Flickering Ember’ has been sold at auction.]
A notification appeared. The weapon I made to celebrate my anvil, stamped with Vulcanus’s seal, had sold. And the price?
Drumroll!
The B-grade Kitchen Long Sword sold for 7.5 million won, though that was partly because Mir Guild wanted to contact me. This SS-grade weapon should fetch much more. I checked the price with high expectations.
“Huh?”
I rubbed my eyes, thinking I’d misread. Too many zeros.
“One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand… huh?”
No, I miscounted. Too many zeros to process. I calmly counted again.
“Three… hundred million?”
Flickering Ember, a mere level 10 SS-grade weapon, sold for 300 million won—several times my entire net worth. My bank account now held an unreal sum.
Then—
[Buyer Message]
The message from Flickering Ember’s buyer blew my expectations out of the water.
-Hello, Vulcanus-nim!
-This is Bora Nam, a coordinator.
-I was deeply impressed by your items.
–Kitchen Long Sword and Flickering Ember—your first steps feel like those of a giant.
-I’m reaching out, having purchased your item, with a bold request.
-The reason for my contact is…
I’d received scout offers and commissions from Mir Guild, and my page was flooded with similar requests from other guilds. But this message was a first.
It was…
-I want to join your journey, Vulcanus-nim.
“Is this a cover letter?”
For my page—Vulcanus’s Forge. A job application, essentially.
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