Chapter 23: A Feast and a Forge

While Park Kang-chul was bursting out in mad laughter for quite a while,

I couldn’t hold back my own laughter either.

“Ahahaha!”

A new number stamped onto my bank account.

Ten billion won? No, it’s twenty billion.

At first, I thought maybe it was a mistake, but according to Park Kang-chul, he liked the Cloak’s performance so much that he sent the extra money as a bonus.

Well, it is a Level 20 Mantle, after all!

It’s an SSS-grade item!

No—this is an SSS-grade item made just for Park Kang-chul.

I guess that’s to be expected.

People with money really do spend big.

To just toss around ten billion won like this…

“What should I order to eat with this?”

My head flooded with all sorts of food.

With twenty billion in my bank account, I could eat anything.

Even the dishes I never dared to look at because they were too expensive!

“Then, it has to be this!”

I opened up the delivery app and pressed a menu I’d never chosen before.

Sashimi.

Honestly, I don’t know much about sashimi.

I’m a chicken expert, but I can’t even tell the difference between flounder and rockfish sashimi.

So, I just picked the most extravagant and expensive-looking option.

“Owner’s Special Assorted Sashimi!”

I picked the set menu, of course.

The large size, with spicy fish stew, abalone, live octopus, sea squirt, shrimp tempura, sushi rice, sea cucumber, and plenty of top shell as sides.

Ding-dong.

It wasn’t long before the bell rang.

What a convenient world.

Even though I ordered from just one restaurant, delivery was this fast.

“Hehe, this is the taste of capitalism!”

Honestly, I’m not sure if sashimi is tasty.

It’s really just the dipping sauce.

But even so, there’s a flavor that only money can buy.

Even though I had breakfast, maybe all that hammering worked up my appetite, because I ate all that sashimi until my stomach was full.

I even polished off the spicy stew before the reality of that twenty billion in my bank account hit me.

“Twenty billion… What should I do with it?”

Honestly, I have no idea.

Even if I suddenly have twenty billion, what would a shut-in like me spend it on?

At most, I’d spend on microtransactions, but these days I’m not even interested in games.

So, even a high-end computer doesn’t tempt me.

I don’t go out, so I don’t need expensive clothes, and food—I’m set for now.

As I mulled over all sorts of possibilities, one thought popped into my head.

“Should I move?”

A house.

With this money, I could move into a bigger, better, newly-built place.

I don’t know the exact prices, but with twenty billion, I could probably live in the same apartments or detached houses as celebrities.

For a moment, I imagined myself rubbing shoulders with famous people, but I flinched and shook my head.

“Nah… That kind of life is too much for an introvert like me.”

Honestly, I’m happier like this.

Living in my own little room, eating whatever I want, and relaxing as much as I please.

That’s the best.

Well, I can figure out how to use the money later.

“Now that I’m full, time to get to work.”

I put on my Work Clothes, grabbed my Pickaxe, and opened the entrance to the Mine.

For some reason, these days, I feel happier going into the Mine, mining ore, and hammering at the anvil than just sitting in a chair playing games.

[You have entered Hephaestus’ Mine.]

I was inside the Mine.

Since I come here every day, it feels more like taking a walk than anything, Golems or not.

And just then, in the distance, an Ore Golem came running to greet me.

“Good to see you too!”

Smash!

I swung my Pickaxe at it, like giving it a high five.

Maybe it’s because my Level went up and my strength increased, but the Ore Golem shattered satisfyingly.

I quickly gathered the scattered ore around me and searched for the next Golem.

“Should I collect more ore today?”

As my production increased, I kept running out of materials—ore and fiber.

For the sake of future work, I needed to gather as much of both as possible.

After checking the Auction House, I realized that while there are plenty of monster materials, there aren’t that many basic ores or fibers for crafting.

I could just use monster materials, but…

Honestly, with nearly twenty billion in my bank account, I don’t have to stick to just ore and fiber.

I could buy whatever materials I want from the Auction House and sell whatever I make for profit.

I could buy giant bones and carve them into weapons or armor,

Or buy monster fangs, string them together, and make necklaces.

Even that would be enough to make some pretty decent items.

But—

“The real fun of the game is leveling up, isn’t it?”

If I did that, I wouldn’t be able to level up.

If I only worked with materials bought from the Auction House, I’d be stuck making low-level gear forever.

It might be popular at first, but over time, the value would drop.

Hunters are always entering Gates, fighting monsters, and growing stronger.

To keep up, I need to grow too.

Blacksmiths like Kang Ho-deok don’t join dungeon raids for nothing.

In reality, the most important thing for me to do here isn’t just gathering materials—

[Your Level has increased.]

It’s leveling up.

When I looked up how Blacksmiths raise their Level online,

None of them could do it as safely, quickly, and efficiently as I could.

Hephaestus’ Mine.

This is truly my broken skill.

“My Pickaxe feels especially good in my hand today.”

After taking down all the Ore Golems I could see,

I passed through the room where the Giant Vampire Bat was and moved on to Area 2.

From here, I switch weapons—from Pickaxe to Steel Scissors.

And then—

“Come at me, customers!”

I shouted energetically.

Hearing my voice, Thread Golems appeared from around the corner of the corridor.

Swish, swish.

I know the Thread Golems’ attack patterns well.

They rush in, unravel the thread on their arms, and swing it like a whip.

A fast and powerful strike.

But unlike before, I wasn’t even wearing Steel Armor.

And yet—

Crack!

I charged at the Thread Golem, covering only my face.

Of course, all the Thread Whips it swung hit my body.

The power of the Thread Whip is enough to easily crush most armor and even tear into flesh and skin.

But—

“Tsk, ‘while working’ it doesn’t work on me.”

My Work Clothes.

The Vulcanus’ Work Clothes set, made up of grades SS and S, all have the “Safety” attribute.

When using Production Skills or performing related actions, stamina consumption decreases and recovery speed increases.

While wielding Steel Scissors against Thread Golems—basically harvesting thread—my defense is much higher than the base defense of the Work Clothes.

So, a Thread Whip can never damage my Work Clothes.

Alright.

I grabbed my Steel Scissors.

Without the cumbersome Steel Armor, my movements were much lighter, and I could reach the Thread Golems much faster than before.

Same with my scissor work.

Without the armor getting in the way, I could open the scissors much wider and cut deeper around the Thread Golem’s waist.

Slice—!

I severed the Thread Golem at the waist.

Tough threads fell to the ground.

I was really glad I’d made these Work Clothes.

Unlike the stiff Steel Armor, it’s so much easier to move.

[Set Effect: Working Hours]

When using Production Skills, the quality and quantity of harvested items increases, and the abilities of crafted products are enhanced.

Thanks to the set effect of the Work Clothes—

[Tough Thread]

[Light Thread]

I got more thread than usual.

Even the rare threads, which used to drop maybe one out of ten, seemed to be dropping more often.

Is this the fun of growing stronger?

Seeing the results of my crafting in real time made me feel so proud.

“Golems, where are you all?”

Normally, after this much, the Golems would start running out.

But the Golems in Hephaestus’ Mine keep spawning no matter how many I take down.

Just like monsters respawning in a game.

Thanks to that, I could fight as many Golems as I wanted.

Two hours passed like that.

I’d mined and harvested more ore and thread than usual, grinning all the while.

But then, a problem appeared.

[Inventory is full.]

[You cannot store any more items.]

“Damn…”

I couldn’t fit any more thread in my Inventory.

It had only been a little over two hours, and there was still plenty of time left!

But if I just left the items, it would be such a waste to abandon them.

I didn’t expect this kind of problem.

“Why is my Inventory so small?”

I grumbled and dumped out everything in my Inventory.

How much could it really be, anyway?

It was just two hours’ worth of items.

But when I poured it out—

Rumble—

“…It’s actually a lot.”

Ore and thread piled up from my knees to my waist.

No wonder my Inventory was full.

With this much ore and thread inside, it’s only natural that my Inventory would burst.

Honestly, it’s impressive I could even carry this much.

“But it’s such a waste to throw it away…”

There was a way.

I could use the Disassemble skill right here.

If I refined the ore and unraveled the thread into fiber, it would shrink in volume enough to fit back into my Inventory.

But—

“When am I supposed to disassemble all this?”

Disassemble isn’t some easy skill that ends with a single swing of the hammer.

To process all this ore and thread would take almost all my remaining time.

As I hesitated, an item from games popped into my head.

“Can’t I make something like a Spatial Pouch?”

A Spatial Pouch.

Usually, it’s a pouch or bag enchanted with spatial magic, so it can hold way more items than it appears.

Thinking back, I remember seeing news about Spatial Pouches while watching Hunter News.

Spatial Pouches definitely exist as items.

If that’s the case—

“Let’s try!”

There’s only one thing left to do: give it a shot.

“Craft!”

[Using Production Skill.]

[Please select the shape of the item to craft.]

“A pouch! No, a bag!”

[Please specify the details of the bag’s shape.]

If I’m making one, I’d rather have a big bag than a small pouch.

For maximum storage, I pictured a huge duffel bag.

[Please choose the material for the bag.]

Here comes the real problem.

Up until now, the material always determined the abilities of the finished item.

But I don’t have any spatial-related items on hand.

Even if I checked the Auction House, it’d be the same.

Spatial items are not just rare—they’re practically never for sale.

So, I had no choice.

“Let’s just try it for now.”

I tossed in whatever materials I had—tough fibers, thread imbued with mana, anything that seemed like it would fit.

[Beginning crafting.]

Crafting started.

Clang!

The more anxious I felt, the faster I hammered.

If I couldn’t make a Spatial Pouch, I’d have to carry all the materials in this bag by hand instead of in my Inventory.

As a thrifty homebody, I can’t bear to lose a single ore I mined or a single thread I harvested!

[Progress: 55%…]

Normally, hammering put me into a meditative state.

But right now, my head was filled with just one thought.

Spatial Pouch!

Spatial, spatial, spatial!

Please work!

Gods, please!

Oh, my ability is called “Hephaestus’ Descendant,” so maybe I should pray to Hephaestus instead?

Hephaestus, please!

“Spatial bag!”

Crack!

[Crafting is complete.]

It was done.

The fragments of points scattered around were absorbed into the bag I’d just made.

And just before the item’s name appeared, another message popped up before me.

[The finished item contains the creator’s wish.]

The creator’s wish?

If it’s my wish, there’s only one thing.

Spatial!

“Please!”

And the result—

[You have obtained ‘Spatial Duffel Bag’.]

“Uwaaaaah!”

The word ‘Spatial’ was written there, clear as day.