Chapter 138: Birth of the Behemoth Wall

“Hooah!”

As soon as I stepped out of the Mines, I let out a deep breath.

The Tower’s first floor.

I had thought it would be nothing special since only Slimes appeared, but perhaps the Tower was still the Tower after all?

It definitely wasn’t a place I, a Blacksmith, could clear alone.

Still, the Combat Team fought well.

Every time they swung their swords or unleashed spear attacks, the Slimes collapsed.

The problem, however, was the numbers.

The Slimes kept multiplying at an incredible rate, yet the Combat Team had only four members.

It was far too difficult to reach the dividing Slime’s main body.

So, I decided to add more Assistants as planned.

“I should add more Assistants, right?”

The Soul of the Blacksmith could produce one Assistant every five levels.

Since I’d been consistently clearing rank 8 Gates and auto-farming in the Mines after reaching level 200, I was currently at level 227.

That meant I could create a total of forty-five Assistants.

My current Assistant roster was…

“I’ve been too neglectful of the Combat Team.”

Including Mining 1, 2, and 3, there were twelve in the Mining Team, three per zone.

The Combat Team had four members, each specializing in Sword, Bow, Spear, and Magic.

The Production Team, which had expanded to fourteen members lately due to demand from various countries for my items, was responsible for crafting.

Adding in Guildmaster 1, who was stationed at the Vulcanus Guild,

“That’s thirty-one Assistants total. Leaving fourteen spots open.”

Since the monsters in zone 5 were already being handled well by the current Combat Team, I hadn’t felt the need to reinforce it before.

But now, it was time to strengthen the Combat Team.

Having made up my mind, I would fill all fourteen remaining spots with Combat Assistants.

There’s an old saying: saving too much only leads to trouble.

Though unlikely, there might come a point when just one extra member could make the difference between life and death while climbing the Tower.

“Fourteen, huh? This is going to take some effort.”

Creating a Combat Team to fight alongside me in the Tower.

This task couldn’t be delegated to the Production Team.

I felt sorry for the Production Team, but their skills still hadn’t caught up to mine.

Since these Combat Assistants would need to climb the Tower with me, I planned to craft each one carefully with my own hands.

“So, how should I create them?”

I needed to make fourteen Assistants.

It was a tough decision.

Until now, the method for making Assistants had been simple.

For the Mining Team, just handing the right tool for each zone was enough—pickaxe for zone 1, scissors for zone 2, axe for zone 3, and a butcher’s knife for zone 4.

The Production Team was split between dismantling and crafting, but essentially they just wore work uniforms and held hammers.

The Combat Team, however, was different.

Not by intention, but…

Number 1 was a swordsman, Number 2 an archer, Number 3 a spearman, and Number 4 a magician.

Each Assistant had a unique personality.

Because of this, their weapons and combat styles weren’t unified, but I actually liked it that way.

Since the roles weren’t uniform, a wider variety of strategies and tactics could be employed.

This wasn’t just my guess—it was advice I’d received from the two Statues.

So, I resolved to keep making the Combat Team members in various forms going forward.

“If possible, it’d be better to create the next Assistants with different specialties as well.”

Then, what should number 5 be?

We already had swordsmen, archer, spearmen, and magician.

Who should come next?

While pondering, the Korean rankers suddenly popped into my mind.

“Archers and magicians already exist, and there’s a swordsman too…”

There’s Cheongryong and Cheon Seung-heon.

An archer and a magician already in the Team.

As for swordsmen, there’s the ranked #1 Sword Saint, Han Yu-ra.

But Han Yu-ra’s combat style differs somewhat from Combat 1.

I’d heard she could wield both swords and sabers, but her main weapon right now was the ‘saber,’ wasn’t it?

“That’s not bad.”

A swordsman who uses a saber rather than a sword, unlike Combat 1.

That’s fine.

Other concepts were just as good.

Park Kang-chul of Vulcanus Guild, who was fiercely competing in the rankings—a berserker.

His combat style of wielding a greatsword as lightly as a dagger wasn’t bad either.

Creating an assassin-type Assistant like the Shadow Assassin wouldn’t be a bad idea.

While I couldn’t summon spirits like the Spirit Emperor, I could give an Assistant a staff made with spirit stones to use ‘Spirit Magic’ at least.

Well.

“What, the rankers are just an idea box?”

No need to look far away.

Just looking at the Hunters in the rankings.

Or even just among the Vulcanus Guild members, ideas sprung endlessly—from the first team leader who wields claws to the second who uses a scythe.

Just replicating those fighting styles would be enough to quickly complete the Combat Team.

“Alright.”

As soon as I made up my mind, I jumped into crafting.

[Using Crafting Skill.]

The first Assistant’s weapon to make was, of course…

[Please select the form of the item to be crafted.]

“A shield!”

A shield.

Well, is a shield even called a weapon?

Anyway, the reason I chose a shield was simple.

All the current Combat Team Assistants specialized in offense.

To balance the Combat Team, I needed a ‘tanker’—someone who could block enemy attacks, as they call it in games.

Originally, there should be a healer as well, but since my Assistants weren’t flesh and blood, they didn’t really need healing.

If anything, I was the healer.

If an Assistant got damaged, I’d have to repair it with hammer strikes.

[Please specify the detailed form of the shield.]

I chose a tower shield.

I could make more tankers in the future, but for now, I wanted to create a single shield big enough to block as many attacks as possible.

Among the shields I knew, the largest was a great tower shield.

[Please select the material for the shield.]

The presence of a tanker was important.

So I wanted to craft the best shield possible.

Ideally, a Legendary-grade one.

To do that, I needed SS-grade materials, and the ones I currently had were…

[Necroplasm’s Tendon]

[Necroplasm’s Membrane]

These two materials were all I obtained from defeating the hidden boss monster guarding the forge entrance in zone 4.

Tendon and membrane.

At first, I thought neither would be suitable for a shield.

But then I thought, ‘No, shields are often covered with leather, aren’t they?’

So it might work after all.

Leather shields are generally underestimated, but when reinforced with leather, they can outperform normal shields.

Of course, that comparison is usually to wooden shields, but even the legendary ‘Aegis Shield’ is said to be made from goat leather.

Though leather and membrane are different materials, Necroplasm’s membrane was tough and resilient.

It could definitely serve its purpose well.

“Alright.”

I combined Necroplasm’s membrane with some sturdy ore I gathered from zone 1.

Since I planned to make a large shield, I needed a lot of ore.

Wanting to make a great shield, I even added some Adamantium recently mined by Mining 1.

Then, my hammer struck down.

“Bang!”

Each point of impact melted the ore bit by bit, shaping the shield.

The massive tower shield gradually took form, and my small, precious studio felt as if it were shrinking.

“Bang!”

After the basic shape was complete, I began layering the Necroplasm’s membrane onto the shield’s surface.

Despite being Necroplasm’s membrane, it didn’t feel dirty or creepy.

Its deep red sheen added rugged charm to the rough shield.

However, the shield was so big that simply covering it with leather felt plain.

So I added a bit of flair.

I engraved the Vulcanus Guild emblem large and proud at the center.

This wasn’t to imbue it with any personal power.

It was simply because Combat 5 would be the frontline shield bearer for the Combat Team, so it needed a symbol.

“Bang!”

My hammer continued to fly.

Maybe it was thanks to recently succeeding in ‘Myth Creation’ when I made the White Feather Fan?

Even though I was processing SS-grade materials aiming for a Legendary item, it didn’t feel too difficult.

In fact, the crafting speed seemed much faster.

As the pace picked up, so did my enjoyment, and I hammered away without pause.

[Crafting complete.]

[‘Wall of the Behemoth’ acquired.]

Huh?

The shield was complete.

Because it used Necroplasm’s membrane, the name sounded a bit off, but names weren’t what mattered.

Hoping it was Legendary-grade, I checked the item details.

[Wall of the Behemoth]

Form: Shield

Grade: L (Legendary)

Requirement: Level 225 or higher

Description: A living shield crafted by Hephaestus’s Descendant, reinforced with Necroplasm’s membrane to create the ultimate shield bearer’s weapon.

Defense: 5,500

Abilities:

1. Shock Absorption – The thick and tough membrane absorbs and disperses damage.

2. Regeneration – The shield’s surface continuously regenerates. Even when completely destroyed, it consumes the user’s mana to restore itself.

3. Hyper-regeneration – The more damage taken, the shield’s surface regenerates excessively, thickening the outer layer and increasing damage reduction.

4. Reflux – When accumulated damage on the shield’s surface reaches a threshold, the damage ‘refluxes’ back, harming the attacker.

5. Overgrowth – The shield instantly triggers explosive overgrowth by using accumulated damage as nourishment, blocking area damage.

“It’s done!”

As expected, another Legendary-grade shield was crafted.

Now, with the right SS-grade materials, making L-grade items would be a breeze.

Well, it would still take some time and finding proper SS-grade materials wasn’t easy.

In any case, since I had to use the Soul of the Blacksmith, the shield alone wasn’t enough.

So I continued crafting equipment.

Since the remaining membrane wasn’t enough to make a full item, I divided it bit by bit across the armor set.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t make Legendary-grade armor, but using SS-grade materials meant everything became SSS-grade armor.

Layered over the strongest plate armor, the membrane reinforced the whole set.

I made the armor size the largest I’d ever crafted, even bigger than the bulky Park Gang-cheol.

The armor’s effects all revolved around defense and regeneration.

Just the way I wanted.

[The Soul of the Blacksmith stirs.]

[Please give a name to the Soul of the Blacksmith.]

“Combat 5.”

[The Soul of the Blacksmith has been named ‘Combat 5.’]

I used the Soul of the Blacksmith skill on the crafted items.

Wearing heavy plate armor, Combat 5 rose with a clanging sound.

It was so massive that its head touched my studio ceiling, forcing it to bow.

It lifted the huge shield with ease.

This newly created Combat 5

“Master.”

Kneeling on one knee, bowed its head to me.

But this was only the beginning.

I planned to create thirteen more Combat Team members, completing my very own ‘Vulcanus Army’—named after Blaze’s ability, ‘Army of the Volcano.’