Chapter 101: Vulcanus’s Global Ascendancy

“Wow, you use it well.”

Jeon Ji-min.

She wielded the whip I crafted far better than I had expected.

No matter how good a weapon is, it always takes time to get used to it at first.

Especially since ‘Deepsea Shackle’ isn’t a simple ability, I had predicted it would take quite a while for her to adapt.

But after finishing her weapon’s adjustment at the first rank 6 Gate and immediately taking down an rank 7 Gate, her progress was truly remarkable.

“I’ll bind it!”

“Crack!”

– “Pierce!”

The strategy for the rank 7 Gate was steady as well.

She couldn’t electrocute all the monsters at once like she did at the rank 6 Gate, but the whip and electricity she wielded were incredibly efficient for binding and paralyzing enemies.

Using ‘Jaws’ and ‘Wave’ to restrain the foes.

Sending electricity through to paralyze them.

Right after that, the team would unleash a barrage of attacks to finish off the monsters.

Thanks to this, even at the rank 7 Gate ‘King of Urul Mountains,’ they were steadily taking down ogres.

She struggled a bit, but at this rate, as long as she picked rank 7 Gates with favorable matchups, they could continue their clearances without issue.

If she kept growing like this, she would easily handle other rank 7 Gates too.

“It feels rewarding.”

Is this what it’s like to raise a child?

‘Although I’ve always been single,’ I couldn’t help but have that thought.

– Heeheehee…

Watching Jeon Ji-min grin eerily as she fondled the whip made that thought quickly vanish, though.

“Since we’ve worked, let’s eat now!”

I laid out a big meal after a long time.

Well, technically all of it was delivery, but still.

Every time the table was filled with delivered food, I thought, so this is why I earn money.

To live a life where I can do what I want, eat what I want, and rest when I want.

Is there any better life than this?

“Oh, the food of this place is delicious. I’ll bookmark it.”

When I came back after hearing stories about the Tower or the Destruction Chronicle, my appetite dropped instantly.

But after working a bit, that thought disappeared completely.

Maybe it’s escapism, but I can’t just keep sulking forever, can I?

I’ll find some good way soon enough.

Though I absolutely have no confidence going into the Tower.

“Slurp.”

Just as I was finishing my meal.

– Vulcanus-nim.

A message came from Nam Bora.

Since she had been late to reply many times before, I responded immediately this time.

Then.

– The Hunter Affairs Officer wants to thank Vulcanus-nim and would like to visit the Guild. How should we respond?

“Again?”

I heard the now-familiar news.

Hunter Affairs Officer, Diplomat Jeon Goeun.

At this rate, I wondered if they were treating Vulcanus Guild like a rest stop.

Letting out a quiet sigh so the System Call wouldn’t pick it up, I made a quick decision and replied.

“Just have them send a System Call.”

– Is that okay with you?

“It seems trustworthy enough, right? A System Call is no problem.”

– Understood. I’ll inform them.

They weren’t visiting for the first or second time either.

Going into the guild master’s avatar to meet in the reception room was annoying.

Isn’t a Hunter Affairs Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs supposed to be busy?

I had no idea why they kept coming by so often.

To save time on both sides, I told them to use the System Call.

Not long after, I received contact from her.

Since she was also an Awakened, like a proper Hunter Affairs Officer, it was possible.

– Vulcanus Hunter-nim.

“Yes.”

– First, I would like to extend my gratitude. Taiwan has shown far more concessions and consideration than expected.

– Also…

Flowery words followed.

It sounded nice, but felt a bit too much, so I cut it off.

Then she delivered new news.

– Vulcanus Hunter-nim, you don’t have to accept this, but… other countries have also placed equipment production requests.

“Which countries?”

– Well…

The Hunter Affairs Officer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jeon Goeun, hesitated before speaking.

– In total, requests came from twenty-five countries.

“Twenty-five countries?”

– Yes. If I list them in order: Spain, United Kingdom, Finland, Saudi Arabia…

Various country names poured out of Jeon Goeun’s mouth.

From famous well-known countries to some I had never heard of.

These were additional requests on top of existing ones, so altogether the number of countries requesting had reached about forty.

– Lastly, the United States has officially requested as well.

“Isn’t the Gate Burning over in the United States already?”

– Yes. But this is not for Gate Burning, it seems to be for verifying Vulcanus-nim’s skill and further strengthening their combat power.

Also, the United States, which unofficially requested item production before, has now formally sent a request.

The production requests from various countries increased rapidly.

And it didn’t stop there.

Japan and Taiwan, with whom contracts had already been finalized, also cautiously contacted me, asking if they could place additional orders.

‘What is this…’

It’s not like these are my only requests.

I’d been ignoring some because I was busy with important missions, but even just the requests piling up in Vulcanus’s Forge were considerable.

Recently, even Rankers who had already received equipment from me were sending reorders.

And now, requests from foreign countries piled up like this.

My head was spinning.

“You don’t mean I’m supposed to accept all of them, right?”

– As I told you before, you can ignore all of them if you want. Honestly, as part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I want to ask you, but we always prioritize Vulcanus-nim’s opinion.

Thank goodness.

If they told me to accept all these requests, it would be hopeless.

It takes several days to handle just Taiwan’s orders.

If I accepted all of these now, it’d take at least four or five months.

And would it end there?

No way.

If I faithfully carried out these orders, new ones would definitely keep coming in.

“My time is limited, but you said it yourself before, right? National security comes first.”

– Of course.

“Then for the time being, I’ll focus on Korea’s matters.”

Other countries are important, but the most important is my own.

And me.

The stronger Korea becomes, the safer I’ll be.

Soon, all Vulcanus Guild equipment will need upgrading, and other Hunters’ requests are also piling up.

I don’t have the time or leeway to simply accept foreign orders.

“So can I just consider that I’m rejecting all other orders?”

I hesitated for a moment.

It wasn’t that I had no time to reject them all.

But I no longer needed money.

I already had more than enough.

What I needed now was…

“Let’s change the terms. I’ll accept minimal payment in cash, but instead, I want monster materials in return. Ideally S-class or higher.”

– I understand. I will notify the countries and present the revised terms.

Monster materials.

High-grade monster parts necessary to forge more powerful equipment.

Since the System Auction House operated only within Korea, buying materials from other countries was difficult.

‘Now that you mention it, I should ask the Hunter Association to arrange some material trades.’

Trading overseas monster materials is only possible through the Hunter Association.

There are illegal methods, but that’s not something I can do from my room.

Luckily, the association head was quite favorable toward me, so as long as I had money, it shouldn’t be a problem.

A little later.

– Vulcanus Hunter-nim, I have updates from the first contacts.

Jeon Goeun, the Hunter Affairs Officer, brought revised proposals.

First, the Netherlands.

Like Taiwan, they requested equipment to defeat sea monsters and promised to hand over all materials from the defeated monsters.

– Personally, I don’t recommend it. The sea monsters there aren’t very strong. The materials will probably be at most A-rank.

“Is that so?”

Second, Greece.

They requested equipment to take down monsters occupying Mount Olympus.

The monsters were quite strong.

If we supply equipment, they’ll transfer all the monster materials, and additionally, the Hunter Association will provide S-class materials.

– I recommend this request. From what I’ve heard, the monsters in Mount Olympus are tough, and Greek S-class materials are higher quality than those from other countries.

“Oh.”

Other countries also sent revised requests for Vulcanus Equipment, one after another.

I filtered out countries with poor rewards.

And ones I personally didn’t like.

After that, only a few interesting countries remained.

“Could you give me some recommendations here? I can’t do it immediately, but I’ll work on it when I have time.”

– Thank you! Vulcanus-nim!

Honestly, there was nothing to thank me for.

For me, this was a great opportunity to get high-grade materials not available in the mines.

***

Not long after Vulcanus began seriously accepting equipment orders.

– The highest mountain in the Hellenic Republic, Mount Olympus, which had not been retaken despite support from international Hunters, has finally been reclaimed!

The commander of the Mount Olympus retaking operation said that the success was due to the Greek government’s full support and the equipment provided by the Korean blacksmith, Vulcanus Hunter…

Greece reportedly expressed their gratitude by presenting the ‘Keryneian Hind’s Horn’—which had been kept in the national treasury—to Vulcanus Hunter.

Vulcanus’s name began appearing not only in Korea but in world news.

– It has become a hot topic that Germany requested Vulcanus Equipment.

Germany has long been renowned as the world’s top craftsman nation, developing and producing Hunters’ equipment with world-class technology.

– Some speculate this incident might mark Germany’s fall from the top rank…

– The remaining monsters in the jungles of Vietnam have been completely eradicated.

– Vietnam also received support with Vulcanus Equipment, and their combat power has reportedly risen sharply.

– In particular, it has been revealed that the weapon supplied to Vietnam was a Bow, sparking questions about the limits of Vulcanus Hunter’s capabilities…

– Saudi Arabia will never forget this favor.

– We will deepen relations with Korea further and, in that spirit, adjust tariffs…

Truly, Vulcanus’s name was being spoken about all over the world.

Though the number one blacksmith in Korea was still Kang Ho-duk’s Forge.

In truth, even that was precarious.

Vulcanus, rapidly growing, was already producing level 250 items.

Rumors were spreading widely that it wouldn’t be long before he claimed the top spot in blacksmithing.

Actually, the mental number one in people’s minds had long since changed.

[These days, news is always about Vulcanus, huh?]

– National pride overdose. Haha.

– I’m already past the lethal dose. Haha.

– Died from national pride!

– Lolol

– This is true patriotism~.

– These days, even overseas news is crazy about him. Haha.

[The generation has changed.]

– Kang Ho-duk is fading, and Vulcanus is rising.

– In fact, Vulcanus is practically number one already. Haha.

– Ox

– If you argue, Kang Ho-duk~

– But the item quality, production speed, and quantity of Vulcanus’s work are just unreal.

– Lolol Now even ordinary upper-tier Hunters can be fully equipped with Vulcanus gear.

– He’s about to reach Ranker soon, right?

– If Rankers arm themselves with Vulcanus equipment, ᄃᄃ;

– Crazy crazy crazy!

The community was abuzz with talk of Vulcanus.

At the center of this chaos,

Vulcanus, the owner of Vulcanus’s Forge, was swinging a hammer in his room.

– Vulcanus-nim.

“Yes?”

– There’s a request to meet Vulcanus-nim.

I received a message from Nam Bora.

“Please tell me it’s not the Ministry of Foreign Affairs again.”

– No, not the Ministry of Foreign Affairs…

Not the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Nor the Hunter Association, it seemed.

I wondered who had contacted us for Nam Bora to be this troubled.

And the answer was.

– Kang Ho-duk’s Forge.

The number one blacksmith in Korea.

Kang Ho-duk’s Forge.