Chapter 120: The Forge That Shakes the Rankings

In a way, it was only natural.  

Just a single piece of Equipment transformed the Berserker ranked 4th into the number one Hunter in South Korea.  

No other ranker could help but covet it.  

Even within our Vulcanus Guild alone, we were tackling Rank 8 gates with power far beyond our level, thanks to the Equipment.  

–  Would you like to check them out?  

“Hmm, could you just show me a few of the important requests?”  

– I’ll send them right away.  

I took a look at some of the request details, just in case.  

Most of them were exactly what I expected.  

–  It’s been a while, Vulcanus Hunter. This is Changcheon Guild.  

– The reason for contacting you is to ask if you could craft Equipment for us.  

–  If you could make Equipment for our Guild Leader, ‘Cheongung, Cheon Seung-heon,’ we will give you our Guild’s symbol, a rare SS-Rank material, the Samsog-o’s Feather.  

– Also, if possible, we’re willing to pay any amount to have you craft shared Equipment for the members of Changcheon Guild.  

– The contract details are flexible, so please be sure to get in touch.  

A colossal Guild led by ranker Cheon Seung-heon.  

Changcheon was putting up an SS-Rank material as reward.  

Samsog-o’s Feather, no less.  

It was a coveted material, no doubt.  

SS-Rank materials were notoriously hard to come by, so how Changcheon came to possess such a rare item was a mystery.  

– Hunter Association here.  

–  First of all, congratulations on your growth, Vulcanus Hunter. 

– Please know that our Hunter Association always wants to walk alongside you and support your path.  

– The reason we’re reaching out is to request Equipment crafting for the Sword Saint, Han Yu-ra.  

– If you accept the request, we will transfer to you an SS-Rank material, the Basilisk Scale.  

The Hunter Association was the same.  

I hadn’t expected such a hard-to-get SS-Rank material to come up so readily.  

I know Basilisk.  

It’s an Rank 9 monster that a huge Guild and the Hunter Association had teamed up to take down before.  

It had been quite some time, so I thought the materials would have been used long ago, but apparently they had been kept in reserve.  

Besides that,  

– Royal Guild here.  

– We can provide anything Vulcanus desires.  

One of the massive Guilds, Royal Guild, promised a reward beyond what I had imagined.  

Money was already overflowing, so it was the least tempting offer, though.  

– Vulcanus!  

– Do you remember me?  

– I want to become number one in the rankings too!  

– Pleaseeeee!  

The Shadow King, An So-hee, still sending messages in a tone completely unfitting for her infamous title.  

– Lee Ga-eul here.  

–  I’ve heard about the Berserker.  

– If you have time, could you make a proper staff using the Orb you made before?  

– Please, I’m begging you.  

– If possible, I’d like to request a full set of items, like for the Berserker.  

– Mir Guild will pay whatever it takes if it’s within our capabilities, so please contact me.  

A ranker contacting me under the banner of Mir Guild.  

Cheongryong, Lee Ga-eul as well.  

This was just a handful of the rankers and huge Guilds reaching out.  

Below them, there were countless other crafting requests flooding in.  

“What is all this about?”  

I suppose the impact of making Park Kang-chul number one was bigger than I thought.  

I raised the fourth-ranked Berserker to first place, so naturally Cheongung and Cheongryong, who were originally above Park Kang-chul, thought they could challenge for first place if only they had my Equipment.  

The Sword Saint would surely need Equipment too if she wanted to reclaim the number one spot that was rightfully his.  

– “This isn’t all.”  

“This isn’t all? We’ve already received all these crafting requests; what else could there be?”  

– “We’re also getting Guild membership applications.”

“Wait, I thought you weren’t accepting new members?”  

– “Yes. But applications keep coming in nonstop.”  

And on top of that,  we’re receiving Guild membership applications again.  

Vulcanus Guild was always strictly limited to 100 members since its founding, so there had never been any recruitment announcements.  

I only impulsively suggested recruiting Park Kang-chul because he was a ranker and seemed like he could be a great asset.  

But now, possibly because of his entry, people are sending in applications despite no official recruitment.  

“Who are they?”  

– “Should I limit it to those in the top 100 again?”

“Are there that many?”  

– “Naturally. Starting from Kim Na-ra at rank 6, about a third of the top 100 rankers have applied. Some were already part of huge Guilds but secretly contacted me saying they would quit their Guild and come immediately if called.  

There were almost thirty people just within the top 100.  

If Vulcanus Guild started official recruitment, I bet half of the top 100 would apply.  

“Everyone’s aiming for the Guild’s Equipment, right?”  

– “Yes.”  

It’s already well known that Vulcanus Guild provides shared Equipment to members, and dedicated Equipment to team leaders.  

– “Moreover, Vulcanus, you’re now able to craft Equipment for other rankers, right?”  

– “If they just join the Guild, they’d get full Equipment support and could boost their rank by at least a few spots. No wonder it’s so enticing.”  

“Hmm.”  

Item crafting requests and Guild applications.  

What should I do?  

First, I asked Nam Bora, who effectively manages Vulcanus Guild, for her opinion.  

“Let’s start with the second one first. What do you think about this?”  

– “That’s up to Vulcanus.”  

– “I’m just the representative.”  

“To be honest, I do have some capacity now. I’ve increased the Production Team this time.”  

As my level rose, so did the number of assistants I could summon.  

The first thing I expanded was naturally the Production Team.  

The Mining Team was mining resources fast enough, and even if not, I had the budget to buy materials.  

The Combat Team was four strong and could clear monsters in the fifth zone with ease, so no need to increase them.  

The busiest team by far was the Production Team, constantly churning out mass-produced items under my direction.  

It only made sense to add more members there.  

No matter how many mass-produced items I made, Hunters in the industry always craved my gear.  

Lately, I was even selling items overseas.  

Expanding the Production Team was only natural.  

Thanks to that, my workload had decreased significantly.  

Even if I stepped back, the Forge page would still overflow with items.  

It had become a fully automated production forge.  

Now, my role was just to set specs for mass-produced items occasionally and create special orders for dedicated Equipment.  

– “Does that mean you’re okay with recruiting more members?”  

“If Nam Bora handles it. Honestly, she’s overloaded right now.”  

Nam Bora currently handled nearly everything for Vulcanus Guild alone.  

I asked if increasing members would overwhelm her.  

She answered as if it was no big deal.  

We could recruit administrative staff too.  

“Are you sure? Didn’t you say it was easier to do everything alone last time?”  

– “You can’t keep insisting on that forever. Still, it’d be too much if it happened too fast. How about just two teams at first?”  

“Two teams means recruiting about twenty people?”  

– “Yes. That should be a good start.”  

“Let’s do that. Then, Nam Bora, please take charge of the recruitment. I’ll think about the crafting requests.”  

– “Understood.”  

That settled the matter of Guild recruitment.  

One thing remained.  

“What crafting requests should I accept first?”  

It was time to clear the backlog of requests piling up, enough to flood the Forge page.  

***

[Official: Vulcanus Guild Member Recruitment Begins]  

– Judging by the competition, this looks hopeless. ㅋㅋ  

– Is this really legit?  

– OO  

– Looks like they’re recruiting two teams. Twenty people.  

– Wow! Twenty people? I’m around rank 200, think I have a chance?  

– The previous comment, rank 200? ㅋㅋ That’s a lie, ㄴㄴ  

– Actually, even hunters in the top 100 are applying, so rank 200 is tough.  

– ㅋㅋ  

– Some Guild members who applied to Vulcanus Guild were rejected even from huge Guilds. ㅋ  

Vulcanus Guild had started recruiting members.  

It was huge news.  

The recent rise of Berserker Park Kang-chul to rank one with Vulcanus Equipment was still a hot topic.  

To be able to join that very Guild…  

Just entering Vulcanus Guild practically guaranteed a rapid ranking surge.  

Unsurprisingly, countless hunters were applying.  

– Rankers are going wild rn ㅋㅋㅋ  

– Honestly, mass-produced items are great, but can they compare to Vulcanus’s dedicated Equipment?  

– This is a chance to wear a full set of Vulcanus Equipment.  

– Who wouldn’t be excited? ㅋㅋ  

– Someone just left Changcheon Guild.  

– Just now the news came out that Royal Guild offered an unprecedented contract, but Vulcanus turned down the crafting request. ㅋㅋ  

– Honestly, what does the Royal Guild have besides money? Vulcanus isn’t short of cash.  

– Wasn’t Vulcanus a small Guild until recently? When did it get this big?  

– My little Vulcanus ㅠㅠ  

–  Fact: Vulcanus was never small.  

–  Vulcanus’s Forge was hot from the moment it opened. ㅋㅋ  

Vulcanus Guild didn’t want to cause disputes with other Guilds, so it didn’t accept hunters already affiliated with other Guilds.  

They didn’t want to be accused of poaching.  

But this had the opposite effect.  

Vulcanus Guild was only recruiting 20 members.  

Some members of huge Guilds confident they could get in resigned and submitted applications to Vulcanus Guild.  

Though they had to pay hefty penalties, few rankers found those fees burdensome.  

[Shock: Massive Defections from Royal Guild!]  

[Is Royal Guild Okay with This?]  

[Ko Yeon-woo from Blue Guild Leaves for a Bigger Leap. Could It Be to Join the Vulcanus Guild?]  

Countless news articles reported on this.  

Almost all rankers without a Guild had submitted applications to Vulcanus Guild.  

Even those in Guilds who had confidence or little attachment quickly resigned and applied to Vulcanus Guild.  

Many lower-ranked hunters also applied, believing in Vulcanus Guild’s tendency to value potential.  

One hundred.  

Two hundred.  

Five hundred.  

A thousand.  

Vulcanus Guild’s pool of applicants kept growing.  

The world’s attention was inevitably drawn to Vulcanus Guild.  

And among Vulcanus Guild’s applicants was someone no one had expected.  

“Wow, you didn’t even respond to my crafting request! But you’re recruiting members?”  

A woman in dark clothing, wearing an exquisite mask.  

South Korea’s top assassin.  

The Shadow King.  

The Hunter ranked fifth, known as the Shadow King.  

“Wait, if I join, I get a full set of dedicated equipment too? This is amazing!”  

The Shadow King had submitted an application to Vulcanus Hunter’s Guild.