Chapter 128: Forging Alliances and Artifacts

Vulcanus Guild.  

The guildmaster of Vulcanus Guild, Vulcanus Hunter, was famously selective about whom he met.  

Therefore, only members of the Vulcanus Guild came in and out of this building.  

Occasionally, the Hunter Association President or Government Agents visited, but officially, no guests came here.  

Yet, at Vulcanus Guild—  

“Oh? Isn’t that Cheon Seung-heon from Sky Palace?”  

“It really is.”  

“Cheon Seung-heon actually came all the way here?”  

“As expected of our guildmaster!”  

The guildmaster of Changcheon Guild.  

Sky Palace’s Cheon Seung-heon appeared.  

He entered the hall with as relaxed an expression as possible and, guided by a staff member, headed to the reception room.  

A moment later—  

“Th-That’s Cheon Seung-heon.”  

“Cheon Seung-heon? The top magician of Korea, that Cheon Seung-heon?”  

“It’s true.”  

“I heard Mir Guild came too?”  

“What’s going on today? Two guildmasters from the five great guilds showed up?”  

“But to summon the two heads of these massive guilds here—that’s amazing for our guildmaster.”  

“Does this mean we’re finally part of the five great guilds too?”  

“Then who’s left out?”  

“Maybe Noblesse or Royal? Their rankers have been joining our guild lately, so their strength’s weakened a lot.”  

“Well, Team 11 is made up entirely of rankers.”  

“I heard Team 11 is tackling rank 8 Gates all on their own.”  

“When will we be able to do that?”  

“With our current level, going after rank 8 Gates all at once is already impressive. But at this rate, we’ll probably be able to soon.”  

“Of course.”  

Mir Guild’s guildmaster, Cheongryong Lee Ga-eul, arrived.  

Among the five great guilds, Mir Guild and Changcheon Guild were notoriously awkward with each other.  

The two guildmasters—  

“Welcome, Cheongryong.”  

“Glad to see you.”  

They sat facing each other in the reception room.  

The atmosphere was so tense that when a Vulcanus staff member came in to bring drinks, they were so startled by the awkwardness that they set the beverages down and quickly left.  

This was only natural.  

The two were fiercely competing for the fifth position.  

“You look very tired. Are you alright?”  

“You don’t look much better yourself. I hear rank 8 Gates in Korea have all but dried up lately because of you.”  

“I heard Changcheon even flew to a neighboring country to clear a Gate.”  

“All in the spirit of service. It’s called Noblesse Oblige.”  

Though these sounded like ordinary pleasantries, the underlying tension was intense.  

Could either of them feel at ease?  

Sitting across from a rival like this was no easy matter.  

Fortunately, shortly after, Vulcanus arrived punctually, accompanied by a representative, opening the door and entering.  

“This is the first time we’re meeting like this! As expected, you are impressive!”  

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Ga-eul of Mir Guild. I’m still using the orb you made me.”  

At that, Cheongryong and Cheon Seung-heon sprang up from their seats.  

Both tried to speak amicably, wanting to make a good impression on Vulcanus, but Vulcanus’s expression remained unreadable.  

Of course.  

This body wasn’t Vulcanus’s true form.  

Cheongryong and Cheon Seung-heon knew this fact but showed no reaction.  

They understood why the underpowered blacksmith concealed his true identity, and in this situation, the real Vulcanus had no time to fuss over such things.    

Vulcanus sat down.  

His seat was the farthest from the door, placed in the center so he could face both Cheongryong and Cheon Seung-heon simultaneously.  

Yes, it was the seat of honor.  

As Vulcanus took his seat, Cheongryong and Cheon Seung-heon cleared their throats and sat back down as well.  

Immediately, Vulcanus brought up the main topic.  

“As you both know, the reason I called you here is for an item crafting request.”  

Item crafting request.  

The moment those words were spoken, Cheongryong and Cheon Seung-heon’s eyes lit up.  

Come to think of it, this must be a reluctant matter for Vulcanus.  

Thanks to Vulcanus’s items, Vulcanus Guild’s Berserker, Shadow King, and Spirit Emperor currently held the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th ranks respectively.  

If Vulcanus crafted items for Cheongryong and Cheon Seung-heon, their rankings might slip.  

“I…”  

“Wait!”  

Before Vulcanus could continue, Cheon Seung-heon jumped up.  

He took something out from the Space Pocket he brought with him.  

[Samsog-o’s Feather]  

Type: Material  

Grade: SS  

Description: A crystal condensed from the heart of a primal storm that has raged uninterrupted for thousands of years, found at the eye of the tempest.  

“Please take a look at this first.”  

“…What is this?”  

“Samsog-o’s Feather. An SS-grade material discovered in the rank 9 Gate ‘Sunspot of the Sun.’ I brought it because Vulcanus Hunter said he was looking for good materials!”  

SS-grade material, Samsog-o’s Feather.  

It was an incredible offering.  

While S-grade materials were rare, SS-grade materials were almost impossible to purchase even with money.  

Currently, with no rank 9 Gates having appeared, SS-grade materials were the highest grade available.  

And they weren’t just asking Vulcanus to craft something from this material.  

They wanted to trade it to get their own exclusive item made.  

“I know your guild members hold ranks up to 4th place. So, there should be at least one slot left, right?”  

Cheon Seung-heon glanced at Cheongryong as he spoke.  

He was asking Vulcanus not to refuse the request and to at least craft his own item.  

Cheongryong’s expression, however, didn’t change.  

If anything, as if waiting for this moment, Cheongryong took something out of his own pocket.  

“It’s a modest offering, but I brought one as well.”  

“Hmph, at best an S-grade material…”  

“SS-grade material. A branch of the Divine Tree.”  

“The Divine Tree?”  

The Divine Tree was a sacred tree from the Dangun myth and the World Tree.  

A branch from such a tree… no one knew how Cheongryong had obtained such a rare item.  

[Branch of the Divine Tree]  

Type: Material  

Grade: SS  

Description: A sacred tree said to have existed where Hwanung descended from the heavens with his people.  

This was also definitely an SS-grade material.  

Cheon Seung-heon, caught off guard at the fact that Cheongryong brought an SS-grade material, suddenly crumpled his face in surprise.  

The situation had become even more complicated.  

Samsog-o’s Feather and the Branch of the Divine Tree.  

Both were SS-grade materials so rare that even scouring the entire world would hardly yield them.  

Perhaps these were the last remaining SS-grade materials in Korea.  

“Vulcanus Hunter, I implore you!”  

“Please, Vulcanus.”  

The two guildmasters of the massive guilds bowed their heads deeply, staring into the darkness within Vulcanus’s helmet.  

***  

‘How on earth did they get their hands on SS-grade materials?’  

Samsog-o’s Feather and the Branch of the Divine Tree.  

Two unexpected SS-grade materials lay on the table.  

Even after scouring auction houses and contacting the Hunter Association, SS-grade materials were almost impossible to acquire.  

It was astonishing how these two had obtained such precious materials.  

I’d heard about Samsog-o’s Feather beforehand, but the Branch of the Divine Tree?  

Just thinking about it unsettled me before we even got to the main topic.  

But I couldn’t just nod and accept them quietly.  

With more Gates appearing, the ‘Age of Destruction’ the two statues spoke of felt ever closer these days.  

I had to prepare at least some safeguards.  

To ensure these two could properly raid Towers even when the Age of Destruction arrived.  

To ensure they wouldn’t run amok and could protect the world.  

More precisely, to protect myself.  

“I have a proposal.”  

“Please, go ahead!”  

“We’re listening.”  

The two rankers waited tensely for my reply.  

They had once been so formidable that no one dared look them in the eye.  

Now, they came to me carrying SS-grade materials, asking for crafted items.  

I must have grown quite a bit.  

Anyway, I presented them my condition:  “You both must form an alliance with Vulcanus Guild.”  

“Alliance? What does that mean?”  

“An alliance is fine, but as long as the Hunter Association exists, alliances don’t carry much weight, do they?”  

Cheongryong and Cheon Seung-heon tilted their heads at the word alliance.  

They were right.  

Unlike in games, guild alliances in reality meant little.  

Therefore—  

“And I plan to include a ‘Vulcanus Alliance’ clause as an item equipping restriction.”  

“Excuse me?”  

“You mean if we aren’t in an alliance, we can’t equip the items anymore?”  

“Exactly.”  

I planned to include this as an equipping restriction.  

If they weren’t allied with Vulcanus Guild, they couldn’t use the items I made.  

That was the condition.  

If I set this condition, then when the Age of Destruction comes, at least I could prevent the worst case where these two run amok wearing my equipment.  

I couldn’t force them, but I could recommend Tower climbing.  

This was the method I had devised.  

“If you accept this condition, I won’t take the materials as payment but will craft equipment from them.”  

“But…”  

“This is essentially putting a leash on us, isn’t it?”  

Naturally, their reactions were not good.  

This was basically me saying I’d make the items in exchange for holding their leashes.  

I had already expected such a reaction.  

“I have no intention of arbitrarily breaking the alliance or making unreasonable demands. I just don’t want the items I create to be misused.”  

“Still, isn’t this a bit too much?”  

“If the alliance breaks, I’ll refund all the money and materials accordingly.”  

“Hmm…”  

If I were in their position, I never would have proposed such terms.  

But now, I was the one in control.  

If they rejected my proposal, I could just refuse the crafting request.  

Fortunately, the one who made the decision first was—  

“Agreed.”  

Mir Guild’s guildmaster, Cheongryong.  

“What? You’re accepting such conditions?”  

“You don’t have to accept. I’m fine either way. Vulcanus, shall we sign the contract now?”  

“Oh, wait! I’ll do it too! I will! But we must thoroughly review the contract. It has to be exactly as discussed.”  

After Cheongryong’s acceptance, Cheon Seung-heon also agreed to the proposal.  

He knew that if Cheongryong alone got my items, he would be stuck in 6th place with no chance.  

‘That was quicker than I expected.’  

I thought they’d resist more and take longer to decide.  

Thanks to Cheon Seung-heon, things moved quickly.  

Nam Bora brought the contract I had prepared in advance, and the two rankers read it carefully.  

Cheon Seung-heon repeatedly read the contract, uneasy about me holding his leash, while Cheongryong read it once, nodded, and signed.  

“Then, could you start with my item?”  

“W-Wait! That’s not fair! I just finished checking it!”  

The moment Mir Guild and Changcheon Guild, two of Korea’s five great guilds, formed an alliance with Vulcanus Guild.