Chapter 156: The World Searches for Vulcanus

While I was making Combat 21.

My assistants were taking “maintenance time” according to my instructions.

But since my assistants didn’t actually have stamina or fatigue, there wasn’t much for them to do.

Only the Production Team was busy.

They’d been running around repairing and fixing the equipment of my assistants that got damaged and scratched during the battles so far.

The others were just standing still, receiving repairs from the Production Team.

For my assistants, who don’t have physical fatigue, this was like a healing period, and the Production Team played the role of a healer.

And in that situation—

There were some who misunderstood the concept of “maintenance.”

“Clang!”

Mining 1 swung his pickaxe at the wall.

“Thud!”

Logging Unit No. 1 swung his axe at the wall too.

The Mining Team was swinging their mining tools at the walls and floors of the tenth floor.

What’s the point of this?

This isn’t a mine.

This is the trial area of the Tower.

No way there’d be any ores coming out of a place like this.

That’s what I thought…

“We have discovered a new ore.”

“Huh? Really?”

Mining 1 really brought me an ore.

He’d been swinging his pickaxe the whole time I was crafting.

And now, he actually managed to mine an ore in the tenth floor’s trial.

“This is it?”

“Yes.”

The ore that Mining 1 held out looked extremely ordinary.

Just a black lump of stone.

It was the same kind of rock that made up the walls and floors here.

That didn’t mean the entire wall and floor were made out of this ore, though.

I’d seen earlier—no matter how hard Mining 1 swung his pickaxe, only bits of rock or stone powder fell off.

He hadn’t gotten anything that would be considered a proper item like this.

“Seriously, real ore comes out…?”

A memory suddenly came back to me—something the statue said a long time ago.

When I asked if there was any way to get more Abyssal Stone, he said I’d be able to find similar materials if I entered the Tower.

Up until now, I thought he was talking about materials given as trial rewards.

Could he have meant this sort of thing?

Anyway, what’s important is: what grade is this ore?

With an excited heart, I checked the information of the ore Mining 1 had given me.

[Creta Mountain’s Sealing Stone]

Type: Material

Grade: S

Description: The core that makes up Creta Mountain, created to seal the Minotaur. Contains a powerful sealing force.

“Oh?”

It was S-class material.

It wasn’t SS-class, which was a little disappointing, but just getting an S-class material was more than enough to put me in a good mood.

And—

“Could you get more of this?”

“If you give me time, I believe it’s possible.”

“Good. Bring the rest of the teams with you and try to get as much as you can.”

“Understood.”

That wasn’t the only Sealing Stone.

After getting my permission, Mining 1 took all the assistants and focused on mining, and soon more Sealing Stones started popping out.

The number quickly surpassed ten.

“This is amazing.”

Sealing Stones.

I didn’t know what I’d use them for, but as an S-class material, their usefulness was boundless.

Even if I used them as a disposable material, I could probably make a weapon to seal an enemy.

After mining to the point where the pickaxe wouldn’t go in any further—

“These are all the Sealing Stones we could mine.”

“Great job, Mining 1!”

“I simply did what needed to be done.”

A whole 20 pieces of S-class material.

I managed to get Creta Mountain’s Sealing Stones.

With this much, I could probably build a proper “prison” worthy of the name Sealing Stone.

Not that I planned to lock up and raise monsters or anything, so why would I need a prison?

Anyway, after stashing the materials safely in my Space Pocket, I gave the Mining Team a new order with Mining 1 at the lead.

“Combat is important, but from now on, check each floor to see if there are any resources you can mine. Got it?”

“Understood, Master.”

Materials are important.

In urgent situations, high-grade materials can always be turned into weapons.

“All right, should we move on?”

With the new materials, Combat 21 had been added.

And on top of that, I’d secured more than twenty pieces of S-class material—Sealing Stones.

The reward from the tenth floor was bigger than I expected.

It took a little time, but it would be a waste to stop here.

“Let’s go! We’ll rest after a bit more climbing!”

“Yes, Master.”

“Understood, Master.”

I’d already contacted Nam Bora.

The Tower could appear in reality at any moment.

So I did my best to climb the Tower as quickly as possible.

It might have looked like I was making quick and easy progress, but actually, it took a fair bit of time.

Up to the tenth floor, I could move quickly, but the higher I went, the rougher and wider the terrain got.

So, no matter how fast you cleared the floor, your pace slowed down with each level.

***

Meanwhile—

[SOLD OUT]

The page for Vulcanus’s Forge, which used to showcase an incredible number of mass-produced items, now had just those two words on it.

Sold out.

Ever since the Korean Hunter world stabilized, even Vulcanus Equipment rarely sold out anymore.

But now, Vulcanus Equipment was sold out.

It wasn’t even because the purchase volume had skyrocketed.

Day after day, not a single item appeared on the Vulcanus page.

[Vulcanus bankrupt?]

– It’s already been days and nothing’s been uploaded

– No way;

– I just managed to save up enough to buy Vulcanus Equipment ᅲᅲᅲ

-Come back, Vulcanus ᅲᅲ

-Try looking for used ones

– Right now, the price of Vulcanus Equipment is skyrocketing; plus, since you can upgrade the item level through after-service, used ones rarely come up

– Yeah, if I had a good Vulcanus piece, I’d just keep leveling it up and using it

– Totally irreplaceable, haha

[Vulcanus didn’t get kidnapped, did he?]

– Recently, Vulcanus Equipment was being exported overseas, and even the United States commissioned top-rank gear—there’s been a frenzy.

– Did someone kidnap Vulcanus from one of those places?

– If so, we’re screwed

– Whoa, really?

– How could that be, lol? Vulcanus is still clearly listed on the Korean ranking page, so what’s real, lol

– But isn’t it possible?

-No, if that happened his nationality would have changed, but it didn’t. The System proves it. Nothing is as trustworthy as the System.

– So why is nothing being uploaded?

With all that, not only Vulcanus’s Forge page, but every community was in chaos with news about Vulcanus’s disappearance.

Most skilled Korean Hunters already had Vulcanus Equipment, so demand had fallen a bit, but not disappeared.

And there was no other equipment that could replace Vulcanus Equipment.

So of course, everyone was panicking.

Even those who already owned the gear were worried.

You can’t get by with just weapons and armor.

Vulcanus Accessories were the best in Korea—no, the world.

Even if you completed your weapon and armor set, you needed the accessories to finish the full set.

Armor was already rare and hard to get, and now the supply was completely cut off, so panic only spread more.

In the midst of all that—

[Vulcanus Death Rumor: Is He Alive?]

[Japan’s sudden Hunter Independent Nation declaration—did they kidnap Vulcanus Hunter?]

[Korean Government Confirms ‘Vulcanus Alive.’ But…]

[Where is Vulcanus?]

The rumors among Hunters even became articles written by reporters.

Of course, most of it was nonsense.

They were just empty, clickbait articles to draw in people hungry for news about Vulcanus.

But with those articles multiplying, people couldn’t help but feel anxious.

What if Vulcanus really disappeared?

What if Vulcanus’s equipment never comes out again?

Foreign countries felt the same way.

“Why won’t you allow it! We already have a signed import agreement!”

“The import contract was for a single order, so the next one isn’t covered.”

“If it’s a matter of money, we’ll offer more!”

“That’s not it. Vulcanus cannot currently craft any items, so for the time being, no Vulcanus Equipment can be exported.”

Countries that were importing Vulcanus’s mass-produced equipment—

“Please, we’re begging you! Three SS-Class Materials! We have them all ready!”

“As I said, there’s nothing I can tell you at this time.”

“You made equipment for the United States and France! Isn’t this blatant national discrimination?”

Countries like the United States and France who wanted to commission Vulcanus for L-rank Equipment for their top Hunters—

Everyone was reaching out to Vulcanus Guild and the Korean government.

That made things extremely hectic for the Korean government, and Nam Bora even had to hire Diplomatic Staff for the guild.

Even so, the Diplomatic Staff could do nothing but repeatedly ask for patience.

Especially the United States was relentless.

“Is it true that Vulcanus has been kidnapped?”

“What? No, absolutely not. That’s a baseless rumor.”

“You don’t have to hide it from us. Just tell us, and we’ll mobilize all our resources to find Vulcanus.”

“No, it’s not like that…”

“Japan? China? We’ll use military force or diplomatic pressure if we have to—just tell us where and we’ll go. Are you sure you don’t suspect anyone?”

“It’s really not like that…”

“If it’s difficult to talk, we’ll conduct an independent investigation ourselves for now.”

The United States even offered military support.

The reason was simple.

They wanted to commission another item from Vulcanus.

They wanted to obtain another L-rank item.

Hadn’t America’s top Hunter, Douglas, seen his combat power soar thanks to the L-rank equipment, not even a weapon?

SS-Class Materials might be rare, but for the United States, acquiring them wasn’t out of reach.

If they couldn’t get them domestically, they’d coerce or convince allied countries to procure them.

If they could use this to get more L-rank Equipment?

America, already evaluated as the world’s strongest Hunter nation, would have an even more unrivaled position.

To do that, they absolutely needed Vulcanus’s help.

Now, not only Korea but the whole world was searching for Vulcanus.

“Haa…” Nam Bora had received word from Vulcanus that item crafting would be impossible for a while, but even so, she couldn’t help but sigh.

The government was pressuring her nonstop, asking what was going on.

People kept flooding into Vulcanus Guild, turning things upside down.

She’d never imagined Vulcanus’s influence had grown this much.

Meanwhile, the man himself—

“Wow, this place is insane. I should mark it as a must-try spot.”

Having finished a long round of climbing the Tower, he was filling his Space Pocket with a mountain of delivered food, restocking after a long while.