Chapter 177: The Army of the Blacksmith

“Did Vulcanus really conquer the Tower?”

“No way, how?”

“But how did he even know about the Tower in the first place? And how did he get inside?”

“I just explained earlier. It all happened because of his awakening ability.”

“But still, how could a Blacksmith possibly…!!”

With this, it was proven that I knew about the Tower.

However, there were still people who couldn’t completely trust me.

They said, how could a Blacksmith like me clear the Tower? 

Wasn’t it more likely that I’d simply found some information about the Tower’s trials through some trick?

As always, the Hunter Association President stepped forward to ask on my behalf, “How did you climb the Tower?”

It wasn’t that the President didn’t trust me.

Rather, it was because he trusted me that he wanted me to prove my abilities to these people.

So, I nodded and decided to show them why I was able to climb the Tower.

“My……”

Assistant.

No, I couldn’t just call them assistants now, not after coming all this way.

“It’s thanks to my soldiers.”

“Soldiers…?”

As people tilted their heads in confusion, I activated the summoning function attached to the Soul of the Blacksmith skill.

At that moment.

My subordinates.

No, my soldiers were all summoned behind me.

“Clank.”

The first to appear were the Production Team.

Normally, my Production Team only wielded hammers for forging, but to put on a show for everyone, they now carried one-handed shields they used in battle.

So, the entire Production Team looked like tanks building a defensive line.

“You called for us, Master.”

Next was the Mining Team.

Pickaxes, shears, axes, and knives.

Weapons that didn’t look suited for battle, but the seasoned aura from the Mining Team was not something to take lightly.

They had actually played a crucial role in the recent Monster Wave.

When facing Monsters of their specialized type, my Mining Team displayed even greater power than the Combat Team.

“We’ve arrived, Master.”

Next was the Combat Team.

EX-grade items.

No, it would be more accurate to say mythical-grade items like Durandal—beginning with Combat 1, equipped as such, the newly expanded Combat Team members appeared one after another, their numbers increased from leveling up during the Monster Wave.

Moreover, most of the people present here were Hunters who had also performed during Gate Burning or the Monster Wave, so they began to recognize my soldiers.

“Huh? Isn’t that the Living Armor from back then?”

“What the… I thought the Vulcanus Hunter hired an alchemist or a dark mage to summon those?”

“No, they’re clearly following Vulcanus Hunter right now…”

“How can a Blacksmith use Living Armor? Isn’t that way too overpowered?”

“Living Armor made from Vulcanus Equipment, at that…”

“More importantly, look at how many there are.”

“My word.”

The number of my summoned soldiers quickly exceeded sixty.

It hadn’t been this many originally, but thanks to the cannon barrage during the Monster Wave and even taking down the Rank 10 Monster, Dokkaebi King, my level skyrocketed.

My explosively increased level now surpassed three hundred, and after the Monster Wave, I’d used the remaining time to further bolster my soldiers.

That’s why I was able to summon so many soldiers now.

With all my soldiers gathered, the people couldn’t help but be stunned.

“Those are all Vulcanus’s soldiers?”

“At this point, isn’t he more of a summoner than a Blacksmith?”

“No, even a summoner couldn’t pull out dozens of elite summons like that. Not even a necromancer.”

“Right, I heard there’s a necromancer among Finland’s Rankers, but even that person isn’t on this level.”

While people whispered among themselves, I confirmed that all my soldiers were summoned and continued speaking.

“And when I challenged the Tower, I was only able to climb alone. That’s how the difficulty was low enough for me to reach the 62nd floor.”

“Ahh……”

People nodded.

They seemed to fully believe me now.

So, I got straight to the point.

“Even if I bring my soldiers, I’m still recognized as a single challenger by the Tower. Thanks to that, I could climb the Tower with ease.”

“Certainly, with a method like that, it would be much easier to ascend.”

“Yes. But now, the rules have changed. You set a party leader, and the party members enter the Tower and challenge it based on the leader’s floor.”

“That’s correct. Right now, with Han Yu-ra Hunter as the party leader, we’ve climbed to the 22nd floor.”

“From now on, I plan to become the party leader. That way, we can challenge the Tower from the 63rd floor right away and save time, don’t you think?”

Indeed.

That was the main reason I had called everyone here.

I intended to take on the role of party leader and recruit Rankers.

There were Rankers in our Vulcanus Guild too, but as far as I knew, the Tower allowed a party of five.

Even if I formed a party with Berserker and Shadow King, two spots would remain.

Of course, it’s not that there’s nobody else to fill those spots.

There’s also Spirit Emperor, the next Ranker, and in our guild, we have aces like Park Sang-hyun and plenty of other Hunters.

But if I was going to form a party to climb the Tower, shouldn’t I gather the best possible members?

Besides, there was a particular Ranker among them that I was aiming for.

If I brought him in, the party’s strength would surge to unbelievable levels.

“Hmm……”

Some of the current party members, including those with Sword Saint, along with a few others, hesitated briefly, but among them, the most crucial figures—

Sword Saint and the Association President nodded first.

“If you do that, we’d be more than grateful.”

“Haha, with your help, Korea could be the fastest in climbing the Tower!”

Sensing a crisis, one of the Hunters hurriedly tried to speak to the President.

“President! But…”

“Can you match the strength of Vulcanus Hunter? Can you surpass the combined might of all those soldiers standing behind him? If not, can you, like Vulcanus Hunter, leap straight to the trial on the 63rd floor?”

“…No, sir.”

“Then be quiet. This isn’t a matter of personal pride, but one of the nation’s—and the world’s—survival.”

“Understood.”

The President immediately silenced him.

Judging by the mood, it seemed this Hunter was the youngest in Sword Saint’s party.

If I became party leader, he’d certainly be dropped, so he must’ve reacted instinctively.

Once things settled, the President asked me, “Do you have any preferred party members?”

“Yes. There are other reasons, but primarily, that’s why I called these busy Rankers here.”

“Haha, you’ll be taking our Association’s pride, the Sword Saint, of course?”

“Of course.”

Sword Saint was naturally part of the plan.

So that was me and Sword Saint, two so far.

“If Cheon Seung-heon is available, I’d appreciate your help as well.”

“Of course. Isn’t it obvious I should join?”

Cheon Seung-heon—known as Cheon Gung—was added.

Cheon Gung was Korea’s best archer.

While my sixty-plus soldiers fought on the frontlines, Cheon Gung’s presence, freely sniping from the back, was essential.

“And the Shadow King.”

“Yahoo!”

Shadow King was an indispensable asset as well.

While my soldiers fought, she could sneak behind enemy lines and finish them off as an assassin.

Plus, Shadow King’s attack power rivaled Sword Saint’s.

No, in the right situation, she could even surpass Sword Saint.

There was no reason not to bring her.

“Next……”

Berserker, Park Kang-chul, glanced at me briefly and turned away.

I had already discussed this with him in advance.

With my soldiers overflowing the front lines, there was no need to bring Park Kang-chul.

“Lee Ga-eul, please. I’m counting on you.”

The key figure I had in mind.

Cheongryong Lee Ga-eul, the guildmaster of Mir Guild.

I had to have him on the team.

If he were an ordinary battle mage, maybe not, but Lee Ga-eul was a support mage.

He could use powerful attack magic, but his real strength was enhancing allies and weakening enemies.

With only five in a party, his abilities might be underutilized, but with over sixty soldiers on my side, adding Lee Ga-eul would show power beyond expectations.

“Understood.”

Lee Ga-eul nodded to my invitation.

Me, Sword Saint, Cheon Gung, Cheongryong, Shadow King.

With these five, the Tower climbing party was set.

Now, a question might arise.

“If that’s all, was there really a need to call all of us here?”

The people I’d invited weren’t just the Hunter Association President and a handful of Rankers.

I had called most of the well-known figures in the Hunter world.

It was only about twenty people, but if I was just recruiting a party, there was no need to call so many.

Of course, the government officials were already more than satisfied.

With Korea’s team suddenly becoming the world’s best, the mere fact that Koreans were at the forefront would help reduce public anxiety.

By now, they were probably racking their brains over how to make the most of what I had said and the current situation.

Meanwhile, I answered those who still looked confused.

“I called everyone here to talk about the upcoming Monster Waves.”

“You know about those too?”

“I don’t know the full details myself, but I know a fair amount.”

The source of information was the Tower’s Gatekeeper.

After finishing the Monster Wave, I went to the Gatekeeper, and since I’d already experienced a Monster Wave, the restrictions were lifted and they told me what they knew.

“Monster Waves occur regularly, about once a week.”

“Wait, does that mean a Rank 10 Monster will appear every week…?”

“Yes, every Monster Wave brings a Rank 10 Monster.”

“My god…”

“So, I’d like to ask all of you to help stop the Monster Waves and the Rank 10 Monsters.”

“Surely, you’re not saying you won’t be helping yourself?”

“No, of course I will. But I’ll need your strength as well.”

“What can we do to help?”

“Do you remember the cannons I used in the last Monster Wave?”

“Of course. How could I forget… Wait, don’t tell me!”

Realizing something, they looked at me, and I nodded, “With enough time, I can make more cannons.”

The cannons had been even more effective than expected.

It took a lot of materials to make shells, but as long as the shells were made from below-S-grade materials, I could make as many as needed.

Thanks to the Gate Burning and Monster Wave, we had a mountain of Monster materials.

“Additionally, I plan to set up defensive walls.”

The Tower was like a mirage—physically unreachable.

However, analysts had roughly pinpointed the starting point of the Monster Wave based on where Monsters appeared.

I planned to build defensive walls centered around those points.

With the full might of the Production Team—

No, with the combined strength of Blacksmiths and Hunters, it was entirely possible.

If we set up enough walls and cannons, defending against the next Monster Wave would be much easier.

“Will you help?”

As I explained my plan and asked for support, everyone present expressed their eagerness and nodded vigorously, “It would be an honor, Vulcanus Hunter!”