Hephaestus’s Mine. What would Zone 2 look like? Would it be a dark cave like Zone 1? Or perhaps a shimmering crystal cavern?
“This is supposed to be a mine?”
The passage had no torches, yet somehow, it was illuminated. Everything around was stark white. The problem? This whiteness wasn’t from dirt or stone walls like in Zone 1.
“This isn’t a mine…”
What should I call it? A silk wall? A fiber wall? I don’t know. What was clear was that the entire passage seemed woven from threads and fabric. It felt less like a mine and more like…
“A spider web.”
It looked closer to a spider web. The pickaxe I’d brought, expecting to mine ores, felt almost embarrassing.
“So how am I supposed to mine this? Is there even anything here?”
I swung the pickaxe anyway. Thanks to my ability, I could see where the “veins” were. With the experience I’d gained in Zone 1, I confidently raised the pickaxe and struck.
Thud.
“What the hell?!”
The pickaxe lodged into the fibrous wall. The tangled threads made it hard to pull out. After twisting it free, the wall remained unscathed. Just in case, I tried poking the wall with a dagger I’d crafted as a backup.
Slice.
It cut a little. Apparently, Zone 2 wasn’t meant for pickaxe mining. Reluctantly, I stowed the pickaxe and started slicing the wall with the dagger. “Mining” a wall by slicing it sounded absurd, but what else could I do?
The problem was…
“Argh!”
Even the dagger had its limits. It was made for fighting monsters, not cutting fibers. It was awkward, to say the least. To deal with this ridiculous situation, I pulled out all the ores I’d collected from the golems I defeated on my way up from Zone 1.
“Decompose!”
[Decomposition of ‘Iron Ore’ complete.]
[Obtained Iron Fragment.]
[Decomposition of ‘Obsidian’ complete.]
I’d taken down quite a few golems, so I had a decent amount of ore. The quantity was just barely sufficient. Nodding, I activated my crafting skill.
[Crafting skill activated.]
[Please select the item form.]
The passage was like a tangled bundle of threads—an absurd kind of mine. The item form I chose to tackle it was…
“Scissors.”
Scissors, of all things. I never imagined I’d be crafting scissors in a mine, but it was the best option.
[Please specify the detailed form of the scissors.]
Regular-sized scissors wouldn’t cut it—literally. I envisioned the largest scissors possible, limited only by the amount of ore I had. Big enough to grip each handle with a different hand and operate them.
[Please select the material for the scissors.]
I threw in nearly all the ores I had. Better materials might be available outside the mine, but leaving now meant waiting until tomorrow to return.
Luckily, the materials were decent—sharp obsidian, sturdy iron ore. I poured everything in, and crafting began.
[Crafting initiated.]
Clang!
I swung the hammer with a bit more urgency than usual. With the mine’s time limit ticking and the possibility of monsters appearing, I had to hurry.
They say last-minute cramming sharpens focus, right? My heightened concentration sped up the progress.
[Crafting complete.]
[Obtained ‘Obsidian Scissors.’]
I crafted the item in no time.
[Obsidian Scissors]
Form: Scissors
Grade: S
Restriction: Level 10 or higher
Description: Scissors with blades made of sharp obsidian. Durability is slightly low, but its cutting power rivals that of a master sword.
Attack Power: 100
Abilities:
Obsidian – Sacrifices durability for significantly increased cutting power.
Scissors – Attacking an enemy with a scissor cut deals additional damage on the second hit.
Spinning – Increases the quality and quantity of fibers obtained when using the Spinning skill.
Perfect scissors for this moment. I wondered if I’d need the Spinning skill from the last ability, but…
[Due to the influence of ‘Hephaestus’s Descendant (SSS),’ the Blacksmith class has generated the ‘Spinning’ skill.]
A system message popped up right on cue. That confirmed it.
“So, it’s Spinning, huh?”
Zone 2 wasn’t for mining ores—it was for harvesting fibers. No, for spinning fibers. Calling it a mine might be a stretch, but it was clearly a place to gather fibers, not ores.
Slice!
“Here we go!”
With one snip, fibers fell in heaps. It was worlds apart from laboriously sawing with a dagger. The glossy, razor-sharp obsidian blades cut through the fibers effortlessly.
Slice, slice!
Excited, I kept cutting. At first, I fumbled, as random cuts didn’t open the wall. I experimented with different angles to find the best way to dig deeper. Then, I spotted it—a “vein,” or rather, a fiber vein.
“It’s a different color.”
Unlike the uniformly white fibers, these were varied in color and tangle pattern. The first I noticed was a brown thread bundle, literally tangled like a skein. I snipped it carefully.
[Tough Thread Bundle]
Just like ores dropped from striking veins in Zone 1, thread bundles fell from the wall.
“Whoa!”
Thread bundles instead of ores! As a blacksmith, wearing heavy ore-based armor felt awkward, but with this, I could craft gear better suited to me. I tried decomposing them.
[Decomposition of ‘Tough Thread Bundle’ complete.]
[Obtained Tough Fiber.]
As expected, the fibers refined perfectly, just like ores. Now I could craft items with them. I briefly wondered if fibers required a needle instead of a hammer, but…
“It’ll work out.”
Every material I’d used so far was crafted with this hammer, thanks to the system’s skill. Fibers should be no different. With that, I continued harvesting.
Or was “harvesting” the right word?
Slice, slice!
[Magic-Infused Thread Bundle]
[Translucent Thread Bundle]
The more I cut, the more adept I became. Gripping both handles and snipping might not be “normal” scissor work, but it got the job done.
Soon, I cleared all the threads in the area and stored them in my inventory.
A bit further along, something caught my eye.
Rustle.
A vein visible through my Hephaestus’s Descendant ability was moving. I wasn’t new to this—I knew what it meant.
“Of course, it wouldn’t be any different here.”
Sure enough, the culprit appeared—a golem. Just as Zone 1’s golems were made of ore, Zone 2’s were made of threads, matching the environment.
The difference?
“…It’s pretty fast.”
Unlike the sluggish ore golems in Zone 1, this thread golem was quick. It closed the distance in an instant and—
Swish!
It swung its right arm boldly, despite still being some distance away. The attack shouldn’t have reached me, but instinctively, I raised the scissors in a defensive stance.
You know that feeling when a big guy yells, “Hey!” and raises his hand, and your body flinches? Same thing.
I felt a bit embarrassed for getting spooked, but—
Ding!
Something struck the scissors, and I felt a rebound at my side. Surprised, I looked and saw the thread golem’s right arm, unraveled and limp.
“What the—why’s it so serious?”
I’d assumed it’d be as weak as Zone 1’s golems, but this thread golem was on another level. Fast, with mid-range attacks.
Its attack power seemed low, but without armor, I’d have taken a solid hit. My unarmored body was just that of an ordinary blacksmith.
“But it can’t pierce my armor, right?”
I trusted myself—or rather, the gear I’d crafted. I wasn’t confident in combat, but my armor would block attacks. Instead of running like before—
Dash!
I charged forward.
“You’re just a treasure sack anyway!”
A thread golem? More like a literal loot bag. As I rushed in, the golem swung its left arm, unraveling threads like a whip, but—
Ding!
I ducked to protect my vitals, and my armor blocked the attack completely. I’d made this S-class armor for emergencies, and even though it was lightweight for mobility, it wasn’t flimsy enough to be pierced by thread whips.
“Hup!”
I reached the golem. What attack to use? Simple.
Just as I swung my pickaxe at ore golems in Zone 1, this time—
Slice!
I gripped the scissors tightly. I missed the neck, still clumsy with the unfamiliar weapon, but I severed one shoulder completely.
Even hastily made, these were S-class scissors with top-tier cutting power despite lower durability. Cutting a thread golem was well within their capability.
[Tough Thread Bundle]
[Tangled Thread Bundle]
[Thick Thread Bundle]
As expected, destroying a part of the golem dropped thread bundles, just like Zone 1’s ore golems. The golem tried to swing its remaining arm, but I raised the scissors and—
Slice.
I cut off the other arm. Finishing off the armless golem was easy. More thread bundles dropped.
[Level Up!]
It was just like my first encounter with ore golems in Zone 1. Though thread golems were stronger, my armor’s reliability more than compensated.
“Heh, golem hunting’s still the best for farming.”
In Zone 2, I chose to hunt golems over digging walls.