[Using Crafting Skill.]
After finishing the material processing.
In the remaining time, I immediately began creating a weapon for Cheongryong.
The item I wanted to create for Cheongryong using Myth Creation was…
[Please select the form of the item to be crafted.]
“Merlin’s Staff.”
The legendary archmage and sage from the tales of King Arthur.
It was the staff that Merlin once held.
Of course, this was merely a legend, and I didn’t know what kind of power Merlin’s Staff actually possessed.
But what did it matter?
The Myth Creation ability that Blaze possessed was a power that reproduced items from myths or legends and manifested their strength.
The System would take care of implementing the specific details of its power.
[Materializing ‘Merlin’s Staff’.]
[Please select the material for Merlin’s Staff.]
For the materials, I used the Essence of Nature Magic along with the best wood I had in my possession.
After that, I checked the fulfillment rate.
[Fulfillment Rate: 93%]
[Success Rate: 92%]
Fortunately, the fulfillment rate was quite high.
Only after confirming the future where I successfully crafted it using the White Feather Fan I continued.
[Would you like to begin crafting?]
“Of course!”
“Clang!”
I swung my hammer and began crafting the item.
As expected of an SSS-grade material, the difficulty was formidable.
Lacking sufficient time, I couldn’t finish it immediately and had to call my party members the next day to clear up to the 74th floor before resuming the production.
Since the second Monster Wave would start soon, I had to prepare for that as well.
My days were so busy that I found myself wishing I had a few more bodies.
Fortunately, on the following day.
[Production has been completed.]
[You have acquired ‘Merlin’s Staff’.]
I was able to create the staff exactly as I had hoped.
“Here it is.”
“Thank you, Vulcanus!”
I was able to hand Merlin’s Staff over to Cheongryong.
Tomorrow is the day the Monster Wave occurs.
Therefore, based on this staff, we had to clear as many floors as possible today to weaken the Tower and the Monster Wave.
‘EX-class item, Merlin’s Staff…’
***
Cheongryong, Lee Ga-eul.
He marveled as he looked at the staff he received from Vulcanus.
Even the L-grade staff Vulcanus had previously made for him, the ‘Storm Altar’, was an item that pushed his skills to the limit.
But the Merlin’s Staff he just received was even beyond that.
It was an item with power that seemed to transcend his limits rather than just enhancing his skills.
The item’s power was so immense that he even felt pressured, thinking, ‘Can I truly draw out all the abilities of this item?’
And for good reason.
“The situation is what it is, so it can’t be helped, but…”
“Whew.”
Right now, weren’t the Sword Saint and Cheon Seung-heon looking at him with envy?
It was inevitable.
The materials used for this item were obtained from the 70th floor.
Since he had a weapon made for himself from the materials of a Monster they had all worked together to defeat, such a reaction was natural.
Still, knowing that upgrading Cheongryong’s weapon would be the greatest help for the Trial in the current situation, they both understood.
The Shadow King’s item wasn’t a weapon, but since she already had the ‘Dokkaebi Gamtu’, she didn’t seem to mind.
“I will begin.”
At that moment, Vulcanus’s voice rang out.
Soon after.
[Beginning the Trial of the 75th Floor.]
[75th Floor: Tower Clock Giant]
The trial began.
At the words ‘Tower Clock’ in the trial’s name, the party members’ eyes all turned toward the giant clock tower that stood at the end of the 75th floor.
Since all the trials in the 70s had such buildings nearby, they hadn’t paid much attention to it.
However, looking at the trial name, it seemed the master of this trial was that clock tower.
As expected.
“Rumble—!”
The clock tower began to rise.
The second hand split, the bell tolled, and the clock tower transformed into the form of a giant.
No, rather than a giant, it looked more like a Golem.
Actually, it was a Monster that seemed better described as a giant robot than a Golem.
“Creeeeeak—!”
Like gears grinding against each other, the Tower Clock Giant let out a piercing metallic screech like nails on a chalkboard as it roared and lunged this way.
It didn’t seem to have any particular special abilities.
However, that massive bulk and the stone and rebar that made up its entire body were a threat in themselves.
To this, Cheongryong raised Merlin’s Staff.
-Hummmm.
This was the staff Vulcanus had made for him for this very moment.
If he couldn’t show his true skill here, he would feel sorry toward Vulcanus and the Rankers he had fought alongside.
He would lose all face.
Even if just to save face, he had to show a proper performance now.
“Spring of the beginning.”
-Whooooosh—!
Water began to gather in front of him.
The spell was ‘Spring of the beginning’, a preparatory step before using powerful water magic.
He had clearly used the magic the same way he always did, but the amount of water gathering was enormous.
Even though he had channeled the same amount of magical power as usual, the ‘Spring of the beginning’ had already far surpassed its normal level.
Looking at it, Cheongryong thought, ‘This name no longer suited his magic.This magic was… yes.’
“The sea of the beginning.”
This seemed more appropriate.
The amount of water gathered swelled to the point where it rivaled the approaching clock tower, fitting the magic name ‘The sea of the beginning’.
Immediately after, Cheongryong thrust his staff forward, pointing at the clock tower.
“Rogue wave.”
The water gathered in front of Cheongryong became a violent tidal wave and rushed toward the clock tower.
The scale was so immense that the height of the tidal wave surpassed the massive height of the clock tower.
“Crash—!”
The clock tower’s movement faltered.
It was because it could not move forward against this massive tidal wave.
It was a perfect opportunity, but even so, none of Vulcanus’s party members attacked the clock tower.
This was because they knew well that Cheongryong’s magic was not yet finished.
“Maelstrom.”
The current that had been bashing the clock tower suddenly gathered around it and began to rotate.
Thinking it was a chance, the clock tower tried to escape from the water, but the current had already begun to swirl.
No, it could not escape the ocean current.
Out of frustration, the Clock Tower Giant pierced the whirlpool with various means of attack, but no matter how sharp the attack, one cannot cut water.
Or more accurately, even if it did cut the water, it was meaningless.
Ultimately, the Clock Tower Giant could not escape the whirlpool, and as the speed of the vortex intensified, the giant’s body began to be dismantled.
-Grip.
Cheongryong squeezed his hand that wasn’t holding the staff and said, “Abyss.”
The moment the word meaning the deep sea flowed from Cheongryong’s mouth.
“Crrruuuuush—!”
The whirlpool surrounding the Tower Clock Giant stopped its movement instantly.
Then, it replicated the pressure of the deepest sea, the abyss, and crushed the giant’s body.
The stone and rebar that composed its body were compressed, and the ocean current penetrated deep into the interior of the body where water should never enter.
A moment later.
“Thump—.”
The Clock Tower Giant laid its mangled body on the ground.
It wasn’t dead yet, but the Clock Tower Giant was already in a state of combat inability.
“Will this be enough?”
Toward the smiling Cheongryong, who looked at the Clock Tower Giant with satisfaction.
“It’s satisfying.” Vulcanus answered with a nod.
***
On that day.
Supported by Cheongryong’s magic, which displayed great power against mechanical Monsters, Vulcanus’s party climbed the Tower faster than usual.
Since the Monster Wave would happen tomorrow, they exerted themselves even more than usual to weaken the Tower and the Monster Wave even a little more.
As a result—
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[You have overcome the Trial of the 80th Floor, ‘Iron Machine Castle’.]
[Evaluation Rank SSS]
[You are rewarded with ‘Fragment of the Machine Castle’.]
[The Trial of the 80th Floor has been cleared, weakening the Tower.]
They were able to clear the 80th floor.
Such an incredibly fast clearing speed.
While it was largely thanks to Cheongryong’s water magic working so well against mechanical Monsters, it was a faster pace than expected.
Of course, Cheongryong wasn’t the only one who struggled.
In fact, the higher they climbed the Tower, the stronger the enemies became, to the point where Cheongryong alone could not clear the Monsters.
Because of that, everyone fought desperately against the Monsters, and their minds and bodies were extremely exhausted from the long battle.
‘Fragment of the Machine Castle, huh…’
Again, an SSS-grade material appeared.
Fragment of the Machine Castle.
Literally meaning a piece of the Machine Castle, it was the strongest and hardest part of the castle.
In other words, it was a top-tier, highest-grade Ore, and it seemed like it would suit the Sword Saint’s weapon or Cheon Seung-heon’s weapon well.
Anyway, thinking there might be something worth digging here too, I instructed the Mining Team to mine, and they were able to obtain quite a few SS-grade Machine Fragments.
Machine Fragment.
It felt like a lower-tier material of the Fragment of the Machine Castle, but it still seemed useful in various ways.
“Good work, everyone. Tomorrow, the Monster Wave will happen again.”
“A Rank 10 Monster…”
“It’s all right. Even if a Rank 10 Monster appears, it won’t be as difficult as before. Haven’t we also become much stronger compared to then?”
The climb ends here.
Fatigue had accumulated in everyone, so entering the 81st floor like this was dangerous, and they had to get enough rest to prepare for tomorrow’s Monster Wave.
Even if we climb the Tower, it’s all useless if the Monster Wave isn’t stopped and Earth is destroyed.
“See you all tomorrow.”
All the Rankers left the Tower.
Everyone must have been tired, but they worked hard.
I also returned to my room, but instead of lying on the bed, I took out my hammer.
“Where is there time to sleep?”
I was diligently climbing the Tower, but I was a Blacksmith.
My head was full of items I hadn’t been able to make because I lacked time while climbing.
As a former shut-in gamer, I was someone who used to play games for a day or two without sleeping.
With the body of a strengthened Awakened One, staying up for a day now was nothing.
Besides, unlike the other Rankers, I was a Blacksmith, so I didn’t have to be on the front lines, did I?
No one would complain even if I dozed off a bit in the back.
[Using Crafting Skill.]
“Clang!”
The first thing I made was a cannonball using SS-grade materials.
Cannonballs using materials of S-grade or lower were being mass-produced by the Production Team, but it was difficult to entrust cannonballs of SS-grade or higher to them.
From this point on, I had to make them myself.
I began making cannonballs while swinging my hammer.
Fortunately, thanks to obtaining many good materials in the Tower, I was able to make many cannonballs.
Especially with the ‘Machine Fragments’ mined on the 80th floor, I produced quite a large number of cannonballs.
Naturally, my work didn’t end here.
[Your level has increased.]
I created ‘Myth Creation’ items that would be helpful in blocking the Monster Wave that I thought of while climbing the Tower.
Time was tight, but I couldn’t skip making a weapon using the ‘Fragment of the Machine Castle’.
I was a bit tired, but the more items I made, the more the damage during the Monster Wave would decrease.
“Clang!”
Like that, the sound of iron clashing echoed through my small villa all night long.
If it weren’t for the ‘Absorbing Statue’ I had made in the early days after awakening as a Blacksmith, the neighbors would have come running or the police would have arrived.
“Whew.”
The next day.
It became the day the second Monster Wave would occur.
I had hoped that, against all expectations, the Monster Wave might not happen since the Tower was weakened.
“Rumble—!”
The Tower, standing like a mirage, began to shake, signaling the omen of the Monster Wave.
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