[Dragon’s Gold]
Type: Material
Grade: SSS
Description: Legendary gold created over a long period by the aura of an ancient gold dragon that guarded it.
An SSS-grade item had appeared on the 85th Floor.
I was surprised when an SSS-grade material appeared on the 80th Floor, but for another SSS-grade material to appear on the 85th Floor—which was considered a sub-boss level trial—was unexpected.
It was good, certainly, but a thought occurred to me, ‘Does that mean the trials have become that much harder?’
Then again, since SS-grade materials had appeared as rewards in the previous trials of the 80s, it would have been weirder if an SS-grade material appeared again on the 85th Floor.
I was happy to receive SSS-grade material, and since this was our first hunt, I felt like climbing the Tower even more.
However…
“I’ll call it a day here,” I said.
“What? We’ve only cleared one floor,” someone replied.
“I need to prepare equipment for the newcomers who joined us today.”
“Ah…”
I couldn’t just keep going.
Though I had them participate in the battle on the 85th Floor, it was only to verify the potential of the new members.
To clear the trials ahead, I needed to provide them with proper equipment.
Even if it wasn’t an L-rank set, I felt I had to provide at least an SSS-grade equipment set to feel at ease.
While Douglas already had an SSS-grade set and even one L-rank item, the Lightning Caster and the Saintess did not.
“I’ll announce the schedule later, so please go ahead and rest.”
“No, we can’t just rest. Everyone is already in Korea, so let’s gather at the Hunter Association. We can work on strategies and practice our coordination.”
“Understood.”
“I agree!”
“If we’re going to practice coordination properly, wouldn’t the area around the Tower be better than the cramped Hunter Association? That area is already in ruins anyway.”
“That sounds good. Then let’s meet in front of the first wall surrounding the Tower.”
“Yes!”
“Will do.”
“Huhu, the first one to arrive will obviously be me, Douglas.”
The party members didn’t seem to have any intention of resting idly.
I nodded at their enthusiastic display.
After seeing them all out…
“Mining Team.”
“Yes, Master.”
I immediately summoned the Mining Team.
I then began mining the resources of each floor that I hadn’t been able to focus on while clearing the Tower in a party.
While the materials weren’t as good as the trial rewards, I could still mine SS-grade items if I was lucky.
As proof, just now on the 85th Floor…
“Master, I found this.”
“Oh, Dragon’s True Silver?”
I was able to find a material that looked like a lower-tier version of the Dragon’s Gold I received as a reward.
Its grade was a staggering SS.
This was enough to create a set of armor for Douglas.
I continued to visit the previous floors I hadn’t mined yet, obtaining more useful materials.
“This should be enough, right?”
After gathering all the resources, I returned to my room.
By making the Mining Team work across all the locations I hadn’t visited yet, I had obtained more materials than I expected.
As soon as I returned, a message from Nam Bora arrived.
– “Vulcanus.”
– “News that the United States is supporting Korea has spread, and other countries are sending additional support.”
– “I will send all the materials they’ve provided to you, so please check them.”
“They were hiding things like this until now?”
Along with her message, the materials were transferred.
Most were S-grade or below, but quite a few SS-grade materials were visible among them.
To have this many SS-grade materials… just looking at them made my heart feel full.
“Shall I start preparing right away?”
After finishing a meal, I immediately took out my hammer.
I was a bit tired, but wasn’t this an emergency?
Every minute and every second was precious.
The other party members were likely gathered and practicing their teamwork right now, so I also began my work as a blacksmith.
[Using Crafting Skill.]
“Klang!”
The first thing I made was the Berserker’s equipment.
Since the weapon was already L-rank, and I had something else in mind for an EX-rank weapon using the Dragon’s Gold, I only crafted new armor.
Because I had gathered quite many materials, I continued to swing my hammer while combining them appropriately.
[You have equipped the full ‘Berserk’ set (6/6).]
[The ‘Berserk’ set effect is activated.]
[Set Effect: Blood Frenzy]
Attack power, attack speed, critical hit rate, and critical hit damage increase in proportion to the damage taken, and a portion of the damage dealt is recovered as HP.
I was able to complete all the Berserker’s armor.
Since the user had great strength, I made it out of heavy plate armor, but I designed it to interfere as little as possible with the Berserker’s free movement.
As a result, there were many exposed areas, but the item effects were functioning properly.
Besides, the Berserker class required shedding a moderate amount of blood while fighting anyway, so it didn’t seem bad.
I felt a little sorry for the Berserker… but that’s just how the class worked.
[Using Crafting Skill.]
Next, I began crafting the Spirit Emperor’s equipment.
The materials used here were the ones mined from the 80th Floor, where the Arch Lich had appeared.
Since the Arch Lich had been there, most of the materials were related to death, so I started by purifying and refining them.
Once purified…
This kind of material was created.
[Wandering Soul]
Type: Material
Grade: SS
Description: The soul of a nameless individual who was summoned by an evil person, but their evil power has been purified, leaving only spiritual energy.
A material related to summoning and souls.
It seemed like the perfect material for making the Spirit Emperor’s equipment.
Honestly, I wanted to use materials related to spirits, but such materials were extremely rare.
Even now, in a situation where almost every SS-grade material in the world had fallen into my hands, I only saw one material related to spirits.
Thus, after scattering the spirit material over the ‘Wandering Soul’ to imbue it with aura, I crafted the full set of armor for the Spirit Emperor.
[You have equipped the full ‘Soul Summoner’ set (6/6).]
[The ‘Soul Summoner’ set effect is activated.]
[Set Effect: Soul Tranquility]
The number of summons increases by one, and the stats of the summons increase.
Fortunately, the summoning-related effect I wanted appeared.
Each piece of armor also possessed the ability to strengthen the summons.
In particular, it included an effect that transferred a portion of the damage taken to the summons, so even a sudden surprise attack wouldn’t cause a major problem.
“Next is…”
It was time for the newcomers from other countries.
With everything mined from the Tower, what I already had, and the many materials sent by other nations, it seemed I could manage to make everything.
[You have equipped the full ‘Blasting Lightning’ set (6/6).]
[The ‘Blasting Lightning’ set effect is activated.]
[Set Effect: Blasting Lightning]
The attack power of lightning magic increases, and casting speed becomes faster.
The Lightning Caster, Chai Lin.
I made it with a simple effect that strengthened lightning magic.
Isn’t there a saying that simple is best?
Rather than haphazardly attaching long, mediocre effects, a simple effect that strengthened lightning magic suited Chai Lin best.
After all, Chai Lin would play the role of ‘DPS’ in our party as a lightning mage.
[You have equipped the full ‘Vast Blessing’ set (6/6).]
[The ‘Vast Blessing’ set effect is activated.]
[Set Effect: Vast Blessing]
The range and effect of buff skills increase significantly.
This was the Saintess’s equipment.
It was quite difficult to make because I had to spread holy energy across all the materials.
If it weren’t for the holy-attribute materials obtained from Zone 2 of the Mines, it would have been hard to complete the Saintess’s equipment.
Normally, it might be better to focus on elements like recovery or holy attacks, but from what I saw during the last hunt, her most powerful skills were the buffs.
As for recovery magic, there were fewer than ten Hunters to heal anyway.
In contrast, the number of people to buff easily exceeded several dozen when including my soldiers.
Though the Saintess was swinging her staff diligently, her attack power wasn’t particularly noticeable unless the enemy was an Undead or a dark-attribute monster.
Therefore, I created this type of set effect to maximize her buff skills.
“Now for the grand finale.”
[Using Crafting Skill.]
The last one remaining was, of course…
[Please select the type of item to craft.]
“Helmet.”
[Please set the detailed shape of the helmet.]
It was time to make the equipment for America’s number one ranker—the Hunter once called the strongest in the world beyond even Korea—Elvin Douglas.
The material to be used was, naturally…
[Please select the material for the helmet.]
“Dragon’s True Silver.”
I used the SS-grade material mined on the 85th Floor, Dragon’s True Silver.
I had enough of it, and it seemed perfect for general use.
[Crafting is complete.]
[You have obtained ‘Dragon Knight’s Helmet’.]
[Crafting is complete.]
[You have obtained ‘Dragon Knight’s Armor’.]
I crafted the equipment quickly.
Perhaps because I had become so accustomed to it, it didn’t take long to make even L-rank items.
In an instant, six pieces of armor for Douglas were made.
However, the set equipment I had in mind for Douglas wasn’t just six pieces.
In addition to those…
[Crafting is complete.]
[You have obtained ‘Dragon Knight’s Dragon Armor’.]
[Crafting is complete.]
[You have obtained ‘Dragon Knight’s Chestplate’.]
Douglas’s summon.
I even made armor for the dragon.
Seeing it earlier, it was already wearing a saddle as soon as it was summoned, and I saw that Douglas had put some effort into dressing it in various pieces of equipment.
Seeing that, I thought I should make armor for the dragon myself.
Furthermore, what if even the dragon’s armor was included in the set item?
Originally, items become stronger as more restrictions and requirements are added.
A prime example is the number of pieces in a set.
As the number of pieces increases and it becomes harder to complete the set, the item’s effects tend to rise.
In that sense, I tried a challenge, thinking: ‘Wouldn’t the set item effect be tremendously strengthened if I tie Douglas’s and the dragon’s equipment all into one?’
As a result…
[You have equipped the full ‘Dragon Knight’ set (12/12).]
[The ‘Dragon Knight’ set effect is activated.]
[Set Effect: Dragon Knight’s Onslaught]
Become one with the dragon and share all stats.
“Huh?”
This kind of set effect was created.
I know item effects are better when they’re simple, but wasn’t this a bit too simple?
It didn’t say something was increasing; what did it mean to share stats?
As someone who wasn’t a Dragon Knight, it was an item description that was hard to understand.
Since it was the effect of a twelve-piece set, it couldn’t be bad…
“I’ll have to ask him directly.”
I had no choice but to ask.
I decided to ask about the performance as soon as I gave him the item in the Tower, and I moved on to the long-awaited final step.
When asked what more I intended to make after equipping everyone in my party with L-rank gear, the answer was obviously…
[Dragon’s Gold]
An EX-grade item.