“Wow…”
I couldn’t help but marvel as I watched the raid on the 86th Floor.
Equipped with the L-rank armor sets I had provided, the party members weren’t just resisting the White Dragon’s attacks; they were landing solid blows of their own.
The Shadow King, while in a state of stealth, searched for a weakness and thrust Ridill into the White Dragon’s reverse scale.
The Sword Saint slashed at the dragon’s eyes with Excalibur.
Above them, the Lightning Caster called down bolts of lightning, while the Berserker swung a massive greatsword like it was a toy, eventually drawing blood from the White Dragon’s body.
Everyone was incredible.
They were all amazing, but—
“Whoosh—.”
One person among them stood out in particular.
It was Elvin Douglas.
Equipped with the L-rank gear I had crafted for him and his summon, his speed was more than twice as fast as before.
The sight of him flying at such high speeds while brandishing his gold spear was truly magnificent.
Specifically, the scene where he soared so high he disappeared from sight, only to descend vertically toward the White Dragon and thrust his gold spear—
“K-booooom—!!!”
It was as menacing as a falling meteor.
What gave me goosebumps was that he hadn’t just attacked blindly; he had accurately targeted the reverse scale that the Shadow King had exposed.
Even though it was one of the four elemental dragons known as the strongest types, I hadn’t expected them to clear the White Dragon so easily.
[Level Up!]
[You have overcome the 86th Floor’s trial, ‘Lord of the Storm’.]
[Evaluation Rank: SSS]
[You have received ‘White Dragon Bone’ as a reward.]
[The 86th Floor’s trial has been cleared, weakening the Tower.]
This was only the beginning.
Since everyone appeared to be in good health despite clearing the 86th Floor, they immediately proceeded to the next trial.
[Beginning the 87th Floor’s trial.]
[87th Floor: Lord of the Sea]
The next trial featured the Blue Dragon, the one in charge of water among the four elemental dragons.
Fittingly, the field was a vast ocean, but fortunately, there were island-like terrains that the party used as a base to face the enemy.
The Blue Dragon utilized its strengths by making full use of the ocean to fight, but—
[Level Up!]
[You have overcome the 87th Floor’s trial, ‘Lord of the Sea’.]
[Evaluation Rank: SSS]
[You have received ‘Blue Dragon’s Fin’ as a reward.]
[The 87th Floor’s trial has been cleared, weakening the Tower.]
It couldn’t hold out against my party members, who were armed with top-tier equipment.
It also helped that all my party members had equipped ‘Electric Parts’ before entering battle, giving them a massive advantage.
The Lightning Caster, in particular, performed exceptionally well beyond my expectations.
Watching her made me want to hurry up and craft an EX-grade staff for her.
[Beginning the 88th Floor’s trial.]
[88th Floor: Lord of the Earth]
The trial of the 88th Floor took place on a cracked landscape.
Upon the split and shaking earth appeared a Brown Dragon, larger than any dragon we had seen so far.
It was easier to deal with because it didn’t fly, but its entire body was incredibly hard and its strength was so great that the ground shook with every step, making it difficult to maintain balance.
The one who shone most here was the Dragon Knight, Elvin Douglas.
He utilized the advantage of flight to the fullest to attack the Brown Dragon.
He likely dealt the most damage to it out of everyone in our party.
[Beginning the 89th Floor’s trial.]
[89th Floor: Lord of Flame]
Next was the Red Dragon appearing from a volcanic region.
Known as the strongest and most ferocious among dragons, the Red Dragon breathed out fire breath hotter than lava itself.
Flames surged from its entire body, making it difficult even to approach it.
“Ice Parts, equip!”
“Equipping!”
Once again, my parts played a significant role.
When the Ice Parts were slotted into the armor, a chill emanated from the gear, allowing the party to resist the Red Dragon’s heat to some extent.
On top of that—
“Sea Breeze.”
-Whoosh—.
With the Spirit Emperor’s summon, Cheongryong, providing support, the Red Dragon’s heat became manageable.
Of course, that only applied to the heat the Red Dragon naturally radiated.
When the dragon decided to vent its heat in earnest—
“Sizzle—.”
“Ugh.”
If it weren’t for the Ice Parts and Cheongryong’s support, the heat would have been intense enough to burn their lungs just by inhaling.
The fact that they could still feel the indirect heat despite those two buffs said it all.
If just the heat coming off its body was this intense, a direct hit from its Red Breath would likely melt right through L-rank armor.
However, luckily—
“Maelstrom.”
We had a water-attribute specialist mage on our side.
While we were fighting, Cheongryong had prepared a large-scale water spell and cast it.
As a massive current of water coiled around the Red Dragon, dampening its heat and extinguishing its flames—
“Now!”
“Thwack!”
Our party’s total assault commenced.
Once again, Douglas descended vertically from on high, taking the form of a golden leopard to strike the reverse scale that the Shadow King had located.
[Level Up!]
[You have overcome the 89th Floor’s trial, ‘Lord of Flame’.]
[Evaluation Rank: SSS]
[You have received ‘Red Dragon’s Breath’ as a reward.]
[The 89th Floor’s trial has been cleared, weakening the Tower.]
The battle came to an end.
And once again, I couldn’t help but be shocked.
‘SSS-grade material?’
The item dropped this time was also an SSS-grade material.
Of course, the Red Dragon was just as strong as the Gold Dragon from the 85th Floor, which yielded an SSS-grade reward.
Actually, it was even stronger.
I just hadn’t expected an SSS-grade material to appear on the 89th Floor, which was neither a semi-boss nor a boss trial.
Clearing the Tower was going more smoothly than expected, but quite a bit of time had passed.
Everyone was exhausted, and the next floor was the 90th Floor.
“Let’s rest and meet again tomorrow.”
“Yes!”
“Great work, everyone!”
“Phew, man. I can’t believe I took down a Red Dragon.”
“I can’t believe I could become this strong just by changing my equipment… Truly, you are incredible, Master Vulcanus.”
“Since I’ve obtained additional materials, I’ll try to bring some new items by tomorrow if possible. Everyone, get some good rest.”
“Thank you for your hard work!”
We decided to call it a day.
After returning to my room and finishing a meal, I immediately picked up my hammer.
[Activating Crafting Skill.]
The reason was obvious.
I had obtained SSS-grade material, so didn’t I have to make an item?
There were currently four people in my party who did not have EX-grade items: the Berserker, the Spirit Emperor, the Lightning Caster, and the Saintess.
The SSS-grade material I obtained this time was the ‘Red Dragon’s Breath’.
Just by looking at it, it was a material with a powerful fire attribute.
Whose equipment should I make with this?
Actually, it didn’t seem to fit any of them perfectly.
The Berserker fought with physical force rather than attributes; while it would help the Spirit Emperor, a fire attribute would be overkill for her.
The attributes were completely different for the Lightning Caster and the Saintess.
Creating equipment for the existing party members felt awkward as well.
While researching data, I discovered a brilliant weapon.
[Please select the form of the item to be crafted.]
“Laevateinn.”
[Materializing ‘Laevateinn’.]
Laevateinn.
In Norse mythology, it was the sword Loki forged with runes to slay an immortal rooster, and it was also the flaming sword used by Surtr during Ragnarok to burn the world.
The important thing was that since the one who used this Laevateinn was the fire giant Surtr, the size of the sword was massive.
In other words, Laevateinn was a ‘greatsword’.
And the greatsword was the primary weapon of the Berserker.
[Please select the material for Laevateinn.]
The fire attribute was sufficiently covered by the ‘Red Dragon’s Breath’.
The problem was the material that would form the body of Laevateinn.
Since I didn’t have any other SSS-grade materials, I mixed in SS-grade materials that would harmonize best with Laevateinn.
[Fulfillment: 96%]
The fulfillment rate was satisfactory.
However—
[Success Probability: 57%]
“Huh?”
The success probability was too low.
The fulfillment was high and the material was SSS-grade, so why was the success rate so low?
After some thought, I was able to deduce a reason.
‘Is it because the rank is different?’
Thinking about it, most of the equipment I had created through Myth Creation so far was at the level of the human realm.
Things like the White Feather Fan, Durandal, and Excalibur.
They were all equipment used by humans at best.
Even the Red Bow and White Arrow used by Cheon Seung-heon was a weapon made by Emperor Ku, one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, but—
‘In the end, it was a weapon made to be bestowed upon the hero Cheon Seung-heon.’
It was still a weapon intended for a human.
But what about this Laevateinn?
It wasn’t a weapon for human use.
It was a weapon originally made by a god named Loki, and its user was the fire giant Surtr, who burned the World Tree.
It was unavoidable that the production probability would drop.
‘Should I give up?’
It wasn’t that there were no alternatives.
I could make ‘Flambeurge’, a greatsword with a flaming blade said to have been used by Renaud de Montauban, one of the Twelve Peers of Charlemagne, much like the gold spear.
Still, the lingering regret remained, so I used the White Feather Fan to check.
“Crash—.”
I saw a future where the production failed and the SSS-grade material vanished.
Now, I only had one chance left to check with the White Feather Fan.
I debated whether I should just go back to Flambeurge.
‘By now, the success rate for Flambeurge should be close to 100%.’
With my current skills, I felt I could make something like Flambeurge even without the help of the White Feather Fan.
Therefore, I decided to use the White Feather Fan’s ability to create Laevateinn instead.
After switching the types of materials to maximize the fulfillment—
[Fulfillment: 98%]
[Success Probability: 57%]
As I used the White Feather Fan’s ability—
-Flash!
“Alright!”
I saw a future where the blade of Laevateinn burned beautifully.
With the confidence I gained, I began crafting with vigor.
[Would you like to begin crafting?]
“Clang!”
Laevateinn, a weapon that featured prominently in Norse mythology.
How powerful would it be when it was actually materialized?
Could it be even stronger than Excalibur, which had been the most powerful weapon I’d ever made?
With such expectations, I continued to swing my hammer.
“Clang!”
Every time I swung the hammer, the ‘Red Dragon’s Breath’ flared up, exhaling intense heat.
It was a heat so hot it felt like it would char my skin, but to me, it felt like nothing more than sparks flying as Laevateinn was completed.
My mind was filled with nothing but thoughts of how powerful the finished Laevateinn would be.
[You have entered a Transcendent State and realized the essence of a blacksmith.]
[The effect of ‘Hephaestus’s Descendant (SSS)’ temporarily increases all stats.]
It had been a while since I had entered a Transcendent State.
I forgot my hunger, I forgot the passage of time.
I forgot everything around me and focused entirely on Laevateinn.
As a result—
[Crafting is complete.]
[You have obtained ‘Laevateinn’.]
I had finally managed to create the flame sword that burned the world, Laevateinn.