Chapter 40: The Five Paths of Fate

When he struck down the fifth priest, the cooldown for Hammer of Fury ended.

‘Endless really is no joke.’

The skill Endless was unbelievably powerful.

‘This will be insane when I start mob farming later.’

Right now, mob farming wasn’t viable—neither the gear nor the setting was right.

But someday, with the proper equipment?

Just imagining it sent a shiver down his spine.

Thud! Thud!

As he finished off the final chanting priest…

[Level Up!]

A message appeared.

“!”

Kang Juho blinked in surprise.

‘Did I just get 3% from one kill?’

Before entering the basement, his EXP was at 82%.

He had only taken down six enemies—and still leveled up?

He opened his character window.

Name: Kang Juho
Nation: Paraville Kingdom
Class: Battle Blacksmith
Level: 144
EXP: 1%
HP: 54,750 (+5000)
Mana: 1800
Satiety: 75%
Strength: 312 (+240)
Agility: 133 (+120)
Stamina: 995 (+285)
Wisdom: 90 (+80)
Bonus Stats: 5

With a satisfied grin, Kang Juho put all his bonus stats into Stamina.

‘Finally—1,000!’

Sure, gear helped, but still—his base stat finally broke four digits.

Step. Step.

As Kim Seokju approached, Juho closed the window and asked,

“Check your EXP yet?”

“Not yet. Did you check the drop window?”

“Drop window?”

He opened it as he responded:

-Broken Magic Core ×2

As expected, the loot differed from the surface priests.

“Two Broken Magic Cores. Why?”

Seokju’s tone hinted at excitement when he asked earlier.

“Whoa, so it wasn’t just luck! That’s a material for crafting hero-grade accessories.”

“…!”

Kang Juho’s eyes widened.

“Hero-grade accessories?”

“Yup! You need to process it a bit, but it’s practically essential for crafting hero-tier necklaces or bracelets! This place is insane!”

Seokju was literally trembling with excitement.

These weren’t just rare materials—they were hero-tier materials.

Even the material itself was hero-grade.

“Want me to gather them all and give them to you?”

“Yes! I’ll make you something amazing!”

Seokju wasn’t thrilled because of their value alone.

He planned to subclass into Jewelcrafter—a rare life skill that could craft accessories.

And Broken Magic Cores were rarely even sold on the market—gold didn’t matter if you couldn’t find them.

To Seokju, this dungeon was a treasure trove.

“You’re gonna clear the whole place, right?”

“Yeah. Obviously.”

The crafting materials alone were worth the grind, but the EXP was off the charts too.

Every priest counted.

Kang Juho chugged a potion to recover.

“Seokju, think you can bind them before they cast shields?”

He asked while healing.

Basement priests always cast a shield the moment they detected enemies.

But what if they were bound outside their detection range?

They might never get the shield up—and he could wipe them with just Hammer of Fury .

“Multi-Chain might work. Want to try?”

Seokju thought for a moment before answering.

Elemental Shackles didn’t have the range to bind undetected priests, but Multi-Chain had significantly more reach.

If the chains weren’t noticed—shield canceled.

“Please do.”

“Casting—”

With HP topped off, the two crept closer to the next group of priests.

“Multi-Chain!”

Seokju cast it.

“…Foolish beings.”

“…Foolish beings.”

Unfortunately, their hope was dashed.

The priests summoned shields instantly—even before the chains hit.

“Didn’t work.”

Seokju scratched his head with a sheepish smile.

“Shame. I’m going in.”

Juho dashed forward.

He shattered the shields with Hammer of Fury, then took out each priest one by one.

Once the fight ended, he checked the drop window while downing a potion.

-Broken Magic Core ×3

‘Can’t believe this stuff drops so easily.’

It was a jackpot.

‘No way they respawn fast, right?’

These weren’t ordinary mobs—they dropped hero-grade materials.

Their respawn time had to be long.

After healing, the two pressed forward, clearing all the priests guarding the corridor.

‘Whoa, 50%…’

Checking his EXP, Juho was stunned.

It had only been 10 minutes, yet his EXP had reached 51%, even after leveling up once.
Unreal.

“Which way should we go?”

Seokju asked, pointing at the five branching paths ahead.

“Let’s start from the right and work our way left.”

“Sounds good!”

There were no labels, no hints.

Any guess would be just that—a guess.

So they picked the far-right tunnel and moved on.

Three minutes later, they reached the end of the passage.

There sat a wooden chest.

But they didn’t rush forward.

“Could be a trap. Or a mimic.”

“I’ll check. Throw a shield on me?”

They couldn’t sit here forever—and retreat wasn’t an option.

“Got it.”

Juho nodded.

As Seokju stepped forward—a magic circle lit up beneath Juho’s feet.

“Huh?”

Seokju’s startled voice rang out.

‘What the hell?!’

Juho’s body was enveloped in light—and suddenly—

He was back at the entrance of the Puren Temple.

Whisper

– Kim Seokju: Hyung? Where are you?

– Kang Juho: Puren Temple entrance.

– Kim Seokju: Wait, seriously?

Juho opened his inventory and checked the item he’d just received.

[Crafting Material Chest – Hero Grade] (Untradeable)

[Use to obtain a hero-tier crafting material item.]

“Hero-grade… nailed it.”

He had suspected it when the priests dropped hero-tier loot—And he was right.

– Juho: Is the chest still there?

– Seokju: Yeah, untouched.

– Juho: It’s the reward. Don’t touch it—you’ll auto-pick it up.

‘If there’s a chest in each tunnel…’

There were five paths.

Only two had been checked.

– Juho: My chest gave me a hero-tier material box. Wanna check another tunnel? Maybe there’s a weapon or armor chest?

– Seokju: On it! Heading left tunnel now!

Juho opened his reward.

[You’ve obtained 5kg of Lyodirem.]

“Lyodirem?!”

A rare magical ore prized for its mana conductivity—It was the best of the best.

‘That’s enough to craft a shield and then some.’

He had planned to wait for auction listings, but now—no need.

Shields required Lyodirem as their main core material.

5kg was plenty.

‘Should I ask Seokju to help me make it?’

He could forge a hero-tier shield within a day.

‘No, I can’t even equip it yet.’

The decision came quickly.

Shield stats were partially random, but even the lowest requirement would be out of reach for now.

Growth came first.

‘But what if the other chests are weapons, armor, or accessories?’

He imagined.

He had two more chest usages left.

Two more chances.

Rustle!

As he pondered which to open, Seokju returned.

“What’d you get?”

“Accessory chest! Opening now!”

“..!”

Exactly what Juho had hoped.

‘Then the other tunnels must have the rest—armor and weapon.’

He crossed off the weapon chest.

There were too few usable types to gamble on it.

Armor and accessories were safer bets.

But even those weren’t guaranteed usable—stats could misalign.

‘Maybe another crafting chest is safest?’

At least then he could choose what to make.

‘But it’s random too… hmm?’

He looked at Seokju, who had gone quiet—eyes blank.

No, he was looking at something—item info.

‘Weird drop?’

Juho waited.