“Hua.” The moment I returned to my room, I collapsed onto my personal SS-grade bed.
As soon as I lay down, the bed’s item effect activated, wrapping my body in a warm, comforting embrace.
“Feels like it’s been a while.”
It wasn’t just my imagination.
Quite some time had indeed passed.
Well, I’d been swinging my hammer nonstop inside the mine for days.
I had completely lost track of time and didn’t even know how much had passed.
Judging by the date, it seemed I’d spent over three days inside the mine.
I checked my messages and noticed quite a few notifications had piled up.
“Huum.”
Drowsiness washed over me like a wave.
I hadn’t slept at all these past few days, just hammering away—of course I was exhausted.
Even if I checked now, I probably wouldn’t be able to focus properly.
“Just a little rest.”
I decided to rest a bit first.
Still lying on the bed, I hugged my pillow and instantly passed out.
A sweet nap.
“Klang, klang, klang!” Â
The sound of a hammer echoed.
A blazing forge.
A giant swinging a hammer before it.
No, a transcendent divine being.
The lord of the scorching volcano wielded the hammer.
“Klang, klang, klang!”Â
The fire in the furnace burned hotter and hotter.
The flames grew larger and engulfed the divine being along with the anvil.
And swallowed the entire smithy.
“Klang, klang, klang!” Â
The divine being turned around.
Our eyes met.
From his gaze, I felt an intense heat.
That burning look seemed to be absorbed into me.
My body started to heat up fiercely.
“Klang klang, klang!” Â
Once again, the sound of the hammer.
Ding—.
The hammer’s clang.
“Ding ding ding!” Â
“Ugh?”
What was that?
When I came to my senses, day and night had already flipped.
I must have been seriously exhausted.
“Anyway, I think I heard something.”
What was it?
Something very familiar.
So incredibly familiar.
That sound was definitely…
“Ding!” Â
“Ah, it was a message.”
The alert sound of a system message.
I had muted almost all notifications, so I was curious why this one came through.
Opening it, I found Nam Bora’s messages filling the entire chat window.
There were countless missed System Calls too.
Opening the very first message at the top, it read:
– Vulcanus, please… please be alive.
“Huh?”
What was that all about?
I had been off the grid for several days, but “be alive”?
I guess it was my fault for disappearing without a word, but it had been less than a week.
Was it really a big deal to worry this much?
Given my usual lifestyle and working hours, I rarely kept in touch, so it shouldn’t have been a cause for concern.
Reading the messages in order, it only got worse below.
– Vulcanus, please answer me.
– Vulcanus.
– Are you okay?
– Vulcanus, this is Nam Bora. If you’re in a situation where you can’t respond…
– Please.
– Here’s the current situation of the Vulcanus Guild. All guild members have surpassed level 100, and we’re prioritizing dealing with the gate crisis.
– Vulcanus, I know you’re busy, but could you please contact us?
– This is a support request from the Hunter Association. Since it’s part of the contract…
– Vulcanus, are you really okay? Your work is important, but…
Messages asking how I was doing.
Reports on the Vulcanus Guild’s situation.
Requests for missions and aid.
A huge pile of messages had stacked up.
Even if I’d been away a long time, Nam Bora never worried about me this much.
It wasn’t her nature.
As I scrolled down, trying to figure out why she was so anxious, I soon realized the reason.
– The government has designated this incident as the ‘Second Gate Burning.’
– The damage keeps increasing.
– Since we haven’t heard back from Vulcanus, we’re focusing all efforts on handling the gates and monsters around Hamak Mountain.
– Are you alright?
“Second Gate Burning?”
I remembered.
The First.
No, there wasn’t even a “first” back then—it was simply the initial Gate Burning.
Starting with the Gate Break at Hamak Mountain, an enormous number of gates opened nationwide, and many of those gates immediately broke, releasing monsters.
At the time, I also deemed the poison at Hamak Mountain to be a serious threat and called the Vulcanus Guild members to attack the gates.
Back then, not just our Vulcanus Guild, but all five major guilds, and even hunters nationwide, had joined forces to barely stave off the crisis.
And now, a “Second Gate Burning.”
Startled, I immediately scoured the internet to investigate this incident.
Luckily—or unluckily—information was easy to find.
As soon as I typed ‘Second,’ the related search term ‘Second Gate Burning’ appeared.
[Second Gate Burning: Is It Okay Like This?]
[Gangwon Province, Hoengseong County, Monsters Overrun]
[North Korea Collapsing, Final Desperation: Targeting Monsters with Nukes]
“This serious?”
The moment I searched, countless news articles flooded the screen.
During the first Gate Burning, the Hunter Association and guilds had responded well enough to keep the damage minimal.
But now, damage was happening everywhere.
They wanted to request overseas support, but abroad the situation was even worse than in Korea.
“No wonder she was worried.”
Reading through the articles about the Second Gate Burning helped me understand Nam Bora’s anxiety.
She probably feared I’d gotten caught in a Gate Break accident.
Since I hadn’t replied at all after the Gate Burning.
Then, “ding.” Â
Another message arrived from Nam Bora.
Opening it revealed:
– …Vulcanus, it’s been a pleasure.
– Though we couldn’t be together until the end, I gave my all for the Vulcanus Guild…
“Aaagh, don’t give up!”
There was a farewell message.
Startled, I immediately sent her a System Call.
Less than a second later, she accepted.
– Vulcanus!
“Yes, it’s me. I never thought someone alive would be put in a coffin.”
– Th-That’s! Anyway, you’re alive! That’s such a relief! How’s your body? Are you okay? You weren’t swept up in a Gate Break, were you? Â
“I just heard about the Second Gate Burning for the first time. Actually, I was elsewhere for a few days due to some business.”
– Elsewhere? Even if it wasn’t Korea—no, not abroad either—what happened? How’s the situation now?
“I’ll give you a proper situation report! Please wait a moment.”
A brief silence.
Then after a while:
“I’ll start with the Vulcanus Guild’s situation.”
– All guild members are currently mobilized to block gates and monsters.
– The Hunter Association has sent support requests, but we’ve been focusing on stopping the gates and monsters around Hamak Mountain.
“Because of me?”
– …Yes. Although your exact location is unknown, because you reacted sensitively to the Hamak Mountain gate last time, we assumed you live nearby and gave those orders.
“Hmm.”
I stepped out onto the veranda and looked outside, but there were no monsters in sight.
Searching online, I thankfully confirmed no gates had opened near my home.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
If a monster had come to my house like Nam Bora feared…
If I’d seen a monster’s jaws instead of my warm bed the moment I left the factory…
Just thinking about it made me dizzy.
I’d better engrave some defensive Rune Script on the building’s exterior wall soon.
“Don’t worry about me. Please respond to the Hunter Association’s requests. You said the situation is pretty bad, right?”
So they’d been clearing gates near Hamak Mountain for my sake.
Until just a moment ago, I’d worried about gates appearing near my home.
That worry disappeared completely.
Yeah, this is exactly why I made the guild.
My investment wasn’t for nothing.
Since I’d secretly signed contracts through the system, maybe it was okay to share my location.
– Yes, the situation is pretty serious.
– In the city, hunters are concentrated and dispatched based on population density, but the outskirts are already saturated with monsters.
“That’s serious.”
– Yes. There was even a statement predicting some countries might be completely destroyed within a month, or even a week. Â
“This is bad.” Â
Really bad.
A Gate Burning that could wipe out an entire country.
Even in Korea, at this rate, the outskirts and sparsely populated areas might be devoured by monsters.
This can’t continue.
I need to make a lot of money and enjoy a happy life.
If Korea collapses, it’ll all be meaningless.
Even if I survive the destruction by strengthening my house through crafting, upgrades, and Rune Script, surviving alone wouldn’t matter.
Though I’ve been a loner locked in my room anyway.
If the world ends, I won’t even be able to order delivery food!
No internet!
No electricity!
Ugh, that absolutely can’t happen.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
– Of course. You’d be surprised how many support requests have come for you.
“Let’s see them. If I can help, I want to do something.”
– But are you really okay? Are you sure?
“I told you, I’m fine.”
They still seemed worried about me.
I hadn’t explained why I’d gone silent while working, so maybe they were misunderstanding something.
But right now, I’m more alive and kicking than anyone.
Resting on an SS-grade bed is science.
– Then shall we start by accepting the requests from the Hunter Association?
“What kind of requests?”
– They want support with mid-level supply equipment.
– It seems they want to boost the combat power of the many mid-level hunters to block the gates.
– They asked if you could make Level 150 Equipment…
– Would that be possible?
– If that’s too much, you can lower the level requirement.
Level 150 Equipment.
She wasn’t just asking me casually.
Until recently, the highest item level I could craft was 150.
But now things are different.
Level 90 reached.
SSS-grade Ability: Hephaestus’s Descendant.
Plus various awakenings that raised my item level cap.
Thanks to that, the level of equipment I can now craft is…
“Level 150 Equipment is fine? They don’t want Level 200 Equipment?”
I’ve already surpassed 200.