Chapter 96: Army of the Volcano

[Hephaestus’s Flame]  

Form: Flame  

Grade: EX  

Restriction: Descendant of Hephaestus  

Description: The remnants of the ‘Ifrit’ that once ignited the forge fires in Hephaestus’s smithy. Though the flames have weakened over the long years, they still contain the latent power of the deity’s incarnation.  

Abilities:  

1. God of Blacksmiths – Enhances the efficiency of all production-related skills.  

2. God of Fire – Illuminates the surroundings and protects the Descendant of Hephaestus with the power of fire.  

3. Rune Script – Allows engraving desired Rune Scripts onto crafted items.  

4. Army of the Volcano – Boosts all stats, intelligence, and learning ability of the Soul of the Blacksmith.  

5.-  

Because abilities were added, the item description of the flame lengthened to the point of covering the entire field of vision.  

Since I already knew the rest, I skimmed through them.  

The most important part was, of course.  

“Army of the Volcano?”  

It was a newly added ability.  

Its description was simple.  

It roughly said it would strengthen my assistants.  

“But, is it really right to add this as an ability of Ifrit?”  

In fact, it wasn’t the first time the Soul of the Blacksmith skill had been enhanced.  

It had happened several times before.  

The most recent example was when I repaired the spear of the Statue of the Spearsmith.  

Back then, repairing a divine weapon led to a godly enlightenment, resulting in an overall performance boost for the Soul of the Blacksmith skill.  

That’s why it felt a bit disappointing that this was unlocked as a new ability of Ifrit.  

“Still, it’s better than nothing.”  

So far, I had been somewhat satisfied.  

But honestly, this ability made me feel like the materials I used to enter the forge were wasted.  

Still, what could I do?  

I left the forge hoping that even better abilities would unlock in Zone 4.  

“Thud!”  

Then, the forge’s door vanished without a trace.  

I touched the spot where the door had been and confirmed it.  

There was no longer a door to the forge here.  

Even if I swung an axe to cut through the vines or mined the wall with a pickaxe, the forge wouldn’t reappear.  

“Well, it can’t be helped. Everyone, have you finished tidying up?”  

“Yes”  

When I stepped outside the forge, I saw my assistants gathering all the materials that could be obtained in this space.  

At that moment, the flames flowing from Ifrit enveloped my assistants.  

“Huh?”  

I didn’t even have time to react to the sudden situation.  

I wondered what was happening, but thankfully, my assistants didn’t seem to be in pain.  

They just looked down at the flames clinging to their bodies with curiosity.  

After a moment, the fiercely burning flames changed colors one by one and began to be absorbed into their bodies.  

Although absorbed, the flames didn’t disappear entirely.  

Their eyes gleamed more brightly, and faint embers continued to burn on their bodies.  

And I could immediately understand what this was.  

“Is this the new ability?”  

Army of the Volcano.  

Now I understood why the new ability was called that.  

The assistants burning with faint flames on their bodies perfectly matched the expression ‘Army of the Volcano.’  

All of them.  

“The colors are all different?”  

Looking closely, the color and shape of the embers clinging to each assistant’s body varied slightly.  

Mining 1 and 2 had dark blue embers resembling iron ore.  

Logging 1 and 2 had deep brown embers that looked like wood.  

Combat 4 had pale blue embers like ice.  

The embers’ colors were transformed to suit each of their characteristics.  

“What difference does this make?”  

As I wondered, Skinning 1 cut a vine in one swing with his knife.  

“Swish!”  

Before I entered the forge, that knife had struggled to cut vines.  

But now, it was a different story — and Skinning 1 wasn’t the only one who had changed.  

“Snip. ” 

Spinning Unit No. 1 lightly cut through vines with scissors.  

“Crack!”  

Mining 1 pierced through the root of a boss monster that was so hard even a pickaxe struggled to penetrate, all at once.  

Most importantly,  Logging 1 used its specialty to chop boss monsters into pieces by size.

“Wham!!”

While not quite S-Grade Monster Material, these materials were still valuable enough to be considered high-quality.  

“This is no joke.”  

Army of the Volcano.  

I had thought the Soul of the Blacksmith’s stat boosts were minor when recalling past enhancements, but the increase this time was unexpectedly large.  

“Good. Riding this momentum, let’s level up Zone 4 right away.”  

“Understood.”  

With our power increased, I decided we should immediately find the forge in Zone 4.  

Leading all my assistants, I headed toward Zone 4.  

“Skinning 1! Guide me to all suspicious spots!”  

“Could you please explain again what counts as suspicious?”  

“Anything! Places with different-sized passages, spots darker than others, or rare materials. Anything at all!”  

“Understood.”  

There aren’t many expected spots, but it’s best to start from the deeper parts.  

Skinning 1 spoke more fluently than before.  

The ability description of Army of the Volcano said it raised intelligence, and this must be the effect.  

With higher intelligence, he should guide us better.  

“How is it?”  

“Unclear.”  

No suspicious places appeared.  

Even after extensively searching Zone 4 with Skinning 1, nothing suspicious caught my eye.  

The only variable was a Leather Golem that appeared during exploration.  

“Snip!”  

“Boom—.”

Powered up by Army of the Volcano, Skinning 1 and 2 crossed over the Leather Golem in an X formation and took it down in a single strike.  

Other than that, there was no suspicious place or variable at all.  

“Looks like there’s nothing…”  

“Master, how should we proceed with the exploration?”  

“Can’t be helped. Everyone, return to your own zones and continue your previous tasks. Skinning 1 and 2, focus on exploration from now on, okay?”  

“Yes.”  

“Understood.”  

“Thank you for your hard work, Master.”  

“Oh, and Combat 4, come with me.”  

“Yes.”  

There was no point dragging everyone around where nothing was visible.  

I sent everyone else back and headed toward Zone 5 with only Combat 4.  

As always, monsters swarmed in Zone 5.  

“Where do all these come from?”  

No matter how many I defeated, more monsters kept pouring in endlessly.  

It wasn’t like monsters respawned like in a game.  

I had no idea how this was possible.  

Well, since becoming a Hunter, all common sense had been overturned anyway.  

“4, can you clear a path over there for us?”  

“Understood.”  

Combat 4 gathered power into his staff.  

Dark cold gathered around the staff.  

From the battle in Zone 3, I had a rough understanding of how Combat 4 used magic.  

If safety and time were ensured, he could prepare strong spells with long casting times; otherwise, he used simple magic like the Arrow of Ice.  

In other words, if we were safely watching monsters from above a cliff like now,  he could unleash powerful magic that swept through the monsters. 

“Whoooosh!”  

“Crackle-crackle!”  

A swirling tornado of magic erupted from Combat 4’s staff, turning into an Ice Storm that ravaged the monsters.  

The monsters touched by the Ice Storm froze solid and were blown around by the storm, smashing into other monsters and shattering.  

An incredible force.  

This was a mage.  

Though they required safety, long casting times, and large mana consumption, once prepared, they could unleash overwhelming attacks that swordsmen could never match.  

“Let’s go!”  

“Yes.”  

I walked through the path cleared by Combat 4’s ice magic.  

The ground was littered with monster materials and ice shards.  

Although the materials were precious, there was no need to rush collecting them now.  

I could ask Combat 2 to gather them later inside.  

“Hey guys!”  

Though Combat 4’s magic was strong, it couldn’t defeat every monster at the tower’s entrance.  

He worked hard shooting Arrow of Ice, but it was far from enough.  

The reason I sent the others back and forced my way in was simple.  

“Master.”  

“You’re here.”  

Combat 1, 2, and 3.  

My assistants waiting at the tower entrance revealed themselves.  

“Swish—.”  

Combat 1 already seemed affected by Army of the Volcano, with faint embers sparking from his sword.  

He slashed with a sword energy wave, slicing through three or four monsters at once each time.  

“Thud!”  

Combat 3 was no less impressive.  

Every thrust of his spear released a sharp spear energy that pierced monsters in a straight line.  

“Thump!”  

Combat 2 had also grown stronger.  

Compared to 1 and 3, he seemed a bit weaker, but with the Army of the Volcano effect, every arrow struck a monster’s head, killing it instantly.  

Though each hit’s power was lower, his rapid fire wiped out monsters efficiently.  

Moreover, Combat 2’s bow had a ‘Binding’ effect, restraining monsters and making it easier for 1 and 3 to fight.  

“How have you been?”  

“Thanks to your care, Master, we have achieved great progress.”  

“Wow, now you speak well, huh?”  

“It’s all thanks to you, Master.”  

Combat 1 bowed his head in response.  

Beside him, 2 and 3 also lined up and bowed.  

Meanwhile, 3 glanced at 4 with fiery eyes, making 4 flinch and quickly stand beside him, bowing as well.  

These guys… their intelligence increased, and now it seems some strange disciplinary culture is forming.  

“Let’s go. I need to greet the two of you too.”  

The combat team cleared a path by defeating monsters.  

Thanks to their greatly improved combat ability, clearing monsters was simple.  

Before long, we reached the tower’s entrance.  

“Ah, you’ve arrived, challenger.”  

“Can’t you just call me by my name?”  

“Hmm, but…”  

“You’re no longer a challenger since you’ve finished your trial.”  

“Hmm, true enough. We’ve only ever faced challengers until now, so the term sticks.”  

“Let’s change it now. Seems like no one else will come here anyway.”  

“Indeed. You must be one of the first challengers in thousands of years.”  

“Just call me Seo Jun. My full name is Jeong Seo Jun.”  

“Seo Jun. Got it.”  

“Seo Jun. That’s a good name.”  

I met the two statues.  

Their appearance hadn’t changed much since the first time I saw them.  

Then their gaze turned to my assistants, their disciples—Combat 1 and 3.  

“Oh!”  

“What is this!”  

The two statues stamped their feet and hurried over, then looked closely at their disciples.  

“You’ve suddenly grown stronger! Did you gain enlightenment in such a short time?”  

“No, I don’t think so. The embers on your bodies. Those flames seem to grant some rank, even if faint.”  

“Oh, certainly. That’s it.”  

“Is this your power, challenger? No, Seo Jun?”  

“Please don’t call me ‘challenger.’ Just Seo Jun is fine. Yes, it’s the new ability I obtained.”  

“I see. Amazing! With this state, I can teach you even higher levels of martial arts!”  

Higher levels of martial arts.  

I welcomed that with open arms.  

It meant Combat 1 and 3, already strong, would become even stronger.  

“And perhaps, ahem.”  

“Yes?”  

“Next time you come, could you bring that… red chicken? The one you eat?”  

“Red chicken?”  

“You know, the red chicken Seo Jun eats.”  

“Ah, seasoned chicken.”  

“Yes, that’s it!”  

“It’s tough teaching disciples after a long time.”  

“The flavor of this world is very strong. Surely, it will be helpful!”  

“Got it. I’ll bring plenty next time.”  

“Oh!”  

Chicken.  

That’s easy enough.  

After chatting some more, the statues’ expressions grew serious, and they suddenly brought up a serious topic.  

“Seo Jun, is something unusual happening in the present world?”  

Something unusual.  

Though I didn’t know why they brought it up, the moment I heard it, recent events flashed through my mind.

‘Gate Burning’