Chapter 76: Underworld Guest (4)

Underworld Guest (4)

-Myu!

Onyx was chewing with a fierce momentum as he clung to the metal vein. Surprisingly, Kang Shin-hyuk could see glowing black mana subtly flowing throughout his body.

"This is gold magic. I haven't shown him off before, but watch."

"Gold magic...do you have a pet that handles elemental magic?" As expected, Shin Eunah knew about gold magic. Kang Shin-hyuk silently pleaded for a detailed explanation, which she was happy to provide.

"Attribute magic is a type of magic that specializes in dealing with only that one attribute. Compared to normal magic, it is more powerful and has unique characteristics, but it makes it difficult to use other magic."

"Then, senior?" Speaking of which, wasn't the Thunder Empress known for her destructive lightning magic? She nodded right away.

"I deal with lightning magic."

"But you're good at normal magic too, right?"

"That's...a secret. I'll tell you later when we're alone."

'I don't need to listen then.' Shin Eunah had already turned towards Onyx, unaware of his expression.

"I've never seen gold magic before. This is incredible."

-Myu!

Kang Shin-hyuk didn't fully understand the capabilities of gold magic or Onyx, but he could roughly understand what it was doing right now. The purple ore was so hard that even Onyx's teeth couldn't bite into it, but it was making the metal in front of me soft and fluffy enough to chew due to his magic power. It was clear that gold magic at least had the ability to change the nature of metal.

-Myuuuuu!

"I can cut into it now? Alright." Onyx's magic was definitely great; the only issue was that he didn't have much mana. Kang Shin-hyuk drew his sword and quickly went to work before the ore could harden again.

"Hm!" He activated one of the sword's special abilities: Flesh control. It was an ability that assisted in cutting only what he wanted to, allowing him to neatly cut through only the parts he wanted to remove without getting stuck in the middle of the vein. Soil pattered down on the ground as the dazzling purple ore rolled out. Kang Shin-hyuk examined it with a frown. It hadn't been smelted yet, but it was already extremely pure.

"It's like the metal was already smelted and buried into the wall...this is odd."

-Myuuuu.

Onyx slid down to the floor, having run out of magic. He was chewing heavily on the metal already in his mouth. Kang Shin-hyuk picked up the ore, but he couldn't see the item's information.

"Senior, is it possible to have you examine this?"

"Huh. It's 'Benadelite.' Very hard...it seems to have some other qualities, but I can't confirm it. I haven't seen it before in the Hero Universe..."

-This is a world-specific mineral. It hasn't been listed in the Hero Universe as the king of this area was never successful in mining it.

The administrator chimed in with some helpful commentary. Kang Shin-hyuk accepted the ore back and nodded, noticing the Jijoo king was looking straight at him.

"Please make my claws, please. That's the only way we can survive!"

"...! Junior, this mole."

"No." Shin Eunah took a step towards the trembling mole king, but Kang Shin-hyuk urgently held her back.

"I'll try. Let's make it with this." He knew what her concerns were; there was a fatal error in this quest they had accepted, one he had realized the moment he heard the king's tale. But at the same time, he thought hanging out with these silly moles was a waste of time; he was confident this might be an opportunity to grow as a blacksmith. Kang Shin-hyuk sheathed his sword and placed a hand on the hilt.

"The fire and light will be intense. Please provide me a space that the Golden Hidden Mice don't have access to."

***

Kang Shin-hyuk entered the cavern the moles let him into, pulling out the oven and anvil he had prepared in his inventory. He didn't need to worry about smelting the high-purity benadelite, but he still needed to heat it up to process it properly. How would he do that, just firewood?

-Unotia's gilded tree is the best for melting magical metal without the worry of decomposition or loss.

"I will buy it in the smallest unit."

-As a VIP member bonus, you acquired 50kg of Unotia's golden firewood at a discount price of 400,000 HP.

He let out a scream without hesitation. He had been expecting it, but it was still expensive. Also, 50kg was the minimum unit of sale?

"I want to watch you work."

"It'll be boring."

"I'm never bored." Shin Eunah sat down in the corner of the cave and entered spectator mode. A laugh came unbidden out of him when he looked at him. She had re-entered kid mode, which made her feel pretty cute. Kang Shin-hyuk threw the firewood into the furnace, his lips tightening. The fire started quickly, burning intensely from the get-go. After confirming the temperature, he placed the benadelite into the fire to melt it down for molding.

'I have to make...claws.' Five claws made in to fit perfectly on the king's hand, and a mechanism to secure them in place. It wouldn't be difficult, the only problem was...

'Even if I make it, the results won't be good.' The king believed he could solve any crisis alone if only his claws returned, based on his achievements from over a hundred years ago. But he was too weak to see it from the outside. He was already 150 years old; the reason why Shin Eunah had lashed out was that she recognized it. That wasn't the only problem, either. As a result of their king's peaceful reign, the Moles had no intention of doing anything independently.

'Even if he gets his claws back and digs through, it's impossible to know what awaits them.' Would there be any future for this race? No, he couldn't guarantee them a tomorrow. Even knowing that, could he make a set of claws and turn away? That was nonsense too. He couldn't tolerate it.

'If I work like this, I'll just repeat that longsword.' Through his collaboration with Lee Na-hee, he had learned that the outcome of his work could vary greatly depending on his mindset. It wasn't because the defensive ability didn't match the sword; it was because he thought so and hesitated that the result had been lukewarm. It was clearly evident by looking at the Godslayer sword, which had awakened its superior defensive ability.

'It must contain my heart.' Whatever the goal, whatever he made, it had to be able to express his sincerity. In order to become a true blacksmith that made what others needed, he had to.

'So that I don't regret it, so that this can really show its value...' What could he do to make things with all of his heart, given the conditions? He had no choice but to make something that could break through any situation. The answer was so simple he had to laugh. In the end, his mind was still a little weak.

'There's a saying that if you have a good body, you don't need to suffer about having a good head.' He would make it. Something to break through the problems around them, to connect this race together.

Kang Shin-hyuk lifted his hammer and struck the metal atop the anvil. A dazzling light sprung forth as his spiritual power enveloped the metal.

***

Meanwhile, Onyx continued to eat ore. For him, metal was a staple food and a potion that restored his magic and stamina. When his magic power dropped, he could eat more ore to replenish it, so his meal continued. These metals were different from what he usually ate. It was incomparable to the artifacts his owner created, but the taste was excellent. If the artifacts created by his owner were a full course meal served by a 5-star restaurant, then this ore was the best ingredient. It was delicious, even when raw.

-Myuuuu!

How much had he devoured like that? Suddenly, Onyx felt his stomach rumble. His heart throbbed and burned as blood raged inside of his body.

-Myuuuu.

Onyx soon realized that the metals in his stomach were surprisingly rebellious. They resisted being digested, resisted Onyx like it was alive.

-Myu...

Onyx let out a cry of understanding and slowly retreated from the wall. What he had devoured could be digested with his gold magic, but the problem was the remaining materials. If the minerals in this wall were alive...

-Vwoooooooom

-Myuuuuuuu!

The earth began to vibrate violently as if the walls were crying out all at once. Onyx noticed that something had awoken before him and began to run away.

-Myuuuuuuuuu!

The world was shaking as it would collapse. The walls of the kingdom, made of metal, began to change and turn purple. The moles panicked as Onyx passed by them to head toward his owner.

"Wait a minute, this..." Meanwhile, the moment he completed his work Kang Shin-hyuk had arrived at the same conclusion. He realized it a little too late.

-The level of emotional skill was low, so it wasn't recognized.

The administrator's message sounded a bit venomous. Kang Shin-hyuk let out a sigh.

-Checking for damage...Deactivating sleep mode and starting up the system. Life detected. I've found someone who qualifies—granting access to the system.

An artificial voice buzzed throughout the caverns, hearable to everyone.

"Grandpa, this..."

"Maybe."

-Commander, welcome to shelter 32. I am a facility golem made for the 32nd shelter.

It was a cute voice that came out from the claws that looked like five stacked toothpicks.

Only

-Connection was completed. After checking the external situation, we will enter standby mode.

"...It seems that it wasn't just an ore, but a golem." The item information came to Kang Shin-hyuk's mind as he sighed once more.

[Gromas 32nd Shelter Access Terminal]

[A-rank]

[As a result of removing the debris of the golem that formed the shelter facility, and after receiving sufficient spiritual power, it became a terminal that can re-operate the sleeping facility.]

[Special Ability: Boost]

*Boost: It draws out the inherent performance by activating the facilities linked to this terminal. However, permanent damage to the facility is inflicted when this ability is activated.

...These days, nothing was simple.