"Now it's all or nothing."
The combination-type skill was sothing anyone could use.
And with the right formula, any materials could be synthesized into sothing new.
Honestly, Su-ho would’ve loved to use Nam Hae-won’s synthesis ability, but he hadn’t prepared that far ahead.
"Next ti I et Hae-won, I’ll definitely have to get a proper synthesis done."
Su-ho quickly threw the gathered fragnts into the combination jar.
[You have placed Steel Bar Fragnt from the Howling Furnace into the Combination Jar.]
[You have placed Steel Bar Fragnt from the Howling Furnace into the Combination Jar.]
With the materials inserted, Su-ho imdiately activated the jar.
[Combination in progress...]
[Combination successful.]
[You have obtained Steel Bar Fragnt from the Howling Furnace (B).]
The system notification popped up.
Success.
Unlike usual, the ssage felt dull and unimpressive.
Which made sense—until now, every combination Su-ho had perford resulted in at least S-grade outcos.
"Yeah, this is the normal kind of result."
Still, it was unsettling to see the product share the sa na as the base materials.
Despite the slight unease, it was a success nonetheless—so he checked the details.
Steel Bar Fragnt from the Howling Furnace
Grade: B
A piece of reinforced steel extracted from the Howling Furnace.
Specially treated to withstand extre heat.
Grants Fire Resistance 1.5% when used.
Su-ho felt a small thrill surge through him.
"Yes, this is it."
The item effect had increased—from 1% to 1.5%.
Just a 0.5% bump, sure. But that wasn’t the important part.
The real takeaway was that the stat had increased at all.
That was the core strategy behind passing this trial.
"No ti to waste."
Ti wasn’t infinite.
To be precise—his stamina wasn’t infinite.
Su-ho replaced the item in the socket with the new 1.5% version and resud gathering more fragnts.
Clang, clang, clang!—Crack!
Clang, clang, clang!—Crack!
...
[Quadrant Harvest activated.]
[Quadrant Harvest activated.]
...
He moved nonstop.
The weak points, which initially started as isolated spots, gradually spread wider and wider.
He glanced toward the Magmanums and the Fla Demon just in case, but unfortunately, the Blacksmith’s Eye didn’t work on them.
"If only I could harvest from those guys—I bet the materials would be amazing."
As soon as he gathered enough fragnts, Su-ho tossed them into the jar and tried combining again.
He didn’t have a proper recipe for the steel bars, so all he could do was trial-and-error his way through combinations.
Still, the results turned out better than expected.
Then again, he wasn’t aiming to produce so god-tier item—just combining similar-grade materials.
Maybe that’s why.
After several trials, Su-ho finally uncovered a reliable formula for the steel bar fragnts.
"Combining items with identical options produces higher stats faster."
Failures were rare.
It was all B-grade materials, after all.
He repeated the gathering and combining process dozens of tis.
Then, just as he was starting to hamr ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) for a new batch—
Clang!
[The Blacksmith’s Unleashed Hamr reacts to your strikes.]
[Second seal is partially released.]
[A quest has been generated.]
The hamr's second seal had been released.
"Ah, right. The requirent for the second seal was that."
The first condition for releasing the second seal of the hamr: strike 100 tis.
Apparently, he’d hit that mark while gathering materials without realizing it.
Su-ho imdiately checked the new quest.
The Blacksmith’s Second Teaching
Grade: S
A masterpiece starts with the right materials, not just skill. And a true craftsman creates his own materials.
Forge over 100 enhanced materials by hamring overlapping fragnts.
"Overlapping materials and hamring them...?"
What the hell was that supposed to an?
But the confusion didn’t last long.
Su-ho’s gaze fell on the square steel fragnts he had just gathered.
"Does this an stacking them?"
After a mont of thought, Su-ho stacked two fragnts vertically and aid his hamr at the top.
There wasn’t any other logical strike point anyway.
Clang!
Right after the first strike—
The stacked fragnts faintly glowed red.
"This is it!"
He'd found the thod.
Su-ho continued hamring with increasing confidence.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The more he hamred, the hotter the fragnts glowed.
At the sa ti, the top fragnt gradually sank downward, fusing into the lower one, whose surface started to swell and absorb it.
After a few more strikes—
The upper fragnt fully lded with the lower.
KANG!!
The final hamr blow rang out with an especially crisp sound.
The glowing red fragnt briefly flashed yellow before returning to the familiar steel hue.
Then, a system ssage appeared.
[Material crafting successful.]
[You have obtained Steel Bar Fragnt from the Howling Furnace (B).]
"Is it done?"
Su-ho cautiously touched it.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t hot at all.
He checked the item info.
Steel Bar Fragnt from the Howling Furnace
Grade: B
A piece of reinforced steel extracted from the Howling Furnace.
Specially treated to withstand extre heat.
Grants Fire Resistance 2% when used.
“...!”
Su-ho’s eyes widened.
The synthesized fragnt had raised fire resistance by only 1.5%.
But this hamr-crafted version?
A full 2% increase—double the original base value.
"Completely different efficiency!"
As expected.
A Blacksmith’s hamr was no ordinary tool.
It made sense—what would be the point if it gave the sa results as a recipe anyone could use?
Fueled by that thought, Su-ho joyfully resud hamring.
Kang-kang-kang! Clang!
First, he harvested the materials.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! KANG!!
Then, he fused them by hamring.
It was fun.
Even though the hamring took more effort, it saved ti overall due to the improved efficiency.
Whenever the heat got too intense, he’d cool off briefly in his subspace house before returning.
In that process, Su-ho discovered sothing interesting.
"You don’t have to stack just two fragnts—you can do three or four at once. But unless the base stats match, the efficiency drops."
For example, combining two 1% fragnts gave 2%.
But a 2% and 1% combo? That only yielded a 0.5% increase.
Also, stacking too many without proper balance made them collapse, rendering the materials unusable.
"Can’t even socket them after that ss."
Sure, he could use his Blood Weapon to craft clamps and stabilize them—but that took too many hits compared to just hamring two at a ti.
So, for now, pairing them up was the most efficient thod.
Eventually, after repeating this process—
A surprising ssage appeared.
[Material crafting successful.]
[You have obtained Steel Bar Fragnt from the Howling Furnace (A).]
Sa na.
But this ti, the grade was different.
Su-ho instantly checked the new item.
Steel Bar Fragnt from the Howling Furnace
Grade: A
A piece of reinforced steel extracted from the Howling Furnace.
Specially treated to withstand extre heat.
Has developed superior properties through multiple crafting processes.
Grants Fire Resistance 10% when used.
As the grade rose, so did the description.
And now, the fire resistance was in the double digits.
"Yeah, at 10%, this is finally worthy of being called A-grade."
Items with high elental resistance were usually high-grade.
Elental resistance and affinity were always valuable, regardless of level.
Su-ho imdiately slotted it in.
[Steel Bar Fragnt from the Howling Furnace has been equipped to Socket 1.]
[Fire Resistance has increased by 10%.]
That brought his total fire resistance to 60%.
"At 60%, I can really feel the difference."
At 55%, he wasn’t sure if it was working.
At 56%, he sensed a slight shift.
But at 60%?
The effect was undeniable.
Just then—
[Naless Blacksmiths nod at your actions.]
A system ssage appeared.
The fourth hourglass had run out.
Su-ho smiled with satisfaction.
"Looks like this was the right approach."
Earlier, when he half-assed the process, the Blacksmiths weren't impressed.
But now?
They acknowledged him.
Clearly, using the Blacksmith's Eye and Hamr was the correct thod.
Eyes gleaming, Su-ho turned to the fifth hourglass.
The final one.
But then—
"Hihihiiiing!!"
The Fla Demon, silent until now, suddenly let out a wild scream.
What the hell?
The final hourglass hadn't even started yet.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!
Suddenly, the entire forge began to quake.
It felt like an earthquake—Su-ho almost lost his balance.
“Woah!”
“Woah!”
A few Magmanums toppled off the steel bars in the chaos.
Was that lucky?
No.
Because right after the shaking stopped, lava began to surge upward.
"No way..."
Like water flooding a sinking ship, lava rose right up to the base of the steel bars.
The Fla Demon howled again.
"HII-HIIIIING!"
Its body turned blue—its mane erupting into blue flas, setting its entire surroundings ablaze.
It was the highest-level fla Su-ho had seen in this trial.
And with lava now licking at the bottom of the steel bars, the heat beca unbearable.
Only then did the final hourglass start to drip.
"You’ve gotta be kidding ."
The heat was on a whole different level now.
It had been brutal before—but this?
This was deadly.
Su-ho bit his lip hard.
Then activated the Blacksmith’s Eye and turned his gaze toward the tracks.
Even with 60% fire resistance, it wasn’t enough.
"No choice. I have to move fast."
Just as he raised the hamr again—
[Boss Monster has appeared.]
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