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“Star Ingot? You want me to make a weapon out of this?”
Kim Jaeha stared at it with a baffled expression after hearing the explanation.
But the one who had brought it up was perfectly unfazed.
“You made the Rank 6 weapon just fine, didn’t you?”
“That was different. Just looking at this thing, I can feel it — I shouldn’t be touching it.”
The ingot with its surging five-colored light was shrouded in mystique from its very appearance.
With the item description explicitly saying it would be very difficult to work with, this was outside any normal category.
“At the very least, give me some time. Do I need to push myself to Rank 5… no, Rank 6? I genuinely can’t get a read on this.”
He had been honing his metallurgy to the best of his ability, but Rank 4 was his limit.
If failure wasn’t an option, he wanted to go in with every possible preparation made.
“Don’t worry. You’ll be able to grow properly here in this tower.”
“Grow? Level matters, sure, but that doesn’t have much to do with metallurgy.”
“Just come take a look.”
Hanbit walked toward the central path of the outpost.
Kim Jaeha, looking puzzled, followed along with Avant-garde.
Clang—! Clang—!
As they made their way down the path, the sound of hammering reached them from not far off.
Hanbit, walking ahead, stopped in front of an old man with a long beard.
[Soul Blacksmith of the Outpost]
Even as they came close, the blacksmith kept silently pounding his hammer.
His gaze was fixed on a blade glowing red-hot.
“….A blacksmith?”
Kim Jaeha’s expression shifted quickly to something serious.
He wore the look of someone concentrating on every motion of the hammer.
“Use that empty space over there. Your weapon needs repairing anyway, doesn’t it?”
“Huh? I can use it?”
“It’s fine.”
“In that case…”
Kim Jaeha glanced sideways and looked at the space right beside the blacksmith.
It wasn’t fully equipped, but it was more than enough to serve as a makeshift forge.
“Give me yours too. And yours, Avant-garde.”
Kim Jaeha settled in and pulled out his hammer.
Hanbit and Avant-garde handed over their respective weapons.
“It might take a while, but I’ll do it right.”
He examined the blade’s edge carefully and prepared to begin.
Hanbit stepped a few paces back and watched quietly.
Scrape—
The process of smoothing out the cracks that had formed on the blade’s surface was strikingly realistic.
Kim Jaeha’s expression, as he worked, had grown even more intent than before.
“…”
The soul blacksmith, forging his own weapon up ahead, let his gaze drift over briefly.
He didn’t say anything — but he was clearly watching Kim Jaeha.
Clang—!
The work of two blacksmiths continued in silence for dozens of minutes.
Then, a little more time passed.
Thud—
The soul blacksmith set down his hammer and turned.
“Pitiful.”
“…?”
Kim Jaeha wore a baffled expression at the sudden criticism that came out of nowhere.
But the blacksmith, arms crossed, didn’t stop.
“Your technical aptitude isn’t bad — but your desperation is lacking. From the moment we grip the hammer, we stake our lives. If you’re only going to play house, don’t even start.”
“What do you know about me, talking to me like that?”
“I can see it clearly. Your future self, frozen at that level of capacity for the rest of your life. Missing the window for growth, and beating the ground in regret.”
“I’ve been sitting here listening to this long enough.”
At the string of remarks that were almost like a curse, Kim Jaeha snapped back.
Even under his sharp glare, the soul blacksmith held firm.
“So you have some pride in you, at least. But reality doesn’t change. Did your master not teach you properly?”
“I don’t know how great a blacksmith you think you are, but my master…”
The argument, now in full swing, burned on intensely.
Hanbit watched the scene and turned to Avant-garde.
“Let’s come back later.”
“Understood.”
The two left the forge and headed toward the outpost’s outer perimeter.
The staircase leading to Floor 29 was there.
“You said we’d be tackling the upper floors together — but I’m worried I might just get in the way.”
Avant-garde, standing beside him looking at the staircase, asked quietly.
His current level was 130.
Since arriving at the tower, the gap between him and Hanbit had grown sharply.
The underground clear in particular had made for an enormous shift.
[Black Dragon — Lv.182]
[Title: None]
Strength: 210
Agility: 210
Intelligence: 210
Stamina: 206
Remaining Stat Points: 0
The minimum target he had originally set was level 150.
He had long since surpassed that, and there were still 21 floors remaining.
Considering the total experience, he would probably break 200 by the end.
“You’ll be fine. I’m going to use this.”
Hanbit drew a dark crimson crystal from his inventory.
The Madness-Imbued Summoning Stone obtained from the underground.
“Elites of the Madness Legion… So the monsters from underground will appear?”
Avant-garde, examining the item’s information, asked with curiosity.
Having only received updates via message, he hadn’t yet seen the Madness Legion in person.
“More precisely, it’ll summon the demons the boss was calling up. They’re quite capable in combat, so getting up to Floor 49 should be comfortable enough.”
“..As expected, Black Dragon, you really are something. A method I could never have imagined.”
This world did include abilities to summon and command things.
But for players, that was a far and distant matter.
Something like this summoning stone would be so rare it probably wasn’t even known to exist.
‘It’s changed into a proper entrance now.’
Hanbit stepped closer to the staircase and looked up at the door.
Whoever had entered the Tower of Vortex before him had likely climbed all the way to the top.
But the method to purify the madness of the underground and reveal the tower’s true form — that, they had not known.
Which meant clearing the tower from Floor 29 onward would come with a First Clear title.
“Let’s head to the general store. I need to craft some items for the floors ahead.”
Hanbit turned back, and returned to the outpost with Avant-garde.
Here, ordinary purchases could be made simply by paying gold.
Clatter—
Hanbit obtained what he needed and pulled out his crafting tools, beginning to produce a variety of items.
It wasn’t a simple task, so it took a fair amount of time.
“Black Dragon!”
“We’re here!”
After a few hours had passed, the twins joined them.
And when the crafting was finished, Kim Jaeha also returned.
“I am absolutely going to clear this quest no matter what.”
Still fuming, his hands held a black hammer and an ingot.
One might call it a trial bestowed by the soul blacksmith.
“It showed up as a quest?”
“A hidden quest, no less — he got under my skin so badly it had me missing Ifrit. I think what made it worse was that everything he said was right… but I still can’t stand him.”
Kim Jaeha shuddered as though the memory still made his skin crawl.
He had endured all manner of situations — yet this one seemed to have hit hard.
Even so, the fact that he acknowledged his own shortcomings was very much in keeping with who he was.
“What does the quest ask you to do?”
“While climbing the tower, I have to craft a sword using this ingot and fill up the completion gauge. You can only reach true desperation when your life is on the line, or something like that.”
He added that the gauge didn’t increase in areas like waiting rooms.
In other words, he had to forge weapons in danger zones — whether in combat or just surviving.
“I can handle your safety — but that ingot won’t be easy to work with either.”
“I’ll do it regardless. In the end, I need to become able to work with the Star Ingot you brought.”
Kim Jaeha steeled his resolve, stubbornness and fire mingled together.
In that state, he would see it through cleanly.
“Then we should head out soon. I’ll give a quick briefing at the entrance.”
Hanbit’s party moved to the staircase leading to Floor 29.
Standing to face the group, Hanbit sent a pre-written message to everyone.
“The structure above isn’t fundamentally different from below. But it’ll be much more dangerous, with far more demanding conditions.”
“So it’ll take quite a while? I guess I’ll just skip school tomorrow.”
Haneul nodded to herself as though there was nothing to be done about it.
Noeul, standing beside her, let out a brief sigh.
“Tomorrow’s Saturday, so we don’t have school anyway…”
“It’s the thought that counts!”
The twins’ exchange, playing out like a comedy routine.
He had absolutely no intention of letting them skip school — but fortunately, that wasn’t even a concern.
“I’m finishing the tower by this Sunday.”
“Sunday?”
“That fast?”
Everyone’s eyes went wide at the declaration.
As he himself had said, the upper floors were more difficult.
Even with Black Dragon in the party, that was a remarkably fast pace.
“Didn’t you say we’d be in the tower for about two weeks? That’d leave a full week open.”
Kim Jaeha recalled what Hanbit had said and asked.
That plan hadn’t changed.
“The remaining time is for individual growth. There are things to do after clearing the tower.”
What each of the four needed was different.
Leveling up and stats, of course — but also completing the items they would be purchasing from the shop at the tower’s summit.
“Either way, Floor 50 comes first. I’ll just cover a few additional points.”
With that, Hanbit relayed what the message hadn’t included.
There wasn’t much the others needed to know.
Mainly the characteristics of the items they would be using, and the risks associated with the Madness Legion elites that would be summoned.
Once he finished, Hanbit pulled a blue crystal from his inventory.
“Floor 29 is survival. Let’s go in.”
* * *
Saaaaa—
A space of death, filled with freezing cold.
Fierce gales were howling throughout.
-??
-Right as the stream came on
-Floor 29?
-They’re all together somehow. lol
-But why aren’t they dodging?
The stream had turned on just before entry, so viewers were catching up first.
Whoooosh—!
The deathly cold surging continuously was threatening.
Yet Hanbit’s party, seated at the center of the floor, was watching the surroundings at leisure from inside a transparent barrier.
“You could sleep here.”
“I didn’t expect it to be this safe…”
The twins looked on in pure admiration at the cold swirling outside.
The interior of the barrier was on a completely different level.
A warmth even circulated inside — making it feel like an entirely different world.
[Tower of Vortex — Floor 29]
Classification: Party
Trial: Survival
Objective: Survive for 30 or more minutes against the deathly cold.
Reward: Floor 29 Settlement
Time Limit: 1 Hour
A clear and simple condition.
This floor required continuous evasion of the surging patterns of the cold storm.
But right now, that wasn’t necessary.
“I didn’t expect you to use that here.”
Kim Jaeha, pounding an ingot at the portable forge set up to one side, let out a short remark.
Beneath Hanbit’s feet at the center, a blue crystal was glowing.
[Yeti’s Breath]
Rank: 5
Grade: Epic
Description: A rare crystal formed by condensing the Yeti’s breath mixed into its Breath attack. Mana absorbed over a long period has condensed with the cold to form a new shape. When used, creates a single-use protected zone that generates strong cold resistance and aids in health and mana recovery. Once the Breath has lost its function, it can be used as a material for refining magical tools and equipment.
The Yeti, Sentinel of the Snowfield, slain back in Ifrit.
The use for this spoil had been decided from that moment.
Ripple—
A very thin film of water spread across the inner surface of the barrier.
The Yeti’s Breath alone wasn’t quite enough to hold it all back, so Undine’s power was filling in the gaps.
Whooom—
When thirty minutes had passed, a safe zone appeared.
But this time, too, he did not move toward it.
Saaaaa—
The renewed cold attack continued, extending well into overtime.
When he finally strolled leisurely over to the newly generated safe zone, an alert appeared.
[Tower of Vortex — Floor 29 cleared.]
[Based on excess survival time, reward has been adjusted to maximum.]
[Additional reward granted for first clear.]
[5,000,000 Gold received.]
[15 Stat Points granted.]
[Vortex Coins x15 obtained.]
[Experience points increased by 5,000,000.]
[Level increased by 2.]
[2 Stat Points granted.]
-?
-These numbers look wrong
-5 million experience?
-And only 2 levels?
-15 Stat Points too
-The gold is bugged too
-Did he level up already?
-No way, it’s a rest floor
Strikingly different numbers compared to the last stream before Floor 28.
Some expressed doubt about the level, but the method was unclear enough that certainty was hard to come by.
‘I’ll keep it hidden for a bit.’
When he left the tower, Adventurer A’s crowd would likely come around again.
Judging by the community’s reaction, they were probably watching the stream right now grinding their teeth.
Revealing his level after putting that man firmly in his place seemed the better move.
“Wait, why are the rewards like this?”
“This much is coming in…!”
“Wow, I gained 3 levels!”
“I gained 3 levels too!”
The party members’ eyes went wide at the reward figures they hadn’t expected.
The floor’s trials appeared at a difficulty calibrated to Hanbit, the party leader.
Normally, rewards would be distributed on a tiered basis according to contribution — as in the underground — but this time no such message appeared.
In other words, everyone could receive the maximum reward.
“That’s good. Let’s get as much as we can from the floors above too.”
Slide—
Hanbit drew a dark crimson crystal from his inventory.
The Madness-Imbued Summoning Stone.
“From here on, these will be doing the fighting. Just follow the precautions.”
Flash—!
The moment he activated the summoning stone, a violent shimmer stretched out from the crystal and drove into the ground.
And a short while later—
Slide—
Fully armored elites of the Madness Legion revealed themselves.
