Chapter 694: Material Stew
WHOOOOSH!
The terrifying heat radiating from the flock of phoenixes swept every trace of snow from the area.
Naturally, Blizzard Witch, who had stood at the center of it, had evaporated without leaving even a trace.
Only a tiny fraction of the frozen friends remained, and even those had collapsed onto the ground like puppets with their strings cut.
CRUNCH, CRACK.
And the lumberjack golem immediately resumed swinging its axe.
As if witches, battles, [Blizzard Mark], and hills of ice were none of its concern.
With practiced ease, it loaded the falling trees onto its cart.
Sometimes I really was jealous of not having to think.
I gave it a glance, then said to Hong Yeonhwa,
“You did great.”
“You worked hard too...!”
“You got some good rank-up progress in here, didn’t you? Your magic link-ups feel smoother too.”
“Yeah. Thanks again. For picking this place with me in mind.”
“Shall we go?”
I smiled and held out my hand.
Hong Yeonhwa smiled right back and took it.
Then we left with the lumberjack golem.
*****
In a peaceful atmosphere, without anyone interrupting us, we continued logging.
At the moment, we were back at the cabin.
CRACK, CRUNCH!
While the lumberjack tirelessly split logs,
we looked up at the massive pile of firewood filling the clearing.
We’d stacked it steadily for so long that it had long since passed human height, and by now it was almost as tall as the golem itself.
Which means we’re almost done.
With the thing’s design purpose of storing a set amount of wood.
Which also meant the dungeon would be cleared soon.
Of course, by then we had already collected more than enough for ourselves.
[Blue Banyan Wood(C+)] x3
[Splendid Peacock Wood(B)]
[Snow Date Palm(C+)] x2
.......
Not only had the item count passed into double digits, most of them were C+-rank or higher.
Guiding the lumberjack toward only high-quality trees had definitely paid off.
CRACK!
The last remaining log split under the axe.
The lumberjack picked it up and stacked it on top of the firewood pile.
Until now, it would have dragged its cart back into the forest again—
but this time, it simply stopped where it was.
Staring at the firewood pile like it was the masterpiece of its life.
It stayed like that for quite a while before finally walking over to one corner of the clearing and crouching down.
Because even if it gathered more, there’d be nowhere to put it.
It had been designed to wait once it reached the set quota.
After that, whenever its owner collected the lumber and made space, the lumberjack would resume work.
Though who knows when they’ll come back.
Judging by the state of the cabin, it looked like it had been abandoned for ages, so the thing was probably in for a very long rest.
I looked at its worn wooden face and said,
“You’ve worked hard all this time. Get some rest.”
A moment later, I heard the sound of collapse and destruction accompanied by a heavy tremor.
RUMBLE......
Which meant the dungeon had been cleared.
Hong Yeonhwa and I gave it one last look, then stepped through the teleportation portal together.
My vision went black, then brightened again.
The next moment, we were standing in the underground floors of the dungeon building.
Shin Byeongcheol dropped his concealment at once.
“So, you made it out.”
“We did. Been waiting long?”
“Eh. More or less.”
For some reason, his energy seemed lower than it had been when we entered the dungeon.
Even his complexion looked a shade darker, so I asked casually,
“Something happen?”
“It did, but... let’s go up first and talk.”
Shin Byeongcheol hurried ahead like someone might come chasing after him.
As I followed, I thought,
Yeah, something definitely happened.
Normally, he moved with his usual light mood, mixing in small talk here and there.
Right now, though, he looked completely focused on his role as guide, as if he wasn’t going to let his guard down for even a second.
From our side, faster and safer was better too, so we didn’t say anything and simply left the dungeon building with him.
Only after we’d moved to a place well away from it did Shin Byeongcheol start explaining.
“On the way down, I got caught by Song Cheonhye.”
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”
“No, seriously, what did she do over winter break, train nothing but stealth detection? Why has she gotten so much better?”
“How would I know? So what happened?”
“I had no choice but to call Senior Gwak.”
And thanks to Gwak Seungjae handling things properly, he’d managed to get out of the crisis.
Though in return, he’d basically had to write him the equivalent of a blank check.
Shin Byeongcheol let out a long sigh.
“I kept things from blowing back on your side as much as I could, but still... sorry.”
“If it got resolved, that’s what matters.”
I answered like it was no big deal.
That did leave me owing Gwak Seungjae a bit emotionally, but there would be plenty of chances to pay that back later.
Just recently, hadn’t I quietly sent a hidden-piece walkthrough over to Park Nari’s group and Gwak Jicheol’s group?
Even so, Shin Byeongcheol still looked far from relieved as he continued.
“And on a different note, I heard some kind of weird sound.”
He said both he and Song Cheonhye had heard something wet and sloshing.
The odds of it being a simple auditory hallucination were low. More likely than not, it meant someone besides us had come down into the underground floors in secret.
Suddenly, I remembered what had happened at the opening ceremony.
Seo Ye-in had noticed something, then lost it.
Whether this was connected to that was a little unclear, but it still seemed worth giving the principal another heads-up.
Shin Byeongcheol soon brushed himself off and stood.
“Anyway, get some rest. I’m gonna head to the training center for the first time in a while.”
“Work hard.”
After sending him off, Hong Yeonhwa and I spent some time resting and waiting over coffee.
And before long, the other parties began finishing their raids one by one and coming to find us.
Go Hyeonwoo wore a faint smile, and Han Somi greeted us brightly.
“We’re baaack!”
“You two look awfully refreshed. Sounds like things went well.”
“We got everything!”
Han Somi made quick slashing motions through the air.
The dungeon the two of them had cleared was No.243, .
As the name suggested, it was a place for obtaining stone materials.
They would have had to fight all kinds of different golems in the process, but since it was heavily focused on close combat, it had probably been easier for those two than most.
Way easier than dealing with mages or archers, at least.
And since the raid was just fight, fight, and more fight from start to finish, there was barely anything to think about.
Basically a Han Somi-friendly dungeon.
Of course, that didn’t mean the difficulty was low.
The fact that they had cleared it cleanly at 120% still stood.
So I praised them.
“Reliable as ever. Looks like I can keep trusting you with things.”
“Just leave it to us!”
Han Somi grinned like she couldn’t be happier.
Next, Dang Gyu-ri and Seo Ye-in joined us.
Dang Gyu-ri repeatedly thumped their lower back with a fist.
“Ugh, it still hurts. This is going to last for days.”
“Why your back?”
“Why do you think? Flying around on a snake.”
That made me recall when we had taken down the Feathered Serpent.
Including the way it had wound and twisted through the sky.
“That must’ve been uncomfortable.”
“Oh, the ride quality was terrible. Did it have to be a snake? That griffon looked way better.”
“There’s a difference in combat power.”
Just because something was a flying undead didn’t mean you had to ride it.
A perfectly valid strategy was for Dang Gyu-ri to stay on the ground maintaining [Umbral Corridor] while sending the Feathered Serpent into the air to secure air superiority.
After explaining that, I added,
“And the ride quality is probably something you’ll get used to with enough time.”
“Probably. If I ride it enough.”
Dang Gyu-ri gave me a meaningful look.
Like a fox quietly stalking its prey.
So I asked lightly,
“Did I miss something?”
“You’ll figure it out naturally when the time comes. For now, come massage me. My back really does hurt.”
Dang Gyu-ri groaned dramatically and flopped down across the table.
If you wanted to get technical, it was partly my responsibility.
I was the one who had gotten them to register the Feathered Serpent in their slot, and out of all the dungeons available, I’d picked an aerial-type one.
So I patted and pressed at Dang Gyu-ri’s back and waist.
“Does that feel better?”
“Oh. Ohh... yeah, I think I can live again. Keep going.”
Seeing Dang Gyu-ri’s expression loosen into obvious satisfaction, interest lit up on everyone else’s faces.
Seo Ye-in tugged at my sleeve.
“......Me next.”
“Of course I have to do yours too.”
Hong Yeonhwa, on the other hand, only looked on with envy.
She’d already gotten plenty of rest, so asking for the same probably made her conscience sting.
And Han Somi suddenly complained of shoulder pain while looking at Go Hyeonwoo.
“I swung too hard!”
“Ha ha, you worked hard, Miss Han.”
With a low laugh, Go Hyeonwoo started massaging her shoulders.
Lately, it seemed that when she asked directly, he more or less gave in.
I kept thumping Dang Gyu-ri’s back as I looked around at the others.
“Since we’re all here, let’s settle accounts. Take out the materials.”
At that, all sorts of monster and beast byproducts came pouring out of Seo Ye-in’s inventory.
They had completely cleaned out the storehouses in the Griffon Bandit Camp.
Han Somi also took out a variety of stone materials.
[Amber of Destruction(C)]
[Moss-Covered Limestone(C+)] x2
[Glittering Granite(C)]
.......
And then there was the lumber we had swiped from the firewood pile.
The materials piled up high enough to form a small mountain.
Next, I took out the crucible I’d gotten as a sub-quest reward.
[Crucible of Mixing]
▷ Mixes material items together.
▷ There is a certain probability of receiving or increasing a rank bonus.
▷ The more material used, the higher the rank-up probability.
▷ Destroyed after one use.
“Then let’s combine them.”
After getting final agreement from everyone, I began putting the materials into the crucible.
Even though it was only about the size of a pot at most, materials far larger than it kept slipping right in.
Thick chunks of wood, monster hides wide enough to pitch a tent on, rocks the size of soccer balls or basketballs—all of them vanished as if being absorbed.
Seo Ye-in leaned over and peered in with eyes full of curiosity.
“......?”
Apparently she was wondering what the inside of the crucible looked like.
I was curious too, so I took a look myself—
and found something utterly not of this world unfolding inside it.
BUBBLE, BUBBLE, BUBBLE.......
At some point, the materials had begun mixing together in chaotic disorder, boiling like liquid.
At the same time, a notification message appeared at the edge of my vision.
[Do you wish to use [Crucible of Mixing]?]
[Accept / Decline]
After coming this far, declining would mean throwing everything away.
So I immediately selected Accept.
CRUMBLE.
The crucible scattered into powder, revealing the result inside.
A solid lump formed from that otherworldly something that had been liquid just moments ago.
Maybe because it had mixed wood and stone together, it was mostly grayish brown, and here and there bits that looked like claws or teeth jutted from the surface.
[Disgusting but Shining Mixture(B+)]
The name and appearance aren’t what matter.
What mattered was that it had preserved the full amount of material we’d put in, while raising the average rank all the way from C+ to B+.
Next, I took out the long-awaited selection ticket.
[Greedy Choice(A)]
▷ Growth-type item
▷ Exp: 32.00%
“I’m going to feed it.”
“One shot straight to S-rank!”
Han Somi clenched a fist.
The others, too, watched with a mix of tension, anticipation, and encouragement.
A moment later, the grotesque lump blurred like smoke—
and was absorbed straight into the ticket.