Episode 35
035. Blue Cave
[The proficiency of the ‘Soul Forging’ skill has increased.]
[The proficiency of the ‘Inspired Dexterity’ skill has increased.]
[The chance of a Great Success has slightly increased.]
.
.
.
Time passed, and finally, Golden Hand finished his last hammer blow.
Ssssss-!
Through the steam rising from the quenching water, an elegant spear with a subtle blue glow revealed itself.
[Blueprint saved to ‘Blue Index’.]
[Achieved a Great Success!]
[The grade of the crafted item has been raised by one tier!]
[Spear of Blue Flare]
Grade: Unique
Creator: Golden Hand
Attack Power: 80-120
Effects:
Attack Speed increased by 15%.
Piercing Power increased by 20%.
Passive Skill [Flare]: When attacking, a low chance for a blue flash to burst from the spear tip, blinding the target for 1 second.
Golden Hand checked the information.
Not only the grade but even the effects turned out to be quite suitable.
A weapon that was neither excessively overpowered nor too weak for Yeom Tae-hoon.
“It’s a bit disappointing, but… this should help you pass the test.”
Golden Hand handed the completed spear to Yeom Tae-hoon without hesitation.
Yeom Tae-hoon’s hands trembled slightly as he received it.
Swoosh-!
The sound as Yeom Tae-hoon, having taken the spear, lightly thrust it forward.
Even though he just tested it with a relaxed thrust into the air, the sound of it cutting through the air was different.
With an expression of disbelief, Yeom Tae-hoon looked at the spear in his hand.
“Th-This precious thing… is it really okay for me to take it?”
It wasn’t just because it was a Unique grade.
The perfect grip that felt just right in the hand.
The hardness that felt solid as if densely packed, yet light as a feather.
Moreover, even the spear’s length was the perfect size for him to wield.
It felt as if someone had observed him for a long time from the side and provided a spear perfectly customized for him.
Yeom Tae-hoon felt an odd sensation.
However, unlike Yeom Tae-hoon, Golden Hand didn’t seem entirely pleased.
‘Unique… The grade is fine, but the performance is a bit disappointing.’
The grade itself, unlike the ‘Moonlight Venomous Serpent Greatsword’ case, came out as intended, at Unique.
But its functionality was somewhat lacking.
‘If I had paid more attention to detail, I could have extracted more attack power or special effects even within the same Unique grade…’
Golden Hand was genuinely regretful.
If he had had related skills like carving for making the spear shaft, the completion would have been higher.
Though he was inwardly disappointed, he didn’t show it outwardly.
He simply addressed Yeom Tae-hoon.
“I said I’d give it, didn’t I? And it’s not free.”
“But I don’t have the money to buy something like this…”
Yeom Tae-hoon fumbled through his pouch.
It seemed he really liked the spear.
Golden Hand grinned and patted his shoulder.
“I told you earlier, right? That I’d ask for a favor someday when I need it. Just keep that promise, and it’s enough.”
The surrounding players who heard this reacted with incredulity.
“What? I can grant favors too! I can grant them right now!”
“If you give me a spear like that, I’ll follow Golden Hand hyung for life! Give me one too! Me too!”
“Would he give it? No, but does Golden Hand just give items like that for free? It looks super expensive though.”
“Is he really the GM’s son? Or at least the youngest son of a chaebol family?”
“If it were me, I’d just keep churning out items. You gotta make money, what are you doing?”
Golden Hand also heard the other players’ voices.
To those voices, Golden Hand could only sigh secretly.
‘Well, if I didn’t know either, I’d probably be focused on making money too…’
The era of ruin is coming.
Therefore, at this moment, money holds little meaning for Golden Hand.
Rather, growing and sowing seeds for the future is far more important to him.
“Well, shall we exchange friend requests?”
[‘Y_Taehoony_Y’ has been registered as a ‘Friend’.]
[You can now send private messages.]
A system message appeared.
Seeing the message, Golden Hand chuckled softly at the ID.
“Looking at the ID… are you Tae-hoon, by any chance?”
“Ah, yes! I’m Yeom Tae-hoon. If you need anything, send me a message! I’ll come running anytime…”
“No. Please, you send messages to me.”
“Huh? Me?”
Golden Hand nodded as he spoke.
As if the ‘Spear of Blue Flare’ he had just provided was merely a taste.
“If you need special items or face something difficult, send me a message. I’ll help you then.”
“No, why are you doing this for me…”
“Well, we both learned the spear from the same master, you know.”
Leaving Yeom Tae-hoon, who still didn’t understand his words, behind.
Yeom Tae-hoon, still dazed, watched Golden Hand’s retreating figure.
The future Spear Ghost, Yeom Tae-hoon.
The moment the first thread of fate with Golden Hand was firmly tied.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
“I wonder if it worked well…”
Muttering to himself while heading towards the ‘Blue Cave’ located west of the city.
Only Iron Walker responded to Golden Hand’s voice.
“Walker! Walker?”
Iron Walker seemed to have a question in his attitude.
At that attitude, Golden Hand chuckled and spoke.
It was just a soliloquy, whether Iron Walker understood or not.
“Kang Moo-jin and Yeom Tae-hoon are a bit different, you see.”
In Kang Moo-jin’s case, he was the type who wanted attention by monopolizing items everyone desired.
A style with a kind of attention-seeking ailment.
That’s why, even though it was an item for Kang Moo-jin, he deliberately put it up for auction instead of delivering it directly.
Kang Moo-jin had the financial power to claim it, and he would actually value it more by obtaining it that way.
But Yeom Tae-hoon’s case was different.
Yeom Tae-hoon was the type to doggedly dig a single path even if left alone.
The type who could break through with just a little help from the side.
That’s why he offered help.
“I wonder if Yeom Tae-hoon will even send a message, Walker.”
Golden Hand didn’t expect a message from Yeom Tae-hoon.
Because Yeom Tae-hoon was precisely the type to stubbornly try to solve things himself no matter how difficult.
But thinking of such Yeom Tae-hoon, Golden Hand wore a slight smile.
“Still, Walker, you know? Later on, I’ll get several times the item’s value out of him.”
“Walkerrrr…”
“With interest added, I’ll have him do all sorts of things…”
While engaged in a conversation that was more like a soliloquy with Iron Walker, a system message suddenly appeared.
[The Creator’s Resonance skill has reached Lv.2.]
[Your rapport with Iron Walker has increased.]
The ‘Creator’s Resonance’ skill had leveled up out of nowhere.
At that moment, Golden Hand’s eyes lit up.
‘Huh? It leveled up just from talking? Then…’
Creator’s Resonance.
The reason he could read Iron Walker’s emotions even without proper communication was thanks to this skill.
And now, though it was trivial conversation, the consistent dialogue seemed to have deepened his rapport with Iron Walker.
‘Did I gain a conversational partner?’
Golden Hand actually thought it was a good thing.
The tales of the era of ruin that no one would believe.
Even such absurd stories, Iron Walker would listen to them well.
But now was not the time.
“Walker, let’s pick up the pace. We need to reach the Blue Cave before sunset.”
“Walker! Walker!”
Iron Walker answered energetically and quickened his pace.
Finally, the entrance to a cave emitting an eerie blue light appeared before their eyes.
“Here it is.”
Golden Hand jumped down from Iron Walker’s back and stepped inside the cave.
Damp, cool air brushed past his cheeks.
The interior of the cave was, as expected, bathed entirely in blue light.
The moonlight moss covering the walls and ceiling emitted a subtle glow, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.
“Alright, let’s begin.”
Golden Hand took out the materials he had prepared in advance from his inventory.
He carefully applied the solution made by melting ‘Flame Salamander Spit’ onto his leather gloves and sprinkled ‘Mithril Powder’ over it.
It was preparation to neutralize the faint magical toxicity.
He carefully reached out towards the moonlight moss clinging to the wall.
Using a specially treated small trowel, he gently scraped off the moss and placed it into a special glass vial.
[Harvested ‘Moonlight Moss’.]
[The proficiency of the Inspired Dexterity skill has slightly increased.]
He didn’t have a harvesting-related skill, but he managed well enough.
After all, Golden Hand had the ‘Inspired Dexterity’ skill.
However, his brow furrowed.
“The amount is too small.”
The amount obtained from one harvest was barely the size of a fingernail.
To deal with the Corrupted Earthworm, he needed at least an amount equivalent to two fists.
At this rate, even pulling all-nighters for several days wouldn’t be enough.
“We’ll have to go deeper inside.”
Without hesitation, Golden Hand moved his steps deeper into the cave.
The deeper he went, the more intense the blue light became, but simultaneously, an unpleasant dampness and a sinister aura grew stronger.
Chiriririk-!
A swarm of insects appeared from the darkness, sparkling like fireflies.
They looked beautiful but were in reality extremely dangerous monsters.
[Crystal Beetle Lv.22]
“Walker, handle it.”
“Walkeeeer!”
Iron Walker’s flamethrower spewed fire.
The Crystal Beetles had hard carapaces, but before heat akin to furnace flames, they were helpless.
[Defeated Crystal Beetle.]
[Acquired ‘Crystal Fragment’.]
[Your level has increased! Lv.22]
The battle ended in an instant.
But Golden Hand’s expression didn’t improve.
“There’s not much moss here either. And why are there so many monsters?”
In his memory, the Blue Cave was not a place where monsters particularly spawned.
If monsters did spawn here, this place would already be crowded with players.
It was just a cave where peculiar moss grew.
Occasionally, low-level slimes or bats appeared, that was all.
That’s how it should have been, but the current state of the cave was completely different.
Monsters teemed everywhere, while the crucial moonlight moss was as sparse as beans in a drought.
