Chapter 53
Heavenly Lake Workshop (2)
The star force bursting out of the talisman drilled into the ground, spreading in all directions.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA—!!
Soon, pure magma erupted from deep underground, pushing up the hardened, dark-red lava that had cooled over time.
Hal-mang’s (the old master’s) thin arms tensed even further.
KUGUGU—!!
The ground of the entire cavern swelled upward as the magma’s surge grew more intense.
“It’s working! The central core is regaining its light!”
“As expected of Hal-mang!”
Without even a second to wipe the sweat from her brow, the old woman shouted:
“Don’t just stand there gaping! Stoke the forges again! You think we can afford to let every last one of them go cold?!”
“Y-yes, ma’am!!”
The smiths moved in perfect unison, pushing the bellows back into the furnace.
The “core,” as they called it, was massive—so much so that several people had to pull together on the pumps to breathe life into it.
“Pull!!”
Hwooosh—!
They could have automated the bellows, but the Heavenly Lake Workshop insisted on keeping to old-fashioned methods.
They claimed that otherwise, the soul of a craftsman couldn’t truly be infused into the work.
“A bit more!!”
“Now! Light it up!!”
Fwoooosh—!
Flames roared violently from the furnace mouth.
When Sehyun approached the old woman—who was catching her breath while clutching the talisman to her chest—she scowled.
“What’s with that stupid face?”
Ah. Without realizing, he’d let out a small laugh.
He hadn’t meant anything bad by it.
“I think I finally know what I should offer.”
When Sehyun said that honestly, she gave him a puzzled look.
“Didn’t we already talk about that?”
“And conveniently,”
He pointed at the magma column that had only just regained its light.
“I think there’s something here I can help you with.”
No wonder his lips had curled into a grin.
At last, he had figured out what to offer in exchange for the ash he needed.
“You’re worried about the fissure, right? Well, that happens to be my specialty.”
* * *
Beneath the central core lay the fissure of cold energy.
That fissure hadn’t suddenly appeared—it had existed since the day Mount Baekdu’s massive core was first formed.
The Heavenly Lake Workshop used that cold fissure to regulate the overload of magma.
“That’s why, despite being an active volcano that could erupt at any time, it’s managed to maintain a delicate balance. Like a natural circulation system.”
The chief blacksmith continued explaining.
“But about a month ago… the cold energy began to leak out more often. Every time that happens, Hal-mang has to step in to stabilize it. That’s why I’ve been put in charge of the workshop’s operations, for now.”
To Sehyun, this was all news.
In his previous life, Hal-mang had never stepped down, nor had the fissure ever gone out of control.
The only difference this time was that he had arrived a little earlier.
But that alone couldn’t explain it.
“If the fissure’s unstable, can’t you just get rid of it?”
“I told you—it’s dangerous to do that. We need it. It’s overcooling now, but that same cold keeps the volcano from exploding…”
“Then you shouldn’t be relying on an unstable system in the first place.”
The chief blacksmith shook his head.
“We’ve tried. We even attempted to implement a cooling system like those used in power plants, but… it’s impossible to apply under these conditions.”
“Of course it doesn’t work.”
Mount Baekdu wasn’t an ordinary mountain.
The entire mountain was saturated with a mysterious stellaric force—even the magma carried it.
Hal-mang’s talisman was a divine artifact capable of seizing control over that stellaric flow, allowing her to command it freely.
‘In other words, without that relic, controlling it is practically impossible.’
Just as a body’s immune system rejects foreign invaders, the mountain itself repelled outside interference.
That was another reason the Heavenly Lake Workshop stuck to its ancient methods.
So, using the cold fissure had been their only viable solution.
“Using something that’s inherently flawed? That’s not craftsmanship.”
“…!”
“Whatever the problem is, you fix it and make it work.”
Never settle for what’s given.
If there’s no way, find one.
That was one of Hal-mang’s teachings.
Hearing her own words echoed by a stranger, the chief blacksmith could only fall silent.
“Hmph, smooth talker for someone so young.”
Hal-mang, having recovered somewhat from the strain of using her talisman, walked into the room.
“Why are you up? You should be resting.”
“My useless apprentice can only whine, while this stranger here says something interesting. How could I not come see? Well then, how exactly do you plan to find a way that doesn’t exist?”
Sehyun didn’t answer—he simply set something on the table.
Both Hal-mang and the chief blacksmith blinked.
“That’s…?”
“A heat pack?”
A heat pack filled with Nakyulseok—heat-absorbing stones.
He hadn’t used one since the incident in Randellof.
The problem with the magma wasn’t just its heat—it was that the stellaric energy within it interfered with surrounding facilities, almost as if the magma itself refused to be touched.
But Nakyulseok could withstand that.
“And what about cooling? You should know this—you can’t just lower the temperature of that magma.”
“Of course I know.”
The heat of Mount Baekdu wasn’t from ordinary magma.
The magma itself was more like a manifested ability, produced through stellaric force.
In other words—
“The key is neutralizing the stellaric flow within the magma. And I know how to do that.”
Sehyun unfolded the blueprint forming in his head and began sketching it on the table.
At first, Hal-mang watched with mild curiosity. Then her eyes widened.
Soon, a complex design appeared: a twenty-sided construct revolving endlessly around a central soul stone, each face engraved with divine runes to control the magma’s stellaric energy.
“While I’m gone, teach your smiths this design. You’ll be the ones building it.”
The chief blacksmith blinked, trying to make sense of the drawings.
“We’re supposed to make this? And where are you going…?”
“Where else? To get the core material.”
And conveniently, the byproduct from the boss monster inside that fissure would make a perfect material.
* * *
When Sehyun entered the fissure, the scenery was different from what he’d imagined.
He’d expected an icy hell—the opposite of the fiery one he’d seen with Randellof.
Splash—
A shallow lake spread endlessly toward the horizon, water barely reaching his ankles.
The world looked submerged, the sky reflected perfectly in the still surface, blurring the line between heaven and earth.
“…Too quiet. Suspiciously quiet.”
Normally, a rift like this would be filled with floating wisps.
But there was nothing.
A sign that some immense stellaric force was suppressing monster formation.
“Jia, you ready?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Then why that face?”
Kang Jia looked sulky.
“My expectations were crushed. Completely.”
“…You’re still talking about that monster thing?”
“Do you know how long I’ve waited to see one? Since before I became a Tamer!”
She sighed while scrolling through photos on her phone.
He didn’t know what to tell her—what doesn’t exist, doesn’t exist.
But now wasn’t the time to be distracted.
They needed to lure out whatever boss was lurking and collect the necessary materials.
There was only one way.
“…You want me to be the bait?”
“Lend me a hand, will you? After everything I’ve done for you.”
“…Tch, can’t argue with that.”
Sasha cursed under her breath as she straightened her clothes.
“Fine, let’s help each other out.”
“Сука, I only came to watch since I opened the path for you, and now this headache…”
She began to draw upon her stellaric energy.
Gu-gu-gu-gu—!
From Meteor-class, to Satellite-class… and finally to Planetary-class.
Before long, a Stellar-class level of power—far too vast for one person—blanketed the entire rift.
Kang Jia gasped for air.
“Haaah—O-oppa… I can’t breathe…”
“Hang in there.”
Even Sehyun was struggling to withstand it.
“You sure about this? I can push it even higher.”
“Do it. We’ll need that much to lure this thing out.”
If it could spew cold strong enough to leak outside the rift, it had to be monstrously powerful.
Definitely above Stellar-class.
Only a force like this could draw its attention.
And as if in answer to Sehyun’s expectations—
Crack—!
Fissures ran through the ice Sasha had spread over the lake.
“It’s coming.”
KWAJIIIIIING—!!
The ice all around them shattered as something enormous burst from beneath the surface.
A massive creature shot skyward, shards of ice floating and spiraling around it in midair.
“Khugh… huh?”
Gasping from the pressure, Kang Jia’s eyes flicked upward—and widened.
“That’s…!”
The colossal beast crashed down with a boom, sending waves rolling across the lake.
When the ripples cleared, Sehyun could finally see it.
“Stay alert. That’s our…”
“It’s real! It’s actually real!!”
“…What?”
“Look! It’s exactly like the photos!!!”
A long, crane-like neck.
A body as massive as a whale.
Wide fins that let it swim through the air.
“The Heavenly Lake Monster…! I knew it existed!!”
Click! Click!
Kang Jia snapped photos like an excited tourist.
“…Right. You just do that.”
If there had been smaller mobs, he’d have let her handle them—but this boss was way beyond her level.
And in this case, there was only one person fit to fight it.
“I can trust you with this, right, Sasha?”
“You expect me to solo that?”
Hwoooosh—!
The Heavenly Lake Monster inhaled deeply, then unleashed a freezing breath.
A blizzard roared toward them—but Sasha raised her hand and summoned a barrier.
The storm broke harmlessly against it.
She didn’t even flinch.
‘As expected of a successor…’
Her stellaric control was on another level compared to what she’d shown back in Vladivostok.
Sehyun had been ready to step in with advice, but clearly, she didn’t need it.
KRRRROOOAAARRR!!!
The monster’s fins gathered shards of ice into a massive greatsword.
That attack pattern—normally, the safest play was to rush in close, inside its swing range.
But Sasha didn’t bother.
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK—!
Dozens of ice pillars erupted from all directions, locking down the monster’s blade.
Before it could even start its wild slashing pattern, she’d sealed it completely.
The beast, realizing it couldn’t swing, released the sword and took to the air.
Ice fragments swirled violently, forming a massive ring that enclosed them.
The ring shrank slowly, while the monster’s shadow above grew larger.
A rational fighter would try to escape the ring, taking some damage to get clear—but Sasha’s method was simpler.
“Coming straight at me, huh? Fine, bring it on!”
She extended her hand toward the sky.
Swoooosh—
The entire lake began to move.
“Nice sword you’ve got there.”
And then, towering ice blades—each dozens of meters tall—rose all around Sehyun.
“…Holy shit.”
It was breathtaking.
The blades turned skyward, all aimed at the Heavenly Lake Monster.
“Пошёл ты, сука блять! (Go to hell, you fucking bastard!)”
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG—!!!
The ice blades launched like a barrage of missiles.
When the monster finally crashed back into the lake—
THUD—!
It stood frozen, impaled on countless blades, like an ice statue.
