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Chapter 246: Chapter 246

And right after the notification popped up.

The Fire Dwarf, which had seemed to stop, suddenly pulled back its hammer with all its strength and struck the anvil.

With a deafening boom, the hammer shattered into pieces, and fragments flew in every direction.

Su-ho suffered no damage.

By the time the notification appeared, Su-ho was still suspended in the air.

The debris scattered around was still ablaze.

The Fire Dwarf, after destroying its hammer, returned to its position and stood guard again.

Su-ho calmly landed on the ground.

He stood atop the scorching hot anvil surface he had finally reached.

A small flame floating alone in the air where the shattered hammer had been.

Su-ho narrowed his eyes and observed it.

To the naked eye, it just looked like an ordinary flame.

After a moment of hesitation, Su-ho extended his Blood Weapon, forming a tiny platform.

He stepped onto the Blood Weapon and approached the flame.

The orange flame, upon closer inspection, was encased in something like a transparent soap bubble.

When Su-ho touched it, the flame instantly wrapped around him and seeped into him.

[ You have acquired a Fragment of ???. ]

It wasn’t even properly labeled, probably because of a high security level.

It wasn’t particularly surprising.

This sometimes happened.

Especially with gates that had no level restrictions.

So Su-ho could smile.

‘Looks like there’s definitely something here.’

It ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) wasn't just anywhere—this was a Dwarf found in a 1-star gate.

There’s no way there wouldn’t be anything special.

Moreover, this flame fragment had never appeared even in the conquest data of his past life’s North Korea campaign.

Su-ho opened his inventory to find the flame fragment he had just obtained.

But the fragment wasn’t visible.

‘Since it’s not in the inventory, it must not be a physical item but some kind of qualification.’

If it had been a physical item, it would have been in his hand.

Thanks to that, he was sure of it.

He didn’t know exactly what it was yet, but at least he had confirmed the existence of a hidden piece.

Which meant he had to fully clear the remaining anvil gates too.

And do it with great joy.

With the corners of his mouth raised, Su-ho walked out of the gate portal.

[ The Gate has been cleared. ]

[ The MVP of the gate clearance is ‘An Su-ho.’ ]

[ Additional experience points have been awarded for being selected as MVP. ]

[ 1 bonus stat has been awarded for being selected as MVP. ]

[ Your level has increased. ]

[ All stats have increased by 1. ]

[ You have acquired 1 bonus stat. ]

System notifications.

The third anvil gate.

The setup was the same, the process was the same, and the ending was the same too.

Once again, the third Fire Dwarf exploded its own hammer.

And again, an unknown flame fragment dropped.

[ You have acquired a Fragment of ???. ]

When Su-ho touched the flame inside the bubble, it was absorbed into him, and he obtained the fragment.

No fragment appeared in the inventory.

Because it was a qualification-type item.

Su-ho opened his status window to check his level.

After hunting Agwi and clearing gates, he had already reached level 179.

Su-ho invested the two bonus stats into Sense, then used the exit portal to leave.

Among the major gates at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, he had cleared the Manufacturing Wing, the Chemical Wing, and the Electronics Wing.

The only one left was the Residential Wing gate.

The surroundings were quiet.

Because he had cleaned up the area around the portal when entering the Electronics Wing gate.

Su-ho immediately summoned Bulgasari.

"Let’s go, Bulgasari."

[ Blood Weapon activated. ]

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa!!

Encased in blood armor, Bulgasari crushed the Agwis without even needing orders now.

But still, the Agwis kept coming.

Either way, they were just giving Su-ho more experience points.

[ You have defeated a Yellow Agwi. ]

Yellow Agwis were being shredded.

Su-ho, like the Pied Piper, led the Agwis and headed toward the Residential Wing.

And finally, he arrived at the Residential Wing gate.

[ Entering the gate. ]

[ Retrieving gate information. ]

[ Fire, Iron, and Hammer ]

Same entry conditions.

This time too, only one person could enter.

[ Entering ‘Fire, Iron, and Hammer.’ ]

The surrounding scenery was swallowed by darkness.

Quickly adjusting to the dark, Su-ho realized once again that he was standing on an anvil.

He then lifted his head to look at the ceiling.

[ Due to the Original Vampire effect, you are not affected by darkness penalties. ]

Thanks to the skill effect, the darkness receded.

Su-ho doubted his own eyes for a moment.

It was understandable.

Through the clearing darkness, he could clearly see the familiar Dwarf.

But this time, it wasn’t just a Dwarf.

Positioned at the cardinal points—north, south, east, and west—just like the guardian statues you often see at the entrance of big temples.

Even holding the same hammers.

‘Don't tell me... they're going to attack all at once?’

He had never heard of the final Residential Wing gate being .

But what could he do?

He was already inside the gate, and before he could even complain—

Bang!! Bang!! Bang!! Bang!!

The four guardian statues—dubbed the Four Heavenly Kings of the Dwarves—started swinging their hammers randomly.

Their target, of course, was Su-ho.

There was no time to worry about the surroundings.

Su-ho had his hands full dodging the incoming hammer strikes.

His heart suddenly started pounding.

Su-ho could clearly hear his own heartbeat.

It wasn’t because he was startled.

It was a sensation he had experienced before.

At the same time, countless golden trajectories began appearing before his eyes.

It was the effect of ‘Dragon Sense’ he had seen during Seogo-gyeong's mechanized ceremony.

Sure enough, the Dragon icon appeared in one corner of his vision.

Thanks to it, Su-ho could now dodge the hammers leisurely instead of desperately.

Bang!! Bang!! Kwaang!! Bang!!

It was a bizarre sight.

The hammer swings from the Four Heavenly King Dwarves were enough to leave any observer gasping in terror.

Yet in the midst of it all, Su-ho moved as leisurely as an immortal, strolling around and dodging.

And during that process, Su-ho had the luxury of thinking.

‘Why did this phenomenon only occur at the fourth gate?’

If four Dwarves were going to appear, shouldn’t there have been one more added at the second and third gates?

That would have made more sense.

Of course, the system wasn’t kind enough to give advance warning.

But jumping from one Dwarf to four at once was still too sudden, especially in terms of difficulty.

‘Purely numerically, the difficulty quadrupled.’

Not that it mattered for clearing.

Maybe for others, but not for Su-ho—he had Dragon Sense.

But an exam wasn’t just about getting the right answer.

Understanding the examiner's intention was also important.

Exams were not only a way to assess but also a way to promote growth.

After much thought, Su-ho’s decision narrowed down to one.

‘Recreate the same conditions as the other anvil gates.’

The strategy for clearing the anvil gates was to hammer the anvil completely into the ground.

And given the current situation, it seemed he could succeed four times faster than before.

Because the anvil was being pounded four times harder.

But was avoiding the four hammers really the method the system wanted?

Su-ho was sure it wasn’t.

The system was one that rewarded effort.

‘So I must trigger the second phase again.’

But it wasn’t time yet.

Su-ho continued to dodge the hammers, glancing down at the anvil.

When he judged that the anvil had sunk close enough to the ground, he finally activated his skills.

[ Blood Weapon activated. ]

[ Blessing activated. ]

[ Holy Enchant activated. ]

The Blood Sword in his hand became wrapped in holy light.

Su-ho dodged the first hammer falling toward him and immediately sliced through its neck.

The hammerhead and handle separated.

The massive hammerhead toppled to the side.

A second hammer fell nearby.

Without hesitation, Su-ho sliced that one too.

Same for the third hammer.

The moment he severed all the hammerheads—

The Dwarves fell silent.

Their actions stopped.

This time, four notifications appeared at once.

‘So there wasn’t just one?’

He had thought there was only one ???.

The halted Dwarves began reassembling their hammers.

At the same time, flames burst across their bodies.

The start of Phase Two.

With four Fire Dwarves gathered, their firepower was overwhelming.

And the real game began now.

Kwaang!! Kwaang!! Kwaang!! Kwaang!!

The flaming hammers rained down like a torrential storm.

The only relief was that they didn’t fall simultaneously.

But the speed, strength, and sheer number of strikes increased, heating the anvil almost instantly.

Su-ho extended his Blood Weapon like a staff and floated into the air.

He used leaps and Guiyeong Spear to stay airborne as long as possible.

Otherwise, he would fall onto the blazing inferno below.

Thus, a circus-like scene unfolded at the anvil gate.

Burning Dwarves playing whack-a-mole without moles, and a human buzzing around like a mosquito above them.

The difficulty of aerial acrobatics was extreme.

There were four times as many hammers swinging in the air now.

But he gritted his teeth and endured.

‘Just a little more!’

He deliberately waited until the anvil was about to touch the ground.

That way, he could minimize the time spent flipping in the air.

After spinning midair for a while, finally, the system notifications he was waiting for appeared before his eyes.