Chapter 252: Chapter 252

Su-ho also furrowed his brow when he saw the notification.

“They furrowed their brows?”

The reason became clear immediately.

Su-ho recalled the system messages that had appeared when the second trial began.

[ The Nameless Blacksmiths doubt whether you are suited for the forge. ]

[ Endure in the blazing furnace for as long as possible to prove your worth in the forge. ]

As he reviewed the notifications, Su-ho understood why.

‘So it’s because I didn’t follow the proper method.’

What were they going to do about it?

There’s a reason the word “adaptability” exists.

Of course, he wasn’t trying to provoke the Nameless Blacksmiths.

Su-ho had his own assurance.

He recalled the quest he received upon entering this place.

[ The Nameless Blacksmiths' Turf War ]

The Nameless Blacksmiths do not welcome your presence in their forge.

However, due to an absolute pact, they cannot completely ignore you.

If you want to claim what you desire from this place, pass the trials and be rewarded accordingly.

Especially that second line.

“Due to an absolute pact, they cannot completely ignore me.”

The “absolute pact” referred to the command the system had issued to them.

So whether they liked it or not, as long as he played within the rules laid out by the system, he would be acknowledged, regardless of how he got there.

[ The Nameless Blacksmiths reluctantly nod. ]

Seeing the notification, Su-ho clenched his fist.

At the same time, the fourth hourglass began to turn.

‘Now I’ve passed the halfway point.’

Only two hourglasses left.

With three out of five down, whatever reward came next would already be better than average.

But that didn’t mean he was satisfied.

Just like how you don’t get full with a single spoonful of rice, putting down your spoon mid-meal doesn’t mean you’re satisfied either.

The Flame Horse stomped the ground and cried out again.

Its once-yellow mane turned white, and its skin bleached to a snow-white coat.

A white horse now stood in its place.

The surrounding flames also turned white.

Naturally, the temperature spiked even more.

“Whew... It’s still bearable, at least.”

The worst situation was when the Magmanums were right up in his face.

But now that he’d severed the bridges, that shouldn’t happen again.

Until the Flame Horse pulled another trick.

Iron beams began shooting out from the walls, like chains erupting from underground.

And yes—it was exactly that.

The iron beams slammed into place, forming new tracks across the test area.

Su-ho frowned and raised his Blood Sword.

[ Steel Cutter activated. ]

The blade bounced off.

Su-ho’s brow twitched.

The Nameless Blacksmiths weren’t going to make things easy.

Especially not for someone whose success they resented.

‘Even with Blessing active, if I still can’t cut it... that means it’s off the table.’

Still, giving up didn’t mean his frown went away.

New tracks meant the Magmanums could start climbing again.

Just # Nоvеlight # like speaking of the devil, white-evolved Magmanums began climbing onto the newly laid tracks.

They weren’t even fully up yet, but the air had already grown suffocating.

Even with Flame Body granting 50% resistance, the increase in heat was reaching its limit.

‘Is this really the end?’

The white Magmanums gathered along the new tracks.

They were called Wailing Magmanums, but to Su-ho, their groans sounded more like mocking laughter.

There was still a long way to go before the fourth hourglass emptied, but Su-ho’s own life clock felt like it was about to run out.

‘There has to be... some way...!’

Frustration gnawed at him.

To get the best results, he had to clear at least four of the five hourglasses.

And he was already at his limit?

Then a memory from an earlier part of the trial resurfaced.

Why hadn’t he thought of it before?

He immediately activated the skill that came to mind.

[ Eye of the Blacksmith activated. ]

With the skill, Su-ho’s eyes shifted to a blacksmith’s perspective, and the familiar lattice patterns from the scrap heap returned to view.

And when he saw it, he smiled without meaning to.

‘Right. The answer is always closer than you think.’

The reason for his smile?

The newly placed iron tracks—those he couldn’t cut with his sword—were now showing clear weak points.

Unlike in the scrap heap trial, though, there weren’t many.

Each track had only a single visible weak spot.

‘But hey, one is more than none.’

He gripped his weapon again.

Then glanced at it and thought—

‘But will this even work?’

Back at the scrap heap, he had used a hammer.

It was a requirement of the system—that only a hammer could be used.

But the weak spots he saw with the Blacksmith’s Eye were highlighted as squares.

Would hitting them with a blade work?

So he changed tactics.

He reshaped his weapon into a hammer similar to the Unleashed Hammer.

[ Blood Weapon activated. ]

A crimson hammer materialized in his hand.

He decided to call it Blood Hammer.

Its design was based on the Unleashed Hammer.

The reason for using Blood Weapon over the Unleashed Hammer was simple—destructive power.

The Unleashed Hammer’s durability and damage hadn’t been fully tested yet, whereas the Blood Hammer was made from his own mana and would likely hit harder.

Fully prepared, Su-ho charged at the first iron track.

The Magmanums began to move with him.

But they still maintained that ideal distance—close enough to raise the temperature, not close enough to attack.

Su-ho reached the weak point and immediately began striking.

Clang clang clang! Clang clang clang!

Urgency pushed his pace.

But no matter how hard he struck, there was no reaction.

Dripping sweat, hammer in hand, he kept pounding the weak spot while the Magmanums closed in, moaning louder.

It sounded like they were mocking him.

Clang clang clang! Clang clang clang!

Unlike in the scrap heap, no signs of cracking or system notifications appeared.

In frustration, he hurled the Blood Hammer away.

‘What’s wrong this time?’

Was he lacking strength?

But he had Blessing active right now.

The issue had to be something else.

With his current stats and Blessing, he basically had the highest strength level on Earth.

So the problem couldn’t be strength.

The system never gives impossible trials.

‘And the entry requirement here was two orange stats minimum.’

But his strength was in the yellow tier.

Su-ho thought for a moment, then raised an eyebrow.

A possibility crossed his mind.

He pulled out another hammer from his inventory—not the Blood Hammer, but the Unleashed Hammer of the Great Blacksmith.

Thinking this might be his last shot, he struck the weak point with it.

[ Square Collection activated. ]

Su-ho’s eyes widened.

The weak point broke off after just three hits, like magic.

At the same time, a system notification popped up.

It was confirmation that Square Collection had activated.

The very first ability unlocked from the Unleashed Hammer’s first seal.

Su-ho picked up the perfectly cut cube that had fallen off.

It had the color of reinforced steel and its surface was polished like a mirror, just like the ones he had seen during the scrap heap trial.

He checked the item info.

[ Reinforced Steel Fragment of the Wailing Furnace ]

A steel fragment collected from the reinforced structure of the Wailing Furnace.

Specially treated to withstand extreme heat.

When used, grants “Flame Resistance +1%.”

Su-ho’s eyes widened even more.

Because of that option.

‘So this was the strategy...!’

One truth always held—gates were never impossible.

The system always provided a way to conquer them.

Finding that method was up to the player.

And Su-ho had finally found the clue.

But there was something strange in the description.

‘It’s clearly a material item... But most material items don’t have such detailed option descriptions.’

He’d picked up countless materials before.

Dragon fangs, lion claws, pelts...

None of them had their effects spelled out so precisely.

Was it just coincidence?

He had seen plenty of material items in his time—none of them had descriptions .

So maybe it wasn’t a material item?

But then why include the phrase “when used”?

That’s when Su-ho remembered the Unleashed Hammer’s second ability.

With the first seal released, the “Square Collection” ability for extracting uniform parts from targets and the “Socket” function for embedding collected fragments are activated.

Su-ho brought the steel fragment to the hammer.

It trembled for a moment—and then a system prompt appeared.

[ Would you like to socket the “Reinforced Steel Fragment of the Wailing Furnace” into Slot 1? ]

There was only one answer.

The moment Su-ho accepted, the fragment was sucked into the hammer like it was swallowed by a black hole.

[ “Reinforced Steel Fragment of the Wailing Furnace” has been socketed into Slot 1. ]

[ Flame Resistance increased by 1%. ]

His flame resistance had gone up.

Only by 1%, but that brought his total to 51%.

‘There’s not a huge difference between 50% and 51%, but...’

What this discovery implied was enormous.

Because Su-ho knew of a way to raise that 1% even further.

He looked at the track from which he’d extracted the fragment.

Thanks to the Eye of the Blacksmith, new weak points had appeared nearby.

Su-ho began hammering again.

Clang clang clang! Clack!

Clang clang clang! Clack!

[ Square Collection activated. ]

[ Square Collection activated. ]

The process went smoothly.

Just three hits per spot, and he had two more steel fragments.

They had the same effect—+1% flame resistance.

Without hesitation, Su-ho used his next skill.

[ Basic Synthesis activated. ]

A synthesis pot appeared in front of him.

Seeing it, Su-ho couldn’t help but smile.