“What’s wrong? Why are you so down? The Beard Brothers too! The weather is perfectly fine, cheer up!”
“Some people really do seem like they live with no worries. How nice that must be.”
Bottleneck appeared lackluster, barely even being able to tease his friends. His spirit was even more depleted than one would think. Seeing him in this state, Leeha gave a signal of some sorts to the Beard Brothers.
‘What’s going on?’
‘It’s because of the bonobo paleos that Lord taught us… These days, Boss’ beard is almost falling off.’
‘bonobo? Why?’
‘Even though we are going to learn twice a week, we are not seeing any results. It would be nice if we could apply what we learned there here. But isn’t the environment different?’
‘You’re right. Even though we are busy during the day, we try to utilize that technology somehow at night, even reducing our sleep… It’s quite pitiful to see.’
The Beard Brothers whispered quietly. Bottleneck seemed unaffected, regardless of their chit-chat.
“Wow… So…”
Leeha then realized, again, the power of an ‘artisan’ NPC.
The fact that they were willing to put in all that effort, even sacrificing their sleep, just to properly utilize what they had learned, was quite pitiful. And it makes sense, given the Beard Brother’s situation.
Just as they said, The environment is quite different.
The firepower and mana production capabilities between the bonobo paleos’ ‘factory’ and the ‘blacksmith’ of Gaza City are fundamentally different, and this gap cannot be bridged with just effort and skills.
“So, everyone! Focus here – clack!”
As Leeha clapped his hands to attract the attention of Dwarves, a powerful tackle came from behind.
The strength was enough to sway him— the one who had rushed and grasped him by the waist was a girl with flowing blue hair.
“Oppa.”
“Ra… Ram Hwajung, it’s been a while.”
“I see you are still as busy as ever. I just wish Castle Dale could keep up with even half the pace of this place. So, why have you called me here? It’s been a while since I’ve seen the dirty-bearded dwarf uncle, too.”
Though Ram Hwayeon tried to deliberately start a fight, Bottleneck just shook his head and kept his distance.
While Ram Hwayeon was slightly taken aback by Bottleneck’s changed reaction, Leeha managed to gather everyone’s attention.
“Look! Look! There is a reason for my visit today! Bottleneck-ajussi, and the Beard Brothers and the Dwarves, all of you, pay attention! This isn’t an opportunity that comes every day!”
“Oppa, you’re like a quack doctor.”
“Hey, a quack doctor? That’s not a word that Ram Hwajung should use, where did you learn that?”
As Leeha tilted his head in confusion, Ram Hwajung and Ram Hwayeon burst out laughing. Bottleneck continued to wear a complex expression.
“In any case, you’re rather spiritless. What are you planning to do this time?”
“Bottleneck-ajussi, we are not using this area, right?”
Ignoring Ram Hwayeon’s question, Leeha walked over to the side of the blacksmith.
It was a somewhat spacious vacant lot that was used to stack up created items.
“There? Well, I use it when constructing large pieces, like fortification equipment, but not currently.”
“Hmm… Well, let’s give it a try for now.”
“Huh?”
“In terms of technical skills, you’re not losing to bonobo paleos, right?”
Leeha patted Bottleneck’s shoulder. Usually, Bottleneck would have flared up, ‘Who are you acting so bold with!’ However, he didn’t seem to have the energy to fuss. Bottleneck merely shook his head.
This was the first time Leeha saw Bottlebeck so sapped of energy that it tugged at his heart.
“And what does that amount to? If the environment does not permit-“
“So, I will create that environment for you.”
“What can you do, my Lord? Even if you increase the subsidy, it’s physically impossible. Unless you pour in magma-“
“Then, let’s pour in magma, shall we?”
“What- What are you doing, Leeha?”
Upon seeing Leeha’s smile, both Bottleneck and Ram Hwayeon widened their eyes. While they couldn’t comprehend the whole situation, Ram Hwayeon also seemed to catch on quickly.
“Ram Hwayeon, this is also a gift for you and Ram Hwajung. It’s also an opportunity to upgrade Gaza City once again.”
Leeha calmly cast his spell. Bright red particles began to gather around his body.
“You, you, surely-“
“Brother. Fire. Magic.”
“You, my Lord?!”
“Bo, Boss! The ground- the ground is shaking!”
As brightly colored particles continued to converge on Leeha, the ground of Gaza City began to tremble. Even the NPCs, startled by the sudden earthquake, began to poke their heads out of their houses.
Leeha smiled at them faintly. What he gained from the lava lizard quest wasn’t just [Fire Flower].
“This is why I can’t give up Middle Earth. [Magma Eruption].”
When Leeha murmured the skill name quietly, the ground next to Bottleneck’s blacksmith exploded.
[Achievement: Magma Master(S)]
Congratulations! You successfully regulated the heat of the Magma Origin, a substance that can influence all magma underground. Stink, who dedicated his entire life to the control of magma, is overjoyed to see your dedication. He’s pleased that the lonely volcano’s fire guardian no longer has to bear all the burden alone. Stink and the lava lizards are planning to offer you gifts. Given that you can regulate the temperature of the Magma Origin, you should also be able to make useful use of a few lava rivers flowing under all continents, right?
Reward: Intelligence +15, Mind +10, Fire Resistance +10%, Skill-(Magma Eruption)
This qualifies you as the first registrant of Lonely Volcano’s Fire guardian achievement. The first three registrants will be recorded in the Hall of Fame and receive an additional 200% of the initial effect.
Effect: Intelligence +30, Mind +20, Fire Resistance +20%
Even while consuming Fire Flower, your fire resistance cannot exceed 100% in certain situations. Moreover, you can’t reach more than 300 points in intelligence if you’ve barely touched the intelligence stat.
The possibility of achieving it was all thanks to the achievements collected at the Lonely Volcano. Among them, the achievement ‘Magma Master’, was the most beneficial!
‘Raising my intelligence and Mind seemed pointless before, but now I see the benefit of the effect of water recognition. They say everything happens for a reason…’ What about this new skill, Magma Eruption?
“The earth is splitting! The earth is-”
“lava! lava is spurting out!” At this point, Leeha looked towards Bottleneck.
“It’s all because I…”
Leeha couldn’t complete my sentence before it ended prematurely. Bottleneck was not even looking at me.
His gleaming eyes were fixed on the lava fountain spurting from the earth.
Shaking his head at the treasure-like excitement in the old dwarf’s face, Leeha had to admit it.
‘This damn game… It moved me quite a lot.’
How much fun is it to meet someone with such a pure craftsman spirit? Even though it’s just a game, Leeha felt like I had learned another lesson from the world.
On top of that, having befriended such a dwarf, how tremendous a luck was that?!
“Hey Bottleneck, what do you think? With this, we shouldn’t lose to those arrogant bonobo anymore, right?”
“Ha, haha! Is this effect due to your skill?”
“Yes. I can’t use it repeatedly since it has a usage limit but it’s quite useful-“
“Hey, idiot!”
“Ah- oops! Why are you hitting me!”
Ram Hwayeon quickly walked over and slapped Leeha on the shoulder. Leeha massaged his shoulder, confused.
While still me looking pleased, all Ram Hwayeon could do was pull a face.
“Dimwit, you should have warned us before using it! What happens when you erupt lava in the middle of downtown!”
“Why?”
“Oppa. You dodo.”
Ram Hwayeon had been casting a spell unnoticed.
Leeha, who had only been thinking of creating an environment like bonobo paleo’s factory, had neglected to think of the surrounding consequences and carelessly acted. Those around him, however, understood the severity of the situation.
“[Coughing]”
“Crap, there’s toxic gas too!”
“Control the lava eruption first! Boss! What should we do?!”
Watching the frantic dwarfs, I suddenly realized. Erupting magma from the ground is an extremely risky.
Erupting magma…
Is not a simple act of ejecting magma on the earth’s surface. It releases countless amounts of accompanied toxic gas, and brings about destructive power too.
In other words, you need to have the ability to control it, to master the magma.
“Ah… dammit! That idea-”
“It’s okay. Oppa. Gust.” Wooosh—-
While Leeha was lost in thought, Hwajung had already started casting a spell, releasing a cold wind from her hands.
Her skill, which seemed to have come directly from the Arctic wind, was potent enough to blow away all the poisonous gases leaking from the lava pit.
The icy wind also stirred up Bottleneck’s alertness.
“What a stupid lord! What will you do if the lava comes out in the middle of the city?”
“Well, well- I didn’t consider the possibilities-“
“The whole city would’ve been doomed without me! Grab all the building materials we borrowed from those Bonobos! We start with waterways!”
“Boss, shouldn’t we fill the hole?”
“You fools! Why would we fill it? We can make use of the lava. Never again will we hear insults from those monkeys asking whether our stupid heads can only grow hair beneath our jaws! Move!”
Whoahoah—-!
The boss is back!
Let’s move, move—-!
Bottleneck shouted stirring the workers into action.
The dwarves’ enthusiasm escalated each time Hwajung expelled the poisonous gases.
“This is certainly more interesting than the fountain show in Dubai. But is this how you pay back for borrowing the Mana Injection tool?”
“No, it can’t be. Bottleneck-ssi! Now that we have this lava, we can do it now, right?”
“Of course! I’ve thoroughly studied the theory! We can even enhance items in the city of Gaza!”
Enthusiastically, Bottleneck shouted out while shifting materials. At the word ‘Enhance’, the Ram sisters’ eyes went wide.
“Enhance?”
“Enhance!”
“Right. Well, it’s too bad that the perceptive Hwayeon didn’t notice that I had left my weapon behind.”
“Well, I knew that from the beginning! But surely, you mean you’ve left the weapon somewhere to enhance it now?”
“That’s right. Did you feel that it was something more than mere durability enhancement? Hehe. Between you and me, you can look forward to the transformation of your tiny wand.”
Leeha had a plan in place. He intended to introduce the function of ‘Enhancement’ at the city of Gaza’s blacksmith!
Bottleneck and his dwarves possessed a level of skill that astounded the Bonobos of the lava forest.
This in mind, once they got used to enhancement, there would be no more need for external assistance.
‘We can enhance the power of Black Bass through Bottleneck without any special quests. Of course, we need to get the hang of using lava for enhancement…
In the meantime, using the weapons of characters like Hwajung and others as a test run to improve Bottleneck’s proficiency wouldn’t hurt, right?
“We are not doing it for everyone, of course. Feel free to be thankful to be the first one who gets to experience this special system, limited to the nobility personally appointed by the Lord.”
Leeha’s proposition to enhance Hwajung’s weapon involved a strategic calculation.
“……Wow, you really are…”
“Oppa. You’re cool.”
It was impossible for Hwajung not to find Leeha’s offer to make her stronger, attractive. The moment she jumped in, Leeha comically winced and rolled on the floor.
Despite all this, Hwayeon looked at them with a gentle look in her eyes.
“He’s an amazing man.”
Afterwards, rumors spread that a strange building was erected in the city of Gaza, but it caught no one’s interest.
What sparked the players’ interest was more the rumors that novices hunting around the city of Gaza were suddenly attacked by a large-scale abnormal status magic.
“Phew, is the work almost done.”
“I suppose so. Wow, this damn lava is hard to handle.”
Leeha took a break, wiping his sweat with a handkerchief and resting his hand on his hip. Carsick Bottleneck used an old cloth to wipe away the grime smeared in his beard.
![Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]](https://cpunovel.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/arcane-sniper.jpg "Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]")
