Second Life Ranker

[The creation of Kynee has begun.]

『Let’s look at the materials first.』

The three Cyclops brothers took charge of the process, and Yeon-woo pulled out the materials to show Brontes. When he took out the Adamantine Nova, Brontes tightened his fists. 『You really found it!』

The Adamantine Nova was made of condensed adamantium, a mineral that was hard to obtain in the Tower. It was considered a miracle when even a tiny bit was found, but a lot of it was needed to create Kynee.

Fortunately, Yeon-woo had brought more than enough, and it was extremely pure, as though a master had created it.

『What’s leftover can strengthen the arsenal of Dis Pluto immensely!』 Brontes said excitedly, but Yeon-woo put a damper on his excitement. “That’s mine.”

Brontes felt like he had been splashed with cold water. 『What?』

“I would like to make this clear before we start. Everything here is mine. Please don’t forget.”

Brontes was speechless.

“Giving Kynee to Hades is my payment for the favor he’s doing me.”

Brontes frowned. 『What are you talking about?! The safety of Tartarus is at stake! The Titans and Giants rising up will cause huge…!』

“Only to Olympus.”

『What?!』

“Am I wrong?” Yeon-woo looked at Brontes and the other Cyclopes with steady eyes. At the same time, he showed them the Channels he was connected to. 

Brontes gasped to see so many fearsome entities gazing down at him. The eyes belonged to gods and demons of a superior level, most of whom looked at Brontes with disapproval. Only Athena and Hermes, who were from Olympus, gave him sympathetic looks. Even Ares was sneering.

Only did Brontes fully understand their situation. The gods and demons of other societies couldn’t care less about the Titans and Giants. They were only beings that fought for dominion over Olympus, and none of that concerned them. The Titans and Giants might invade the stages after the thirtieth floor if they successfully took over Tartarus, but the Guardians and other gods and demons would keep an eye on them.

Even if there were chaos, it wouldn’t be as bad as what Olympus would go through. Yeon-woo was reminding them that this was their problem, not his. They couldn’t force him to do anything.

Brontes felt as though every word Yeon-woo spoke pressed down on his soul. Even though he was already dead, he felt like he couldn’t breathe, as though the connection he had with Yeon-woo was suffocating him. The chains bound him even more tightly the more he resisted. 

He couldn’t even think negatively of Yeon-woo. Magic power was making him bend to his will and follow him. 

‘Respect him!’

‘Submit to him!’

Although there was no sound, it seemed as though voices were trying to hypnotize him, and he realized that he couldn’t rebel against Yeon-woo. He thought of trying to destroy himself, but that didn’t seem possible either. His promise to destroy his own soul if Yeon-woo used him for personal gain had been pointless. His soul was now just a part of Yeon-woo’s collection.

How was this possible? No matter how far his level had fallen, he had once been a divine being. It was already incredible that he’d been bound to a mere mortal—was it different because Yeon-woo was a God Killer? Brontes suddenly felt afraid of him.

The player whom he’d only seen as a tool to help Hades and Dis Pluto now seemed like a ferocious beast with fangs and raging eyes who could swallow them all.

『All  right. For now.』 Brontes had no choice. Since Yeon-woo had complete control, he had to listen to him. 

Steropes, who was more reasonable than Brontes, sealed his lips as he looked straight ahead. It was obvious who’d won the tussle between Yeon-woo and his older brother. 

“Will you be all right pressing them like that?” Creutz carefully walked up to Yeon-woo’s side and asked, but Yeon-woo shook his head. “You have to be firm about these things from the beginning.” Yeon-woo didn’t have any intention to lose his dominance any time soon. 

* * *

[The first step, ‘Refinement’, has begun.]

[Current progress: 2%]

『The most important thing is to work the fire of the beginning.』 Brontes pointed at the furnace where they planned to melt the Adamantine Nova. His face was stiff as he explained what to do. He was focused only on the process.

“Is there a reason why?”

『It’s the only fire that can melt the Adamantine Nova without damaging it.』

“Is the fire from a Soulstone?”

『Right. It’s the Stone of Castitas, which Lord Hades attained a long time ago.』

The Soulstone had been split into fourteen pieces, the Seven Virtues and the Seven Deadly Sins. One of them was in Hades’ possession, and Arges had been creating weapons with its fire. It was the reason why Dis Pluto had been able to last this long. 

The fire of the beginning blazed in Yeon-woo’s eyes. ‘If I can learn how to use it…’ He was now certain that only the Cyclops brothers could use the Soulstone properly. If he learned from them, he’d be able to unseal the pocket watch.

『We’re the only ones who can deal with the fire. The flames can swallow souls if they’re used incorrectly. I’d like you to do something else…』 Before Brontes could finish, Henova headed for the furnace. He had been looking around with a bored expression. Brontes tried to stop him, but Henova was already using the bellows. 

Whoosh!

“The fire is too strong. Although the melting point of adamantium is high, if the heat isn’t spread evenly, impurities become mixed into it. Right?”

『That’s…true.』

“I’ll watch the molten metal. No matter how high its quality, we have to get rid of as many impurities as possible so that the holiness can melt into it.” Henova sat next to the furnace and began to use the bellows again. The fire flared up and settled back down again. He didn’t look like he was having any problems. Instead, he looked comfortable, as though he preferred to be next to the fire instead of outside.  

『Is it because…you’re a Black Dwarf?』 Brontes looked at Henova in surprise and cleared his throat, pulling out forty-five Apodis scales. 『You have to close this off on the inside so that the movement of holy power is smooth. But the process is too complicated and it won’t be…』

“I’ll take care of this.”

“I’ll help too.”

Before Brontes could finish speaking, Brahm took the Apodis scales. Victoria followed him. Brontes frantically tried to stop them. 『Do you know how to carve the formula? If you make a single mistake, then everything will go wrong?』

“‘Everything will go wrong’? That’s it?” Brahm raised his eyebrows.

Brontes remembered who Brahm was. 『Everything will go wrong…sir?』

Brahm laughed. “Don’t I have to combine the Kathran liquid and the blood from Hadith’s heart in a three to one ratio and boil the Trajan with it at 190 degrees for 3 days? And then, after that, I can resonate them wih the demonic cores. Right?”

『Y-yes..』

“I’d prefer it if you didn’t act like such a know-it-all next time. I probably know more about this than you.” Brahm took Victoria to the side and began work on the formulas. After that, other than the process of refinement, Yeon-woo’s companions managed to get things done faster than the three Cyclops brothers. 

All Brontes had to do was tell them the step-by-step procedure. It was actually better for them to handle the details. There were times when Henova’s methods were more efficient, and whenever Brahm had a suggestion, things progressed even more quickly.

Steropes, who was the most knowledgeable of the three brothers, was surprised many times by how efficient and fast Yeon-woo’s party was. The Cyclopes had looked down on them because they were mortals, and so they were shocked.

『Have our skills grown rusty or did the world improve while we were sleeping?』

“It might be both.”

Steropes and Arges looked at the work with strange expressions. 

[The creation is progressing quickly.]

[The ‘Refinement’ has been completed.]

[The ‘Smelting’ is 34% complete.]

[The ‘Forging’ is 19% complete.]

……

They proceeded at a much faster pace than the Cyclops brothers expected after splitting up the tasks. Henova, Brahm, and Victoria handled their duties perfectly, and everything felt into place cleanly, as though only one person had done it all. At some point, Arges’ disciples bustled around, and Brontes’ hammer moved quickly as he dealt with the core material. 

Clang, clang, clang!

Kynee was the pride of Olympus and one of the three great artifacts. They thought it would take a while to make it, and they even believed that the Titans and Giants might attack while they were in the middle of the work. However, it seemed like they were mistaken.  

Still, the speed was unbelievable. Brahm’s knowledge was greater than that of most divine beings, and he hadn’t been called Brahma of Creation for nothing. Also, he’d also participated in creating the Philosopher’s Stone, the ultimate goal of alchemy.

The three Cyclops brothers were also busy hammering, eager not to fall behind. Yeon-woo carefully observed everything with his Draconic Eyes.

[‘Draconic Eyes’ skill proficiency has increased. 82%, 83%, 84%...96%, 97%...]

[The field of vision of ‘Hochma’ has expanded.]

[‘Netzeth’ is being remade.]

[‘Iesod’ begins to take form.]

[‘Fiery Golden Eyes’ are connected.]

[The traits of ‘Divine Demonic Dragon Body’ have been applied.]

His Draconic Eyes, which had grown significantly when he created the Philosopher’s Stone, had grown again. With Fiery Golden Eyes included, his understanding grew deeper, and he could apply Divinity as well. The Divinity he had gained when he killed Astraeus was nothing more than a fancy name. 

[Clue of Divinity]

[The clue may be applied to various fields. The more clues you collect, the greater the effect. The growth of your soul will also be influenced.]

In other words, it meant that he could use it as a booster for skills and Factors. It was already adjusting all the attributes his Demonic Divine Draconic Body had. It was the reason his Draconic Eyes had grown once more.

[‘Draconic Eyes’ skill proficiency has increased. 98%, 99%...100%.]

[Congratulations! ‘Draconic Eyes’ has reached 100%.]

[All attributes related to the skill increase.]

[Your strength has increased by 15 points.]

[Your magic power has increased by 20 points.]

……

[You have gained a new understanding of your skill. A superior skill is being opened.]

[A superior skill ‘Heavenly Draconic Eyes’ has been created.]

[‘Heavenly Draconic Eyes’ skill proficiency has reached 100%.]

……

[A new skill is being rewarded in consideration of your attributes.]

[The skill ‘Divine Draconic Eyes’ has been created.]

Yeon-woo gained a new, superior skill that was at the same level as his Extrasensory Perception. 

[The ‘Refinement’ has been completed.]

[The ‘Forging’ has been completed.]

[The ‘Grafting’ has been completed.]

…..

[Only the final process ‘Granting Holiness’ remains.]

[Current progress: 98%.]

After about ten days, they managed to shape Kynee and there was only one final step left.