Dungeon Predator (WN)

A large, dark room.

Akite, a Bone Dragon and the final guardian of the Saul Graveyard, was napping lying down. Then, the transfer magic circle glowed, interrupting its nap.

Kuooh!

Flames blazed within its eye sockets. Upon awakening, it showed its power and dignity for all to see. And yet, a human appeared, smiling fearlessly and waving his hand at it.

"Hey, I'm here."

It was Kang Oh.

"Why are you here?" Akite asked.

Akite didn't really greet him. Honestly, him being here was kind of a pain. After all, he'd interrupted his nap.

"First, give me some light. It's too dark in here."

"Light." Akite's jaw bone moved, and the room was completely illuminated.

"Have you been doing well?"

"No reason not to be."

"That's good. Nothing really happened, right?" Kang Oh asked.

"What do you mean?"

"For example, did anyone come to the dungeon?"

"Unfortunately, no. It'd be nice if they did..."

"You want visitors?"

"For more gold and treasure."

'Ah, that's right.'

Akite had definitely told him that it'd give the soul stone to anyone who pays it more than 1 million gold.

'You disloyal, money grubbing bone lizard!' Kang Oh stared at Akite, but it didn't concern itself with his gaze.

"What did you come here for?"

They say it takes two to tango, so Kang Oh calmed himself down.

"Give me the soul stone," Kang Oh said clearly.

"Take it."

Kang Oh grabbed the soul stone, which was engraved with a dragon's skull, and opened the Dungeon Management window. First, he took a look at the Dungeon Log.

'It's like the diary of someone on vacation.'

It was completely empty. That was obvious. There was no possibility of anyone visiting the dungeon, after all. Because of that, he had 0 repel points! Of course, he hadn't set up any traps or added any guardians, so he wouldn't make a lot of repel points anyway.

Kang Oh checked the dungeon rewards.

[Dungeon Reward (Monthly Payment)]

20 Dragon Scales.

10 Dragon Bone.

10 Dragon Skin.

5 Dragon Claws.

2 Bottles of Dragon Blood.

1 Piece of a Dragon's Heart.

'Nice.' Kang Oh stared at Akite. "Give me my dungeon rewards!"

That's right. Today was the day that he'd get his rewards from the Saul Graveyard.

"Got it."

A gigantic sphere of light appeared in front of Akite's skull. Then, the orb slowly made its way to Kang Oh.

The light disappeared, revealing the various dragon materials held within. There were Dragon Bones, which resembled dinosaur bones, and Dragon Scales, shaped like diamonds and glimmering with light.

The Dragon Skin was softer than silk, yet tougher and lighter than whale tendons! Just holding the Dragon Claws made it feel like they were infusing him with their power! Then there were the bottles of dragon's blood, said to be a panacea that could even wake the dead!

Lastly...

Kang Oh picked up the pink shard, which glowed with bright light.

[Piece of a Dragon's Heart]

The source of a dragon's power is their heart. A piece it may be, it still contains an immense amount of power.

If you gather six pieces, then the pieces will fuse into a complete dragon's heart.

Material Rank: S.

A dragon's heart was an almighty material.

Using it to craft equipment would result in a masterpiece. If other extraordinary materials are used in tandem with a dragon's heart, and a blacksmith of great skill forges the equipment, then it will become even greater. Perhaps even a legendary weapon can be forged.

That wasn't all. There was no material more valuable to an alchemist than a dragon's heart! After all, it was a central component to the philosopher's stone, which was said to possess the power to enact miracles.

Then how valuable was it to mages? A dragon's heart alone was the greatest magic tool. By absorbing the heart's power, a mage is capable of unleashing spells of unparalleled destruction for a short period of time.

'But I need six pieces to form one heart.'

In other words, it would take half a year to obtain just one heart. Of course, a piece of a dragon's heart was still superior to most S-rank materials, but he might as well save it and form a complete dragon's heart.

'I should use the dragon materials and the dragon's heart for my equipment.'

Equipment crafted using dragon materials was something that players could only dream of. Of course, this applied to Kang Oh too.

But what if he were to wear such equipment? Equipment that included a dragon's heart too!

'It'd be tremendous.'

He might be able to fight on par with Valan. After all, being overgeared wasn't something anyone could ignore.

"Well, that's for later. For now...!" Kang Oh placed the dragon materials into his inventory one by one. He also made sure that he got the exact amount too. "Mm, it's exact." He glanced at Akite.

He was worried that that money grubbing pile of bones would steal a portion of the reward, but it seemed like it hadn't.

"Then, I'll be going now." With his business here complete, Kang Oh said his farewells.

"Go."

That was good news for Akite. After all, the sooner he left, the faster he could get back to sleep.

Kang Oh stood atop the magic circle once more.

"Black Hammer Dwarves' Hideout!"

Whir!

The magic circle lit up and Kang Oh disappeared. Once he left, Akite turned off the Light spell.

Akite was shrouded by the comforting darkness once more, and returned to his deep sleep.

* * *

Kang Oh appeared through the Black Hammer Dwarves' magic circle.

"Welcome."

The good-natured Man Bok was already waiting for him.

"Let's go."

"Yes."

Man Bok and Kang Oh headed for the Chieftain's room. Once there, they were greeted by familiar faces.

The Chieftain, Randelhoff, was inside, and Book stood to his right. There was also an unfamiliar dwarf there too.

"Welcome." Randelhoff joyfully welcomed them in. Hard rock-like objects covered his face, which was the result of Dragon Inarius's experiments.

"Hello. Have you been doing well?" Kang Oh asked.

"Hoho, we have. Mr. Man Bok, thank you for always bringing us beer and delicious food." Randelhoff slightly bowed his head at Man Bok.

"No, it's nothing. I'm making money off of it after all." Man Bok waved his hand.

Man Bok was providing the Black Hammer Dwarves with beer, food, and various necessities. This wasn't for free; he received precious materials from the volcanic region in exchange.

"I hope to maintain a good relationship with you in the future."

"Of course."

"But why have both of you come today? Is it because of the demon sword?" Randelhoff stared at Kang Oh.

The Black Hammer Dwarves had agreed to forge a demon sword for Kang Oh using the adamantium he'd provided them with.

"There's that too, but I have a favor I'd like to ask you."

"A favor?'

"I heard from Mr. Man Bok. That a great blacksmith has been born. Is that true?" Kang Oh asked.

Randelhoff smiled and pointed at the unfamiliar dwarf beside him. "Let me introduce you. This is Hoffman. He's taken his first step to becoming a great blacksmith."

"My name is Hoffman," Hoffman roughly said. He had a scraggly beard like a sponge, and his eyes seemed both hot and powerful like the flames of a brazier.

"Are you a Master Blacksmith?" Kang Oh asked.

"I discovered the metal's mystery that Master Blacksmith, Sunlei, left in the Fire's Heart. However, I'm not yet a master," Hoffman said.

"Are you capable of handling adamantium?" Kang Oh asked.

"I am." Hoffman nodded his head.

"Then can you handle dragon materials like Dragon Bone, Dragon Scales, and Dragon Skin?"

Hoffman narrowed his eyes. 'Why is he asking me that?'

"Why are you asking that all of a sudden?" Randelhoff asked for him.

'I think it'd be faster to show them.' Kang Oh pulled out the dragon materials all at once.

"What is all this?"

"What are you doing!?"

It was so sudden that Randelhoff and Book yelled. Hoffman slightly furrowed his brow.

"They're various dragon materials," Kang Oh said firmly.

Hoffman quickly picked up a piece and examined it.

"It's the real deal," Hoffman said.

"All of this?" Randelhoff said. He was in complete disbelief.

"Yes. These are all real dragon materials."

"Where did you get all of this? Did you actually kill a dragon?" Randelhoff stared at him in shock.

"I have a way of getting this much every month." Kang Oh grinned.

"Hoh!"

"Mm!"

"You asked what my favor was, right? My favor is for you to craft these into equipment." Kang Oh finally revealed why he'd come.

"So you want us to make equipment for you?" Randelhoff asked, having calmed himself down.

"Well, make equipment for me, and equipment to sell on the continent. Of course, part of the profits will go to you as well. If you don't need money, then we can provide you with other necessities. Ah, and Mr. Man Bok can provide you with materials that you need to craft the equipment if it cannot be acquired here," Kang Oh said. 'I've made all of the preparations already, so I just need your manpower!'

He believed that they'd agree to his terms. After all, they'd lose absolutely nothing by accepting his deal!

However, Randelhoff didn't look all too pleased. Book was the same. Hoffman didn't look any different.

'What's going on here?' Kang Oh tilted his head. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Hoo, Mr. Kang Oh," Book said.

"Yes?"

"Us Black Hammer Dwarves made a vow when we first made this hideout. That we'd never make equipment for outsiders ever again. Have you forgotten?"

Ah, that's right! The Black Hammer Dwarves had been enslaved by the Black Dragon, Inarius! They'd been forced to make equipment for their mortal enemy.

They'd just barely escaped its grasp and relocated here, in Despia's volcanic region. It was here that they made their vow; that they would never craft equipment for outsiders ever again!

"Heok!" It felt like someone had hit him from behind with a hammer. He had completely forgotten the Black Hammer Dwarves' oath.

"You made that kind of oath?" Man Bok had never heard of it before. He was completely taken aback.

Kang Oh bit his lip and considered his options. "I'm aware of your oath. However, you're willing to make an exception for me, right?"

'You said that I was one of you!'

"We're more than happy to make equipment for you. However, we won't make a single piece of equipment that you plan to sell," Randelhoff said firmly.

Oaths weren't made to be broken. Especially for people like the Black Hammer Dwarves, who'd suffered at the hands of a dragon for so long.

"So there's absolutely no way?"

"No!"

"No exceptions?"

"No exceptions!"

'Damn, you're too hard-headed!' Kang Oh helplessly stared at Man Bok.

"Do you know any other blacksmiths capable of handling dragon materials?"

"We do, but they'll demand a huge payment."

"Who is it?"

"Arthand."

God Hand, Arthand! He was ranked 9th, and was the most skilled Blacksmith player in the game!

Certainly, he'd be able to craft dragon materials into armor/weapons. However, Arthand was extremely famous, so his services were extremely expensive!

"Hoo, I didn't think things would go this way." Kang Oh grabbed a fistful of his hair. Everything had gotten twisted, just like the hair in his hand.

But then...

There was a single glimmer of hope.

"Chieftain. Please think it over again."

It was Hoffman, the dwarf well on his way to becoming a Master Blacksmith.