There was a massive explosion! A huge shockwave came first, accompanied by a 'boom' that threatened to burst their eardrums.

Bam, bam, bam!

Eder's bone barrier was ripped to shreds. Those hiding behind the bone bulwark reeled from the impact.

The Dwarven Warriors scowled. So that they weren't pushed back, they put everything they had into their lower bodies.

Roar!

A mighty flame was what followed. The bone barrier, which was already halfway destroyed, was burnt black and melted instantly.

Randelhoff's shield radiated brown light. 'Earth Shield' was currently active, a skill which absorbed all sorts of damage. The Dwarven Warriors added their own shields, forming a protective wall.

However...

The flames were too wild and intense, traveling over the shields and heavily damaging the warriors.

"Ugh."

"Kaahk!"

The Dwarven Warriors were burnt, and their armor melted too. Kang Oh and Eder weren't doing so well either. They were in bad shape; they'd instantly lost half of their HP.

A short while later…

No one came out of this unscathed.

* * *

The explosion had killed eight Dwarven Warriors. The rest of them had just barely survived, and were in no condition to fight. Book and Igriham weren't in the best of shape either.

Kang Oh, Eder, and Randelhoff arduously stood up.

"Anyone that can move... Give the survivors some health potions!" Kang Oh said roughly, as he was still assuming his demon form. While speaking, he emptied a health potion into Book's mouth.

Randelhoff and Eder did the same, but with the other Dwarven Warriors. They also sprinkled the potion on their skin too. Of course, this was nothing more than first aid. So that the Dwarven Warriors didn't die!

Then...

Human-shaped flames suddenly appeared behind him. The region around his heart felt cold. His Hyper Intuition was warning him of danger!

"Tch!" Kang Oh quickly bent backwards.

Bam!

A blazing fist flew through where his upper body had once been. If he hadn't reacted in time, then he would've been in a world of trouble! Kang Oh then backflipped and stared at his attacker.

It was a body of flame, with arms and legs like a human being. The flames atop its round face reminded him of someone who'd dyed their hair red. It was about 2 meters tall. The spirit looked much different than before, but it was definitely Magnium.

'It must be the cost of creating that huge explosion.' He could piece together why Magnium looked the way it did.

"I'm going to kill you." Magnium extended its hand, unleashing a fan-shaped flame.

Abyss Transfer.

Kang Oh disappeared within the darkness, and then reappeared behind Magnium.

'I got you!'

Magnium's body was entirely made up of fire! It was the perfect prey for Abyss Blade!

Swish.

He swung downwards. But then, something unexpected happened. Magnum had disappeared.

Kang Oh widened his eyes. 'Teleportation!' Ubist had cut nothing but air.

"Be careful! Magnium could pop up anywhere!" Kang Oh yelled.

Eder summoned Munra's Bone Shield and raised it with one hand. Randelhoff continued to administer health potions, but kept his eyes peeled.

Swish.

Magnium reappeared behind Randelhoff. It swung its hand in a chopping motion. Then, raging fire ignited on his fingers, coalescing into a flaming sword.

"Ugh!" Randelhoff shielded himself.

Roar!

The flaming sword sliced the shield from above, leaving behind a diagonal scorch mark.

"You bastard!" Kang Oh drew a Gladion's Dagger and threw it at Magnium.

"Constricting bone!" Eder pointed his scythe at it.

Bone Bind!

White bone grew around Magnium.

"It's pointless." Magnium teleported again. Kang Oh's dagger pierced bone instead of its intended target!

Then...

Kang Oh used Abyss Transfer, causing him to disappear into the darkness.

A short while later...

Magnium reappeared above Eder's head, and...

Swish!

Kang Oh appeared above it.

'Now!'

This was the best chance he was going to get! Kang Oh wouldn't waste such a golden opportunity.

The world slowed. He'd entered the world of hyper concentration, one in which limits were broken.

Transcendent Blade!

Demon Sword Ubist's limits were broken.

Add to that... Everlasting Darkness!

Kang Oh used his most powerful skill in tandem with his most powerful item effect! No particular sound could be heard, nor was the combination as showy as Lightning Breath or Tempest Tiger. He simply shot a beam straight at Magnium.

Magnium didn't know he'd been cut. It was only after he began to disappear did he stare in disbelief.

"Imposs..." Magnium began, but wasn't able to finish. He completely disappeared before he could!

[You have defeated the Ruler of Deskein Heart, the Enraged Great Lava Spirit, Magnium.]

[As a reward for being the first to do so, Magnium will drop its highest rank items.]

[You have defeated a raid boss that lives in an incredibly dangerous area (Despia).]

[You have acquired the title, Lava Monarch.]

[Fame and combat-related side stats have increased.]

[All skill and magic proficiency has increased.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

Kang Oh plopped onto the floor. He'd used Transcendent Blade while his body was injured, so he didn't have any energy left.

"Mr. Kang Oh!" Eder rushed over and hugged him.

He really wanted to say, 'Hey, get off me, you stupid undead!'. Kang Oh wasn't interested in men! However, he didn't have the energy to push him off.

"Did we really win?" Randelhoff looked on in disbelief. However, Magnium's loot glimmered atop the white floor, a sure sign that it was dead. "Aaah!"

[Randelhoff is in awe of what you've done.]

[Closeness with Randelhoff has increased significantly.]

[Your actions have saved countless Black Hammer Dwarves.]

[Closeness with the Black Hammer Dwarves has increased significantly.]

[Closeness with the Black Hammer Dwarves has been maxed out. You are now the Black Hammer Dwarves' savior.]

* * *

Rumble!

The white floor began to shake. Randelhoff had activated the elevator.

A short while later...

The elevator returned to its original spot. They were inside a large clearing again. It was a safe location, one without any monsters or traps!

"Good work everyone. Treat your wounds and rest," Randelhoff said.

"Yes, sir."

The Dwarven Warriors separated into groups of two or three and plopped onto the floor. Then, they either drank potions, began bandaging themselves, or ate. Some of the dwarves came over and thanked Kang Oh too.

"Thanks for saving me."

"I'm just glad that you survived," Kang Oh replied modestly, which was very unlike him. He obviously had an ulterior motive.

'I have to look good in front of them. I need them to make me a sword!'

Anyhow, Kang Oh examined the items that Magnium had dropped. He couldn't take it anymore; his curiosity got the better of him.

'There are only four of them?'

Magnium was a raid boss, yet it had only dropped four items. How stingy!

"Tch." Kang Oh clicked his tongue and grabbed the flame-shaped sword. It was clearly a work of art! He had a feeling he'd just hit the jackpot.

[Fire's Heart]

A flame-shaped sword forged by the peerless Elvish Blacksmith, Sunlei. It contains the mystery of metal.

The sword gradually becomes stronger by absorbing flames. It has remained deep within the Deskein Volcano's lava for hundreds of years, and has absorbed its power over the centuries.

+ Fire Accumulation: Absorbs fire. The more fire it absorbs, the more powerful the sword becomes.

+ Evolving Fire: The power of all fire attacks, skills, and magic is tripled.

+ Flame Emperor: For 10 minutes, you become the incarnation of fire, the Flame Emperor. Cooldown: 1 hour.

Rank: SS.

Abilities: Attack Power +600, Fire Damage +400, Physical +200, completely nullifies fire damage.

Minimum Requirements: Level 400, Physical 800, Spiritual Affinity 500, Fire Resistance 95%.

"Wow! Holy shit!" Kang Oh was shocked.

'How much is this even worth!?'

An SS-rank sword! He could sell it for however much he wanted! Although he wanted to put it into his inventory right then and there, there were a lot of eyes watching.

'Should I just take it and run?' he suddenly thought.

But then...

"What is it?" Randelhoff approached him.

'You have such bad timing!'

"Ah, that's... well..." Kang Oh looked around awkwardly. Randelhoff looked interested in the blade he was carrying.

"It's a strange looking sword."

"Ah, yes."

"Let me see it." Randelhoff pretty much snatched it away from him.

"T-This is... a sword made by a Master Blacksmith." He looked at the item in disbelief.

"Hehe, so it's a good item."

"It's not simply a 'good item'... Perhaps it's a huge blessing for our tribe."

"Excuse me?"

'What are you talking about?'

"This sword was created using a Master Blacksmith's secret technique. It contains the mystery of metal! So if we study this blade, then one of us may one day become a Master Blacksmith too!" Randelhoff said.

A Master Blacksmith! To think that one of them could become such heights! It was exciting just thinking about it.

"But if you want it, then you can have it. You deserve it after all," Randelhoff said.

Kang Oh wasn't the type to look a gift horse in the mouth.

He immediately said, "I want it."

"Mm. Anyhow, let's divide the loot once we've returned to the hideout. We can discuss what to do with the sword there," Randelhoff said.

"Understood."

"Have you taken a look at the other items?"

"No. I was going to."

Kang Oh picked up the red leather belt. It was adorned with a gold skull.

[Fire Bomb Belt]

A mysterious belt that has the power to create extremely dangerous and powerful fire bombs.

The fire bombs should be handled with extreme caution.

+ Fire Bomb: Summons a fire bomb (projectile weapon) in one's hand. Every 5 minutes, a fire bomb is automatically stored within the belt. The belt can hold a total of 8 fire bombs at any one time.

Rank: S.

Abilities: Defense +100, Fire Damage +100, Physical +20, Mental +20, Magic +40, Sense +40.

Minimum Requirements: Level 300, Fire Resistance 30%.

'I want this one too.'

Kang Oh was currently wearing the BB-rank 'Leather Belt for Projectile Weapons'. Because this belt possessed the Automatic Return feature, it had incredible synergy with the Gladion's Dagger. Thus, he'd never even considered replacing it before, even though its minimum level requirement (level 100) was so low.

But once he took a look at the Fire Bomb Belt, any attachment he might've had for his current belt completely disappeared.

'Let's look at all the others too.'

Kang Oh examined the two remaining items. One of them was a material called Magnium's Core, while the other was...

[Door Opening Mysterious Crystal]

A mysterious crystal that opens a door that leads you somewhere else. Can only be used once, and the door can only be maintained for an hour.

'Found it!'

He'd found the door that led to the next area!