How the Regressed Munchkin Chews Up the Tower - H.R.M.C.U.T Chapter 9 (Part 1):

The Earth Dragon was strong.

Far stronger than Yujin had remembered.

A colossal monster worm, its body stretching well over 100 meters in length with a girth of a staggering 5 meters.

For low-level players, its sheer size alone posed a lethal threat.

Most attacks barely fazed it, and even its sluggish movements sent debris crumbling down like rain.

It wasn’t for nothing that players in the previous cycle had squandered so much time before ascending to the 2nd Floor.

At this point in time, calling it a monster second only to the Apocalypse wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

Of course, that didn’t apply to Yujin.

He had a track record of tearing even the real Apocalypse to shreds.

It took less than ten minutes.

That was the time it took for Yujin to slice the massive Earth Dragon’s body into exactly eighteen pieces, snuffing out its life.

『Divinely Blessed Body [S]』.

It surpassed every skill and trait Yujin had ever acquired.

Well, obviously, that was excluding 『Hourglass of Chronos [EX]』.

‘Especially the synergy.’

Even in the first run, the combination with 『Unity of Mind and Body [E]』 had been his greatest asset, and it was nothing short of phenomenal.

‘『Unity of Mind and Body [E]』 is invincible. 『Divinely Blessed Body [S]』 is divine.’

Honestly, with just those two, he could breeze through at least the 30th Floor without much trouble.

‘A real jackpot, this one.’

He couldn’t help but feel a newfound respect for his past self, who had bet everything on Darkness during the tutorial floor.

‘Thanks to that, I even got something extra nice.’

Yujin, who had been grinning to himself, suddenly furrowed his brow.

‘Anyway, that aside. When the hell is this guy showing up?’

He’d been told to wait a moment while being led to the furnace, but the guy had vanished and still hadn’t returned.

As a result, Yujin was left standing alone in the empty shop, staring blankly.

“Ugh, I don’t have time for this.”

He needed to acquire 『Subspace』, get a horse, and on top of that, scout for useful players among those arriving soon.

Unable to endure the boredom any longer, Yujin began pacing around the shop, inspecting its interior.

As a shop ostensibly posing as a weapons store, it had quite a few items on display.

Rather than wasting time idly, it seemed better to browse those.

After examining the items for a while, Yujin shook his head.

“…No wonder there were no customers.”

Even in the first run, [Citadel’s Golden Hammer] had never been popular.

If it weren’t for 『Black Wing [C]』, it would’ve been completely forgotten, untouched by anyone’s footsteps.

“How is it that everything here, not even material items, is all F-rank?”

Going out into the field with this junk was a death sentence.

They’d shatter to pieces after a few uses, no doubt.

Not only was the balance of weight off, but the metal hadn’t even been properly tempered.

Naturally, the uneven strength meant stress would concentrate, causing them to break almost immediately.

“All flash and no substance. Tsk tsk. How did a place like this ever produce something like 『Black Wing [C]』?”

It was likely that Citadel hadn’t made it himself—probably some heirloom passed down through generations.

There was no other explanation.

At this rate, Citadel had about as much talent for blacksmithing as a speck of dust.

“He’d be better off changing careers, for his own sake.”

Considering Citadel’s future, that is.

Of course, saying this to his face would probably make him furious enough to kill, but what could you do?

It was the truth.

*Kuwoong—!*

At that moment, a heavy thud announced Citadel’s return from wherever he’d disappeared to.

“I-I brought it.”

Panting heavily, he stood before—astonishingly—a massive furnace.

“Wait, I told you to guide me to it, and you brought the whole damn thing?”

Is his head that thick?

Yujin stared at him in disbelief, and Citadel cleared his throat.

“Ahem, that place is off-limits to outsiders, so I brought it myself. Don’t misunderstand.”

“…So damn rigid.”

No outsiders allowed—what kind of rule was that?

He was prioritizing regulations over reclaiming the flame he valued more than his own life.

“I don’t get it at all, but fine. The furnace is what matters anyway.”

If the guy wanted to make things harder for himself, who was Yujin to argue?

“Anyway, so I just need to revive the flame in this thing, right?”

“Y-Yeah. But… is that really possible?”

Citadel still looked skeptical as he questioned Yujin.

“Just trust me a little. You think I gathered all this stuff because I’ve got time to burn?”

With that, Yujin untied the leather bundle he’d brought.

『Sulfur Deer’s Horn [F]』.

『Vampire Bat Membrane [F]』.

『Blue Slime’s Core [F]』.

『Earth Dragon’s Blood [D]』.

“Oh, and just so you know, this leather is the『Vampire Bat Membrane [F]』. It was too much to carry separately, so I just wrapped everything in it.”

Citadel’s eyes widened as he saw the items laid out on the floor.

The first three weren’t particularly rare.

Even NPC hunters could go out and fetch those whenever they felt like it.

But the last one was different.

“『Earth Dragon’s Blood [D]』… So I didn’t mishear earlier.”

Faced with the grandeur of a D-rank material item, Citadel let out a hollow laugh.

“Don’t tell me you actually killed the Earth Dragon?”

He asked with a look of disbelief, but as always, disbelief tends to catch people off guard.

“What, you think I went and donated blood? Of course I killed it.”

“You—You! Do you even understand what that means?!”

Of course he did.

When it came to the Tower, Yujin knew hundreds of times more than Citadel ever would.

“Obviously.”

Yujin nodded casually.

Killing the Earth Dragon.

That meant he could ascend to the 2nd Floor.

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