Gwanaksan.
Just five years ago, it had been famous as one of Seoul citizens' most popular hiking destinations.
It was highly accessible, with trails designed for both beginners and experienced hikers.
The view from the summit was spectacular as well.
Gwanaksan had once been crowded with hikers all 365 days of the year.
But after the world changed, so did the situation.
The problem was the powerful fire energy that had always existed there.
Once it came into contact with Mana, it began constantly radiating intense heat.
Even government intervention proved useless.
As a result, Gwanaksan was classified as dangerous terrain that could not be entered without specialized protective equipment.
It was a shame that such a good mountain for hiking had been lost, but the changes were not entirely negative.
Expensive materials naturally formed there.
Monsters dropped Mana Stones.
There were even Gates exclusive to fire terrain.
Gwanaksan had essentially become a material factory, providing a source of income for countless people.
Their reasons for coming might have changed, but it quickly became crowded with people again.
Yet even in such a lucrative place, there was one area no one visited.
The summit of Gwanaksan.
The reason was simple.
The higher you climbed, the stronger the fire energy became.
Ordinary skills and protective equipment could not withstand the heat.
That was why people rarely ventured there despite the abundance of materials.
"It's not that strong, though?"
It did not feel much different from when I had first entered.
If anything, I merely felt better.
-Waaah! Waaah!
[Fire(EX) repeatedly shouts that it's all thanks to him!]
[Fire(EX) says you should treat him well because of it!]
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks."
I had gathered plenty of materials on my way to the summit.
Four hours had already passed, and even I was beginning to feel somewhat tired.
Fire's Spirit Shelter had its limits too.
I had been tossing everything into my Inventory the moment I collected it without properly checking what I had gathered, so I decided to rest and take a look.
"They say even sightseeing is best done after a meal, so let's eat lunch while we rest."
-Waaah?!
[Fire(EX) asks whether you're going to eat 'that' thing you went down to buy earlier!]
"Yeah. You can't say you went hiking if you don't eat gimbap and cup noodles on the mountain."
I had hurried down before reaching the summit to buy gimbap and cup noodles.
Now I spread them all out inside a pavilion no one could reach anymore.
There was no need to worry about the food burning.
The moment Fire learned it was food, he protected it on his own.
Thanks to Fire's appetite, I had bought plenty of different varieties.
Tuna, pork cutlet, chili pepper, and anchovy gimbap, along with seafood, bibim, stir-fried, beef, and all kinds of other cup noodles.
I had practically bought every variety available.
And then there was the vast view from the summit.
Seoul and the surrounding parts of Gyeonggi Province stretched out before me like a panorama.
Thanks to awakening and my skills enhancing my eyesight, I could see everything clearly.
Gangnam, Seocho District, Lotte World Tower, the Han River, and Namsan.
I had never cared much about hiking, but now I understood why people climbed mountains.
"This was worth coming up for. Now, a bite of gimbap—?!"
-Waaah! Waaah!
[Fire(EX) says the combination is incredible!]
[Fire(EX) says the cup noodles taste heavily of processed food, but he'll forgive it because the combination is so amazing!]
With a single mouthful, two cups of noodles and two rolls of gimbap vanished.
Fine.
Eat as much as you want.
I had expected this, so I had already set aside one roll of gimbap and one cup of noodles for myself.
I leisurely ate while checking the materials I had collected today.
There were not as many as I had expected.
Burning Stonewood ×167
Blazing Cotton ×17
"A total of 184."
There was especially little Blazing Cotton.
That could not be helped.
There simply had not been much of it around.
Without Nature's Eyes, I probably would not have obtained even a quarter of this amount.
"Still, this is more than enough for the bed and expanding the floor area."
First, I needed to fill my stomach properly.
I quickly finished the gimbap and cup noodles I had set aside, then started by expanding the Spirit Shelter.
The method was simple.
All I had to do was think about it.
[Burning Stonewood: (30/30)]
[You have successfully fulfilled the condition!]
[Fire(EX)'s Spirit Shelter has expanded by +1 pyeong!]
The Spirit Shelter, which had barely been large enough for me to stick my head inside—
"Oh, it got bigger."
It had grown large enough to fit another person.
There would now be plenty of room for both Fire and my head.
'If I expand it to five pyeong, I should be able to go inside and rest too.'
I definitely needed to try that later.
If I was going to rest anyway, was it not better to make it as efficient as possible?
I felt a little sorry for Fire, since he was technically the owner.
But he would probably agree if I bribed him with Mana Stones.
Straight to five pyeong.
[Burning Stonewood: (35/35)]
[You have successfully fulfilled the condition!]
[Fire(EX)'s Spirit Shelter has expanded by +1 pyeong!]
Every time I fulfilled the condition, the required amount of Burning Stonewood increased by five.
If I had not checked carefully, I might have ended up short.
I had just enough to expand the space and still make the bed.
When I finally reached exactly five pyeong—
[Burning Stonewood: (45/45)]
[You have successfully fulfilled the condition!]
[Fire(EX)'s Spirit Shelter has expanded by +1 pyeong!]
❰Floor Area: 5 pyeong❱
[You have successfully fulfilled the condition!]
[Warm Bed(E) can now be crafted!]
Even two pyeong had felt spacious.
So what about five?
"Wow! This is insane. It's bigger than my studio apartment."
The extra room was nice, but realizing that I lived worse than my Spirit naturally made me sigh.
I would have to save money quickly.
Though between food expenses and Mana Stones, that probably would not happen anytime soon.
Once I entered the Spirit Shelter myself, the difference felt even greater.
"Can't I just make this my home?"
-Waaah! Waaah!
[Fire(EX) says he doesn't want to trade it for your prison!]
[Fire(EX) firmly declares that it's absolutely impossible!]
"I'm joking, I'm joking. I can come in occasionally, right?"
-Waaah!
[Fire(EX) says you can as long as you keep your promises!]
He meant letting him play and giving him Mana Stones.
What a demanding little bastard.
"Fine. Go play. Just don't leave the summit."
-Waaah!
[Fire(EX) declares that he's finished eating and is leaving immediately!]
He dumped the remaining cup noodles and gimbap into his mouth, then ran wildly around the area.
He climbed trees and even clung to the exercise equipment, enthusiastically working out.
He really was cute when he was just playing.
Almost like a talking puppy.
After confirming that he was enjoying himself, I started crafting the bed.
The method was the same as expanding the floor area.
The moment I thought about it, the System automatically took the materials and crafted it for me.
[Burning Stonewood: (10/10)]
[Blazing Cotton: (5/5)]
[You have successfully fulfilled the condition!]
[Warm Bed(E) has been successfully crafted!]
Installing it was just as easy as crafting it.
I simply moved the bed into my Inventory, then placed it wherever I wanted.
The Spirit Shelter, which had previously been completely empty, was now half-filled by the Warm Bed.
I had expected it to be small since it was meant for Fire, but it was large enough for even me to lie down comfortably.
More importantly, its effect was incredible.
<Warm Bed(E)>
Description: A bed crafted by properly combining Burning Stonewood and Blazing Cotton! Rest efficiency increases, and complete recovery is possible once per day!
"Increased rest efficiency and complete recovery once a day?"
I had originally planned to gather a few more materials on the way down before finishing for the day.
Both Fire and I had accumulated quite a lot of fatigue.
But now—
'I can keep going until late tonight.'
Materials were not the only thing available.
There were Mana Stones too.
I was going to squeeze every last bit of value out of Gwanaksan today.
All the materials on this mountain were mine!
To do that, I first needed to rest properly.
More craftable furniture had appeared as well, but I decided to examine it slowly later.
I lay down on the newly crafted bed for a nap.
I had just started drifting off to sleep when—
-Waaah! Waaah!
SMACK!
[Fire(EX) says he found something interesting!]
[Fire(EX) slaps your cheek and tells you to wake up quickly!]
"Ow! What did you find?"
-Waaah! Waaah!
[Fire(EX) urges you to get up first!]
[Fire(EX) scolds you, saying you'll dirty the new bed!]
How dirty could I possibly make it?
This had better actually be interesting.
I left the Spirit Shelter and followed Fire.
But the place he led me to was strange.
A cliff.
I carefully looked down.
The sheer height made me dizzy.
Even I might not escape unharmed if I fell from here.
"Are you sure this is the place?"
-Waaah!
[Fire(EX) urges you to stop asking questions and follow him!]
Even if it was dangerous, there was probably something worthwhile down there.
Anything that benefited me ultimately benefited Fire too.
No matter how mischievous he was, he would not play a prank like this.
I carefully climbed down the cliff and spotted an opening just barely large enough for one person to squeeze through.
"Here?"
-Waaah!
[Fire(EX) nods vigorously!]
It was not a Gate.
Even through Nature's Eyes, it appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary small cave formed naturally.
Inside was a moderately sized chamber sealed off on every side.
I had no idea what was supposed to be so interesting about it.
For a moment, I thought there was nothing unusual even after entering.
Then—
[You have discovered the Forgotten Absolute's Trial!]
[Would you like to begin the Forgotten Absolute's Trial?]
[Yes/No]
"Hm? There really was something here?"
-Congratulations. You have discovered a trial created by a being from another dimension.
"Are you talking about a fortuitous encounter?"
-Yes. These are Event Trials that randomly form within the terrain of different countries. If you clear one, you should be able to obtain a fairly valuable reward. The difficulty is somewhat high, however.
Following Fire had paid off.
The rewards from clearing trials like this could be unimaginable.
There were even cases where an Awakened with an F-Rank Trait rose to the very top among Awakened solely because of the reward from an Event Trial.
Some people had even obtained entirely new Traits.
Of course, just as Clone said, the difficulty was equally extreme.
I had only heard about the successful cases.
Most of the failures had probably died without anyone ever knowing.
"Yes!"
How difficult could it possibly be?
I had Fire, the King of Fire Spirits.
I started immediately.
My vision darkened before gradually returning from the center.
The first thing I saw was a vast plain.
It resembled the One-Time Mana Stone Dungeon, except the surroundings were shrouded in darkness.
Even the grass covering the ground had withered away, making the place resemble a land of death.
It seemed like a place where no living creature should exist.
"Groooar."
"Groooar."
Monsters perfectly suited to the scenery—Ghouls—were scattered everywhere.
Fortunately, they were representative E-Rank monsters.
The problem was their numbers.
'There have to be at least several thousand.'
There was a reason Clone had said the difficulty was high.
But the objective of this trial was not something simple like defeating every monster.
[You have arrived at the Forgotten Absolute's Trial.]
[Survive for 1 hour while everything is at 1.]
[Survival: 1 second/1 hour]
The moment the System message appeared, strength drained from my entire body.
The same happened to Fire.
He could not even use his skills.
There was no need to panic.
I immediately activated the Warm Bed's ability.
[All of Fire(EX)'s abilities are restored!]
Since the reduced values had not been permanently fixed, the Warm Bed's effect worked perfectly.
Vitality returned to Fire, and he immediately began unleashing his skills on his own.
Exactly one hour later—
[You have cleared the Forgotten Absolute's Trial!]
[Survival: 1 hour/1 hour]
[You have succeeded in overwhelmingly clearing the Forgotten Absolute's Trial!]
[Lowest-Rank Mana Stone(F) × 1,005 acquired!]
[Low-Rank Mana Stone(E) × 754 acquired!]
[Lower-Intermediate-Rank Mana Stone(D) × 350 acquired!]
[Intermediate-Rank Mana Stone(C) × 183 acquired!]
[Upper-Intermediate-Rank Mana Stone(B) × 13 acquired!]
[High-Rank Mana Stone(A) × 3 acquired!]
[Item, Random Treasure Chest(SSS), acquired!]
"...SSS?!"
I was speechless.
I had obtained the pinnacle of all grades!
And a massive haul of Mana Stones on top of that!
I decided to check the details later.
Even after spending an hour inside the Warm Bed, my body still refused to recover properly.
I staggered to my feet, left the trial, and gasped for breath.
It had been brutally exhausting.
But—
"That was worth the effort."
-Waaah!
[Fire(EX) shouts, 'I did everything! What effort are you talking about?!']
I casually ignored him.
For now, I focused on recovering.