Chapter 33: Those Left Behind （2）
His heart sank.
Kang San couldn’t easily accept the result of his failure.
“Heup.”
He caught his breath.
With his eyes wide open, he couldn’t say anything and just rolled his eyes, looking around.
Fortunately, nothing happened.
The ominous imagination that spread through Kang San’s mind reached the point where he thought that this failure might lead to the failure of the mission. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like it. As Azmoon said, the production period of the magic sword was within a week, and it was presumed that if he succeeded in production by then, he would succeed in the mission.
His mouth felt dry.
Perhaps because he was too nervous for a moment, he rubbed his stiff neck and checked the fragments of the broken sword.
“…I can’t use this. What a waste.”
A D-rank longsword.
Some might say it’s just that much, but items are so rare that even a D-rank one costs at least 10 million won. An item that Kang San had bought with a big heart to survive. Later, he didn’t invest in items anymore, saying he would buy expensive skills, but his heart ached at the fact that the longsword, which was like his whole being, was broken.
It’s water under the b*idge.
He looked away and looked around.
Since it was difficult to create a complete sword like the Blood Demon of his past life, Kang San needed a sword that would serve as a foundation.
‘The condition of the magic sword that the old man mentioned is not simply a good sword. It seems to be referring to a special study through a sword that contains murderous intent. Then, I didn’t have to throw away my sword, but… I can’t do anything about what has already happened. For now, the only option is to get a new sword and proceed with the work.’
One week.
It’s a long time if it’s long, and a short time if it’s short.
Since the process was not clear, there was no time to relax.
Fortunately, this is a blacksmith’s workshop.
It was the perfect place to buy a sword.
Kang San found another blacksmith and bought a large quantity of F-rank swords in preparation for failure.
『Worn-out Longsword』
『F-rank』
『Attack Power +3』
A total of twenty.
The preparations were complete.
Kang San lit the furnace again.
Hwarururu.
✦✦✦✦✦✦
The method was the same.
Memories of his past life.
Just as the man had swung the hammer, Kang San tried to show the same posture as much as possible.
Kaang━!
Kaang, Kaang━!
The work went smoothly.
As if something was working, the sword contained mana, but the same result was repeated as the anticipation swelled.
Crack.
Passssss.
‘Another failure.’
It was already his sixth time.
Since he broke the D-rank longsword, he had broken five swords in a row.
It was practically the same as destroying a sword, but Kang San showed the appearance of bringing a new sword like a machine. The mission did not allow any options other than making a magic sword. Then, it meant that he had to make it no matter what, so even if he failed, he had no choice but to continue working immediately.
But.
Kaang!
Crack.
Kaang, Kaang!
Crack, Crack!
Passssss.
The result was no different.
There was no progress.
Just as the strange phenomenon he had discovered at the beginning, it only reacted as if there was something, but it didn’t show any improvement. When he broke all twenty swords like that. Kang San, who had stayed up all night, realized that there was no answer with this method.
‘There must be a clue in the memories of my past life.’
If it’s impossible.
It wouldn’t have been given as a mission in the first place.
Azmoon started this absurd relationship with the meaning of rehabilitation, so there was a blind belief that he would not give a trial that could never be successful. If it was a light intention, he would have just killed him from the beginning. It could be hope torture, but at least the pattern he had experienced so far was far from that.
A mission that can be successful.
He recalled his memories.
If simply imitating the actions was not a clue, he judged that there was something else in the memories of his past life.
‘The reason why the Blood Demon is consumed by murderous intent is because of the Blood Demon Art. The evil energy caused by the Blood Demon Art takes over the mind and constantly stimulates murderous intent. Then, the reason why the Blood Demon repeatedly imagined killing someone while practicing martial arts and making swords can be interpreted as a process of practicing the Blood Demon Art. Because only by solving the difficult problem of controlling the Blood Demon Art can he not go crazy with madness.’
He thought differently.
The process of making a sword.
The reason why the red energy was constantly surging was that he was causing the Blood Demon Art even in the process of swinging the hammer.
In other words.
There was room to interpret it as needing to manifest the Blood Demon Art.
‘The problem is how?’
The Blood Demon Art is a passive skill.
It’s not an active skill that needs to be used at the necessary timing, but a skill that is naturally applied just by possessing it. The current world has changed like a game system. Since there is no way to operate passive skills, Kang San had no choice but to face difficulties from the beginning.
‘I need to change my thinking. Although I obtained it through Azmoon, the Blood Demon Art is a martial art that was actually used in my past life. It’s not an illusion, but something that actually exists. Then, I need to get out of the frame called passive. The belief that passive skills have new possibilities in addition to their inherent effects.’
He focused his mind.
He picked up the sword he had bought additionally.
As he gently grasped it and thought of harming someone with the sword, a faint red energy swirled on the surface of the sword.
If this is the energy of the Blood Demon Art.
It was a clue to making the magic sword.
The Blood Demon definitely controlled and refined this energy.
‘This is it. Controlling the visible red energy is the way to control murderous intent.’
Kaang━!
He swung the hammer.
Even if he knew the method.
There was no luck.
Countless collisions and breakages.
Kang San threw himself into the fiercely burning flames.
✦✦✦✦✦✦
Several days passed.
A blacksmith’s workshop with a simple name.
Yu Jeong-yeong, who works for Iron, took off his work clothes with his face drenched in sweat.
“I’m leaving.”
“Okay, good work.”
Blacksmiths.
They were assigned a quota of work every day.
It’s not that it requires special skills, and the salary they receive doesn’t change even if they work hard. A life that repeats like a hamster wheel. Since he fulfilled his role as a part of the Iron blacksmith’s workshop, he had no desire to stay here with his buttocks heavy. As if they knew that, the people who hadn’t filled their quota yet only greeted Yu Jeong-yeong verbally and didn’t even glance at him.
After changing clothes.
He threw his clothes into the laundry basket.
When he comes to work early tomorrow morning, the cleaning lady will bring him clean clothes.
As he was about to leave the blacksmith’s workshop.
“So you’re saying you can’t do it?”
“Boss. We have our own circumstances. If you lower the unit price like that…”
“What? Lower? Did you just say lower?”
The man called the boss.
The face of the man who looked to be in his early to mid-30s was distorted.
The fact that the person he was talking to was a blacksmith master in his 50s was not very important to him, who was in the position of the buyer.
“You seem to be living well these days. The work we do here. Everyone in the world knows that it’s something anyone can do, so if you act so expensive, you’ll lose all your customers to competitors, right? How much is the quota that our Howling Guild entrusts every week, if you act like this, we have no choice but to change our trading partner.”
“Huh! No way! Absolutely not!”
“Then lower the unit price. 80,000 won per item. If you accept it, I won’t argue about this anymore.”
It was a harsh proposal.
The basic unit price for work is 100,000 won per item.
In fact, it used to be more expensive than this in the past, but as competition for simple work intensified, the price dropped to a miserable 100,000 won. Even considering the mana stone price, which accounts for half of the unit price, and other operating costs and labor costs, there wasn’t much profit left. However, the price offered by the Howling Guild was an amount that was not easy to accept even considering small profits and quick returns.
But.
There was no way.
As the Howling Guild executive said, blacksmiths can be replaced anywhere.
Moreover, the Howling Guild is the largest guild in Korea in terms of the number of members, so the amount of work they entrust accounts for a significant portion of sales. There was a reason why the other party acted as the absolute buyer.
“…Sigh, I understand.”
Eventually.
He nodded.
Only then did the Howling Guild executive smile brightly.
“You made a good decision. Then, I look forward to working with you in the future.”
A series of situations.
It was a bitter thing, but Yu Jeong-yeong turned his head with a calm face.
He was used to it.
That’s how blacksmiths are.
Blacksmiths went out of business in an era of advanced science, but with the rapid changes in the world, they were newly born due to supply and demand. Of course, their value was not properly recognized. People who simply do the work of restoring the durability of items. That was the general perception, and no one looked at the work blacksmiths do as special and noble while watching them go home every day drenched in sweat.
Anyone can do it.
It’s nothing special.
If you have the ability or talent as a Hunter in the first place.
It was a profession that you would never choose.
The discarded people had to do something to survive in this chaotic world.
The same goes for Yu Jeong-yeong.
There was a time when he was truly passionate about this work.
He had self-esteem, but after facing the public’s reputation, his heart was completely broken.
Do those people even remember?
On his way home from work.
What a mother said to her child.
“You have to study hard. If you don’t become a civil servant or awaken as a Hunter, you’ll have to live like that mister.”
He moved his steps.
He went to work today too.
He just got off work today too.
It was an ordinary day for Yu Jeong-yeong.
✦✦✦✦✦✦
The next day.
Yu Jeong-yeong went to work at the blacksmith’s workshop.
Arriving early in the morning, he changed into his work clothes and headed to his own workshop.
“Huh?”
In a corner of the workshop.
There was a suit of armor and a shield.
Items not primarily made of steel recover their durability in their own way, and these two were already finished by Yu Jeong-yeong a few days ago. They should have been picked up by their owner by now. He had contacted the manager to tell them to retrieve the items, but the fact that they still hadn’t been picked up made Yu Jeong-yeong frown slightly.
‘There’s no space as it is.’
He went to find the manager.
When he told him about it, the manager said:
“Ah, those items? The owner is currently working in the workshop, so please understand. He said he’d come to pick them up within a week, so just leave them in the workshop. There’s no space anywhere else either.”
Suddenly.
He recalled their last encounter.
A man who looked to be in his mid-20s had left the items, and while he was blankly watching Yu Jeong-yeong work, he suddenly asked if he could take out his sword and try working on it himself. It wasn’t a very pleasant question for Yu Jeong-yeong. The man might have said it out of curiosity without thinking much of it, but it was something he couldn’t have said without looking down on the work.
Think about it.
Something you’ve never done before.
What would it mean to say you’d try it out of curiosity?
He wouldn’t have been able to say that to Yu Jeong-yeong’s face without unconsciously thinking it was an easy task.
Lawyers or doctors.
Professions that seem to have a high threshold wouldn’t dare say such a thing.
‘This is annoying.’
His mood was soured from the morning.
Yu Jeong-yeong gathered the items.
He intended to hand them over to the owner himself.
Since the owner was working in a rented workshop anyway, there wouldn’t be any problem leaving them there.
He started walking.
He asked the manager for the location of the workshop, and even though it wasn’t time to start work yet, he could faintly hear the sound of something being hammered from the hallway.
Clang!
Clang, clang━!
Regular intervals.
A consistent sound.
‘Who is it?’
He could tell from the sound alone that it was a skilled craftsman.
A thought crossed his mind.
The closer he got to the source of the sound, the more he couldn’t help but come up with a hypothesis.
He stopped in his tracks.
He had to open the door.
Whether the owner was working or not, he had to tell the rude customer to take his things.
But then.
Whoosh.
Whooooosh.
Flames blazing beyond the window.
And a human being engulfed in them.
At the sight of this series of events, Yu Jeong-yeong froze in place like a statue.
