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Chapter 18: Preparation

Jeong In-Chang, the Dragon Slayer, or more famously, the Immortal Siegfried.

His rise to fame was intricately tied with the Demon King as he was the man who killed the Bone Dragon, one of the Demon King’s familiars and an infamous monster. Having impressed his Sponsor after slaying the Bone Dragon, he was gifted with the fraudulent Authority, Immortality.

However, in this cold and contemptuous world, there was no such thing as the perfect ability. He was a hero of misfortune, murdered by his close friend, Choi Yong-Su, at the orders of Choi Yeong-Seong during a later battle against the Demon King.

‘I have to make sure he joins my side.’

While he had impressive strength and ability, his character was what made him an attractive ally more than anything else. He was the type of person who still continued to protect the core values of the rotting Northern Army Guild.

He had no interest in fame or growth, but he continued to pursue both for one reason only: to correct the path of the Northern Army Guild and save his childhood friends, Choi Yong-Su and his elder brother Choi Yeong-Seong. Like most martyrs, his end was tragic, so much so that he had received sympathy from even his enemies on the battlefield. He had died at the hands of the guild and the close friends he had wanted to protect. If Lee Jun-Kyeong was able to keep him firmly on his side…

‘He would be of great help.’

In fact, some people even believed that if Jeong In-Chang had managed to survive until the end, he might have been able to match the Twelve Heroes. However, that reality was still a long way off. Currently, he wouldn’t consider betraying his guild easily as he was extremely loyal, which ironically was the reason why Lee Jun-Kyeong needed him. But today…

– I’ll think about it.

Finally, Jeong In-Chang responded. Regardless of how the other man had interpreted his request, Lee Jun-Kyeong wasn’t looking for him to actually betray his guild or his close friends.

Instead, Lee Jun-Kyeong only required him to be a bystander. However, the deputy guild master had responded that he would think about it.

Lee Jun-Kyeong murmured to himself, “As expected… I am a fan of his character.”

In any case, this was enough in regards to Jeong In-Chang, as there were still a few more pieces of bait Lee Jun-Kyeong had prepared to lure him in. But, more importantly, there were other things to prepare.

‘The gate in the mobilization order is a B-Grade Gate…’

If the difficulty was the only thing he had to worry about, it could have still been feasible, but this gate conquest had many more issues. That was why so many Hunters, including the Northern Army Guild, had been mobilized simultaneously. But it was ironic to think that he, who had only just become C-Rank, had been mobilized for a B-Grade Gate conquest.

.

‘It must have been the influence of that person the punks were talking about.’

Lee Jun-Kyeong had no intention of avoiding the inevitable. In fact, he could use this situation to his own advantage. However, he knew that he was still lacking in many ways. First, he had to continue to clear dungeons and grow, which was what he had been doing lately.

[You have cleared the Land of the Deceased.]

This D-Grade Gate had zombies that would endlessly appear.

‘<The Sky of the Apocalypse> really is a miser.’

He was thinking uncharitable thoughts about his Sponsor because he had not gotten any support after receiving an Authority. All the Sponsor had given him was an Authority and a useless familiar. He hadn’t received a single skill so far.

‘My Sponsor won’t even listen to my complaints anymore.’

He had tried to express his dissatisfaction like he had last time, on the off chance there might have been a response, but it didn’t result in anything. There was nothing more he could do. It wasn’t even as if he didn’t know anything about <The Sky of the Apocalypse>. Either way, it wasn’t a problem, as he had to clear dungeons regardless of how long it took to get a response from his Sponsor.

The second issue was the problem that he had yet to solve.

Crack.

The cleared gate was dissolving around him. Before long, Lee Jun-Kyeong was standing back on the asphalt as usual, the spear in his right hand broken. It had reached the end of its life. He had already invested in and replaced his weapon several times. Though he had spent quite a lot of money on his weapons, his clear speed was so fast that his weapons still couldn’t endure it. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a party or a guild to rely on either.

He suddenly said aloud, “A weapon.”

“Pardon?” Kim Su-Yeong looked confused at that unexpected remark.

Lee Jun-Kyeong repeated, “I need weapons.”

This was the second thing that needed to be prepared before the mobilization.

***

[Reign of Fire] was the Authority the Demon King controlled, and it was an ability that made the world, Hunters, and even the Twelve Heroes tremble in fear. Of course, while the [Reign of Fire] used by Lee Jun-Kyeong was nowhere close to becoming comparable to even a single finger flick from the Demon King…

‘Is it easy to control because it\'s an Authority?’

In fact, the difficulty was proportional to the power it provided. This was more noticeable once [Reign of Fire] had grown to Lv. 2. Although it was a power that dealt with flames, [Reign of Fire] wasn’t able to directly attack targets at Lv. 1. So while it was possible to overlay the flames over a spear or a shield, there weren’t many offensive uses for it otherwise.

‘It needs weapons with higher durability.’

It wasn’t easy for the weapons or armor to endure the Authority either, nor was it easy to get weapons of that caliber just yet. Since it would engulf the enemy in flames when he hit a critical strike, he used it often. Naturally, the funds needed to replace his spears and shields were very high.

The problem only got worse as [Reign of Fire] got stronger. After all, the efficiency and performance doubled once the Authority had increased in level. Unlike previously at Lv. 1, when his weapons had only been enveloped in flames, the weapons themselves began to hold the power of fire.

Needless to say, this only accelerated the breakdown of his weapons. He thought to himself that it was time to seriously consider replacing his weapons and armor; he had delayed the inevitable for too long. His concern about the money needed to maintain his growth had also become another problem.

Gulp.

Would it really happen?

Knock knock.

Lee Jun-Kyeong thought to himself as he knocked on the door, ‘Will I be able to convince him?’

While it wasn’t widely known to the world as of yet, some of the best blacksmiths since Hunters came into existence were alive in this era. They were masters with such skill that everyone would want to request commissions after a little more time had passed. However, they currently had a large issue.

“Come in!” a voice roughly greeted from beyond the door. It was obvious that the speaker had replied without even knowing who the outsider was. Even though many Hunters would eventually find out that these people were master blacksmiths, they would still be reluctant to visit them. Although they had some of the best smithing skills in the world, they would soon be equally as well known for their eccentric personalities.

Creak.

Lee Jun-Kyeong entered the room after widening the gap between the open doors. A dizzying smell and smoke filled the room, and the smell of iron and various chemicals stung the tip of his nose. Through the hazy smoke…

“Wait! I’m still working!”

…a fifteen-year-old boy yelled at Lee Jun-Kyeong. His hair was like a bird\'s nest, and the muscles on his shirtless chest completely contrasted with his youthful face. He looked quite bizarre, but Lee Jun-Kyeong waited silently for him as his age wasn’t indicative of his true skills.

‘He said he had changed after becoming a Hunter.’

That person had changed after becoming a Hunter. In fact, that man was actually an adult, but his body had morphed after entering a gate. As an adult, that man wasn’t any younger than himself. Lee Jun-Kyeong silently sat on the chair and looked around, feeling like he was in a dream.

Clang! Clang!

He had never even dreamed that he would have been able to see that boy who was hammering without a break. It felt like a blast to the past, and it sharply reminded him that he had been given a chance again. Lee Jun-Kyeong looked at the boy whose identity was still unknown to the world; a boy who had been changed by the side effects of a gate.

‘He’s a Dvergr.’

Dvergr were the best artisans. While the boy still believed that he was human, the reality was different. The physical change the boy had suffered from the gate wasn’t an illness.

‘It was a racial transformation.’

Dvergr were a race from another world, and many of the races of different worlds had a form of intelligence. However, these races had all died out. The information from the book of the Demon King also confirmed that these races had gone extinct.

Nonetheless, the gates contained them, and sometimes people transformed into these long-dead races after being injected with these genes from a Gate. This would occur to preserve the legacy of the races, or at least that was one of the hypotheses that the Demon King wrote about. So it wasn’t a proven truth.

Another theory was that the Sponsors were the gods of these races, and, to preserve their destroyed believers, they would change their chosen Hunter’s race to match the race of the Sponsor.

‘As for the boy…’

Lee Jun-Kyeong suspected the second theory applied to this case. The boy had transformed into the blacksmith’s race, Dvergr. In other words, he had become a dwarf. He was one of the few who had become a different race. However, he was even more special. After all, he would become the greatest and most masterful blacksmith.

He was the Blacksmith Hero.

‘Brook.’

The hammering sound droned on like a lullaby, and as Lee Jun-Kyeong began to relax and drift away to sleep…

“You’ve waited a while.”

…he woke up to the sound of the boy’s voice. The boy roughly wiped away his sweaty upper body with a towel as he asked Lee Jun-Kyeong, “By the way, who are you?”

Lee Jun-Kyeong checked his watch. It had been over four hours since he had entered the workshop, and the boy was finally getting around to asking his identity.

Just as expected.

‘He’s eccentric.’

***

‘Is he not here?’

Lee Jun-Kyeong looked around the workshop…

“Why are you looking around like that? Are you looking for something in particular?”

…but the only person he saw was the boy. Regardless of his future identity, the boy currently went by Park Jae-Hyun. Lee Jun-Kyeong carefully asked, “Are you using the studio by yourself?”

“...”

Park Jae-Hyun’s face hardened. Following a short interval, he snapped at Lee Jun-Kyeong in a slightly hostile manner, “Who do you think you are? You came all this way to me, an unnamed blacksmith, and don’t even commission any equipment. You obviously already knew that I have a shitty personality, but you continued talking to me… and now you\'re asking if I’m working here alone?”

Lee Jun-Kyeong wasn’t taken aback by the situation. Instead, he continued, “Excuse me…”

“Huh?”

Park Jae-Hyun stared at the point Lee Jun-Kyeong pointed his finger at.

Lee Jun-Kyeong clarified, “I asked because the hammer seemed different.”

He was pointing at the hammer Park Jae-Hyun had recently used. Furthermore, there was a hammer that differed in shape and length from the rest of the hammers in the workshop. One could tell their owners were different from just a glance.

“You have good eyesight,” said Park Jae-Hyun while nodding. “While there is another punk who uses this workshop… it’s not important.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong restrained a sudden urge to thrash the boy. He had a personality that usually didn’t judge people recklessly, and he also tried to be polite to everyone. However, it was difficult for even someone like him to please Park Jae-Hyun, who irritated people because his boyish appearance contrasted sharply with his unforgiving tongue. If Lee Jun-Kyeong managed to form a rapport with this blacksmith and maintain a strong relationship with him…

‘Someday…’

…he would beat him. Lee Jun-Kyeong promised himself at that moment.

“So what do you want? What’s with that insidious expression? Whatever…” said Park Jae-Hyun as he picked up and threw a hammer.

Crash!

A loud ringing sound exploded the moment it collided, implying that the hammer was much heavier than it actually looked.

‘Looks like his combat power is as I thought it would be.’

While Lee Jun-Kyeong was evaluating Park Jae-Hyun silently, Park Jae-Hyun grumbled again, “Why did you come looking for me? I haven’t properly crafted a piece of equipment yet. This is just me messing around. Why. Did. You. Decide. To. Come. All. The. Way. Here?” Lee Jun-Kyeong ignored the boy’s odd pronunciation and whipped out the speech he had prepared in advance, “Sponsor.”

“Huh? Park Jae-Hyun looked at him oddly.

Lee Jun-Kyeong clarified, “My Sponsor told me to come to find you.”

“Hmm…”

The agitation on Park Jae-Hyun’s face was clearly visible.

“You’re telling me your Sponsor is involving itself that directly…? That’s impossible…”

It wasn’t as if the dwarf could ignore it, though.

‘Because you also feel the intervention of your Sponsor greatly.’

Park Jae-Hyun was, as Lee Jun-Kyeong had assumed before, a Hunter who had inherited the legacy of the fallen Dvergr. His Sponsor was most likely the Dvergr Ancestor, assumed to most likely be the first of the Dvergr race. Brook had inherited not only the legacy of this Ancestor but also had incredible talent as a blacksmith.

‘They had said his Sponsor liked him enough even to interfere directly.’

It was enough to become favored to the point that his Sponsor wouldn’t hesitate to intervene directly. There was a reason why Lee Jun-Kyeong knew so much about the blacksmith.

‘Park Jae-Hyun was the one who made weapons for the Demon King.’

However, the relationship between Park Jae-Hyun and the Demon King began to warp as time passed. Due to the manipulation of the Twelve Heroes, the blacksmith began to feel an indelible sense of betrayal and rage toward the Demon King. In the end, Park Jae-Hyun ended up utterly breaking things off with the Demon King, and eventually supplied his weapons only to the Twelve Heroes. The Demon King had even written about him in his book.

[If Park Jae-Hyun, if that punk had helped me to the end…]

His evaluation of Park Jae-Hyun was so great that he even said that the end results may have been different with the blacksmith by his side.

“Well, the very existence of a Sponsor is so bizarre that there would be no reason not to believe it…”

Just like Lee Jun-Kyeong had thought, Park Jae-Hyun seemed to believe his words.

However…

“I won’t be able to make you your equipment.”

…he still refused Lee Jun-Kyeong’s commission request.

“What is the reason?” Lee Jun-Kyeong asked. This was the era in which Park Jae-Hyun should have especially wanted to create equipment. As he had said before, no one had ever looked for him. A blacksmith that no one would look for was a blacksmith with no value. He was sure that Park Jae-Hyun would want to prove his own worth.

‘Is it because of his temper?’

It was difficult to get a read on him. However…

“It’s not something you’re probably thinking.”

Park Jae-Hyun’s response was different from what he had originally expected.

“I simply don’t like the fire here. That’s why I haven’t taken any customers until now.”

The fire…

Wait, the fire? Lee Jun-Kyeong was relieved that the problem was this simple and crossed his arms. He was about to bring out one of the many different things he had prepared to convince Park Jae-Hyun, but then paused for a moment and pulled out his hand.

“What is it? I thought you’d bring out something great to convince me?” Park Jae-Hyun said, making fun of him.

Lee Jun-Kyeong responded, “Let’s make the fire you want.”

All of a sudden, a small spark was dancing in his palm.

1. The Korean refers to the original Norse word for Dwarf, the old Norse ‘Dvergr’. Generally speaking, the word Dwarf is written as ??? or little one.