Episode 19.
A hot heat that makes your face flush.
[Forging is not something you can do just by being good at hammering!]
[Hammering only serves to remove impurities and air bubbles from the material.]
[What makes this possible is the blacksmith’s intuition for bringing metal to the perfect temperature.]
In the video, Shiwoo looked inside the furnace while listening to Hephaestus’ voice.
Huruk, huruk!
A lump of red-hot metal engulfed in red flames.
After some time, Siwoo took out the lump of metal that had become hot.
[I’ll say it again, forging isn’t something you can just do by being good at hammering stupidly!]
[Don’t think that just using force will do it!]
[Forging is the process of shaping metal.]
[The key to forging is proper distribution of force!]
‘Control your strength… Control your strength… .’
Siwoo muttered to himself as he grabbed the hammer.
If we were not careful, this workshop could have blown up.
In fact, didn’t Hephaestus destroy the forge in the video?
Of course, that was possible because it was a legendary weapon called Mjolnir.
So, it was a performance to extract the video angle.
Above all, this was possible thanks to the power of Hephaestus.
Although Siwoo possessed the brute strength of Hercules, his skill level was still miserable.
Also, the hammer he was holding wasn’t Mjolnir.
‘Control your strength… Control your strength… .’
But Siwoo didn’t let go of the tension.
As the saying goes, the hammer he was holding wasn’t Mjolnir.
If I was not careful, the hammer could have been broken.
And I personally witnessed the incredible strength of Hercules.
It may not have been the entire workshop, but it was enough to destroy some of the equipment.
‘If I pay compensation, how much money will it cost?’
Siwoo swung the hammer down with extreme concentration.
Kaaaang─!! Kaaaang─!!
[It is the blacksmith’s job to decide how to shape the metal.]
[And that depends on what kind of gear you’re making.]
On the smartphone, the video of Hephaestus continued to play.
And the equipment that Siwoo was currently trying to make was a sword.
The reason was simple.
Because swords were the most popular among hunters.
The sword is often called the king of war.
The best of ten thousand weapons.
In short, it meant that it was the best weapon among all weapons.
Of course, there were those who argued against this.
There was considerable debate as to whether it was, to be exact, a spear or a sword.
And in actual combat, the spear was superior to the sword as a weapon.
But even if the spear is superior to the sword,
It wasn’t easy to carry a spear around in normal times.
It wasn’t just difficult, it was impossible to carry.
Above all, reality is a place where all kinds of meanness run rampant.
A sudden surprise attack.
A fight in a narrow alley.
Reality is a wild place where you never know what will happen, not a 1:1 sparring match where you fight each other.
So portability, versatility, and utility.
All things considered, the throne of the King of All Soldiers was the seat of the sword.
Kyaaaaang─!!
The process of forging continued.
Siwoo followed the Hephaestus video and performed the subsequent steps.
How much time has passed like that?
“oh!”
Siwoo was able to complete one sword.
A common type of sword that comes to mind when thinking of swords, in the form of a longsword.
Siwoo looked at the sword he had made.
and.
“Not really.”
To be honest, it was a bit… crude.
No, it was so crude that it was miserable.
Is this a sword or a stick?
“I don’t think I can sell it.”
Siwoo let out a small sigh.
After all, it was Siwoo who had never even held a hammer before.
What do you expect from a total beginner?
Still, whatever.
It wasn’t all without results.
Because I was able to increase my proficiency in metallurgy.
That’s 0.2%.
It didn’t end there though.
The proficiency of super strength also increased.
“It definitely took a lot of strength.”
One of the characteristics that comes to mind when thinking of a blacksmith is strength.
In the video, Hephaestus also possessed great strength.
Even if he wasn’t a muscular elephant like Hercules, he looked like a muscular rhinoceros.
And even in actual mythology, Hephaestus’ power was not to be ignored.
Didn’t he beat Ares, who had an affair with Aphrodite, like a dog?
Ares, known as the god of war.
However, he gets beaten up by Hephaestus without even being able to rebel against him.
It was fortunate that Zeus intervened at that time.
Ares was almost killed by Hephaestus.
Well, anyway.
“I can’t sell this.”
Still, ‘God’s Metallurgy’ and ‘Monstrous Strength’.
It was a satisfying result as I was able to increase both proficiency levels.
“I guess I’ll stop here for today.”
Siwoo cleaned up the workshop.
And right then.
“Hey, you…!!”
A startled sound was heard from one side.
When I looked there, there was Seo Pal-gwang, the owner of this workshop.
Seo Pal-gwang was looking at Si-woo with his mouth wide open.
The two eyes directed at Siwoo were filled with distinct shock.
Something I wanted to do for a moment.
“Don’t you want to be my disciple!!”
Seopalgwang suddenly started to move.
* * *
I refused.
First of all, Siwoo had no intention of becoming a blacksmith.
It was just a side job after all.
Even if it were to happen.
‘Why bother learning from Hephaestus?’
There was no need to become Seo Pal-gwang’s disciple.
I don’t know how good Seopalgwang is, but he was nothing in front of Hephaestus.
Even Master Aurelian doesn’t dare to hand over his business card.
What is different about Seopalgwang?
Rather, it was a situation where Siwoo should have taught Seopalgwang.
Of course, with my current level of skill, it was impossible, but anyway.
Siwoo had no intention of becoming Seopalgwang’s disciple.
“Well, you have natural talent! Letting that talent go to waste is a waste of humanity!”
But Seo Pal-gwang did not back down easily.
They talked grandly about it being a waste of humanity and a mission and all that.
Seopalgwang really clung tenaciously.
But Siwoo also stubbornly refused.
Could it be because of Siwoo’s firm attitude?
Seo Pal-gwang seemed to have finally given up on taking Si-woo as his disciple.
However, it seemed to have turned in a different direction.
“Then sell that sword to me.”
“yes?”
Siwoo wondered what that meant.
That would be the case, as it wasn’t as big as the black arm Siwoo had made.
It wasn’t that Siwoo didn’t have an eye for equipment.
Didn’t you immediately realize that Han Chae-rin’s sword was Master Aurelian’s work?
That’s why I could say it with certainty.
This sword was really crude.
“Would you like to buy this?”
“Yes. But I will pay the price in something other than money.”
Seo Pal-gwang said with a serious look in his eyes.
“Anytime, any time. If you want, I can give you a pass to use this workshop for free.”
The studio rental fee that Siwoo paid was 250,000 won.
This was also a one-day pass, meaning that 250,000 won would be spent each time the workshop was used.
However, if you were to purchase the equipment directly from the workshop, the price would not be cheap.
I have about 5 thousand now?
All I had to do was buy a furnace.
If you buy it used, how can you even buy a moru?
The rest of the equipment was beyond my wildest dreams.
So, I was thinking of paying 250,000 won per month as a rental fee, even though I was crying.
Can I get unlimited attack and defense access for the price of this one weapon?
With this crude stick that can’t even be called a weapon?
“Call! No, it’s fine.”
Siwoo agreed without hesitation.
After leaving the workshop like that.
“The money is frozen!”
Siwoo clenched his fist and shouted.
I don’t know why Seo Pal-gwang did that, but it wasn’t a bad suggestion to Si-woo at all.
“I should go farm some materials right away.”
I couldn’t just sit still like this.
I was planning to take a break today, but I just couldn’t stay still.
The studio rental fee must have been high too.
“Let’s make the equipment quickly and sell it.”
As the saying goes, isn’t the only thing left to do to make money?
And Siwoo has come to this.
I briefly considered making the equipment I would use myself.
But I quickly gave up on that thought.
“More monsters will just burst out for no reason.”
Because there was no need for it right now.
Even now, they are all exploding, unable to withstand the blow.
If you hit the weapon here, you won’t be able to collect even a single piece.
“I also want to make it with materials obtained from farming high-ranking monsters.”
In fact, I also had a desire to use a good weapon.
Anyway, isn’t this the weapon I’m going to use?
“In that sense, should we make it with orichalcon?”
Orichalcon, the metal of the gods that even Master Aurelian gave up on refining.
However, if it was the metallurgy (SS) of God, refining was possible.
Haven’t you seen the video of Hephaestus refining with your own two eyes?
Of course, there was still a long and daunting road ahead.
But it is something that can be achieved at any time.
So where is there any time to rest?
“Shall we go again?”
Siwoo headed towards the Hunter Management Bureau.
* * *
Daughter.
The door to Seo’s workshop opened and a woman came inside.
“Sir! I’m here!”
And then a lively voice was heard.
Seopalgwang could tell who she was without even looking at her.
“Is it Soeun?”
“Of course! There’s no way another beautiful woman would come to this sweaty workshop besides me, right?”
Seo Pal-gwang shook his head as if to say, “Would that be foolish?”
Well, I do admit to some extent that she is a beautiful woman.
But even so, she says with her own mouth that she is a beautiful woman.
“You can just ask someone to do it. Why do you have to come here yourself every time?”
“Hey, this is a deal with none other than the best blacksmith in the Republic of Korea, Mr. Seo Pal-gwang. Of course, I have to come in person.”
“I flatter people because I don’t want them to think I’m a businessman.”
“What? I’m Kim So-eun. I’m the CEO of So-eun Merchandise, which only handles the best products in Korea. So, your equipment too…”
“That’s what Abu means.”
Seo Pal-gwang shook his head with a tired expression.
So-eun smiled at Seo Pal-gwang’s appearance and handed him some documents.
“Here are the ingredients you told me about last time. Please check them out.”
“It’s done. You must have done it well.”
The merchants were a group of people who pursued profit.
All their actions are based on profit.
That is why those who do not hesitate to hit someone on the back of the head if it is profitable are the merchants.
But Soeun wasn’t like that.
The virtue called trust is the greatest benefit.
So-eun never once betrayed Seo Pal-gwang’s trust.
“The price is….”
“Over there. I wrapped it in a bundle. It’s still cold, so check it carefully.”
Some equipment on display on the shelf.
Soeun confirmed it by nodding her head once.
“Aren’t you going to check?”
“I hope the old man made it well.”
Anyway, that father.
Seo Pal-gwang snickered and smiled this time.
“But what’s going on this time? Instead of money, you’re taking payment in equipment.”
Although So-eun said that trust and faith were the most important, she was ultimately a merchant.
It meant that the value of money was considered more important than that of goods.
Especially when it comes to paying a price.
“This time, we decided to supply equipment to SH Group.”
“SH Group?”
“To be exact, it’s the SH Hunter Guild.”
As I mainly deal with hunter equipment.
Seo Pal-gwang also knew the circumstances of the return to some extent.
SH Group is making aggressive investments in the once-defeatist Hunter Industry.
Leaving everything else aside, it was just the SH Group.
There must have been a huge number of flies flocking to the scent of money.
“There is still equipment that needs to be delivered. Where should I get it?”
“If that’s the case, why didn’t you tell me in advance?”
“Even if I tell you, it’s obvious that you won’t be able to meet the deadline anyway because of the craftsmanship or something. I didn’t want to burden you unnecessarily. Above all, if you overdo it and the quality of the equipment deteriorates, it’s the same.”
Seopalgwang’s equipment could be said to be the best in Korea.
That is why it could be said that So-eun’s hidden card was to satisfy SH Group and obtain a formal contract.
The problem was that it was not possible to mass-produce it to that quality.
The delivery date is approaching soon.
Quality was also a basic requirement, as was meeting the quality and delivery date.
However, it is not possible to supply cheap equipment.
However, finding quality equipment that would meet Soeun’s standards wasn’t easy.
“But sir. What have you been looking at like that all this time?”
“Is this what you mean?”
“knife…?”
To be exact, it could be said to be a stick that looked like a sword.
“What does it look like to you?”
“hmm….”
So-eun looked closely at the sword that Seo Pal-gwang held out.
The number of hunter equipment Soeun has handled so far is in the tens of thousands.
I could also say with pride that I had a certain level of eye for equipment.
So the evaluation I made is.
“It’s crude.”
It’s crude. And it’s quite crude.
Therefore, the value of the product is 0.
But if there is a condition attached, the story is different.
“What if this was made using nothing more than the bones of a goblin and a kobold?”
“yes?”
So-eun put a question mark on her face without realizing it.
Goblins and kobolds are the lowest level monsters.
Good equipment comes from good materials.
Even though the monster byproducts were new materials and metals, they were not goblin and kobold skeletons.
It wasn’t something that could be used as material for a sword.
In that case, it would have been much better to use steel.
“What if the condition of the material was even the worst?”
Then the equipment could not be created.
So, it was impossible for a sword to be created in that shape.
It must have been shattered during the refining process.
“What if this is the skill of someone who is holding a hammer for the first time?”
“……”
So-eun was at a loss for words.
And the question I just asked means one thing.
“No way… Are you my disciples?”
Soeun opened her eyes wide.
Who is Seo Pal-gwang?
He was arguably the best blacksmith in South Korea.
At least among the blacksmiths Soeun had ever met, he was the best.
There were blacksmiths who were as skilled as Seo Pal-gwang, but there was no blacksmith who was better than Seo Pal-gwang.
There were also many people who came to see him, saying they wanted to become Seo Pal-gwang’s disciples.
But they all kicked him out, saying he was not satisfied with the castle.
Isn’t that Seo Pal-gwang who doesn’t even have a common disciple?
“Has someone finally appeared who satisfies your craftsmanship?”
“What about craftsmanship? And you’re not my disciple.”
Soeun tilted her head without realizing it.
“Then who are you?”
“I do not know either.”
“……?”
What is this?
“I don’t know who that guy is either. So now I’m going to find out.”
“Now?”
At that moment, the question occurred to me.
Tinkle!
Along with the clear sound of a bell, a bold man opened the door to the workshop and came in.
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fantasy,
