While being examined by the doctor who was briefly making his rounds, countless comment notifications obscured my vision.
To the point where it was difficult to even look properly at the doctor’s face.
Only after the medical staff left did I finally turn off the notifications and open the gallery.
└Legendary bullshitㅋㅋㅋㅋIs the legendary sir your friend?ㅋㅋㅋ
└Who is this crazy bitch? Is she new? First time seeing this nick.
└You think she’s a newbie? She probably came from another gallery to troll.
└└If she’s a regular, then is she really master-level?
└└She probably found some method we don’t know about.
└What kind of elementary school skill is a hidden passive with 100% enhancement rateㅋㅋㅋ
└She already ran away. It’s absurd. It’s obviously a lie.
Comments that had piled up quite a bit in a short while.
Most people in the master gallery were treating me like a troll.
I had a ton of things to ask, but having to start with an explanation that I wasn’t trolling? It was suffocating.
[Both the passive and legendary are real]
Author: Paiseon
I’ll verify, just like that.
Instead, answer my questions.
└Verification go go. I bet you’re lying.
└└I’m in.
└└Bukkiyathou Bukkiyathou Bukkiyathou Bukkiyathou
I took a photo of the dagger with the hospital room as the background.
I even captured the equipment window where the options were displayed and posted it in the gallery.
[It is verification.]
Author: Paiseon
(Skill window capture)
(Equipment window capture)
(Dagger photo)
If you’re not sure, don’t make a bet. Didn’t your parents teach you?
I’ll accept the bet first.
Tell me how to cancel the Awakening too.
I really look fucked;;
For about 10 seconds after posting, no comments were left.
And the moment those 10 seconds passed, dozens of comments began flooding in.
└?????????????????????
└What the fuck is that?
└How did you do it how did you do it how did you do it how did you do it
└For real;; For real;; For real;; For real;; For real;; For real;;
└No, that doesn’t make senseㅋㅋㅋㅋ What is it really? Why does that work?
‘What the. Why are they all like this.’
It was a different reaction than expected.
I thought they’d all be giggling and wiggling their butts thinking about eating hamburgers.
But once I posted the photo, the situation was one of continuous shocked reactions.
Scrolling down the comments, I saw posts from regulars too.
└Beulleideu Maseuteo : Canceling Awakening isn’t even possible, but absolutely don’t even think about it. Newbie, you’ve hit the jackpot in life.
└└Subak Seorihan : For real;; You were born with a damn golden spoon and you’re going to give that up? Want to die by my hand?
└└Paiseon : Hmm, is it that much?
The regulars desperately dissuaded me, saying I shouldn’t give up the Awakening.
Especially Subak Seorihan, who had shown a violent reaction, left a long comment.
└Subak Seorihan : 1. Hidden passive is insane. Never seen anything like that. 2. 100% enhancement success? Bullshit, really. 3. Legendary, how the fuck did you pull that? Why hasn’t legendary ever popped for me? Anyway, it’s insane. 4. It’s ‘Blunt,’ so why does it have Armor Penetration? And it even came up consecutively as unique then legendary options? Fucking insane!!!!
└Suin Uwoljuuija : Has there ever been a contradictory trait attached?
└Changeun Manbyeongjiwang : As far as I know, no. Since enhancement is affected by the weapon’s characteristics.
└Changeun Manbyeongjiwang : It’s like a slashing attack option attached to a hammer…. Something unimaginable.
Come to think of it, it is puzzling.
Why did a sword that hadn’t even been sharpened end up with two penetration effects?
Other board users were wondering the same thing.
└Juttak : That needs some research. Can you send it to me? We can use the trade function.
└Juttak you thieving bastard trying to scam a newbie. Newbie! Absolutely! Don’t do it! Absolutely!
└Bukbuyeok 3beon Chulgu : Uh…. Could I possibly purchase that…?
└Bangpaeneun Ansasin : No no I’ll buy it. First come first served. I buy all ‘Blunt’ daggers with legendary options@@@@@@@@@
└Dangeomjwa : Hm, would you trade it for my two daggers? You know 2 is bigger than 1, right?
└└Yoiyoi : I’ll pass. I thought it was ‘Blunt,’ so I was going to use it for pounding, but no luck. It would cut the pounding board too.
└└Dangeomjwa : How can you pass when I need to join in even one more! I need that!
└└Yoiyoi : Why would I give it to you if I receive it.
A competitive structure formed suddenly.
Each of them presented what they could give me.
Amidst that, a comment was posted.
└Yageumsulsa : I want to research that too. Lend it to me.
└└Yoiyoi : Legendary free-loading is too much, Yoiyoi.
└└Yageumsulsa : Who said I’d freeload? Newbie, is there anything you need? I’ll get you anything.
└└Yoiyoi : Wow, rich unni, you’re so cool, Yoiyoi.
└└Yageumsulsa : Who said unni;; Have you gone senile.
Anything?
In that moment, many things passed through my head.
Because the word “anything” meant many things could be done.
And there was something I urgently needed.
└Paiseon : Actually, I don’t have a smithy. I usually only used a portable forge. I need to get a new one this time, is support possible?
└└Yoiyoi : Calling for a smithy at a time like this is too much, Yoiyoi. No conscience, Yoiyoi.
└└Yoiyoi : But thinking about the value of borrowing a legendary that makes no sense, it might make us even, Yoiyoi.
└└Juttak : Fair cost, fair conditions, fair deal. For real.
└└Chupge Ibeum : If it’s a swap for Yageumsulsa’s smithy, isn’t the newbie getting a huge profit.
└Yageumsulsa : So I just need to get a new smithy made? You’re ending it with just that?
My request essentially meant I wasn’t selling it.
My dagger had turned out to be a much greater item than expected.
They would obviously continue to want the dagger.
‘It’s annoying, so if you’re not thinking of putting up a smithy, get lost.’
The regular called Yageumsulsa accepted the conditions too readily.
Could it be they were going to throw me a cheap brazier and anvil and call it a smithy?
└Yageumsulsa : Are you kidding. I’m not that kind of person.
└Hwaljaei : The regulars are all verified masters. If anyone was a scammer, they wouldn’t have been summoned here.
└└Paiseon : The Old Man Who Trims Canes? He was being chased though;;
└└Hwaljaei : There must have been a reason….
└Muhyeong Munhwajae : Yageumsulsa’s smithy is something everyone here is desperate to get too. I consider it a worthwhile deal.
Artisans trying to persuade me.
My first thought was whether they were all in on it together.
Swindling the clueless is an ancient tradition in every industry, isn’t it?
Then someone left a comment for me.
└Heukmaneun Heukheuk : You’re so cute being so wary. Like a kitten.
└└Paiseon : Are you crazy;;
└└Heukmaneun Heukheuk : If it’s a scam, I’ll help you, dear.
The word choice wasn’t to my liking, but I understood the underlying meaning.
From the status window Awakening to the battle with the troll, and then the gallery.
Perhaps I was on edge due to these sudden overlapping events.
I took a deep breath and reconsidered the conditions.
A judgment made after long deliberation.
I need a smithy.
I don’t care if it’s a scam.
If I’m truly a talented blacksmith, I can make this dagger again and again.
In the end, I accepted Yageumsulsa’s proposal.
└Yageumsulsa : OK OK. It’s nothing great, just a smithy kit you can install easily. I’ll send it right away.
└└Chupge Ibeum : That’s too much, unni, you never give that to me.
└└Yageumsulsa : Who said unni, I’ll really kill you.
Afterward, Yageumsulsa asked me a few additional questions and sent a trade.
The moment I accepted the trade, a strong light rippled above the dagger.
Where the light faded, instead of the sword, a cube the size of a fingernail was placed.
└Paiseon : It’s extremely small, is this a smithy?
└Yageumsulsa : Just trust me.
└Yageumsulsa : Place it where you want to install it and flow mana into it. It’s about 150 square meters, so secure that much space before using it.
A smithy inside a fingernail-sized cube.
Anxious feelings bubbled up that maybe I’d been scammed.
Whether it was a scam or not, I wouldn’t know until I unboxed the cube.
Where would be good?
There was some empty land.
I told the mercenary guild members I was going down to my hometown.
Upon discharge, I headed straight to the train station.
**
I got off at Singyeongju Station and transferred to a city bus.
My hometown, visited after a long time, was unchanged.
Lovers dating at a cafe.
A student with a haggard face.
Children running around the neighborhood.
Rumble, rumble─
Even the holsters hanging from each of their waists.
The chaos from the Black Tower, the demonic beasts pouring out from rampaging uns cleared towers, and the existence of Hunters who could kill me with a finger were enough to heighten the citizens’ anxiety.
As a result, gun legalization was more or less accomplished.
And now this was the result.
Doesn’t it make you uneasy when men and women of all ages carry guns? Rather, aren’t you worried about dying a dog’s death from accidental discharge or mass shootings?
That’s why people have become so cold-hearted.
That’s why they’re dying like dogs.
─was the old story the neighborhood elders repeated ad nauseam.
What kind of world was it without towers, gates, or demonic beasts?
I wouldn’t know.
I was a Black Tower kid born after the Black Tower appeared.
Leaving downtown, I headed toward Namsan.
The Black Tower would be visible from the summit.
It would be standing stiffly where the Hwangnyongsa nine-story wooden pagoda once stood.
Fortunately, I didn’t need to climb to the summit.
Before climbing the mountain, I turned onto a familiar side path.
An empty lot that appeared immediately.
A place where my family’s smithy once stood.
“It’s good I left the land unsold.”
Technically, it didn’t sell.
But good is good.
I placed the cube received from Yageumsulsa in the center of the empty lot.
Didn’t they say to flow mana from a distance after moving away?
Shooting mana from long range wasn’t easy.
Only after several trial and errors was I able to activate the cube.
Click, clack-
Screech
The cube made ominous sounds as it twisted.
Did I make a mistake?
The moment I began to harbor suspicious thoughts.
Bang─!
The cube expanded rapidly and completed a workshop.
A building that anyone could tell wasn’t Korean-style.
Inside were various tools and implements, a splendid forge, and even mechanical devices like a drill machine, plus convenient facilities including a bathroom.
“…Crazy, Yageumsulsa-nim, I believed in you.”
At this level, the facilities were better than any smithy I had worked at.
I slowly surveyed the smithy interior.
‘Hm?’
In the process, I found a slip of paper.
[I brought some iron pieces that were lying around since I tried out the iron. Test them and leave a review.]
[For the forge, refer to the manual.]
There really was a sack of iron lumps gathered in the corner.
From unidentifiable iron scraps to well-processed steel bars, they were mixed together.
To go this far to take care of me, I should leave a heartfelt review.
This time, I went to examine the forge.
As expected, a manual was placed in front.
[You can ignite the fire by flowing mana.]
[Control the fire by adjusting the residual mana inside the forge.]
[How to control it, you ask? Figure it out yourself.]
A strangely unfriendly explanation.
But I couldn’t complain.
I carefully flowed mana into it.
Fwoosh─!
“Ugh!”
Flames shot up to right before my eyes in an instant.
Despite it being an extremely minute amount of mana, the heat was considerable.
Let me lower the temperature a little.
Recalling the image of adjusting a gas stove dial, I controlled the temperature.
After flames wildly burst and rapidly subsided repeatedly, I caught the desired point.
“Once I get used to this, it’ll be incredibly convenient.”
I was only going to check it, but once the fire was lit, a desire to make something welled up.
Should I make a return gift for Yageumsulsa?
To think I doubted someone who gave me such a precious gift. I should pay for that sin.
After deliberation, I decided to make a raindrop Damascus sword.
It looks sincere, after all.
I planned to use the materials I brought instead of Yageumsulsa’s unidentifiable iron scraps.
I stacked one sheet each of 1084 high carbon steel and 15N20 nickel steel, alternating layers.
This way, the high carbon steel creates dark patterns. And the nickel remains bright, making the blade’s color contrast distinct.
With similar carbon content, the heat treatment compatibility is good too, so it’s killing two birds with one stone.
After welding the iron pieces, I placed them in the forge.
At first, keep the temperature low.
Wait until they glow red, then take them out and sprinkle on borax.
Put them back into the furnace and reheat at a high temperature.
The surface turns a bright orange.
Now I just need to take out the steel billets and hammer them—
“Why is this thing so light?”
The hammer I found in the metallurgist’s forge was light. Far too light.
The impact transmitted through my grip was negligible as well.
I barely felt any fatigue even while layering the steel billets past two hundred folds.
‘They were keeping something this good all to themselves?’
No, had we just been suffering way more than we needed to?
I don’t know. Pointless thought.
Let’s get back to work.
Now I need to carve grooves into the steel billets.
These grooves will create the raindrop pattern.
I used a drill press to make dense holes on both sides. The pattern only comes out clearly if you drill at least about one-third of the way in.
“Looks like it turned out well.”
After that, it was all the usual work.
Shape it, heat-treat it, quench and polish it. Then soak it in an acidic solution so the pattern shows clearly, and the blade is done.
Afterward, I made a handle from a piece of walnut wood I found in the workshop and attached it.
While waiting for the adhesive to harden, I checked the clock.
A full nine hours had already passed.
Normally, this was work that would have taken several days, but maybe thanks to the equipment advantage, I’d finished it far too quickly.
After giving the handle a gloss finish, I pressed the completion button.
Time slowed like before.
A status window message appeared.
[The Exquisite Raindrop Pattern Damascus Dagger (Rare)+0 has been completed.]
[Using “The First Ability.”]
It came out Rare again this time.
Since even the unfinished product had received a Rare grade, I’d expected it to be Unique.
There must be some standard I don’t know about.
I’ll have to make up for it with option granting.
Cards soon appeared.
[Advanced] Instant Doping
- Strength and agility increase slightly.
[Rare] Blood-Flavored Chex
- Attack power increases by 15% when attacking enemies in a bleeding state.
[Unique] Shape Memory
- As long as the weapon is not completely destroyed, its durability gradually recovers.
Unfortunately, Legendary didn’t appear again.
Looks like luck really had played a big part last time.
Still, Unique isn’t bad at all.
I especially liked the option called Shape Memory.
For a gift, wouldn’t there be no better option than this?
I merged the purple card with the Damascus blade.
Further enhancement was impossible.
The aftermath of the Legendary enhancement still hadn’t ended.
The cooldown was a whopping one month.
Now that I actually had a weapon in front of me and couldn’t enhance it, a month felt like a long time.
“Nothing I can do about it.”
I threw myself onto the sofa in one corner of the workshop.
Normally I would have fiddled with my smartphone, but today I immediately opened the Artisan Gallery.
[Is the Metallurgist here?]
(Photo of the Damascus blade)
I’ve got something to give as thanks, along with my review of the forge.
It’s an Earth-style Damascus blade.
You can use it for display, or since it has an automatic durability recovery option, you could probably just use it as a kitchen knife?
└Imperial Hammer: Oh, so that patterned stuff is a Damascus blade? I can see why customers ask for it.
└└Intangible Cultural Asset: But how do the kids in your dimension know about a blade from that dimension? I genuinely don’t get it;;
└NotBuyingShields: The Metallurgist doesn’t come around much at night. Try looking for him tomorrow.
└Yoiyoi: Oh!!! It came out nice and pretty, yoi! The newbie’s got some chops, yoi!
└└Dagger Lord: Hm, is it that good?
└└Yoiyoi: Don’t act like a loser and admit what should be admitted, yoi! Your rice cake shop contract is extended by one year, yoi!
└└Dagger Lord: (crying frog emoticon)
└SpearIsKingOfAllWeapons: Aren’t you going to make a spear?
└BlackMageGoesSobSob: Mmm, I like how black it is. Honey, I need a ceremonial dagger. Can I place an order?
Comments kept piling up.
I was about to reply to each one, then stopped.
Out of courtesy, I’d have to respond to BlackMageGoesSobSob too, but I felt like getting involved would lead to something unsettling.
Well, they say the Metallurgist isn’t here anyway, so let’s rest for now.
I closed the Gallery and shut my eyes.
A grin kept slipping out.
If I could just get used to this sensation, I felt like I could really make anything.
Starting tomorrow, I’ll have to offer my respects three times a day in the direction where Teacher King-God Metallurgist resides.