Chapter 58
Chapter 58
Academy’s Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Chapter 58
"Tell me one by one what you all want from me. It's been ages since I last picked up a hammer, so the quality might suffer a bit, but I'll give it my all."
The students' eyes rolled back in their heads as they examined the pieces Guya-ja had crafted in the past.
The items in the underground weren't theirs to take.
But to commission gear from the very man who made those masterpieces? Beyond rare, it was an opportunity that might never come again.
Brimming with excitement, Lee Ji snorted through her nose and shot her hand up.
"Make me an axe! A big, beautiful one!"
"Sword! I want a sword!"
"A spear... A spear-staff that assists with healing and recovery."
"I'd love a staff or magic tool that lets me control ice."
The kids rattled off the gear they needed.
With so many piping up at oncenot just one or twoGuya-ja's head started spinning, so he pulled six sheets of paper from the warehouse.
The yellowed paper had clearly been sitting around for who knows how long, but he began sketching rough designs on it anyway.
Every swipe of Guya-ja's pencil turned the students' ideas from thoughts into reality.
"Grandpa, could you maybe make a sniper rifle too?"
"No problem. I mastered firearms ages ago. My hands might shake a bit in my old age, but if I make a few, one ought to turn out decent."
"Whoa! Grandpa's the best!"
"Heh heh... I can't even remember the last time this forge was this lively..."
One might expect the endless requests to wear him down, but Guya-ja's face was full of vigor. The defeated, wastrel look was gone.
Maybe the lively young students were starting to heal the wounds from losing his child, even if just a little.
One could hope.
"Aren't you going over there to chat?"
"Does it bother you that much having me around? They say I'm your fiance."
"Sigh... What am I supposed to say to you..."
I had no idea why this girl was even here.
My ex-fiance, Isabel. One of the victims from all the rumors and curses about Baek Seung-woo.
Every time we talked, I never knew how to start or keep a conversation going.
So I'd just stood there blankly.
Poke, poke. She jabbed my side with her finger.
What now?
Did she actually have something to say to me?
"...Aren't you gonna ask?"
"Ask what."
"Why I'm not hanging out with them?"
"Do I need to?"
"...Forget it."
Isabel looked miffed at my curt response.
I just couldn't gauge my distance with this girl.
No way to tell if she hated me or liked me.
But I had a rough idea why she wasn't excited like her friends.
Why she was by my side instead of over there.
"It probably doesn't look satisfactory to you. Guya-ja's still better than most active smiths right now. But it's been too long since he last touched a hammer."
I didn't know much about smithing.
But while I'd never forged anything myself, I had plenty of eye and knowledge for appraising work.
And to me, Guya-ja's skills were rusted through.
She agreed.
"Right. He wandered too long. The pieces from his peak are terrifyingly good, one and all. But right now, the rust hasn't worn off."
"He'll need rehab to get back to form. At least five or six weapons, I'd say."
"So that's why he factored that in and handed us these 'gifts' like he's doing us a favor?"
Hey now, anyone overhearing might think I'd deliberately hooked the kids up with a second-rate smith.
Plus, what they were commissioning was all coming out of my own pocket. Sure, my funds were fat enough that a weapon or two barely registered, but buying was buying.
"I'm planning to commission from him after he picks up the hammer again and regains his true skill. As he is now, he's nowhere near his reputation."
"Harsh critique."
"Be honestyou're not thrilled with Guya-ja right now either."
"Well, yeah..."
To be precise, it wasn't just current Guya-ja.
Even the weapons he claimed were from his peak didn't satisfy me. To put it exactly, they fell short compared to what I'd used before possessing this body.
'Those old masters sure made killer weapons.'
My master's magic sword, my teacher's prayer beads, even my holy sword.
Compared to the smiths who'd crafted our gear, Guya-ja was a step down.
Probably a difference in environment and mindset.
Feeling regret over his talent, I turned to inspect the weapons.
While Guya-ja sketched the kids' commissions, all I could do was kill time like this.
As I browsed weapons, shoes, accessories, and the like, something shiny caught my eye.
A beautiful golden ring.
Curious about its purpose, I checked it out.
Ring of Strength
Grade: A+
Description: A ring made by the smith, Guya-ja. A semi-permanent 'Strength Enhancement' spell is engraved on the inside. If the wearer's strength is A-grade or below, it raises strength by two ranks.
It boosts strength stats.
That alone didn't tell me much.
Suddenly curious, I slipped off my glove and slid the ring onto my burn-scarred hand.
[You have equipped 'Ring of Strength.']
[Wearers strength is A or below.]
[While equipped with 'Ring of Strength,' strength is adjusted: E+ D.]
"...!"
My eyes widened involuntarily.
Strength up two ranks. The side effects of my broken body temporarily adjusted.
Just to test, I clenched my fist hard. The grip strength felt different from before.
Like an artificial muscle had been grafted onto my arm.
Name: Baek Seung-woo
Age: 21
Race: Two-Tail Fox
Title: None
Grade:
Abnormal Status: Solar Vein Blockage
Magic Saint, Nation-toppling Beauty, Bluffing, Egoist
Stamina: D+ Strength: E+ (D)
Durability: E+ Agility: D
Mana: A+ Senses: S
*Strength increased by two ranks due to 'Ring of Strength'.
Charm (S), Fox Fire (A), Demon Eye (A), Essence Absorption (A), Double Helix (C), Drug Resistance (E+)
Opening my Status Window showed a clear difference from before.
Definitely fuller now.
Especially the subpar statsthey'd changed dramatically.
'Why didn't I think of this sooner?'
In hindsight, it was so simple.
I couldn't raise stats through training or elixirs.
But quests sometimes rewarded stat boosts, so I'd planned to grind them once possible.
Quests weren't something I could control, though.
So I'd given up on stats.
Who knew such a great workaround existed?
It hit me like a hammer to the skull.
'I've been laboring under one big misconception all this time.'
The physical stagnation from Solar Vein Blockage's aftereffects was limited to my body. So why not rely on external gear instead?
External aidsitems you wear that let you lean on them excessively.
This strength ring was a prime example.
A true martial artist pursuing cultivation would shun them, but I had no choice.
Besides, it'd been over five years since I last touched a sword.
No harm in depending on a ring.
"Excuse me, got any more rings like this?"
"What ring? Oh, the Ring of Strength. That's the only one that boosts strength."
"Nothing for other stats? Agility, durability, staminaanything works. As long as it raises stats."
"Nope. That's all in my collection."
Too bad, but I'd half-expected it.
Rings like this aren't easy to make.
The smith's skill matters when forging, but so do materials, the quality of embedded spells or effects, and more. Only perfect synergy births the best results.
And they always come with limits.
This Ring of Strength doesn't work for A+ strength or higher.
Even if he made another, it might be useless for me later.
Headache.
Great idea, but these variables...
"...If you need something like that ring, why not try the auction house?"
"Auction house?"
"Yeah, the auction house. You're the head of the Heavenly Fox Baek Family, right? You must know all about how the rich play with their money. There's one tonightgo check it out."
Auction house? I got the gist, but...
Did this world have auctions for gear like this?
I racked my brain, but no memories surfaced.
"...Good lord. That blank look says you don't know a thing about auction houses. I used to enter pieces there back in my youth."
"Don't talk in riddles. Explain."
"I'm talking about the Jongno Underground Auction House. Surely you've heard of it?"
Jongno Underground Auction House.
Sorry, first time hearing it.
Of course there's an auction called that.
Auctions are auctions. What's with 'underground'?
My puzzled expression soured Guya-ja's face.
He stopped sketching and started drawing a map over it instead.
"Ah, my design! Grandpa, what are you doing?!"
"Quiet, kidthis ain't your design, it's mine! I'll redraw it later, so pipe down."
He'd been working on Lee Ji's axe blueprint, so she yelled.
Ignoring her, my thoughts settled calmly.
An auction houseunfamiliar, unsettling. But if they dealt in stuff like this ring, I had to go.
Still, better to research thoroughly first instead of charging in blind.
"Happens once every half year, and it's tonight. Planning to go?"
"No, not really."
"Shame. Word is, they're auctioning a Killing Stone from Japan this time. With that, I could make you even better weapons."
"What?"
I doubted my ears for a second.
Because I'd just heard the name of an item that shouldn't come up yet.