Holy Sword Modification
“Haha! Seeing you again already after just one day! You been well?”
“It really has been just a day, like you said. What’s with the health check…?”
“You never know what can happen to a person in a single day!”
Na Ha-rin shouted that and shook my hand with exaggerated flair. Afterward, I pulled Kim Da-jeong aside for a moment and shared what I knew about the Wild Hunt. Well, I had promised her yesterday that I’d pass along anything I found out.
“So that’s what happened… And you’re participating?”
“Yeah.”
“I’d love to lend a hand, but…”
“Can’t be helped. That’s why I need that kid Na Ha-rin’s ability.”
A party made up of nothing higher than C- and B-class hunters had no real way to join a subjugation like this—and they shouldn’t. They’d just get themselves slaughtered.
“So! What d’you need from me?”
“This and this. I want you to remodel them a little, with my power infused.”
“This is… what in the world is it? I’ve never seen a sword with this kind of wave pattern before.”
“It’s a holy sword. Not just anyone can draw it, so I want to make it rechargeable so it can still be drawn that way.”
“A-a holy sword?!”
Na Ha-rin cried out in genuine shock as she took the sword, my scale, and the processed unicorn horn from me.
“Think you can wrap the hilt thinly with this? I’ll help with the processing, of course.”
“Should be doable.”
“I want to embed a piece of this horn too, so that when the energy I stored in it comes out, she can draw the sword in an instant.”
“Ahh, I get the idea roughly.”
“Payment in cash?”
At that, Na Ha-rin looked over at Lee Ju-seon. As party leader, he was apparently the one handling the money.
“How much are we looking at?”
“Hmm~ For processing materials this high-end, three hundred would be the easy minimum.”
“Then I’ll give you three-fifty. Do it carefully.”
“Huk! You sure about that?”
“I don’t skimp when it comes to the things I need.”
As I said it, I thought of Terra’s horn. Anyone who could reattach a dragon’s horn was more than trustworthy enough. If I cut corners here and it failed to work at a critical moment, I wouldn’t be the one who died. Ha-eun’s life would be the one at risk.
“Haha! Got it! I’ll look it over real careful and get it done!”
“If it causes a problem at a critical moment, I’ll take your life as payment.”
“Don’t just trust me alone!”
Having taken the holy sword and my scale, Na Ha-rin’s eyes lit up.
“Woooow… I’ve never seen materials this ultra-luxurious before…”
“Of course not. Whose scales do you think these are?”
“The hardness is seriously insane… Without Goldy’s support, I could pour every bit of my ability into it and still not leave a scratch.”
Ahem…
It was only natural, of course, but having her praise me right to my face was weirdly embarrassing.
“Being able to work with materials like this is an honor! I feel like I’m gonna learn so much.”
“Yeah, yeah. I am pretty great, aren’t I?”
After that, Na Ha-rin turned my scale and the holy sword this way and that. I helped her handle the scale with my power, and we processed the unicorn horn into something like a backup battery.
“Phew! Done! Perfect!”
In no time at all, she had successfully remodeled the holy sword. It looked almost the same as before, except the hilt was now wrapped in my golden scales. With this, even without me deliberately drawing up my divinity, if I stored some power in advance, Ha-eun would be able to draw it once or twice.
“Looks pretty much perfect at a glance.”
“Who made it, huh? Haha!”
“Ha-eun?”
I handed the holy sword over to her. She took it with a troubled look and opened her mouth.
“I-I can’t just… this was seized—”
“Ha-eun. Everything that comes into my hands is mine. If you can’t understand that… hmm. Do I need to start with some education?”
“Doesn’t sound half bad! I brought back an Imperial Army mental-training video from another world. Want me to lend it to you?”
“N-no! Unnie’s right after all!”
“Looks like the correction stuck.”
Having more or less grasped what I meant, Ha-eun accepted the sword with a clumsy smile.
“You do what I tell you to. Got it?”
“Y-yes!… I understand, Unnie…”
I let out a short laugh and went on.
“You roughly get how to use it, right?”
“Ah… yes. Now that I’m holding it, I can feel it.”
“That’s because I left some of my mana in it. Lee Ju-seon?”
“Yes.”
“The commission fee will be deposited within the day. Thanks.”
I shook hands with Lee Ju-seon. Party leader or not, he was the one in charge. Besides, the clock was already pointing well into the afternoon.
“I’ll contact you again next time. I’ll treat you all to something good then, so look forward to it.”
“I’m grateful, but I don’t usually accept from women—”
“I’m not a woman, I’m a dragon, you idiot. It’s not like I’m buying you something grand, so just eat it. Okay?”
“Uh… we’ll see when the time comes.”
Saying that, Lee Ju-seon glanced back at the other two. Kim Da-jeong let out a sigh and stepped forward.
“Our party leader’s a man who lacks backbone. If you treat us, we’ll be grateful.”
“He does seem to lack a lot of backbone.”
“Well… there are various reasons. One of them is… apparently there are plenty of guys who hit on female hunters.”
Hit on them?
“You know the type. The ones who try something just because their rank is higher. Lately there’ve been a lot of murder cases involving people like that.”
“It’s not like I’m planning to kill the guy…”
“The world’s the world, right? One wrong move and lives are on the line. Be careful not to lose your temper either, Goldy. There are a lot of strange people out there.”
“Pfft, you think I’d get taken advantage of by those kinds of guys?”
“It’s not that. I’m more worried you’ll kill them instead. I’m the type who hopes fewer killings happen, is all.”
I snorted a laugh and said I understood. Of course, the real meaning buried in her words didn’t end there.
“I’ll keep it in mind. Alright then—shall we head to the Association?”
“This is fine, right…?”
“Of course! If it doesn’t work properly, I’ll even offer up my own heart!”
“You know, right? If it doesn’t work right, I’m coming for you myself.”
“Hehe. What do you take me for!”
She started rattling off her list of accomplishments.
“Okay, okay. That’s enough. Submit a formal transaction request for the payment. That’s better for you guys too, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Good. See you next time.”
“Huh? You’re just leaving? Shouldn’t you at least test it?”
“Charging it takes time, and the assembly is right at one. If we’re late, we’ll have to fight the Association again, won’t we?”
At that, Ha-eun urgently grabbed my arm.
“L-let’s go quick, Unnie! Thank you, all three of you!”
Pulled along by Ha-eun’s urgent grip, we made it to the Association on time—after stopping by home to pick up Terra as well. When we gave our names at the front desk—
“Confirmed. …And the child?”
“Check the database under my name.”
“Ah… confirmed. Please head to the lobby on the twelfth floor.”
“Alright.”
The staff member wrote something on a document and handed it over.
“Pretty secretive, huh?”
“There must be… information control in place.”
When we reached the twelfth floor, a spacious lobby quite different from the first floor came into view, complete with chairs that each looked rather antique.
“They must’ve spent some money gathering all these famous people.”
“Ahaha…”
A few hunters already seated glanced our way.
“…Someone I’ve never seen before?”
“Shh. Better not get curious in a place like this.”
“Beastkin…”
They whispered among themselves. My hearing was sharp enough that I caught every word. Just how long was I going to keep getting mistaken for a beastkin?
“And that woman…”
“I told you to be quiet. Why are you so curious about everything?”
One hunter set a snack down in front of the chatty one and made him shut up. Even among A-class, there were types like that. Come to think of it, that Lee Ho-jin guy—when I got the World Tree leaf, he’d been A-class too.
Thud—
“Hello. I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m A-class Kim Han-sol.”
“Ah, yes. Hello. Temporary A-class Lee Se-yeon.”
“Temporary…? I see.”
A few of them even came over to greet us in person. They seemed a little doubtful after hearing I was only temporary A-class, though.
“Temporary… that was a thing?”
“How would we know what the higher-ups are thinking.”
“No wonder I never saw that face on the community.”
“Hmm…”
Community?
Did A-class hunters have some kind of meetup? Or… was it more like a cartel?
“Ha-eun.”
“Yes…?”
Now thoroughly curious, I asked her quietly.
“They mentioned a community. Know anything about it?”
“Uh… I’m only B-class, so I don’t know much, but… you know how people say A-class and S-class are worlds apart, right?”
“I know.”
I’d fought them myself—S-class hunters really did operate on a different level from A-class. Not that they could touch me, of course.
“Because of that… I hear they help each other out so they can climb up to S-class.”
“A real cartel, then.”
The hunter market wasn’t entirely clean either, it seemed. There were probably plenty of cases where they quietly buried people for their own interests. Desire in competition usually meant trampling others without regard for the means in order to climb higher.
Thud—
I was sitting in my seat, looking around and munching on the prepared snacks, when—
“Hm?”
A heavy chill brushed against my senses. The atmosphere was completely different from the hunters sitting around so casually. I turned my head.
“Th-that person is participating too…?”
“How did he even get here…?”
Ah. So that was him.
Ha-eun turned with me and cried out in shock.
“S-Su-han uncle…?!”
The Immovable Swordsman, Na Su-han.
He had announced his entry.