Chaos (1)
Na Yong-seok’s smart watch started ringing.
When he accepted the call, the face of the front desk clerk on the first floor appeared in the hologram.
“Oh, really? I’ll head down now.”
The department head rose from his seat with a broad smile.
So this is happening, huh.
Go Gyeong-taek is keeping his promise.
Tap, tap.
He crossed the hallway and stepped into the elevator.
Watching his reflection in the mirrored doors, he straightened his tie.
Without meaning to, he hummed under his breath.
The floodgates are finally opening.
When the elevator opened on the first floor, Go Gyeong-taek was waiting in the reception area.
Na Yong-seok greeted him with bright warmth.
“Ah, welcome, Mr. Go.”
Go Gyeong-taek rose from his seat and lifted and lowered his brows with exaggerated unease.
“I came because I was scared.”
“Haha, if anyone overheard that, they might think it was true. So… where are the items?”
“A Reboot Center employee took them a little while ago. Nine in total.”
Good grief….
“That many?”
“Since there are so many, would you be willing to cut me a deal?”
Hahaha.
Na Yong-seok only laughed instead of saying he couldn’t do that. He smoothly changed the subject.
“More importantly… once the information on the 81st floor comes in, I’ll prepare the items one by one to match it.”
Go Gyeong-taek nodded, then quickly pulled on a disappointed expression.
“If you’re going to talk business, at least pour me a glass of water.”
Good heavens.
“That’s just how I am. Haha. This way, please.”
Na Yong-seok led him to the first-floor café.
* * *
Reboot Center.
Du-ho stood before the transport box that Assistant Manager Park had brought in.
Clack.
When he opened the lid, a sword revealed itself.
“…Oh?”
Du-ho’s eyes widened.
The blade gleamed.
It looked so clean it might as well have just come fresh from the forge.
But this….
It looks even better than the one I repaired.
He picked it up.
Still perplexed, he turned the blade this way and that, checking its surface, and then—
“Huh?”
The mana circuit he had carefully etched himself was gone.
Du-ho stared blankly for a moment.
The hilt had changed, but this was undeniably the sword he had worked on.
So he turned to the remaining boxes.
No way….
They weren’t like that too, were they?
Clack, clack!
He began opening the boxes.
Shields, armor, gloves, too.
They had been restored far more beautifully than when he’d handled them, but they all shared one thing in common: the mana circuits had been wiped clean.
Whoa….
How was he supposed to take this?
He opened the document on the hologram.
Repair Request Due to Severe Damage
Looks brand-new, and they called that damage?
Ha….
Du-ho scratched his head.
What on earth did they do?
He couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
Turning to Assistant Manager Park wouldn’t help; he knew nothing about items.
So Du-ho contacted Na Yong-seok right away.
Rrrr— click.
Before the ringing had even gone on for long, the call disconnected, and soon after, a short, formulaic text arrived.
Hmm….
He rubbed his chin bitterly.
Since this is a new department, there aren’t any experienced hands to judge it.
Du-ho muttered to himself in frustration, and then his eyes suddenly flew wide open.
Wait.
I have a master, don’t I?
Jang Mun-seo, the master of Moru Workshop.
He would be able to figure out exactly what was going on here.
Of course, Jang Mun-seo was in Yeouido, but distance wasn’t a problem.
Du-ho had Save Point.
In fact, it’s closer.
He grabbed one of the swords and hurried down to B2.
.
.
.
Du-ho came out into the alley behind Moru Workshop through Save Point.
He opened the workshop’s front door and stepped inside—
Claaang!
A heavy hammer strike hit his ears.
There, in front of the forge, was Jang Mun-seo, forging a sword.
Clang! Clang! Clang—!
With each hammer blow delivered like an exorcism, sparks burst into the air.
Looking closer, Jang Mun-seo wasn’t even wearing the auxiliary device Du-ho had gifted him.
What kind of sword is he making…?
No wonder, either—the energy pouring off him was anything but ordinary.
It was as if he were pouring all his strength into the blade itself.
Du-ho held his breath and watched for a moment.
Hoo.
At last, Jang Mun-seo brought the forging to a close and let out a long breath.
“Master.”
“Hm? What brings you here at this hour?”
Ah~.
“I was nearby for something and thought I’d stop in for a moment.”
Du-ho gave him a casual excuse.
By now, the way they spoke had clearly shifted into the rhythm of master and disciple.
Short on time, Du-ho immediately took out the sword and showed it to him.
“…Actually.”
“I only repaired the part of this sword where the edge had been damaged, but it came back looking like this.”
“Let me see.”
Jang Mun-seo took the sword, and his eyes narrowed.
“You used a restoration skill.”
“A restoration skill?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. It returns the item to the state it was in when it was first made. Looking at this, some top-class production awakener went to the trouble of doing something unnecessary.”
Du-ho blinked.
“It was restored to its original state, but you can tell someone made an effort?”
“Can’t you see the traces of having replaced the hilt with a flashy handle that killed the performance of the blade?”
Jang Mun-seo pointed to the grip as he added,
“That wouldn’t suit your personality, either.”
Du-ho nodded.
As expected of his master.
He could see right through to the essence.
Well….
I’m still lacking the knowledge to know things like what kind of hilt suits a blade.
In any case, the puzzle pieces had fallen into place.
In other words, they had tried to repair it at the Changcheon Workshop, then used a restoration skill to return it to its original condition.
And in the process, the pattern Du-ho had engraved disappeared.
Looking down at the sword, Du-ho drew in a sharp breath.
This… isn’t repair, is it?
What came to mind immediately was user fault.
Even androids lose warranty service the moment the buyer modifies them.
Much less an item….
That was when—
Whoosh— whoosh.
Jang Mun-seo casually tossed the sword Du-ho had brought into the forge along with a mana stone.
Ah!
Master??
The sword turned red-hot in an instant.
Du-ho flinched.
Jang Mun-seo flipped the blade with his tongs and said,
“Production awakeners each use restoration skills in their own way….”
He pulled the sword from the fire and set it on the anvil.
The blade glowed a fierce red.
“In my case, I have a skill that follows a different path altogether from restoration.”
Claaang!
Jang Mun-seo’s hammering began, gathering his focus to a single point.
Clang! Clang—!
Metal dust flew.
The heat washed over his face.
Du-ho held his breath as he watched the hammer in Jang Mun-seo’s hands begin to shine more and more brightly.
One thing was certain.
The mana is flowing through the hammer.
As the hammer strikes continued, the sword blade that had once shone like it was brand-new slowly lost its luster, and a blue aura began to rise from within it.
Clang!
The hammer came down again and again.
The familiar pattern grew clearer by the second.
Du-ho stared at the sword with his mouth hanging open.
No way….
Claaang!
With the final strike, the pattern Du-ho had engraved on the blade was restored in crisp, unmistakable detail.
Jang Mun-seo lifted the sword and examined it.
Hmm….
“This is the sword at its very best.”
Jang Mun-seo handed the sword back to Du-ho.
There was no need to look any further—it was the mana circuit Du-ho himself had carved into it.
How is something like this even possible?
Du-ho would only later learn just how extraordinary his master truly was.
I had no idea it was on this level.
Jang Mun-seo smiled faintly.
“My skill. It’s called Optimal Condition.”
“Optimal… condition?”
“It’s a skill that brings out an item’s prime.”
Ah….
Du-ho nodded, understanding at last.
It felt a bit like being praised by his teacher.
Once more, Jang Mun-seo took the sword from Du-ho.
He poured mana into his signature hammer and struck the blade.
Clang—!
The sound was short and heavy.
“There.”
He returned the sword to Du-ho.
Jang Mun-seo, the craftsman who always left his mark on any item that passed through his hands, had stamped it with his seal as well, though the mark was so tiny Du-ho didn’t even notice.
That was when—
Du-ho nim!
Isto’s voice rang out in his mind.
Huh?
-I’ll tweak Master Jang’s skill and put it in a form that suits Du-ho nim!
What? Wai, wait.
-A-da-da-da-da-da!
An unfamiliar sensation surged into Du-ho’s head.
Ghhk!
A splitting headache, one he hadn’t felt in a long time.
It was the same sensation as when he had been infused with assassination arts, the feeling of something being etched directly into his body.
As Du-ho’s body staggered for a moment,
“A-are you all right?”
Jang Mun-seo hurried over to support him.
Du-ho caught his breath and waved a hand.
“Ah, I’m fine. I just didn’t sleep well last night, that’s all.”
“Then you should rest today….”
No.
“I should come back after work.”
“Honestly… your stubbornness.”
“Actually, I do have something else I wanted to show you.”
“…I see.”
The disciple he had gained in his later years was deeply meaningful to Jang Mun-seo in more ways than one.
Not only was Du-ho the Ghost of the Abyss, but whenever Jang Mun-seo displayed a skill, Du-ho astonishingly took it and worked it into a method all his own.
So even now, he had shown him one of his skills.
Of course, he can’t possibly master it right away.
That was no problem.
He could just show him again.
Still, what exactly did his disciple want to show him?
There can’t be anything coming out of there but a Wendigo’s horn.
The good disciple had left the first floor of the Abyss lingering instead of clearing it, and for some reason had remained silent about it.
Maybe….
Maybe he’s being more careful because of the lost-item incident.
So many groups were obsessed with hunting down the Ghost.
* * *
As soon as Du-ho left the workshop—
What the hell are you doing?
-Du-ho nim, no amount of practice will let you use Master Jang’s skill as it is.
You brat. Don’t call my master “that old man.”
-To me, he’s just that old man?
Isto drew a line between everyone except Du-ho and his family.
Hoguai was no different.
In any case, Isto continued what he was saying.
-Du-ho nim should be able to use it in a way similar to Master Jang’s.
It’s a skill. There’s no way that’s possible….
Before he even finished, Jang Mun-seo’s Optimal Condition skill began sorting itself neatly into place inside his head.
Du-ho pressed hard against his temple.
This… I actually understand it.
-You can’t copy someone else’s skill directly, but it can be adapted to suit Du-ho nim. Heehee~
Ha….
Am I supposed to be thanking you for this?
-Du-ho nim doesn’t need to thank me.
Du-ho, who had started walking again, came to a stop.
Soon he was lost in thought.
But hold on.
If they had sent the item back just to nitpick that the pattern was engraved without permission….
He recalled Jang Mun-seo’s hammer strikes.
Then wouldn’t it be enough to restore it to the way it was when we sold it?
Du-ho looked down at the sword.
I think I can do that, too.
A little later, he returned to the Administration Bureau through Save Point.
* * *
First-floor café.
Go Gyeong-taek checked his wristwatch.
By now,
They should have started the repair by now, right?
He opened his mouth, hoping the bureau’s craftsman had foolishly begun working on it.
“There’s one thing I’d like to mention.”
Na Yong-seok smiled.
“Go ahead.”
“I heard that during the item repair process… the pattern was erased.”
“…Erased? What do you mean?”
“Apparently the Changcheon Workshop craftsmen used a restoration skill.”
Na Yong-seok’s brow creased.
“We agreed to handle the repair on our end, and then they go and use a restoration skill to erase the pattern….”
Seeing the faint curl at the corner of Go Gyeong-taek’s mouth, Na Yong-seok cut himself off, sensing the trap a beat too late.
In his panic, Na Yong-seok found himself using the very word his opponent had pointedly brought up.
The truth was, since these were item worth hundreds of millions of won, he had assumed the other side wouldn’t bother with restoration in the first place.
That much had been certain.
That crazy bastard.
He’d actually test it without blinking.
All nine of them.
Na Yong-seok bit lightly down on his lower lip.
If they restored the patterns again?
It would amount to admitting that the Administration Bureau had someone capable of doing it.
That foxlike bastard Go Gyeong-taek would never let go of that.
The moment he found out, Changcheon would throw money at Du-ho and try to drag him away.
And if we refuse the repair and insist we know nothing about the pattern?
The Bureau would be branded incompetent.
And on top of that, rumors would spread that they had tried to sell non-original items at a price above their grade.
They’d have a hard time making a deal with anyone.
That fox bastard!
He’ll be the one leading the rumors.
Na Yong-seok’s fingers tapped, tap-tap, against the handle of his coffee cup.
Damn it….
It’s a dead end.
By contrast, Go Gyeong-taek leisurely took another sip of coffee.
“If you can restore the pattern, please proceed. Of course, since this was our side’s fault, we’ll pay extra.”
He watched Na Yong-seok’s expression closely.
“If that’s difficult… then it might be better to end the contract here. Even so, we won’t complain about having paid above market value.”
As the expected threat landed, Na Yong-seok cracked his knuckles.
Should I just punch that squinty-eyed bastard and hand in my resignation?
Just as he clenched his fist—
“Department Head.”
His gaze snapped around to see Im Du-ho standing there with a sword in hand.
Gah!
Of all times, why now…!
Na Yong-seok stared in shock.
“Junior Im. Go on ahead for now.”
“But….”
Na Yong-seok tried to send him away, even glaring with his eyes, but—
“That sword… isn’t that a Changcheon Clan item?”
At the perfect moment, Go Gyeong-taek cut in.
He caught the expressions on both Na Yong-seok’s and Du-ho’s faces.
Du-ho answered.
“Ah, yes. That’s right.”
Na Yong-seok’s face stiffened.
Go Gyeong-taek’s narrow eyes curved into crescents.
Ha—ha!
Found you!