Chapter 13

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 13

Chapter Title: Let's Go for B-Grade Equipment!!!

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She said she hadn't eaten since yesterday. How hungry must she have been?

She must have come straight out of the orphanage and wandered around without eating a thing.

'She managed to contract the room next to mine.'

If she'd been even a little later, all the rooms would have been taken. But she knew enough to secure a place to sleep first.

"Huaaaah... That was so good..."

Kim Hyeji rubbed her nonexistent belly contentedly as she thanked me.

She stared at the uncooked cup ramen, seemingly pondering what to do with it.

"You can take it home and eat it."

"Ah... Thank you..."

She clutched the cup ramen like a precious treasure.

After cleaning up the leftovers and trash, it was time to go our separate ways.

"Well, see you around. Say hi if we run into each other."

"Yes! Thank you for the meal!"

After our farewell, I started heading home.

"..."

Thud thud— thud thud—

"Why are you following me?"

"I... I'm going home too! It's next door!"

"No... Weren't you heading somewhere else? Like the subway."

"Ah... I was going to leave the cup ramen at home..."

Hmm.

So her plan was to store her precious rations at home first.

Makes sense. She didn't even have a bag to carry things in, and recalling what she muttered earlier, she was planning ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to hit a gate. So it wasn't a wrong judgment.

It was just cute and funny seeing her turn back home over a single cup of ramen like it was vital supplies.

"Then why walk behind instead of with me?"

I stopped and waited for Kim Hyeji, then we walked together.

"I just... thought it might be weird to walk together after just saying hi..."

"I naturally assumed you were heading to a gate."

"By the way, if you just left the orphanage, you're twenty, right? Same age. Wanna drop the formal speech?"

"Really?! Awesome!"

And so, Kim Hyeji—the first friend I'd made since leaving the orphanage—finally let her guard down completely and started spilling all sorts of info.

"Which gate were you planning to hit?"

"Goblin Den! They say it's easy for beginners!"

"No guild?"

"Nope!"

"You go solo?"

"Yeah..."

She answered happily at first, then quickly looked downcast.

"That's impressive."

But just as quick, her mood lifted, and she grinned from ear to ear.

"Ehehe... What about you?!"

"Same here."

"No way! Wanna go together next time?!"

"Hmm... Sure, if the chance comes up."

"Sweet!"

Of course, I had no intention of entering a gate, but I also wasn't planning to reveal I was a blacksmith.

Especially since if I said I was one but never went to the forge, it'd look suspicious.

'Or maybe she'd just think I'm a total NEET?'

Anyway, I didn't need to share much about myself—Kim Hyeji seemed plenty entertained just talking about her own stuff.

She'd already told me her nickname, and now she was bragging about her plans to save up for C-grade gear.

Before we knew it, we'd reached the hill leading up to our one-room villas.

"Huff... huff..."

Kim Hyeji, a thief with decent agility and stamina stats, didn't look winded at all.

Meanwhile, I—with my glorious all-E stats—was starting to get a bit short of breath halfway up.

'How do normal people even live in a place like this?'

E-grade should be better than most civilians, but this hill was on another level.

"Hehe... What're you gonna do this weak, Yujun?"

"Huff..."

Kim Hyeji teased me as she glanced over.

"Want a piggyback ride?"

"Sure."

"Huh?!"

I'm the type who never turns down kindness or courtesy.

I stopped immediately and went behind her. She looked flustered but eventually hoisted me up and started climbing.

"Heek... heek..."

Stamina clearly wasn't her main stat—she looked strained carrying me up.

"The sun's gonna set."

"Heek... Hurry... up...!"

By the time we reached the houses, I was breathing steadily.

Kim Hyeji, on the other hand, was panting heavily.

"Thanks for today. I get you can't pay for the meal right now, but try to settle it within a month."

This place might not last me a month at the shortest.

"Eeeeek..."

Considering she'd carried me up here, it could count as paying for the meal. But she'd bought three cups of ramen and one triangle kimbap.

We didn't even finish it all—she took one cup home. So I'd basically covered two meals.

"Heek... Nickname... what's your... nickname..."

"Why nickname all of a sudden?"

"Smooch. Kiss... heek..."

"Ah~ I haven't set mine yet. I'll tell you when I do. Hand over your phone for now."

"...Hoo..."

She caught her breath and pulled her phone from an inner pocket of her cape, handing it to me.

"Here. If you're broke and hungry, just say so."

"...Thanks."

I said it because she needed to pay me back within a month, but a few thousand won wasn't something I'd miss.

Especially since I'd be a multimillionaire by tomorrow morning.

We exchanged numbers and headed to our respective homes.

Bam—

...

Surprisingly, her hair smelled not like wet dog, but something fragrant.

It was 11:20 when I got home.

After washing up, it was just past 11:30.

Normally, I'd have killed time until 12:10 when the five equipment crafting tickets filled up, but thanks to Kim Hyeji, time had flown by—I only had 40 minutes left.

Forty minutes was just enough to check the auction house and do some gallery browsing.

I flopped onto the bed and checked the auction house first. Nothing special.

If anything, the prices on the C-grade shortsword and one-hand shield were climbing steadily—happy news, if you could call it that.

Now for gallery time.

I'd only been out for four hours, but tons of search urges had piled up.

First up: Kim Hyeji's nickname, of course.

Since she was my next-door neighbor and now a friend, I unblocked her.

Not that I'd read her DMs, though.

"Heh, her DMs are kinda funny."

I chuckled thinking of her spamming DMs, then searched for posts by "Solo Level Up."

A bunch popped up—she'd written a ton in that short time.

...

Hyeji's brain really is pure.

She must've sent me a ton of DMs, but unfortunately, I couldn't see the ones sent while blocked.

She's my first friend since entering society, and she seems like a good kid, so I should look out for her from now on.

Can't just leave her be—she might get scammed into debt or something.

Next, I searched for info on Crimson Lotus Guild.

Truth be told, something had been bugging me since yesterday while browsing the gallery.

It was the vibe in Hunter Gallery toward Chae Yeonhwa.

She's Korea's top S-rank hunter and master of the top guild, so why the constant teasing? Today, I figured it out.

She was basically treated like the Hunter Gallery mascot.

Not that I could confirm, but among the 11 S-rank awakeners, she probably had the cutest look.

The top awakeners had huge fanbases despite rarely showing their faces or doing outside activities.

"Gotta DM her if I make a B-grade fire stick."

Our forge wouldn't deal in C-grade weapons anymore.

Not jumping straight to A-grade either.

For the foreseeable future: B-grade only.

You couldn't guarantee the type you wanted just by aiming for it, but I'd gacha for B-grade staves anyway.

If I slapped an attribute on it...

One out of three would be a win.

Wind, light, fire.

Wind for Yena, who's probably training hard right now.

Light for Holy Piss dude.

Fire for Crimson Lotus Guild Master.

Staves wouldn't drop first try anyway, so it'd be nice to snag some usable gear for myself before then.

Ring ring— ring ring—

"It's here!"

Five minutes before the five equipment crafting tickets filled.

Time to steel my faith and unbreakable spirit.

I'd grown even more since five hours ago.

"Ahh... Lord Hephaestus, Hearthforge Deity, Lord Vulcan, Lord Svarog, Sochiquetzal, P..Ptah? L..L..Lord... Tut..Tut..Tutankhamun!!!"

"Please grant this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lowly human blacksmith a chance to recreate the gods' craftsmanship!!!"

"Alright~ Gods of forges worldwide~ Time for a 6-pull ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠equipment craft~~~!!!"

This time, I carefully selected only forge-related gods.

"12% odds, let's go!!!"

"Ah.. nooo!!"

"Stop!!!"

Squeeze—

"I never doubted the blacksmith gods for a second!"

"Not even now!!!"

"If I open my eyes now, a B-grade staff drops, right?!! That's it, right?!!"

'These fucking scam bastards...'

No way it's the last one...