Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Gakgung Restoration (1)
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Can you stake your life on it?
To the enraged Lord Bance's question, Hyun-soo answered without hesitation.
“Yes.”
Bance frowned.
Before he could speak, Bell interjected.
“My lord, is there any need to listen to this man? He's a level 1 player. What kind of trick are you trying to pull?”
Hyun-soo was incredulous, and so was Bell.
‘What kind of lunatic is this, a level 1 player lying that he can restore it?’
Where in the world could you find a blacksmith like that?
No, that player, Hyun-soo, wasn't even a blacksmith.
He was just a passing level 1 player with the class 'Unemployed'.
And a player like that could restore it?
Bell snickered.
“You're so dead now.”
Bell made a throat-slitting gesture.
He had, after all, spouted that bullshit about staking his life on it right in front of the lord.
But Hyun-soo just gave him a flat, indifferent look.
‘This bastard, his eyes...’
They were the eyes of someone completely dismissing him.
No, the eyes of someone who didn't even see him as worth dealing with!
At that, Lord Bance spoke.
“Be silent, stranger named Hyun-soo. Prove your words.”
Hyun-soo met Bance's gaze and asked.
“May I ask how you obtained that bow?”
Hyun-soo was anything but foolish.
If he unraveled it step by step, the answer would reveal itself.
The lord didn't trust him; all he had to do was prove himself.
“It was crafted and gifted to my father by his friend, a blacksmith.”
“Then was it made with materials that can be found in the lands around this territory?”
“Yes.”
Hyun-soo smiled faintly.
“I see. Are there water buffalo in this area?”
“...There are no water buffalo, but there are monsters called Giant Water Buffalo.”
Bance was a little surprised.
The man was a level 1 stranger.
Strangers usually didn't know about the existence of Giant Water Buffalo.
That was because they left through the hunting training grounds.
So how did he know there were water buffalo here?
“That bow isn't what you would call a Western-style bow.”
Hearing this, Bell's eyes went wide.
Something about the situation was starting to feel strange.
So he hurriedly tried to raise his voice.
“What nonsense is this... My lord, there's no need to listen...!”
Bance made a gesture, bringing a finger to his lips.
“Speak.”
“That bow is a Gakgung. It's completely different from a Western bow. Water buffalo horn was used as the main material. Also.”
Lord Bance, who had been walking slowly, was now standing right in front of Hyun-soo.
“Also?”
“It seems this area is also full of bamboo, mulberry, and oak trees. Is that correct?”
“...It is.”
“Bamboo, mulberry, and oak are used as materials for a Gakgung. But that particular Gakgung seems a bit special.”
“Special?”
“A typical Gakgung uses cow sinew. However...”
Hyun-soo narrowed his eyes.
His gaze was fixed on the completely charred bow.
“Whale sinew was used.”
Lord Bance thought for a moment.
He recalled something his father had said once.
‘The fellow who made this bow told me he used whale sinew just for me.’
But there was something else Bance found even more unbelievable.
“How did you know? Without any mystical power. And you, a man who has just set foot in this land.”
Everything fit together perfectly.
The materials Hyun-soo named were all found here, and he had even seen through the special detail about the whale.
“Even burned, the bow's essence remains.”
He had made Gakgungs hundreds, no, thousands of times.
He knew how certain materials burned, even when charred.
Bance turned around.
This time, his gaze fell upon the man called Bell.
“Then what of this man?”
Hyun-soo had no intention of lying.
“I'm certain he is not a blacksmith. His claim that it was a Western bow was suspicious from the start.”
At that moment, Bell shot to his feet.
*Screech—*
*Thud!*
But the door slammed shut faster, and the soldiers near Lord Bance quickly seized him.
Bound and captured, Bell was in disbelief.
“You... how did you know the materials...?”
This was the reason for Bell's disbelief.
He had definitely done his research meticulously beforehand.
This was a restoration job that required at least level 100.
But the player named Hyun-soo was, no matter how you looked at it, level 1.
Soon, the soldiers began to drag Bell away.
Dragged away with a look of despair, Bell ended up locked in a prison cell.
[You have logged out.]
Back in reality, Lee Seong-jin wore a puzzled expression.
‘That bastard, what is he...?’
He couldn't understand.
He was clearly level 1.
But knowing the details of an artifact like that defied common sense.
No, he hadn't even touched the artifact to examine it.
He had gotten it right just by looking.
Then his jaw dropped.
‘Can he actually restore it?’
He couldn't believe it. How was something like this possible?
He logged into the Ares community forums.
And posted a question.
[Hey guys, can a level 1 Unemployed restore an artifact?]
[What kinda bullshit is that, you moron.]
As expected, the only replies he got were ones calling his question absurd.
***
After the man named Bell was gone.
[Your affinity with Bance has increased.]
Hyun-soo deduced.
‘Why have all the blacksmiths who visited until now been unable to restore it...?’
Soon, Hyun-soo understood the reason.
‘I know that in Ares, when you do a restoration, a restoration guide notification is supposed to pop up.’
It tells you what materials to find and how to restore the item.
‘It was the same with the mithril.’
The level-restricted mithril could be hammered, but the system didn't explain how to smelt it.
In other words, a restriction meant you couldn't receive any help from the game system.
The people who had visited before were caught by the level restriction and couldn't even attempt the restoration.
“Would you like to touch it yourself?”
Lord Bance's voice had softened considerably. And when Hyun-soo touched the bow, something special happened.
[You have seen through all the materials of the bow.]
[You have acquired the hidden restoration method for the Sharpshooter's Gakgung.]
Although he hadn't used a skill to view the restoration method, it seemed to be a kind of hidden piece.
‘Oh...?’
Hyun-soo immediately checked the restoration method.
(Sharpshooter's Gakgung Restoration Method)
Grade: Rare
Attack Power: 90~210
Restoration Requirement: Level 60.
Restoration Materials: Horn and Sinew of a Giant Water Buffalo from the beginner zone, well-grown Bamboo and Mulberry from the beginner zone. (Alternative materials can be checked)
Special Abilities:
·Accuracy increased by up to 16%.
·Agility increased by up to 4.
·Bow Attack Speed increased by up to 12%.
·Passive Skill: Rapid Fire.
·Active Skill: Double Shot.
Description: A bow gifted to a friend by a rather skilled blacksmith. If restoration quality is below 70%, the restoration will fail.
‘The restoration requirement is...’
A whopping level 60. It meant you needed to have at least a restoration skill to even attempt it.
But Hyun-soo was different.
They restored things with the help of the system.
In the first place, 99.9% of blacksmiths in Ares were ignorant about actual smithing.
But the system made restoration possible for them.
‘I can do it with experience.’
There was just one thing that bothered him.
‘The mithril ore from the beginner zone took way too long to smelt and refine.’
Thinking it over, it was highly likely a problem with the level restriction.
‘This is probably going to take a while too.’
Just as he was thinking that.
“As you've heard, that bow is a precious memento from my father. I've never seen a blacksmith who can wield such power without mystical aid... Would you perhaps be able to restore it?”
*Tiring!*
[Hidden Quest: Meet the Lord - Complete.]
[A chain quest has been generated.]
[Chain Quest: Restoration of the Sharpshooter's Gakgung.]
Grade: A
Requirement: One who has received the lord's request.
Reward: 500 Gold.
Failure Penalty: Decrease in affinity with Lord Bance.
Description: Restore his Sharpshooter's Gakgung.
The quest, which had started as a B-rank, had instantly jumped to A-rank, and the reward was 500 gold.
If he succeeded, that was about 500,000 won!
For Hyun-soo, it was a challenge well worth taking.
“I'll do it. Could you prepare all the materials I mentioned earlier?”
“Indeed, most of those materials are quite rare around here.”
Hyun-soo felt the same.
These materials weren't meant for players to obtain in the first place.
“But that much won't be difficult.”
Bance was the lord.
At his confident words, Hyun-soo nodded.
“I'll begin the work as soon as the materials are ready.”
***
The lord's castle smithy.
In an instant, the materials were prepared.
Hyun-soo looked at the pile of Giant Water Buffalo horns, sinew, mulberry, bamboo, and oak wood before him and cracked his knuckles.
‘It's been a while since I've done restoration work.’
There was one thing Hyun-soo was confident about.
‘I haven't been all over the world, so I can't say for sure...’
But among the restorers in the country, he and his father were the best.
He had a record of restoring Haemosu's Smelting Sword.
Furthermore, he had made more than enough Gakgungs, the traditional Korean bow.
*Crack, crack-.*
And there was something he'd realized earlier while examining the Gakgung.
‘It seems pretty well-made, but at the end of the day, was it made by a blacksmith below level 100?’
In the end, even NPCs had levels.
The one gifted by the friend of Bance's father was Rare-grade.
Hyun-soo thought that if he broke it down piece by piece, he could handle it much better.
*Fwip—*
A drawing unfurled before Hyun-soo.
It was a picture of the bow that Bance's father had a vassal draw as soon as he received the gift.
‘So the restoration method isn't guided at all...’
Even if the method was available, no notification would pop up telling him how to restore it.
Because he didn't have the skill.
But Hyun-soo didn't need it.
He had realized something through the mithril.
The materials determined the special abilities and attack power.
Whether one got the worst result or the best result from them would be decided solely by the blacksmith's skill.
Before he began, Lord Bance came to see him.
“...To be honest, I came because I was worried.”
Bance was honest; Hyun-soo was not.
“This will not be an easy task.”
“...I suppose so.”
Hyun-soo said with a straight face.
“Yes. In exchange, if I can achieve a surprising result, could you give me all the remaining materials?”
“The remaining materials...?”
“Yes.”
The truth was, Hyun-soo coveted these materials.
Things with the prefix 'from the beginner zone,' which he could never obtain himself.
There was one thing Hyun-soo intended to get from this.
The restoration was one thing, but he was thinking of making another bow with the leftover materials.
“If you can make me gasp in astonishment, why wouldn't I do that for you? I am the lord, am I not?”
Hyun-soo smiled in satisfaction.
What would he do after making a bow?
What else would a blacksmith do?
‘I'll sell it on the auction house.’
He suddenly grew curious.
‘How much would a bow made from those materials sell for?’
The reason Hyun-soo was thinking this was because of a notification he'd heard upon arriving here.
[Hyeon's Smithy has reached 300 subscribers.]
It had definitely been around 211. And he hadn't uploaded any new artifacts.
Hyun-soo was quick on the uptake.
‘Word about me is spreading in unseen places.’
A small smile on his face, Hyun-soo was about to begin.
Just then.
[*Trrrrrring.*]
[*Trrrrrring.*]
The sound of a telephone bell rang out.
Ares could be linked to a mobile phone.
It would notify you of an incoming call, and you could log out to check it yourself.
“I need to step out for a moment.”
“You strangers are truly strange.”
Soon, Hyun-soo logged out.
And soon after, the VVIP capsule installation team set up the capsule in Hyun-soo's home.
‘Whoa...’
Hyun-soo marveled, finally able to use a capsule at home.
The installation technicians left after promising to absolutely protect the client's personal information.
‘Let's see what this VVIP capsule is like.’
Logging back into the game, Hyun-soo reappeared in the same spot as before.
Lord Bance was waiting in the smithy.
And just like before, he could see the materials piled up in front of him.
But then, he felt something was different.
‘Huh...? Why does this feel so real...?’
Ares was, in the end, a game. Every time he logged in, Hyun-soo had felt a slight sense of disconnect.
He especially felt it when working in the smithy.
A blacksmith's work required precision.
But that precision had always felt a little lacking, so to speak.
Suddenly, something Ji-hoon had said crossed his mind.
‘Ooh... if you get a VVIP capsule, let me try it too. They say the sync rate is almost 99.9%.’
“...Well, look at this.”
He knew that the standard capsules had an 85% sync rate.
The one at the PC bang had been a standard model.
Hyun-soo ran his hand over the materials. They felt much more real than before.
No, now they felt completely real to the touch.
‘Does that mean I can work with even greater precision?’
The test subject for that experiment was right in front of his eyes.