Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: The Real Beginning (3)
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Jin-seong logged out and let out a yell.
“Finally…!”
He was too overjoyed to contain his excitement.
But his elation was short-lived.
“‘He’s the one Sword King Barad is looking for…?’”
Lee Jin-seong was utterly stunned.
Sword King Barad was an NPC powerful enough to be called one of the Ten Legends on the current Korean server.
He recalled the look on Barad's face.
‘That was desire—a desperate desire for a new sword. The avarice to meet a blacksmith named Hyeon…’
Barad treated even him, his own descendant, like an insect.
To think there was a blacksmith who could incite such avarice in a man like that.
‘I’m so damn grateful.’
First, he planned to send a message to Hyeon's Smithy about Sword King Barad's request.
But he couldn't be satisfied with just that.
“Thanks to you, I can now aim for the top 10 rankings!”
Its value was astronomical.
An investment of 50 million won?
It would come back with ten, twenty times the value.
‘How can I repay him?’
Of course, he had already paid the price. But right now, Jin-seong was blinded by gratitude.
After all, this was the person who had fulfilled his long-held wish.
Then, an idea struck Jin-seong.
‘Of course, there’s that method!’
After sending the message regarding Barad, Jin-seong tapped on his keyboard to formulate his thanks.
***
Ji-hye, a nurse in the administrative office, was talking with a colleague.
“Is there no way to help Mr. Hyun-soo?”
“Doesn't seem like it. Director Kim seems to find it quite regrettable, too.”
“Ah…”
A bitter expression crossed Ji-hye's face.
She was exactly four years older than Hyun-soo.
She saw him as a younger brother, but she was also concerned because his situation was so unfortunate.
“He did pay this month's hospital bill, but…”
Actually, there was something else.
Her colleague nudged her.
“You have feelings for Mr. Hyun-soo, don't you?”
“Ah…”
Ji-hye's face turned red.
“Honestly…”
She laughed, embarrassed.
“He is handsome.”
“Right? He's well over 180cm tall, and even though half his face is burned…”
“…”
Her colleague spoke carefully.
Ji-hye also kept her mouth shut. If it weren't for the burn scars, Hyun-soo was a very handsome man.
Not only was he tall, but perhaps because he worked as a blacksmith, his broad physique was admirable.
But right now, there was only one thing Ji-hye could do.
‘I can only cheer for him.’
She let out a sigh.
“I heard Dr. Jin-seob is going to suggest a treatment. It's ten million won a month.”
“Huh? How can Mr. Hyun-soo afford that?”
Ji-hye's face scrunched up. Wasn't that just giving him false hope?
‘How can a 23-year-old afford ten million won a month…?’
Just then.
“I'm back.”
“Huh?”
Hyun-soo came back into the administrative office.
The two nurses who were chatting snapped their mouths shut.
Sitting at her desk, Ji-hye gave a wry smile.
‘Is he here to ask about the hospital bills…? Maybe if he can pay in installments…?’
Most patients want to grasp at straws. Because of that, they often make unreasonable requests.
Then, Hyun-soo spoke.
“Two months of my father's medicine, two months of hospital fees, and two months of my treatment costs. I'll pay for it all in advance.”
“Huh?”
Ji-hye was startled.
“W-What did you say?”
Hyun-soo said with a small smile.
“Two months' worth. I'm paying for it all in advance.”
Ji-hye looked at Hyun-soo with wavering eyes.
‘I-In advance?’
That was about 40 million won.
But what surprised her even more was this.
‘Is he finally going to start his own burn treatment in earnest?’
An image of Hyun-soo with his scars gone flickered in Ji-hye's mind.
***
Hyun-soo, who had come to pay the hospital bills in advance, saw Lee Ji-hye's suddenly flushed face.
“C-Congratulations!”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, it's nothing! Anyway, you're finally going to start your burn treatment in earnest, right?”
“It looks that way. I'll get my father's treatment, and my own, and I also want to move my father to a VVIP room if possible.”
“You can do it!”
Hyun-soo gave a wry smile. After checking the text message in Dr. Jin-seob's office earlier, Hyun-soo had immediately exchanged the currency.
And he realized.
‘I can do it. My father's treatment, and my own.’
And it seemed he could get it back.
‘The smithy I sold.’
Hyun-soo hadn't known the value of Hyeon's first custom-produced sword.
Only after it was sold for that price did he realize just how ridiculously overpowered this custom production was.
Now, he felt confident.
“Uhm…!”
“Yes?”
“Later, after your treatment goes well, I'll buy you a meal.”
Buy him a meal?
Hyun-soo tilted his head, then gave a small smile.
The director, and the nurse named Ji-hye, they were all people who treated him kindly.
He thought it was simple kindness.
“No, I should be the one buying.”
“Yes, yes, I-I'll be waiting!”
She'd be waiting?
Hyun-soo left the administrative office with a wry smile.
After visiting his father once more, Hyun-soo's fists clenched as he left the hospital.
‘The God Class… it might be more incredible than I thought.’
It was then, while he was thinking that.
[The buyer has left a review.]
‘A review?’
Hyun-soo had searched to find out just who had bought the custom-produced sword for 50 million won.
It was a high-ranker named Road.
But not long after that notification.
[Your subscriber count has been updated.]
[Your subscriber count has been updated.]
[Your subscriber count has…]
‘…?’
Hyun-soo looked at his phone, which was vibrating like crazy, with a puzzled expression.
‘What is this…?’
The update notification doesn't pop up for just one or two new subscribers.
‘Then what in the world…?’
And in that brief moment.
[Hyeon's Smithy has reached 15,000 subscribers.]
“?”
It had previously maintained around 3,000 subscribers, and when he checked earlier, it had gone up to about 7,000.
‘So suddenly? Why?’
Of course, the custom-produced sword seemed to have become a bit of a topic, but to cause this much of a ripple effect…
“Huh…!?”
Hyun-soo quickly checked the review from the buyer, Road.
[Blacksmith Hyeon. He is, in my opinion, the greatest blacksmith. Thanks to the first custom-produced sword, I have achieved a long-held wish. Thank you ^^]
“…It's because of this?”
Indeed, when he checked the forum for Hyeon's Smithy, new posts had been updated.
[Is this the hot spot that high-ranker Road praised so highly?]
[Get in line, people! Subscribing now.]
[Here on a pilgrimage. Please let me ace my college entrance exams!]
[Please keep my little Kong from getting sick!]
“It's real?”
He was once again reminded of just how powerful a high-ranker was.
And in the few dozen minutes it took to get home.
[Hyeon's Smithy has reached 30,000 subscribers.]
The subscriber count had jumped enormously.
‘Amazing.’
And Hyun-soo felt good. It was because of the line in Road's post: ‘achieved a long-held wish.’
And seeing the still-exploding subscriber count, he knew.
‘This is the real beginning.’
His Ares was just getting started.
Hyun-soo opened his message box for the first time in a while.
Among them, he found a noticeable nickname.
‘Road?’
Hyun-soo opened the message.
[Hello, Blacksmith Hyeon. This is Road. The reason I'm sending this message is…]
To his surprise, the message described where he had used the custom-produced sword.
‘Sword King Barad?’
[Sword King Barad has expressed his wish for you, Hyeon, to craft a sword for him. It might not be a bad idea to pay him a visit.]
The name ‘Sword King’ itself was extraordinary.
Hyun-soo first searched for Barad in the NPC information section on the official Ares website.
[Sword King Barad. King of the Goyad Kingdom, known as the Kingdom of Swords.]
[The Goyad Kingdom is a small nation, with the smallest area and population among the kingdoms on the Asgan continent, the Korean server.]
[However, no kingdom dares to look down on the Goyad Kingdom. This is solely because of Sword King Barad, a powerhouse counted among the Ten Legends of the continent.]
‘A real king? Ruling over tens of millions of people?’
Next, he checked the Ares community forums.
Searching for Barad brought up countless posts.
[Dude, isn't Barad badass as hell… ]
[Yeah, I practically piss myself every time I see him. Feels like watching a commander in a war movie.]
[Getting a quest from Barad would be epic.]
[Ikr… ]
[Dream on, noobs. You need to be at least level 200 to meet Barad.]
[Is there really a restriction like that?]
[Yeah… it's for real. You think a king will meet just anyone… Even level 200 players can't meet him without a stroke of luck. There might be one way to ignore the level restriction, though.]
[What is it?]
[You know the Super Rookie tournament held every year for players between levels 50-60? If you win that, you can meet him at the awards ceremony.]
[Lmao, don't you only get to meet him for like 10 seconds?]
[Yeah… ]
‘Hmm…’
Through the community users' comments, Hyun-soo realized he couldn't meet him right now.
‘The Super Rookie tournament…’
Of course, he'd have to be at least level 50 to participate.
Hyun-soo left a message for Road, thanking him for the information, and then logged in.
***
Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do.
A large black sedan with a three-pointed star glided to a stop in front of a plot of land.
Soon, a middle-aged man stepped out of the car.
His name was Kang Hyuk-soo.
He was a rather famous man in the world of real estate.
Hyuk-soo gazed at the smithy, which had now been mostly demolished.
Hyuk-soo still hadn't decided exactly what to build on that spot.
Then, he recalled what the original smithy had looked like.
The smithy had been in a wretched state. Most of it had already burned down, making it look no different from a haunted house.
It seemed the smithy owner's son had managed it somehow, but it wouldn't have been strange to demolish it immediately.
“When will the permit be finalized?”
“It should take about a month.”
Nodding at his secretary's words, Hyuk-soo looked around the area.
‘A smithy in this remote place, in the 21st century…’
He swallowed a wry smile.
He remembered the day he'd bought this land and signed the contract.
He had met a young man, still youthful but with a sturdy build.
A young man tragically covered in burns.
The young man had hesitated for a long time before signing the contract.
It was only natural.
A smithy that had stood its ground for decades in this 21st century.
And for him, it must have been a place filled with memories of his father.
Furthermore, it might have been a sign that his life as a blacksmith was over.
He had talked with him quite a bit.
It was because he was reminded of himself in his youth.
And he had felt a sense of pity.
A blacksmith in this day and age.
And Hyuk-soo, a sharp judge of character, had noticed.
‘He was a kid who would have been great no matter what he did.’
But it was a shame that his circumstances had made him that way.
The young man, about to stamp the contract, had asked.
‘If I try to buy this place back, will I be able to?’
Hyuk-soo had thought deeply for a moment.
Why had he said that back then?
Was it because he owned hundreds of plots of land like this?
Or was it because of the fierce determination he saw in the young man's eyes?
‘If you come back before it’s completely demolished and before we break ground, I'll sell it back to you for the price you sold it for. I don't want to take a loss, you see.’
‘…Thank you.’
It was strange. Hyuk-soo realized he was waiting for the young man.
‘It's well over 300 million won.’
He'd even heard that all the money from selling the smithy would be used for his father's overdue hospital bills.
More than half a year had passed since that day.
For someone his age, it was an absolutely impossible amount of money.
Getting back into the car, Hyuk-soo swallowed a wry smile as he watched the scenery fly by.
‘Hyun-soo, you only have one month left.’