Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: The Craftsman's Pride and Assembly Tremors
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103
Wuuuung!
A magic circle cast by Yun Seung-ah stretched across the entire church building.
He didn’t know the details, but it was said to be the first step in reconstructing the temple… no, the church.
It involved storing the internal spaces in a kind of subspace, turning them into components for the newly built temple….
“What the hell does that even mean?”
Lee Jae-kyung said while standing next to Go Yohan, watching the scene.
“…….”
“You don’t get it either?”
At Lee Jae-kyung’s words, Go Yohan stepped forward.
“I’m not the only idiot here?”
“…….”
“Ha-yeon and Seung-ah, the kids all seem to get it, but just us…”
“…I understand.”
“Liar.”
Lee Jae-kyung followed after Go Yohan.
“Liar!”
Unlike usual, Lee Jae-kyung seemed quite excited.
The reason was also related to Cheol Jung-bae.
Despite his arrogant personality, Cheol Jung-bae showed clear respect to the Apostles.
‘I was quite rude before!’
Cheol Jung-bae treated Lee Jae-kyung with no less deference.
Perhaps even more than an Apostle.
‘To be His seed… truly, this will turn the Empire upside down. Indeed, remember that you are a truly remarkable being!’
Humans fundamentally had a desire for recognition.
Players even more so!
If they were satisfied merely with self-training, there’d be no need to obsess over rankings.
Carving their names into the rankings and putting their faces out there for activities was the manifestation of that desire for recognition.
“…Am I really the first seed?”
“Didn’t I tell you before?”
Yet the stubborn Cheol Jung-bae had acknowledged and marveled at it.
“The first, I’m telling you.”
“No, I didn’t realize it was such a big deal.”
Lee Jae-kyung was satisfied.
Not for any other reason, but because he was a special existence to Go Yohan.
“Go… talk to Cheol Jung-bae. No, what kind of name is Cheol Jung-bae?”
“He seemed to like it. Whatever.”
Lee Jae-kyung stopped and said.
“And he won’t talk much.”
“……?”
“He said to ask directly, and if the Captain hasn’t mentioned it, he has no intention of saying it either.”
Cheol Jung-bae might seem stubborn and somewhat twisted, but he actually wasn’t.
Craftsmen being a bit twisted was par for the course anyway.
Cheol Jung-bae.
‘He was a candidate for the next Great King.’
After Iron Hammer’s death, he was one of the expected successors to lead the dwarves.
His skills went without saying, and he had led the dwarves as part of the alliance army—Brown Beard, no, Cheol Jung-bae.
Step, step.
Go Yohan walked forward, muttering.
“What the hell is Cheol Jung-bae… Cheol Jung-bae.”
Pfft.
*
*
*
“Huh!”
Cheol Jung-bae wasn’t just focused on the church reconstruction.
While Yun Seung-ah handled the foundational work, he was intervening in every part of the church where he could.
What faith did he have in this newcomer?
“Huhhh!”
If Go Yohan had taken him in personally, that alone held meaning.
He could be trusted, and besides, betrayal was impossible anyway.
“As expected of the Dvergr.”
Right now, Cheol Jung-bae was inspecting blessed items made by the Dvergrs with some of the zealots.
To save them this time, the entire Dvergr population had been offered as sacrifice.
Items that could neutralize demonic curses to some extent and inflict damage.
Not only that, but their performance was quite high-grade.
“Is it that impressive?”
The zealot introducing it said.
“No!”
Cheol Jung-bae’s firm voice echoed like thunder.
“Garbage made by those trash bastards! It’s garbage! Look at this—does this look like a properly made item?”
“…….”
The zealot in charge of item management honestly couldn’t see what the problem was.
“Those bastards lack the soul of steel. They’re just mimicking it. No progress whatsoever. Tsk!”
With that, Cheol Jung-bae pulled something out to show.
He had holed up in the church’s underground forge for days, saying he wanted to look around.
Even then.
“Hah! What a mess!’
This was lacking, that was wrong.
A disaster.
Worthless.
He had vented all sorts of complaints.
“This is a true divine relic.”
A longsword handed to the zealot.
[Dwarven Master’s Longsword]
[Unique]
Same Unique grade as those made by the Dvergrs.
“Eek!”
But the zealot’s reaction was different.
“Th-this is…!”
The moment he gripped the longsword, his muscles tightened.
“The runes imbued in the longsword house mana, enhancing strength. It not only boosts agility but also naturally absorbs surrounding mana for repairs.”
“……!”
“It might fall short compared to the Dvergrs’ items in weakening curses.”
Smirk.
Cheol Jung-bae showed a craftsman’s smile.
“But its other abilities crush that!”
It could even strike at demons.
Of course, not enough to annihilate or deal fatal wounds.
“How is it!”
“Amazing!”
It was genuine.
“What’s going on?”
“Grab this.”
“Eek!”
The reactions of the other zealots were the same.
“…….”
Watching the scene, Cheol Jung-bae’s eyes deepened.
The divine relic he had just made was a technology completed only toward the end of the war.
Long after the corrupted dwarves became Dvergrs and imbued weapons with curses.
These relics had never seen the light of day.
He had thought it was a technique that could no longer be used.
‘Thank you.’
Now, opportunity had come again.
“Hmph!”
A satisfied craftsman’s smile and laughter spread.
In truth, there was an unfinished product he hadn’t shown them.
‘I’ll complete that and show it.’
To Go Yohan first, before these people.
And he was certain.
“…….”
The item born from that would be the first masterpiece of his life, and undoubtedly one of the greatest in dwarf history.
That too was thanks to Go Yohan.
‘Blessing of black lava, will of black steel.’
Things engraved upon his rebirth as a new race.
Among them, the ones uniquely engraved on him alone elevated his skills to the limit—and beyond.
The ability to handle fire and see the essence of steel.
“And take a look at this too.”
Cheol Jung-bae excitedly pulled out another item.
It was the axe Rune Breaker used in the Barat Goaen territory.
“What’s that?”
Perhaps impressed by his skill, the zealots looked at Cheol Jung-bae with eyes full of respect and curiosity.
“Look closely!”
As a slave, crafting runes had been grueling.
He could barely make one by siphoning off bits of the given materials.
But with sufficient materials and the leisure to craft.
Clunk.
He could make as many as needed.
Holding the axe upside down like a gun, the moment Cheol Jung-bae infused it with mana while smiling.
Pssht!
Eyes shattered into powder and scattered.
Wuuung!
The zealots’ eyes widened at the gathering mana.
Shooooaaa!
And seemed to tear apart at the shooting explosion.
The problem was.
KABOOM!
It crashed into one side of the church parking lot, causing an explosion.
“…….”
Cheol Jung-bae shuddered dramatically.
“Huh, huhaha….”
It seemed he had caused an accident.
*
*
*
In some place in Yeouido, several people were gathered at a high-end Japanese restaurant.
“Long time no see.”
“Didn’t we see each other at the National Assembly just the other day?”
“That’s not what I mean.”
Representatives from both the ruling and opposition parties were meeting together.
“…How’s the situation on your side?”
Ruling party representative Kwon Mun-cheol asked cautiously.
“…Not good. This time, it’s over thirty percent. And you?”
“Only thirty percent.”
Kwon Mun-cheol twisted his lips upward.
“Sixty percent.”
“……!”
Sixty percent.
Meaning sixty percent of the ruling party had been absorbed by some shadowy force whose name no one knew.
“Probably more.”
“Hah, haha.”
Hollow laughter escaped naturally.
Their faces were already contorted to the extreme.
The topic they were discussing.
“Go Yohan….”
It was the incident sparked by Go Yohan.
Whether ruling or opposition, the daily squabbles and clashes in the National Assembly were as natural as office workers drinking coffee.
If anything, you’d wonder who would fight if they didn’t.
But this time, something almost unprecedented had occurred.
The meeting regarding Go Yohan’s release.
“Just thinking about that day…”
On that day, those advocating for Go Yohan’s release occupied over half the Assembly seats.
It wasn’t the will of each party, nor was there time for meetings or backroom deals.
It was the intent to not even give time to punish the Player Association, slaughtering the chairman in front of everyone and tearing apart those hailed as heroes, no matter what.
“Still gives me chills.”
And that was just the beginning.
Internally, immense pressures began pouring in.
Guilds that had been friendly turned against them, and considering external pressures.
“…….”
It was horrific.
Russia loading nukes aimed at Korea said it all.
“…This can’t go on.”
That was why.
“Even now, the trembling won’t stop. Am I being watched? Are you one of their puppets?”
“Same here.”
“How far have you grasped it?”
Opposition representative Park Kyung-ho said.
Kwon Mun-cheol raised two fingers.
“Twenty percent?”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“Only twenty percent can be trusted.”
Shoooo.
Chills rose all over his body.
“You call us pro-Japanese traitors and such. I won’t deny it—in terms of profit, I’m confident I can join hands with anyone. But…”
Tremble.
The teacup in Kwon Mun-cheol’s hand was shaking.
“This is too much! Colonial era under Japan? I’d swear it’s worse now! This is truly… truly….”
Insane.
The general public seemed unaware, but it could be said that half the nation had fallen to the force Go Yohan belonged to.
“We must stop it.”
“I agree.”
But they were forgetting the most important thing.
That despite such a massive shift in power, ordinary citizens’ lives hadn’t changed at all.
No, they had actually improved.
The reason they couldn’t tolerate it.
“We have a plan.”
Was that they hadn’t gotten what they should have.