Chapter 284
Chapter 284
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 284
Chapter Title: Demir Limited Edition Update
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Returning to Muryeong Paradise, the first order I gave to Kim Jin-ah was.
To engrave names on the monuments located in the VIP exhibition hall.
[No. 1 - ‘Dagger for an Assassin’ (S-Grade) / Owner: Dark Emperor Gi So-yul]
[No. 2 - ‘Giant Soldier God’s Fist’ (S-Grade) / Owner: Berserker Jang Dae-woong]
[No. 3 - Undecided / Owner: Demon King Jack Smith]
[No. 4 - Undecided / Owner: Heavenly Demon Ha Sera]
[No. 5 - Undecided / Owner: Oxford’s Sage Sophia Silverstone]
Originally up to No. 2, now extended to No. 5.
I was only supposed to do it for the Demon King and Heavenly Demon, but I’d also brought back the Mage Tower Master’s staff.
She was a hunter who’d been a huge help to me.
During this raid, she’d even chewed out the other hunters for my sake.
And the Mage Tower had put in considerable effort to take down the dragon.
Her heart must ache over the dragon’s corpse, so I planned to compensate her.
Since I was hammering anyway, might as well do them all together.
“You’ll upgrade my staff? I’d be grateful.”
The Mage Tower Master readily handed over her precious staff.
Entrusting one’s weapon to another.
That was a realm of firm trust.
Truth be told.
I’d never entrust a God-Slaying weapon to anyone, no matter who.
“Jackpot! Total jackpot!”
Kim Jin-ah, naturally, was bouncing around in excitement.
“Oh my god, is this for real? World rankings 2, 3, and 4 all using items from the D-El Workshop side by side! We won’t even need to advertise anymore, right?”
The moment the names were engraved, the 「D-El Workshop」 brand value soared to an unrivaled position.
The product quality went without saying, and everyone listed on the limited edition were all rankers.
Not just any rankers, but super hyper ultra rankers...
Thanks to that, limited editions were already seen as something not just anyone could buy.
└ LOL, this is insane.
└ Fr, it’s crazy lol. A workshop commissioned by the Demon King, Heavenly Demon, and Mage Tower Master! They’ve claimed the throne of workshops.
└ You can’t buy that with money anymore, right? It’s like the Rolls-Royce of workshops.
└ Only the rich bastards who kept nagging got in. It’s not about having money; seems like they’re only selling to rankers of a certain level;; Famous high-end strategy.
└ Aah, I want one too! A Demir limited edition weapon!
└ Even standard Demir products’ premium is gonna skyrocket again; wake up and buy those first.
Hunters dreamed of swinging Demir limited edition weapons in their sleep.
And fakes copying Demir’s designs started flooding the market.
Of course, I didn’t waste time catching the copycats.
They couldn’t perfectly replicate Demir’s designs anyway.
Weapons were all about performance, after all.
No matter how skilled the blacksmith, they couldn’t match Demir’s performance.
└ I’ll give 10 billion. Please put my name on the VIP list.
└ I can go up to 100 billion.
└ Lol, funny kids. That’s all? Don’t you know there are trillionaires out there?
└ What’s the criteria anyway? They did lotteries and auctions before, but when’s No. 6 Demir coming up?
Many hunters and businessmen sought the limited edition weapons.
But I shook my head.
We had plenty of money, and with aftercare needed, I didn’t want to casually expand the list.
If I told Demir to mass-produce freely, we’d get lots of high-quality weapons, but that wouldn’t be craftsmanship.
I wanted to personally hammer every weapon that made it to the VIP list.
Hammering was currently my one and only hobby.
“Phew.”
Clang! Claaang!
The clear sound of hammering echoed through the Muryeong Paradise workshop.
The building that had been a temporary workshop was now complete, boasting a splendid exterior.
Clang! Clang!
Some skeletons were making standard Demir products there.
In the center, before the anvil reserved for Demir, lay the items I’d brought back.
Five items in total.
Swords from the Demon King and Heavenly Demon, the Mage Tower Master’s staff, and the weapons from the Dark Emperor and Berserker.
I was reworking the Dark Emperor and Berserker’s weapons once more.
‘I need to show them what lifetime free A/S service means.’
Of course, only if they kept friendly relations with me.
If they ever crossed me?
Well.
I’d just remove them from the VIP list.
“Haha, Master, you’re here again today?”
For about a week now, Demir and I had been doing 15 hours of friendly hammering daily.
The method was the same as always.
I envision the user in my mind and forge while imagining them.
The mental image I imprint materializes before the world’s greatest blacksmith, revealing its unique abilities.
Thus, a one-of-a-kind weapon is born.
This time, though, no blueprints were needed.
‘Sword of Darkness’ (S-Grade), ‘Heavenly Sword’ (S-Grade), ‘Divine Tree Staff’ (S-Grade).
Just upgrading existing ones.
Clang! Clang!
“Hahaha, Master! You’re handling mithril like it’s nothing now?! Look, it’s already perfectly infused!”
“But pay attention! To upgrade without discarding the original form, you need more delicacy! Watch how I strike!”
Clear, refreshing hammer strikes.
The bubbling roar of the furnace.
And Demir’s shouts too!
Ah.
This is it.
This was it.
True rest for me was exactly this.
Demon King.
A hunter who reigned as the overlord of the demon realm, conjuring massive summoning circles in the air.
And commanding hordes of demons and fiends under him.
Clang, clang!
Hammering while thinking of him.
Heavenly Demon.
A frail body, but sword strikes that belied it.
Her steps proclaimed her as the lord of ten thousand demons, and her swordsmanship announced her as a tyrannical ruler.
Especially.
That Heavenly Demon Great Annihilation Tribulation I’d seen in the media footage left an impression on me too.
The thrill of tearing open a dragon’s maw with demon realm energy...!
Clang! Clang!
Such images were infused into the weapons.
Complete immersion.
Better than watching a movie or sleeping cozily in bed.
I loved this moment.
When imagination unfolded endlessly in focused concentration.
“Hmm.”
The mithril plating was finished.
Now for the Mage Tower Master’s staff.
No need for plating on a wooden staff.
Its sturdiness wasn’t the point; the orb at the tip was key.
Through Demir’s alchemy, it needed mixing with various ores.
“Master, I’ll handle this. You melt more mithril into that dagger and gauntlet.”
“Okay.”
Clang! Clang!
I swung the hammer again.
By the way, the Mage Tower Master.
I had a slight gripe about her.
More precisely, about this world’s system.
[Ranking 7th: Skeleton Emperor Joo Dong-hoon]
My new rank.
Of course, it was high.
Incredibly high, still thrilling.
‘But.’
There was something odd.
What made me inferior to the Mage Tower Master?
I acknowledged the Demon King and Heavenly Demon.
Those two were genuinely goosebump-inducing.
I hadn’t thought about losing in a fight, but by strength standards, they were above me.
Just looking at their mana pools.
‘However.’
The Mage Tower Master was ambiguous.
No, very ambiguous.
Why?
‘Our Arin is above the Mage Tower Master, isn’t she?’
Sophia was a Follower of Ancient Magic, but our Arin was the successor to Ancient Magic.
Her skill was SSS-Grade, not SS-Grade.
That’s why she could use Ancient Magic, which ordinary humans couldn’t.
And yet Arin was just one of my subordinates—why wasn’t I higher than 4th?
Of course, wondering wouldn’t change it.
The system, known as omnipotent in the modern world, decided it.
So I could only speculate.
Maybe the Mage Tower Master had more mana than Arin’s 1,000.
Or perhaps some special hidden card she hadn’t revealed.
The ranking system might downgrade summons’ abilities by a certain ratio.
‘Well, she probably has a lot of mana.’
She’d likely gained another 2,000 mana like me upon hitting SS-Grade.
Hmm.
Even so.
Such tail-chasing thoughts were broken by.
“Master...”
Demir’s words.
“Ugh, what are you thinking about? Why does the orb keep warping? I’ve already wasted three oriharcons.”
“Ah... Sorry.”
Damn.
Gotta focus on hammering again.
* * *
It took a full month to upgrade all five weapons.
Day and night, minus sleep, pure focus on crafting.
Sorry for not even greeting new guild members as guild master, ignoring them for hammering.
But the results were tremendous.
‘Dagger for an Assassin’ (SS-Grade)
‘Giant Soldier God’s Fist’ (SS-Grade)
‘Sword of Darkness for the Demon King’ (SS-Grade)
‘Heavenly Sword for the Heavenly Demon’ (SS-Grade)
‘Divine Tree Staff for the Sage’ (SS-Grade)
All upgraded beyond S-Grade to SS-Grade weapons.
S-Grade weapon blacksmiths were rare on present-day Earth.
At least in the country, only Demir.
But SS-Grade?
Probably the first ever.
Once the grades hit the exhibition, chaos would ensue again.
“Aah, splendid.”
The Demon King was extremely satisfied.
The performance was too lengthy to describe, but even I went “O!” in admiration.
Naturally, far below GOAT-tier like the God-Slaying Spear, but still over twice as strong as before.
“This rivals mid-tier Demon Kings’ gear now? More than that, I feel the sincerity. Every skill fits me perfectly, and above all, the design—I love it. Like a work of art.”
“Grateful for the high praise.”
As always, praise makes even whales dance.
- Fits perfectly.
Swoosh! Whoosh!
Ha Sera stared enchanted at the jet-black blade matching her, then wrote with the Heavenly Sword.
- Thank you so much, Joo Dong-hoon.
Click!
A light thanks from Ha Sera.
She then entered secluded training again.
We talked about 10 minutes.
She’d barely reached the Entering Demon realm with this SS-Grade achievement.
Still early, needs adaptation time?
Call it intuition.
I felt we’d grow closer later.
“Wow, so this is the famous Demir limited edition?”
The Mage Tower Master’s eyes sparkled as she took the staff.
“Waaah, beyond expectations. No blacksmith handles staves, no matter how I searched.”
“That’s Demir for you.”
Sophia smiled gently.
“Cool, Demir. And honestly, that’s part of it. Performance is great, but having my name on that exhibition? Thrilling. You know? Rare items ignite a woman like me’s possessiveness. World’s top luxury, right?”
Just noticed today—Sophia’s coat had the Italian luxury brand ‘Maxima’ label.
And more.
“Kuahaha! Little bro, with this weapon, I could spar you again!”
“...Thank you, Dong-hoon. I’ll work harder to catch up with this.”
Delivered to Dae-woong hyung and Gi So-yul too.
Seeing over a month of my effort handed over, and their pure joy.
A different kind of joy from growing stronger.
Anyway.
After delivering all weapons, I stood blankly, gazing at the silent training grounds.
My palms tingled with pain, body heavy with fatigue.
Arms twitching like still swinging the hammer.
But definitely.
‘Proud.’
This was my rest and play.
That alone sufficed.
The month wasn’t wasted.
And today, the exhibition updated.
[No. 1 - ‘Dagger for an Assassin’ (SS-Grade) / Owner: Dark Emperor Gi So-yul]
[No. 2 - ‘Giant Soldier God’s Fist’ (SS-Grade) / Owner: Berserker Jang Dae-woong]
[No. 3 - ‘Sword of Darkness for the Demon King’ (SS-Grade) / Owner: Demon King Jack Smith]
[No. 4 - ‘Heavenly Sword for the Heavenly Demon’ (SS-Grade) / Owner: Heavenly Demon Ha Sera]
[No. 5 - ‘Divine Tree Staff for the Sage’ (SS-Grade) / Owner: Oxford’s Sage Sophia Silverstone]
My growing masterpieces.
Just how many could I engrave there?