Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Sun vs Moon (1)
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“Phew.”
The evening sunset.
I gazed up at the sky and let out a long breath.
I had finally cleared the dungeon.
In the end, I saved her life again and returned having grown stronger.
Kang Yu-jeong bowed her head repeatedly, saying she would definitely repay this debt someday, then left with Lee Seon-ah.
An inexplicable sense of pride welled up.
‘Luck was on my side.’
Who would’ve thought Bone7 was a healer?
And that he even had such an absurd cheat skill!
I felt like I was one step closer to my goal of becoming a ranker.
The sensation of growing stronger every single day.
‘But I can’t get complacent just because of this.’
The world is vast, and rankers are plentiful.
Skills come in endless varieties too.
No matter how cheat-like my skills seem.
There are surely people hiding even more ridiculous ones.
Arrogance breeds carelessness.
And in this brutal world, carelessness is as good as death.
‘Still.’
Just for today.
Couldn’t I fully savor these feelings of hope and anticipation?
“Now— I can become a ranker too— I’ll proudly show the world my dreams— these wings I’ve kept folded for so long~”
I hummed a tune as I strolled through Apgujeong.
My destination: the Demir Workshop.
In other words, my home.
One of the perks of a new house.
Back in the day, even after finishing a mercenary job or clearing a dungeon.
I hated dragging myself back to that rotten semi-basement studio.
But now, with a proper high-end house in Apgujeong-dong as my home, the walk there was pure joy.
A whistle escaped my lips on its own.
Swoosh.
As I stepped inside, someone greeted me from the second floor.
“Master, you’re back?”
The true owner of this house’s second floor.
Demir.
“You look pleased. Must’ve gained a lot from this dungeon?”
“Yep, yep.”
Demir.
My sixth bone.
He’d been guarding the house while I was in the dungeon.
Crafting mass-produced weapons and continuing the business.
‘The best part of my skill.’
Is that even after summoning someone and heading into a dungeon, there’s no reverse summon.
In other words, no distance limit between summoner and summon.
“Actually, I knew it, Master.”
Demir said.
“While crafting weapons as usual, my stats suddenly spiked. The knowledge I already had started melding into the weapons even better. That could only mean… your abilities had grown another level, right?”
“Oh.”
Right, yeah.
As I rose to A-rank, Demir must’ve advanced to Skeleton Knight (A-rank) too.
“Master.”
“Yeah?”
“Take a look at this.”
Suddenly, Demir handed me something.
A sleekly forged spear.
“What’s this?”
“Truth is, while you were in the dungeon, I thought of Sun Spear and crafted this.”
“…Sun Spear?”
Well, yeah.
I did need to make him a weapon.
If I tallied up the bones wielding S-rank weapons right now.
Eldrin - For Eldrin
Bone5 - Fire Dragon’s Staff
Demir - Demir’s Hammer
Just those three.
The rest were still using bone weapons.
“Hmm… I was planning to craft an S-rank for Sun Spear later?”
If I had to make an S-rank, he was top priority.
Honestly, ones like Bone1, Bone4, Bone7, etc., were awkward to equip before awakening.
Demir said a true craftsman considers the user’s traits and personality when forging.
“Truth is, I’d only roughed out the shape with that in mind. But then you awakened another level… and I got inspired. Haha.”
“Inspired?”
Demir smiled softly and nodded toward it.
His expression brimmed with confidence in the weapon.
“See for yourself. It’s the grade you wanted.”
“This is S-rank…?”
I blankly checked the spear’s info.
[Item: Spear Made Thinking of Sun Spear]
[Grade: S]
[Type: Spear]
[Description: A spear gifted to his comrade ‘Sun Spear’ by the legendary blacksmith ‘Demir.’]
[Effect 1: Vitality +100.]
[Effect 2: Skill cooldown -20%.]
[Effect 3: Skill power +200%.]
[Effect 4: Can only be used by ‘Sun Spear.’]
Whoa, for real?
“You made this alone?”
I was stunned.
I knew Demir was amazing, but.
To already reach the realm of solo-crafting S-rank weapons.
“It’s not as boosted as when we craft together, but it should serve as a decent stopgap.”
Thud!
Demir set down his hammer and spoke.
“…”
It felt surreal.
My summon acting on his own to bolster my forces, without orders.
“Thanks, Demir.”
I smiled back at him.
“Sun Spear will love it for sure.”
Yeah, why not.
Time to hand it over?
[‘Sun Spear’ appears.]
I spent 10 vitality to summon Sun Spear.
At the same time, I handed him the spear and explained.
Sun Spear cautiously accepted the weapon.
“My lord, this spear… was made for me?”
Is there any living being that doesn’t love a surprise gift?
In conclusion, Sun Spear was thrilled.
Whoosh! Swoosh!
He swung it around, gazing at it with moved eyes.
“Yeah, Sun Spear. While we were fighting, Demir made it thinking of you.”
“Thank you, Demir.”
“No problem.”
Demir chuckled at Sun Spear’s gratitude.
“It fits perfectly in my grip yet feels light. The design’s to my taste too. And above all…”
Swish!
Sun Spear’s spear whipped around his waist in a fluid spin.
“I’ve never received a gift from anyone in my life. Only fear or hatred from others.”
Born without sight.
The lonely absolute ruler of the ancient desert.
“That’s why I mean it.”
Sun Spear quietly felt the spear’s balance.
“Beyond its performance, I love the sentiment poured into this tool. So I promise: I’ll treasure it.”
“…”
A monster as pure as his wounds were deep.
I quietly watched the grateful Sun Spear.
‘I’ll gift him something even better someday.’
For now, since he loves it, let him be.
* * *
The next day, after rest, on the rooftop.
After summoning the old man for training as usual and taking a break.
Sun Spear approached.
“My lord.”
“Yeah?”
“I have a request.”
“What is it?”
“With this new weapon, I’d like to spar with someone.”
My eyes widened.
“Huh? With who?”
It was unexpected.
Sun Spear, who’d always steadfastly trained alone, making his first request.
“I want to face Eldrin.”
“Eldrin?”
I looked at Sun Spear.
His eyes clearly burned with competitive fire.
Because he’d reached A-rank?
I sensed his desire to show off his improving skills.
And his hunger to grow further by clashing with the strong.
“Oho.”
Eldrin reacted too, curiosity piqued.
“Overconfidence, I see. No matter how sharp the spear, if it can’t get close, it’s useless… You sure about this?”
“How can you be so sure I can’t close in, Eldrin?”
“Who knows. If you do it right, your body’ll crumble to my arrows before you even reach me.”
Sparks flew from their gazes.
“Whoa!”
I cheered like it was the highlight of a fight show.
Their taunts made it even more exciting.
‘A duel between them?’
Honestly, I was curious.
Who’d win if the strongest from two worlds clashed?
One corner: the top dog who ruled the ancient desert.
Opposite corner: the forest tribe’s queen, a proud high elf.
Sparring or not, they could kill each other—no issue.
Just 10 vitality and they’d revive anyway.
“What’s this, what’s this? Sudden super fun match?”
Kim Jin-ah, who’d come up early to water the rooftop plants, lit up.
“Wait a sec!”
She dashed to the storage, returning with popcorn and cola.
Seriously.
When did she even buy that stuff?
“Can’t watch a fight without popcorn. Hehe.”
“…”
Kim Jin-ah plopped subtly next to me and offered cola.
It was so natural, I took it without thinking.
Yeah, Kim Jin-ah’s family now too.
“Ahem, anyway.”
I eyed the two sparking with tension.
“I’ll let you duel as requested, but no grudges over the result, win or lose. Okay?”
“Of course, my lord.”
“Naturally.”
They replied firmly.
Good.
This was training extended, after all.
Just.
If they fought here, my precious house might collapse.
“Clearing.”
I grinned.
“Let’s head to the clearing.”
* * *
Whoosh!
A cool breeze kicked up dust.
In the quiet clearing, the two absolutes faced off.
“Hmm.”
Sun Spear first.
He spoke.
“How about a little wager, Eldrin?”
The slayer and ruler who’d dominated all humans in the ancient desert.
A being healing the scars and grudges from humanity.
“Hehe, what wager?”
Eldrin lowered her bow from across.
She was no pushover either.
Having lived far longer than humans, her experience was vast.
She’d even sealed a horrific giant dragon.
“Ranking order.”
“Hmm? Ranking order?”
Eldrin hummed intrigued.
“Until our next brother awakens. Loser drops in the pecking order.”
“Pecking order meaning?”
“Nothing major. Just informal sequence.”
Competitive spirit.
Sun Spear stared straight at Eldrin.
Eldrin stared back at Sun Spear.
“Sounds fun? What about Demir then?”
“Demir’s exempt. Non-combat role.”
“Straightforward. I like it.”
Eldrin nodded.
“Okay.”
My turn now.
For the record, I’m the ref, Kim Jin-ah the sole spectator.
“Rules are simple. Stay in this clearing. First to erase the opponent wins.”
“Understood.”
“Got it.”
Smiles vanished from their faces.
As I stepped back, Bone5 cast a possible air shield.
Not just on me, but Kim Jin-ah too.
“Then, I’ll start.”
Ta-tat!
Eldrin lightly kicked off and leaped.
Toward the surrounding trees.
“Bad luck, Sun Spear. Forest folk using terrain are twice as scary.”
Shuu-shung! Shuuung!
Sharp arrows poured out in succession.
Her rapid fire skill, now advanced!
Tang! Ta-da-tang!
But Sun Spear’s reactions were swift.
He swung the new spear dazzlingly, deflecting and snapping every arrow.
Truly divine spear arts.
“Wooow!”
Kim Jin-ah cheered beside me.
“…”
I calmly watched their fight.
A clash of two absolutes—surely something useful for me too.
Sun Spear and Moonlight Eldrin.
Their true duel began.