The Enchanted Kobold Smith
Nam Gyuil called U Seongjin, the number one figure in the business world. He asked him to procure some items. They were all materials for mid-grade elixirs. And he requested as many as possible.
He could have gathered them himself, but rather than spending time searching for elixir materials, it was more efficient to train one extra session. So he made the request.
U Seongjin readily agreed. As befitting the top businessman, he had plenty of money and people at his disposal, so it wasn't a difficult favor.
Nam Gyuil planned to craft mid-grade elixirs and give them to his teammates. That way, they could grow even faster.
I'm focusing on martial arts training for now, but once they reach a certain point, I should teach them magic too.
As he thought that, U Seongjin dropped an intriguing comment at the end of the call.
"By the way, I've come across an item that might interest you and bought it... Care to come see it?"
"An item, you say?"
"Yes. Come to my place this evening."
"Understood."
Nam Gyuil replied. He grew curious about this intriguing item U Seongjin had mentioned. It was definitely no ordinary object.
If the number one businessman finds it interesting, it must be something truly special.
It surely was.
Nam Gyuil glanced at his watch. It was still only 3 p.m. He had plenty of time before meeting U Seongjin.
His teammates were diligently honing their martial arts after mana cultivation.
Nam Gyuil headed to the dorms.
Plop.
He lay on the bed and closed his eyes. Today, too, he entered the Akashic Records to seek out exceptional knowledge.
Thanks to his strengthened teammates, the guild was now a safe haven even if he lost consciousness—far better than home.
A strange sense of buoyancy washed over him as his awareness faded. When he opened his eyes again, the library appeared.
An overwhelmingly vast library.
He had entered the Akashic Records.
He went up to the second floor and searched for knowledge beyond martial arts. That's when he found a book on formations.
If martial arts are physical enhancement combat techniques, then formations are like magic.
Formations wielded mysterious powers. Of course, they were used more for traps or unique effects than direct combat. That made them difficult to employ.
In fact, very few people in wuxia tales could use formations.
Nam Gyuil kept reading.
To create a formation, one must distort the harmony of heaven and earth.
It detailed everything from barrier setups to illusions that tricked senses and looped paths.
Some formations look just like magic circles.
This was intriguing. There were even methods to draw formations on paper to produce effects.
Then, midway through the book, he stumbled upon a fascinating passage.
It recorded how a martial artist who became the world's greatest via the Akashic Records invented a new formation unknown to the martial world.
He must have brought knowledge from another dimension through the Akashic Records.
Nam Gyuil was certain. Reading on, he learned this formation infused objects with mystical powers—by drawing it on paper, no less.
This is... enchantment??
No matter how he looked at it, it was the enchantment from fantasy novels. Even the martial artist who became the supreme via the Akashic Records called this formation "enchant."
Seems like it's a technique from a dimension higher than the martial world.
Nam Gyuil thought. Continuing, he read that while enchantments could be used anytime, creating them required perfect timing—only once every hundred years.
Nam Gyuil narrowed his eyes. Regardless, this sparked the development of enchantment techniques, classified as formations in wuxia, leading to diverse weapons.
Swords that spewed fire, spears that created ice, accessories that pierced meridians to hyper-develop the brain—everything imaginable existed.
The Sichuan Tangmen's dagger I won from the Unha Guild bet must have been made this way.
Valuable info. At that moment, Nam Gyuil's body began to glow.
Already three hours passed?
His body dissolved into golden particles and vanished from the Akashic Records.
In reality, Nam Gyuil opened his eyes. It was already 6 p.m.
He rose from the bed. Time to head to U Seongjin's.
Nam Gyuil left the dorms. As he descended, his teammates were still deep in training. He felt proud.
Yes, keep at it like that. I'll provide all the knowledge you need.
Nam Gyuil finished descending the stairs.
Vroom.
He drove to U Seongjin's residence.
"Welcome."
U Seongjin greeted Nam Gyuil warmly. It was only natural, given that he'd saved his grandson's life.
"Hello!"
Beside him stood U Jin-ho, greeting energetically. His voice boomed with vitality. Fully recovered, he now walked steadily on both legs.
Nam Gyuil returned the greeting.
"Hello. Long time no see. How's your health, U Jin-ho? Feeling okay?"
"Yes, thanks to you. I'm perfectly healthy. Now I'm learning the ropes under Grandpa."
U Jin-ho beamed. A far cry from his bedridden days—it was a sight for sore eyes.
U Seongjin led Nam Gyuil straight to the underground secret vault. It was still stocked with countless items.
"First, take these."
U Seongjin handed over the mid-grade elixir materials Nam Gyuil had requested. The quantity was staggering—enough for at least thirty elixirs.
Nam Gyuil smiled faintly.
"I asked for them at 3 p.m. today, and you've already prepared this much?"
"This old man's network is wide."
U Seongjin said nonchalantly. Then he guided Nam Gyuil to a glass-encased item.
"Look at this."
U Seongjin pointed to the item inside.
"This is the intriguing item I mentioned. Two of them, even. If you like them, don't hesitate to take them."
Nam Gyuil examined it and widened his eyes in disbelief.
"Wh-where did you get this?"
"Picked it up at an auction in Italy while on a business trip. Had to compete with the European Magic Research Society—quite the hassle."
Nam Gyuil was dumbfounded. Before him was paper inscribed with a formation. From the martial world, used to imbue weapons with special abilities—an enchant scroll, precisely.
Nam Gyuil's lips curved up. He hadn't expected to obtain something this rare so easily.
This formation pattern...
Nam Gyuil recalled the Akashic Records knowledge.
It enhances intelligence?
Nam Gyuil felt a twinge of regret. Such a treasure, but limited to brain-boosting—useless in combat. The key was where to apply it.
Nam Gyuil eyed the second item U Seongjin mentioned. This one was ore. Touching it felt like grasping a handful of snow—icy cold.
Nam Gyuil smiled involuntarily.
Cold Iron infused with yin energy.
No doubt about it—the hancheol from wuxia tales.
To procure this...
The bidding war must have been fierce. An enormous sum spent, no question.
Yet U Seongjin acted unfazed.
The top businessman in Korea lives up to the hype. Snagging Cold Iron like it's nothing.
Nam Gyuil took both items. He bowed deeply to U Seongjin in thanks.
"Thanks to you, I've obtained truly great treasures. Thank you, Chairman U Seongjin."
"Glad you like them."
U Seongjin smiled warmly, his kind face shining. U Jin-ho was startled by the expression.
Grandpa rarely smiles like that. He must really like Nam Gyuil.
Nam Gyuil left U Seongjin's mansion.
Vroom.
He drove home, pondering as he gripped the wheel.
How many items and ores do I have now? More than a few, for sure.
Mithril and Cold Iron alone. Sichuan Tangmen's dagger. Poison Knife. Space Diamond. Orc Champion's golden shield. Pharaoh's staff. Form Change. Taming Necklace. And more besides.
A ton. Too many to use them all.
He was an item tycoon. But he wanted to enhance their effects.
The Sichuan Tangmen's dagger already made the Poison Knife redundant.
Sichuan Tangmen arts revolve around poison.
Using that dagger meant employing poison qi via inner power. That rendered the Poison Knife awkward.
Its effect is poison qi too. With the Tangmen dagger, it's obsolete.
A shame. But what if he fused the Poison Knife and Tangmen dagger?
The resulting dagger would have amplified poison qi that even splits.
Not easy, though. He could do it, but training once more would be more profitable. Plus, it wasn't simple—would take ages.
Delaying my personal growth that much? Fatal drawback.
Nam Gyuil scratched his head. Then an absurd idea struck.
Wait, I just got a formation that boosts intelligence on objects.
And the kobolds were steadily producing weapons at the factory.
Boost a kobold's intelligence?
He knew it was ridiculous. But worth a shot.
Nam Gyuil turned the wheel toward his factory.
"Oh, Gyuil. What brings you here?"
His father, at the factory, welcomed him. The kobolds scurried busily producing weapons and armor. Their diligent hustle was impressive.
His father boasted of results.
"Sales keep climbing. Doubled every time! Now guilds beyond the government are buying. Planning exports to neighbors soon."
Father brimmed with energy. As a proper CEO now, he even walked taller.
Nam Gyuil asked,
"Dad, which kobold's the smartest?"
"That one there."
Father pointed to the leftmost kobold doing final heat treatment.
"He does the best work."
Nam Gyuil grabbed a produced iron piece and a stray string. He quickly made a necklace and infused it with the intelligence-boosting formation effect.
The inscribed paper burst into flames and vanished.
Nam Gyuil hung the necklace on the kobold his father called smartest.
The kobold twitched, as if awakening to something new.
Nam Gyuil addressed it.
"Can you speak now?"
Kobolds followed orders but couldn't respond due to low intelligence. If this one spoke, everything would go smoothly as planned.
The kobold blinked blankly, then spoke.
"Yes."
Nam Gyuil chuckled softly.
"How'd you suddenly learn to talk?"
"I analyzed human language grammatically and figured out speech patterns."
"Much smarter now."
Nam Gyuil passed on weapon crafting knowledge from the Akashic Records. Then asked,
"Think you can fuse items?"
The kobold nodded.
"It'll take time, but definitely possible."
Nam Gyuil nodded vigorously. He'd just forged a supremely useful smith with his own hands.
Now I can enhance my items.