The Secret Artisan

I skipped dinner, but after waking up early and sharing a meal with my family, I retreated to my room. Sitting on the edge of my bed, I contemplated the path ahead. First and foremost, I had to keep my identity as an All-Purpose Crafter a secret. While the timing of my registration as a climber coincided with the appearance of the All-Purpose Crafter, I hadn't registered with a crafting skill, and no one would ever imagine that I was crafting items in another dimension. Even if they suspected me, I was just a climber who had been warming my seat at home since my awakening. What was that? South Korea had an administrative network connected to the deepest parts of society, a computerized system with over 50 million people perfectly registered, and a powerful digital surveillance net where no place was free from the gaze of CCTV? Even if South Korea was the second-biggest "Big Brother" society after 21st-century China, there was no way to get caught unless I revealed myself as an All-Purpose Crafter. Probably. For now, I had only registered the Repair skill, and I didn't even have a workshop. There was no link, period. Maybe I should check the Gallery while I wait for government agents to show up.

I browsed the sales posts and began reading the threads that were still burning hot even after a day, sorted by popularity.

Lee Jaedo, the Director of the Climbing Department. Looking at his stubborn eyes and the muscular frame beneath his thick white hair, one could tell this middle-aged man was no ordinary administrator. He leaned back in his chair and asked the Chief of the First Management Division, "What is the estimated combat power of a Hell-difficulty climber?"

"We don't know what kind of monsters appear, so an accurate assessment is impossible."

"I see... is that so?"

"Considering they are still on the 2nd floor, their combat power is estimated to be at most around the level of a 10th-floor Hard difficulty... but as I said, we lack information on the monsters, so we are withholding a definitive judgment."

Glance. Director Lee Jaedo's eyes shifted to the documents on his desk. It was a summary of daily point acquisition through national buffs. Currently, South Korea incinerated about 53.3 million points every month, and they generated points by collecting taxes from climbers when they bought items or by exchanging points earned by mid-to-high-level climbers for cash or items. Since the government earned over 100 million points monthly, they were netting an extra 2 million points. They circulated these surplus points by lending them to other nations or purchasing items to rent out to South Korean climbers at low costs. With ample point reserves to last a year, everyone in South Korea was currently enjoying a fragile peace, holding onto hope. And now, a Hell-difficulty climber—a difficulty never before heard of or known—had appeared in South Korea. They were born with the undisputed talent of the human peak, a bold heart that cleared the 2nd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠floor less than an hour after clearing the 1st. And this climber was still just a low-level rookie? This was the perfect opportunity for a "buy low" strategy.

The actions other nations would take upon hearing this news were obvious. The US, Europe, China, and Russia would all come drooling. The US and Europe would come running with bags of money, and there was no telling what kind of crazy things China and Russia might do.

"Coordinate with the NIS. If any mid-level or higher climbers try to enter the country secretly, handle them."

"...Isn't that a security measure?"

"This is no time for soft measures."

It didn't matter if the Hell-difficulty climber remained hidden, but if they were exposed, it was necessary to eliminate foreign spies in advance to protect them. "Keep watching for now..." He scanned the next document, which was below the point acquisition summary. "This is the 'Perfect Repair' that came in anonymously. Chief Lee, you're going to verify this, right?"

"Yes. I checked the informant, and it turns out they became a climber just recently."

"Since their registered skill is Repair... if this is verified, Chief Lee, handle it thoroughly and discreetly."

"Yes. I plan to visit in the shadows, where no one will notice."

Even if they weren't the Hell-difficulty climber, if this 'Perfect Repair' was real, it would mean being able to use items that had been rotting in warehouses because they had only a sliver of durability left. This person was definitely a target for special management. Anonymous tips were only accessible to department heads, and since only the First Chief had seen it, there was no need to worry about leaks; all information had been deleted from the system. Checking the family background, they came from a fairly well-off household because the father's skill was good. If they converted the apartment unit right below theirs into a workshop and planted some eyes around it...

"Once the skill is confirmed, provide administrative convenience, identity security, and secret protection. Chief Lee, you are in charge of their management."

"I will do so."

Following the Hell-difficulty climber, the appearance of someone who could perfectly repair items. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠In the future Director Lee imagined, he saw his motherland standing at the pinnacle of the world.

Knock, knock. I was busy looking at the Gallery when I heard a knock. When I opened the door, someone who had already entered the house held both hands high, as if to show they had no intention of harming me. "Greetings. I apologize if I startled you. My name is Lee Seungjun, Chief of the 1st Division of the Climber Management Department." The middle-aged man bowed his head and continued, "I judged the content of the anonymous tip to be very important, so I have visited you in secret."

I pulled out my phone and searched for the organization chart of the Climber Management Department, confirming that the middle-aged man in front of me was indeed listed as the First Chief.

"Welcome. How are you going to verify this?"

"We plan to move to a secret safe house controlled by the Management Department to verify your skill. Shall we move immediately?"

Well, I had to make chainmail, so let's get this over with quickly. "Yes."

"Open."

Mana gathered rapidly, forming a circular dimensional gate. So he was a space mage. Curiously, I could see the landscape of a workshop on the other side. Following Chief Lee Seungjun's guidance, I passed through the dimensional gate and saw various cutting-edge machines and computers. I gave a slight nod to the people sitting in front of them.

"Mr. Lee Jaeil, the materials and blacksmithing equipment needed for the 'Perfect Repair' mentioned in the tip are here. This is the item to be repaired today."

"Got it."

I ignored the familiar iron ore on the crucible and checked the blue-tinted sword and ore I was seeing for the first time.

A sword with a mana wavelength similar to water, slightly short, light, and blue-tinted. I immediately imagined a lithe warrior using a fast, consecutive attack style. The attack power couldn't be properly verified due to the low durability. I immediately separated the blade from the hilt, checked the thickness, length, and strength, then activated the small furnace by pouring mana into it and tossed in the Azure Stone and iron ore. After waiting a moment, I took out the crucible containing the molten metal, mixed the two materials, and then put the blade into the furnace. Once the cracked blade softened from the heat, I took it out, placed the well-mixed molten metal and the blade into a one-handed sword mold, and hammered it vigorously.

Clang! Clang! I hammered it extremely hard to perfectly fuse the same material as the blade, cooled it in oil infused with the mana stones I had requested in advance, put it back in the furnace to heat it up, took it out, and continued hammering. Ignoring the gazes that were watching this tedious work without missing a single moment, I continued the long, boring process to save this one-handed sword. And the moment I finished the final tempering and reattached the original hilt!

Success on the first try! When I showed him the repaired sword, Chief Lee Seungjun was ecstatic. "Ooh, ooh! It repairs to maximum durability! And a repair that even increases attack power!"

After he calmed down, we began to negotiate. No taxes on points to the country. I would receive points based on the item's grade during repairs. Complete tax exemption. Designated repairs: at least one per month. Unlimited whenever I wanted. To maintain anonymity, the floor below my current house would be converted into a workshop. Chief Lee would handle delivery and retrieval via the dimensional gate. We made a contract that was quite favorable to me, and after repairing a few more swords on the spot, I returned home through the dimensional gate opened by Chief Lee.

'Now I have an alibi.' I had contracted to repair items once a month as a duty, and whenever I wanted otherwise. Since there were many items made of special metals, I would be able to gain a lot of inspiration by repairing them. Now that the urgent matters were handled, I rummaged through sales posts to find materials for the armor and artifacts I planned to craft next.

[Lightning-Struck Elf Wood] [Steel-Toothed Piranha Scales] [Ruby] [Sapphire]

I bought monster byproducts and various gems to be used for artifacts. I decided to climb the Tower after reinforcing my existing armor and crafting a few artifacts related to mana recovery, rather than needing to craft and wear chainmail. Since I was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠already sufficiently prepared, I planned to climb to the mid-levels quickly. If I felt my attack or defense was lacking, I could just maintain them along the way. I was also curious about the facilities that would be unlocked on the 10th floor in the corner of the workshop. Every other part of the workshop was open, but that one was locked, so I wanted to open it quickly. I hadn't worn it many times, but I would melt down the armor I had made by mixing black iron stone and steel to make it even sturdier. Through the skills I had honed after purchasing them with points from the special shop a while ago, you will be reborn, my armor! Clang! Clang!