Chapter 4
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: A Single Dagger Shatters Her 10-Year Wall
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After endless hammering that seemed to have no end in sight, the notification finally rang out.
[Great Success: Once-in-a-lifetime Genius Blacksmith's First Dagger F]
— [Shadow Aura] Proficiency slightly increased
— [Shadow Mana] Proficiency slightly increased
— Trait [Stealth] created
— Skills [Shadow F] [Weak Point Destruction F] [Swiftness F]
— Unique Feature: [Equipment Activation]
"Shadow... Aura?"
It was a completely unfamiliar term I'd never seen before.
As I read the description, my instincts as a blacksmith screamed warnings in my head. Even though its grade was a mere F, the energy this dagger held was qualitatively different from any weapon I'd ever made.
Instead of reflecting light, the blade seemed to swallow all surrounding light sources like pure black ink, giving off an eerie sheen.
It wasn't just sharp.
The texture itself felt so alien it was hard to believe it belonged to this world.
I rubbed my dry face and quietly called out into the air.
"Um... Chief? Are you watching?"
A heavy silence flowed for a moment.
No response came, but I knew instinctively.
Whoosh.
The shadow at my feet spread like ink, rippling faintly.
Soon, the shadow split open, and a slender silhouette rose up.
Pale gray skin unique to dark elves, and an emotionless face devoid of expression.
It was Irmi, the Hunter Association Headquarters Chief, assigned as my personal guard on the President's orders.
"You called for me?"
"Could you take a look at this? If my senses are right... it feels like something I can't handle."
Irmi approached silently and carefully picked up the dagger.
The moment her slender fingers brushed the black blade...
Twitch.
I saw the faintest furrow crease her brow, which was always as cold and perfect as steel.
She scanned the option window over and over with trembling eyes full of disbelief.
Gulp.
In the quiet forge, the sound of her swallowing dryly echoed loudly.
"Do-ha."
"Yes."
"Did you know what this was when you made it?"
Irmi's voice trembled ever so slightly.
It wasn't mere surprise. It was a primal fear of an unknown power.
"No, I just hammered away as my hands moved, and it came out hot. Is it something special?"
"'Amazing' doesn't even begin to cover it."
She gripped the dagger tightly and murmured lowly.
"This is the key to breaking limits."
Her following explanation was shocking.
Shadow Aura.
A dangerous item sealed in the deepest restricted section of the Association's forbidden archive.
In the past, countless assassins and dark elves had sought this power to reach higher realms.
But the results were always ruin.
Consumed by the abyss of the aura, driven mad, or losing their sense of self to become shadows themselves and vanish.
The aura that drives one insane.
That was the conclusion the Association scholars had reached.
A forbidden realm no human vessel could ever contain.
"But this dagger..."
Irmi's red eyes flashed toward me.
"Bypasses all those penalties and risks through item options as a shell. It eliminates side effects and leaves only the essence of the power."
She was certain.
This wasn't just about creating one more S-grade hunter.
It was a massive signal flare heralding a tectonic shift in rankings—not just in Korea, but worldwide.
"Someone comes to mind."
"Who?"
"Ranking 5th, Moon's Shadow, Sylphsong."
Irmi glanced wistfully up at the upper floors of the Association building outside the window and added bitterly.
"She's a genius. But rogues chosen by occupational auras must acquire Shadow Aura, and she's been stuck in place for 10 years due to that limit. This dagger could set her stalled time in motion again."
"Then let's call her right away. A weapon without an owner is no better than a lump of iron."
Moon Guild Leader Sylphsong rushed over upon receiving the call.
Silver hair bordering on white, and icy eyes like frost-covered blades.
As she entered the VIP reception room, a chill swept through as if the room temperature had plummeted below freezing.
True to her moniker Ice Witch, a constant stream of frigid air emanated from her entire body.
But I could see it in my eyes.
The deep exhaustion and resignation hidden behind that cold mask.
"I heard there's a weapon containing Shadow Aura."
Her voice was utterly dry.
Laced more with disbelief that this was another false lead than any expectation.
I silently nodded toward the dagger on the desk.
"This is it."
Sylphsong's gaze landed indifferently on the dagger.
In that instant, her pupils dilated slightly and wavered.
Woooong—
As if recognizing its owner, black haze rose from the dagger, vibrating lowly as if calling to her.
Sylphsong approached as if entranced, lifting the dagger with trembling hands.
"......!"
A heavy pulse transmitted through her fingertips.
Shadow Aura surging in as if acknowledging its master.
The desperate energy she'd searched for over 10 years but could never reach.
"Lee Do-ha."
She asked in a voice thick with excitement and emotion.
"Do you... know the three conditions a rogue-class hunter must meet to acquire Shadow Aura?"
"No, not really."
A brief silence.
Then Sylphsong let out a short, hollow laugh.
"Ha... You don't. Well, if you did, you probably wouldn't have even tried making it."
She held up one slender, long finger.
"First, be born with colorless, transparent mana."
Her second finger.
"Second, slay the S-grade monster Omen of Ill Harbinger Nevermore—which nullifies physical attacks—using only physical attacks."
"...That's contradictory."
"Yes. It's telling you to catch a calamity that scatters into shadows before your blade even touches it, with just a single sword. It's basically 'go die.'"
Her third finger rose.
Her gaze dropped powerlessly to the floor for a moment.
"Finally, absorb the aura scattered by a monster mid-battle with your bare body."
"......"
Insanity.
Taking aura directly with one's body was no different from injecting mercury into boiling veins—a blatant suicide act.
"That's why no one worldwide succeeded in the last century."
Sylphsong gripped the dagger tighter and slowly raised her head.
Her eyes were red and bloodshot.
"But this..."
If not chosen by occupational aura, one could theoretically reach S-grade regardless. But upon achievement, the difference is absolute.
Yet if unreachable, it's utterly useless.
[Unique Feature: Equipment Activation]
The energy from the dagger flowed into her mana circuits without any resistance.
No pain. No side effects.
A seamless assimilation, as if it had always been hers.
"It ignores all the conditions."
She let out a hollow laugh with a dazed expression.
Just by sheathing it at her waist,
The ironclad limit that countless geniuses had staked their lives on and perished against crumbled so futilely before this single small dagger.
"May I... use it right now?"
Her voice was desperate.
Like someone afraid it was all a dream if she didn't confirm it immediately.
"Of course. Anytime. I made it for you, after all."
At my words, she bolted for the underground training room without looking back.
Hunter Association basement level 10, special training room.
A sealed chamber surrounded by reinforced alloy on all sides.
Sylphsong stood in the center and slowly closed her eyes.
A pulse like a heartbeat throbbed from the dagger in her hand.
She surrendered to instinct.
[Equipment Activation: Shadow Aura Activated]
Jet-black energy enveloped her heart.
Whoosh—
Sylphsong's body scattered like black mist.
The CCTV feed glitched and went dark.
The sensors went haywire before dropping to zero.
Nothing registered.
Perfect stealth beyond blind spots—utterly undetectable anywhere.
A completely vanished presence.
She lost track of time.
It felt like mere seconds, yet her heart pounded dozens of times, and sensation in her fingertips vanished and returned repeatedly.
A trance where even breathing—or awareness of it—grew hazy.
In that moment, she felt it for the first time.
'Ah.'
The instant Shadow Aura's every pulse enveloped her entire body down to the cells.
'I've crossed over.'
She merged with space.
Existing in this world yet not,
Assimilated into the world through perfectly concealed Shadow Aura.
No—closer to stepping out of the world momentarily.
'This aura...'
Sylphsong instinctively realized.
'No A-grade can handle this power.'
Rumble—
A massive vibration echoed somewhere in the Association building.
At the same time, in the VIP conference room.
"......?"
The guild leaders mid-meeting fell silent all at once.
Goosebumps rising across their skin.
Not from the building shaking or a roar.
The opposite.
Sylphsong's sharp presence from the underground training room had evaporated like a snuffed candle.
"Her presence... vanished?"
"Where'd she go? She was definitely underground."
Only the No. 1 ranked Association President narrowed his eyes.
He knew what this meant.
"Perfect stealth."
Irmi set down her teacup and stated calmly.
"Testing Lee Do-ha's weapon."
A heavy silence descended on the conference room.
More terrifying than brute force smashing walls with roars was the absolute terror of a blade at your throat undetected until the last moment.
"The one who forges pinnacles."
An unwelcome scene flashed through Sylphsong's mind like a montage.
Large screen.
Ranking change announcement.
[Korea Ranking 5th – Sylphsong]
The cheers from the audience didn't last long.
Soon other names were called, and attention naturally shifted higher.
That day onward,
She became "the great one who peaked" and "the one who goes no further."
But that dagger
Wiped away those exhausting memories of defeat.
Sylphsong returned after finishing her training.
The fierce killing intent was gone, replaced by a deep, serene aura.
She bowed deeply to me upon sight.
"If there's anything you desire, please tell me."
I gazed at her for a moment before speaking.
"You've been through a lot all these years."
"......"
"I hope you can be happy now."
She couldn't reply immediately.
No one had ever wished her happiness—not power, not results, just happiness.
So she stood there, head bowed low, for a long while.
"...I'll remember that."
Those short words held 10 years of weight.
That day,
The Ice Witch laid down her heart's burden for the first time.