The Blacksmith's Offer
"The interview gave me that impression, so that's what I thought. Guess I was wrong?"
"Uh... well..."
Ilseom Guild's Hyeon Jung-gil had left such a powerful impression that the guild itself seemed defined by keywords like righteous and upright. The second son has a cute side. More human than Hyeon Il-hwan, at least.
"The training really was done by him... We were just supposed to hold back the main force..."
"Haha! That's not so easy! The main force members were all higher rank than you, weren't they? Even one rank difference is like an adult versus a kindergartener, yet here we have quite the remarkable customer!"
"It's not that impressive... hehe..."
Yeonhee smiled awkwardly and asked how long it would take to make the greatsword.
"Two weeks at least. I've got quite a backlog already."
"That long?"
"What are you saying? Other places would quote you a month minimum. We're fast, so this is even possible."
"I see..."
"Ahem—well, if you could supply a bit more Kardinite, I could move the schedule up."
The man glanced at Yeonhee, testing the waters. She firmly refused, and the blacksmith clicked his tongue in disappointment.
"And this... please use it for the shields. I mentioned it over the phone earlier."
Yeonhee took thirty magic stones from her inventory and handed them over. She planned to use the thirty Lesser Dire Wolf magic stones to craft iron shields for the Lizard unit, the Orc warriors, and the zombies. Whether the zombies could even carry something that heavy was another question...
"Hmm, you said it wasn't urgent, so I'll take them. But will that really be enough? You'll probably be disappointed when you actually use them."
"It's fine. They can be heavy and crude... Just make them sturdy. They don't need to look perfect either... If they work well, I'll commission more."
"I'll guarantee they'll last. Our products have better durability than most. Not like those flashy ones that only look good. Don't worry."
"Yes. I've already transferred the payment to your account. You confirmed it, right?"
"I did."
"Then... I'll be going now. See you next time."
"Haha, let's do that. I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of each other! Don't even think about going elsewhere. Unless it's those seniors holed up in Vulcan's Castle, you won't find a better blacksmith than me."
It was baseless confidence, yet strangely convincing. Yeonhee smiled brightly and bowed to the blacksmith.
"Yes... then."
"Take care!!"
Leaving the blacksmith's hearty farewell behind, we stepped out of the shop. As expected, it was warmer outside than inside. Damn dwarves...
The sun had already set, and darkness was claiming its domain.
"Let's get the summons used to the shields first, then upgrade their weapons one by one."
Nod nod—
Just from the battle at dawn, it was clear what the summons needed most was staying power. Weapons could wait. When we did commission new ones, we'd use higher-grade magic stones.
After finishing our errands, we stopped by the mart to pick up some groceries—bread, milk, ramen, and meal kits. Even though Yeonhee complained that eating too much ramen made her sick of it, she always kept some stocked at home.
Her diet is so poor... Not like I can cook either. Sigh.
It was impressive she maintained such a curvaceous figure despite eating like that.
"Hm, hm-hm~ Hmm~"
Whenever her mood peaked, that nasal hum would inevitably follow.
Squeeze— Tightly—
Yeonhee kept changing how she held my hand as we wandered the aisles. She liked interlocking fingers the most, but she also rested her hand on the back of mine, curled her palm around it, or just hooked our fingers together—trying every possible way while enjoying the shopping.
Her tension's through the roof... Feels like we're newlyweds or something.
Even in my hidden skeletal form, just holding Yeonhee's hand while shopping made my body feel warm. Surprisingly, the trait Cold Reason remained silent, as if allowing this level of emotion.
Well, that's oddly touching...
After shopping, we returned home and spent our usual rest time. Wangwang, summoned again, dashed around the living room before curling up in Yeonhee's arms to show off. Lizard No. 1 and Deonni No. 1 were summoned immediately and called over to discuss formation adjustments to prevent bottlenecks in battle.
(So basically, bunching up against something with tentacles like last time is the worst. Those types usually have at least one powerful skill. I know because I got sliced by one. But charging in one by one is stupid too. That's even more pointless.)
(Skull Master, talk hard.)
(Don't know. Run and smash. When fight?)
(You always say smash, but you're the one who gets smashed every time, you little shit. Ha...)
No communication. It'd be nice if a warrior with at least Ran's level of intelligence appeared someday. Maybe someday it would happen?
(Ilwol, you're working hard.)
(......)
Even hearing that from Ran wasn't much comfort.
I pulled myself together and continued.
(...Alright—we'll always operate in groups of four. Harass the enemy while wearing them down. Got it? Just remember that. Deonni No. 1 and No. 2, you'll be paired with the two zombies for now.)
(Don't want. Zombies slow. Stupid.)
(Fight far?)
(If even you two reject the zombies, what am I supposed to do? Get along.)
(Don't know! Train!)
(Coward. Me too!)
The No. 1 brothers suddenly dropped to the floor and started doing push-ups.
Hoo... Fuck... They're not even listening anymore. Ninety-six lives or whatever, I'm going to die of stress at this rate.
Still, compared to when Lizard No. 1 first appeared, this was remarkable progress. Though they were still just as dumb. Who was calling who stupid again...
In the end, I had to get Yeonhee's help once more before they understood. Apparently, her words carried more weight than mine. Or maybe I really should just grab them and beat some sense into them...
"Tomorrow's dungeon won't be easy for you guys. Ghosts are immune to physical attacks, after all. They don't even have a moment of materialization like Chehwa. You need to coat your weapons with highly refined mana to even hit them... Ugh... We're not there yet."
I could manage it thanks to my magic and mana techniques that had already surpassed a certain level. But for our summons, striking incorporeal monsters was still a distant goal.
(Attacks don't work?!)
(That's—!!)
The summons looked deeply shocked by the news that their attacks wouldn't land.
"But we can't just do nothing, so I'm adding training where you attack Chehwa. The first ones to succeed will get their weapons commissioned sooner."
——!!
(Chehwa head out.)
(Chehwa run away!)
(Hwaaaaah—!!)
Chehwa, clearly displeased about becoming a training dummy, floated up to the ceiling and refused to come down.
"Chehwa, could you help out a bit?"
(Hwaaa...)
At Yeonhee's request, the spectre reluctantly drifted down like a kite with a broken string. From then on, the summons in the living room began attacking Chehwa with thirty-centimeter wooden sticks.
"The space is small, so I'll unsummon three at a time every ten minutes. Focus and do your best."
"...!"
The summons had at least been properly trained to stay quiet indoors, so they raised their arms in unison at Yeonhee's command.
Whoosh— Whoosh whoosh—
Starting with Lizard No. 1, Deonni No. 1, and the kobold Ttungi, the summons' training began.
When will they be ready... At least C-rank, probably.
Damaging incorporeal beings required higher-quality mana infused into fists or weapons. Just like Maeng Seong-yong, who had casually dispatched Chehwa during the promotion exam. It wouldn't happen overnight.
"Yes, yes. Let's head in a bit earlier then. Yes, I'm fine."
Yeonhee received a message from Baek A-rin suggesting they enter the dungeon earlier than usual. Given the dungeon's nature, that made sense.
Tomorrow's destination was the dungeon called Abandoned School No. 1. Thick fog settled there at dawn and lingered all day. Because of this, the nighttime period when monsters grew stronger arrived about two hours earlier than in other dungeons, making it a place where you needed to strike fast and retreat quickly. So starting early was necessary.
The main monsters were incorporeal Ghosts, occasionally joined by their more troublesome kin, the Wraiths. There were also other monsters from the Wolf Cave, but most were afflicted with the Stagnation status, making them relatively easy to handle.
The boss fight featured the Dread Ghost along with numerous Ghosts. With Ham Eun-yeong's wide-area dispel or skills like Morale Boost, it wouldn't be too concerning. However, since multiple Ghosts would swarm immediately, single-target skills like Restoration wouldn't be very effective.
After finishing the bomb crafting and watching the summons train, morning had already arrived.
Yeonhee quickly finished breakfast with milk and cereal, then packed the sandwiches she'd bought yesterday into her inventory.
"The bus will be faster there."
Nod—
Since there was a direct bus to the dungeon nearby, we took it.
The dungeon, upon arrival, looked deserted. There were less than half the hunters compared to Wolf Cave, and accordingly, only half the staff. The thick fog drastically reduced visibility, and the high humidity felt like someone had splashed water from a kettle over my body—Irmana's Blessing activated.
No one would want to operate in a dungeon like this. At least the management office offered 1.2 times the usual loot value to maintain even this level of activity.
But the entirely gray world was enough to make one's shoulders slump just by looking at it, and the eerie screams echoing periodically from somewhere felt like a warning to leave quickly.
And the moment I entered the dungeon, I was seized by an unfamiliar sensation and felt puzzled.
Inhale— That's strange... This is the first time I've felt something like this upon entering a dungeon... What is this ticklish feeling?