The Reborn Ascalon
“Wh-what... what is this...?!”
The bishop stared in stunned disbelief at the scene unfolding before her eyes.
“Y-you... right now, right now, what...?”
So flustered she could barely speak, she rose from her seat and checked the state of Ascalon inside the box. No, the state of what used to be Ascalon.
“Ahh... A-ahhh! F-Father...”
Then she collapsed to the ground with a thud.
“Bishop!”
Johan jumped in alarm beside her, tossing the box aside and catching her.
Ascalon had ended up in my hands.
“M-Mr. Hitman! What the hell are you doing?! Why would you smash a perfectly fine holy relic?!”
It was apparently shocking enough for Yoon Kwang-su too—his jaw practically hit the floor.
“Smash? I'm reforging it with Ki-sik.”
“Wh-what?”
I handed him the lump of what was now like clay, completely squished.
“Can you remake this?”
“Remake it? You mean... you're telling me to remake Ascalon?”
“You got it right.”
“Got it right?! Do you have any idea how hard it is to make a weapon like Ascalon? I've barely even seen it a few times—I don't even know its proper shape! How the hell am I supposed to make it?!”
Thinking it an unreasonable demand, he shook his head vigorously and backed away.
“What are you talking about? Why would I make it into a weapon?”
“...Pardon?”
I placed Ascalon in his dumbfounded hands.
“Make it into a rosary. Something she can wear around her neck. You can do that much, right?”
“A rosary...”
“Father Johan.”
“Yes?”
“Let's move the bishop inside the cathedral first. We can't leave her on the dirt floor forever. And... could I trouble you for an empty room?”
“An empty room?”
No matter how much Ascalon had turned into clay, its effects wouldn't vanish.
The greatest feature of Ki-sik: the ability to change form while preserving the inherent properties of the base material.
Of course, the method of use might differ depending on the shape, and effects could shift slightly, but the core effects always remained—a tremendous advantage.
This was exactly why Ki-sik was a must-learn skill for blacksmith players.
“We can't take a holy relic outside, can we? It won't take long, so I appreciate it.”
Right now, the most vital ability of Ascalon was creating a sanctuary. Moving it elsewhere would shift the sanctuary and make it hard to maintain the cathedral's safety.
“Ah, understood. Please, come inside!”
Johan lifted the bishop and led the way into the cathedral.
At the same time, the children who'd been watching from the doorway recoiled in surprise.
“Father, how... Huh? B-Bishop?!”
The kids panicked at the sight of the limp bishop.
“Sister Maria. Could you take the bishop to a room? I need to escort our guests.”
“The bishop? Ah, yes!”
Maria took the bishop from Johan and hurried inside.
Confirming her retreating figure, Johan turned back to us.
“A guest room should be available now. It was meant for today's visitors, but... is that alright?”
“I don't mind.”
I nodded, and we headed underground, passing a storeroom where wine aged, until we reached a room.
“Given the cathedral's nature, we rarely have guests, so we don't have many rooms like this. Please forgive us.”
“Not at all. You've been shocked enough, yet you've calmly accommodated my requests. Thank you.”
He stopped abruptly in front of the door, turned with a bright smile.
“It's fine. You must have your reasons, sir.”
“...Pardon?”
I'd worried my actions might get him in trouble, but his response was unexpected.
“Aren't you troubled by this, Father?”
Everything I'd done since arriving had been anything but ordinary.
Especially smashing a holy relic—that had to be traumatic. But he slowly shook his head.
“Of course I was shocked. Watching over it all these years, only for it to become a lump of clay...”
...As expected.
“But the sanctuary persists, and Cloud is our precious brother fighting for us. I'm certain he has a plan.”
Is this the mindset of a priest?
Judging he'd chosen to trust me, I nodded.
“Thank you for believing in me, Father.”
“Then please, take care of Ascalon. Brothers.”
With a final bow, Johan headed upstairs.
Yoon Kwang-su, who'd been staring blankly, spoke first.
“...So that's why you brought me here, Master? To turn this into a rosary?”
He blinked repeatedly at the lump in his hand, still incredulous.
“Yeah. Too much pressure?”
He frantically shook his head at my words.
“What are you saying?! I've never been this excited in my life!”
Of course. I knew he'd say that.
The Yoon Kwang-su I knew wouldn't pass up a chance like this.
“Good. Then let's head inside.”
“Yes, Master.”
The room was clearly built for guests: a rickety chair, bed, and table. That's all there was.
We had to remake a holy relic here, by hand.
But that didn't matter. Ki-sik only needed aura and materials, anywhere.
“Then, let's begin. Hup!”
Clang—!
Clang—!
Clang—!
Clang—!
He reinforced the table with aura for hardness, placed Ascalon on it, and began hammering with his fists.
Already softened by my prior melting, it deformed easily.
I watched briefly, then sat on the bed with a pre-separated Ascalon fragment before handing him the main piece.
“Alright, time for me to start too.”
What I was making was a weapon even a novice like me could handle.
Clang—!
Clang—!
Clang—!
Clang—!
Before long, the steady sound of metal being hammered echoed rhythmically through the basement of Hallasan Cathedral.
* * *
My work was done, but Yoon Kwang-su kept hammering the (former) Ascalon—now (current) rosary—suggesting more refinements were needed.
I stared blankly at him.
Then, irregular noises from outside: something rushing hurriedly.
“Already awake?”
Only one person would rush here now.
“Ascalon?! What happened to Ascalon?!”
She, who should have been guarding it, had finally risen.
“You're up.”
“You...! What the hell did you do?! And Ascalon—where's Ascalon?!”
First thing she asks upon waking is Ascalon.
I sighed and pointed to the still-being-hammered (former) Ascalon.
“If you're talking about your Ascalon, it's over there, being reborn.”
“It... it wasn't a dream?! Lord, why give me such trials...”
Her legs gave out, and she slumped again.
Good, no fainting this time. She seemed too drained to interfere anyway.
I ignored her uncontrollable tears and turned back to Yoon Kwang-su.
“Hup! Hngh! Hup!”
After wrestling the ingot so long, sweat poured off him like a waterfall.
His shirt was long gone.
He'd been in a trance, silently slamming his fists down.
Bam! Holy power splashed with each strike.
Bam! Flames erupted from the next.
Bam! His aura-clad fist became an unyielding hammer, birthing a new holy relic.
The bishop sensed the extraordinary aura too, rising entranced and approaching slowly beside me.
“...What is that?”
No way she didn't know. Holy power had been emanating, now filling the room.
Her entranced gaze fixed on the aura-shaping relic as she murmured.
“Ascalon. Your new Ascalon.”
“...That's Ascalon?”
“Yeah. I didn't expect effects this good, but it's beyond imagination.”
Didn't Michelangelo say something like that?
'I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.'
Yoon Kwang-su's hands moved as if excavating a slumbering angel from stone.
He froze—his raised fist halted high overhead.
He stood dumbly, just staring at the rosary.
Then he thrust his other hand skyward...
“It's complete!!”
With a full-throated roar, he signaled the end—then toppled backward like a scarecrow in the wind.
“Uh-heh. Uh-heh-heh...”
Relief flooded his face despite the collapse.
From the aura I sensed... he'd broken through a wall during the forging.
Ascalon's tempering must have been tougher than expected.
Well, it was practically crafting a divine object.
I approached his prone form and spoke softly.
“Good work, disciple.”
He'd done more than one man's share—something even a team might fail at.
◈ A rosary forged from Ascalon, the sword said to have been used by Saint George to slay the evil dragon Fafnir.
◈ Dramatically amplifies the user's holy power and activates a sanctuary in the surroundings.
◈ When worn, inflicts 2.5x holy damage on evil-aligned enemies; up to 7x against dragonkin.
◈ (Having achieved its optimal form as a holy relic, additional stats have been enhanced.)
Ascalon, now fully effective just by wearing it—no need to wield as a sword.
A star marked its transcendent enhancement beside the name.
“Here, check it yourself.”
I tossed the new Ascalon to her as she stared blankly at the rosary.
She caught it reflexively, read the details, and...
“Wait... this is possible? How? How does turning a sword into a rosary change it this much?!”
Her eyes widened in shock, face contorted in disbelief.
Exactly as expected.
“You're asking the obvious. Ascalon isn't a holy sword—it's a holy relic. I just gave it a proper form.”
“...Holy sword? Holy relic?”
Yeah, hard to grasp.
Who the hell would melt a relic called a sword and reforge it into... a sword? Only a player like me would think of it, let alone do it.
Her blank expression was understandable.
And... the best part was this.
The cool, heavy weight in my pocket—far denser than its size suggested.
Smiling at the sensation, I looked at the bishop and Yoon Kwang-su.
“Well then... shall we talk about the Fafnir raid?”