Chapter 7: Grateful Uncle Kim Taesoo Returns the Favor

Kim Taesoo—no longer just "Uncle Kim"—his rough hands trembled ever so slightly. He gripped the hilt of the sword on the workbench as carefully as if it were fragile glass. And that was the moment.

Woooong—!

The instant his callused palm touched the newly restored D-rank longsword's hilt, the air inside the junkyard shifted in a flash.

Whoosh—!

O? What's this?

Rough mana erupted from his body and got sucked straight into the sword. To be honest, I'd never seen Kim Taesoo actually use the thing. Hell, I'd never even seen him fight.

The mana flowed along the blade and burst from the tip as a dazzling, razor-sharp blue sword aura.

"......What the? Sword aura?"

Who wouldn't know sword aura? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠It's what every sword-wielding hunter dreams of and craves. But this was weird. Taesoo wasn't at that level, was he?

That left only one answer.

'Because of the weapon?'

Right then, a new system window blinked into the corner of my vision.

Ring—!

Eh? What kind of ability is this? It works like that?

Was this a power that let me see the abilities of people using stuff I'd repaired?

I had no idea how it worked, but more abilities were always better. I'd figure this one out later—for now, I focused on Taesoo's condition.

Dedicated weapon?

"Ha!?"

I finally let out a hollow laugh and nodded. So that was it. The reason Taesoo was so obsessed with this sword. Why this guy kept getting drunk and whining for me to fix his crappy E-rank blade. Why he turned down better weapons but clung to this one like a lifeline.

"Ooh!! This is it!! This is the one!!"

An exclamation burst from his mouth. He stared at his sword in disbelief, the blue sword aura flickering along it. Thick veins bulged on the arm gripping the hilt, and the pressure from his surging mana whipped the dust piled on the junkyard floor into swirling vortices.

"Kuhahaha!! Daesung!! You beautiful bastard!!!"

"Whoa, so it was your dedicated weapon? How good is that thing, anyway?"

"Lemme see it in action?"

"Don't smash my scrap over there—hit the dirt next to it. The ground."

He swung the sword lightly at the air.

Kwaaang—!

The razor-sharp sword wind shot from the tip pulverized the dry earth without even touching it.

"Ha!?"

At least upper D-rank power—hell, bordering on C-rank. Overwhelming destructive force.

After swinging the sword around like a kid for a while, he panted heavily and turned to me. His bloodshot eyes brimmed with grateful tears.

"Daesung... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you... how the hell did you do this? You said the materials were too damn expensive to get?!"

"Eh, put in some effort."

"Never mind. I won't ask! You're my lifesaver from today on. No—Brother Daesung!"

This thirty-something was calling me—eight years his junior—"brother" and looked ready to kowtow on the spot. I smirked and waved him off.

"Brother, my ass. Just pay up the repair fee nice and fat."

His face crashed back to reality.

"R-Repair fee…?"

"You think I do this for free?"

"H-How much…?"

"Took two D-rank mana stones and 20 grams of mana gold. Minimum 5 million won."

"F-Five million…?"

His expression sank.

'Hmm, did I go too hard on a fellow slacker?'

He was a loyal regular who came by all the time, so I was about to cut him a deal—

when he grabbed my shoulders and bellowed.

"Hey, you think this sword's worth just 5 million won?! Come to the gate with me right now! I'll slaughter monsters today and shove every last won straight to you!"

"Huh?"

His eyes were half-rolled back in deadly seriousness.

"To the gate!! I'll drive!! Kuhahaha!!"

I quickly weighed the pros and cons.

'O? No need to hassle with party recruitment?'

I'd just registered as a combat hunter. Solo newbie fighters like me usually had to post online for parties, do interviews, or pay to tag along. Tankers, healers, split profits 1/N. And rookies get bullied or used as meat shields all the time. Plus, all the scams targeting newbies.

But a powerhouse leaping past D-rank offering a free ride and 100% profits? No reason to say no.

"For real? I was gonna hit a gate anyway."

"Yeah!? Perfect timing! Alright! I'll show you what real combat looks like today!"

I grabbed my beat-up leather jacket and gloves from under the workbench and threw them on. After absorbing the Dragon Heart, my stats had ballooned insanely—I was itching to see their real-world punch too.

"Let's go. Tonight, we grill beef with mana stones."

"Hell yeah!! My treat!!"

The E-rank gate on Seoul's outskirts, Goblin Forest. We pulled up to the Seoul Hunter Association's control line in his rickety van.

The entrance buzzed with Association agents checking awakener IDs and low-rank hunters milling about, forming parties.

"Hey, Kim Taesoo. Long time no see? Haven't spotted you lately."

An agent guarding the line greeted him warmly. He tapped the hilt of his D-rank famed sword at his waist and tossed our hunter IDs to the agent.

"Here for a hunt today. Party of two—handle the entry."

"Just the two of you?"

The agent scanned my ID and grimaced.

"Aw, damn... this guy's a total newbie too. Come on, you know how exhausting funerals are...?"

The agent tsked, reluctant to issue clearance.

"Hey, I'm originally D-rank. That front-liner gig with rookies was just a side hustle. Hurry it up."

"Doesn't mean you won't die in an E-rank gate as a D-rank."

"Aw, piss off! I won't die!"

"Not my problem. I warned you."

"Fine!"

He handled all the annoying paperwork and aggro, so I strolled through the control line hands in pockets.

"Daesung, don't rush out even at goblins, got it? Stick right behind me—they're still monsters!"

"Gotcha, Taesoo."

"Hey, call me bro now."

"A bro eight years older?"

"That's still a bro. Alright, I'll go first—follow close."

With that, I stepped into the shimmering portal-like space.

Woooong—!

Dizziness hit.

'Ooh, trippy.'

As we bantered and crossed the rippling gate portal, a humid, acrid stench of blood assaulted my nose. A foggy gray forest loomed—another dimension entirely.

My first gate entry felt a bit anticlimactic, but it was still a thrill.

"Ooh...!"

Pretty cool, right?

"Welcome to your first gate! Kuhaha."

"Feels just like Earth."

"Not quite. Tons of weird bugs and plants. Don't touch anything, stick with me and you're golden!"

He strutted ahead confidently. Less than three minutes after we crossed, five goblins with dull green skin burst from the fog.

"Kee-rik! Kiririk!"

Filthy monsters drooling, wielding rusty daggers and clubs. I flinched a bit at the sight.

Whoa, way grosser in person than on screens...

"Taesoo, isn't five a bit risky?"

He roared with laughter.

"Five? Pfft! Watch this—I'll show you how to smash 'em!!"

He charged forward laughing heartily, and the one-sided massacre began.

Slash—! Crunch!

"Kerk!!"

"Kyaek!"

Every flash of blue sword aura from his blade severed goblin heads and limbs. It was gruesome, but my game-hardened stomach held up. My heart started pounding instead.

Blood sprayed, guts spilled, but he never hesitated.

'Wow. Kinda impressive.'

I hung back, casually admiring the show. My only job: scooping E-rank mana stones the size of thumbs from the corpses into my bag.

Like picking up cash from the ground. 300,000 won each. Lucky me—two already from four goblins.

"Daesung! Still got my moves, right?! Back in the day, when I was flying around the front lines...!"

"Eyes front. One left."

He paused, slinging his sword over his shoulder.

"Left it alive on purpose. You came all this way—try killing a goblin yourself."

"For real? Already?"

"Yeah, I'll back you up if needed. Go for it."

O, glad I came with him. Usually costs millions for this kinda escort.

Good deeds do come back around.

Alright, let's do this.

I stepped up to the goblin. It screamed in terror at me.

"Kieeeek!!"

Shit, startled me. Looked easy from afar, but up close... ew. Super gross.

"How do I even...?"

All I had was a sturdy iron pipe from the junkyard.

"That pipe's plenty. Use mana—wrap it around the pipe like this and smash its head! Burst it!"

I gave him a deadpan look.

"That's beginner ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stuff? Coating a pipe with mana?"

"Huh? Why not? That's how I learned."

Normally, no. But I could. My mana circuits were already blasted wide open.

'Okay, cycle mana through the circuits, link it to the pipe like so...?'

Woooong—!

"O? It worked?"

Blue mana shimmered around the pipe, coating it perfectly. He clapped from the side.

"Nice!! Now smash it down!"

I swung the pipe down on the goblin's head.

And—

Spluuurt—! Plop plop—!

"???"

"???"

The goblin's entire body exploded into nothing, splattering me and him head to toe in gore.

"Bleurgh!!!"

"Shit!! Hey!! I just picked this up from the cleaners the other day!!"