A Worthless Title for a Priceless Blacksmith
Shaking off his shock, Tae-hyun fell into deep thought. If he decided not to hand Bekelf over to the kingdom, how should he handle him?
Anyway, why on earth did this guy try to attack the kingdom?
“Bekelf. What kind of grudge do you hold that made you want to overthrow the kingdom?”
“I'm glad you asked!”
*Thud!* Yong-yong kicked him, sending Bekelf sprawling forward.
“…I am honored that you asked, Your Holiness!”
Exactly. The manners injector! Tae-hyun marveled at how well Yong-yong handled Bekelf. Truly worthy of a dragon!
Carbanog notes that Gold Dragons are not originally supposed to behave like that.
“There is a deeply tragic reason why I came to harbor a grudge against the Galkard Kingdom,” Bekelf said.
“And what is that?”
“Because they refused to appoint a dwarf like me... to the position of Elder...!”
“……”
“……”
[……...]
Such was the power of Bekelf—rendering everyone utterly speechless!
“I-Is that it?”
“What do you mean, 'is that it'?! Do you not realize how wicked of an act that is?! They refused to appoint a dwarf of my caliber to the Elder position!”
“Uh... well, maybe there was a valid reason you couldn't be appointed?”
“How could there be! A dwarf like me should have been appointed unconditionally. What's more, King Galkard XXIII himself is an accomplice!”
“…What did King Galkard XXIII do?”
“He opposed my marriage to the princess!”
“Oh dear.”
Now, this was actually a somewhat understandable reason to hold a grudge! Tae-hyun looked at Bekelf with a hint of pity.
“To interfere when two people love each other... Yes, the King was in the wrong there.”
“Huh? No. The princess didn't like me, though?”
“…????”
Tae-hyun blinked, wondering if he had heard correctly.
“…Then isn't it only natural for him to oppose it…?”
“No! Even if the princess opposed it, shouldn't the King have stepped in personally to persuade her for a talent like me?!”
“……”
–Master. Please, let me shut that mouth of his.
Yong-yong fluttered his wings, looking as though he desperately wanted to deliver another smack.
Hmm. The Galkard Kingdom did absolutely nothing wrong! Tae-hyun reached a swift conclusion. No matter how he looked at it, the Galkard Kingdom was entirely innocent!
“Your Holiness! Please help me avenge my grievance! In the name of Lord Archisus!”
“Archisus's name gets thrown around a lot, but it's not meant to be used for nonsense like this, you punk!” Tae-hyun's expression instantly turned serious. “Where did you hide the Adamantium?”
“T-That... I hid it to summon an Adamantium Golem...”
An Adamantium Golem! Just hearing the name was shocking.
It sounds like something that could withstand absolutely anything.
In fact, Adamantium Golems had been summoned a few times in Pandemonium Online. However, those were mostly alloyed golems with less than 1% Adamantium content. Whether it was even possible to summon a golem made of 100% pure Adamantium was highly questionable!
If you had that much, wouldn't you use it for something else first? There was no way anyone could afford to waste Adamantium—which could turn any armor into a legendary artifact with just a tiny amount mixed in—on a mere golem. Yet he wanted to use it all for that!
“Where is it hidden?!”
“I... I need to use it...”
“For what? To pay the ferryman on your way to the afterlife?”
“…It's right here!” Having finally read the room, Bekelf quickly opened a trapdoor to the cellar.
“!”
You have discovered Adamantium Ingots!
Melting down Adamantium—a metal that average blacksmiths cannot even hope to handle—and refining it into ingots is an extraordinary feat of craftsmanship. Your Blacksmithing Skill has increased!
Your current Blacksmithing Skill level is too low to fully acquire the recipe for crafting Adamantium Ingots.
[……]
The chest was tightly packed with Adamantium Ingots! While it wasn't a massive chest, considering it was pure Adamantium, the sheer volume was staggering.
Tae-hyun shed a tear.
“*Sniff*!”
–M-Master. Are you actually crying?
“I'm not crying,” Tae-hyun said, wiping his eyes. This Adamantium carried a profound emotional weight. As a blacksmith, it was an overwhelming sight that he simply couldn't ignore!
What if he had arrived late to the Zaion Mountains, and another player had stumbled upon this place first and taken the chest? The mere thought of it made his heart ache.
Living a virtuous life truly pays off...!
[????]
“I shall put these Adamantium Ingots to good use.”
Like making armor, armor, or perhaps more armor! With a look of solemn determination, Tae-hyun claimed the chest.
“…Wait. These wouldn't have spawned naturally as ingots... Did you melt and refine them yourself?”
“Huh? Yes, I did.”
“!” Tae-hyun was genuinely startled. “By any chance, what is your Blacksmithing Skill level...?”
“It is Supreme Level 7.”
“?!?!!”
Tae-hyun's own level was currently Supreme Level 2! Even after crafting, crafting, and crafting endlessly, he had only reached level 2.
Regardless of the skill, once it transitioned from Advanced to Supreme, the difficulty spiked to hellish levels. In the past, crafting a single masterpiece would cause his level to soar, but at the Supreme tier, making dozens of masterpieces barely nudged the progress bar by a measly 1%.
I've only just hit Supreme Level 6 in Mechanical Engineering, and that already triggered the quest for Legendary Mechanical Engineering.
Back in Pandemonium Online 1, when Tae-hyun was the top blacksmith on the server, his Blacksmithing Skill had been Supreme Level 8. While he didn't know the exact levels of the current top blacksmith rankers, he was confident that not a single player had surpassed Supreme Level 5. This wasn't arrogance; it was a simple fact.
...I had to go through all that just to hit Level 6 in Mechanical Engineering. There's no way any other blacksmith is progressing faster than me! Tae-hyun had literally stolen a Demon Duke's castle to reach Level 6 in Mechanical Engineering. How on earth could anyone else get past Level 5? Would they have to build a Demon Duke's castle from scratch?
In that light, Bekelf, who had reached Supreme Level 7, was truly an extraordinary blacksmith. If he went to any other territory, it wouldn't be surprising at all for him to hold a position like Tae-hyun's and pass down Arcane skills!
Carbanog remarks that it makes absolutely no sense for someone with such a terrible personality to possess such incredible skills.
I was just thinking the exact same thing, Carbanog. Supreme Level 7 on a guy like this. It felt like a massive waste.
Well, I suppose it makes sense why he was so full of grievances... He was sidelined despite having such high blacksmithing skills. Though Tae-hyun could perfectly understand *why* he had been sidelined!
“How would you like to come and work in my territory?”
“…! You have recognized my outstanding talent at last! I knew I could trust you!” Bekelf's attitude did a complete 180 as he shouted enthusiastically. “You will grant me the position of Elder, right?”
“Hmm. An Elder position, you say...”
“Your Holiness! Now that you have witnessed my capabilities, surely you must appoint me as an Elder!”
Carbanog marvels at Bekelf's sheer obsession with titles.
Look at that greed, demanding an Elder position even when his head was on the chopping block! This guy would definitely find a way to feed himself wherever he went.
Though there is nothing more useless than the title of Elder in the Archisus Cult. The Archisus Cult didn't even have a proper organizational structure to begin with. It was only natural, considering the cult had been completely collapsed.
After Tae-hyun ascended to the position of Pope, he had built training grounds and hired a massive number of ordinary priests and knights... but there weren't really any official executive positions. As a result, NPCs like Pelmas simply made up whatever titles they wanted and claimed them. Pelmas had even tried to hog multiple titles for himself!
Of course, no matter what title they held, it was completely meaningless. At the end of the day, they all had to do exactly as Tae-hyun ordered.
“Shall I appoint you as an Elder of the Archisus Cult?”
“I-In that case, I shall pledge my absolute loyalty to you for the rest of my life!”
Bekelf is deeply moved to the core of his being!
Affection has reached the maximum level!
Carbanog remarks that this doesn't seem like a particularly good thing.
...I agree, but his skills are too valuable to pass up. Tae-hyun didn't particularly want to become close friends with him, but his craftsmanship was simply too precious! There were very few NPCs in Tae-hyun's territory who possessed such specialized blacksmithing skills.
Most of them were specialized in Mechanical Engineering, and perhaps because of the high goblin population, dwarves were a rare sight. While they had the Demon's Forge and the Angel's Forge, those facilities were valuable because they contained crafting recipes unique to the demon and angel races, not because the blacksmiths themselves possessed insanely high skill levels. He needed at least one pure, master blacksmith!
However, Carbanog asks what he plans to do if Bekelf causes trouble.
...Should I lock him up in the Sky Castle? If he asked the heroes of the cult to keep an eye on him, they wouldn't get bored, and it would be perfect!
Carbanog thinks, 'What a horrific and terrifying idea,' but then adds that since it's not their problem, it should be fine.
Carbanog was quick to agree! If they kept him in the Sky Castle, it would be difficult for him to escape or cause any trouble...
We also have the Spirit Forge there, so it'll be easy to borrow their power and have him craft exclusively for us! Unaware that his future was plunging into the pitch-black abyss of Archisus, Bekelf jumped around in pure joy.
“To finally meet someone who recognizes my true worth...! Surely, this must be the divine guidance of Lord Archisus!”
“Let's not drag Archisus into everything, Bekelf.”
“!??!”
Though he had secured the Adamantium, Tae-hyun meticulously inspected the rest of the workshop. Since he was packing up, he had to make sure he took everything of value.
“Is this anvil engraved with magic circles specifically for enchanting?”
“Yes.”
“Pack it up.”
–Grrrr!
Tae-hyun pried open the mouth of Towang-i, whom he had borrowed from Lee Da-bi, and shoved the anvil inside. Towang-i growled in protest, but there was no helping it. Not a single item could be left behind.
An enchanting anvil was a piece of equipment that allowed a blacksmith to apply various enchantments while hammering a weapon placed upon it. Every respectable blacksmith needed to own at least one!
“…Wait. Is there Adamantium mixed into this as well?”
“Yes!”
“……”
“Y-You mustn't melt it down!”
“I-I won't melt it.” Since he already had a whole chest of it...! Even so, he had wavered for a split second.
No, it would be a waste to break down an enchanting anvil infused with Adamantium... Tae-hyun firmly composed his wavering heart. True to his dwarven heritage, Bekelf was highly skilled in various magic-related blacksmithing techniques. While goblins advanced through chaotic engineering like bombs, dwarves were a race that flourished through stable magic and metallurgy! They were absolute masters at blending magic with blacksmithing.
“Enchanting, enchanting... Impressive.”
Although Tae-hyun had focused primarily on Mechanical Engineering in Pandemonium Online 2, he had mastered these traditional blacksmithing techniques back in Pandemonium Online 1. He knew exactly how incredible this setup was. The dwarf had amassed quite a fortune here!
“I'm surprised you managed to craft all of this by yourself.”
“…Ahem. Well... I did 'borrow' a few of them.”
“……”
You stole them, you bastard! There was only one place he could have stolen them from. He must have plundered them from the Galkard Kingdom! No wonder all the blacksmithing facilities here are of such high quality.
Carbanog asks if you plan to return them.
Huh? I can't hear you. Did you say something?
[……...]
“By the way, Your Holiness. That summon over there looks rather poorly designed.”
–H-How dare you?!
–Y-You dare insult a dragon?!
Yong-yong and Heuk-heuk flared up and roared. Whether they were a Gold Dragon or a Black Dragon, they were certainly not beings a mere dwarf could insult!
“N-No, wait... I wasn't talking about the dragons!” As the dragons prepared to pounce, Bekelf frantically waved his hands in denial. But then, Towang-i let out a low growl.
–Grrrr!
Carbanog urges Towang-i to give him a good smack.
“Not the rabbit either! I mean that blacksmith summon!”
“Ah. That one.”
–Master, you should be defending me! Why does everyone always pick on me?!
Bekelf was pointing at the Mechanical Divine Beast. It certainly did look a bit awkward!
–Aren't you the only one here who can't even walk on your own two feet?
–Just having a high level isn't everything.
–Grrrr!
–It is indeed structurally disadvantaged...
The summons ruthlessly criticized it! As the Mechanical Divine Beast slumped in dejection, Bekelf made an enticing offer.
“With my special dwarven Arcane skill, I can completely transform you!”
–What?! Is that true?!
Carbanog asks if you can summon another Mechanical Divine Beast if he ends up breaking this one.
……