The Smithing Vampire
From the title, it looked like Tae-hyun had cleared some sort of quest involving the Idergo Tribe.
“Now then, what should I try first?”
The moment Tae-hyun rubbed his hands together, Gu Sung-wook’s face went pale.
“P-please be careful….”
“I said I would.”
The first thing to do was repair work. Tae-hyun pulled out the hammer Gurendal had given him. It was a basic item meant for beginner blacksmiths, but he needed it to use the skill.
Repairing the Red Idergo Longsword.
In Fantasy Online 2, skills didn’t just activate and end. If you wanted to repair something, you had to strike it yourself with a hammer.
That was why players argued over it all the time.
- Even if your skill level is low, if you strike it really well, you can get good results!
There was something called “feel” to it.
Of course, there were people who disagreed.
- Skill level is everything. What feel?
Tae-hyun believed in feel.
Even if the skill level was high, if you just touched it carelessly, nothing good came out. You had to focus and make it as convincing as possible.
Clang, clang, clang—
A clear sound rang out.
But Gu Sung-wook’s face beside him only grew paler and paler.
Tae-hyun looked so rough, like he was just pounding away at random.
Repairing the Red Idergo Longsword is complete.
Excellent craftsmanship achieved. Blacksmithing skill increases.
Repairing skill increases.
Level difference effect applied.
That’s it!
That was exactly what Tae-hyun was aiming for.
When you handled high-level items at a low level, your skill rose quickly.
Beginner Blacksmithing 8 (95%)
Beginner Repair 4 (25%)
Since blacksmithing was still at the beginner stage, it shot up in no time. Once it hit 10, it would advance to intermediate, and this time, he’d probably make it over the threshold.
Tae-hyun had asked for more than just swords and armor, too. Belts, boots, bracers, helmets, chainmail shirts worn underneath, even the underwear beneath that.
Once he got a chance, he never let go.
The vampire of the blacksmith world!
Gu Sung-wook felt like crying as he watched his once-prized gear get mangled by a beginner’s hands.
Sniff… sniff…
Repairing the Red Idergo Light Armor is complete.
Excellent craftsmanship achieved. Blacksmithing skill increases.
Repairing skill increases.
Level difference effect applied.
Beginner Blacksmithing has changed to Intermediate Blacksmithing.
You have obtained Intermediate Blacksmithing. All blacksmith-related skills will now receive additional bonuses.
You can now change jobs to a blacksmith in the city.
Any skill’s beginner stage was easy to break through.
From intermediate onward, things started getting harder.
And advanced stage was pain—literally one percent at a time, one percent at a time.
Of course, that wasn’t something to worry about right now.
Tae-hyun got so excited he hammered away like a man possessed.
Blacksmithing skill increases.
Repairing skill increases.
Sharpening increases.
Rust removal increases.
His skills kept climbing at a terrifying pace.
Tae-hyun was so absorbed that he didn’t even look at the finished product.
* * *
“Are you done?”
Gu Sung-wook’s eyes looked slightly red for some reason.
“Were you crying?”
“Huh? N-no, I wasn’t!”
Seeing a grown man about to cry made Tae-hyun soften a little.
He had always been weak toward people who looked weak.
Strong toward the strong, weak toward the weak.
That was Tae-hyun’s creed.
Of course, if someone looked weak but annoyed him, he wouldn’t go easy on them at all.
“Still, I don’t think I made any big mistakes. I never got a damage message while repairing, so you shouldn’t lose anything.”
“I see….”
Gu Sung-wook took back his equipment with a dejected face.
How bad had it gotten, exactly?
Ugh. I can’t even bear to look.
He shoved the gear straight into his inventory.
He planned to take it to the guild’s blacksmith, Phil, and ask for help.
“Then I’ll introduce you around, so let’s go together!”
“Okay….”
“Cheer up a little!”
“Okay….”
* * *
Introducing Gu Sung-wook didn’t take long.
They went to Gurendal and said, “This guy’s a good person,” then went to August and said, “This guy’s a good person.”
August, of course, snorted the moment he heard it.
“Hmph. So he’s the sort who hated it here and ran off somewhere else?”
In the Tyrium Hunters’ barracks, their motto was hung on the wall.
- Never forget a grudge!
When Tae-hyun first saw it, he’d thought it was pretty cool.
Hunters who never forgot a grudge.
Didn’t that have a certain style to it?
But he changed his mind soon enough.
The Tyrium Hunters were just petty bastards.
If they weren’t petty for never forgetting someone who left because their city sucked, then what was?
“It seems there were unavoidable circumstances. Actually, this friend here had an old mother and a wife in another kingdom. He got married, but never really took care of them properly and just wandered around by himself, so the family gave him a lot of grief. That’s why he had no choice but to go somewhere else to work.”
A lie that came out smoothly in one second flat!
Gu Sung-wook stared at Tae-hyun with his mouth open.
NPCs were people too.
They couldn’t help but fall for a plausible lie.
And if the opponent was Tae-hyun, whose affinity was maxed out, even more so.
Luck has activated.
August completely believes your words.
Speech skill increases.
Speech.
It was the skill that let you get more out of NPCs or dig up secret information.
Usually, merchant-type jobs raised it a lot.
August’s expression softened considerably.
“Hmm. Is that so? Then I suppose it can’t be helped.”
You believe that?!
“Fine. Then as penance, go outside and catch ten rabbits. I’ll forgive you after that.”
!!
The Tyrium Hunters never forgot a grudge.
They hated people who had once abandoned their city.
But generous, magnanimous August had decided to give him a chance.
Tyrium Hunters’ Trust Recovery
📍 Location: Outside Tyrium City
🎁 Reward: Relationship recovery with the Tyrium Hunters
Rabbits: 0/10
Reward: Relationship recovery with the Tyrium Hunters.
Gu Sung-wook practically jumped with joy.
His dejected expression from earlier seemed like a lie.
“You heard that?!”
“Yeah. But….”
“Ten rabbits!”
He was only scary when you were a beginner. By now, you could probably catch rabbits with your eyes closed.
This was almost like free skill experience.
Gu Sung-wook grabbed Tae-hyun’s hand and shook it enthusiastically.
“Thank you so much!”
He and Tae-hyun had been through a lot, but it had ended well.
Gu Sung-wook decided to forget the bad blood he’d held toward Tae-hyun.
“No, it’s just….”
“Then I’ll go catch rabbits!”
Gu Sung-wook ran off excitedly, and Tae-hyun muttered under his breath.
“I already killed all the rabbits….”
There weren’t any rabbits left outside the city.
It was because of Tae-hyun’s slaughter.
August, who heard that, let out a snort.
“Did you think I’d forgive you that easily?”
Wow, seriously….
Tae-hyun was the type who didn’t forget grudges either, but the Tyrium Hunters were truly something else.
* * *
“When did you learn intermediate blacksmithing?!”
When Tae-hyun went to ask Gurendal for instruction, Gurendal was shocked.
Sensing something was off, Tae-hyun immediately lowered his stance.
“Wasn’t that thanks to your guidance, Master?”
“No, this is your talent. I should’ve noticed it back when you made that dagger….”
Gurendal trailed off and gave Tae-hyun a meaningful look.
Gurendal, the blacksmith who had inherited the vision….
Ah. I really need to get out of this city fast.
Every NPC he met kept trying to talk him into changing jobs. It was exhausting.
“Anyone who has learned intermediate blacksmithing has nothing more to learn under me.”
“What? What do you mean? I still have a lot more to learn!”
Gurendal could teach him at least advanced blacksmithing.
That should be more than enough.
There are no skills left to learn.
To learn more, you must become Gurendal’s disciple or change jobs.
What a mean world!
If you didn’t change jobs, you couldn’t learn higher-tier skills.
Ugh….
Tae-hyun clicked his tongue.
Blacksmithing was tempting, but he’d already had plenty of fun with it in Fantasy Online 1.
Just as he’d originally decided.
I’m going to stay unemployed all the way!
Meanwhile, Gurendal was rummaging around and pulling something out.
“It pains me that it’s already time for you to leave. You’ll do well wherever you go. If you make a name for yourself, would you say you learned under me?”
“Of course, Master!”
“Here. Take this. It’s a gift.”
◈ Hammer, anvil, chisels, and other tools needed for blacksmithing skills.
◈ A handmade set crafted by Gurendal so Tae-hyun could use it even without a blacksmith job.
“Master!”
He felt the weight of a teacher’s kindness here and now. His back naturally bent.
As expected, the best teacher was one who gave gifts when you left!
“There may be equipment you can’t use unless you work as a blacksmith. That’s why I’m giving you this. It’s not as good as dedicated gear, but it should be useful.”
In fact, at higher levels there were items with blacksmith job restrictions.
Because his affinity had been raised, Tae-hyun could receive Gurendal’s gifts.
“And now, take this too.”
“……!”
There was still more?
For a moment, Tae-hyun wondered if he should really change jobs to an Arcane Blacksmith under Gurendal.
What a kind NPC!
◈ Stones used to strengthen equipment.
◈ Gurendal says you’re still a little early to use them, but with your talent, you’ll manage.
“Enhancement is still a little early for your skill, but with talent like yours, you can absolutely do it. You may not be able to make magic items or attribute items yet, but you can handle enhancement, so work hard. You get better at it the more you do it.”
Magic items, attribute items.
They were the lifeblood of blacksmithing.
What if your sword cast magic every time you swung it?
Of course, that took a lot of materials, an excellent blacksmith, and, most importantly, a mountain of effort.
But once it was made, everyone wanted one.
Of course, for Tae-hyun, who wasn’t changing jobs, it was nothing but a picture in the sky.
“But be careful. Don’t get too addicted to enhancement. One of my friends got so addicted that he lost his fortune and killed himself. Another friend failed to enhance someone else’s gear and got assassinated….”
“…….”
It was a creepy story.
Why are you telling me this?
Tae-hyun suspected the developers’ intent.
Still, even after hearing that, people would keep enhancing things.
That was desire. That was human nature.
The thrill of raising the performance of an existing item with enhancement stones, unlike the complex work of creating magic items!
“Ah. Take this too.”
Still not done?!
Gurendal was like Santa Claus, handing out gifts endlessly.
◈ A rare sword blueprint.
◈ Cannot be properly crafted at your current level.
“This was a crafting method I once received from another blacksmith, but the materials are plentiful and the method is so tricky that I’ve never made it myself. Still, maybe one day you’ll get the chance?”
Tae-hyun’s eyes sparkled.
Crafting methods given out like this were never common.
If you had one, you never lost out.
“Thank you!”
“Good. Good. Even if you have nothing more to learn from me, come visit often.”
Tae-hyun thought that next time he came, he should bring something like “slow-boiled rabbit meat soup.”
The Tyrium Hunters were so overfed they’d run away if you showed up with only a bowl, but Gurendal wasn’t like that.