Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: The Elementalist Craftsman
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Exhausted from the intense fight, I lay there for a moment, too drained to even think about shoving the Twin Head away.
“Jiseok! Are you okay?!”
Nayeong came rushing over and tried to muster her strength to move the Twin Head, but there was no way she could budge its massive bulk, which had to weigh over a ton.
“I’m fine. Step back.”
I shoved the Twin Head’s corpse aside and flipped it over. My Strength had gone up again with the level-up, hitting 50 now. Lifting one or two tons was a breeze.
“Jiseok, your body’s shrunk again.”
Nayeong said, turning her flushed face away. Looking down, I saw my clothes were in tatters, half torn off.
“Guess I burned too much energy and couldn’t maintain it. Could you grab my bag?”
“Sure.”
I pulled out spare clothes from the bag and changed, then we shared some rations.
“A Twin Head showing up caught me off guard.”
Nayeong said as she rested beside me.
“Anything can happen in a Gate.”
“But thanks to you, I leveled up a ton too.”
“Oh yeah?”
“I’m at 10 now.”
“Already?”
So this is what riding the bus means? She’d only been hit with curses, but her levels shot up anyway.
Slower than me, sure, but still pretty fast. Of course, stats and levels aren’t the absolute measure of strength. There are hunters who pack serious power even with low levels and stats.
“I got a new skill too. Corruption.”
Nayeong said, sounding a bit down. Another curse skill, so she was disappointed. Getting extra skills isn’t common to begin with, and another curse one? I liked it, but she clearly wasn’t thrilled about her growing collection of curse skills.
“A new skill is good. What’s the effect?”
“It corrupts and corrodes enemies, draining their life force over time.”
Brutal. Why are all her skills like this? Blind plus Corruption equals mass slaughter formula. Sensory deprivation while slowly rotting to death.
“Nice. Let’s practice together sometime.”
Memories of my past life gave me chills, but I kept it cool and smiled warmly.
* * *
Today’s agenda was armor production.
I’d put it off when soloing or going with Sanghun since it didn’t matter much, but after one Gate run with Nayeong, I realized I needed to pay more attention to my gear.
Cheap protective suits kept shredding every time. But high-end armor wouldn’t help my skill development either.
So I needed something special, and I knew a guy from my past life called a master at item crafting.
Didn’t know his exact spot, but he was probably working as a porter right now.
“Boss, I’m looking for a porter. Name’s Park Jaein, late twenties.”
I called Sanghun’s dad, Boss Yang. No one beats him for finding day laborers since he hires them all the time.
“You using him personally, Jiseok?”
“Something like that.”
“But why this specific guy?”
“Heard good things before. Got a favor to ask too.”
“Got it. Hold on. When do you need him?”
“Today if possible. Cost doesn’t matter.”
An hour after hanging up, an unknown number called.
“Hunter Lee Jiseok? Heard you need a porter.”
“Yeah, I’ll send the address. Come over?”
I gave the address and waited. A short, scrawny guy walked in.
“Here.”
Recognizing the face, I waved first.
“Uh… Hunter Lee Jiseok?”
“Yeah. Have a seat.”
“Uh… this isn’t a Gate, is it?”
I’d called him to the local café.
“Nope. I’ll pay your daily rate, so sit.”
“Uh… whatever works for you.”
“I’ve got a project going and need manpower. Mind telling me about your skills, Jaein?”
“My skills? They’re useless in combat…”
“It’s fine. Tell me.”
“Well… okay. Class is Elementalist. I can summon fire or wind, manipulate water or earth.”
Sounds insanely powerful just hearing it, but his face as he explained wasn’t exactly beaming.
“But… the range is short. Has to be close to my hands.”
Jaein hung his head as he answered.
That’s a fatal flaw for a magic-using hunter. Could be useful if played right, but with his timid vibe, getting within arm’s reach of monsters wasn’t happening. Even fixing the personality, a typical ranged caster’s defense means one mistake and game over.
“I see. Been portering long?”
“About two years.”
“What before that?”
“Grad student in chemistry.”
Bingo. This was the guy.
“Up for a long-term contract?”
“…How long?”
“Five years.”
“Five years?!”
“Yeah. Double the porter rate. Around 200 million won a year. Monday to Friday, eight hours a day, full benefits—insurance, vacation, sick leave. Oh, performance bonuses too.”
Porters don’t work every day, no sick pay either, so it’s way more than double really.
“Huh? What? Me? Why?”
My offer was so out there that Jaein planted both hands on the table and leaned in close.
“I’ve got my reasons for needing an Elementalist. Your call, Jaein.”
In my past life, Jaein got this flashy Elementalist class and chased the hunter dream, but the ridiculous short range and shy personality kept him portering till he lost both legs. After wallowing, he ended up as a handyman under an item crafter, bloomed there, and became Korea’s top producer.
“Can I think it over and get back to you?”
“Sure. Take today’s pay and the contract. You’ve got one day.”
Jaein took the cash and contract, still suspicious.
* * *
Less than a day later, Jaein called, and I had him come straight to my place.
“Contract means my job’s secure for five years, right?”
Jaein asked, sipping the tea I gave him.
“Correct.”
“But is this contract right? I’m not a crafter.”
The contract said he’d craft items from materials I provided.
“You will be now.”
“No… I can’t craft without knowing how.”
Jaein stared at me like I was nuts.
“Start as an apprentice. Spare time from that, I’ll provide a workshop for practice.”
No way raw Jaein crafts perfectly just with materials, so I paid big to get him apprenticed under another crafter’s shop.
“They take the money, so they’ll train me, but don’t blame me if it flops.”
Jaein said, signing the contract.
Two years portering makes you thirsty enough to down poisoned wine. I knew from experience. And this wasn’t poison. He’d probably pored over every word for a day.
While Jaein apprenticed, Boss Yang got me the ogre hides I hunted, processing tools, and recipes. Guy’s connections are gold—always delivers.
Not just mana stones or scraps; he helps with everything.
Meanwhile, I called builders to put up a proper workshop on the empty lot next to my house.
“When crafting, use your skills over tools. Fire magic for fuel, water control for cooling, that sort. Tough at first, but way more efficient later.”
In my past life, Jaein made his name in crafting by leveraging his Elementalist skills.
“I’ll give it a shot.”
Old grad student habit of listening to the prof, I guess. As my employee, he followed orders well.
“This… actually works…”
I was killing time at home on a long-overdue break, buried in non-Gate stuff, when Jaein showed up with his first piece: chest armor from ogre hide.
After days of apprenticing and tinkering in the temp workshop, he’d whipped up a finished product. Easy recipe, sure, but cranking out something solid this fast? Not average.
Ogre hide chest guard, D-Rank item. Miles better defense than my old F-Rank junk. I didn’t need the defense, but to build Jaein’s knowledge and skill, I kept supplying recipes and materials for various gear.
“Next up: fairy wing armor. I’ll keep materials coming, so practice on.”
“Okay…”
Jaein took the fairy wings and headed to the workshop.
* * *
“Jiseok, can’t get fairy wings. What now?”
“Huh? Why?”
I’d asked Boss Yang for bulk buys, so something went wrong.
“Foreign guilds are hoarding them for research, prices skyrocketed. Not just price— they’re direct contracting with hunters, won’t sell to us at all.”
“No choice then.”
Had to get them myself. I searched hunter app for Gates and subjugation missions.
Spotted a subjugation in the old North Korea zone with tons of fairies, so I signed up.
“Gonna be gone a few days, Jaein. Keep working—materials incoming.”
“Okay…”
Jaein’s face was ashen after just days.
“Jaein… eight hours a day, but you look wrecked.”
“Got into it. Feels like I can make better than the last one. Can’t stop.”
Researcher type from the start—give him materials and a shop, he burns himself out.
“…Good work.”
Felt a twinge of guilt for snagging future top talent so cheap, but seeing him fired up eased it. Gotta give fat bonuses later.
* * *
Back during the old Gate Break crisis, North Korea collapsed first. You’d think Korea or China would rush to claim the empty land, but neither had the bandwidth.
Too many mountains and forests—chews up hunters just to reclaim territory. Tougher than most spots.
Fun fact: China had it worse than us. Drowning in popping Gates and wrangling their own hunters.
So the Korean government periodically pushed up from the 38th parallel, reclaiming North bit by bit.
This subjugation gig was the same deal.
Pushing the defensive line forward, setting up a new one.
“Warrior First Platoon, assemble at A4 sector.”
Hunters moved at the soldier’s order; I headed to A4 too.
“As briefed, maintain formation and advance one kilometer. Keep ranks tight.”
Command came through hunter earpieces from control. Can’t use this in human wars—too easy to intercept—but monsters can’t jam comms, so it works.