Chapter 279: Martial Alliance (2)
Chapter 279: Martial Alliance (2)
As we stepped out of the taxi and began walking down the main boulevard, the look in my disciples' eyes changed. To put it simply, they looked like they were seeing something truly bizarre.
"Senior?"
Perhaps the questions piling up inside had finally begun to overflow. I heard a voice that was practically dripping with curiosity.
"What?"
"I can understand everything else, but there's one thing I really don't get, so I have to ask."
Han A-bin chose her words carefully, as if she were broaching a sensitive subject.
However, looking at where both her and Si-hyun’s gazes were fixed, it was easy to tell what she wanted to ask. It was undoubtedly about the strange metallic clanging echoing through this peculiar city.
"...Why on earth are there blacksmith shops here?"
My prediction hit the mark.
It was a natural question. It wasn't as if there were Heroes specializing in production here. While a few retired Heroes might be among them, the vast majority of those blacksmiths were just ordinary people. There was a chance a current Hero might do blacksmithing as a hobby, but that was an exception.
What kind of special power could weapons made by those without special abilities possibly have?
The presence or absence of special power wasn't even the main issue. The metal would be full of impurities, and the heat treatment would be uneven. Even if they looked good on the outside, they would be brittle things that snapped easily.
In short, no matter how great a master was, they couldn't beat mass production.
And yet, if there was a reason why blacksmiths were such a common sight in this city...
"It’s for style and individuality."
"...Style?"
A-bin’s bewildered voice came back, as if she hadn't expected that answer at all. I understood her disbelief, but what could I do? That really was the reason.
"Now, A-bin. Suppose you want to become famous. What should you do? Si-hyun, you think about it too. It’s important."
Following my lead, the two fell into thought.
"Don't think too deeply."
"Hmm... Wouldn't it be public recognition?"
"Overwhelming combat ability!"
Why was Si-hyun’s answer almost never helpful?
"Then, how do you build that recognition?"
"By appearing on TV often... or becoming a Hero by winning a large-scale battle..."
"Wouldn't it be by dominating the battlefield!"
That just makes you a crazy battle maniac. Si-hyun, what exactly is going on inside your head?
Surprisingly, however, it was Baek Si-hyun, not Han A-bin, who came closer to the right answer in her own way.
"Right. You have to stand out. One way or another, recognition grows like a rolling snowball once you're frequently in the public eye."
Just like money or debt.
"And the best way to build initial recognition is through a striking individuality."
Even now, when I've erased my records through all sorts of means, my name still pops up whenever people talk about Heroes who use giant hammers. It’s to the point where people often complain that they searched for 'Hammer' and 'Magical Girl' only to have a splatter movie pop up.
I don't know what the other hammer-wielding Magical Girls are doing. They should be standing out in their own way to give the Management Bureau’s information censorship team a break.
"Other Heroes are doing alright for themselves. Mages usually have a specific school of magic that represents them, and most Espers have unique abilities. I don't know who designs the outfits for Magical Girls, but they have the characteristic of wearing very eye-catching clothes. Transformation Type S have different designs and appearances, and gun users have an unspoken rule not to overlap their weapon choices."
People say a certain famous mage is great at explosion magic. They say a certain Esper uses telekinesis. They say Baek Si-hyun is strangely popular among uniform enthusiasts on the internet. Transformation-type Heroes even have their own lines of action figures.
However, the gun users are a lost cause. They differentiate themselves by saying this gun is this model and that gun is that model, but civilians can't tell the difference. No matter how I look at it, their efforts are completely misplaced.
To be blunt, even I, who have rolled around on battlefields more than enough, can't distinguish between guns properly. How could a civilian? Apparently, they have some following among military geeks, but most popular gun-type Heroes don't actually care about the guns themselves.
Anyway.
Perhaps they realized something from that explanation.
"Now that you mention it, that's true... A friend of mine said she was consulting with her Mascot about showing more skin to stand out..."
"Ah, so that's what that was! During the basic curriculum, there was a lecture about establishing a clear identity!"
Each of them had tossed out a casual sentence, but there was something in there that genuinely shocked me.
"...Si-hyun, wait, what? What did you do in the basic curriculum?"
"Huh? Oh, the identity thing? There was a session where a senior Hero came to give a lecture. They were giving a whole presentation on it!"
Are you kidding me?
To the people in charge of the Management Bureau’s basic Hero training: isn't this going a bit too far? If you teach them that from the start, what do you expect them to learn? Was it really that hard to vet the presentation just once?
Sigh. Fine.
Let's just say that's how Heroes are these days. It makes me feel like I'm losing my mind, but they have to make a living. I should take comfort in the fact that it's not part of the Management Bureau’s standard curriculum.
If I had heard that an official Management Bureau instructor said such things, I might have flipped.
'Listen here, you lunatics. I'm the former head of the Assassination Team and the creator of the original training curriculum, and I came here because I heard things were a mess. I heard the curriculum is garbage these days.'
I might have turned the place upside down.
"...What even is a Hero anymore?"
Venting my anger in a voice no one could hear, I continued the explanation I had paused.
"But the situation is a bit different for martial artists. Just look at them walking around."
At the tip of my finger were countless martial artists roaming the streets. They all wore nearly identical martial robes, with the only difference being the type of cold weapon in their hands. While there were many martial artists in modern clothes carrying cold weapons, there was nothing particularly distinctive about them.
Of course, I meant they lacked distinction compared to the individuality of other Heroes.
"Hmm... So, you're saying martial artists don't have anything that immediately catches the eye?"
"That's right. They all look similar!"
"Yeah. I mean, mages all look similar at a glance too, but at least their magic is flashy. But honestly, to a civilian, a Martial Artist’s 'Form' just looks like fast sword swings, except for a few weird ones."
The 'weird ones' I was referring to were those who did strange things like emitting fire or water when they swung their swords, creating heat hazes that distorted the surroundings, or leaving a scent along the sword's path.
To be blunt, it was a waste of 'Form' and talent, but I couldn't deny it was an effective way to express individuality. However, since the Martial Alliance was a group of meritocrats, they didn't look kindly on such behavior.
"So what they came up with was moving in sect units and making their martial robe designs unique."
I pointed toward a spot. There was a uniform with a large Chinese character embroidered on the back.
"Or even if they wear martial robes, they use peculiar colors."
Leopard print martial robes? That’s going a bit too far.
"Or some of them wear masks."
A red mask with a long nose? ...Wait, isn't that a Japanese tengu mask? He seems to have misunderstood something, but whatever. It’s not like I know him.
"But then again, because of how stubborn martial artists are, you don't see those fashions that often. Most would rather just wear sneakers and casual clothes."
This time, my disciples could find them easily without me even pointing. As I said, martial artists in casual clothes were quite common.
Once we finished scanning the surroundings...
"Ah, I think I understand why you said that, Senior."
"Me too!"
"Really? Then let's hear it."
Since I gave them this many hints, they should have the answer.
"Martial artists moved toward showing off their individuality through their weapons, and the blacksmiths are the ones who make those custom-ordered weapons, right?"
"Flashy weapons stand out, after all!"
Correct.
"Yeah. To be honest, the quality of the weapon doesn't matter that much. As long as it passes a certain standard, everything after that is a battle of how well you handle Bestowal Techniques."
The thing that deals damage isn't the weapon itself, but the Qi or mana bestowed upon it. As an example to support this theory, if you look at the cold weapons of the martial artists here, they're all decorated according to their personal tastes.
There were weapons like the Blue Dragon Crescent Blade, and even swords that looked like they belonged in a fantasy novel.
"Then we should think of the blacksmiths as artistic craftsmen rather than weapon makers."
"Exactly. Honestly, I'd rather tell them to just carry mass-produced weapons. The Management Bureau gives those out for free anyway."
No matter how much you decorate a weapon for combat, it ultimately ends up being far from efficient. A weapon made by an unskilled blacksmith would have a terrible center of gravity, and if you're unlucky, it might even snap. Even if a master made it and solved those problems, there was always the chance that an enemy's flesh would get caught in the decorations meant for show, preventing you from swinging it.
Even the weapon used by the Heavenly Sword is just a simple Hwando. Of course, the one used by the Heavenly Demon Sword God became something grotesque after being stained by negation, but its foundation was a simple mass-produced item.
That’s why the old-school martial artists who value skill look down on this trend, but martial artists are human too. In their struggle to express their individuality, they eventually reached this compromise.
"So, don't you two ever do anything like that. A-bin, don't put weird decorations on your bow. Si-hyun, you keep using roughly made weapons like you do now."
Neither of them was interested in becoming famous, so they wouldn't do such a thing, but it didn't hurt to mention it since the topic had come up.
Now that we've gotten a feel for the Martial Alliance's atmosphere while walking down the boulevard, should we spend the rest of our time doing some Dojo Breaking?
Just as I was about to start moving again with that thought...
"Hey, kid. I’ve heard just about enough."
A voice came from behind, and I turned my head. Of course, my body was instantly filled with a rage that surpassed my threshold.
"I think I just heard someone call me a kid."
"Well, I'm looking at a kid and calling her a kid. Did you want to be called 'Young Lady' or something?"
There stood a blacksmith with a blackened cigarette in his mouth and a hammer slung over his shoulder.
"Cut the crap. Do you want to get beaten by this 'kid' until you have to close shop for the day?"
"Ooh, how scary. You look like you've seen your fair share of combat, but we have our own pride, you know? The pride of supplying high-quality weapons to Heroes."
As he spoke, he tapped the anvil in front of him with his hammer.
"But when someone stands in front of my shop saying my work is useless and that they aren't real weapons, wouldn't anyone get angry?"
Hearing that, a fleeting thought that I might be in the wrong crossed my mind, but the rage that flared up the moment I was called a kid swallowed my conscience.
"Well, if you're so confident in your skills, why don't you go join a processing team at the Management Bureau? You're only here because your skills aren't good enough for that, aren't you?"
"Hah! You think I'm here because I can't go? I've done my fair share of processing monster materials. You think I couldn't do it if I wanted to?"
"Oh, is that so? I didn't realize this was such a prestigious little shop. But anyone can talk a big game. I could say I've grilled and eaten steaks made from O-Rank Monster meat."
Unfortunately, I've never actually done that. ...Wait, now that I think about it, I have eaten it raw before.
Anyway, at this rate, it felt like I was going to lose the argument. Materials from monsters or anomalies couldn't be processed through conventional methods. You needed special facilities, Hero-level power, or a master using specialized tools.
However, the benefit of making weapons that way was merely getting a sword that was incredibly hard to break or a spear that never lost its edge, so it usually wasn't cost-effective. So, if what he said was true, I had essentially lost.
I mean, who would expect a master like that to be in a random street shop?
Just as I felt the shadow of defeat looming over me...
"Agh, of all times, I don't have any of those materials right now. If I did, I'd show you!"
Hearing that, an idea flashed through my mind. If it was something made from a monster... didn't I have one?
I immediately pulled my favorite tool from my robe and tossed it onto the anvil.
"Then why don't you give this a try? I've been worried about the increasing number of teeth marks on it lately. Why don't you smooth it out for me?"
A rod made from the bone of an O-Rank Monster. If he could do something about this, I would be willing to admit defeat.
"Hah! Seeing as you carry something like this, you're clearly not ordinary, but fine. I'll smooth it out for you, so just you wait. I'll be charging you a hefty fee, including damages for the insult!"
Wait, he really shouldn't be able to smooth it out.
For a moment, a sense of foreboding settled on the back of my neck, but my rod had already been thrown.
* * *
Fortunately, the blacksmith couldn't do anything to my rod.
He must have been a truly incredible master, because the moment he picked up the metallic rod and closed his mouth, his frivolous attitude vanished, replaced by an aura of seasoned experience.
Then, as if he realized the rod's uniqueness just by tapping it against the anvil a few times, he immediately brought out a heavy-duty tool like a plasma cutter. He even achieved the feat of successfully heating the rod...
But in the end, he failed to process it.
"...What the hell is this thing? Tsk. I lost. Since you showed me such a rare material, I'll consider the insult forgotten."
In front of the bowing blacksmith...
"No. I was also in the wrong. I didn't realize you were such a master. So, if you just apologize for calling me a kid, I'll apologize as well."
I spoke with my head held high.
"Yeah, alright. Sorry for calling you a kid. But try to understand our struggles too."
"I see. I'm sorry. From now on, I'll make sure to do my bad-mouthing where others can't hear me. Oh, and just as a suggestion, why don't you try applying to the Management Bureau’s processing team? They're always short-staffed."
"I'll think about it."
We concluded our heated exchange on a surprisingly warm note.
"Senior. You're being pathetic."
I thought I heard someone bad-mouthing me from behind, but it must have been my imagination.