The Invisible Hand

"I'll take you to Hanil Blacksmith."

"Yes. Thank you."

Having the driver handle the wheel was truly convenient.

"It feels as though it has been quite some time since we last visited."

"You iron-headed fool. It's only been two weeks. What do you mean, 'quite some time'?"

"That is how it feels to me. You magic-user."

Well, she had a point.

I found myself quietly agreeing with Sir Isra.

A great deal had happened lately.

The attack by the Chinese hunters.

Director Jeong Seungil's declaration that I was the next SS-class.

And Sir Isra reclaiming her living appearance.

Hmm.

Yeah.

The biggest shock of all had been the revelation that Sir Isra was a woman.

Beating an active A-class hunter barely even registered next to that.

"Did it surprise you so greatly?"

"How could it not?"

We chatted as the car rolled along, and before long we were near the blacksmiths' street.

"If I'm not out by six this evening, just head home without me."

"Understood."

Once I stepped into a forge, there was no telling when the work would end.

More than once I'd gotten so deep into the swing of hammering that I skipped dinner entirely.

Nam Jinwoo greeted me the moment I entered the smithy.

"It's been a while, Hunter Park!"

"I heard you've been busy."

"Helping Master with his work. Are you feeling all right?"

"Ah. Not a scratch on me."

I'd burned through most of my undead subordinates, true enough.

But not a single hair on my head had been harmed—that much was fact.

"Hunter Park, you are the future of Korea's blacksmiths. Please take care of yourself."

I had no idea when I'd been appointed to that role.

Nam Jinwoo's expression was so earnest I couldn't even brush it off as a joke.

Ugh.

The praise made me squirm, so I changed the subject.

"I need some advice."

"Please, go ahead."

"I want to increase my work speed."

I laid out the problem that had been weighing on me lately.

My equipment was wearing out faster and faster.

Repair speed, however, stayed fixed, so non-combat downtime during gate raids kept growing.

"You need a way to raise your work efficiency, then?"

"Yes."

"There are several methods."

The first was upgrading my tools.

Just reinforcing the forge, he explained, could cut the time needed to heat bones.

"In a gate, a portable forge is the best I can manage."

"Not all portable forges are created equal."

Hanil Blacksmith kept several grades of portable forges on hand.

Simply swapping the equipment could shave off more than ten minutes.

"Try one later."

"Oh—ohhh! Thank you."

High grades on gate raids were decided by clear time.

Ten minutes could mean the difference between ranks.

Just changing the forge would save time? Music to my ears.

"The second method is adding more hands."

"That might be tough."

Bone metallurgy was essentially my unique skill.

Even Meister Han Yohan had no talent for working bone, or so I'd been told.

Bone was fragile under extreme heat.

I couldn't hand such unsuitable material off to anyone else.

Bringing other blacksmiths into a gate raid was its own headache.

"There is another way to add hands."

Nam Jinwoo stepped up to the anvil.

"Watch carefully."

The hammer resting beside the anvil rose smoothly into the air.

Looking closer, I could make out the faint outline of a hand gripping the handle.

Clang!

"This is how you can increase your hands."

Whoa.

Coincidentally, I had seen something similar not long ago.

That foreigner who had shaped arms of pure mana to wield two swords at once.

But hadn't he said it was an enhancement of his unique ability, Weapon Master?

"Invisible Hand has nothing to do with unique abilities."

"Ah. That's a relief."

"Any blacksmith class can use it."

Whew.

Good.

Necrosmith was classified as a blacksmith class.

So there shouldn't be any problem learning it.

"Then you don't need something like ability awakening?"

"A craftsman's art can only ever wield a hammer."

Unlike that foreigner, Invisible Hand couldn't just grab a sword and start swinging.

Sir Isra's timely explanation helped me understand.

The purpose of a mana-forged arm changed with the user's role.

"It's a bit harder than Mana Folding, but Hunter Park will pick it up quickly."

"……"

Damn it.

He said anyone could use it.

The conditions sure sounded brutal.

"Would you like to try learning it?"

"Might as well give it a shot."

If it was a skill I'd learn someday anyway, I might as well attempt it now.

If it didn't work, no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠harm done.

I'd mastered Mana Folding faster than expected; maybe this would click just as quickly.

……There was a time when I thought that too.

"Ha. This is ridiculously hard."

Noon came and went.

The sun hung on the western ridgeline and began its slow descent.

I hadn't even begun to grasp Invisible Hand.

I hadn't so much as glimpsed the first stroke of the character for "hand."

"All right. Let's try again."

At Nam Jinwoo's instruction I lifted the hammer.

The method for learning Invisible Hand?

You had to want it so badly you would even borrow a cat's paw if it helped.

Was that even a real explanation?

Nam Jinwoo delivered the line with complete seriousness, as if reciting classical calligraphy.

"Don't push yourself too hard, Hunter Park."

"Invisible Hand has always been difficult to master."

"It'd be easier with a little makgeolli courage. Care for a drink?"

Three master craftsmen who had come to watch each offered a comment.

Ah.

Maybe it was the thirst, but I genuinely craved some makgeolli.

"Elders, any advice?"

"I just kept hammering and one day it popped out on its own."

"You have to engrave the image deep in your heart."

"They say truth comes out when you're drunk. Liquor will give you courage."

I decided to ignore the alcohol talk.

Putting Nam Jinwoo's and the masters' words together, it boiled down to this:

While working in a state of complete absorption, the image of the hand engraved in your mind naturally manifests.

Wow.

That was about as helpful as saying "swing a sword a bit and Aura will just gush out."

"Aura is not something one awakens so easily."

"Iron-head. Don't you understand metaphors?"

I thought I had the key point, at least.

For several hours I refined bones without rest.

I detached and repaired the armor of the Armed Zombie Warriors.

I reinforced the worn sections of Tigris's equipment with extra bone.

It wasn't wasted time, so I hadn't lost anything.

Still, some real progress would have been nice.

"Image, huh."

Suddenly something flashed through my mind.

Yesterday's A-class hunter who had dueled my two subordinates.

The foreigner had swung swords with arms formed of pure mana.

That was the awakening of a unique ability; I couldn't copy it directly.

"What if I use a physical object?"

"What do you mean?"

Don't answer a question with a question.

Instead of replying to Sir Isra, I rummaged through my subspace carrier.

An idea that had just struck me.

I had no idea if it would work.

But there was nothing to lose by trying.

I pulled out a spare bone and set it on the anvil.

"Hunter Park?"

"Just a moment."

No need to refine it with bone metallurgy.

I boldly carved the bone with a sculpting knife.

I shaped one piece to roughly the length of my forearm.

The others I carved into the shape of a hand.

Instead of thread, I linked the bones with spirit circuits so they held the rough form of a human arm.

The image had to be firmly fixed, right?

Then I'd just make a real one.

The same way that foreigner used his ability.

The only difference was mana versus actual bone.

"Sir. Press this against my shoulder blade."

"To apply a ruffian's ability in such a manner… My lord is truly remarkable."

"Save the praise until after it works."

Don't go planting flags like "Did we do it?" already.

A ticklish sensation ran across my back.

If I poured energy into it the same way I used Mana Release…!

Clack, clatter—!

The bone fragments shaped like a human arm began to creak and move.

The rattling hand.

It moved exactly as I willed.

It felt as if I had grown an extra arm.

"Good heavens. Using bone as a medium for Invisible Hand!"

"Hooooh. What am I looking at?"

"Did I drink too much today?"

The three masters gaped in open shock.

"I never imagined something like this was possible."

Nam Jinwoo kept letting out exclamations of pure admiration.

Wait.

An A-class skill?

Mana Folding had been B-class.

Just how hard a technique had he been trying to teach me?

……Not that the timing was right to complain.

Limited or not, I had still learned ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it, hadn't I?

"Hahahaha! As expected of my lord, the master of Isra!"

"Our master really is something else."

Why are you two looking so proud?

Ugggh.

I wanted to die of embarrassment.

Learning Invisible Hand – Park Minho Version didn't mean I was finished.

The arm linked by my mana wasn't nearly as strong as I'd hoped.

Twang!

The hammer I brought down on the heated bone bounced off in a completely wrong direction.

The grip strength of the hand holding the handle simply wasn't enough.

"Hoooooo."

The drain on mana and concentration was considerable as well.

Thinking of it as controlling a third arm left me thoroughly exhausted.

"It will be difficult to use in actual combat right away."

Nam Jinwoo muttered with a note of regret.

"Well, I'll just have to get used to it."

Once I grew accustomed to Invisible Hand, my work speed would rise.

I was still wrestling with the new skill when a familiar voice called out.

"Hunter Park, you're here."

Meister Han Yohan emerged slowly from the inner workshop.

Whoa.

His eyes were as intense as ever today.

Bloodshot and radiating murderous intent, as if he had just finished off a few people.

The pressure felt similar to facing a holy light.

Or maybe he really had eliminated a few people before coming out to see me.

"Good timing. There's something I want to show you."

He spun on his heel and headed straight back inside.

"Please come in."

"Is it all right for me to enter?"

"Master said it was fine."

Apparently even the apprentices were not allowed in casually.

That must have been why the apprentices working in the smithy were staring at me with wide eyes.

Their gazes mixed surprise, envy, and a touch of jealousy.

"Shall we?"

I followed Nam Jinwoo into the inner workshop.

"Hup."

A wave of heat clung to my skin.

The space inside ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was larger than I expected.

The atmosphere wasn't all that different from the outer forge, yet something felt distinct.

Perhaps it was the lingering touch of Meister Han Yohan's hands.

In a good light it was free-spirited.

In a bad light it was a complete mess.

Even so, within the disorder I could glimpse the pattern of the meister's work.

As expected, a true master was different.

"Master, please tidy up a little."

"Too much trouble. You do it."

……Never mind.

I suddenly felt a little sorry for Nam Jinwoo.

"Look at this."

A massive suit of armor stood against one wall of the workshop.

Was "armor" even the right word?

It resembled full plate mail, yet looking closer it also looked like the exo-suits from science-fiction films.

A blend of near-future design and medieval plate.

The volume of mana revealed by my Spirit Eye was enormous.

"This armor… it's no ordinary piece of defensive gear."

"It's called Gigant Armor."

Meister Han Yohan ran his right hand along the surface.

"Equipment meant to protect blacksmiths."

"Do ordinary blacksmiths ever need to fight?"

"Normally, no. But sometimes it is necessary."

"Hunter Park, have you ever heard of the Cross Gate?"

Cross Gate?