Chapter 143: Candidate No. 7, Kang Geomma (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 143: Candidate No. 7, Kang Geomma (1)
Cold sweat beaded on Wieland's temples.
"Haa... haa..."
Desperately catching his ragged breath, Wieland looked at Kang Geomma. Geomma held his sashimi knife in his left hand while placing his right hand directly onto the magic stone.
Watching the scene unfold in real-time, Wieland's pupils dilated in sheer disbelief.
Even as a sinister, malevolent energy billowed fiercely from the magic stone, Kang Geomma remained expressionless.
As if lightly treading on fallen leaves, he suppressed the magic power with a single hand.
Geomma narrowed his eyes slightly and muttered, "The resistance is a bit stronger than I expected."
"..."
Wieland's face turned pale. He could see the ferocious, lingering thoughts seeping through Geomma's fingers.
Aaaaaaaagh!
The accompanying shriek felt as if it would tear his eardrums apart. Wieland revised his assessment of the magic stone.
This was no A-rank. At the very least, it was S-rank—and likely from a top-tier magical beast at that.
...Yet this kid was casually shrugging it off, calling it "a bit stronger than expected" with an utterly serene expression. Wieland had known Geomma was no ordinary kid, but he hadn't realized the gap between them was this vast.
At this point, wasn't the kid the real monster here, not the magic stone? His name even had the character for "demon" (ma) right in it. It was a highly plausible hypothesis.
Kang Geomma shifted his gaze to Wieland.
"Mister, now."
"Ah, right. Got it."
It wasn't over yet. Strictly speaking, they hadn't even truly begun.
Once Geomma purified it, Wieland had to hammer and temper it.
They would have to repeat this process dozens, if not hundreds of times, before it could finally be reborn as a reinforcement material.
Wieland dragged his exhausted body up, stumbling slightly. He desperately channeled strength into his fingertips and squared his hunched shoulders.
Perhaps this very moment would be the turning point that allowed him to take a massive leap forward as a blacksmith.
Wieland snapped his tightly shut eyes open. Ptu, ptu. He spat on his palms, gripped his hammer, and raised it high.
A fierce determination surged through his grip, thick veins bulging on his forearms. He roared, "Now!"
"Yes."
Geomma lifted his hand from the magic stone. Right on cue, the lofted hammer swung down with tremendous force.
Clang! The heavy hammer struck the magic stone. As another shriek erupted, Geomma immediately reached out to suppress the magic power.
Then, the heavy iron block plunged toward the stone once more.
It was a continuous loop of the same process.
Clang! Once.
Clang! Twice.
Clang! Thrice.
Clang! Four times...
Though no words were exchanged, their coordination was flawless. Sweat pooled at the tips of their chins. Sparks spat from the forge, sizzling into steam before they could even hit the floor.
Screeech...
The shrieks of the lingering thoughts gradually faded. Soon, the scorching heat of the forge completely enveloped the dense magic power.
Wieland raised his head. At that exact moment, his eyes met Geomma's.
"..."
The two stared at each other in silence. With just his eyes, Wieland spoke to the boy:
This might just turn out to be the greatest masterpiece of my entire life as a blacksmith.
As if in response, Geomma grinned, baring his teeth.
* * *
Thirty minutes passed.
Flash!
[The immortal magic power has been extinguished by 'Annihilation'.]
[You have gained immunity to external intrusion.]
[Your 「Mental Rank」 has slightly increased.]
Relief washed over me as the status window popped up before my eyes. I had been on edge, worried it might fail, but we succeeded. The proof of our success lay right before me.
With its grudges burned away, the magic stone had been completely transformed into a perfect reinforcement material.
A good start.
Of course, we had only purified the magic stone; the actual reinforcement process hadn't even begun yet.
Still, we had successfully taken the first step. From here on, it was entirely up to Wieland's skill.
That aside...
Wieland slumped into a chair, completely drained. He looked like a man who had burned himself out to a crisp. I stared at him quietly.
Until yesterday, I hadn't trusted him. After all, he had downgraded my Murasame, which was originally a B-rank armament, to D-rank.
But after witnessing his process with my own eyes, my doubts vanished.
The sheer passion of this man...
Even when engulfed by the forge's flames and wild magic power, Wieland hadn't stopped hammering.
I had my 'Mental Rank' to protect me, but he had endured purely on raw willpower.
It could only be described in one way: true craftsmanship.
"...Ugh. This is killing me, absolutely killing me," Wieland groaned. Looking utterly exhausted, he stretched his neck from side to side.
I handed him a cup of cold water.
"Good work. You didn't have to go so far as to close shop for the day, though."
Taking the cup, a faint smile played on Wieland's lips.
"No, I should be thanking you. I gained some great experience thanks to you."
"I'm glad to hear that."
Wieland scratched his head, wearing a warm, easygoing expression. He patted down his apron and glanced at the wall clock. The minute hand was already pointing to fifteen minutes before fifth period.
His gaze shifted back to me.
"Class is about to start. Leave your armament here. I'll reinforce it and hand it over to your dormitory matron by the end of the week."
"...But you said earlier that you'd be busy all month."
"Pushing back a few backlogged requests by a day or two won't hurt. I might as well finish it while I've got the momentum. Besides, my hands are already itching to work on that magic stone. I can't help myself."
His eyes shone with a burning passion as he stared at the magic stone. He kept clenching and unclenching his fists like a man trying to soothe an itch.
That look was remarkably similar to how I—or rather, my past self—looked right before slicing open a tuna. The urge to quickly prep a prime ingredient... That was the mark of a true artisan.
"I'll leave it in your hands."
I bowed politely. An artisan deserved proper respect.
Wieland flinched in surprise, scratching his cheek as if my sudden politeness caught him completely off guard.
Soon, he rolled up his sleeves and declared confidently, "Alright. When you get your armament back, it'll blow your mind."
* * *
At the same time, in the Academy Principal's office.
Medea sat on the reception sofa with her legs crossed, scanning a document with a low, steady gaze.
Opposite her stood a man in a black suit, his hands clasped behind his back. He stood perfectly straight, maintaining an impeccable posture.
He was an employee of the Hero Association—specifically, a manager-level executive who was high-ranking enough to secure a private audience with the Principal of Joaquin Academy. In the Association, he was known as Manager Seong.
Manager Seong had come to obtain Principal Medea's approval before establishing a temporary Hero Association branch within Joaquin Academy.
The Association and the Academy—since this was an unprecedented partnership agreement, there was a mountain of topics to discuss, but...
A heavy silence hung over the office. Visibly tense, Manager Seong couldn't bring himself to speak.
It was because of the warning he had received from the Vice Association President, Spear Saint Richard de Myura, before leaving the Association.
'Listen, whatever you do, do not get on Medea's bad side. She has an incredibly nasty temper. If she snaps, even I can't handle her. She might just be pushing papers now, but back in the day, she was a beast. Press the wrong button, and she'll turn you into a bloody pulp instantly. Got it?'
Tyrant.
In fact, Medea's other moniker was already widely known within the Association. Manager Seong had also heard the origin of this terrifying nickname from the Spear Saint.
Among the Seven Stars, the Sage Medea's role was a healer. However, her concept of that position was slightly different.
—A healer's job isn't to treat damage. A true healer is someone who finds and eliminates the 'target' causing the damage.
It was insane logic. By that definition, wasn't she a damage dealer, not a healer? Did having a support-type Blessing mean she just got lumped in as a healer anyway?
"Ha."
Having finished reading the document, Medea's brow furrowed deeply. Manager Seong's shoulders flinched.
"You people at the Association are really hilarious."
"Pardon...?"
Medea rested her chin on her hand and stared intently at Manager Seong. Just that simple gaze made every hair on his body stand on end. His mind felt paralyzed.
Fluttering the papers, Medea spoke.
"Looking at this document, it seems the Association ultimately wants to interfere in the student council election this October... Don't you think you're being a bit too transparent?"
"...If there are any requests, we will reflect them immediately. Please let me know, Principal."
Manager Seong played dumb. Medea's eyebrows arched sharply, and her voice turned ice-cold.
"'The Hero Association will prioritize caring for the next student council to protect them from subversive forces,' and 'The Association will contribute to the Student Council Election Commission.'"
"..."
"Sure, the justification sounds nice. But in the end, you're just trying to coax the student council kids under the guise of 'caring' for them, aren't you?"
"..."
Manager Seong couldn't offer a single word of defense. It was a report he had spent three days and nights summarizing, condensing, and organizing, yet Medea had effortlessly pierced through to its core after scanning it for just a few seconds.
With a flick of her finger, Medea tossed the document aside. The papers fluttered through the air and landed at Manager Seong's feet.
"I know the Association is suffering from a labor shortage, but this is crossing the line. I only agreed to this partnership because you promised to help catch that bastard Cladi's lackeys. And yet, your first move is a scheme to sway my cadets?"
"..."
Every single word was irrefutable. It was a verbal beating...
In his mind, Manager Seong was already imagining getting physically beaten by Medea.
He pictured himself turned into a bloody pulp, barely breathing, with shattered teeth needing implants... all sorts of ominous scenarios.
Medea quietly watched Manager Seong tremble. Letting out a short sigh, she spoke.
"I'll allow it for now."
"...Pardon?"
Manager Seong's eyes popped wide open. Medea clicked her tongue and explained her reasoning.
"We've had so many incidents and accidents this year that we need all the help we can get, even if it's from a bunch of greenhorns. Your motives might be dirty, but what can I do? I already worked things out roughly with that gorilla of a Spear Saint. The Academy will just have to tolerate this much."
"Th-thank you!"
Manager Seong's face lit up with relief. He was overjoyed just to have survived.
Medea gestured with her chin toward the document at his feet.
"Save it. I'm only approving this because of the clause stating, 'The next student council president will be granted an access pass to the Hero Association Korean Branch.' At least your effort to appear transparent was somewhat commendable."
"Yes, yes. Of course."
Manager Seong nodded eagerly. The discussion was practically wrapped up.
Hum, hum~ Manager Seong unconsciously hummed to himself. As he scrambled to gather the papers, Medea casually threw out another remark.
"Oh, and I heard from the old geezer. You guys at the Association have been digging into our Geomma's background."
"..."
"If you pull a stunt like that again..."
At those words, Manager Seong froze like a stone statue, still bent over. Hunched like a shrimp, he rolled his eyes upward to look at Medea.
She was staring at him with eyes completely devoid of emotion. She was death itself in the form of a woman. The color drained from Manager Seong's face.
After a suffocating silence, Medea's lips parted.
"...I'll let you imagine the rest."
Those faint words drove themselves into Manager Seong's chest like a stake.
Nod... nod, nod.
Pale as a sheet of paper, Manager Seong nodded frantically. At the same time, he made a firm mental note: the moment he returned to the Association, he would immediately order his subordinates to halt the investigation.
This woman, whom even the Vice Association President, the Spear Saint, feared.
Manager Seong was not nearly brave enough to defy the Tyrant's warning.