Crafting Battle (1)
Crafting Battle (1)
Through the floor-to-ceiling window that filled one wall of the living room, an unobstructed view of Seoul stretched out at a glance.
Endless roads beneath my feet and dense buildings that looked like tiny toy blocks.
Leaning my hand on the window frame and staring blankly outside, I let out a small hollow laugh.
Just a short while ago, I was living in a cramped studio apartment where the sounds of the neighboring couple arguing kept me up at night and a musty smell stung my nose.
To think I'd end up living in a place like this.
No matter how much I thought about it, it didn't feel real at all.
"Is this the last of it?"
I turned my head at the voice coming from behind me.
Hong Chae-yeon was setting a heavy bag down on the living room floor with a thud and wiping the sweat from her forehead.
I hurried over to her.
"Yeah. You didn't have to help, but thanks."
It wasn't empty words; I truly felt sorry.
To use someone who's the guild leader of a major guild for moving boxes.
But at my apology, Hong Chae-yeon shrugged and replied lightly.
"Ah, for this much... It's not even a lot of stuff."
As she said, my luggage was just a few large bags and some small things I'd made myself.
Just then, a clear, bubbly voice came from the open front door.
"Oppa, hello! It's been a while!"
Hong Su-yeon, who had followed behind Hong Chae-yeon, raised both hands and waved brightly.
Seeing her fair, lively face without a trace of the bandaged, sickly appearance she once had, I couldn't help but smile.
I returned her greeting and asked.
"Oh. How's your health?"
At my question, Hong Su-yeon rolled up her sleeve and bent her slender arm up, showing off.
"Completely healthy!"
Despite her confident answer, seeing her smooth, muscle-less forearm, I burst out laughing with a 'pfft'.
"You should eat a lot and exercise more."
At my joking response, Hong Su-yeon pouted her lips but then let out a pleased 'hehe' laugh.
I guided the two sisters to the plush sofa in the living room and said.
"Thanks for helping move the stuff. I'll treat you to a meal, so wait just a minute."
I bravely headed to the kitchen, but when I actually opened the kitchen cabinets and refrigerator, I couldn't help but scratch the back of my head.
Because of the move, the house wasn't properly stocked with ingredients or kitchen tools yet.
I had boasted about treating them to a meal, but all I could immediately pull out were the simple ingredients I'd roughly bought before coming.
'Hmm... I need to go grocery shopping tomorrow.'
Resignedly, I gathered up what ingredients I had and took out cooking utensils, planning to whip up a simple meal.
I had just turned on the stove and was about to start cooking.
From the living room, someone rushed toward the kitchen.
"Si... Si-woo, look at this...!"
When I turned around, Hong Chae-yeon, with a clearly flustered expression that had replaced her usual composure, abruptly shoved her phone in front of my eyes.
Her voice was quivering slightly.
I stopped what I was doing and lowered my gaze to the screen she was holding out.
On the screen, a live broadcast from Nutube, the famous internet real-time broadcasting platform, was playing.
The moment I saw the title of the broadcast with tens of thousands of viewers, my brow automatically furrowed.
[Kim Si-woo, Is He Really the SW Crafter?]
That sentence written in bold, provocative letters filled my vision.
In a corner of a workshop where crafting hunters had gathered.
Under the oppressive heavy atmosphere, a man belonging to the crafting group carefully lifted the camera and spoke.
"Hyung-nim... are you really going to do it...? I'm worried we might just be poking the bear for nothing."
The man's voice was thick with anxiety.
Even if the other party wasn't the real SW, it was an undeniable fact that he was the one who had displayed ridiculous combat prowess in the Tower's raid video watched by the whole world.
He feared that by provoking such a monster, they might get attacked for no reason.
But even at the man's worried question, Kim Dal-gak, who was called Hyung-nim, lifted his chin and spoke confidently.
"Why? Are you afraid he'll storm in here and do a sword dance? If he does, that would actually prove he's not SW. And after finishing a press conference watched by the whole world, do you think he'd do something so stupid? Stop worrying and just start the live broadcast."
At Kim Dal-gak's firm order, the man swallowed dryly and turned on the live broadcast.
As soon as the broadcast started, people began flooding into the stream much faster and in greater numbers than expected.
Part of it was Kim Dal-gak's own fame as one of the most successful blacksmiths in Korea, but what really drew the viewers was the provocative title displayed at the top of the screen.
[Kim Si-woo, Is He Really the SW Crafter?]
Along with the explosive viewer count, the chat window next to the screen began scrolling at a crazy speed.
└ StarlightFrenchFries: What's with the title? Have you finally gone crazy?
└ SleepDeprived123: I laid down to sleep, but I can't miss this~
└ BeggarDie: Thought it was another flex after the notification, but the title what...
└ SBarcodeW: You uncivilized folk, bow your heads.
└ MindlessPoster: You're saying this even after the press conference?
When the viewer count on the screen reached a certain level, the man cleared his throat and looked into the lens to greet.
"Hello, I'm Kim Dal-gak. Those of you who read the title must be thinking, has this guy finally gone crazy? But I'm not crazy. I'm perfectly sane."
He put on a serious expression and opened.
"After watching the press conference, I had one reasonable doubt. Is it correct to assume he is SW just because he has SW equipment? He only claims to be SW, and there's no proof except the equipment he was wearing. Have any of you seen him crafting items himself? That's why I'm sharing my thoughts through this live broadcast."
As he spoke, the chaotic chat suddenly began to shift in mood.
└ FluffyTofu: Come to think of it... I've never seen him use a crafting skill in the Tower...
└ TearyTteokbokki: Hmm... is that so...?
└ PenguinOnCloud: No baseless accusations~ so who's SW then lol
Seeing the viewers waver, Kim Dal-gak cheered inwardly, steadied his breath, and continued speaking.
"Kim Si-woo, known as Barcode, is climbing a Tower completely different from the one we think of. The Tower's terrain, the clearing conditions, everything is different from what we know. Therefore, I believe he obtained a special opportunity there that we don't know about. I think he's being supplied items by the real SW who exists inside the Tower, and in reality, he's just pretending to be that SW."
Kim Dal-gak leaned in close to the lens.
Deep competitive greed gleamed in his eyes.
"Therefore, I would like to use this opportunity to challenge Kim Si-woo to a crafting duel. The rule is simple: whoever creates an item of a higher grade wins. Since it's a duel, the loser should naturally face a penalty."
He stretched the corners of his mouth into a long, unpleasant smile.
"Cleanly, the loser will no longer sell their crafted items. There's a lot of talk about him being the most skilled crafter in the world right now, so I don't think he'll avoid my challenge. I'll be waiting for an answer."
The viewers who had been watching the broadcast had an explosive reaction to Kim Dal-gak's shocking declaration of war.
└ NightSkyWanderer: Wow hahaha, this guy's insane lol
└ YawningCrocodile: Looks like he's scared shitless haha, instantly declaring a 1-on-1 duel;;
└ TriangleGimbapMaster: Actually I don't care about identities, I need dopamine... duel quickly
After safely ending the live broadcast, a relaxed smile lingered on Kim Dal-gak's lips.
He was convinced that he would definitely win this duel.
Currently, Unique-grade items did exist in the world.
But that was a realm that could never be obtained except as extremely rare loot from defeating high-level Tower bosses.
Never once had a Unique grade been born from a crafter's hands.
But Kim Dal-gak was different.
He quietly opened his skill window in the air.
[Skill: Crafting Lv Max]
*With a very low probability, creates Unique-grade items.
The skill description reflected in his eyes was fueling him with boundless confidence.
To create the world's first Unique-grade item with his own hands at a duel that would draw the attention of countless masses and the media.
Using that proof to shatter SW's reputation and flip the current crisis he was in into the perfect opportunity—that was Kim Dal-gak's true goal.
The live broadcast that had been playing on the phone screen Hong Chae-yeon held out ended.
Over the black screen, viewers' chats were still flooding up at a crazy speed.
I stared blankly down at the screen.
It was a parade of nonsense that I couldn't believe even as I heard them with my own ears.
SW isn't me, but some other being inside the Tower?
That I'm acting after being supplied items by that person?
The logic that man had just spouted was quickly sorted in my head.
So, that Kim Dal-gak or whatever, a hunter from the established crafting world, was firmly convinced that I wasn't the real crafter.
And so, he provoked me to have a crafting duel in front of the whole world to prove it.
Even with the ridiculous condition that the loser would no longer be able to sell items.
"What on earth is this..."
Hong Chae-yeon, who was standing beside me, trembled as if in disbelief and spoke.
Her amber eyes were filled with clear anger.
"Si-woo, isn't this guy completely insane? They've monopolized the market all this time, and now that you've established a guild and seem likely to take over the market, they're pulling this nonsense!"
Hong Chae-yeon seemed ready to mobilize the Red Scale guild members right then and there.
Hong Su-yeon also clenched both fists and chimed in from the side.
"Exactly! Our oppa worked so hard to make that equipment! How dare some old man we've never seen or heard of run his mouth like that?"
The two sisters were getting angrier on my behalf than I was.
But the actual party involved, me, wasn't angry or flustered.
On the contrary, my mind became calm and a strange feeling crept up on me.
The unpleasant smile of that man, who was convinced I wasn't the real crafter.
That groundless confidence that he could win no matter what.
Probably, he had something to rely on that made him make such a reckless gamble.
Maybe he has a skill that can produce a Unique grade with very low probability if he's lucky.
But he picked the wrong opponent.
To challenge me, who is making a Legendary-grade weapon with my own hands, to a duel over who can create a higher-grade item?
My mouth clamped shut at the absurdity of the situation.
"Huh...? Look at this punk?"