I Picked Up a Hammer
Ten years ago.
One day, out of nowhere, gates appeared.
I clenched both fists.
"So the hunter era finally begins?!"
For someone who loved web novels, the arrival of gates was an all too familiar event. Monsters would pour out, awakened humans would rise.
And I would become a hunter and rake in the money!
Perfect!!!
…Or so I thought. But what came out of the gates wasn't goblin-like monsters.
"Eehee~! Despair, people of Earth!"
KRAKOOM!
Villains in black tights, and comically ridiculous monsters.
They called themselves the Evil Organization.
And they truly did drive people to despair.
"Ahahaha! I have seized your boss's mind and abolished all of your vacation days!"
"Kill that bastard!!!"
"Mind control, really…?"
There were those who fought against these villains and monsters.
The Magical Girls.
"Moonlight Power!!! By the sacred power of the moon, I shall defeat you!"
"Lily will help you with the power of flowers!"
"Carrying soaring courage — Brave Beam!!"
Damn it. So it wasn't a hunter story, it was a magical girl story.
Why?!
Because of this, a man like me can't even awaken!
Anyway, the world slowly began to change.
Ten years passed like that.
I finally managed to land a job, and with the money I'd saved, I bought myself a used car.
It was a momentous day.
At least, it was — until something fell from the sky and obliterated my car.
Whooosh.
KA-BOOM!!!
"……"
Son of a— I'd owned it for less than a day.
"Thor…?"
What had crushed my car was a hammer.
A black hunk of metal with a wooden handle.
What is this thing?
It looked a bit too shabby to be Mjolnir.
"I have found the successor, bbi—!"
Just then, a strange voice came from somewhere. I looked around and found a fat yellow bird perched on the wall nearby.
Bright sparkling eyes, ornate feathers, magical runes inscribed on its body.
It looked exactly like one of those fairies that hang around magical girls.
"It was you?"
"Wh-why are you making that scary face, bbi—! Don't catch me, bbi—!"
The yellow bird was too chubby to fly well. It was easier to catch than I expected, so I brought it home.
"Why are you boiling water, bbi…?"
"Making Chirpy Stew."
"Save me, bii—!!! I'll pay for the damage, bbi—!"
"Ten million won."
"Bii— how is that junk car worth ten million won?!"
"Now~ let's slather on the gochujang, shall we?"
"Fine, bbi—! I'll pay you the money, bbi—!!"
But what came next was even more outrageous: apparently, using the hammer that had smashed my car, I could earn not ten million won but several times that.
"Oh. Really?"
"That's right, bbi—! Sell what you make with this hammer, and what's a junk car? A luxury sports car would be pocket change, bbi—!"
"So what you're saying is, you don't have any money right now."
"W-well, yes, bbi— but if you look to the future, there'll be—"
"Now~ time to add the black pepper~"
"That stings, bbi—! Just hear me out, bbi—!!!"
I swallowed my anger and decided to listen to the story first.
A fairy of a magical girl.
In other words, anything involving magical girls was bound to be no ordinary matter.
I sat the yellow bird down on the kitchen table and heard it out.
"First of all, my name is Ppeupri! I come from Planet Astra, the homeland of fairies, bbi—!"
"I know that from watching fairy interviews. That's the same planet the villains and monsters came from, you alien bastard!!!"
"Th-those guys invaded first, bbi—! We came to protect the people of Earth, bbi—!"
Anyway, Ppeupri said it had come to Earth by order of the Fairy Queen, ruler of all fairies.
Except Ppeupri had been given a different mission…
"I am the fairy of the legendary master blacksmith Belgram, bbi—!"
"Belgram…? Is that person also a magical girl?"
For some reason, the image of a burly fifty-year-old man hammering away in a frilly magical girl outfit floated into my head.
Ppeupri flapped its wings in denial.
"No, bbi—! Belgram is a man, bbi—! Astra isn't home only to magical girls, bbi—!"
According to Ppeupri, Astra's fairies were broadly divided into two classes.
Combat Roles and Support Roles.
Combat Roles, as commonly known, contracted with magical girls and granted them the power to fight the Evil Organization.
Support Roles, like Ppeupri, worked behind the scenes to assist the magical girls.
And Support Roles alone could contract with anyone, regardless of gender.
"So you're telling me to become a blacksmith. Is that it?"
"That's right, bbi—! There's been no successor since Belgram passed away, bbi…. But then Belgram's hammer flew here, bbi—! You are unmistakably Belgram's successor, bbi—!"
Ppeupri told me to try picking up the hammer.
If I was qualified as a successor, I would be able to lift it.
When I went outside, the hammer was sitting right on top of my wrecked used car.
"Go on, bbi—! Surely you'll feel some kind of power, bbi—!"
What is this, Mjolnir?
I tried grabbing the hammer as an experiment, and it lifted easily.
"That's it? That's all?"
"Congratulations, bbi—! You really are Belgram's successor, bbi—!"
Wait, shouldn't some kind of effect have burst out?
At the very least, I expected thunder and lightning.
What a letdown,
—was what I thought, the moment—
You have awakened the power of the stars.
A holographic window popped up before my eyes.
"This is… a Status Window?!"
"Do you feel the power, bbi—! That power is Belgram's experience and knowledge, bbi—!"
The Status Window.
A system that aided the user's growth and use of abilities.
And now I had one too!
"Whoa. But a whole lot of stuff is popping up."
"The path of the blacksmith is no easy one, bbi—!"
Metallurgy, crafting, forging, smelting, and on and on…
Skills scrolled up the window like an encyclopedia.
Don't tell me I have to learn all of this?
"There's no AI or anything to handle it for me?"
"Don't try to freeload off me, bbi—!"
"Cold-hearted."
"If anything's too hard, I'll teach you, bbi—! I was Belgram's excellent assistant, bbi—!"
Oh, right.
It said it was Belgram's fairy.
"Okay. Got it, for now."
"?! Where are you going, bbi—! Aren't you going to try using the hammer, bbi—?"
"I have work? I'm late."
Such is the life of an office worker — even when the Evil Organization wreaks havoc, you still have to clock in.
I went back inside and changed clothes.
Originally, I was supposed to go jogging and eat breakfast, but thanks to that damn yellow bird, I'd missed both.
Sigh. I guess I'm taking the subway to work too.
Life, honestly.
Just then, my phone rang.
"Yes, Team Leader! I was just heading in. Yes…? A monster? You're saying the company factory was destroyed?"
Apparently, my car wasn't the only thing that had been smashed.
The job I'd barely landed after two years of hunting had been blown to bits as well.
The team leader said the company's future was uncertain, that I didn't need to come in until further notice.
Frankly, he advised me to start looking for another job.
"……"
"Bbi— heeheehee! Guess you'd better take up blacksmithing, huh???"
"That settles it. This morning's menu is Chirpy Stew."
"Bbi—?! Spare me, bbi—!!!"
"Get over here!!!"
And so, I changed careers and became a blacksmith.
Meanwhile, Lumina, the Pure White Magical Girl, had injured her leg in battle against a monster.
"Lumina!"
"Lumina, are you okay?"
Supported by her teammates, Lumina was rushed to the hospital. The diagnosis: nothing serious.
But simply lying in a hospital bed was itself something Lumina found hard to bear.
'I'm the Pure White Magical Girl… so why?'
Lumina's abilities were healing and protection.
But that light had always reached only toward others — no matter how desperately she prayed, it never touched herself.
So every time she was injured, Lumina had to suffer the indignity of a hospital visit like any ordinary person.
'…It was never supposed to be like this.'
After all, as long as her barriers held, Lumina rarely got hurt at all.
Lately, though, her magic had been draining to empty even with barely any use. Today was no different.
With her mana completely depleted, she had failed to raise her barrier in time, and the monster's attack had landed as its price.
'Pathetic. I can't even protect everyone, and here I am being carried into a hospital.'
As negative emotions bloomed within her, a black aura began to rise from Lumina's body.
The darkness slowly bled into her snow-white attire.
Just then, a white rabbit appeared above Lumina's pink hair.
"Snap out of it, Lumina—! You mustn't fall into despair, myong—!"
"Lovely."
Only upon hearing the fairy's words did Lumina realize that a black aura was spreading across her body.
When she brushed it away with her hand, the darkness faded helplessly.
"Thank you, Lovely. I was having bad thoughts."
"It's all right, myong—! Anyone would, myong—!"
"My magic drains so quickly these days. Look, my transformation is even coming undone."
Pink hair, pink eyes.
And the pure white dress she wore flickered weakly before slipping away without a sound.
Lying in that hospital bed now was not Lumina, but Kim Yerin, twenty-four years old.
"It seems your equipment has gone faulty, myong—."
"The equipment…?"
"It's not just you, Lumina, myong—! All of Earth's 1st-generation magical girls have been suffering problems just like yours lately, myong—!"
It made sense.
Even smartphones start lagging after a few years of use — why would a magical girl's gear be any different?
Of course it would break down.
"Then what do we do? Can you fix it, Lovely?"
"Not me, myong—! Astra used to have a blacksmith who repaired and crafted magical girls' equipment, myong—! But he passed away, so there's no one now, myong…."
Then there was no way, was there.
Lumina felt despair creep over her again.
But she quickly gathered herself.
"No! There has to be a way!"
"That's right, myong—! There's bound to be a way, myong—!"
"I'll contact my manager. And I need to call the guild, too!"
"A good idea, myong—!"
Lumina gazed out the window and held on to hope.
Because hope is a good thing.
Especially for a magical girl.