Clang! Clang! Tang---!!!

Tang-!! Tang-! Taaang---!!! The rhythmic clang of hammer striking steel echoed through the forge.

Screeech- The rusty door handle of the dilapidated building let out a grotesque groan, as if it hadn't been maintained in ages. Spiderwebs hung everywhere, and the interior was just as filthy as the exterior—a mess that could easily be mistaken for ruins. Yet my feet moved with uncanny familiarity, heading straight to my destination.

"You brat. Didn't I tell you not to come back?"

A voice drifted from amid the dusty, cluttered piles of junk. I pushed open the back door, and a completely different scene unfolded.

Whoosh---!! A scorching wave of heat slammed into my face. His short, stocky frame belied the thick forearms that bulged with muscle every time he swung the hammer. Despite the blistering inferno that could burn flesh, the old man stood unfazed before the flames, relentlessly pounding away.

"Still hammering that lump of metal today, huh?"

"......"

The thick lump of iron clamped in heavy tongs was too crude to even call a weapon. Each full-force strike boomed with a thunderous thud! thud!, but for some reason, the glowing red mass showed no change whatsoever.

"Isn't it about time you gave up that stubbornness? Smith Hal-son Woken."

At my call, Hal-son snorted derisively instead. He was probably the only one who could treat the Steel Kingdom's king and continent-conquering warlord, Kal Hendrick, with such disdain.

"You know better."

His firm words drew a wry smile from me.

"Calamity approaches."

"So?"

"I need weapons."

Claaang---!! The hammer halted mid-swing. Only its resounding echo lingered, circling the forge.

"Get lost. I won't forge any more arms for the likes of you."

He spoke without even turning around.

"Enough, U-ryu-ga."

The man behind me frowned slightly at the old man's rudeness and spoke up.

"That scrap? You idiots slaughtered all the great dwarves, leaving no one else to use it on, so they handed it over."

"You...!!"

The old man sneered.

"King Guljiwang must be weeping in his grave. Trusting a human over dwarves and giving you the Torong Scripture—only for humans to shove dwarves aside. Well... I'm no different."

I let out a low sigh at his words.

"It couldn't be helped. The dwarves sided with the duchy to the bitter end."

"......They sided with the duchy? Indeed."

Hal-son Woken muttered with a self-mocking laugh.

"Giving you the sword I forged is my life's greatest regret. How much blood have you soaked it in?"

His near-shout made me instinctively grip the hilt of the sharp blade at my waist—the sword he had made for me, my trusted companion. At least... back when he forged it, things hadn't been like this between us.

"How a sword is used is up to the wielder's heart. It was a fair trade, wasn't it? You made me the sword, and I gave you that... thing you wanted so badly."

I hesitated, unsure how to describe the crude, mangled lump he cherished.

"......that you desired."

I couldn't pinpoint when it happened, but the moment ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the master smith Hal-son Woken laid eyes on that worn lump from the palace treasury, he'd demanded it in exchange for forging my sword.

"Yes."

Hal-son slowly turned to look at me.

"To reclaim my clan's long-cherished wish, I had no qualms trading a mere sword. I thought I'd finally return to my homeland and wash away the yoke and shame we'd borne."

Pity flickered in his eyes.

"But you gave me this... and took away the land to return to."

He spoke weakly.

"Pointless, really... since you slaughtered every last surviving Northerner."

"......"

I had no reply to that. It was an inevitable sacrifice for the dream of continental unification. But I knew well that what was necessary for one was agony for another—that was war.

"Even so, I must hammer this."

He gripped the hammer again.

"Or I have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no face to show Young Master, even in death."

As Hal-son Woken thrust the lump back into the flames, his lips moved one last time, saying something inaudible. Not just his voice—the hammering, the crackling flames, even the blowing wind fell silent, as if the world itself had been muted.

Flaaash---!!!

My vision went black.

***

"......!!!"

I jolted awake as blinding light assaulted my eyes, like emerging from a black hole's tunnel. I looked around. I was in the tent. The forge had vanished, replaced by puzzled stares from the Ran-hu Tribe folk.

"Ah......"

This was utterly different from the sensory amplification syncing with NPC memory fragments.

"I remember now."

I muttered lowly.

"Hal-son Woken."

I stared blankly at the tent flap where he'd exited. If sensory amplification bridged my forgotten memories with an NPC's during connected events, what just happened felt like the world itself shoving those memories back into my face.

Similar, yet different.

"......?!"

That's when it hit—like a blackout. My vision crackled with static, afterimages trailing, then system windows flooded in.

'Just like back then......'

Even after the alerts faded, I stared blankly until the windows vanished. I'd forgotten, but the same thing happened at character creation. Back then, it was just 3%, but now it had reached 40%.

And the result:

As the alerts popped up, scorching heat surged through my veins, followed by chilling cold enveloping my body. Astonishingly, two unfamiliar forces churned and twisted below my dantian.

Grip- I clenched and unclenched my fist. Vitality overflowed within me.

'Unbelievable......'

I couldn't close my mouth staring at the two new traits.

'What exactly does "recall" mean?'

Until now, I'd thought it was just a perk tied to the "Memory Keeper" title for Dimension World 1 players.

'Definitely strange.'

Others only carried over their DW1 class abilities, but I'd brought dream powers into the game too.

"Connector......?"

I wondered if the new title with these traits might explain this phenomenon.

'What is this? Shared memories?'

The sole clue in the description, but too vague for answers.

'What exactly is being connected?'

Next word: 'world'. The Memory Keeper effect bridged DW1 players' powers to DW2—a world link.

'And unlike others, my dream powers apply in-game too.'

Dream world and game world—connected.

And... one more. The real world, beyond the game.

From the limited info, at least four distinct worlds. And why me as the bridge?

"Hoo......"

But I inhaled deeply. No time for more pondering.

'Nothing to solve now. Complete the recall to raise Connector rank.'

As the system said: higher levels, more feats, stronger power.

'Quest first. Recall revived a lost memory, for better or worse.'

Ironically, I knew the Ran-hu Tribe—from a mere guard's memory, not the chief or heir Tonpe.

'That old man was a Ran-hu survivor......'

I recalled Hal-son Woken leaving with Tonpe, wry smile returning.

'Knew he was Northern, but never talked enough to learn his tribe.'

A strange pang, like reuniting with an old comrade.

'Can I open his heart this time?'

Then, a striking memory.

'Wait... that lump he hammered—is it one of Chil-ya's materials?'

The divine weapon sword for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠true Chil-ya power.

'Maybe......'

My grip tightened unconsciously.

'I can find a clue to Byak-ya.'

Oddly, his memory was vivid, yet the lump felt overlaid like paint on a blurry canvas.

Throb- My temple pulsed.

'Is this the system's doing too?'

My memory, yet not fully mine to command.

Grind- I gnashed my teeth unwittingly. Teasing, hazy recollections felt like the game world hiding them— not yet time.

"Um...... Are you alright?"

Rakipe eyed me worriedly.

"It's nothing."

I smiled faintly at the chief and pulled the demon armor from the chest.

Clink- Made of thin chains, it was light and ideal for hunters.

"Not bad."

Perfect for boss monsters alongside Chil-ya 4th Sword's large-monster bonus.

[Seeing that here confirms Ran-hu ties. That's the armor I wore hunting Rakomu. Usable for now.]

'Great. Needed armor anyway.'

Black Eye seemed to recognize it as he spoke.

[Yes. Luck or coincidence, with Chil-ya 4th Sword and that armor, we can raid the serpent nest.]

'Serpent nest? Didn't you hunt Rakomu already?'

[Left the eggs. By now, offspring are adults. Worth a visit. Serpent scales make fine materials.]

He reminisced like old times.

[Don't misunderstand. They're inferior to the parent; getting hurt by them proves you're no big deal.]

Tsking at Rakipe again, Black Eye continued.

[I'll teach scale use later. Frost Serpent scales are prime medicine.]

I nodded slowly.

"Rakipe."

"Speak."

"Don't you want to clear your name? Tell me what happened to your tribe, and I'll make the opportunity."

"......Pardon?"

The chief slowly looked up, eyes trembling faintly.

That's when it happened.

'Huh? Not "quest discovered," but "quest generated"......?'

A small black alert hovered over the chief's head.

Opportunity had come to me too.