Hespera 1
The audience was already completely captivated by Hespera, so they barely registered the announcer's words.
"Why are they re-evaluating Hespera's armor?"
"Idiot, the restoration went from A to S+. Convenience shot up to 100 points too."
"What? Was the evaluation wrong? That's why they fixed it?"
"How the hell should I know?"
Most reactions were along those lines. But when the armor maker's name was revealed, the convention hall erupted in even greater chaos than when Hespera's evaluation had come out.
"What, what? Who's Kim Suho?"
"Who the hell is Kim Suho?"
"Does anyone know anything about Kim Suho?"
Now my name was being tossed around the hall alongside Hespera's, but my attention was elsewhere.
Defense on par, restoration slightly better on mine, convenience also higher.
Of course, this wasn't a fair fight since to me it was just an A-rank leather armor. Not that it put me at a disadvantage—the NPC system basically made the armor for me. So this matchup was meaningless. Hell, it wasn't even a matchup.
But if we're purely comparing leatherworking skills between Hespera and me?
I could craft up to S-rank leather armor right now, probably at SS-rank proficiency. The question was whether I could handle the next step: SS-rank leather armor. I couldn't say for sure.
What about Hespera? SS-rank was a given, but SSS-rank? No matter how I thought about it, I couldn't pin down an answer. Unless I asked her directly, even guessing was impossible.
A draw, then?
The reason I was so fixated on this matchup with Hespera was that enigmatic smile of hers. From the moment my armor's evaluation appeared, she'd been staring at me with a smile I couldn't quite read. It seemed joyful, maybe a touch mad. Hard to pin down exactly.
I kept staring back—looking away first felt like losing—but it was getting increasingly uncomfortable.
"The final winner is participant number 235, Hunter Kim Suho. Please come up to the stage, Hunter Kim Suho."
Right on cue, the announcer called my name, so I turned and headed up.
After that, nothing much happened. The Association president came out, congratulated me on the win, and pinned the winner's badge on me. That was it. Not even prize money. I wasn't particularly greedy for cash, but getting nothing felt oddly hollow. Not even a bouquet?
As I wallowed in that emptiness, the president suddenly grabbed the mic again.
"You've probably heard rumors that the winner of this tournament would receive tremendous benefits. Those rumors are true. For a leatherworker, it's a benefit beyond mere money."
Right. It clicked then. I'd heard about it from Jeonghun on registration day, but I'd forgotten amid the competition focus.
What could it be? Something incomparable to money for a leatherworker. An SSS-rank monster corpse, maybe?
I stared intently at the president's mouth, secretly hopeful.
"I'll reveal that benefit now. It's an opportunity to join Parajin, the world's top leather workshop run by Hespera herself. This is an offer Hespera has personally approved..."
The audience gasped in shock before he even finished.
"Whoa! Parajin? A chance to join that place where only the world's best leather artisans gather? That's way beyond money."
"Whoever Kim Suho is, he hit the jackpot."
"Jackpot? It's only natural. You saw that S-rank armor evaluation. S-rank or not, it beat Hespera's. With skills like that, it's a given."
"But if he's better than Hespera, why join? What's the point?"
"You idiot. It's not just any workshop—it's Parajin. Think you'd handle even one SS-rank hide a year here? Might get zero. But at Parajin? If you're skilled, you'd touch dozens a day. That's Parajin. Heaven for leatherworkers."
The crowd buzzed like they'd been the ones accepted. But their reactions didn't matter to me.
I cut off the president. "I'm not going."
"Pardon? You're not going? Smart choice. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—you obviously shouldn't... Wait, you're not? Why? It's Parajin. Parajin."
The president gawked at me, veins bulging in his neck as he yelled.
But I made my refusal crystal clear. "Yes, I'm not. If that's all, I'll be going."
Figuring he'd keep nagging, I stepped off the stage. The audience stared like they'd collectively lost their minds.
"Whoa, he's nuts. Turned down Parajin. Treating it like some corner store."
"Maybe he signed with one of the Five Great Guilds?"
"This moron's been yapping that crap all along. Over ten guilds contracted with Parajin, and none smaller than the Five Greats. That's why it's Parajin."
To them, my rejection seemed earth-shattering, applause thundering on.
But as a non-leatherworker, I had zero interest in Parajin. And one person watched me with the same incomprehension as the crowd: Hespera.
She stared piercingly until I reached the floor, then approached immediately.
"I can't understand. Why refuse?"
"No need for you to. I never intended to go."
I stated it firmly to Hespera, but she showed no sign of backing down.
"Are you free tonight? I'd like to talk properly."
"Of course."
"Then I'll contact you later."
I had questions for her too, so I accepted and returned to my seat.
On the way, I felt countless eyes on me. Or rather, I couldn't miss them. Not just the audience—even participants stared openly.
I ignored them as best I could and sat down.
The closing ceremony followed, and the tournament ended. Then I was swarmed by hunters asking about buying armor.
Not the NPC hideout, no attackers, so no alerts popped up. Surrounded by hundreds, I was stuck.
Luckily, guild members led by Bang Taegeuk arrived, letting me escape.
* * *
Evening came, and Hespera contacted me. We set a meeting spot.
She wasn't there yet, but three leather armors sat waiting.
Huh? These?
One was obvious: the armor I'd made for the tournament.
Next to it, same design—probably Hespera's.
The last, spaced apart, unfamiliar design. Curious what it was.
Unable to resist, I approached Hespera's tournament armor and touched it.
The moment I did, awe escaped me. "Whoa!"
The mana was on another level from any leather armor I'd handled. Sorry, but other hunters' stuff felt like burlap sacks.
51-49, no, 50.5-49.5. Monster mana and Hespera's perfectly balanced.
And that wasn't all—Hespera's armor blended them into fine, sand-like particles.
Others' felt like loose gravel. Hespera was different.
This fusion happened during compression after tanning, showcasing her mastery.
Of course, I was an exception.
Done with her tournament piece, I touched the next.
This... this is.
I knew instantly. SS-rank leather armor.
The mana felt worlds apart from butchering S-rank monster corpses.
Fundamentally different. If C to S mana was gold—10k, 14k, 18k, 24k varying purity—SS-rank wasn't gold. It was diamond.
Just from the mana, I sensed SS-rank monsters' power indirectly.
Monster mana stabilizes during crafting: tamed by the artisan's mana in tanning, blended and tamed further in compression.
This SS-rank was stabilized, yet its inherent ferocity lingered.
Pre-stabilization? Indescribable. And only a tiny handful worldwide could handle SS-rank corpses.
Awe flowed for Hespera's skill in crafting it.
As I marveled, her voice came.
"Defense and restoration aren't S+, but S++. Final score isn't 95.5—it's 100."
She dropped the bombshell right on arrival.
S++ and 95.5 were my armor's scores. No greeting, just re-scoring mine? Baffled, I asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Your leather armor evaluation, Hunter Kim Suho. It was wrong. Not 95.5—100. I never imagined my own criteria had flaws. I wanted to give the proper score."
"Is that so important?"
Tournament over—why now? I didn't get it.
"Of course. Extremely. Your armor broke leather limits, opening new frontiers. It means leather armor can evolve further—possibly conquering SSS-rank dungeons."
I couldn't follow. Re-evaluating out of nowhere, now SSS dungeons? Her smile was more unsettling than her initial stern face.
"I don't understand what you're saying."
"Ah! Sorry. I got too excited. Let me explain step by step."
Admitting her excitement, Hespera began methodically.
"First, weren't you curious? You aced every category, yet final score was 95.5."
"A bit, yeah."
I had been, but couldn't ask then. Score didn't matter much anyway.
"I created the global leatherworker evaluation standards. And 100 points doesn't exist in them. To avoid complacency, but mainly—crafting same-rank armor from same-rank monster doesn't feel like 100. Only surpassing rank does. Same-rank + gets 95."
Hearing that, my heart sank.
No way? She knows it was made from A-rank leather? How? Impossible to tell.
Before entering, I'd confirmed: my armor's new mana hid origins perfectly. Monster rank undetectable by mana or state. Only I knew the leather's grade. That's why I entered—and planned to sell A-rank as S-rank.
But her words cracked that certainty.
To be continued in the next chapter…