NPC's Metallurgy 4
"Yes, you're going to make it?"
Choi Taesu stammered in disbelief.
"Yes. I'll make it for you."
"Th-that's... impossible. How could you possibly..."
He trailed off, his mouth hanging half-open in shock, too stunned to even close it.
And it wasn't just Choi Taesu. Every raid member gathered there was equally dumbfounded, struggling to process what they'd heard.
A few recovered quickly—Bang Taegeuk, Kang Jeonghun, and Ha Yeji. Having witnessed things like this before, they bounced back faster from the shock.
As the raid members started coming to their senses, I spoke up again.
"So, as I mentioned earlier, I need details on the weapons and armor you'll be using. I'll also need your stat information. The equipment I'm making is special, with stat restrictions, so the weapon grades will vary based on your stats. Of course, once your stats improve later, I'll upgrade you to matching gear, so no need to worry."
Before they could fully shake off the shock, my words sparked another wave of chaos in the room.
"Stat restrictions on gear? Where's equipment like that even exist?"
"Hold on, doesn't that make it a problem instead?"
"Who do you think makes our gear? The guild master, that's who."
"I know, I get it. But leatherworking and metallurgy are totally different fields."
As the confusion dragged on, I raised my hand to quiet the room. There was no way to continue like this.
"I get that everyone's confused, but please quiet down for a moment."
The noise died down at my words, and I pressed on.
"The stat restrictions are inherent to the gear's nature—nothing I can do about it. And yeah, it's natural to doubt the performance. That's why I brought a sample longsword."
It was the A-rank longsword I'd just forged. I handed it to a raid member, and finally, the conference room erupted.
"Just what the hell is the guild master's deal? Is he even human?"
Kang Taehoon muttered with a ghostly pale expression, and Park Chan-yeol jumped in.
"Human, sure—but one of a kind. The world's only triple-class hunter."
"Even for a triple-class, pulling off something this insane across all classes? No way."
"That's why he's that special. Maybe not even a hunter—could be some other entity wearing a hunter's skin."
"Right! Not a hunter. No hunter could do this. So, what is he?"
Kang Taehoon and Park Chan-yeol were still reeling, chattering away about me—right in front of me.
"Hmm... maybe we drop my story and get to the point?"
They jumped like they'd only just noticed I was there, which left me equal parts exasperated and relieved. At least now things had calmed enough for conversation; a few minutes ago, that would've been impossible.
The A-rank longsword I'd shown in the meeting had opened a new world for the raid members. Even though it was my work, as an A-rank sword, the mana amplification was slightly lower—but aside from that, it was perfect.
Normally, a hunter's mana doesn't convert at 100% efficiency when channeled through a weapon. Based on the raid members' gear, the average was around 50%, and even Zeke's—the world's top blacksmith—hit about 70%.
But my sword? 100% conversion rate. Thanks to the mana crystallization, not a single percent was lost in amplification.
Naturally, the raid members went wild, and even as the meeting wrapped up, they hadn't calmed down. I barely stopped some from stripping off their current weapons and armor to leave them behind.
After the meeting ended, I called Kang Taehoon and Park Chan-yeol aside to discuss the guild join request that had come up.
"You're not seriously thinking of handing over the guild master position, are you?"
Kang Taehoon's face turned grave at my question.
"I'm considering it."
The seriousness was a far cry from his earlier banter in the meeting. Park Chan-yeol spoke up first, a step ahead of me.
"Do you want Elision Guild to end up like Cheonmang Guild?"
Park Chan-yeol's tone dripped with gravity to match.
"That's why I'm agonizing over it. How to move guilds without harming Elision at all."
As their conversation continued, I couldn't wrap my head around Kang Taehoon. Why was he so fixated on joining?
I directed my question at him.
"I don't get why you're pushing this so hard. I even offered exceptions for you as guild master—do you really need to go this far?"
Kang Taehoon pondered for a moment before answering, leaving me speechless in sheer absurdity.
'He wants to be the best? Seriously?'
Kang Taehoon's answer went beyond absurd—it was ridiculous. With Elision no longer the top guild and Support Guild's existence blocking that path forever, he wanted to switch guilds. It hit me like a fresh shock.
At first, I thought, What kind of guy is this? But hearing more, I couldn't just dismiss it.
This raw desire had propelled him to his current position. Mastering a mundane Warrior class to count among the elite, elevating Elision to the strongest guild—it was all thanks to this hunger.
I'd assumed Park Chan-yeol's brains had crowned Elision number one, but they'd already held the top spot before him. And executing those strategies? All Kang Taehoon.
Park Chan-yeol drove the nail home.
"Guild Master Kim Suho, Guild Master Kang Taehoon is dead serious. I get how ridiculous it sounds, but that pure drive to be the best is Kang Taehoon—the whole hunter."
According to Park Chan-yeol, Kang Taehoon's obsession with supremacy shattered the limits of his common Warrior class. He'd tried everything: enduring dungeons to the max, rushing back in post-recovery. A decade of dungeon madness. Even now, to surpass Choi Taesu, he repeated it.
"But he knows effort alone can't cut it sometimes. That's why he's torn now. Beating someone? Just grind harder. But for Elision to be the best? He needs you in Elision—and that's impossible."
Only after hearing Park Chan-yeol out did I start grasping Kang Taehoon's drive.
But understanding it didn't mean I'd let him join Support Guild. Elision existed because of him—Park Chan-yeol's warning about Cheonmang wasn't exaggeration.
He'd built it from five originals, grown it to this pinnacle—his merit was absolute. The members' trust dwarfed even the other top five guilds.
If word got out he'd abandoned it, Elision could truly crumble.
So Kang Taehoon's dilemma persisted, and even Park Chan-yeol—who knew him best—had no easy answer.
In the end, our talk with Kang Taehoon fizzled without resolution.
I had no choice but to lay it out clearly: if he wanted Support Guild, Elision had to stay intact. No exceptions.
Cheonmang's fall had already strained domestic mana stone supply.
Our mainstay was S-rank stones, with over 60% from the top five guilds. Cheonmang's disbandment cut into S-rank supply.
If Elision collapsed too? Disaster.
So I warned Kang Taehoon firmly before parting.
'That should get through to him.'
I had zero interest in mana stone markets normally. This was Lee Musin's favor—a heartfelt plea, so I passed it on sternly.
Plus, post-Cheonmang, Elision collapsing too? Unthinkable.
'How'd I end up worrying about the national mana stone market? Next it'll be the whole planet.'
The thought was so absurd, a hollow laugh escaped me.
The nation buzzed with the SS-rank dungeon clear.
No wonder—successful SS-rank raids meant steady SS-rank mana stone supply. The ripple effects justified the excitement.
As the country dreamed of a bright future from the SS-rank breakthrough, I merged as one with my hammer.
"Success!"
Like with the A-rank longsword, I tossed the hammer and tongs into the air with a cheer. A notification confirmed the sword's completion.
NPC Class effect activated.
S-rank Longsword created.
New equipment creation: Automatically registered in Mold Shop.
The joy of forging an S-rank longsword was short-lived. The equip restrictions left me baffled.
'What? S-rank and it needs 1,000 Strength and Mana?'
When the A-rank had restrictions, I'd wondered briefly. SS-rank gear with insane limits turning into display pieces?
That fear was becoming reality. Whether doubled from A-rank or straight +500, both were problems.
Hunters with 1,500+ Strength and Mana? Barely two or three. Over 2,000? None.
Class differences skewed stat priorities and growth. Even Choi Taesu, with Mana over 2,000, barely hit 1,500 Strength.
With restrictions scaling Strength and Mana one-to-one, it was a headache.
One thought flashed by.
'Does weapon type shift the Strength/Mana balance? Test with an SS-rank longsword later.'
Curious, but priorities first. I dove back into smelting for the SS-rank longsword.
'Melt it down first. Key is if SS-rank ore reacts to my hammer strikes. Or maybe molds fail, but manual forging works.'
With leather armor, I could craft SS-rank hides manually—but they vanished from the shop, blocking purchases. No leftover hides for manual work either.
Now? Different. No vanishing act.
So even if molds didn't list SS-rank like the armor shop, manual might work.
Clinging to that hope for the worst case, I hammered away—and the SS-rank ore's mana stirred.
'It works.'
Even without mold registration, SS-rank forging was viable.
'Focus. Make the gear first.'
I shoved distractions aside, zeroing in on the strikes.
'SS-rank lives up to the hype. Won't budge after one or two hits.'
As expected, SS-rank was tough. The mana clump ignored initial blows. Only after hundreds—precise force, exact intervals—did it yield.
Thus began my brutal duel with the SS-rank ingot.
"This is right, isn't it, Yeji?"
At Kang Jeonghun's question, Ha Yeji shook her head with pitying eyes.
"Not? But I'm no help to the raid. I keep disrupting attack flows. Better to sit out than be dead weight."
Ha Yeji silently watched as he turned away dejectedly.
To be continued in the next chapter... The Hunter Who Awakened as an NPC