NPC's Armor 4
'Not bad at all.'
The next day, Kim Seok-jung returned to the forge and watched Kim Suho hammering away, a satisfied smile spreading across his face. He was especially pleased by how completely absorbed Suho was, not even noticing his arrival.
To avoid breaking the young man's focus, Seok-jung quietly observed from the side.
Hoo. Completely different from yesterday.
Seok-jung couldn't help but marvel at the dramatic improvement in Kim Suho's skills. Just yesterday, what Suho had made could hardly be called armor. But today? The breastplate had taken on a proper shape, and the other parts were starting to form as well, bit by bit.
I don't know what happened overnight, but now he's finally showing the potential I expected.
In Seok-jung's eyes, Kim Suho was a genius. No, not just a genius—he was the reincarnation of Hephaestus, the god of blacksmithing. It had been less than a month since he'd learned metallurgy, and he'd already become the world's top smith. What more proof was needed? If Seok-jung hadn't taught him himself, he never would have believed it.
That was why he hadn't worried much about the one-piece armor challenge. Mana control and hammer work were different beasts, of course, and Suho's hammering was still rough around the edges. Normally, you'd master basic armor forging first before tackling one-piece designs. But given Suho's growth rate, Seok-jung figured he could jump straight in.
Yet watching him over the past week had revealed that even geniuses were human. There was an impatience in his strikes, like he was racing against something, causing stagnation—or even regression.
Seok-jung had hoped Suho would figure it out himself, but nothing changed. So he'd given him a break to clear his head. A single day wasn't much, but he hoped for even a small shift. Finding the key was hard, but once you did, breaking through was just a matter of time.
And Suho was a genius, after all. He'd not only found the key but fully realized his mistakes and transformed overnight.
To Seok-jung, the rhythmic clang of Suho's hammer sounded like beautiful music, and he watched in rapt silence, entranced.
Clang!
The moment the armor was complete, the hammer and tongs slipped from his hands and hit the ground.
His head spun, vision blurring, legs buckling beneath him. He didn't know how much time had passed, but he'd been pushing through sheer willpower for ages.
With the armor done, that willpower vanished. He couldn't even stand, collapsing flat on the floor.
He squeezed out his last reserves to open his eyes and check the alert that had popped up, but his eyelids wouldn't budge—they just trembled uselessly.
Then Kim Seok-jung's voice reached him, but he blacked out before he could hear the end.
"Even for you, that's pushing it too far. The armor turned out great, so don't worry—just rest."
After Suho passed out, Seok-jung muttered to himself in admiration.
"I can barely believe he worked nonstop for ten days straight. And maintaining that trance state the whole time? Terrifying kid, heh."
It was unbelievable, even as a witness. What kind of mana pool allowed that? How did he control it so precisely for ten straight days without a single break?
And the focus to sustain trance for that long? But it didn't end there. His hammering grew more refined over time—Seok-jung was in awe.
For Kim Suho, one hour was like another hunter's month. In just four or five days of practice, he'd matched a decade-old smith's skill.
By the final strikes before collapse, Seok-jung had let slip an involuntary gasp of admiration.
Leaving the fallen Suho behind, he picked up the armor for a closer look. The mana flowing through it was impeccable, and the joints were flawless. From the hammering alone, he'd sensed it, but compared to his own work? No shortcomings at all.
"Incredible guy."
Seok-jung grinned down at the unconscious Suho.
"Mu-sik made the right call accepting that request. We can really shove it in Kailun's face now, kekeke."
"Ugh... what? Did I pass out here?"
When he woke, he was staring at the forge ceiling, not his bedroom.
"No way... he really just left me here?"
He remembered hearing Seok-jung's voice before blacking out, which had let him relax even in unconsciousness.
But this? Leaving him after seeing him collapse?
"Damn it. Couldn't he at least send someone to carry me?"
Grumbling at his master, Suho immediately pulled up the alert window.
He'd glimpsed the armor completion notice before passing out. Up to that point, it was the same as with weapons. But something else had appeared after.
His vision had shaken and eyes closed before he could read it clearly, but there had definitely been more. He'd tried to see, but blacked out anyway.
Full of curiosity, he opened the window.
What's the difference with armor? What changed?
NPC Class effect activated.
A-rank armor created.
New equipment blueprint auto-registered in Mold Shop.
Nothing different from before blackout. Thankfully, the armor had equip restrictions like weapons—no higher stats required, as he'd feared.
As he scrolled down to the part that intrigued him most, he doubted his eyes.
Successfully crafted NPC Armor, acquiring exclusive magic pattern.
Magic Pattern Armor Shrink acquired.
Freely switch between pauldrons and full armor.
Limited to NPC Armor. Other magic patterns unusable in pauldron form.
"Armor Shrink? No way..."
The Magic Pattern Shop confirmed it—Armor Shrink was there for real. Mana cost: a whopping 1,000.
His face hardened as he selected Armor Shrink with Copy Drawing.
"Phew! Thank god."
The holographic pattern was between Leap and Haste in complexity—not perfect, but roughly 14-16 divisions, like those patterns.
He'd worried the mana cost implied an insane pattern. At 1,000 mana, it was like a 31-division one. If so, engraving others on plate armor would be impossible.
Even if it worked as imagined, he'd have to ditch multi-patterns. But luckily, the pattern itself wasn't that advanced—hope restored.
The mental image from the description resurfaced, bringing a smile.
"No time to waste."
He grabbed the armor and headed to the workshop to engrave Armor Shrink right away.
In the workshop, he picked up the engraving pen, activated Copy Drawing, and started on the side of the armor.
What? This is drawing too smoothly?
Despite the long break, his hand moved effortlessly. Easier than his mains, sure, but not this easy—like drawing Weight, or smoother.
Ah! Dexterity!
His dexterity gains from smithing were boosting engraving. He could now fit ten patterns—double before—by shrinking them.
Ten 20-division ones, plus plate armor... Jeonghun's quest clear rate just shot up.
His mood lifted.
"Damn. Focus on Armor Shrink."
A momentary distraction caused a slip; he used white ink to fix it and refocused.
"Done."
It finished quickly. Time for testing.
He donned the plate armor. As expected, one-piece plate was a hassle to wear. He had to twist sideways through the slit from left thigh to armpit.
Minimal gaps for defense meant yoga-level contortions.
"Wait?"
As he struggled, he wondered why bother. He stopped shoving himself in, gripped the armor, infused mana, and activated Armor Shrink.
Shrrk.
It folded smoothly like origami, shrinking into pauldrons. He gaped in awe.
Carefully shouldering the pauldrons, he activated again.
They expanded, enveloping his body in under five seconds—fully armored.
"Whoa! This is insane."
He cursed in sheer amazement. Of all his abilities, Armor Shrink topped the list. Transformation was peak male fantasy, right?
But the shocks kept coming.
He'd noticed late from surprise, but the armor had reshaped. His waist mistake had auto-corrected to fit perfectly, like leather armor.
Testing mobility: perfect. Joints felt as comfy as leather.
Correction effect?
No other explanation. Seok-jung's plate was mobile for plate, but never leather-smooth. This was.
Finally, the left-side slit? Seamless. Truly one-piece.
All tests passed, laughter bubbled up uncontrollably.
Kim Seok-jung, witnessing the donning, froze with jaw dropped.
Suho read the envy in his eyes, and as expected:
Seok-jung swallowed hard.
"You... mind teaching me that technique?"
Envy—that's what it was. He'd marveled at Suho's feats before without prying, but now he cravedArmor Shrink.
"Sorry. It's exclusive to me."
"Ah!"
Seok-jung sighed deeply, genuine regret etched on his face.
"But I'll make the armor design you want."
At those words, his master's face lit up like the regret never happened.
Men, through and through.
To be continued in the next chapter...
The Hunter Who Awakened as an NPC