Cale Lut Brighton
“It's done!”
As I finished engraving the magic pattern on the plate armor, I tossed the engraving pen aside and let out a triumphant cheer. With this, every piece of equipment for the guild members was complete.
The final piece was the SS-rank armor that Jeonghun would wear later. If his job change quest succeeded and granted him the reward, he'd equip it right away. If not, he'd get it afterward.
Of course, failure wasn't even on my mind. I trusted Jeonghun completely.
And just like that, I'd finished outfitting the entire raid team that had joined the guild. It had been exactly four months since I succeeded in crafting that A-rank armor.
“Master! How have you been? What's with the sudden visit—no heads-up at all?”
After succeeding with the A-rank armor, I'd made armor for Jeonghun and Yeji, then immediately crafted a set for Kim Seok-jung. He took it and headed back to the States. There was nothing more I could teach him anyway, and he couldn't leave Mana Machine idle for too long.
After that, I'd handled everything solo. But today, out of nowhere, Kim Seok-jung showed up unannounced. And not alone—he brought a woman and a man with him.
The woman had blonde bobbed hair and looked like a stunning beauty in her early thirties. The man, by contrast, was rapidly balding in an M-shape, which made him seem older. If you judged purely by appearances, he looked the oldest of the bunch.
“As your master, I couldn't just barge in while my disciple was working. Nah, that's not the way of a proper teacher.”
Unlike his usual gruff self, Kim Seok-jung was emphasizing the word master like never before. We'd formed that bond when he taught me, but he'd never stressed it this hard. Hell, back then he mostly called me “you punk.”
Now he was suddenly hammering home the master-disciple thing, and it felt off.
Is it because of them?
If I had to guess, it was probably because of these two strangers. I decided to play along with his game. After all, thanks to the metallurgy he'd taught me, I could craft the armor I made today. He was my master.
He'd set the stage, so matching his rhythm was only natural.
“Nonsense. When my master reaches out, it's only right for this disciple to answer. I'm deeply grateful for your boundless grace in thinking of me despite all that.”
But once I played along, a doubt crept in.
Hold up—do they even understand what I said?
Kim Seok-jung looked foreign but was Korean at heart, so we got by fine. No guarantee these two were the same.
As I wondered, Kim Seok-jung spoke up.
“I brought some people I wanted you to meet. Introduce yourselves. This is Cale Lut, the one I told you about.”
I jumped in surprise at his words. No way—these people were Cale Lut Brighton?
I bowed politely to Cale Lut.
“Hello. I'm Kim Suho.”
But even after I bowed and greeted her, Cale Lut didn't react.
That confirmed my worry. So I tried a short English greeting.
“Hello. My name is Kim Suho.”
Still nothing. She just stared at me with a stern face and indifferent eyes.
Was my pronunciation off? Did I mess up somehow?
As I pondered the silence, Kim Seok-jung burst out laughing.
“Puhaha! Not him.”
What? If not him, then...?
That's when the woman beside him spoke.
“Nice to meet you. I'm Cale Lut.”
I nearly choked. Cale Lut was a woman?
I'd assumed it was a guy, no question. But this beauty? And her Korean was as fluent as Kim Seok-jung's.
The real shock came next.
“I've heard so much about you from Eii. They call you the reincarnation of Hephaestus.”
Eii? What the hell is their relationship?
“Oh? You're looking flustered. Didn't Eii tell you about us? He's always so thoughtless.”
What? No way. It can't be. No way he'd let her trash-talk him like that if...
“Hoho. Your face says it all. Yes, that's exactly what you're thinking. I'm Eii's wife.”
I froze solid. It took a good while to thaw.
The first thing I noticed after snapping out of it was Kim Seok-jung's wink. I got the gist—he was signaling me not to badmouth Cale Lut.
I wanted to spill everything to her out of spite for tricking me (or rather, not telling me), but I held back for her sake.
Once I'd recovered, we headed up to my private office: me, Kim Seok-jung, and Cale Lut. The balding guy stayed outside on guard. He was introduced as Cale Lut's hunter escort—nothing more. But I could tell he was no pushover. Handling her protection solo meant he had to be seriously skilled.
“Master, seriously—what brings you here without a word?”
Once we settled in, I asked Kim Seok-jung the real reason.
“She wanted to meet you.”
He jerked his chin at Cale Lut, who picked up seamlessly.
“Yes, I begged him to bring me. I wanted to see the blacksmith who surpassed Eii's metallurgy with my own eyes.”
She clasped her hands together like she'd spotted her favorite celebrity up close.
It was disorienting coming from Cale Lut Brighton of all people.
Who was she? The woman who'd topped Time magazine's list of the world's most influential people for 16 straight years. The richest person alive. A shadowy puppet master operating behind the scenes.
Rumors swirled that mana engines even had expiration dates just so she could control the world. And there was evidence: the war between Namibia and Botswana about five years back.
Those obscure African nations shared a border in the south. Relations weren't bad—until an S-rank dungeon gate spawned right on it. Both claimed it as their territory, spitting accusations. Botswana seized it by force, sparking skirmishes that escalated into full war.
That's when Cale Lut issued her warning: stop the war, or no more mana engines.
The two, lost to rage, ignored her. So she cut off supplies entirely.
It was chaos. Over 50% of their power plants ran on mana engines with barely a month left on the clock. But instead of backing down, fearing blackouts, they doubled down—aiming to end the war in 30 days.
Then a joint message from every African nation arrived: sign peace now, or fight us all.
Cale Lut had warned them too: no war, or no engines for the whole continent.
The two nations signed peace immediately, agreeing to alternate ownership of the dungeon monthly.
With influence like that—moving the world at will—having her gaze at me like a starstruck fan was downright bewildering.
What I didn't know was that she ranked second on that influence list only because the elite viewed Miracle as an even bigger force. To them, he outshone her.
“Haha.”
I gave an awkward laugh as Cale Lut continued.
“And... I actually have a favor to ask.”
“Of course, ma'am. Anything—say the word. If it's within my power, I'll make it happen.”
Now that I knew she was Kim Seok-jung's wife, I used the proper term.
“If you ever get your hands on an SSS-rank mana stone, would you sell it to me? I'll pay top dollar. Actually, you probably don't need money. How about exclusive Asia sales rights for mana engines?”
Thanks to my NPC abilities, few things fazed me anymore. Cale Lut's identity earlier was no small thing, though—that shook me.
And this? Mana engine Asia sales rights? That was unchecked power over the continent.
“Do SSS-rank mana stones really fetch that much? And giving me that kind of deal—won't it look like favoritism to everyone else?”
Her offer didn't add up. I hadn't even seen an SSS-rank dungeon yet, let alone snag a stone. And what would she offer others?
“Absolutely. It's more than fair—I feel like I'm shortchanging you. And as for others... for the next five years, minimum—maybe longer—no one but you will acquire SSS-rank mana stones.”
“What makes you so sure?”
I smiled at her confident tone, probing for her reasoning. Cale Lut explained.
“After hearing about you from Eii and seeing your work, I was stunned. I concluded only gear like yours could take down SSS-rank monsters. So I gathered the world's top blacksmiths and taught them ancient metallurgy. Not a single success. They couldn't even mimic it. They're too entrenched in modern ways—too late to pivot. They've got too much to lose now. That's why I'm training new blacksmiths from scratch in the old arts.”
Now it clicked. She wanted me to supply her SSS-rank stones while her new smiths trained.
Before, she'd have dismissed copycats as impossible. But seeing Hespera pull it off? Another genius could do it too. Not perfectly, but enough to advance beyond current weapons.
“I'm grateful for the offer, but sorry—it's too soon to commit. Let's talk contracts once I actually get an SSS-rank stone. But I promise this: you'll be the first I tell.”
Asia sales rights were god-tier power. But if I needed influence, revealing I was Miracle would be quicker. I was confident it'd be safe now. Still, no point—too much hassle, no real need.
If it ever came up later, who knew. For now, zero interest.
For Kim Seok-jung's sake, though, I left the door open.
“Perfect. We'll discuss the deal then.”
I'd worried she'd take offense, but she smiled as brightly as ever.
It made sense. She needed SSS-rank engines to make the stones valuable. Without them, they were worthless paperweights. Knowing that, she was thrilled I'd kept options open.
“One more thing I want to ask.”
Her eyes, already starry like a fan's, lit up with otherworldly zeal.
“Could you make me some armor too?”
In that moment, I wondered if this was her real reason for coming.
To be continued in the next chapter...