Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Teacher of the Dwarves
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The relentless sound of hammering echoed through the dwarf village's forge without pause.
The one producing that sound right now was Hae-jin.
To test whether forging equipment while inheriting Joo-hyuk's status would earn the dwarves' recognition, Hae-jin was diligently crafting a single sword.
Watching him, the dwarves couldn't stop marveling in admiration.
"Could it be that the Elder gave you some special forging tips?"
It was Hans, the dwarf who had brought Hae-jin the blacksmith armor set, asking the question.
In response to Hans's query, the Dwarf Elder himself answered while entranced by Hae-jin's sword-making.
"No way. The heroes arrived, and this hero came straight here. How could I have given him any tips?"
At the Dwarf Elder's words, Hans and all the other dwarves watching Hae-jin's sword-making nodded in understanding.
There simply hadn't been any time for anyone to give Hae-jin pointers on sword forging.
Yet the dwarves were reacting this way because Hae-jin was demonstrating far greater blacksmithing prowess than they had expected.
'That's on par with the Elder...'
They kept the thought inside, not wanting to offend the Elder by voicing it, but every dwarf shared the sentiment telepathically.
No, it wasn't just them.
Even the Dwarf Elder, whose standards they were using, thought the same.
'How can a human's skill surpass mine?'
The Dwarf Elder was utterly shocked by Hae-jin's sword-forging ability.
It was inevitable.
Hae-jin's skill exceeded even what he had imagined, and it even seemed superior to the Elder's own.
The other dwarves hesitated to downplay the Elder, so they saw it as merely comparable, but the fact that the Elder himself felt outmatched spoke volumes about Hae-jin's exceptional sword-forging talent.
And so, under the gaze of all the dwarves, Hae-jin completed a single sword.
As the sword finished, a system window appeared before Hae-jin's eyes.
[Crafting! Super Jackpot Success!]
[You have completed the 'Park Hae-jin Forged Iron Sword (Special)'.]
"Huh?"
Hae-jin wore a surprised expression after successfully forging the sword, thanks to the titles inherited from Joo-hyuk.
It was unavoidable.
An iron sword was basic equipment with a 'Common' grade.
Yet it had come out as 'Special' grade.
The grade order was Common, Advanced, Rare, Special, Heroic, Legendary, Mythic, Divine.
In other words, Hae-jin had raised a Common-grade item by three whole steps.
The effect of Super Jackpot Success.
Crafting success had four levels in total.
'Success', 'Great Success', 'Jackpot Success', and the highest one Hae-jin had just seen: 'Super Jackpot Success'.
Success yielded plain equipment, Great Success raised it one grade, Jackpot Success two grades, and Super Jackpot Success three grades.
By dwarf standards, that is.
A Common-grade item forged by an ordinary dwarf gained the 'Dwarf-Forged' prefix and became Advanced grade. An Elder-level dwarf could produce Rare grade.
To reach Special, it required a Dwarf Lord or Dwarf Hero.
And Hae-jin had achieved it.
Hae-jin was dumbfounded.
'Joo-hyuk really had some insane stuff.'
Truth be told, Hae-jin had thought that even at best, it would be 'Jackpot Success'. Seeing Super Jackpot Success pop up left him stunned.
Naturally, Hae-jin wasn't the only one shocked.
The watching dwarves gaped in astonishment as Hae-jin completed the iron sword with Super Jackpot Success.
If this were a cartoon, their jaws would have dropped with eyeballs and tongues popping out.
While they reacted, Hae-jin flashed a satisfied smile.
"Whew, done."
Hae-jin approached the Dwarf Elder after finishing.
"What do you think?"
In response to Hae-jin's question, the Dwarf Elder replied.
"Ho ho, it seems you have no need to learn or receive anything from us."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
Truth be told, Hae-jin had expected as much.
'Super Jackpot Success is an achievement only possible for a Dwarf Lord or Dwarf Hero.'
But recalling that, Hae-jin couldn't help another thought.
'I guess he already had all the titles from Super Jackpot Success achievements.'
Achieving something like Super Jackpot Success would build a player's accomplishments and generate titles.
But the system showed no reaction to Hae-jin.
The reason was simple.
The accomplishments and titles inherited from Joo-hyuk already included them all.
Anyway, having received the Dwarf Elder's recognition, Hae-jin said.
"Take it."
"Pardon? How could I accept something so precious..."
"You saw my weapon earlier, right? I don't really need it."
"But still..."
"I used your materials anyway. I don't particularly need it."
When Hae-jin insisted, the Dwarf Elder no longer refused.
"Then I gratefully accept."
"Yes. In that case, may I give you a gift as well?"
"A gift?"
"Yes."
"Anything."
Hae-jin shrugged.
There was no reason to refuse a gift.
The Dwarf Elder then briefly stepped away.
Hae-jin could tell where he had gone.
'The Elder's personal forging station.'
Hae-jin wondered why he had gone there.
Upon arriving, the Dwarf Elder began gathering various things.
He returned to Hae-jin with what he had collected and handed them over.
"I would be grateful if you would use these, hero."
What the Dwarf Elder brought were his own blacksmith armor set and hammer.
It was obvious to anyone that they were the Elder's personal items.
Hae-jin asked the Dwarf Elder what he planned to do.
"If I take these... what will you do, Elder?"
"I realized something while watching you forge that iron sword just now."
The Dwarf Elder spoke of a sudden enlightenment.
Curious about what it was, Hae-jin asked.
"What?"
"That I shouldn't rely on equipment yet. So I thought these would be more useful to you, hero. If I could, I'd even give you my anvil and smelting furnace..."
At the Dwarf Elder's words, Hae-jin thought.
'Well, a true artisan doesn't blame their tools. Is that the realization? And he wants to give me the furnace and anvil too...'
The smelting furnace was clearly connected to a lava channel.
Even assuming it couldn't go into inventory, the anvil could, no matter how heavy.
The Dwarf Elder probably thought his anvil was too massive to give away.
Hae-jin asked about it.
"No need. The furnace can't be dismantled... Hmm, but I think I can take the anvil?"
"Pardon?"
"If I can take it, is that okay?"
"If it's possible... Ah! Come to think of it, you have a subspace pocket, don't you?"
The Dwarf Elder had stopped Hae-jin earlier when he pulled out materials for forging.
Anyone could see Hae-jin wasn't wearing a bag, yet he mentioned taking out equipment for the iron sword, so the Elder assumed a subspace pouch.
Later, as the Trials' Arena progressed, otherworld residents would learn about players, but for now, they interpreted inventory as subspace.
Too bothersome to explain, Hae-jin just agreed.
It wasn't much different anyway.
Hae-jin approached the anvil at the spot the Dwarf Elder had just visited.
Placing his hand on it, he thought.
'Acquire.'
The anvil vanished.
"Gasp!"
The dwarves jumped in shock as the anvil disappeared.
It was inevitable.
These were dwarves meeting players—whom they called heroes—for the first time.
Later, otherworld residents adapted to players would generally know their abilities, but now, no one did.
They assumed he was using a subspace pouch, but it disappeared with just a touch, so they were stunned.
After acquiring the anvil, Hae-jin saw.
[Item! You have acquired the 'Dwarf Elder Forged Anvil'!]
Having obtained the Dwarf Elder's anvil, Hae-jin glanced regretfully at the smelting furnace.
'Joo-hyuk carried a portable smelting furnace.'
Regretfully, Hae-jin placed his hand on the furnace and thought.
'It'd be nice if I could take this too.'
That was when it happened.
Shrrk-!
"Huh?"
"Gasp?!"
Both Hae-jin and the dwarves were shocked.
It was unavoidable.
The Dwarf Elder's smelting furnace was meant to be used via a lava channel.
It was equipment not easily itemized.
Yet it vanished.
A system window appeared before Hae-jin's eyes.
[Passive! 'God of Blacksmithing' activates.]
[The God of Blacksmithing can carry blacksmithing equipment.]
[Item! You have acquired the 'Dwarf Elder Forged Portable Smelting Furnace'!]
"What is this..."
Hae-jin had only heard from Joo-hyuk about learning blacksmithing from the dwarves; he hadn't gotten details on the abilities.
Thus, there were many inherited abilities from Joo-hyuk that Hae-jin didn't know.
Among them, the 'God of Blacksmithing' allowed turning a smelting furnace portable.
Having thus obtained the Dwarf Elder Forged smelting furnace as portable, Hae-jin awkwardly told the Dwarf Elder.
"Haha, what do we do? It ended up portable for me somehow..."
It looked like he'd taken the owner's item without permission.
But the Dwarf Elder didn't blame Hae-jin.
"The gods must have passed it to you as a gift. Don't worry about me."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll gratefully accept."
"Take these too, hero."
"Yes."
And so Hae-jin acquired everything the Dwarf Elder had intended to give him.
[Equipment! You have acquired the 'Dwarf Elder Forged Blacksmith Bandana'.]
[Equipment! You have acquired the 'Dwarf Elder Forged Blacksmith Apron'.]
[Equipment! You have acquired the 'Dwarf Elder Forged Blacksmith Gloves'.]
[Equipment! You have acquired the 'Dwarf Elder Forged Blacksmith Shoes'.]
[Equipment! You have acquired the 'Dwarf Elder Forged Hammer'.]
Hae-jin had worried since the rest of Joo-hyuk's items weren't inherited, wondering if he'd get a dwarf-forged set here.
Even a standard dwarf-forged set would have been useful, but getting an Elder-forged set made Hae-jin chuckle.
'Lucky me.'
And the rewards didn't end there.
After fully receiving the Dwarf Elder's equipment, Hae-jin gained a new title.
[Achievement! 'Enlightenment to the Dwarf Elder' accomplished.]
[Title! You have obtained 'Teacher of Dwarves'.]