Chapter 97
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: The Hidden Forge
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In one corner of the subspace terminal stood the Korean gate.
Yeom Seong-ha stood in front of a pillar in the bustling lobby, arms crossed as he checked his watch.
"......"
It was 1:50 p.m.
The appointed time was 2:00 p.m., but Yeom Seong-ha already hated just standing there waiting.
'He just needs to make the spear, so why all this extra nonsense...'
What kind of help could a blacksmith like him possibly offer anyway?
Feeling like he'd been saddled with dead weight, Yeom Seong-ha furrowed his brow before uncrossing his arms.
"......What a waste of time."
Spears were a dime a dozen in the workshop anyway. The moment he turned toward the gate to head there and grab one, a voice called out.
"Ah. Over here?"
Lee Se-hun sidled up next to him as if he'd been there all along.
"......When did you get here?"
"Just now. You looked in a rush, so let's hurry."
Yeom Seong-ha grimaced at Lee Se-hun's casual nod toward the gate and easygoing smile, then turned away.
"If you fall behind, I'm leaving you."
With that cold remark, he strode off. Lee Se-hun chuckled and followed him through the turnstile.
Beep─
Swiping his student ID produced a short mechanical beep, opening the turnstile. They followed the corridor to a wide hallway.
This gate connected to locations all across Korea.
Unlike the dangerous gates reserved for heroes, this one was mainly used by civilians, giving it a far more relaxed atmosphere.
"So, where's the workshop?"
"......"
Instead of answering Lee Se-hun's question, Yeom Seong-ha marched silently toward the Gangwon Province terminal.
'Guy's built like a mountain, but acts like a total kid.'
Lee Se-hun smirked and followed. That's when odd stares started pouring in from around them.
Gazes curiously eyeing his face. Ones pretending to glance by coincidence while scrutinizing him and Yeom Seong-ha. And finally, vaguely familiar ones from somewhere.
From the variety, Lee Se-hun could roughly sort out who was who.
'Civilians, guys sent by the Flame Flower Sect. And old man Ma Gwang-su.'
He'd wondered if they'd ask the Yuanjian Temple for help like before, but with the sect's power struggle involved this time, they seemed to have mobilized directly.
'Or maybe it's because of the word "promise."'
Before his regression, Ma Gwang-su had been largely indifferent to everything except killing doppelgangers and demons.
But one of the rare things that caught his interest was promises—or more precisely, people who tried to keep them.
'He always grumbled that the ones straining to keep a single promise were the most annoying.'
In reality, he'd curse them as fools every time they visited the workshop, but word had it he secretly helped them out afterward.
'Seemed like he had some backstory... Wonder if I'll hear it this time.'
He rarely talked about himself, but since they'd formed a bond unlike before the regression, maybe there was a chance.
As Lee Se-hun pondered while walking,
"......"
he spotted Yeom Seong-ha's back, standing still in the distance.
After striding ahead like he'd ditch him for real, now he was waiting? Lee Se-hun caught up with an incredulous look.
"Hey. You practicing your tough-guy act or what?"
"......"
"Just say thanks for the help instead of this pointless pride bullshit..."
"Shut up."
Yeom Seong-ha didn't even meet his eyes before marching off again. Lee Se-hun gave a wry smile and trailed after him.
"Tch......"
Ma Gwang-su, in his baseball cap pulled low, quietly followed behind.
***
Vroom─
After getting out of the taxi, Lee Se-hun slowly took in the surroundings.
"Pretty quiet around here......"
A small village nestled below a mountain valley, with rice paddies nearby. There were barely five houses, and it felt eerily deserted.
As Lee Se-hun surveyed the gloomy place, he spotted smoke rising from a workshop atop the hill.
"Up there?"
"Yeah."
Yeom Seong-ha gave a curt reply and headed up the hill. As Lee Se-hun followed, he eyed the darkened houses.
'Hmm... Looks like he prepared as best he could.'
Various traps hidden around the houses. They'd clearly put in effort, but Lee Se-hun spotted some sloppy spots.
'Needs some fixes to be properly effective.'
Noting a few areas, he crested the hill and beheld the workshop.
It resembled a rundown countryside home, yet equipped with modern chimneys and safety gear.
Like someone who'd remodeled an old house out of attachment. Lee Se-hun gazed at it curiously.
'Must have some story behind it......'
As he examined the weathered details,
Bang!
the workshop door flew open, and an old man emerged.
"......"
The elderly man had black hair streaked white at the roots, his temples gray. He stared at Yeom Seong-ha with wide eyes, then looked up at the sky.
"Is it over......?"
His hollow expression and weary voice sounded like he'd given up on life. Lee Se-hun whispered to Yeom Seong-ha.
"What's with him?"
"......Beats me."
Yeom Seong-ha, equally baffled, furrowed his brow and approached the old man, Park Jin-hwan.
"What happened?"
Park Jin-hwan slowly lowered his gaze to Yeom Seong-ha.
Then, as if snapping out of it, his face twisted in frustration. He grabbed Yeom Seong-ha's collar and shook him.
"How many times have I told you that the moment you show up, both you and I are dead meat to the sect leader?! And you still crawl all the way here? You trying to get yourself killed?!"
It seemed less anger and more exasperation. Yeom Seong-ha stood firm without budging.
"I'm not dying."
"Why not? You gonna give up the sect leader position now?"
"I'm here to guard you, so neither of us dies."
"That's why you'll die, you idiot... Huh?"
Park Jin-hwan, yelling in frustration, belatedly noticed Lee Se-hun and widened his eyes.
"You..."
"Nice to meet you. I'm a first-year in Babel's Forging Department..."
"Lee Se-hun?"
Park Jin-hwan cut in with a hesitant expression.
"The top student Lee Se-hun? The one who made a sword for that monster Myers...?"
"If the monster is Jake, then yeah, that's me."
Park Jin-hwan looked dubious as Lee Se-hun nodded.
"Why would someone like you come to a place like this...?"
"The guy next to me asked for help."
"He came on his own."
Yeom Seong-ha grumbled curtly. But that only shocked Park Jin-hwan more.
'He didn't swing a punch...?'
Making a displeased face but ending it with words? In disbelief, Park Jin-hwan recalled a rumor he'd heard.
'Is the talk about him being close to Lee Se-hun actually true?'
He'd dismissed it as fabricated slander to frame Yeom Seong-ha for colluding with outsiders, but apparently he'd been mistaken.
Glancing between the two in the unexpected situation, Park Jin-hwan snapped to and spoke.
"L-Let's talk inside first."
"I'll scout the perimeter."
Yeom Seong-ha said his piece and headed to the back yard. In the end, only Lee Se-hun followed Park Jin-hwan into the workshop.
"If I'd known guests were coming, I'd have cleaned up... Overlook the mess."
"No problem."
Entering with the sheepish Park Jin-hwan, Lee Se-hun slowly looked around the interior.
'Old-school workshop.'
Aside from the furnace and key tools, everything was outdated, with deep soot marks hinting at its age.
As he examined it closely, his eyes landed on weapons adorning one wall.
'Ho...'
A roughly 2-meter red spear in a transparent case.
Its long triangular blade protruded sharply at the base like a harpoon, and the shaft had evenly spaced circular grooves up to a third of its length.
'Stab to pin, then flames burst from the grooves to shred. Nasty.'
One solid hit would send you straight to the afterlife—a ferocious weapon that looked at least Hero-grade. As Lee Se-hun examined it with interest, Park Jin-hwan asked casually.
"Something catch your eye?"
"Oh. Just admiring the craftsmanship."
"......Is that so?"
"Yeah. Whoever made it paid attention even to the owner's little quirks. I like the design."
There were inefficient spots here and there from its age, but meticulous details compensated for them.
'Finicky, but once you're used to it, it'll last forever.'
A weapon tailored to the user, not just chasing high rank. It aligned with Lee Se-hun's ideals—and what he liked.
"Spotting that much... No wonder your name's making such waves."
Impressed, Park Jin-hwan gazed at the displayed spear and spoke plainly.
"That's the spear the founding sect leader of the Flame Flower Sect used in his active days. Took me a year to make it."
"The founding sect leader......"
The former S-rank hero who'd created the Flame Wheel Remnant Flower Spear and the Flame Flower Sect. Yeom Jin-hyeon, who'd adopted and raised the orphaned Yeom Seong-ha as his foster son and master.
Lee Se-hun's expression turned intrigued at the sight of the spear he'd used before retiring.
"Come to think of it, the young ones these days probably don't know. That was 35 years ago."
"I heard he was the only S-rank hero among the Flame Flower Sect leaders."
"......Yeah. Though it wasn't for long."
A bitter look crossed Park Jin-hwan's face as if recalling the past. He shook his head.
"Enough about old stories. Water under the bridge."
"Got it."
He wanted to hear more, but the best tales come when emotions run high.
The two sat facing each other at the living room table.
"Better late than never—I'm Park Jin-hwan, former exclusive blacksmith for the Flame Flower Sect."
Lee Se-hun's eyes lit up at the introduction.
"Former...?"
"Means I got canned. Demoted to a fancy-sounding 'advisor' role yesterday."
Park Jin-hwan grimaced wryly, then composed himself and met Lee Se-hun's gaze.
"Do you know exactly what's going on?"
"I heard you and Yeom Seong-ha are being targeted for elimination by Sect Leader Yi Won-ryong."
"And you came anyway... So I can take that as you supporting Yeom Seong-ha?"
Asking a freshman if he supported them might draw sneers, but Park Jin-hwan saw this as critical.
'This kid's no ordinary cadet.'
Kim In-cheol, CEO of Myers—a mid-tier alliance that crushed Valmut's mass-produced gear industry. Ryu Eun-ha, who'd played a big role in that.
Everyone knew they were Lee Se-hun's guardians, and the Myers and Inoue families were eyeing him for recruitment.
'Rumors say he's Ma Gwang-su's disciple... And he earned favor from Lien Gungeom Kasar in this incident.'
Of course, Lee Se-hun's goodwill didn't automatically extend to Yeom Seong-ha, but it could at least rein in Yi Won-ryong's rampage.
How deeply they could pull him in would decide the future of Yeom Seong-ha, the neutrals including himself, and even Yeom Jin-hyeon in recovery.
"Support... Yeah, you could say that. I want Yeom Seong-ha to become the Flame Flower Sect leader."
Park Jin-hwan flinched at the answer, steadied his breath, and asked,
"Mind if I ask why?"
"Traded for his help when I enter the Six Great Demonic Realms later."
"Six Great Demonic Realms? What's that...?"
A hellish place even S-rank heroes avoided lightly—what for?
He thought it a joke, but the serious expression told Park Jin-hwan Lee Se-hun meant it.
'Expected something like partnering with the sect...'
Speechless at the curveball, he trailed off. Lee Se-hun continued calmly.
"Don't overthink it. Blacksmiths chasing strong heroes is common, right?"
"Well... True."
"So I'm helping Yeom Seong-ha as much as I can. No ulterior motives."
"As much as you can... I see."
He couldn't promise help for others, but he'd do his utmost. Seeing Lee Se-hun risk it all to come, Park Jin-hwan bowed his head.
"Thank you."
"It's just a deal. Don't get too thrilled—I'll gouge that guy properly."
"No worries. All his spending money comes from the sect leader fund anyway."
Park Jin-hwan smiled. Sensing the mood lighten, Lee Se-hun broached the raid.
"Village was empty. Did you evacuate them, sir?"
"Yes. With demons attacking, civilians could be used against us endlessly."
Kill them brutally to paint Yeom Seong-ha as incompetent, or worse. Park Jin-hwan had cleared them out days ago as precaution. Lee Se-hun nodded approvingly at the thoroughness.
"Good call. So you set all the house traps too."
"......You spotted them?"
He'd poured his savings into them—found so easily?
"Well hidden, but a few spots were iffy. Minor tweaks needed. Mind if I finish them up?"
"......Sure. Better fix the weak points."
Normally he'd scoff at a kid knowing better, but not with this young man.
'The rumors weren't exaggerated... They fell short.'
A strange aura you had to witness firsthand. As Park Jin-hwan watched tensely,
"And one proposal."
"What?"
"I made Yeom Seong-ha's spear, but the blade's lacking a bit."
Eyeing the red spear on the wall—Yeom Jin-hyeon's weapon—Lee Se-hun declared boldly.
"Can I use that as material?"