Chapter 006
Chapter 006
"I think any further evaluation would be meaningless."
Choi Byeong-jun looked at Kang-hyun. Kim Se-young nodded as if in agreement.
"That is true. To have mana control capable of achieving a Rare grade just through refining... there's no need to look any further at his skills."
Being good at refining doesn't necessarily mean being good at crafting.
However, the mana control was so delicate that it left even Kim Se-young and Choi Byeong-jun speechless.
That alone was enough to make Kang-hyun worth admitting.
"Student Kang-hyun, congratulations. A special admission letter will be sent to your home before long."
Choi Byeong-jun reached out and shook Kang-hyun's hand.
It was an old hand, but firm.
"Tsk."
Kang-hyun smacked his lips in disappointment.
He was enjoying the nostalgia for a moment, but the mood was completely ruined.
'This System guy, it's a total mess.'
Giving a Rare grade for just refining a lump of iron.
Just as Kang-hyun was grumbling to the System in his mind.
"Student Kang-hyun, please take the Mana Crystal as a souvenir."
"Ah. Thank you."
He accepted it without declining. Even if it was only a Rare grade, materials were always good to have.
Han Seung-mok kept his head bowed and disappeared as if running away. He must have been so embarrassed he wanted to hide in a mouse hole.
Vroom—
Thanks to Kim Se-young giving him a ride, Kang-hyun was able to return home comfortably.
"Wow. Student Kang-hyun. You live here?"
"Yes. I'm indebted to Se-rin's mother."
"Aha......"
Kim Se-young opened her mouth in admiration as she looked at the spacious house with a yard.
"Wow. Nice house. It's my wish to live in a house like this."
"...? A wish?"
"It's not like there are many people on the Floating Island who live in houses with yards, right?"
"Uh... that's true."
"Oh my. I kept a tired person talking for no reason. Go inside and rest, and see you on the entrance ceremony day~"
Vroom—
Kim Se-young drove away.
Kang-hyun stood there for a moment, pondering.
'Even Professor Kim Se-young, who works at Lumen Academy, can't afford to live in a house like this?'
...What on earth does Se-young ajumma do for a living?
It was frustrating because even after searching the original body's memories, there was no information about Se-young's occupation.
'I don't know. I'll find out later.'
Kang-hyun shook it off and went into the house.
Lee Se-rin and Lee Se-young, who had been waiting restlessly, rushed over immediately.
"Hyun-ah, you're back!"
"Hyun-ah, how did the interview go? The department head or professor didn't threaten you or anything, did they?"
"It was nothing. We just chatted briefly and did a bit of a test—"
""A test?!""
Kang-hyun briefly relayed what had happened at Lumen Academy.
"Wait a second. You refined scrap iron and got a Rare grade?"
"Yeah."
"...Mom. Is getting a grade usually easy?"
Lee Se-rin asked Lee Se-young.
Having entered through the Martial Arts Specialization Department, Lee Se-rin knew absolutely nothing about metallurgy.
"Well? Mom doesn't know for sure, but I know it's not easy."
"Oh. Is that so?"
Once the rough story was finished, Lee Se-rin just reacted with an "I see~," but.
Lee Se-young, who had experienced a bit more of the world, reacted differently.
"...So that person called the Vice Department Head ignored you, pressured you, and hid all the materials in front of you?"
"I don't have proof, but that's probably what happened."
"Hmm... is that so?"
Lee Se-young nodded meaningfully.
"You said his name was Han Seung-mok?"
"Yes."
"I see. Got it, Hyun-ah. You worked hard today. You must be tired, so go get some rest."
Lee Se-young pushed Kang-hyun along.
It was obvious she was planning to do something about Han Seung-mok, but Kang-hyun didn't bother to stop her.
'People like that need to get crushed to come to their senses.'
A few days later, the special admission letter arrived.
'For someone like me, this is only natural.'
Kang-hyun was indifferent, but Lee Se-rin and Lee Se-young were the ones making a bigger fuss.
And on the day of the entrance ceremony.
The entrance ceremony was nothing special.
There were thousands of incoming students, even more spectators and guild officials, and broadcasting station cameras were busy moving around, but.
"Haaam—"
Kang-hyun felt like he was dying of sleepiness.
'Come to think of it, there was an event like this when I reached the rank of top master blacksmith in the Dwarf Kingdom, too.'
He remembered dozing off then as well.
If there was one thing that stuck in his memory.
Twitch—
Someone's gaze had been stuck on his back throughout the entrance ceremony.
When Kang-hyun turned his head slightly, a girl with golden hair and pointed ears quickly averted her gaze.
'What's up with that one?'
Why does she keep staring and making me conscious of it?
The name on her name tag is... Evangeline?
Kang-hyun scratched his head, unable to overcome the drowsiness washing over him, and let out a yawn.
"... Haaam—"
The entrance ceremony was over.
Kang-hyun and Lee Se-rin were swept away by the massive crowd and barely managed to meet up with Lee Se-young.
"Shall we go shopping to celebrate your entrance today?"
"Shopping? I'm down!"
"Hmm... shopping..."
Kang-hyun reacted as if he wasn't interested at all.
As if she expected that, Lee Se-young added.
"Ajumma did some research, and isn't it good to have personal tools when you take classes later?"
"That's true."
Although the academy provided basic tools for class, it was naturally more comfortable to have personalized tools.
"Ajumma will buy them for you, so let's go, okay?"
Come to think of it, having one or two personal hammers would be good. It wasn't that he was tempted by her offering to buy them.
Kang-hyun thought that and nodded quickly.
"Let's go quickly."
Lee Se-young looked through the rearview mirror and burst into a small laugh.
"Alright, let's go. Se-rin, you need to buy a sword too, right?"
"You're buying me one too? Yay, awesome!"
Vroom—
The place they arrived at was a large-scale complex shopping mall that soared so high it made one's neck ache.
"Oh..."
The exterior wall of the building had letters elegantly engraved on it.
[Sacré-Cœur Plaza]
Lee Se-rin explained to Kang-hyun.
"They say it means 'Holy Heart.' Apparently, it started as a bakery a long time ago."
"It grew this big from a bakery?"
"Yeah. They say they dominated a whole city with bread?"
Kang-hyun clicked his tongue in amazement.
Just how delicious was the bread that it swallowed up an entire city?
"Alright. Let's go, kids."
Lee Se-young took the lead and entered the shopping mall.
As they entered the interior, faint scents and flashy lights poured down.
Kang-hyun narrowed his eyes subconsciously.
'There's an insane amount of mana moving around.'
Mana flowing through the building like a waterfall.
Every item displayed in the showcases was brimming with vigorous mana.
It was a place that kept the eyes busy.
"Let's start from the 7th floor. That's the Hunter Equipment Specialty Hall."
Lee Se-young took the lead and headed for the escalator.
"Mom. Can I go to the sword corner first?"
"Sure, why not? How about you, Hyun-ah?"
"I'll look around separately."
Lee Se-rin and Lee Se-young split off toward the sword corner, and Kang-hyun headed to the tool corner.
As he entered the tool corner, Kang-hyun's footsteps naturally slowed.
Various specialized brands had set up shop, each boasting their own unique tools.
Kang-hyun began to examine the displayed tools one by one, looking for something he liked.
'Tsk. This place is only focused on showiness.'
Flashy and lacking substance, pass.
'What is this place? For beginners? Isn't this too crappy?'
A place specializing in trash, pass.
'Oh? This is at least usable.'
After being picky, he finally found a place he liked.
[Cheolsimdang]
Hammers of various sizes, tongs, chisels, hacksaws, etc., were on display.
From general forging tools to equipment specialized for mana injection.
[Name : Hammer of Thunder]
[Type : Hammer]
[Grade : Rare]
[Description : A work hammer that can be used for various purposes such as forging, folding steel, and shaping.
Crafted by a high-level, first-class blacksmith.
Contains electric-attribute mana, and mana conductivity is average.]
There were even some with grades attached.
As such, the price tags were all quite steep.
'Sigh. I guess it's because it's a Rare grade. The finishing details are a bit sloppy... but it's still the best among these.'
There was no need to even look at the mana flow.
The grain of the hammer, elasticity, center of gravity, grip, etc.
It wasn't completely satisfying, but... it was at a usable level.
"......"
Kang-hyun counted the zeros on the price tag of the hammer displayed at the very top.
'One, two, three... six?!'
......It's expensive.
Extremely expensive.
Se-young ajumma said she would buy it, but...... this was a bit much.
To think such a price for this level of quality.
Kang-hyun clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.
'Should I look for something cheaper here?'
Or should I just make it myself?
Just then.
"Oh my. Hello. Is there something you're looking for?"
A clerk approached.
She was a neatly dressed woman.
"I'm looking to see some hammers or blacksmithing items."
"Ah, yes. What purpose will you be using them for?"
"A hand hammer for forging and a sledgehammer for folding steel."
The hand hammer was the most basic hammer, and the sledgehammer was the largest and heaviest.
The clerk quickly scanned Kang-hyun up and down. She seemed puzzled that an eighteen-year-old in a school uniform wanted to buy two hammers.
"Customer. Are you perhaps a student?"
"I enrolled in Lumen Academy today."
"Ah, you're in the Production Department! Then please come this way. The beginner line is here."
The place the clerk guided him to had only mediocre and plain tools.
'Being plain isn't bad. It means it's the standard.'
But he didn't have high expectations.
Even the most expensive one was crappy, so...
Kang-hyun began to pick up hammers and examine them without much expectation.
"The center of gravity on this one is too far forward. It'd be useful if you wanted to ruin someone's wrist."
Next.
"The mana isn't even flowing properly. Tsk. The injection method is completely screwed up. The loss is severe due to the bottleneck effect."
... Next.
"This one... is decent. But the mana cuts off at the joint? Ah. There's an air bubble inside here."
As Kang-hyun kept putting the hammers down with a thud, the clerk's smile began to waver.
'A, a difficult customer...!'
A new type of difficult customer she had never met before!
The clerk's eyes wavered.
"Should I just go look somewhere else..."
Just as Kang-hyun was muttering and about to put down the last hammer.
Hum—
A heavy wave of mana spread from somewhere.
Kang-hyun raised his head.
People were gathered in one corner of the tool section.
On a small stage, a neatly dressed man held a microphone and shouted.
"Alright! This is the new product from the Arcana Workshop, the Hell-Flame Mana Furnace! It boasts extreme mana efficiency, so it works hot and long even with very little mana stone!"
The man was demonstrating by putting a mana stone directly into the mana furnace.
Applause erupted.
Kang-hyun was about to turn his head without much interest, but—
"Hmm?"
He widened his eyes.
'......That looks weird.'
The moment the man demonstrating it put in the mana stone and operated it, mana flowed through the furnace.
However, something was off.
The mana flowing inside couldn't circulate evenly and was scattering here and there.
The mana that couldn't be discharged through the firebox was piling up little by little.
'Is the furnace incompatible with the mana stone? Looks like the mana stone is low-grade to begin with?'
The accumulated mana began to tremble.
It looked like it would explode if it reached the critical point.
Kang-hyun quickly scanned the surroundings.
Spectators were gathered densely right in front of the stage.
Se-young was there too, at some point.
Tsk, Kang-hyun clicked his tongue softly. If left like that, it was going to cause a serious accident.
"I'll borrow this for a second."
"W-wait?! You have to pay for that before taking it!"
Kang-hyun grabbed the hammer that looked the largest and sturdiest.
Kang-hyun walked quickly and made his way to the front of the stage.
"Hold on."
The man demonstrating it hesitated.
Kang-hyun didn't answer and strode up onto the stage.
"Customer? You can't come up on stage! Uh, uh—"
The man demonstrating it tried to stop him, but.
Kang-hyun walked forward, staring straight at the furnace.
'There it is.'
The point where the mana had accumulated.
More precisely, the part where the low-grade mana that didn't fit the furnace was filtered out and piled up.
Even at this moment, it was continuing to pile up with nowhere to be discharged.
Kang-hyun raised the hammer with all his might.
He pulled the hot mana from his heart into both arms and the hammer in an instant—
Clang—!!
He struck the side of the furnace precisely.
In an instant, the mana accumulated in the furnace poured out like a waterfall,
and was ejected through the firebox all at once.
Whoosh——!!
A bright red flame soared up to the ceiling.
"Kyaaaak!!"
"W-what! What's going on!"
"It's a terror attack! A terror attack in the mall!"
"Where are the guards, guards!! It's a bomb attack!!"
A commotion broke out in the distance, but Kang-hyun silently stared only at the furnace.
After waiting a moment, the furnace slowly stabilized.
'Done.'
He had struck it to clear the flow and discharge the low-grade mana,
and the mana flow had been neatly organized.
It was a temporary measure, but it was the best he could do for now.
Looking back, all the spectators were frozen stiff.
Lee Se-rin had her mouth wide open, and Lee Se-young was covering her mouth with her hand, eyes wide.
Kang-hyun patted the man's shoulder before getting off the stage.
"If you're going to use cheap mana stones, you should have made a hole for the filtered mana to escape. Or just use moderately cheap ones."
"...E-eh, what...? C-cheap mana stone, what does that mean...? No, how?"
At the mention of cheap mana stones, the man's face turned deathly pale.
The man turned his gaze to the back of the stage.
"......Cheap mana stone?"
The eyes of the woman in the suit behind the stage narrowed fiercely.
Whether they cared or not.
Kang-hyun, who had come down from the stage, brushed off his clothes and returned the hammer to the Cheolsimdang clerk as if nothing had happened.
"Thanks for lending it to me. I'll buy this."
Kang-hyun glanced at her and added.
"Hmm... this has some air bubbles in the joint, can I get it for a bit cheaper? Or... maybe exchange it for a new one?"
Despite the unprecedented situation that had just occurred before her eyes, the clerk answered instinctively.
"......Products that have already been used cannot be refunded, exchanged, or discounted due to a simple change of mind, customer."
"......I see."
What couldn't be done, couldn't be done.