Chapter 007
Chapter 007
While Kang-hyun was continuing his impossible negotiation to lower the price of the hammer.
"Student. We need to have a word with you."
"Yes?"
A group of burly men surrounded Kang-hyun.
They were the shopping mall's security guards.
"Did you cause a ruckus at the demonstration over there earlier?"
"What on earth did you do to the latest Mana Furnace?! The pillar of fire burned the entire ceiling!"
"Ah, that's—"
It seemed they assumed the Mana Furnace had gone berserk because of Kang-hyun.
Just as Kang-hyun opened his mouth to clear up the misunderstanding.
"Wait a moment. If you're going to question Hyun, talk to me first."
"Hold on. That student did nothing wrong."
Two women chimed in at the same time.
It was Lee Se-young and the woman in the suit standing behind the stage.
"...?"
"...??"
Their gazes met for a moment, feeling awkward.
"I am Hyun's guardian, Lee Se-young. And who might you be?"
"Ah. I am... Oh Se-hyun, the Chief Researcher of Arcana Workshop."
Oh Se-hyun was wearing a black suit and black stockings. She had an overall sharp and meticulous impression.
"Arcana Workshop? By any chance, is that the workshop from the demonstration just now?"
"It's embarrassing to say, but... yes. That is correct."
Oh Se-hyun nodded and handed over her business card.
Kang-hyun glanced at the card and shoved it into his pocket.
Oh Se-hyun explained the situation to the security guards.
"The commotion just now was not because of this student. On the contrary, thanks to the student here, we were able to prevent a much larger accident."
"Yes? Is that so?"
"No. You're saying a bigger accident was about to happen than what we just saw...?!"
The security guards looked at Kang-hyun in surprise.
They had been absolutely certain that Kang-hyun was the culprit who caused the accident.
"Yes... because a mana stone of unrecommended quality was used during the demonstration, a load was building up in the furnace. No one, including myself, realized it, but that—"
"Thanks to Hyun, who noticed it first, we were able to prevent the accident."
Lee Se-young looked at Kang-hyun with a proud expression.
Since most of the onlookers at the demonstration were active or retired hunters.
The majority of them knew how to feel the flow of mana.
'But not a single person, including myself, noticed that the furnace was under load.'
This meant only one thing.
'That child's mana sensitivity... it overwhelms us all.'
Lee Se-young's eyes narrowed.
Oh Se-hyun bowed deeply toward Kang-hyun.
"Representing Arcana Workshop, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you, student. Thanks to you, we were able to prevent a major accident."
"I trust you aren't just going to end this with words of thanks. He prevented an accident that could have wiped out your workshop."
Lee Se-young, blocking Kang-hyun's path, crossed her arms. Thanks were thanks, but she had to make sure they got what was due.
Lee Se-young winked at Kang-hyun as if to tell him to trust her.
Oh Se-hyun shook her head quickly.
"Of course not."
At Oh Se-hyun's signal, staff members who were far away rushed over and presented a large bag.
"This is a product we handle in our workshop's performance lineup. I'm sure you will like it."
She introduced it confidently and opened the bag.
Click—
Inside was a large, luxurious ink-colored hammer.
The surfaces of the hammer were so smooth they looked like mirrors, and it strangely drew people's gazes.
"Oh...?"
Kang-hyun, who had been standing there nonchalantly, lit up with interest.
"Hehe. It is a product that boasts the ultimate mana conductivity, which is practically the symbol of Arcana Workshop. I see you are entering the Lumen Academy's Production Department... am I right?"
"How did you know that?"
Lee Se-young snapped sharply.
She must have seen Hyun for the first time today, so how on earth did she know he was an incoming student? Don't tell me, did they do a background check in that short time?
Just as Lee Se-young was about to fall into a bottomless pit of suspicion—
"Well... the Lumen Academy entrance ceremony was today, and you are wearing the school uniform in the shopping mall, aren't you?"
"...Ah."
Now that she heard it, it was a very obvious deduction.
Lee Se-young's face turned slightly red. She fanned herself with her hand and turned her head away.
Whether she did or not.
Kang-hyun's interest was solely focused on the ink-colored hammer.
"This, this hammer is quite...?"
[Name: Mukroe-chu]
[Type: Hammer]
[Grade: Hero]
[Description: Black Ink Meteor Iron melted into high-purity mana over a very long time and finished with delicate craftsmanship. A work by a first-class blacksmith who knows how to bring out the characteristics of the material. Mana conductivity is very high, and it reacts to mana of all attributes.]
"Hero grade... Hmph. At least they aren't shameless."
Lee Se-young muttered quietly.
Hero-grade equipment started at tens of millions of won, and expensive ones boasted prices in the hundreds of millions.
'They were more generous than I thought.'
It was obvious, but they wouldn't have given such an item simply as a token of gratitude.
'...They probably want to create a connection with Hyun by giving him such an expensive gift.'
Even to Lee Se-young, the mana sensitivity, split-second judgment, and boldness Kang-hyun showed today were not that of a mere cadet.
From Arcana Workshop's perspective, he would be a tempting prospect.
'It's not a bad thing for Hyun, either. An artisan needs a place that recognizes their value.'
If they made any strange demands of Hyun, she could just block them.
In reality, what Oh Se-hyun was aiming for was exactly what Lee Se-young expected.
'If you give them something like this, kids his age don't know what to do with themselves from joy.'
A single cadet noticed a mana load problem that all the hunters on site, and even she, the designer, hadn't noticed?
And he solved it on the spot in one go?
'This is... a jackpot. It's like having a gold nugget rolling on the ground.'
Genius-level talent and bold execution.
Overwhelming mana sensitivity.
It would be a fool not to mark such a talent as their own.
That was why Oh Se-hyun gifted Hero-grade equipment. It felt a bit excessive, but it was well worth it.
'Hehehe. How is it? You've never seen Hero-grade before, right? Your jaw is going to drop, isn't it?'
Getting a kid who's lost his mind over receiving a Hero-grade item to do her bidding would be a piece of cake.
Oh Se-hyun expected Kang-hyun to be overjoyed... but.
"......Hmm."
"?"
What Oh Se-hyun actually saw was Kang-hyun examining the hammer here and there and frowning.
As if... he was reacting to something he didn't like.
"The material is good. But isn't this mana injection method a bit disappointing? If the material is this good, you could have drawn out twice the conductivity."
"...Pardon?"
"The handle joint is also a bit disappointing. If it was an artisan who could handle this kind of material, they should have been able to make the joint more precise. Why did you compromise here? If you do this, the handle could slip under a strong impact. Wait, no, was the worker changed in the middle?"
"......Yes?"
Oh Se-hyun was left speechless by Kang-hyun's critique, which poured out like a machine gun.
'No way...... how did he figure out that the worker changed in the middle?'
It was exactly as Kang-hyun said.
The Mukroe-chu was a product that the workshop's chief artisan had started working on, but due to personal circumstances, it was handed over to another artisan halfway through.
'His eye for quality is also outstanding?'
Oh Se-hyun started to covet him even more.
Pointing out flaws right in front of the person who gave him the gift?
He was a bit rude, but that was fine.
'Artisans with real skill are all arrogant anyway.'
She even started thinking she should have given him something better than the performance lineup.
Kang-hyun lifted the hammer once more and then put it down.
"Well. You gave it to me with sincerity... and it's not at a level where it can't be used. I'll use it well for now."
"......! K-Kang-hyun! What kind of attitude is that!"
Kang-hyun's attitude, which went beyond shameless to being downright confident.
Lee Se-young, who was standing next to him, was the one who was flustered.
"Ha, haha... No, no. We are the ones who are grateful if you use it well."
Oh Se-hyun bowed deeply toward Kang-hyun.
"I think I need to clean up, so I will take my leave now. Once again, thank you so much."
As Oh Se-hyun turned to walk away, Kang-hyun added one more word.
"Earlier at the demonstration, the other mana stones were fine, but the one that man used was in particularly bad condition."
"......"
"I just thought you should know."
"......Thank you, truly, until the very end."
Oh Se-hyun, who bowed and turned away, had a face that had turned cold and stiff.
Where Oh Se-hyun was heading, there was a man trembling with a face as pale as a corpse.
It was the employee in charge of procuring mana stones.
Oh Se-hyun stood in front of the man and looked down at him silently for a moment.
"Manager."
"Y-yes, yes!"
"The mana stones used in today's demonstration. Where did you get them?"
"Th-that is......"
"You don't have to answer if you don't want to. It'll all come out when the accounting team investigates anyway."
The man's face turned even paler.
Oh Se-hyun didn't ask any further.
'He must have skimmed the budget, used cheap mana stones, and pocketed the difference.'
It was a common method. A common, yet unforgivable method.
Did this man even know how big of an accident could have happened today because of those cheap mana stones?
"I will contact the HR team. I don't think you need to come to work starting tomorrow."
"W-wait, Researcher Oh Se-hyun......!"
Oh Se-hyun did not look back.
Because after today, she would likely never see that man in this industry again.
Handling the staff, preventing SNS leaks, making excuses to customers...
Having cleaned up the scene to some extent, Oh Se-hyun replayed what had just happened inside the elevator.
Honestly, today could have been the worst day of her life.
Mana runaway during a product demonstration.
And all because of cheap mana stones due to internal corruption.
If it had led to an accident, Arcana Workshop's image would have been beyond repair.
'I was lucky.'
That was all there was to it.
She truly survived because she was lucky.
'Kang-hyun... was it?'
The corners of Oh Se-hyun's mouth went up.
Only eighteen years old, a freshman in the Lumen Academy's Production Department.
Overwhelming mana sensitivity that noticed the mana load that even veteran hunters on the scene, and even herself, the chief researcher, hadn't noticed.
And the boldness and decisiveness to suggest a solution on the spot.
If there was one biggest gain today, it was making a connection with a promising genius.
'To say "it's not at a level where it can't be used" after receiving Hero-grade equipment.'
Oh Se-hyun chuckled.
If you have the skills to back it up, being rude becomes confidence.
"It worked out well. I gave him my business card, so he'll contact me someday."
Oh Se-hyun smiled with satisfaction and leaned against the elevator.
Vroom—
In the car heading home.
Lee Se-rin's eyes went wide after hearing about what happened today from Kang-hyun.
"Wait a minute. The furnace was about to explode inside the shopping mall?"
"Yeah."
"And you solved it in one go?"
"I just hit the spot where the mana had accumulated to break the flow."
"......That shouldn't be as easy as it sounds."
Lee Se-rin shook her head.
Her gaze turned to the ink-colored hammer hanging at Kang-hyun's waist.
"Let me see that. You said they gave it to you as a gift because they were grateful? What kind of workshop gives away Hero-grade items?"
"The name was... Arcana Workshop, I think? But, hmm, they're a bit ambiguous."
"Huh? Why? If they can give away Hero-grade items, aren't they a pretty capable place?"
Lee Se-rin tilted her head.
If it was a workshop that could handle Hero-grade weapons, it was safe to consider them a decent mid-sized company.
Instead of answering, Kang-hyun scanned the Mukroe-chu once more.
'To think Hero-grade is only at this level.'
The material was decent. He acknowledged that.
But the craftsmanship couldn't keep up with the material. It failed to bring out the full potential of the precious material.
"That thing called the System, and that workshop... neither of them can be trusted."
Kang-hyun muttered.
He felt like he would have to tear the hammer apart and fix it properly when he got the chance.
...If Oh Se-hyun, who had given it as a gift after much deliberation, knew this, she would be shedding tears of blood.