Lykkeision's Flame
Shaaaaaaak—!
Pin unfurled a pair of vast wings.
“I’ve heard the East has quite a few developed cities.”
His reason for heading east was simple enough. That was where the dwarven city lay—home to Hairun, the dwarf master of All-Thing Crafting.
“Looks like we’ll have to stop at another city on the way. Ah—there it is.”
Jinwoo patted Pin’s shoulder. Pin understood at once and began a sharp dive.
Entering the great city of Lykkeision!
“Small but nice. Looks like everyone gets this achievement the first time they walk into a great city.”
Jinwoo pocketed the three thousand gold.
“This is why mounts are great.”
What would have taken forever on foot had been crossed in a blink with a mount under him.
“Pin—!”
“Good work, Pin.”
Jinwoo dismissed the summon and stepped into Lykkeision.
Lykkeision was a city bursting with life.
Of every city Jinwoo had visited so far, none came close in scale—and right at its heart stood an enormous forge.
The blacksmith shop Lykkeision’s Flame.
Jinwoo read the sign fixed to the front of the building.
“Looks like this is the place.”
Lykkeision’s Flame was exactly where the quest marker pointed.
“Hairun’s acquaintance must be here.”
“Welcome!”
An attendant greeted him as he stepped inside. Beyond the entry, countless users were already deep in trade.
“Can’t you knock a little off the price?”
“I won’t sell to someone who doesn’t understand its value.”
“I understand the value just fine! It’s just too expensive.”
“Do you have a smaller dagger?”
“Is custom work possible?”
“We don’t take personal commissions!”
Hagglers. Shoppers. People hunting for specific gear.
The apprentices are doubling as shop staff. Are there that many blacksmiths here? There sure are a lot of apprentices.
Just as Jinwoo guessed, Lykkeision’s Flame employed a great many exclusive smiths. From deeper inside came the endless ring of hammers.
“What are you looking for?”
“I’m looking for Master Hairun. I’m a disciple of Master Hoz and of Master Mire. Could you please pass word to the blacksmiths?”
Jinwoo spoke with careful courtesy—then casually held something out.
“I’m sorry, but the masters are extremely busy right now. Even if you offer something like that…”
The apprentice assumed it was gold. In a great city, this sort of thing was common—people throwing money around to get their business handled faster.
To the apprentices, though, money meant little. If they had wanted coin, they would have worked somewhere else.
“…!”
What Jinwoo held out was not gold.
“Th-this is…”
A Gargoyle Stone brought out of the Tower.
“The g-grade is…!”
Faced with such a rare mineral, the apprentice’s eyes lit up like a forge.
No one knew how to deal with a craftsman better than another craftsman.
“Word, please.”
Jinwoo smiled.
“Could you pass it along?”
“Y-yes! Of course!”
The apprentice shot inside like a gust of wind. Watching that beaming back vanish into the shop, Jinwoo smiled with quiet satisfaction.
“Apprentice or not, he’s a real craftsman. You can tell by the way his eyes go to the material instead of the money.”
Not long after the apprentice disappeared, a blacksmith of towering bulk emerged.
Brown beard. Clean-shaven scalp. A body of solid muscle, one hand wrapped around a massive hammer.
“…You came looking for Hairun?”
Larsson—owner of Lykkeision’s Flame and its main blacksmith—fixed Jinwoo with a suspicious stare.
“What are you, really?”
“A blacksmith.”
“Hah. So that’s the story you’re selling now?”
Shaaaak—.
Your nobility shines forth.
“But… you don’t look like a liar. Even so, I can’t just tell you freely.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Mmm…”
Larsson hesitated a moment, then let the story spill.
“There are travelers hunting Hairun.”
“Travelers” was how NPCs referred to players.
“Hairun is… an exceptional blacksmith. Even among dwarves, his skill stands out. Heaven and earth, all things under them—if it touches his hands, he can make it. And because of that, plenty of people have started targeting him.”
“Targeting him meaning…”
“They want to work him like a slave. Hairun can make anything, after all.”
Larsson let out a heavy sigh.
“I heard they’re travelers from a massive guild. In the end, Hairun ran. There was nothing I could do to help him.”
Hairun, he said, was currently in hiding.
“If I may ask—what is your relationship with Master Hairun?”
“He’s a friend.”
Larsson’s grip tightened on the hammer.
“Now it’s my turn to ask. Why are you looking for Hairun?”
“There’s something I want to learn from him. Do you know where Master Hairun is?”
“….”
Even with the nobility score in play, Larsson fell silent for a beat.
“You said you want to learn from Hairun. Then show me proof of it.”
“How would you like me to prove it?”
“You said you’re a blacksmith. Prove it. If you want to learn from Hairun, your skill had better be solid. Once I confirm that, I’ll tell you how things stand.”
Larsson’s Trial
📍 Rank:S
📜 Description: Larsson is worried about his friend Hairun. He mostly trusts you, but not completely. Earn his trust.
🎁 Reward: Hairun’s Location
“In that case…”
Jinwoo swept a look around the forge. Even at a glance, the place was enormous.
The heat looks good too.
And every piece of equipment was high-grade.
Looks like I might walk out of here with a few new tools for the mobile workshop.
“Would it be all right if I demonstrated my skill inside?”
“Be my guest.”
Jinwoo stepped into the forge with Larsson.
“Then as for materials…”
“Use these.”
Larsson gestured toward the materials warehouse.
“Anything in there is yours to work with.”
“Anything, you said?”
Jinwoo smiled.
“You did say anything. Just making sure.”
Jinwoo cleaned out Larsson’s warehouse.
Materials ranging from S-grade to SS-grade and even SSS-grade filled the shelves.
“Lately I’ve only been working with good materials.”
Making fine gear from fine materials—that was its own kind of joy.
But crafting high-grade equipment from low-grade materials was a pleasure all its own.
Jinwoo pulled every last material out of the warehouse.
“You said to use them, after all.”
Then he went straight to work.
Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!
Clang—!
“Oh. Looks like I fused two minerals for this one!”
Clang—!
Jinwoo loosened his wrists with an easy roll. Larsson still hadn’t returned—he had stepped out to handle forge business for a moment.
“Might as well warm up a little before he gets back.”
That “little warm-up” had already blown past five pieces. Of the ten materials that had been in the warehouse, he had burned through eight.
“Hands are good now.”
As if on cue, Larsson walked in.
“Let’s get started, then. Need to loosen up first?”
“Already did.”
“That so? Then we’ll start right away.”
Whoooosh—.
Jinwoo eyed the flames in the furnace.
Same as during the warm-up—the heat is solid.
He looked at Larsson.
“Master Larsson. Where did you get the flame in this furnace, if I may ask?”
“Hairun gave it to me.”
Figures.
Once he found Hairun, a lot of things would fall into place.
Jinwoo chose the lowest-grade material among those remaining. To be fair, it was also the only one left.
“You don’t have to use that. There are better materials.”
“This is enough.”
What Jinwoo held was Platinum Steel.
He thrust it into the furnace, drew it out with the tongs, and struck at once.
Clang—!
Nice.
Clang—! Clang—! Clang—!
Jinwoo hammered in a relentless rhythm. Platinum Steel was a fairly hard mineral—but what he had been working moments before were high-difficulty ores like orichalcum and Skystone.
With his craftsmanship fully in the zone, Platinum Steel took shape in an instant. Truly, in an instant.
“…Hmm?”
As the main blacksmith of a great city, Larsson’s own skill was considerable. Through his exchange with Hairun, he had earned his place as the city’s foremost smith with pride.
“That…”
It looked like molding clay.
“Huh.”
He was floored—by that level of mastery.
“He came here saying he wants to learn from Hairun, but…”
From where Larsson stood, skill like that hardly seemed to need Hairun’s teaching.
Of course, Hairun had plenty of strengths beyond pure crafting ability.
Clang—!
He had seen more than enough. That Jinwoo was a blacksmith was beyond all doubt.
Before Larsson could even get out the words to stop him, Jinwoo finished the piece.
“….”
S-grade material.
What came out was SR-grade equipment.
“Whew. The material was decent enough that it came out high-grade. Lucky me.”
“…If luck is all it takes to make something like that, then I must be the unluckiest man on the entire continent of Flam.”
Larsson shook his head hard.
“No room left for doubt.”
An SR-grade piece from S-grade material. There was nothing further to question.
You have cleared the quest!
Receiving reward…
“I’ll tell you where Hairun is. Right now he’s avoiding the travelers on his trail out near Serendyrin Cave, on the outskirts. Cross the lake and you’ll find him.”
“Thank you.”
“If you have the strength for it… help Hairun.”
After Jinwoo left, Larsson checked the materials warehouse.
“…?”
The warehouse was empty.
“D-don’t tell me.”
He had said it, yes. Use whatever’s in the materials warehouse.
“No—he used it all… in that short a time?”
Larsson pressed a hand to his forehead.
“Hairun…”
For some reason, he found himself worrying about his friend.