Full Custom for the Legend Hunter

The city of Lykkeision.

Tehunt arrived in the same city he had stopped in before heading down to the underground dwarf city of Iron Helm.

"Hmph!"

He was more than a little tense. Drawing a breath, he stepped into the blacksmith shop known as Lykkeision's Flame.

"Are you Tehunt, sir?"

A small apprentice greeted him.

"Ah—I'm looking for Jinwoo."

"He's waiting for you."

The apprentice led him deeper into the workshop. Inside, a single man stood waiting.

"I'm Jinwoo."

That was him. Tehunt bowed with a taut, nervous face.

"I'm Tehunt!"

"Thanks for coming all this way. All right, first of all…"

Jinwoo gestured to a seat, and Tehunt sat.

"Please, have a seat over there."

Jinwoo gave him a quiet once-over. Bones hung from the hunter's belt.

Those aren't ordinary bones.

As a bone specialist—a true master of the craft—Jinwoo identified them at a glance.

Bones and fangs from named monsters Tehunt hunted himself.

"Ah! These are from the King of the Horned Bears, Hornter—the one I took down most recently," Tehunt said with a grin. "I caught him with the Obsidian Net I bought from you. I was honestly—truly—stunned."

Once he started talking, Tehunt launched into the story of how he had used the Obsidian Net. After testing it first on Silver Fang, he had gone straight after a powerful boss monster. And from that day to this, he had thought of no one but Jinwoo.

His wording was rough, but the feeling was real.

"Honestly, when I bought this Obsidian Net, my expectations were through the roof. Miners, archers—every user who'd actually used ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠your gear had nothing but praise. And the price was sky-high, too."

Enormous expectations. The kind that usually left people disappointed if the product didn't crush them completely.

"But then…"

Jinwoo's Obsidian Net had been overwhelming. Utterly.

"It was way beyond what I'd hoped for. Completely insane!"

After using it once, Tehunt had had no choice but to get in contact. If ordinary hunting gear was this good…

"I, uh—I saw it on SharkNet. That you made a custom pickaxe for the user Yur…"

How much better could fully custom gear be?

Gulp.

He swallowed hard.

"Would it be possible…"

Jinwoo raised a hand.

"Tehunt."

He smiled.

"I hear they call you the Legend Hunter."

"Yes."

Tehunt made no attempt at modesty. To him, false humility was an insult to the people who had given him that title. And before anything else, he wanted to sell himself.

"I've taken down over a hundred kinds of named monsters alone. Plenty of first kills, too."

"So you've got access to a lot of excellent materials."

"Of course!"

"Do you want custom gear?"

Jinwoo cut straight to it. Tehunt's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠head bobbed vigorously.

"…Yes!"

"Then let's make a deal. Those named monsters—I want the materials you harvest from them first, and as fast as possible. In return, I'll craft you a piece of UR-grade hunting equipment."

Tehunt froze. That had been exactly what he had come to say. Not only had Jinwoo gotten there first—he had gone further.

The Obsidian Net Tehunt had bought was SSR+. Even in the top-tier strategy videos on JinTube and the JBS channel, Jinwoo had been crafting SSR+ gear.

But UR?

"U-UR? UR-grade hunting gear? You can already make that?"

Tehunt stammered despite himself. He already owned several pieces of UR-grade equipment, of course. Hunter gear was one of the fields blacksmiths tended to handle well, and Tehunt had the money to buy the best of it.

But this was different. This was a UR crafted by Jinwoo.

The Obsidian Net was only SSR+—and even that had already outperformed the UR pieces Tehunt currently used.

A hunting weapon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of UR grade, made by him?

His head spun.

"I'll bring you a celestial dragon if I have to! Let's deal. No—please, let's deal!"

Even a dragon's whiskers—he would get them today if that was what it took!

"Calm down," Jinwoo said with a smile.

It wasn't time to be shocked yet.

"I'm not offering you just any UR-grade item."

"Then…"

Of course. There had to be another condition. Tehunt was ready to nod to whatever it was.

"I'll make hunting gear exclusive to you, Tehunt."

"…What?"

But what came out of Jinwoo's mouth wasn't a condition at all.

"For you alone," Jinwoo continued. "Custom equipment."

"…!"

Custom equipment. Tehunt's eyes went wide.

"Gear… just for me?"

"Yes. Full custom."

Tehunt fell silent—except it wasn't silence. His heart was hammering so hard it nearly drowned everything else out.

If this were real life, I'd be able to hear that heartbeat.

Jinwoo couldn't help smiling at Tehunt's expression. The man was that stunned.

Custom gear wasn't rare. Rankers at Tehunt's level commissioned custom work as a matter of course. But that was never full custom. A blacksmith did what he could—tacked a little personal taste onto the piece under the name of "custom"—and the client didn't even get to choose the base equipment.

You could make that kind of request of a lesser blacksmith. But a grand craftsman like Jinwoo, forging UR grade—and full custom at that?

No wonder Tehunt was losing his mind.

"Full custom… full custom…"

Tehunt looked up at Jinwoo.

"Just how many monsters do I need to bring you…"

"You don't need to do anything like that, Tehunt. I'm not making this for you because I want some legendary monster. Simply—"

Jinwoo said it plainly.

"—it's for a good deal. If I make you better gear, you'll hunt stronger monsters. And I'll receive materials equal to that strength."

The words moved Tehunt more than he expected. This was nothing like the blacksmith users he had dealt with before.

"Yes. I'll do it."

There was no reason to refuse.

"I trade with quite a few people, but I'll put my deals with you first, Jinwoo."

For full-custom gear, that much was only fair.

"Then shall we talk? What is it you want?"

"Well—it might be a bit particular. Difficult, even…"

"Particular and difficult," Jinwoo said with a smile. "Not for me. Don't worry—just tell me."

The solid confidence in those words unlocked Tehunt's tongue. Before he knew it, he was pouring everything out.

"You've arrived!"

Yur, who had gotten there first, came out to greet Jinwoo.

"Meeting you again here in Lykkeision feels almost emotional. I watched the videos—you were incredible. I've already subscribed to MiTube, too."

Yur bowed deeply, then pulled a mineral from his coat.

He looks desperate.

"I figured you wouldn't need mid-tier ore anymore," Yur said.

Jinwoo looked at what he held.

"The mineral I promised."

Jinwoo almost doubted his eyes.

"This is…"

"Yes. A UR-grade mineral. Mining it nearly killed me, but—" Yur's face was pure confidence. "—I brought it myself."

Thunderstone.

Zzzt. Crack!

The power of lightning still lived inside it.

I never thought he'd actually bring back UR grade.

SSR or even SSR+ would have been fine. As long as high-tier ore kept coming in on a regular basis, he could blend it with other materials as needed.

"How much should I price this at?"

Yur hesitated for a moment.

Going to name a high number, is he?

That was fine. Jinwoo had already taken a fortune from the auction house; his funds were solid.

But Yur brought up something else entirely. This, in truth, was why he had looked so desperate.

"…About Su-gun, actually."

"You mean Attendant?"

"Yes."

How did they get this close? He's calling him Su-gun?

Jinwoo had only sent him to learn. He hadn't expected them to bond like this.

"I don't need payment for the Thunderstone. Instead—" Yur cleared his throat twice. "—if you send him to me again next time… I'll teach him everything I know. Absolutely everything."

From the way he said it, Yur already knew Jinwoo had also sent Attendant to Artem.

"Sounds like Attendant's been doing well."

"Yes. Teach him one thing and he just… does two or three on his own."

Mining was a quiet profession. For people in jobs like that, a partner mattered enormously. The right partner could change how efficiently the entire workday ran.

"Hmm. Then how about this?"

Jinwoo made a different proposal.

"In other words…"

After meeting Yur, Jinwoo went straight to see Artem.

"Jinwoo!"

Artem's face was beaming.

"Su-gun is absolutely outstanding!"

Here too? Su-gun?

Jinwoo looked at Attendant. Under Artem's tutelage, the summon already carried himself like a proper miner. Attendant threw his chest out and bowed deeply to Jinwoo.

He's doing even better than I thought.

This wasn't just mining labor.

He's got a knack for it.

Every thrall had such a different character.

This is fun.

Seeing their personalities so clearly was a genuine pleasure.

"Please. Could you send him to me one more time?"

Saying so, Artem too pulled an extraordinary mineral from his coat. A glittering pink ore—orichalcum. But it was different from ordinary orichalcum.

"The color's denser."

"Yes, exactly."

Artem smiled and held the orichalcum out.

"It's a special orichalcum. If it had been ordinary, I wouldn't have brought it. I watched your videos, Jinwoo."

Both miners had seen Jinwoo's footage. Both had felt the full weight of his skill all over again. Ordinary ore simply wouldn't do. Bringing something mediocre would have been a serious insult.

Rage Orichalcum.

Both of them brought UR, as if they'd coordinated it.

And both of them seemed thoroughly satisfied with Attendant.

I need to ask him about this.

Jinwoo hadn't expected his thrall could work two top miners into this kind of frenzy.

"Artem, hold on a moment. I'll speak to you shortly about sending Attendant again."

"Ah, yes! Take your time!"

While Artem waited, Jinwoo called Attendant aside.

"You've been doing quite well."

At those words, Attendant snapped to attention and bowed his head.

"I have carried out your orders as commanded!"

"Both miners are completely taken with you."

"Both gentlemen taught me a great deal."

Then Attendant dumped out the minerals he had mined himself. Not quite at the two top miners' level, but he had still brought back fine SSR-grade ore—and the highest-quality pieces among them stood out especially.

Faithful to the fundamentals.

Mithril. Orichalcum.

"Oh-ho."

"Myriad-Year Blacksteel."

"They said it's better than Myriad-Year Steel. The grade may not be as high as my master desires, but of everything I can mine, I brought the very best."

Jinwoo clapped Attendant firmly on the shoulder.

"Excellent work, Attendant."

"Thank you!"

Jinwoo took the ores Attendant had mined as well.

That makes five secured.

Thunderstone. Rage Orichalcum. Myriad-Year Blacksteel. Plus mithril and ordinary orichalcum.

"Where shall I go this time?"

Attendant had learned vein-mining techniques from both of the top-tier miners, Yur and Artem. He had picked up other advanced skills too, but that mining technique was the core of it.

"You're not ready to work alone yet, are you?"

"I still have shortcomings."

"So they haven't taught you everything."

True top-tier miners—they still had plenty of secrets left in the vault.

In that case…

There was no need to send him back and forth between the two.

"But both of them want you with them. So here's what we'll do."

Why keep them separate?

Having him travel with both at once would only sharpen the competition.

"Go with both of them."

And right there, Jinwoo produced the souls he had gathered in the Wasteland. Time to wring every last secret out of those two top-tier miners.

"You can do this."

Looking at him, I really think he can.

Attendant was already getting glowing reviews from both men. In a situation like this, it would work.

"I'm not sending you empty-handed. Let's properly gear you up. While you've been working hard, so have I."

Jinwoo raised the souls he had claimed in the Wasteland. They sank into Attendant.

Shaaaaaa—

As the high-grade souls entered him, darkness began to pour from Attendant's body.

Moments earlier, Attendant had been Special LV2—type: Specter Rogue. With the souls absorbed, he rose at once to Special LV3.

Shaaaaaa—

The leveled-up Attendant looked down at his own body. Nothing had changed dramatically, but every movement carried a new, dense strength.

"Thank you…!"

Attendant broke into a wide smile. Even Jinwoo had never seen an undead grin like that.

"I will mine anything!"

Last time he cried.

This time he was smiling.

Must have picked that up from Artem.

"I'll get in touch with them right away, then."

"Yes!"

Attendant left at once. Watching him go, Jinwoo felt a genuine spark of anticipation.

"Learning from both of them at the same time…"

Naturally, the quality of materials he brought back would climb even higher.

"He might even mine UR grade this time."

And if that happened, it wouldn't just be Yur and Artem as rivals—Attendant could wedge himself right between them.

"My thrall, standing among the top three miners."

The Wasteland, before the Dragon Lair.

"Oh?"

The first-discovery bonus he had received for a previous tower had been a three-hundred-percent drop-rate boost. This time was different.

"A rune upgrade?"

The reward was an upgrade for the Great Dwarf God's Rune—the Earth Rune—that Jinwoo currently held.

"It says 'upgrade token,' so…"

It looked like a reward that would only be granted once the temple was restored to its original state.

Jinwoo snapped his fingers.

"Bon."

Shaaaaaaaa—!

With a clatter of fitting bone, the Bone Dragon Bon was summoned.

"First. Pur. Mortus. Pin."

Every thrall answered the call.

"Let's go reclaim it."