Ah, So You're Not Mangchis?

Ah, so it wasn’t Mangchis? The moment I logged into the game, the world inside was still wrapped in the same deep night as when I’d ended the last stream. ‘Didn’t he say to come pick up the greatsword tomorrow?’ Since I needed to push the story forward, I figured it was best to switch the time to morning first. With that in mind, I headed straight for the lodging.

“That sounds good.”

“Is there anything else worth doing?” Combat against monsters was obviously the most fun part, but I was curious if there were other elements worth exploring.

“Quests?” I hadn’t realized this game even had quests. I’d assumed it was mostly about hunting monsters. “Like what, for example?”

“Doesn’t sound like much. The only one that actually interests me is capturing monsters alive.”

“It’s brutal in Reality Mode?”

I asked the viewers why, and they explained. To capture a monster, you first had to shave ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠its health down as low as possible—somewhere between five and ten percent. The problem was—

Exactly. That was the issue. Unlike Baby Mode, where monsters had fixed health bars, here you had to beat the crap out of them purely by feel until they were on the verge of death. And that was already hard enough, but the real problem was—

“If you hit them wrong, they just die instantly, right?”

Even if you thought, ‘This should be enough,’ one extra hit could turn into a critical and kill the monster outright. That’s why people didn’t even bother trying to capture high-difficulty monsters.

“Then I guess it’s best to avoid capture quests if possible.”

“Got it.” Honestly, I preferred just smashing monsters to bits over capturing them anyway, so I had no intention of doing it. Still, it was good information to have.

After chatting with the viewers about various bits of info, I confirmed that the time had finally shifted to morning and headed for the forge. He’d said he’d do his best, so the greatsword should be finished by now. I bought some chicken skewers from a street stall on the way, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠once again tormenting the viewers’ stomachs with the delicious smell, and soon arrived at the forge.

Clang! Clang!

The rhythmic sound of iron being hammered echoed from inside. The place was thick with heat; it looked like he’d been swinging that hammer for quite a while already.

Watching him hammer away nonstop from the crack of dawn, it really seemed like he hadn’t been exaggerating when he said he’d give it his all.

As I stepped into the forge, amid the blacksmiths tirelessly swinging their hammers, a massive silhouette caught my eye. It was so enormous that the word ‘person’ barely seemed to fit. He had to be well over two meters tall. Strapped across his back was a gigantic hammer that looked like it had been crafted from monster bone.

“He’s pretty huge.” And his skills didn’t look half bad either. The chat seemed to recognize him; the viewers looked a little flustered. Apparently this guy played an important role too.

“Is he an important character?”

I’d never banned anyone for something like this before. Was Nyua the one doing the banning?

“It’s fine.”

The viewers finally seemed relieved and started sharing what they knew one by one.

“That’s enough.” After roughly piecing together the viewers’ comments, I summarized, “So basically, he’s the outpost commander’s lackey.”

Now that I knew who he was, I walked deeper into the forge to ask about the greatsword. The blacksmith who had been hammering away looked up and waved at me cheerfully.

“Oh, Haerang!! You’re already here?”

Every time he waved, droplets of sweat flew off and sparkled in the firelight.

I kept a polite distance from Phil and returned his greeting. “Well, I couldn’t sleep. Is the greatsword finished?”

“Hahaha, of course!!”

Phil grinned confidently and brought the greatsword out from the corner. It was wrapped in cloth. The moment he set it on the counter—

Thud!

A heavy sound rang out, as if announcing its weight.

“It’s pretty heavy.” Just from the sound alone, I could tell it was much heavier than the rusted greatsword.

“Is it just the weight?” Phil smiled smugly and roughly pulled the cloth away. The moment he did—

“Oh…” I couldn’t help letting out a soft gasp.

“Not yet, I think.”

I could understand the reaction. Even I was completely captivated by the greatsword in front of me right now.

It was a greatsword with a black base. At first glance the design looked simple, but the refined details everywhere made it clear this weapon was far more than just its size. White beast fur like snow was layered above the crossguard, and the lower part of the grip was tightly wrapped in high-quality leather. It felt like it had been designed to fit perfectly into the user’s hand the moment it was gripped. It was a weapon built for real combat rather than decoration, yet it somehow ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠achieved both practicality and beauty—an incredibly well-balanced masterpiece.

“What do you think?” So that’s why he’d been smiling so confidently. I slowly ran my fingers across the blade.

“It’s beautiful.”

“I knew you’d like it.” I glanced over and saw the corners of Phil’s mouth twitching. He was clearly dying to explain the weapon right this second. Since he’d made something this amazing for me, it wouldn’t hurt to listen to the explanation at least once.

“Could you explain the weapon to me?”

Phil’s eyes widened like he hadn’t expected me to ask first. Then he cleared his throat.

“Ahem. You want an explanation?”

“I’d really appreciate it. And—” I deliberately dragged out my words, and a question mark appeared in Phil’s eyes. “And?”

“You just look like you’re dying to explain it.”

“Kwaaahaha!!!” Phil burst into roaring laughter. “Guess it showed, huh?”

He wiped the sweat from the bridge of his nose with one hand, then began explaining the weapon with sparkling eyes.

“First, the blade was made from the bone of a Yankruga. Since they’re basically solid bone, its durability is off the charts. The fur on the crossguard is also from a Yankruga. That part’s mostly decorative. The grip leather is a mix of the Dirty Monga hide you brought and more Yankruga leather. We combined the different materials to maximize the grip. And this part here…”

Phil’s explanation went on for over ten minutes. For those ten minutes, I deeply regretted my decision.

‘I didn’t think the explanation would actually last ten minutes…’ I must have underestimated Phil’s craftsman spirit. Eventually I gave up on listening halfway through. The viewers in the chat were dying too.

I was just about to cut Phil off when—

“Uncle Phil, that’s enough, yeah?”

The giant who had been standing beside us clamped a hand over Phil’s mouth.

“What, Manguls was still here?” Phil’s voice turned grumpy. He clearly didn’t like having his explanation interrupted.

Unlike Phil, I shot the giant a grateful look. He had saved me from that hell. He seemed surprisingly kind.

My ears were still ringing from Phil’s lecture. Only now was I finally starting to hear properly again.

‘Mangchis? That name really does go well with a hammer.’ I mentally filed away the giant’s name from the chat—the one who had shut Phil up.

At that moment, Manguls, who had been staring down Phil, turned his head toward me. As he took one step closer, a massive shadow fell over me. Yeah, he really was huge. Seeing him up close made it even more obvious.

“Why didn’t you leave? Something suddenly came up.”

Manguls looked down at me and slowly opened his mouth.

“So you’re the guy who got acknowledged by Sir Dante.”

‘Oho…’ A cliché was unfolding right here?

Manguls was still staring down at me. I slowly pondered my options. ‘What should I do…?’ The cliché I’d missed last time was unfolding right in front of me again. If possible, I absolutely didn’t want to miss it this time.

After thinking for a moment, I quickly realized the hesitation was pointless. ‘When have I ever overthought things like this?’ I’d just do whatever I felt like.

When I stayed silent, emotion gradually filled Manguls’s eyes. Looked like irritation was building up. I gave him a bold, mocking smile.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

“So what?”

“What?!”

“Kwaaahaha!!!” Phil burst out laughing beside us. Meanwhile, Manguls’s face flushed with both shock and rage.

“I—”

“What? You can’t accept it? That’s what you were going to say, right? Want me to prove it?”

The moment I stole his line, Manguls’s eyebrows twitched violently. But after taking a deep breath, he gave a savage smile.

“Well said. Prove it? Yeah, go ahead and prove whether you’re worthy of Sir Dante’s acknowledgment.”

Thud!

Manguls slammed his hammer onto the ground.

“This is the weapon I just received. It’s a hammer made from Volcanus materials I got on an expedition. And you just got a new weapon too.” He pointed at the greatsword lying on the counter. “Since you’re a hunter, you probably want to test out your new weapon, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Read this.” Manguls pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket. I took it and read—

“A capture request?” It was exactly the kind of capture quest I’d just been talking about with the viewers.

“The Ecological Research Institute is looking for monsters for their studies. Any type is fine. As long as the condition is good.”

“So you want me to prove it with this?”

“That’s right. To be precise, it’s a bet. Whoever brings back a monster in better condition wins. How about it? You in?”

Was I in? A savage smile had already formed on my lips. Wasn’t that a stupidly obvious question?

I lightly flicked the paper in my hand, tossing it against his chest.

“Your name’s Mangchis, right? I’ll take that bet.”

“......”

“What?” He asked me first, so why wasn’t he answering?

“…Sorry, but it’s Manguls.”

Ah, so it wasn’t Mangchis?