Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: 1st Floor (1)
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Blacksmiths, those who held that profession, weren't all like this, but the vast majority had prickly personalities.
The reason was that blacksmithing itself was grueling work, but at the same time, it demanded perfection in every single process—no room for mistakes.
The items forged in a smithy involved handling iron and fire, so even the slightest error could lead to all sorts of problems right away.
Not just big or small accidents, but something you'd hammered out over long hours could be ruined in one slip-up.
That was why blacksmiths tended to be prickly by nature, and the man himself—the blacksmith who'd come from Sertova territory and was now working as the leader at Lartania's smithy—was no exception.
Tsk-
He let out a quiet sigh, eyeing the displeased expression on Lartania's lord as he entered the smithy and looked around, trying not to make it obvious.
Ralph had already guessed why Kim Hyunwoo had stopped by the smithy.
'Probably about production quotas again.'
Ralph could already picture what the lord wandering the smithy would say next.
He'd start off by chewing him out over production numbers, no doubt.
Then, as Ralph pointed out each issue with the low output, the lord would shove some half-baked solution down his throat like it was genius.
And right after, the slimy administrative lackeys he dragged around would clap like seals, making the lord beam as if he'd accomplished something grand—that was the pattern Ralph had seen with lords before.
Because of that, Ralph was carefully considering what to say to the man in front of him.
The smithy was short-staffed, plain and simple.
There were plenty of top-quality materials from who-knows-where, but not nearly enough blacksmiths to work the iron.
Of course, Ralph knew the problems inside out, but he was picking his words because he knew exactly what would come out of the lord's mouth anyway.
No point telling him—the response would be something idiotic like, "Short on manpower? Just throw more territory folk at it!"
Hammering iron, let alone forging weapons or armor like this, was work for experienced blacksmiths only.
Green civilians with no background? Useless.
But lords who looked down on blacksmithing as mere grunt labor spat that nonsense right in his face without a second thought.
Ralph hated hearing it.
Sure, he knew he was just an employee, and he'd opened his own shop by sinking his savings into it only to leave with nothing—landing this gig was a stroke of luck for a man like him.
Even at his peak, other places besides Lartania already had their blacksmiths locked in; he wouldn't have had anywhere else to work.
Still, with his pride in the craft, he didn't want to hear himself belittled to his face, employee or not.
However.
"Impressive."
The lord's first words caught Ralph way off guard.
"...Pardon?"
"I said impressive. Everything in this smithy is impeccably maintained, and squeezing this level of efficiency out of just about ten men? That has to be because the blacksmiths are putting in real effort."
The lord, seriously surveying the surroundings and muttering to himself, soon looked around with genuine admiration in his voice.
"That setup over there—rearranging the equipment to boost output, right? Makes sense; everyone can work together that way. Downside is the higher difficulty, but if it's paying off in production, your skills must be top-notch."
"The smelting process has some real attention to detail too. Mixing in Polo powder and earth ash? Nice— that'll yield purer iron for sure."
"And the quenching—"
With each observation spilling from the lord's mouth, Ralph's jaw dropped, his irritated glare shifting to shock and disbelief.
Because every word wasn't flattery—it was spot-on fact.
Which was why Ralph blurted out a question before he knew it.
"Have you... worked iron yourself before, my lord?"
Kim Hyunwoo held out his smooth, callus-free hands and replied.
"No chance. I'm no good as blacksmith material to begin with. Doesn't it take endurance, stamina, and grit?"
Kim Hyunwoo added with a short laugh that he flat-out lacked the grit, and Ralph followed up.
"Then how do you know so much about working iron?"
"I'm the lord, aren't I? I need to understand how tough the jobs are for the people working for me. And have an eye for spotting their hard work."
"..."
Ralph stared at him, his face going slack despite himself.
Thinking back, he'd rarely been acknowledged in his years as a blacksmith.
He was skilled, sure, but no legendary master every lord clamored for.
So this rare praise from someone above after decades...
"Keep up the good work."
'This lord's different.'
Ralph dimly realized Lartania's lord wasn't like any he'd seen before.
Lately, Elena had been repeating a routine that left her pretty fatigued day after day.
Wake up in the morning, train, eat lunch, train, eat dinner, train—a schedule not far off from five years ago, when she'd thrown herself into mad training just to shine.
Looking back, the Elena of five years past always had exhaustion and irritation etched on her face.
The insane regimen bred fatigue, and no progress despite the effort fueled dark thoughts.
But even though this was similar to back then—maybe even more time invested—Elena wore a smile instead of weariness or frustration.
The reason? She could feel herself growing.
Unlike five years ago, when she'd floundered like she was stuck in a swamp, now her growth was tangible, rapid even.
Ever since the lord did whatever he did, her hand axe proficiency—which had gone rusty again—shot up noticeably with every session.
The axe in her hands now struck targets with pinpoint precision, no matter the situation.
And it wasn't just that—her movements grew more agile and fluid by the day.
Maneuvers once impossible were now doable; her body, never stiff but not flexible either, could pull off acrobatics now. Elena felt a real sense of accomplishment.
The fulfillment from her own growth, the certainty of taking another step forward.
These days, every day felt joyful for Elena.
For someone who'd poured in effort with zero rewards, getting payoffs proportional to her work was sweeter than any fruit.
And that's why she felt true gratitude toward the lord.
'He must've done something.'
Elena thought of her lord.
The man who'd recruited her—a failed hero just a week ago—and awakened a talent even she hadn't known about.
True, as he'd said, she had a gift for hand axes.
But Elena also knew talent alone couldn't explain this insane, day-by-day growth she could feel.
...Of course, Kim Hyunwoo had only given her the Proficiency Potion on day one to boost her confidence—nothing else.
So her rapid progress was purely down to Elena's "heavenly" talent, but oblivious to that, she was deeply thankful to the lord.
Without him, she'd never have experienced this in her life.
'Once I'm strong, I'll repay the favor.'
Elena smiled softly, thinking of the lord who'd let her keep training even after recruitment.
And soon, at a tavern she'd ducked into for a quick meal since there were no restaurants nearby—
"The lord's a fascinating fellow."
"...?"
—Elena spotted Ralph talking about the lord inside and froze in surprise.
She knew a bit about Ralph.
'Artisan Ralph.'
From what she knew, Ralph was a top blacksmith back in Sertova.
No better ones in nearby territories, safe to say.
Even compared to Norba Kingdom's famed artisans, minus their signature techniques, his skills held up just fine.
Adventurers, heroes, and mercenaries around here waited half a year or more for his weapons.
Hell, the weapon Elena used to wield was one of his.
But what shocked her wasn't seeing Ralph—it was his words.
He had fierce pride in his craft and didn't hand out praise or recognition lightly.
Rumors even swirled that he badmouthed the Sertova lord daily at taverns—Elena had overheard it herself.
"...I don't know how he pulled it off, but that Blue Flame stuff is useful too."
So seeing Ralph—not trash-talking the lord, but sounding like he respected him—left her stunned despite herself.
'The lord really is multifaceted.'
Elena marveled anew at the lord earning a blacksmith's nod.
Production Status
"What is?"
Loria's question came as Kim Hyunwoo eyed the info window with satisfaction; she continued.
Kim Hyunwoo shrugged at Loria's words.
'Honestly, didn't expect it to climb this high.'
The reason he'd visited the smithy and praised the blacksmiths until his mouth went dry? He knew their morale directly affected efficiency.
'Who'd have thought grinding that execution sword mini-game endlessly in Arteil to avoid cash-spending for heroes would pay off here...'
Kim Hyunwoo, who'd sunk hundreds—thousands—of hours into the smithy mini-game to craft cash items without paying up, used that knowledge to praise them down to the finest details.
Endless reps and pop-up explanations let him spot and compliment the nitty-gritty, bumping efficiency.
One lingering question, though.
'They didn't seem that thrilled.'
He'd checked Ralph's stats at the smithy.
'Not grown properly yet, but with nurturing? At least master artisan, maybe transcendent with the right push.'
A "true artisan" could forge gear worth more than labyrinth farming.
They were rare.
Kim Hyunwoo had been shocked seeing Ralph's potential at first.
'Blacksmiths always came random; never bothered before.'
With his luck tanking like a 500-pull dud, he'd stopped hoping—spotting Ralph felt like striking gold.
"Hm..."
Anyway, they'd hyped him up decently, but Ralph's reaction wasn't standout, so he'd figured efficiency wouldn't spike much. Yet it had.
Shrugging off the puzzlement, Kim Hyunwoo decided it didn't matter.
As long as output was high, he was good.
So.
'Grow Ralph gradually. In two weeks, factoring prepped stuff, we'll have enough to kick off proper.'
He looked forward to the labyrinth delve in two weeks.
And so time passed—two weeks later.
The day of the labyrinth opening arrived.
And right as Kim Hyunwoo geared up to tackle the 1st floor proper.
"It's fine... it'll be fine—just one so far. Still—"
The Absolute Ruler of Darkness muttered to herself alone.
"I need just one more... then we can go."
"A little longer—"
"...We can go."
With gloomy eyes.
"Just... a bit more."
Quietly.