EP 4: The Blacksmith Conceals His Identity
The meeting with Song Hye-na had been quite difficult. Enduring the way she slammed the desk every so often was manageable if I just put up with it. Even when she blatantly played her own combat footage and demanded my commentary, I could simply go along with it. What truly troubled me was not those things, but the fundamental nature of the request itself.
“Make the new equipment flashier than the last one, more powerful, cooler… um. Anyway, just make something incredibly amazing.”
“Overall concept? Something like a queen vibe—super refined, ridiculously cute, and insanely strong ultra-combat-mode staff! And slap on tons of pretty sparkles too!”
“Ah. Desired functions? It already has tons of techniques, so normal attacks and ultimate moves should be separate! If possible, I’d love combination techniques and awakening skills as well!!!”
I had no idea what my client was even talking about. My gaze drifted toward the television that was left on.
*****
Alone in the dormitory, I pondered the staff’s concept. Focusing on a few keywords, I managed to sketch out a rough direction. I wrote several words on a sheet of paper.
Refinement, systematized techniques, combat mode
I concentrated on functionality. The total combat power is determined by mana. I scribbled an equation on the paper.
(Attack Power) × (Sustainability) = Combat Power < Total Mana
Roughly speaking, it felt like this. Using many powerful techniques tires you out quickly, while weaker techniques favor prolonged battles. The product of attack power and duration—the upper limit of combat ability—is set by mana. I wrote two more equations beneath it.
High attack power = suited for short-term combat
Low attack power = advantageous in long-term combat
The solution to this problem was simple. Grant two separate characteristics. However, it came at a considerable cost. Packing multiple functions into a single weapon was both difficult and expensive. This was where the compactness of the mana-blade staff created by the previous craftsman shone through. Within the C-rank budget limit, it had made the optimal choice. It granted the most excellent slashing-type ability among physical attacks and optimized the mana blade’s projection size specifically for C-rank monsters, extracting the highest cost-performance ratio possible in that scenario. C-rank merely referred to the production environment and supplied materials. The deliberation on practicality within those constraints was clearly the work of a professional.
When I disassembled the mana-blade staff Song Hye-na had given me, the internal design was outstanding. To maximize longevity, the design had been simplified as much as possible at the internal stage. How many trials and errors must have been endured to reach this design? I too needed to reach that level. I wrote on an A4 sheet.
Client’s request: A staff capable of using various techniques
Current situation: Incorporating multiple abilities requires considerable cost (over 1 billion won)
“…First, I need to find out how much budget will actually be provided.”
I sent a message to the person in charge at Samjin. But the reply I received was unexpected.
Hello. I am Yoo Jin-ah, Song Hye-na’s manager. To be direct, the maximum budget we can provide for Song Hye-na’s weapon crafting is 13 million won.
…For reference, that mana-blade staff had cost 500 million won.
*****
Korea’s six major guilds each receive a region entrusted by the nation to handle gates, similar to the baseball franchise system. Just as the Hanwha Eagles are based in Daejeon Metropolitan City, the Samjin Guild handles the Chungcheong region. Just as the KIA Tigers are based in Gwangju Metropolitan City, the Baekje Guild handles the Honam region. Due to the nature of gates—where higher frequency and higher rank occurrences happen in areas with larger populations—provincial guilds operate weaker than those in the capital region. In other words, they lack money.
Guilds are similar to baseball teams. The similarity implies a decisive difference exists. While baseball teams exist for the people, guilds exist for business. Reducing unnecessary expenditures is the core of business. Guilds are manpower businesses. They dispatch personnel to handle gates, sell gate byproducts, and receive money from the nation based on subjugation results. In this process, guilds assign suitable personnel to each gate—this is rank. Guilds also nurture talent. However, there are limits to the costs involved in that nurturing. The amounts used for weapon crafting, physical enhancement, and emergency medical treatment start at nearly 10 billion won per person. C-rank is under 10 billion won per person, B-rank under 20 billion won. This is called potential value, based on the individual’s expected lifetime earnings. If a hunter’s expected lifetime earnings are 10 billion won, their potential value is 10 billion won; if expected earnings are 50 billion won, potential value is 50 billion won.
However, the investment funds are not the guild’s money. Guilds merely attract investment. The funds come from the pockets of sponsors who go through the guild. It is a form of debt. Song Hye-na’s sponsor was a Sacred Lotus Realm mage called Wolgeuk Seonggun. The contract terms the manager relayed were as follows: If Wolgeuk Seonggun invests more than 8 billion won—Song Hye-na’s potential value—or if Song Hye-na loses the ability to recover the investment, her body will be taken by Wolgeuk Seonggun. To date, Song Hye-na has received approximately 3.5 billion won in investment, so for Wolgeuk Seonggun to seize her body through the former clause, an additional 4.5 billion won must be invested. What Wolgeuk Seonggun was aiming for was the latter clause.
It shouldn’t be too difficult. Adjust the staff so Song Hye-na cannot perform, then deploy her to a danger zone on the next dispatch to render her incapacitated.
Wolgeuk Seonggun truly needs Song Hye-na’s skill.
Apparently, cases where a hunter’s body was taken in this manner happened occasionally. The manager continued.
This will be an excellent opportunity for you as well. If you do this, Wolgeuk Seonggun has promised a reward in the hundreds of millions. Additionally, all weapon contracts for the C-rank hunters under our sponsorship will be transferred to you.
Something felt off, so I sent this message.
Can Song Hye-na, a C-rank, even be deployed to a danger zone?
The reply came back.
That can be handled as a gate rank notation error. Wolgeuk Seonggun is practically confirmed to take a high position in Daejeon City. Provoking them unnecessarily will only bring harm to yourself, so please make a wise choice.
Wolgeuk Seonggun. In other words, a Sacred Lotus Realm expert. Though their realm was below Heo Shin-ah’s, the mention of a high position in Daejeon City was concerning. High-ranking individuals were usually entangled with one another, so it was best not to touch them carelessly.
So I just need to make the abilities granted to the staff non-combat types like mana blade or heat ray, rather than combat-oriented ones?
Yes, that is correct. Furthermore, this matter is something Wolgeuk Seonggun has spent a long time preparing. It would be best not to interfere.
Well then, I suppose I’ll just do as instructed.
*****
Yoo Jin-ah smiled at the staff specifications the craftsman had sent.
Black Prestis Staff
Appearance: A black, sexy transformation form that captivates the opponent’s gaze. A reversal transformation form that will shock everyone who expected the pure-type Song Hye-na.
Special Note: Ultra-long-term operation model suitable for 24-hour activity. Basic attack is low-output heat ray. Granted ability: Energy Storage.
“…The appearance description is concerning, but… well, it’s fine.”
What mattered was the special note. A low-output model staff capable of 24-hour activity. In other words, instantaneous attack power was extremely weak. Song Hye-na herself seemed disappointed upon receiving it, but a soon-to-be-disposed-of C-rank hunter was none of her concern.
‘Wolgeuk Seonggun is a person who clearly rewards and punishes. They will surely give me a proper reward as well.’
Song Hye-na. A C-rank gate has occurred. Please move to the location immediately.
That gate was actually an S-rank gate. The scenario was as follows: After Song Hye-na was dispatched, she would be instantly defeated by the gate’s monsters. Later, the gate rank notation error would be corrected. The responsible staff who made the mistake would be fired. And she would be employed by Wolgeuk Seonggun’s company at a high salary. Song Hye-na’s body recovered from the S-rank gate would be transported to a nearby hospital. If she died, her body would immediately be transferred to Wolgeuk Seonggun, but even if she survived, it did not matter. The medical treatment would take place at a hospital owned by Wolgeuk Seonggun. Song Hye-na’s medical bills would exceed 4.5 billion won, and the guild, unwilling to bear such enormous costs, would transfer her body to Wolgeuk Seonggun according to the contract. All complications, noise, and suspicious circumstances arising in between would be smoothed over by Wolgeuk Seonggun. No one could raise an issue with this.
A message came from Song Hye-na.
Understood. I’ll head there right away.
‘Go well, Song Hye-na.’
Yoo Jin-ah chuckled.
*****
Restaurant break time. I was training the Man-sang-pa-ji-gwon-gak-beop in the kitchen, raising my strength and stamina.
“Ji-tae oppa!”
Crash! Suddenly hearing a voice, I missed my step.
“O-oppa?! Are you okay?? You didn’t get hurt anywhere?! This won’t do. I need to check your condition right away. First, raise both arms!!”
“I’m fine. More importantly, what’s going on?”
“Ah. Song Hye-na is going to clear a gate.”
“Ah. Yeah. I’ll go.”
I loosened my shoulders and checked my status window.
The enhancement limit for techniques possessed in the Refined Realm was Lv.10. Sensorially, one more week of training would bring great success.
“……Slow.”
In two weeks, it had risen by nearly 0.5 each. The time left for me was approximately two months. At this rate, my maximum stamina and strength would end at 3 or 4. Moreover, mana had not increased at all. As expected, elixirs were necessary. Including the money earned from equipment crafting, I should have around 500 million won in spare funds…. I had no idea what I could do with that.
I came out to the restaurant lobby and watched television.
“What is this.”
“Ah. Just a moment. If I connect it like this… ah, done.”
Song Hye-na appeared on screen. Song Hye-na looked familiar. Female hunters were encouraged to film broadcasts. Not only to prevent falsifying achievements, but more importantly, to increase their value as advertising models or influencers by imprinting themselves on the public, which in turn converted into potential value. Current viewer count: 300.
Song Hye-na, wearing a hood and holding a staff, stood in the center of the screen. The camera was apparently a mana drone. Song Hye-na, who had been smiling faintly, looked at the staff, and soon sporadic chat messages appeared in the upper right.
Watching the chat, Song Hye-na grinned.
Song Hye-na swung the black staff around as if it were something to boast about.
Song Hye-na used her skill. As Magical Girl Transformation (B) activated, the staff liquefied and intervened in the transformation process. Black light was engraved on Song Hye-na’s body, which had been turning white, and splendid magic circles rose around her. Black wings burst forth from the back of the magic girl dyed in black. The black membrane enveloping her body tore to shreds, and the girl let out a painful scream.
“Huh? Huh? Ji-tae oppa! Something seems wrong?!”
“It seems Ji-tae-nim’s equipment is beyond her skill level. As expected of C-rank. If it were me, I would have adapted perfectly.”
The chat also sensed something was off, with similar reactions.
Song Hye-na on screen smiled. ‘As expected.’ It was Song Hye-na’s acting. But rather, that could be considered a transformation direction consistent with the concept. Song Hye-na’s original transformation form was a cute pink-toned magical girl. Her hair was pink, and her stockings were a mix of white and pink. I had pursued the opposite. A fallen magical girl concept. Soon, the black membrane enveloping her body changed into the form of clothing. The magic circles that had been around her transformed into a three-dimensional structure and clung to Song Hye-na’s body.
A frilled dress with a black base, her hair still pink while her eyes were made to look lifeless. Dark red sprites filled the area around her body, yet the skirt was short and the armpits were cut out, subtly revealing sensuality. It was truly the fallen magical girl Song Hye-na.
“Haa….”
Even the sight of her exhaling a deep breath carried a strange sensuality, and for a moment the chat went wild.
Afterward, the viewer count increased slightly to 400.
Song Hye-na entered the gate.
*****
If Song Hye-na was sent into the gate, that was the end. Yoo Jin-ah finished monitoring Song Hye-na and moved on to other tasks. She was in charge of over twenty C-rank hunters. She was not so free as to dwell on a matter that was already concluded. And a little later, a message regarding the gate arrived.
Urgent) C-rank gate rank change, S-rank gate
“Hmm. Just as planned.”
S-rank gate cleared, cleared by Song Hye-na.
“…Huh?”
An unbelievable report. Even when Yoo Jin-ah checked again, the S-rank gate had been cleared. That was impossible. Song Hye-na was at best C-rank. Her realm was also merely Refined Realm. Moreover, the cost of the crafted staff was under 13 million won. Looking at the submitted material list, she had not even used all of it. At most around 9 million won.
‘With this, she couldn’t even make a low-grade potion.’
Yoo Jin-ah belatedly accessed Song Hye-na’s clear footage. Skipping the beginning, she started watching from the middle.
Viewer count: 23,000
“Huh?”
What followed was endless praise for Song Hye-na.
What reflected on Yoo Jin-ah’s terminal screen was truly the Black Saintess. When Song Hye-na stood holding the staff, a heat ray began rotating in a ring shape in front of the staff. The heat ray was a basic ability obtained when Song Hye-na transformed without a staff. However, its output was too weak to use in combat, so she had been operating it through a staff with attack capabilities by intervening in the transformation. But the heat ray reflected on the screen was not fired; instead, it rotated in front of the staff and grew even larger. The heat ray, which had initially been the size of a ring, became a massive circular heat ray—or rather, a circular saw blade of heat—with a diameter of 10 meters in just 5 seconds—
It bisected the body of an S-rank monster…
“What!!! This is itttttt!!!”
The people around looked at Yoo Jin-ah, who had jumped up in shock.
“Ah. Ahem… ahem….”
Noticing the gazes around her, Yoo Jin-ah cleared her throat and sat back down.
‘Calm down. This can’t be…!’
If Song Hye-na had been able to perform such techniques with the heat ray that was originally her basic ability, she would have long since been valued as S-rank.
‘Moreover, the staff’s ability was supposed to be non-combat! Something like that doesn’t make sense…’
“Uwaaaah?!?!”
As she continued thinking, Yoo Jin-ah seemed to realize something and belatedly opened the staff’s specifications.
Special Note: Ultra-long-term operation model suitable for 24-hour activity. Basic attack is low-output heat ray. Granted ability: Energy Storage.
Energy Storage.
‘When I first saw it, I just thought it was a long-term operation ability to maintain the body’s mana, but…’
Yoo Jin-ah’s gaze fixed on the screen. The heat ray forming in front of the staff was gradually growing larger.
‘It means storing the basic ability heat ray in front of the staff?!’
‘…That’s possible?!’
‘If you can infinitely stack energy bodies in space, you can increase the power of the heat ray as much as you want?!’
‘Materialization and fixation of energy? That’s something from old legends!’
As Yoo Jin-ah continued watching the scene, one suspicion raised its head.
‘Is it actually easy?’
But immediately Yoo Jin-ah shook her head.
‘If that were the case, other craftsmen would have made such a model long ago.’
A few seconds later, the circular heat ray grew even larger, transforming into a large weapon with a diameter of 20 meters. In front of it appeared the boss of the S-rank gate. Black Dragon. A high-ranking boss that appears in S-rank gates. Around it, five of its minions, Black Hatchlings, appeared.
The Black Dragon’s roar swept over Song Hye-na. Blades of wind pressure shattering the ground sliced at Song Hye-na.
Song Hye-na was not injured in the slightest.
“…Why?”
This was the part Yoo Ji-tae had worried about the most as a craftsman. If it was only energy storage, attack would be excellent but defense would be weak. If the strength of both offense and defense could not be maintained, it was a failure. After worrying for several hours, Yoo Ji-tae was ultimately able to complete the defense function by imposing one restriction. The Black Prestis transformation dress possesses defensive ability through the energy gathered in front of the staff. That was the restriction. Additionally, the energy used would be recovered through an application of the energy storage ability, allowing activity for 24 hours without issue. And now, with overwhelming heat rays gathered in the staff, the Black Prestis dress possessed defensive ability above S-rank.
Having assessed the situation, Yoo Jin-ah—
“But that’s the end of it.”
—nevertheless predicted the Black Dragon’s victory.
‘I acknowledge the overwhelming defense and close-combat ability. But that’s the limit.’
‘It’s impossible to deal with that quantity simultaneously with a close-range staff that merely swings.’
Her expectation was cruelly trampled as Song Hye-na swung her staff widely and shouted.
Yoo Jin-ah was even more shocked.
“Uwaaaaaah?!?!”
‘Long-range area attack is possible?!’
The circular heat ray that had been spinning madly in front of the staff flew forward and became dozens of small circular slashes.
‘Even the damage is high?!’
“This crazy bitch!!!”
In a single strike, she turned the boss and its minions into rags. Standing proudly in the boss room filled with blood and flesh, her cold gaze at the carnage was truly that of the Black Saintess—or rather, the Blood Saintess.
Song Hye-na smiled primly toward the screen.
It was the smile of someone who had fought their best against their fate while alive.
Yoo Jin-ah’s hands trembled. A message arrived. It was from Wolgeuk Seonggun.
You worthless bitch. Do you know how much I invested in this matter, and you ruin it like this?
Find that so-called craftsman bitch and drag her to me. Immediately.
*****
Ring ring ring ring ring
Messages flew in like crazy.
You damn bitch. Do you know what you’ve done? Pick up the phone right now. Immediately.
You. You don’t know how terrifying Wolgeuk Seonggun is? Lololol You’re screwed. Because of you, we’re all going to die.
Pick up the phone. Pick it up.
“Huu….”
I took a deep breath and suppressed my fear. I turned away from reality and returned to training.