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Chapter 20: Star, Home (5)
Chapter 20: Star, Home (5)
Chapter 20: Star, Home (5)
At 4:32 a.m., a two-seater sports car entered a large apartment complex located near Jamsilsaenae Station. The apartment complex was near Hangang River, so reporters often came by to take a photo of it whenever they had to write about real estate issues.[1]
Screech!
The driver seat window of the sports car rolled down to reveal Cha Ye-Eun sitting in it. She lowered her sunglasses slightly and looked up, asking, “So is this the place?”
She had driven all the way over to the apartments after hearing that Lee Chang-Sun, codenamed ‘Tyrant’, was there. Although she expected to hear an answer from the passenger’s seat, no reply came; she turned around to see what her partner was doing.
Disregarding Ye-Eun’s death stare, Jin Seok-Tae was busy inspecting the inside of Ye-Eun’s car. He suddenly came to a halt and looked at Ye-Eun with a look of amazement, making her subconsciously flinch. Ye-Eun had no idea why Seok-Tae was looking at her with such sparkling eyes.
“Ye-Eun sunbae-nim!” Seok-Tae exclaimed excitedly.
“What?” Ye-Eun replied, tilting her head in confusion.
“I respect you so much,” Seok-Tae said, fixing his gaze on Ye-Eun.
“What on earth are you talking about right now?” Ye-Eun replied. She leaned backward, unsettled by Seok-Tae’s strange behavior.
“Isn’t this a brand new model? I heard there are less than a hundred of these in Korea. How did you get this? No, how…” Seok-Tae trailed off, unsure whether it would be appropriate to ask how Ye-Eun had bought such an expensive sports car with her petty salary.
Seok-Tae had heard that if the buyer added even a few options to such a car, the price would easily surpass 200 million won. However, as there were so few of them in Korea, the buyer would have to wait for a long time even if they wanted to buy the specific model.
“I do a lot of outsourcing work,” Ye-Eun casually answered.
Seok-Tae wondered how Ye-Eun knew he had been about to ask that. He was rendered speechless, because Ye-Eun had confidently told him that she worked as an independent Player even though it was illegal for an agent of an international organization to do so. She acted as if she would not stop Seok-Tae from reporting her to their superiors.
‘If I really did that… She’d put a bullet in my head, right?’ Seok-Tae thought, nodding silently. As he knew how talented a Player Ye-Eun was, he had no intention of picking a fight with her. As such, he thought it was for the best that he respected Ye-Eun as his senior partner.
“He lives in Apartment 241, Unit 2902. The CCTV from the apartment’s elevator caught him entering his home this morning, but he went out again. Still, he didn’t have any baggage on him, so he’ll eventually come back if we wait for him,” Seok-Tae eventually explained.
“1, 2, 3… 29th floor? Isn’t that the highest floor?” Ye-Eun asked.
“You can see the entire Hangang River from there,” Seok-Tae remarked.
“So Chang-Sun himself earned a lot of money, but his family was also rich? Wow, I envy him,” Ye-Eun said, shaking her head.
Thunk!
As she got out of her car, Ye-Eun adjusted her sunglasses. She sighed quietly, thinking ‘I have to recruit him before those hyenas notice he exists, but what if Chang-Sun’s really a demon?’
There could be nothing more heartbreaking than arresting someone in front of their family; Ye-Eun desperately hoped such an unfortunate event would not happen.
* * *
There were few factory districts in Seoul; one of them was in Seongsu-dong. Many shoe factories and car repair shops had done business in the district for a very long time.
The local economy had shrunk over time, but it had improved when Gates opened on Earth and people began to find Dungeons inside them. That was because most of the local industries had begun refining Dungeon materials to keep up with the times. Factories mass-produced weapons for Players, while workshops created custom-made weapons for clients.
They were good options, but Chang-Sun was looking for someplace else—a forge. The forges were located in a narrow alley that was so hot and stuffy, no passers-by loitered in it. It was the gloomiest part of the district, and even the signage was extremely shabby.
‘Wasn’t it somewhere around here?’ Chang-Sun wondered.
<Kim’s Workshop>
<Hwayang Factory>
<Cheolwoon Trading Company>
Although the signs had different names, the buildings all looked the same, as if they had been copied and pasted in an image program. However, the exteriors did not matter to Chang-Sun; rather, he navigated by smelling the different mana scents emanating from the industrial forges. The forge he was looking for would have a very specific scent.
Chang-Sun recalled the conversation he had had with Thanatos.
“I heard Divine Twilight’s Trait was [King of Weapons].”
“So?”
“Not many fighting deities or warring deities have acquired that Trait, so I remembered it right away. Anyway, you’ll need various weapons after you regress, so won’t you need a blacksmith who can supply you with weapons?”
“Is there such a person among humans?”
“There is one.”
“Who is it?”
“Ou Yezi.”
“…!”
‘I was really surprised when Thanatos told me Ou Yezi was in Seoul,’ Chang-Sun thought, shaking his head.
Ou Yezi was famous even in Heaven. That was because Ou Yezi the Divine Blacksmith made whatever he wanted to create, in contrast to Taotie the Devil Blacksmith, who was famous for its seal—the same one engraved on [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth]. Taotie received requests from Celestials to make relics.
Due to Ou Yezi’s personality, all the relics he created had peculiar and bizarre properties, so they were all tricky to use. However, the Celestials still wanted to have his relics because they were worth the risk. Naturally, the Celestials assumed that Ou Yezi was a blacksmith deity who had transcended mortality by mastering an ability. Chang-Sun had also thought so, but Thanatos had told Chang-Sun that Ou Yezi was a human.
“I heard Ou Yezi had disappeared after he made a relic for ‘Capricorn,’ but was he really a human? But then…!”
“...Then Ou Yezi would be too old to work for you.”
“Am I wrong?”
“The name Ou Yezi doesn’t belong to one person. Ou Yezi’s heirs have also inherited the name Ou Yezi.”
Thanatos had smiled very coldly as he had explained why Ou Yezi was on Earth.
“After ‘Capricorn’ received the relic she had ordered, she killed Ou Yezi immediately, not knowing he had a surviving heir.”
Chang-Sun thought to himself that Zodiacs certainly had many enemies, including him. The First Elder, who had taught Chang-Sun about [Heat of the Eight Trigrams Brazier], had also lost his family because of the Zodiacs.
‘The problem is that many of Ou Yezi’s secret smithing methods disappeared after the incident, so his heirs experienced a decline over time,’ Chang-Sun thought bitterly.
Of course, Ou Yezi’s heirs were still Ou Yezi, so their weapons were still great, and considered to be among the best. They would not be good enough to be considered relics, but they could be called sacred weapons.
‘I found it.’
Chang-Sun had been thinking about many things, but he had not stopped searching. When he arrived at his destination, he came to a stop.
<Choi-Lee Forge>
Among the shabby forges, the Choi-Lee Forge was the shabbiest and the smallest of them all. Chang-Sun briefly wondered if he could even call it a forge. The sign was so old that he would have passed by the shop if he had not watched the surroundings closely.
Although he was skeptical for a moment as to whether the blacksmith from the forge would be able to create a proper weapon, Chang-Sun’s keen nose caught a faint mana scent from the Choi-Lee Forge.
‘I can smell Divine Fire… They’re using a proper furnace.’
In order to create a high-quality weapon, the blacksmith’s talent mattered the most, but it was also important to use the right kind of fire. It looked as if the current Ou Yezi had managed to save the original furnace.
[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ opens her eyes wide as she smells high-quality iron.]
As Pabilsag had the most interest in weapons among the four deities who continued to watch Chang-Sun, she had already noticed the Choi-Lee Forge’s potential.
Fortunately, the deities would not discover Ou Yezi’s identity, even though Chang-Sun had revealed his forge. He did not particularly care if they noticed the blacksmith was Ou Yezi, because they would just think of the blacksmith as his copycat.
‘But what’s wrong with Ou Yezi’s forge?’ Chang-Sun thought, tilting his head in confusion.
Something was strange. Ou Yezi should have been able to create high-quality sacred weapons with access to a proper furnace. They would not necessarily be enough to catch Celestials’ attention, but Players would undoubtedly have noticed them.
‘There are no traces of past visitors,’ Chang-Sun thought as he tried to open the door to the forge in order to see what was going on.
Clank!
‘It’s locked.’
Chang-Sun belatedly noticed that the iron door was locked tightly, with a solid chain and a padlock.
‘Did he go out for a moment because he had business to take care of?’
However, the chain and the padlock were rusty, which meant that no one had touched them for a long time.
‘But I’m sure the furnace inside the room is lit…’
A blacksmith had to constantly watch over a furnace to keep the fire alive, so Ou Yezi could never leave the forge unattended for a long time.
‘What’s going on? I should try waiting here for a while.’
* * *
“Choi-Lee Forge? Uhm… I have heard about it… What was that place?” a middle-aged man said, searching his memories.
“What’s up with you? You know Choi! He runs that place!” another man who appeared to be his friend exclaimed, slapping the man’s back.
“Ah, that place? I don’t think he runs it anymore, so it’s more accurate to say he ran it,” the first man said.
“You’re right. It’s already been five years since he closed his forge. Man, I wonder how he’s doing nowadays, but I hope he doesn’t skip his meals. You know, he’s a good man. He often bought drinks for me,” the second man said.
No one had visited the Choi-Lee Forge even after Chang-Sun spent three hours waiting in front of it. Thus, he had begun to ask around, hoping to get Ou Yezi’s phone number. However, most people did not know Choi-Lee Forge even existed, and some people who did know just said that the place had been closed for a long time.
‘No, Ou Yezi can’t leave his furnace unattended for a long time. Three days would be the maximum.’
It was very tricky to manage a furnace that contained Divine Fire. Their owners usually preferred to keep the fire alive, because it was more difficult to light them again. The furnace was still blazing, so the forge was not actually closed…
Chang-Sun had gotten nowhere, as no one who knew about the Choi-Lee Forge had Ou Yezi’s phone number. It seemed that Ou Yezi had neither a phone or close friends. In the end, that could mean only one thing.
‘He wanted to cut himself off from the world,’ Chang-Sun thought as he took [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] out of his Inventory. ‘I have no other choice.’
Chang-Sun decided to smash through the iron door and barge in. Although he was unable to detect any human presence, he would be able to meet Ou Yezi if he waited inside. His decision showed zero consideration for Ou Yezi, but he could not afford to be considerate. His revenge plan could not go astray.
[The Skill ‘Blood Toxin’ has been activated!]
[Acidic Toxin has been created.]
Cutting his left hand deeply with [Tiamat’s snaggletooth], Chang-Sun thoroughly coated the blade in his blood. As he was trying to force open a lock, he used an acidic toxin that was suitable for corroding metals.
Clink! Clink!
After smashing the lock and the chain twice, Chang-Sun was able to cut them both at the same time. His eyes shone for a moment. If they had been an ordinary chain and lock, he should have been able to cut them like paper with [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth], but he had needed to use a lot of force to break them. That meant the chain was very tough.
[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ enjoys the smell of good iron.]
As Chang-Sun forced open the creaking iron door that had not been greased for a long time, the first thing he noticed was the smell of musty iron filling the room. It was so horrible that ordinary people would have frowned, but just like Pabilsag, Chang-Sun thought the smell was as fragrant as if he had returned home.
‘There are a lot of them.’
All kinds of weapons were hanging on every wall: Swords, knives, spears, shields, hammers, axes, bows… Each and every one was high-quality. They all had sharp edges, but it seemed as if they had not been managed for a long time, judging from the layer of dust covering them.
Chang-Sun picked up a bow that was closest to him—a small gakgung[2].
[Murciélago’s[3] Horn Bow]
A bow made from a goat monster that has climbed out of the Samcheon Hell.[4] Despite its size, the bow is heavy and firm, making it tricky to use. There is also a limit on the types of arrows that can be used.
Unable to inspect the details of the weapon.
· Type: Bow.
· Damage: ???
· Effect: ???
‘Murciélago? I’m sure he had a hard time obtaining the material, but he really made a fine bow out of it, considering its properties,’ Chang-Sun thought as he ran his hands along the gakgung. He could not help but admire it; it had no imperfections, from its balance to the way Ou Yezi had trimmed the belly of the bow.
‘It’s better than the lowest-rank deities’ relics.’
Of course, relics would undoubtedly be powerful and effective with a deity’s blessings empowering them, but if Chang-Sun were to compare them as weapons alone, they would be equally good.
When he finished admiring it, Chang-Sun strung the bow and drew it back. He also tried swinging other weapons, which only made him desire Ou Yezi’s weapons even more.
[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ loves this place, and she feels as if she is in paradise.]
[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ pants in excitement as she inspects the high-quality weapons.]
Leaving Pabilsag to scream like an otaku, Chang-Sun went deeper into the forge.
‘Hmm?’
An old sword that was lying in a corner caught his attention. Its narrow blade resembled a lengthened dagger; it was too long to be considered one, but too short to be considered a longsword.
Unlike the other weapons, the sword was not on the wall, and it had lost its edge. Judging from its bluish shade, it appeared to have been made from bronze, not iron. However, it looked more like a fire poker that was used to rearrange firewood in a furnace.
Despite that, Chang-Sun felt instinctively drawn to the sword.
[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ criticizes you for paying attention to a strange weapon when there are other good weapons all around this place.]
[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ urges you to throw that strange-looking sword away and inspect other weapons.]
Chang-Sun picked up the fire poker-like sword. It was light, but its balance was completely wrong. Despite that, he trembled in excitement the entire time he looked at the sword.
‘This is…! I think I know what this is…!’
Just then…
“Who are you?”
A man whose long hair covered his eyes emerged from a corner. He seemed to be in his early thirties. Chang-Sun saw tattoos all over his neck and forearms, and six piercings on one of his ears.
The man was so far from a typical blacksmith that no one would expect him to be one; rather he looked as if he would make a great tattooist. Despite all that, Chang-Sun was not surprised by the man’s looks; rather, he was shocked by something else.
‘Is he blind?’ Chang-Sun thought.
The forge was very dark, but the man was wearing dark sunglasses, holding a seeing-eye dog’s leash in one hand.
Woof! Woof!
Neither the man nor the dog hid how wary they were of Chang-Sun, the trespasser.
1. Land near Hangang River is very expensive, so newspapers often use apartments in that area as a yardstick to explain how expensive real estate in Korea has become. ?
2. A traditional Korean bow. These are composite reflex bows primarily made from water buffalo horns, which are half the size of an ordinary bow. ?
3. The word means ‘bat’ in Spanish, but in this novel, it seems to refer to a goat monster. ?
4. It’s unclear whether this hell actually exists in Korean mythology, but it exists in a version of a folktale about the character Princess Bari (????). She was abandoned as a baby because her parents wanted a son. However, her parents fell sick, so they asked her to enter hell because there were herbs that could save them. She went to that hell in order to obtain the materials she needed to save her parents. ?