Chapter 66

Каlsеn stоppеd his stерs frоm а distance аnd сarefullу observеd thе thrее реoplе standing in front оf thе entrаnсе tо thе Flamе Forgе.

‘I’ve nevеr sееn thеm beforе. Who аre they?’

А mаn with a diminutive build, a yоung girl, аnd a large man cаrrуing a greatsword on his bасk.

‘I should chеck thеm оut.’

Тhеy seemed susрicious, but hе wаsn’t tоo worriеd.

If hе judgеd them to bе the tyрe to causе trоuble, he соuld just kill them.

Аs a formеr member of thе Kingdоm Кnight Order and the currеnt Leаdеr оf the Кalsen Меrсenarу Grouр, hе hаd thе рowеr tо dо so.

Тhud.

Нe approached the entrance of the Flame Forge.

* * *

Having arrived at the Flame Forge, Khan’s party was admiring the forge, which looked like a massive fortress.

“Even after seeing it for days, all I can say is it’s truly amazing. How can a forge be this big…? It seems even larger than the forges in Kilpheon.”

Byutek, a former Knight from Kilpheon, muttered with a genuinely astonished expression.

“Byutek, try opening it with your strength.”

“Huh? Is that okay?”

“I’ll take responsibility, so give it a try.”

“Understood!”

The door of the Flame Forge was roughly 10 meters tall.

It was a considerably large door, so an ordinary person wouldn’t be able to open it by pushing.

‘In this situation, it’s better to go inside and properly check what’s going on.’

Thud.

Upon hearing Khan’s words, Byutek immediately placed both hands on the door.

He pushed with all his might, but the door didn’t budge at all.

“It won’t open… It seems to be locked.”

Hmm.

How should he handle this situation?

He also considered wandering around Asmar to gather information bit by bit.

If he asked around, he would surely find out news about the Flame Forge.

‘But that would take too much time.’

Moreover, according to Byutek, the moment villagers heard about the Flame Forge, they made expressions as if hiding something.

‘Anyway, both Byutek and Sharin have become much stronger now, so wouldn’t it be fine to just force our way in?’

In a small city like Asmar, there shouldn’t be anyone stronger than Khan, let alone Byutek or Sharin.

Thus, Khan decided to simply break this door and enter.

But then.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Suddenly, they felt a man walking up behind them.

A man even larger in build than Byutek, with a deep scar under his eye that looked like it was cut by a blade.

A man walking towards them with a friendly smile, contrary to his menacing appearance.

‘Who is this guy?’

Khan stared at him, trying to recall if there was such an NPC at the Flame Forge, but no matter how much he thought, nothing came to mind.

He didn’t look like an ordinary NPC at first glance.

A moment later, when they had gotten somewhat close, Khan couldn’t help but flinch as he looked at the guy.

‘What, his Level….’

This was clearly Asmar, one of the small cities in Eldrida.

The strongest among the adventurers or NPCs here would be at most Level 20.

But the Level of the man who had just appeared was truly unbelievable.

[LV.53 Kalsen]

A monster exceeding Level 50.

And for some reason, the name Kalsen also felt vaguely familiar.

‘Why is a guy over Level 50 here?’

Following the Mages of the Blue Magic Tower, another powerful figure had appeared.

These were things that absolutely shouldn’t happen when playing the original game.

‘I shouldn’t think it will simply flow the same as the game.’

The somewhat fortunate points were that he wasn’t showing immediate hostility and that, although his Level was high, it was only in the 50s.

“Currently, the Flame Forge is not in operation. Could you please come back another time?”

Khan was pondering how to speak to him when Byutek suddenly opened his mouth.

“I am Byutek, a Knight from Kilpheon. Are you perhaps the owner of this forge?”

“Oh, such an esteemed person has come to our Flame Forge. Have you come to commission weapon crafting?”

Then, Byutek subtly glanced at Khan, checking his reaction.

‘This guy… Who exactly is he?’

Khan wondered if the owner of the Flame Forge had changed without his knowledge.

The owner of this forge was a middle-aged man named Bron.

As Khan remained silent, Byutek spoke again.

“The Sir Khan I serve has come to the Flame Forge to commission the crafting of an item.”

“If a Knight of Kilpheon serves him…! My apologies, I have been rude. Let me formally introduce myself. I am Kalsen, the owner of the Flame Forge.”

Kalsen looked at Byutek and slightly bowed his head.

“I am called Khan. I wish to have an Artifact made with the Materials I possess. Is it not possible now?”

“Ahem, even so, right now is a bit…”

Kalsen trailed off with an expression suggesting difficulty.

Even amidst this, Kalsen was scrutinizing Khan and Byutek very closely.

‘He says he’s a Knight of Kilpheon, but he doesn’t look that strong. At most, he seems like a former apprentice Knight from Kilpheon, and this esteemed Young Master, whose noble’s son could he be?’

He suddenly felt annoyed and wanted to just kill them, but he couldn’t.

Seeing that he was accompanied by an apprentice Knight from Kilpheon, he thought his parents were likely in official positions in Kilpheon.

‘He probably isn’t the son of a Count or Viscount.’

As Kalsen gave him a look, Khan answered.

“Ah, I am a Mage.”

“How could this be…! You are a Sir Mage!”

Mage.

Those who use Magic, permitted only to the chosen ones in this world.

Thus, when meeting a Mage, there were usually two types.

Those who ignore them, thinking they are fake due to the many who impersonate Mages.

Conversely, there were also those like this man named Kalsen who made surprised expressions.

While surprised, Kalsen quickly organized his thoughts.

‘A Mage? This guy?’

Come to think of it, a few days ago, he heard from the city’s Guard Unit that a Mage from the Blue Magic Tower had entered the city.

If he’s a Mage affiliated with the Blue Magic Tower, he shouldn’t be a nobody.

‘But I heard there were two Mages from the Blue Magic Tower… Why are there three of them?’

Having left the Kingdom Knight Order and starting from the bottom as a Mercenary, he had spent ten years to reach his current position.

‘This smells fishy.’

Skilled Knights or Mercenaries knew how to handle Mana like Mages.

Thus, Kalsen subtly drew up Mana, just enough not to be noticeable, to check the Mana of Khan before him.

The result.

‘As expected, is he bluffing?’

This guy was not a Mage.

Rather, the woman standing next to this man named Khan possessed far more Mana.

‘If she had said she was the Mage, I might have foolishly fallen for it.’

Then why exactly were these guys deceiving him?

He needed to find out the reason from now on.

Although he confirmed Khan was not a Mage, he could have lied to fake a noble status, so Kalsen humored him appropriately.

While subtly checking one last thing.

“Then, may I ask… which Magic Tower you are affiliated with?”

“I have no affiliation.”

“Ah, I see…!”

He confirmed he wasn’t a Mage from the Blue Magic Tower either.

Judging him not to be a dangerous person, Kalsen relaxed a bit and spoke again.

“By the way, what kind of item did you come to have crafted?”

“I need a usable Staff. I also wanted to commission the crafting of a greatsword imbued with Alchemy and accessories related to Mana… Is it impossible?”

“Hmm…”

Kalsen stroked his chin with his hand, showing a thoughtful appearance, but he had already made a decision.

‘Judging by what he says, he seems to have brought quite a lot of Materials… Should I just kill them all?’

Seeing that he wanted an Artifact, it seemed he had brought many quite expensive Materials.

“Could you show me the Materials you brought?”

“Here they are. If you need anything else, I can get it right away.”

Khan took out the Griffin’s Horn and the Cerberus’s Hellfire Soul from his Spatial Pocket.

He also took out miscellaneous items like Mana Crystals and Magic Stones. The moment Kalsen saw those Materials, his eyes widened.

“Ce, Cerberus’s Hellfire Soul…? To bring such precious Materials! The Griffin’s Horn is also a very precious Material… And quite a lot of Mana Crystals too!”

“I’ll pay any reward you want. Can you craft it?”

Seeing Kalsen’s reaction, Khan thought he would likely accept the Commission.

‘Seeing him react like that to the Materials, it seems this guy is also as serious about weapons as Bron, the forge’s original owner.’

And as if Khan’s thought had hit the mark, a moment later, good news came from Kalsen’s mouth.

“Very well. Currently, I have separate work and am not accepting Guests… but since it’s Sir Mage’s request, I’ll make a special exception this time.”

“Thank you. May we go inside first?”

“Ah, of course! Open the door!”

As Kalsen shouted in front of the door, the firmly closed massive door began to open to both sides.

Rumble….

The door’s thickness was incredibly thick. As soon as it opened, a sweltering heat rushed out.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

From inside, the sound of striking iron, unlike anything heard before, came through.

‘I heard the forge’s soundproofing was perfect in the game too, and it’s true.’

The door’s thickness was so great that the soundproofing between the interior and exterior seemed perfect.

“The environment inside the forge isn’t very good. Haha, please come in. I’ll introduce you to the proud Blacksmiths of our Flame Forge.”

Khan nodded and followed behind Kalsen into the forge along with Byutek and Sharin.

“They are all working right now, so I’ll briefly tell you who they are as we pass by.”

“Ah, you don’t need to introduce them. By the way, is the name of the previous owner of this Flame Forge a man named Bron?”

“Oh, you know Bron?”

“I heard by rumor. He’s a Blacksmith with incredible skill.”

Khan wanted to commission the Artifact crafting to Bron if possible.

In a small provincial city like this, there wouldn’t be anyone else who could perfectly craft an Artifact with the Materials Khan currently possessed.

“Haha, that friend Bron is currently the best Blacksmith of the Flame Forge! He’s working right now too.”

“Then can I commission the crafting to him?”

“Of course! Let’s go meet him right away!”

Khan followed behind Kalsen, who had a friendly face.

“That friend over there is Bron. Bron! Come here for a moment!”

Bron, who was striking a hot lump of iron with a hammer, put down the hammer and looked at Kalsen.

He had a strangely angry-looking expression.

‘Are they not on good terms?’

As Khan was having that thought, Kalsen shouted again.

“Sorry to interrupt your work, but come here for a moment. Just a moment.”

Then, Bron approached where Khan and Kalsen were.