Chapter 67

Вrоn, hаmmеring awaу аt thе hоt irоn ingot.

Todау, his mind was unusuallу filled with distraсting thоughts.

Не соuldn’t keeр living this slave-likе lifе forеvеr.

Сlаng! Сlang! Сlang!

Swеating prоfusеlу аs he swung the hаmmer, hе suddenly felt thе mаssive door of thе Flаme Forge slowly орen, letting in outside air.

Аs thе intense hеat insidе rushеd оut in аn instant, the suffocаting feeling еаsеd a little.

‘Fасеs I’ve nevеr seen bеfore… who arе thеy?’

Thеrе werе unfamiliar рeoplе with Kаlsеn, but he soon ignored thеm and rеsumеd his wоrk.

If he wаs caught slасking оff, there wаs no tеlling whаt thеу might dо to him.

Тhе blаcksmiths оf thе Flame Forge were no different from slaves of the Kalsen Mercenary Group.

They lived, ate, and slept entirely here, unable to rest freely outside designated break times and only allowed to eat what they were given.

Mercenaries from the Kalsen Mercenary Group, stationed in various corners to oversee the forge, saw Kalsen and silently rose from their seats, bowing their heads.

“That fellow over there is Bron. Bron! Come here!”

Kalsen, who had somehow approached Bron’s vicinity, called out to him.

Since this was unusual behavior for him, Bron glared at the man.

‘What’s that guy scheming now?’

Looking at the people beside Kalsen, it was obvious at a glance.

They were here to commission item crafting at the Flame Forge.

Having run the forge for a long time, he could roughly gauge the intentions of visitors by their eyes, actions, and demeanor.

And until now, Kalsen had brought people before him exactly twice before.

‘Could it be… he plans to kill them all this time too…?’

Kalsen had previously seized all the materials and money brought by those who came to commission equipment and then killed them.

As Bron walked up to Kalsen, he noticed Kalsen wink one eye for a moment.

Having seen this before, he understood it meant to play along with whatever he said.

“Haha, this fellow here is Bron, the most skilled craftsman in our Flame Forge! Originally, he was the owner here, but he said he wanted to focus solely on crafting equipment and transferred his share of the forge to me.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Khan stared into the eyes of Bron standing before him.

For some reason, his eyes seemed uneasy, and he looked extremely fatigued.

‘Come to think of it, the other blacksmiths I saw on the way in also looked quite tired… Their expressions weren’t good either.’

Not just the blacksmiths, but the guys sitting around inside the forge also felt a bit suspicious.

‘They seemed like guys keeping watch over the blacksmiths. Something’s definitely off.’

Khan’s intuition was telling him.

And at that moment.

A message suddenly appeared before Khan’s eyes.

The Main Quest, which had disappeared due to the Hidden Quest, had newly appeared.

[A Main Quest has been generated.]

• [Dealing with Kalsen and the Kalsen Mercenary Group Occupying Flame Forge]

• Will you accept the Main Quest?

• If refused, the Main Quest will be deleted.

• Reward: Large amount of Experience Points, Progression to the next Main Quest

As soon as Khan saw the quest message before his eyes, he could instantly grasp the situation at the Flame Forge.

‘That guy Kalsen… I thought his name sounded familiar, he’s that infamous guy from Erindel.’

The moment he saw the term ‘Kalsen Mercenary Group,’ it suddenly came back to him.

When he played the game and went to Erindel, he had received a quest to defeat Kalsen.

Having confirmed the quest, Khan immediately approached Bron and spoke.

“I am Khan, a Mage. I’d like to commission the crafting of an Artifact with the materials I have. Is it possible?”

“…….”

Bron wanted to say no, but he felt pressure from Kalsen’s gaze standing right beside him.

“…Of course. What materials have you brought?”

As Khan took out all the materials from his Spatial Pocket, Bron showed a reaction similar to Kalsen’s earlier one.

“Ooh, to bring all these precious things…! With this, not only an Artifact Staff, but swords and various accessories can all be made! Ah…”

Seeing all the precious materials, Bron momentarily got excited without realizing it, but quickly cooled down.

‘Anyway, I probably won’t even get to use these materials. He’s likely planning to kill them all and swallow the materials… But if this person is truly a Mage, he probably won’t be easily dealt with.’

His intuition was quite sharp.

Having lived as a blacksmith all this time, he had met countless people.

So Bron’s intuition was telling him. He felt an overwhelming, indescribable aura from the person before him now.

As Bron’s mind was filled with thoughts, Kalsen interjected.

“Haha, Bron. Can you make them right away with these materials? The staff for Sir Mage here, the Greatsword for Sir Knight here, and the staff for the lady here as well.”

“…Of course.”

Bron had no choice but to give the predetermined answer to Kalsen’s words.

“Then I’ll leave it to you. I’ll pay generously, so please take care.”

“…Huh? Ah, understood.”

As Khan spoke to Bron, he winked one eye, just as Kalsen had winked at Bron earlier.

‘Just now… what was that?’

Khan couldn’t have a detailed conversation right then, so he gave him only the minimum signal.

Having seen Kalsen wink earlier, Khan thought if he did the same, Bron would catch on somewhat.

And Bron could somewhat grasp the meaning of Khan’s signal.

Or perhaps, it was just Bron thinking what he wanted to think.

‘Could it be… he’s going to save us?’

It wasn’t certain, but for some reason, he felt that way.

Fortunately, Kalsen didn’t seem to notice Khan winking and giving a signal, and spoke to Bron again.

“If there are any materials lacking, check and let me know, Bron.”

“Understood.”

“Haha. Sir Khan, if it’s alright, may I treat you to a meal? I’ve always wanted to have a conversation with a Mage like this in my life. I also once dreamed of becoming a Mage, you know.”

“Do as you wish.”

“Thank you! I’ll guide you to a good place, please follow me!”

Khan, Byutek, and Sharin left the Flame Forge with Kalsen.

Rumble…

At the same time, the massive door of the Flame Forge closed.

Bron stared at Khan’s retreating back visible through the gap until the end.

“What exactly… are you planning to do?”

Bron couldn’t properly figure out what kind of man this Khan was.

But one thing he could be sure of.

For some reason, this man named Khan would completely change the fate of him and the Flame Forge.

Normally, he would have just left these materials untouched and decided what to do when Kalsen returned.

“I couldn’t sense Mana… but he had a peculiar aura.”

Since Bron could handle materials containing Mana, he could somewhat gauge others’ Mana.

The man who called himself a Mage, Khan, had almost no detectable Mana, but he didn’t seem weak.

‘Rather, judging by his aura and feeling alone… he seemed much stronger than Kalsen.’

So Bron decided he would do his absolute best now.

He wanted to do his best to be of some help to him.

‘First, the staff urgently…!’

Griffin’s Horn and Cerberus’s Hellfire Soul.

Coincidentally, there was a staff that could be made with these two materials.

If the Griffin’s Horn formed the staff’s body, and a certain amount of Mana Crystals, Magic Stones, and even Cerberus’s Hellfire Soul were contained within, a staff of tremendous performance would be born as an Artifact.

“…It’s been a while since I’ve properly shown my skills.”

“You there, be quiet!”

Excited at the thought of making proper equipment after a long time, Bron ignored the reprimanding mercenary’s words and quickly began crafting the staff.

* * *

At a high-end restaurant in Asmar.

Khan’s party and Kalsen were having a meal there.

Meanwhile, Byutek’s endless praise of Khan continued.

“Sir Khan is truly the world’s greatest Mage! He saved my life and is so incredible he can defeat a hundred Orcs at once. Haha!”

“Be quiet, Byutek, it’s noisy.”

Khan didn’t care what Byutek said, but it was truly so loud it hurt his ears, so he cautioned him.

“Haha, don’t be like that. I’d like to hear a bit more… could you tell me more, Sir Byutek?”

“Of course. Ah… I’ll speak a bit quieter. Do you know what else happened in Asmar this time?”

“Oh, what else happened in Asmar?”

Kalsen listened intently to Byutek’s words.

The more he heard, the less he could properly gauge Khan’s capabilities.

It was obvious he wasn’t a Mage, but Kalsen was a very cautious person.

So he needed to properly assess their strength.

No matter how strong they were, they would definitely be killed here anyway.

‘I should kill them all when they’re drunk.’

In fact, this restaurant was run by the Kalsen Mercenary Group.

There were no other guests besides them inside, and even the employees and chefs were all in cahoots with Kalsen.

The alcohol served with the food contained a small amount of drug, so they would soon fall asleep.

“We encountered Mages from the Blue Magic Tower while traversing Asmar’s mountain range! Ha, those guys’ personalities are no joke. What, they suddenly attack just from encountering us… They tried to kill us.”

“…Mages from the Blue Magic Tower?”

“Byutek, stop with the unnecessary talk now.”

“Ah… S-sorry!”

As Khan spoke with a stern expression, Byutek hastily bowed his head and exclaimed.

“Haha, this is… Could it be that Sir Khan fought the Mages of the Blue Magic Tower on equal footing?”

“That’s none of your business. Just eat.”

“Hahaha… You truly are an incredible person. Amazing…!”

Kalsen hadn’t heard the whole story, but his mind was in a state of great confusion.

‘Fighting the Mages of the Blue Magic Tower on equal footing. Or was he about to say he just ran away?’

Since he hadn’t heard Byutek’s full story, he couldn’t be sure.

‘But how… did he fight Mages from the Blue Magic Tower with that level of Mana?’

It didn’t make sense.

Kalsen felt like he could kill Khan right now just by reaching out.

“Ugh, why… am I so sleepy…?”

Thud…

Byutek, who had been chattering excitedly just moments ago, suddenly slammed his head on the table and fell asleep.

“What? Byu, Byutek oppa…! He fell asleep…?! What… Why am I… sleepy too…? I only… drank water…”

“Sharin, sleep for a while.”

“Okay…?”

Meanwhile, Khan had been organizing his thoughts since earlier.

[Due to ‘Sage’s Heart,’ complete immunity to the Status Ailment ‘Sleep’ is acquired.]

He had already known through messages that the guy had put sleeping pills in the water and alcohol.

“Oh, what? You noticed, huh?”

“Yeah.”

Grin…

Kalsen smiled a sinister smile.

Unlike the friendly demeanor he had shown until now, his expression was chilling enough to give goosebumps just by looking.

“Let me send you off comfortably.”

Swish.

Whoosh!!

Kalsen drew a short Dagger from his bosom at incredible speed and swung it.

He was certain Khan must also be under the influence of the drug and absolutely couldn’t dodge.

But.

“He disappeared…?!”

Khan’s figure, which had been right before his eyes just moments ago, had completely vanished.

Hum…!!!!

Whoosh…!!!

Then, suddenly, intense heat was felt behind Kalsen.

“Now it’s my turn.”

A massive Flame Sphere on Khan’s hand was blazing fiercely as if it would burn everything.