Chapter 9

Rising from his seat, Jaeha began crafting elixirs while waiting for the money to come in. About halfway through making the elixirs, a text arrived notifying him of the deposit.

‘I promised to deliver the elixirs by tomorrow anyway, so I should head to the shop first.’

With that, Jaeha organized the herbs and made his way to the shop complex. Upon arriving, he headed to the place that sold skills.

Once inside the shop, Jaeha looked around to see if there were any skills worth using. But there was nothing useful, so he wandered around before turning to the clerk and speaking.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes. Are you looking for a specific skill?”

“Yes. Do you have Inventory?”

“Ah…… Inventory?”

“You don’t have it?”

“No, we do. It’s just that it’s an item that rarely ever sells.”

“Haha, I’ll take it.”

“Yes. One moment, please.”

As the clerk went into the back, Jaeha browsed the shop. Soon the clerk returned, and Jaeha approached.

“How much is it?”

“Just a moment.”

Then the clerk fiddled with a tablet before speaking.

“The current market price is 1.8 billion won. Are you sure you want it?”

“Yes. I’ll pay in full.”

“Very well……”

Jaeha handed over his card, and the clerk began processing the payment. Jaeha looked at the Inventory Skill Book¹ that was set aside nearby.

Skill Books were mostly dropped at a low probability from clearing S-Rank dungeons. They took the form of books, and while their appearance was identical, the skills you could obtain from them varied.

As he was thinking about that, the payment must have gone through, because the clerk handed him both the Skill Book and his card. Taking them, Jaeha smiled.

“Thank you for your help.”

With that, Jaeha left the shop and immediately used the Inventory Skill Book.

[Inventory Acquired]

[Inventory]

[Rank: Rare]

[20 Slots created that can hold items regardless of weight]

[Mechanism: Total Ability × 0.1]

[Proficiency: 50%]

As far as Jaeha knew, Inventory slots increased in proportion to Proficiency, and the size of each slot was unlimited. However, each slot could only hold the same type of item, and the number of items that could be stored changed in proportion to Total Ability.

“So if I calculate it, I can put 16 of the same item per slot. And my Proficiency is at 50% too. I guess I’m fairly well-suited to the Space-type.”

Muttering to himself, Jaeha smiled and headed home. Once in the taxi, he sat quietly, lost in thought.

‘Space-type, huh. Should I try learning Magic? When you think about it, Magic is also ranged attack, so it’s not like I can’t use it, right? Once I finish making my weapon and get things sorted, I should give it a try.’

There were plenty of Mage videos on MuTube. Because their skills were so flashy, most Hunters who posted videos on MuTube were Mages.

‘I should get one and try it out.’

With that thought, Jaeha quietly stared outside, and before long, he arrived home.

* * *

Back home, Jaeha started finishing the remaining elixirs. After working for over two hours, he used up all the herbs to complete the elixirs. Once all the elixirs were done, Jaeha began counting them.

‘42 total. I should get at least 150 million per one, since that’s what I got last time. If anything, I’ll get more, not less. Knowing the old man’s personality.’

With that thought, Jaeha smiled.

‘Even at 200 million each, that’s 8 billion. 70% of that is mine, so at least 5 billion…… Making money is easy.’

Muttering, Jaeha smiled. Then he called Seungho.

“It’s me.”

<……Hey.>

“What’s wrong? You sound dead. What happened?”

<I’ve been editing the video nonstop since we talked yesterday.>

“It wasn’t even that long of a video.”

<The video didn’t look right to me, so I kept tweaking it……>

“Since when does a beginner editor get so picky?”

<What am I supposed to do? I’ve watched plenty of videos. I at least have to match that level. You know my personality.>

Seungho had always hated being outdone by others. Especially in areas he was confident in. As someone who was extremely skilled with computers, no matter how new he was to video editing, he couldn’t accept a video he edited that didn’t meet his standards.

<Anyway, it’s done. I’m uploading it right now. It takes a bit of time to upload, so I’ll call you once it’s up.>

“Got it. Good work.”

<Don’t mention it. It’s not even that good.>

With that, Seungho hung up. As soon as the call ended, Jaeha immediately called Herb Gramps.

“It’s me.”

<What now? Short on money?>

“No, sir. All the Elixirs are done. Should I bring them over?”

<No. I’ll send someone. From now on, just leave a text when they’re done. I’ll send someone right away when I see it.>

“Yes, understood.”

Hanging up, Jaeha checked the time and began to rest.

Chapter 8

After a full day of rest, the day to craft the weapon he’d been Ancient-anticipating finally arrived. Jaeha got ready quickly the moment he woke up. Once he was done, he called Seungho.

“Hey. So, about the blacksmith shop.”

<Did you check MuTube?>

“Huh?”

<Your video is number one on Real-time Trending Video right now.>

“Oh, really?”

<Not ‘oh, really.’ It’s already got ten million Views, I’m telling you.>

“Anyway, what time can I use the blacksmith shop?”

<……I just rented it for the whole day.>

“Nice. Where is it?”

<It’s in Suwon. I’ll send you the exact location by text.>

“Alright.”

Hanging up, Jaeha left the house immediately. He hailed a taxi and showed the driver the address from the text. The taxi headed straight for the blacksmith shop.

“Is this it?”

Contrary to what he’d expected, the blacksmith shop was on the outskirts of the city. It wasn’t inside the city proper, but modern buildings were visible not too far away.

Arriving at the shop, Jaeha stepped inside hesitantly. Spotting someone within, he spoke.

“Um.”

“Hm? Who’s this?”

“I’m the one who rented the blacksmith shop.”

“Ah, welcome in. The Furnace is already heated up plenty.”

“So each Iron Ingot is 5 kilograms, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“Then please bring me about 5 Iron Ingots.”

“You can use the spot over there. I’ll bring them over to you.”

“Thanks.”

Nodding, Jaeha walked over to the designated spot. Once there, he checked the heat of the forge.

‘Definitely not hot enough.’

With that, Jaeha took out the Coke from his Inventory. Just then, people walked over from the side.

“Where should we put these?”

“Ah, just set them next to me. Thank you.”

“No need to thank us, we’re getting paid. That aside, mind if I ask what you came here to do?”

“Sure. Well, what else would someone come to a blacksmith shop for? I’m here to make things to use in combat.”

“Ah, I see. Mind if I watch from the side?”

“Sure. Go ahead.”

With that, Jaeha fed the Coke into the forge. Then he immediately used Metallurgy. A hammer materialized in front of him.

Taking the hammer in hand, Jaeha checked the forge’s heat. Then he stood quietly before it, adding Coke little by little as he waited for the temperature to rise to the right level.

While tending the forge, Jaeha stood still and reviewed the bow he could craft.

“Hope it turns out well.”

He only knew it was a good item — he had no idea if the effects would actually manifest properly. The only way to find out was to make it.

Pulling out everything he’d gathered from his Inventory, Jaeha first poured the Goblin Shaman’s blood and the Troll’s blood into a large vat.

“Blood……?”

“Ah. It’s monster blood. Quenching with this makes an item that holds mana.”

“Oh, that’s a method?”

Even as he answered, Jaeha began organizing the byproducts. He took out the Ogre Sinew and the Orc bones. Then he placed the Orc bones into the forge.

“What’s that?”

“These are the bones of a monster called an Orc.”

“An Orc — you mean that pig that stands on two legs?”

“Yes. Those are its bones.”

After roasting them in the forge, Jaeha took the bones out and began smashing them into fine pieces with the hammer in his hand. As the hammer moved bit by bit, the bones easily turned to powder. Once everything was powdered, he swept it into a pile off to the side and checked the forge’s heat.

“It’s ready.”

With that, Jaeha placed 2 Iron Ingots into the forge. After waiting quietly for about 10 minutes, the ingots turned yellow. Using tongs to pull the iron out, Jaeha began pounding it with his hammer.

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

“Whoa.”

As Jaeha moved the hammer and began striking the iron, an incredibly clear and pure sound rang out. The blacksmith watching from the side let out a note of admiration.

“How can it sound this clear?”

“Right? Did someone make a bell?”

The other blacksmiths who had been using different forges gathered around at the sound. Jaeha continued pounding the iron unhurriedly. As he worked the metal, he sprinkled the powdered Orc bones over it. Then he folded the iron in half with his hammer.

“He knows how to do folding too.”

“No kidding. Are that guy’s parents sword smiths or something?”

“Could be.”

The blacksmiths who had watched Jaeha’s work from the side were chattering quite loudly, but Jaeha was already so focused on making the bow that he didn’t hear any of it.

THUD!

THUD!

“Feels like the ground itself is shaking.”

“Ugh…… I—I’m going to step back a bit.”

“His strength…… it’s immense.”

When Jaeha struck the iron with all his might, it was almost as if the ground were rumbling. The blacksmiths who had been nearby eventually couldn’t take it and backed away. That was when Seungho walked into the forge.

Seeing that Jaeha was focused on something, Seungho asked the blacksmiths about this and that. Then he quietly waited with them for Jaeha to finish his work.

* * *

“Hoo.”

After about 2 more hours had passed, Jaeha let out a breath and placed the iron he was holding back into the forge. Setting the hammer down on the anvil beside him, he put more coke into the forge and waited quietly.

“Hey.”

“Hm?”

Turning at the sound of someone calling him, he saw Seungho standing there with the other blacksmiths.

“When did you get here?”

“About 2 hours ago, I think.”

“Really? I didn’t even notice.”

“Anyway, are you done?”

“No, not yet…… I just need to do the quenching and it’s finished.”

“Quenching?”

“Yeah. You heat it red-hot with fire, then dip it into that blood over there to cool it.”

“Blood?”

“Monster blood. It’s a mix of Goblin Shaman blood, which is full of mana, and Troll blood. When you put the heated iron into the Goblin Shaman blood, the blood touches the hot iron and the iron takes on mana. And if you repeat that a few more times, the Troll blood gives the iron regenerative properties.”

“Regenerative properties?”

“Yeah. That’s what I know, anyway. I’ll only know for sure once I actually make it.”

“Well, aside from all that, just watching you hammer away, I could tell this isn’t going to be some ordinary piece.”

“Yeah?”

“I recorded a video just in case. Want to see it?”

“Sure.”