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Chapter 97

It was 1:50 PM. Although it was before the appointed time of 2:00 PM, Sung-Ha found it quite displeasing to be waiting like this.

All he had to do was forge a spear. Why is he going through all this unnecessary fuss...

What help could a mere blacksmith even offer? Feeling like he was being burdened by an unnecessary weight, he frowned and uncrossed his arms.

“...What a waste of time.”

Thinking that there would be plenty of spears at the workshop anyway, he decided to use one from there. Then, the moment he turned toward the gate, he heard a voice.

“Ah. Is it this way?”

Se-Hoon naturally appeared to his side.

“When did you get here?”

“Just now. You seemed to be in a hurry, so let’s go quickly.”

With a relaxed smile, Se-Hoon gestured toward the gate, causing Sung-Ha to grimace and turn his head away.

“I’ll leave you alone if you lag behind, just so you know,” said Sung-Ha coldly before striding forward.

But Se-Hoon just chuckled at his cold voice and followed him to the ticket gate.

Beep-

Holding his student ID to it, the barrier gate made a short mechanical sound and then revealed a wide corridor beyond, filled with portals that connected to various parts of Korea.

Unlike the portals heroes used to travel to Danger Zones, these were mostly used by regular citizens; hence, the atmosphere here was quite relaxed.

“So where is the workshop?”

Ignoring Se-Hoon’s question, Sung-Ha silently walked toward the portal leading to Gangwon-do.

He acts like a child even though he has that bulky figure, thought Se-Hoon with a chuckle before following.

As they walked, various gazes came pouring in; there were some gazes marveling at his face, some gazes pretending to be casual glances but were actually scrutinizing him and Sung-Ha, and finally, some indistinct gazes.

To Se-Hoon, it wasn’t hard to distinguish who each of the gazes belonged to just from the gaze alone.

Some civilians, the guys sent by the Flame Sect, and that old man, Kwang-Soo.

It seemed Kwang-Soo had decided to deal with this matter to himself this time, possibly due to how they were entangled with the power struggles within the Flame Sect.

Or maybe it’s because I used the word ‘promise.’

Before the regression, Kwang-Soo was mostly indifferent except when it came to killing demons, especially Doppelganger. However, he had always shown interest when it came to people who strived to keep their promises.

He did always complain about those who went to great lengths just to keep a promise.

Se-Hoon remembered how every time Kwang-Soo visited his workshop, he would curse them as fools. Yet, despite that, others often said that Kwang-Soo would often secretly help them behind the scenes.

I wonder if there’s a story behind why he acts like that.... I wonder if I’ll be able to hear it this time.

Before, Kwang-Soo rarely spoke about himself, but it might be possible now because they had formed a bond, unlike before the regression.

Deep in thought, Se-Hoon started lagging behind.

That was when he saw Sung-Ha’s back, standing still. Unlike how he had been walking far ahead earlier, it seemed he had actually stopped to let the falling-behind Se-Hoon catch up.

His action made Se-Hoon look on in disbelief before he ran to catch up to Sung-Ha.

“Dude. You’re just putting on an act now, right?”

“Just say thanks for the help; why bother with your pointless pride...”

“Shut up.”

Without making eye contact, Sung-Ha started striding forward again, making Se-Hoon smile bitterly as he followed.

“Tsk...”

Behind them, Kwang-Soo, wearing a baseball cap, quietly followed them.

***

Vroom-

Se-Hoon got out of the taxi and slowly looked around.

“It’s very quiet around here...”

They arrived at a small village nestled among rice paddies in a mountain valley. There were only about five houses in this village, and even those seemed deserted.

Carefully surveying the eerie village, Se-Hoon soon spotted a workshop on top of a hill, with smoke rising above it.

“Is that the workshop?”

“Yes.”

After that brief answer, Sung-Ha started climbing the hill. Following him, Se-Hoon glanced at a house with the lights turned off.

Hmm.... It looks like they’ve made some preparations.

There were various traps hidden around the house that seemed to have some effort put into them, but he had already noticed a few sloppy areas.

These will need some fixing if they’re going to be of any use.

Taking note of a few traps, he continued up the hill and soon arrived in front of the workshop. The workshop looked like an old country house with modern chimneys and protective gear; it was as if someone who had an attachment to old houses had remodeled it.

The design of it made Se-Hoon curious.

Is there a story behind this workshop too...?

Wondering that, Se-Hoon began observing the aged look of the place. That was when the door of the workshop swung wide open, and an old man came out.

Bang!

When the old man with gray roots in his black hair saw Sung-Ha, his eyes widened in surprise before he looked up at the sky.

“Is it over...”

He had a look of resignation on his face and his voice was drained of strength, like he had given up on life.

“Why is he like that?” Se-Hoon whispered to Sung-Ha.

“...I don’t know.”

Seemingly puzzled by the blacksmith as well, Sung-Ha frowned and approached the old man, Park Jin-Hwan.

“What’s the matter?”

Hearing Sung-Ha ask, Park Jin-Hwan slowly lowered his head to meet Sung-Ha’s gaze. Then, as if snapping out of a trance, he grimaced, grabbed Sung-Ha by the collar, and began to shake him.

“How many times have I told you? The moment you show up here, both you and I are dead meat to the Sect Master! And yet you still dare to crawl here? Are you insane?!”

Rather than out of anger, it seemed more like he was screaming out of frustration. Despite the shaking, Sung-Ha stood firm.

“We won’t die.”

“Why wouldn’t we? Are you going to give up the sect master position after all you’ve done until now?”

“I came here as your bodyguard; that’s why we won’t die.”

“That’s exactly why I said we would die, you foolish... huh?”

In the midst of his rant, Park Jin-Hwan belatedly noticed Se-Hoon and his eyes widened in surprise.

“You are...”

“Nice to meet you. I’m a first-year student from Babel’s Department of Blacksmithing—”

“Lee Se-Hoon?”

Interrupting his introduction, Park Jin-Hwan asked with a skeptical expression, “Are you the

honor student, Lee Se-Hoon? The one who forged a sword for the monster of the Myers...”

“If by monster you mean Jake, then yes, that’s me.”

Seeing Se-Hoon nodding, Park Jin-Hwan looked back skeptically.

“Why would someone like you be here...?”

“Because the guy next to you asked for help.”

“He just followed me on his own,” Sung-Ha replied curtly.

At that response, Park Jin-Hwan’s eyes widened in shock.

He’s not swinging his fists...?

Surprised that Sung-Ha didn’t resort to violence and used his words, Park Jin-Hwan suddenly recalled a rumor he had heard.

Was it true that he was close to Lee Se-Hoon?

He had thought the rumors of Sung-Ha conspiring with outsiders were fabricated to slander him, but it seemed he might have misunderstood. Caught off-guard by the unexpected situation, he looked back and forth between the two before finally gathering his thoughts.

“Let’s, uh, talk inside.”

“Before that, I’ll do a brief of the surroundings.”

Saying nothing else, Sung-Ha headed to the backyard, leaving Se-Hoon as the only one to follow Park Jin-Hwan into the workshop.

“If I knew there would be guests, I would have tidied up a bit.... Please overlook the mess.”

“Excuse me for intruding.”

Enduring his slight awkwardness, Park Jin-Hwan entered the workshop, allowing Se-Hoon in. Se-Hoon slowly looked around.

This is an old workshop.

Aside from the furnace and a few essential tools, everything else was old-fashioned, and the soot deeply embedded here and there spoke of its long use. Scanning the surroundings in more detail, Se-Hoon’s eyes soon caught sight of a weapon displayed on one wall.

Woah...

A red spear, about two meters long, was housed in a transparent case. The spearhead had a long triangle shape, sharply pointed at the tip like a harpoon. Its shaft had evenly spaced circular grooves cut into it that reached up to one-third of the length of the shaft.

Stab the enemy, and then scorch them with the flames bursting from the grooves.

Just from a glance, he was able to tell that it was a fearsome weapon that could send someone to their grave with a single proper stab. Drawn by what seemed to be a Hero weapon, he inspected it closely.

The sight prompted Park Jin-Hwan to ask, “Anything wrong?”

“Oh, I was just admiring how well it’s made.”

“Is that... so?”

“Yes. Whoever forged this spear seems to have paid careful attention, even to the minor habits of its owner. I like their style of forging.”

The careful attention to detail made up for its old age and some other inefficient aspects.

It seems a bit tricky to use, but once the user is accustomed to it, it can probably be used for a long time.

A piece of equipment that focused on its high tier while also being tailored to fit the user—that was the direction Se-Hoon aspired toward and the style he admired.

“You’ve already noticed that much... I can see why your name has been buzzing around.”

Genuinely impressed, Park Jin-Hwan also looked at the displayed spear.

“That spear belonged to the first sect master, following him to every battlefield. It took me a year to forge this.”

“The first sect master...”

He was talking about Yeom Jin-Hyun, the former S-rank hero who founded the Flame Sect and the Inferno Ring, and the adoptive father and master of Sung-Ha. The fact that it was his spear interested Se-Hoon.

“It seems young people these days might not know who he is. Well, his last activities were more than thirty-five years ago,” added Park Jin-Hwan.

“I heard he was the only S-rank hero among all of the past sect masters.”

“...That’s true. Though his tenure wasn’t very long.”

A bitter expression crossed Park Jin-Hwan’s face; old memories had surfaced.

“Let’s leave the past behind. Those days are long gone.”

“Understood.”

Truthfully, Se-Hoon wanted to hear more, but such stories were best heard when emotions were high to get their full essence.

The two then sat opposite each other at the living room table.

“I apologize that I’m a bit late with my introduction. I’m Park Jin-Hwan, the former associate blacksmith for the Flame Sect.”

At his introduction, Se-Hoon’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“By ‘former,’ do you mean...”

“It means I’ve been fired. As of yesterday, I’ve been demoted to the flashy-sounding advisory position,” said Park Jin-Hwan with a grimace before composing himself and looking at Se-Hoon.

“How much of the current situation do you understand?”

“I heard that you and Sung-Ha are to be eliminated by the Sect Master, Lee Won-Ryong.”

“Yet you came knowing this... can I take it that you are supporting Sung-Ha?”

Asking a freshman about his allegiance might seem laughable to some, but Park Jin-Hwan believed the information was critical.

This young man is no ordinary student.

He knew that In-Cheol, the leader of the Meister alliance that drove the Barmuths out of the mass-produced equipment industry, and Eun-Ha, who played a significant role in that situation, were Se-Hoon’s guardians. He had also heard that both the Myers and Inoue families were keen to recruit him.

There are also rumors that he has become a disciple under the Broken Sword Ma Kwang-Soo and that he has gained the favor of the Mist Battalion Sword Kasar too...

Of course, the favor toward Se-Hoon did not automatically extend to Sung-Ha, but at the very least, it could serve as a leash to curb Won-Ryong’s excessiveness. A lot depended on how involved he could get Se-Hoon in the current situation—whether Sung-Ha, himself, the people of the neutral faction, as well as the recuperating Yeom Jin-Hyun, would have a future.

“Supporting him... yes, I suppose you could say that. I want Sung-Ha to become the next sect master.”

Park Jin-Hwan caught his breath sharply at his response.

“May I ask why you are supporting him?”

“We made a deal that he would accompany me through the Six Great Demon Realms.”

“The Six Great Demon Realms? Why would you...?”

The Six Great Demon Realms were places so perilous that even S-rank heroes hesitated to enter.

He almost took it as a joke, but Se-Hoon’s serious expression made Park Jin-Hwan realize he was sincere.

I thought he would talk about partnering with the Flame Sect...

Caught off-guard by the unexpected response, Park Jin-Hwan struggled to muster a response. Noticing his struggle, Se-Hoon continued calmly.

“Don’t overthink it. It’s common for blacksmiths to seek out strong heroes, isn’t it?”

“That’s true.”

“Since that’s the case, I’m trying to help Sung-Ha within my capabilities. There’s no other motive.”

“Within your capabilities... I see.”

Park Jin-Hwan bowed his head, acknowledging the risk Se-Hoon had taken in coming here.

“Thank you.”

“We did make a deal, after all. I’ll make sure to get my due from Sung-Ha, so don’t be too pleased.”

“That’s fine. The money he uses is all charged to the Sect Master anyway,” Park Jin-Hwan said with a smile, easing the atmosphere.

With that topic concluded, Se-Hoon brought up the incoming attack.

“I saw how the entire village was deserted; did you send everyone away?”

“That’s right. Given the threat of a demon attack, it’s best not to have bystanders who could be exploited.”

Aware that civilians could be brutally murdered to further portray Sung-Ha’s incompetence to the public, he had sent everyone away a few days ago to prepare for any eventuality.

The neat execution of it satisfied Se-Hoon.

“Well done. In that case, did you install the traps around the houses yourself?”

“You’ve noticed them?”

He had bought all of those disguised traps by liquidating his entire assets; he was surprised Se-Hoon had noticed them already.

“They’re well-hidden, but there are parts that are less concealed. Do you mind if I do the finishing touches?”

“Alright. Any deficiencies should be fixed, after all.”

Normally, he might have thought, “What would a young guy know?” but for some reason, he didn’t feel that way about Se-Hoon.

The rumors weren’t exaggerated; they were understated. It was a peculiar feeling that one couldn’t understand without feeling it themself by meeting Se-Hoon in person—it made him anxious.

Se-Hoon then brought up a suggestion.

“I also have a proposal.”

“What is it?”

“I’ve forged a spear for Yeom Sung-Ha, but I’m somewhat dissatisfied with the blade.”

He then looked at the red spear, Yeom Jin-Hyun’s weapon, hung on the wall of the workshop.

“May I use that as a material?” he asked confidently.