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Chapter 114

Unwilling to talk about anything else, Se-Hoon asked about the restitution for the curse Ren secretly left on his hand during their first encounter. At the time, Se-Hoon had recognized it immediately and thus suffered no harm, even managing to use it to glean insights into Ren’s past, but he still thought Ren should pay for it as he had done something wrong after all.

“Of course. That’s actually why I came today,” said Ren with a smile, seemingly unperturbed.

Se-Hoon nodded after a moment of thought.

“Okay, then.”

Clunk-

The limousine door opened automatically. Then, as soon as Se-Hoon climbed in and sat across from Ren, the door closed and the car moved forward.

Vroom-

Feeling the limousine gliding quietly without any vibration, Se-Hoon enjoyed the smooth ride until Ren spoke up first.

“Did you come here today to visit Claudel?”

“If you’re talking about Lea, then yes.... Is this related to the compensation?”

“No, just a personal curiosity of mine.”

Glancing through the car window at the hospital ward, Ren continued calmly, “For the brief moment when we were both honor students, I had my eyes on her. It was a matter of course since Professor Rebecca and her parents—when they were alive—were all well-known in the enchanting industry.”

“...”

“I had even tried to invite her to the Noblesse, but it didn’t work out. She said it was a waste of time.”

Recalling the past, Ren moved his gaze away from the hospital and faced Se-Hoon with a smile.

“Well, she lost the position of honor student afterward, so I just forgot about her. A shame really, I truly thought she was just another person who would fade away unknowingly.”

While Lea had talent, she didn’t have enough power to showcase it. That was why Ren hadn’t overly invested in her.

“But who would have thought she would turn out like this... it was something I genuinely never expected.”

Grasping that Ren was searching for the reason behind Lea’s significant growth by meeting him in person, Se-Hoon nonchalantly replied, “I knew from the start that she would make it big. It seems you just lack discernment.”

Of course, he had known thanks to his pre-regression knowledge that Lea would become a successful enchanter, but apart from that, Lea immediately noticing the value of the Inkstone Bracelet that he was wearing on their first meeting had given him an inkling about her true potential.

“Lack discernment... yeah, maybe I was too complacent.”

Despite the blunt jab, Ren was nodding in agreement.

“That’s why I’ve decided to learn something from this incident.”

Peering over his glasses, Ren stared directly at Se-Hoon and erased the smile from his lips. Then he resolutely said, “To never let go of a promising talent from now on.”

The regret of losing Lea turned into the resolve not to repeat the same mistake—Ren’s sincerity, which was apparent for the first time, made Se-Hoon observe Ren quietly for a moment before soon cracking a slight smile.

“You seem to be in more of a rush than before. I still remember how you were so confident that becoming the head of the family would allow you to have me on your side.”

“That was when Erika had a firm grasp on you. But now, it’s become too risky to just sit on my hands and keep believing that.”

If Se-Hoon had been a tiny puppy at the Noblesse, one that could be taken at any moment, then now, he was now a ferocious hound. He was a beast that had torn out the neck of the giant Barmuth family—a threat—and was now unhesitantly forging Hero-tier equipment, openly displaying his talent.

He had grown so much that even the garden of the Emperor of Ascension was now too small to contain him.

“So, I decided to evaluate your skills as a blacksmith.”

When assessing a blacksmith in the hero industry, there were three simple criteria to consider: the highest tier of equipment they could forge, how frequently that highest tier of equipment, and how specialized they could make their equipment to maximize a hero’s abilities.

“Not accounting for the rarity of materials, being able to forge Hero-tier equipment at this point gives you a rating of A. And since you’ve forged five Hero-tier pieces in less than half a year, that gives you another A+. Finally, because you’ve forged a sword that Jake Myers can use, another A+.”

“...”

“In conclusion, your overall skills as a blacksmith are A+ grade. With a bit more fame and power, you could even aim to be among the top one hundred blacksmiths.”

Despite being a freshman, Se-Hoon had already far surpassed the novice level and was nearing the level of master blacksmith. If he continued to grow at this rate, he might even be able to forge Legendary equipment in the future—a tremendous prospect.

“With such ability, wouldn’t it be overly arrogant to think that such a tremendous talent like yourself will stay by our side indefinitely?”

“Hmm...”

Listening to Ren’s high praise, Se-Hoon made a slightly odd expression.

His evaluation is more generous than expected. Or, is it just that the standards of this era are generous?

By the standards of his pre-regression active duty days, his current level was barely A. His physical abilities were lacking, he relied too much on the special features of the materials, and the effects of his equipment were only auxiliary to the user’s abilities. It was honestly even hard to say whether his equipment allowed a user to leverage their powers fully.

...I guess standards do vary by era.

Just as Park Jin-Hwan, who would have been evaluated as an A grade in the past, yet was now a B+ grade due to struggling with using diverse materials and being slow, the current standards allowed Se-Hoon to be highly regarded.

Having refreshed his understanding of how heroes perceive him and the overall state of the blacksmith industry, Se-Hoon looked at Ren.

“So, what you’re trying to say is that I can be snatched at any time, and thus you want to tie me to the Inoues right now.”

“I’d appreciate it if you’d think of it as me having high expectations of you,” Ren responded, with that gentle smile still on his face.

The response made Se-Hoon scoff and give Ren a cynical look.

“But if you want to recruit me, shouldn’t you be settling overdue accounts first?”

Se-Hoon had belatedly realized that he had gotten caught up in unnecessary talk. In the first place, he had only gotten in the car out of curiosity about what Ren would give him as compensation.

Unfazed by Se-Hoon’s prickly reply, Ren nodded and said, “That is also true. Here, take this.”

Whoosh-

Ren pulled out an envelope from his void pocket and handed it to him. Surprised by the unexpected item, Se-Hoon took it with curiosity.

I thought he would just give me something moderately useful...

Deciding that the contents would end up like what he did to Erika’s previous invitations if Ren had brought something completely useless, he opened the envelope and read the first line of the document.

Recent activities and activity range of the A-rank demon, Immortal.

“...”

Se-Hoon’s eyes twitched at the content. Then, his gaze, which had been directed downward, slowly crawled its way toward Ren. His deep-set eyes leaked a murderous intent, and his expressionless face emitted a terrifyingly oppressive aura.

A chill went down Ren’s spine.

“At your command.”

Suddenly, the whisper of Ren’s shikigami reached his ears. Regaining his composure, Ren’s eyes widened when he realized he had reflexively tried to attack Se-Hoon.

He really does just... always exceeds my expectations, Ren thought as a smile grew on his face.

It had been a long time since he had reacted so strongly to a potential threat.

Suppressing the sudden surge of hostility, Ren immediately commanded, “Turn back.”

Whoosh-

The faint cloud of mana around Ren cleared, and Se-Hoon, who had been calmly observing the whole thing, slowly said, “Background checks and now a threat. Your attitude toward me is always quite rude.”

“Ah, sorry about that. The threat part was unexpected on my end too. I’ll be more careful to prevent this from happening next time.”

With an awkward expression, Ren looked at the documents in Se-Hoon’s hand.

“Also, there aren’t actually many heroes who haven’t investigated you yet. I didn’t do it with any bad intentions, so please take it as a gesture of goodwill.”

“...”

Se-Hoon narrowed his eyes and turned his attention back to the document.

Immortal...

Immortal was the one who had killed his parents in the past.

The unexpected appearance of the name only momentarily irritated him; he had already avenged his parents once, so he no longer lost his reason just by hearing that name.

Now that I think about it though, I’ve never heard about what he was up to this early.

It wouldn’t be until about seven years from that he would properly start tracking Immortal. His memories about Immortal then were as clear as day, but there was no telling what butterfly effects might have occurred due to his regression.

I guess it won’t hurt to know what he’s up to now.

His mind made, he flipped through the document and read the information on Immortal.

Immortal

*Real identity is yet unknown. Their outer appearance resembles that of a man in his mid to late twenties. See attached photos.

*When undergoing demonization, their entire body transforms into a special metal, allowing it to utilize some abilities of consumed metals.

*Their strength varies from lower to upper A-rank depending on how well they use the metal’s abilities. Caution: Take note of the type of metal they consume during combat.

*Works for Bellows, one of the groups operating in the pleasure district, and only embarks on missions when they’re running low on living expenses. Specializes in assassination and kidnapping.

*Recently seen in the Black Arms of the Philippines, suspected to be searching for something in an auction house.

“Hmm...”

After casually scanning the information in the document, Se-Hoon looked at the photo attached to the right.

In the photo, there was a man with muddy scarlet hair and fierce eyes. It had been about twenty years since Se-Hoon last saw them, but he was still able to figure out who this man was.

The Black Arms, huh...

The Black Arms was a black market where hard-to-handle materials or equipment were traded, located on an artificial island that was hidden somewhere on the outskirts of the Philippines. It was a place that Se-Hoon had visited a few times before the regression.

I’ve never heard anything about him visiting that place before the regression. Is he looking for something special?

What on earth could make that frivolous man go all the way there?

Ensnared by the contents of the documents, trivial as they may be, he became somewhat irritated and frowned slightly.

Seeing this, Ren added, “If you want, I can hire a guide for you. And perhaps lend a hand in killing him too...”

“No.”

Se-Hoon put the document back in the envelope and handed it back to Ren.

“This should be enough for now. It seems like the compensation is settled.”

His words were clear-cut, indicating that there was no need for more. He was drawing a line.

Ren looked at him intently.

“It will be pretty tough to go there alone.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. I’ll consult with Erika if I find it tough.”

Ending the conversation short there, Se-Hoon pointed outside the window.

“Now that we’re done with the conversation, please stop the car.”

“...Alright. If that’s what you want.”

When Ren pressed the call button on the seat, the limousine smoothly pulled over to the curb and the door automatically opened.

Stepping out, Se-Hoon grabbed the door before it could fully close.

Thud!

With a firm grasp on the door of the limousine, Se-Hoon slightly poked his head back inside.

“Those were some nice tries, but you really should only try those after getting to know the other better. Also, your compensation was pretty underwhelming compared to how you made it sound grand. I was quite a bit disappointed.”

To Se-Hoon, all of the extra words Ren had said made him very unlikable. But thanks to his somewhat useful information about Immortal, he was brought back to just being unlikable.

In other words, his compensation hadn’t changed anything.

“You should worry more about yourself than Erika.”

Bang!

Leaving those words, he slammed the limousine door forcefully and stepped onto the sidewalk while dusting off his hands. However, instead of driving away, the limousine paused shortly before rolling up beside him.

The window then rolled down and Ren made that gentle smile again.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Vroom.

This time, the limousine sped off and disappeared ahead.

I should have hurt his pride a bit, but he seems quite unshaken. Perhaps he’s as cunning as the Frost Dog, Se-Hoon thought while stoking his chin as he watched it disappear.

Having reconfirmed just how troublesome Erika’s rival could be, he began walking toward the dormitory while organizing his thoughts.

I should definitely visit the Black Arms this time.

Although he didn’t care all that much about killing Immortal, he was a bit concerned about the item that Immortal was supposedly looking for. The organization Immortal belonged to, Bellows, would later be absorbed into Offering—another subgroup of Watchers—where most blacksmiths would be affiliated in the future.

There’s no harm in getting ahead of things now, especially when considering they might already be taking orders from that side. I might even find some good materials for myself there.

Like all the other blacksmiths, he had received direct and indirect recruitment offers from Offering before the regression, and he was incredibly tempted by all the rare materials they possessed.

Back then, he had just managed to smuggle a few out after causing a ruckus by smashing certain things with his hammer. This time though, he would likely be able to acquire those materials much more cleanly just by playing his cards right.

“I’ll need an expert’s help.”

He was about to pull out his phone to make a call when he heard a cry.

“Caw!”

A harsh cry of a crow came from up ahead.

Lifting his head, he saw Erika standing starkly at the entrance to his dormitory.

“...”

Both her unmoving face and the crow ruffling its feathers exuded an ominous air.

With a bitter expression on his face, he approached closer to her. Seeing him approach, Erika lightly touched her void pocket and handed over a pouch.

“Purifying Earthstone. Top-grade rare item, just as you requested.”

Se-Hoon’s bitter expression vanished and his eyes lit up at the material he had asked Erika to obtain so that he could acquire his third elemental mana attribute.

“Wow, thanks. This is actually perfect timing—”

“Are you going to forge my equipment now?” Erika interrupted with a piercing gaze.

“Ah. I could, but something urgent has come up, so just give me a—”

“A sword for Jake Myers.”

Interrupting him again, she stared at him with eyes deeper than usual.

“A spear for Yeom Sung-Ha.”

“...”

“Two chokers specialized for Luize Valente.”

“...”

“And none for me.”

Anger, injustice, and sadness suffused her voice as she stared into his eyes.

“Do you hate me?”

Whether it was the numerous times he had torn up her invitations or the time he refused her party proposal at the Black Lotus Seas to go with Jake, was he subtly expressing his hatred for her all this time?

If that wasn’t the reason, then nothing else made sense to her. She had to ask him right now.

Feeling her intense emotions wash over him, Se-Hoon wore an awkward expression.

Have I neglected her to this extent...?

While he had only done so because of all of the sudden events, upon reflection, it did seem like he had ignored her a bit too much.

But it’s not like I can delay my visit to the Black Arms... otherwise, Immortal might get what he wants and then disappear...

Conflicted, he pondered over what he should do when he suddenly thought of a solution.

“How good are you at stealth, disguises, assassination, and destroying evidence?”

It was a weird question to ask a student, but Erika answered calmly despite that and the strange timing.

“I’m good at them all.”

“How good?”

“If I’m given enough time to prepare, I can be considered A-rank, except for assassination.”

Not just one but four skills at or near a professional level. The answer made it easy to make a decision. Se-Hoon nodded.

“Then you’re coming with me.”

In the end, the more help, the better.