03. Guild Fair (1)

A few days have passed since the gate occurred.

In the news over the past few days, it has been widely reported that the boss monster has escaped due to a problem while attacking the B-level gate.

The government seems to have decided to shift all responsibility to the Heukcheon League, and the Heukcheon League’s false reporting of personnel and illegal solicitation of bribes were distributed to the press as press releases.

Ha Seok-cheol, the leader of the Dark Heaven, admitted that he was responsible for everything, declared the dissolution of the guild, and was arrested by the public security.

A high-ranking official in the special affairs department, who received a bribe from Ha Seok-cheol, was also criticized by public opinion, but it ended in vain as it became known that the person concerned had already died in the gate disaster.

It was because there were no deaths from the escaping of the monsters except for the high-ranking officials of the special affairs department, so the anger of the citizens was not great.

In the meantime, there were rumors about the ‘unidentified academy student’ who hunted the escaped boss monster on behalf of the Black Chunmaeng, but in the end, information about the students was not disclosed.

I turned off the TV screen watching the scene where Ha Seok-cheol was arrested.

It was bittersweet, but it was inevitable.

Then, he confided frankly to his grandfather about what had happened that day.

There was no point in lying. My grandfather has eyes and ears, too, and he already watched the news and half-guessed it.

“You bastard! What are you doing to get in there! In that dangerous place… ! Then what would you do if something big happened to you!”

Of course, I was extremely scolded.

I deliberately didn’t say that I fought the boss myself using a death sword, but my grandfather was very concerned that I voluntarily entered a dangerous place.

It made sense. He had already lost his son and his wife in that way.

When my one and only grandson became an Awakener, he was more worried than happy, and he was very happy when I chose the support department that did not enter the tower.

“I’m sorry. Grandfather.”

“Yes, at least it is fortunate that your friends are safe. I will never do that in the future though. Even for this halbi. Got it?”

I already told Yoon Seo-hee and Baek Ji-su that we would cooperate.

Yoon Seo-hee said that there was no need to fight together, but it was nothing else, it was the end of the world.

You never know what will happen in the future. Like last time, there might be something I have to fight for myself.

You may get caught up in something more dangerous.

“… Of course.”

I lied to my grandfather for the first time.

And what did you do during the rest of your vacation?

As always, I was making a sword.

–

The afternoon of the same day the gate appeared by turning back time slightly.

“Sorry!”

Yoon Seo-hee bowed her head to me, showing her a golden ribbon that had been broken in half.

“This is the sword you worked hard to make, Lee Jin… I broke it.”

I let out a short sigh.

Well, actually, I knew it would turn out like this. Since the first time I made a golden egg, I didn’t put much emphasis on durability.

I thought it might break someday, but I didn’t know it would happen so soon.

“It’s okay. I was thinking of making a new one during vacation anyway.”

“That is, but….”

It seemed that Yoon Seo-hee was blaming herself for breaking her golden ribbon, thinking that she was lacking in skills.

Of course, it was absolutely not because of Yoon Seo-hee.

Considering that a hunter’s grade sets the ability to defeat a single monster of the same grade as the minimum standard, the boss that appears from a B-rank gate is absolutely not a monster that can be defeated by a B-rank alone.

When attacking a boss in a tower, the term raid is usually used, but it is literally a boss monster that requires dozens or hundreds of hunters of the same level to predict the attack.

Even if you can’t do it, you need 30 A-class hunters to catch it without much damage, and it’s impossible to hunt alone unless you’re a real S-class.

Semi-S grade in terms of risk… Even Ha Seok-cheol, the leader of the Dark Heaven, cannot be sure whether he will be able to win at all, because of the strength of the B-class boss monster.

Even though there was Baek Ji-soo’s assistance against such a monster, it was virtually impossible to fight alone and drive it close to dying.

How can this be the skill of a first year academy?

I was rather afraid of her crazy talent.

‘Do I have to do this much to become a future adversary? .’

And even with such a talented person, the future was bound to perish.

I felt the need to make my heart stronger. It is not the time to spend time with a relaxed mind thinking that someday I will be able to make a masterpiece.

I had to make a stronger sword for Yoon Seo-hee, even for what would happen in the future.

“It’s okay. Because it just went well I have something to show you.”

“Huh? I’ll show you… Like what?”

I pulled out a small box the size of a ring case from my back pocket.

An elegantly designed square box. She held it in her hand and handed it to Yoon Seo-hee.

“Open it.”

“Uh… ?”

She stared at the box with a blank gaze in disbelief.

Soon! I breathe in and the pupils of my eyes open wide.

“Hey hey hey, Lee Jin-ah! Go, suddenly this is too fast, isn’t it too fast!? No, of course, I am very happy!”

Yoon Seo-hee speaks quickly with a trembling voice as her face turns red.

She backs away slightly in disbelief and cautiously reaches out her hand to open her box.

“hehehehe!”

Then, as soon as he reaches her box, he pulls her arm out in a frenzy, like someone who has been electrocuted.

“… ?”

I couldn’t understand her reaction any more.

I told you to open it, what the hell are you doing?

No matter how much I waited, there was no sign of opening the box myself, so I opened the case with my hand and showed the contents.

Yoon Seo-hee didn’t say anything and stared at her box, covering her mouth with her hands.

Otherwise, it’s as if you’re going to burst out screaming.

Soon, a brilliant golden jewel appeared before her eyes.

Yoon Seo-hee’s eyes, looking at the jewelry, also shimmered with golden light.

“Wow, pretty… what?”

She looks around at the jewels in her box, as if wondering something.

“The ring… no?”

“What?”

“Oh no! Nothing! Anything!”

Yoon Seo-hee frantically denied it, waving her hand busily with her face stained red.

The figure was so desperate that I stopped asking further questions.

“This is a brain stone. Baek Ji-soo gave it to me.”

“Uh… A blank number?”

Yoon Seo-hee’s expression froze.

“Huh, huh… like that. Baek Ji-soo and Lee Jin-i to you….”

“Why are you looking like that?”

“… No? Not really? Just? But why are you showing it to me?”

For some reason, Yoon Seo-hee looked uncomfortable.

I couldn’t fathom the sudden change.

You seemed to be in a good mood earlier, but why is it like that now?

“That’s because I’m going to use this to make a golden egg again.”

“Huh? Golden eggs?”

I nodded.

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Just before we parted after walking Ji-soo Baek to the front of the school gate, Ji-soo Baek handed me a box as if he had remembered it belatedly.

Looking back now, it was shocking to see Baek Ji-soo’s hand enter the empty space and pull out the box.

‘The skill has been restored thanks to absorbing a higher level magic stone. It’s still only a small part… This is a gift.’

‘What is this?’

‘Thunderstone. I originally planned to give it to Yoon Seo-hee, but I’ll give it to you.’

A thunderstone is a crystal of mana containing the purest brain energy.

If Yoon Seo-hee takes this, she will be able to see the effect of increasing her skill rank.

But the reason why he had to deliver it to me was probably because he wanted me to use this to make a golden egg again.

If it were me, I would definitely use it to make a sword.

“That, is it? Baek Ji-soo gave it to me, so can I use it like that?”

“It’s okay. I have no other place to use it anyway, and I want to make a better sword for you, Seo-hee.”

That’s probably what Baek Ji-soo also wanted.

Hearing those words, Yoon Seo-hee was silent for a moment with a somewhat satisfied expression, and then she looked at me and smiled shyly.

“Okay. Then… I will be grateful.”

She makes eye contact with me and hers with her gentle gaze.

I don’t know why, but I seemed to feel better again.

–

The rest of the vacation was spent making new golden eggs using thunder crystals.

The work was much easier because it was only necessary to insert thunderbolt stones in a line that did not deviate greatly from the existing shape.

In the past, there was no way to obtain expensive magic steel, so I used cheap iron sand, but this time I was able to secure enough quality 2nd grade magic steel.

As much as needed, Baek Ji-soo took them out of the subspace.

To be honest, I had a desire to receive it as a first-class magical power, but Baek Ji-soo still hasn’t completely restored sub-space.

I decided to take a closer look at the returner’s treasure house next time, and decided to be satisfied with level 2 for now.

A weapon made entirely of 2nd grade magical steel has an A-class magic power. The purity of magic power and the quality of the steel were impeccable, so there was no need to forcibly pull out the limits of the steel using the Sanmai technique like last time.

It didn’t take longer than I thought to remake the golden egg.

Then the soul of my father-in-law secretly began to be greedy.

‘Can I make another one?’

The moment I thought that, I decided to make a new weapon for myself, not for anyone else.

If there’s one thing I’ve realized while fighting the boss monster this time, it’s that there might come a time when I too have to fight, if necessary.

You can’t just leave everything to Yoon Seo-hee and Baek Ji-soo. You shouldn’t be satisfied with just making a sword.

I also needed to become stronger in order to lighten their burden.

And again, a few days passed and the day before school started.

I forgot the time and made weapons until dawn, so I was tired and overslept.

I didn’t really take a break, and I locked myself in the workshop throughout the vacation and only pounded iron.

A precious vacation with only one day left.

I’m not going to do anything today and I’m going to relax at home.

Thinking that way, as I was immersed in a sound sleep under the blanket, I felt a hand shaking my shoulder.

“Ugh… uh?”

I woke up staggering at the touch that disturbed my sleep.

I was really going to spend today just sleeping.

“Grandpa, I’m going to rest today….”

The only person to wake me up at this hour was my grandfather.

I close my eyes again and pull the blanket over my head.

However, the hand shaking his shoulder continued.

What is it? Who is it?

Come to think of it, did your grandfather have such small hands?

Fluffy!

‘Billion!’

I felt a light weight in the waist dance.

This was never Grandpa. I opened my eyes in embarrassment and pulled off the blanket.

The red eyes were looking down at me.

“Wow!”

The girl jumped up and down in surprise, and the body of the girl riding on top of it shook as well.

“Are you awake?”

Baek Ji-soo opened his mouth in a quiet voice as if whispering.

“Then prepare. I have a place to go.”