Chapter 02
“What the f***?”
The notification window blocked his vision and sent him sprawling across the floor, but unlike the curse that slipped out of his mouth, Gangcheol’s face was glowing with delight.
“I awakened?”
There were an estimated hundred thousand Awakened in Korea.
Whether they entered dungeons or not, they earned noticeably more than ordinary people.
The reason was the Coin System.
Whenever an Awakened performed activities related to their class, they accumulated coins used to upgrade skills or raise stats.
If someone awakened as a warrior, even practicing swordsmanship would earn a small amount.
And once an Awakened reached a certain level, they could withdraw and use those coins.
I heard you can even exchange them for money…
The exchange rates and available items differed depending on the rank of the class, but one thing was certain:
Coins meant money.
So even a low-tier Awakening was considered a blessing.
“Hopefully it’s a sword-using class.”
Gangcheol imagined a rosy future.
If I awaken, I can personally use the swords I make. I could even sell them to teammates, use that for marketing, buy better materials with coins…
To be fair, it wasn’t a completely ridiculous idea.
The problem was that his plan for making money through the hard labor he loved involved taking on even more hard labor he’d never done before.
Objectively speaking, if he earned money as a Hunter, there’d be no reason to continue blacksmithing.
Again, most Hunters earned far more than people in ordinary professions.
Whether they were sword-wielding warriors, spell-casting mages, or even pathfinders who just mapped dungeons—it was all the same.
Compared to that, blacksmithing was the poster child of replaceable manual labor.
But none of that mattered to Gangcheol.
If money had been his goal, he probably would’ve abandoned the forge long ago.
Ever since he became the owner, there had been more days surviving on savings than days turning a profit.
The reason he kept blacksmithing was simple:
He loved it.
And now, out of nowhere, circumstances had suddenly appeared that could support that passion.
Which meant this absolutely had to work.
With excitement written all over his face, Gangcheol shouted,
“Status window!”
And what appeared was…
Geum Gangcheol (Human)
Class: Metallurgist (3rd Generation) (Mythic) > More
Forge Level: 1/7 (0%) > More
Skills (Remaining SP: 0)
Tutorial (Limited, 1/1) > More
Eye of Insight (Mythic, 0/6) > More
Coin Exchange (Advanced, 0C) > More
Special Notes
Holder of an Inherited Class
“Blacksmith…!”
Maybe this really was his calling.
But the overwhelming joy lasted only a moment.
Gangcheol’s face twisted at the absurdly short status window.
Leaving aside the fact that it wasn’t a combat class, there was simply… too little.
Normally there should at least be stats and several skills.
That way, you could invest coins to grow stronger and earn even more coins.
A short status window basically meant a low ceiling.
No matter how good the exchange rates were, with low stats there’d obviously be limits to how many coins he could earn.
“…Come on. Isn’t this a bit much after getting my hopes up?”
As soon as he grumbled, another notification popped up.
—Kid, this ain’t trash. Seriously. It’s good. Really good.
“…?”
As if reacting to his confusion, another message appeared.
—It’s super amazing, so just try it once. C’mon, c’mon.
And the tone was annoyingly chaotic.
After several minutes of misunderstanding-filled conversation between human and notification window, Gangcheol learned a few things.
The most fortunate part was that the expected coin income itself wasn’t actually much lower.
“Then why are there so few skills? What about stats? At least strength and stamina would help for work.”
—You worked before Awakening too, didn’t you? Besides, doesn’t a blacksmith just need to handle metal well? You planning to go fight monsters, kid?
“Well… no.”
—Kid, the fact you hesitated means you were already thinking about wood, leather, gathering materials, all that stuff. Admit it.
“…Even so, the number of skills—”
—Everything needed for handling iron has been carefully prepared for you. Don’t worry, kid.
But the most important information was something else entirely.
Everyone who awakened became a combat class.
And he was the only exception.
“You? The only one?”
—Not me. You.
“Why?”
Even if they didn’t enter gates, surely there should be people awakening into things like knitting classes or chef classes.
He hadn’t expected any specific answer, but the notification merely responded lazily.
—Kid, do you understand how the internet works when you use it? Just roll with it.
“If you’re going to explain something, explain it properly, you bastard.”
Still, it wasn’t withholding useful advice.
“So I absolutely can’t tell anyone I awakened.”
If coins could be exchanged, that meant there were ways to make money.
But being a non-combat class meant he couldn’t defend himself.
In other words, if he bragged too loudly about making money, he’d be the perfect target to get kidnapped and turned into Mining Bot Mk.1.
—Good choice, kid. Your dad never told you he awakened either, right?
“Huh? Wait, what? Dad awakened?”
For slightly longer than before, the notifications paused—as if trying to recover from a slip of the tongue.
—Too annoying to explain now, so just do the tutorial. You can’t do it twice, but you can do it once.
“You seriously have to explain that! Hey!”
—Would you like to begin the tutorial? Yes / Yes
“Ah, f***ing seriously!”
—Brace for impact.
At that moment, Gangcheol’s shabby workshop—filled with broken, outdated equipment—lit up.
Machines began operating on their own.
People who shouldn’t exist appeared.
The heat of flames and the sounds of conversation filled the air.
[Looks like the boss is working during the day today.]
[Apparently there’s a custom longsword order.]
Inside the workshop that had long remained silent, several familiar faces chatted casually.
Employees who had quit not long after his father disappeared in a gate incident.
“Boss… then that means…”
[Gangcheol!]
And at the end of his gaze stood—
“Dad…?”
A younger version of Gangcheol walked straight through him.
Only then did he realize:
This scene was from his memories.
“This was when he made that thing he said was important.”
A vague conversation resurfaced in his mind.
[Come watch your dad work. It’ll help you later.]
[Can’t you just show me later then?]
[Look at this brat talking back. Have I ever been wrong?]
Young Gangcheol shrugged as though unconvinced.
His father laughed heartily and began selecting steel materials laid across the workbench.
—Quit spacing out and watch the steel glowing red, kid.
“Ah…”
At the system’s words, Gangcheol shifted his gaze.
And only then did he understand why his father had wanted him to watch.
[Ideally I’d use flat bar steel fresh from the steel mill, but since a gate opened in Pohang, I guess we’ll have to use recycled steel.]
[You just want an excuse to do extra work, don’t you?]
[Haha, caught me. Anyway, this time we’ll use forged truck spring steel. Let’s see…]
His father—or rather, the Second Generation Metallurgist—examined the steel pieces one by one.
The moment he picked them up, they glowed red.
But not evenly.
[Hmm. This part’s going to need reforging later.]
The spots his father touched suspiciously glowed more intensely.
Back then, it had been a sight he couldn’t understand.
[You can tell what’s wrong just by touching it?]
[Later on, you’ll understand just by looking.]
And his father had been right.
Back then he couldn’t understand him.
But now, no one could’ve understood more clearly than the awakened Gangcheol.
He could see that the glowing areas were where stress had concentrated.
He could even see information about who had forged the steel.
—The Eye of Omniscience. You can see whatever information you want.
“So Dad was always seeing things like this?”
—If you’re curious, earn lots of coins and keep paying for upgrades.
The notification answered teasingly.
But Gangcheol no longer cared about the tone.
Now he finally understood why his father’s strange behavior had always turned out correct.
That was probably what fundamentally separated him from other blacksmiths—including Gangcheol himself.
His father’s next words broke him out of his thoughts.
[When you work, always inspect the steel first. I shouldn’t even need to tell you anymore, right?]
[I hear it so often I mutter it in my sleep now.]
[Good. Then I’ll make you mutter the rest in your sleep too, so watch carefully.]
“Ah.”
Gangcheol let out a small gasp of realization.
—Caught on, kid?
After that, neither Gangcheol nor the notification wasted words.
Whenever his father used a skill, the system calmly informed him which skill it was.
Gangcheol silently watched and engraved everything into memory.
—Design. Lets you identify structural flaws and points where force concentrates.
—Shaping. Applies to every process involving form creation.
—Heat Treatment. Lets you see the temperature of steel and fire.
Through every step of crafting the blade, the Eye of Insight was used.
Gathering, smelting, design, shaping, heat treatment.
It was a skill designed so that if there was even a scrap of metal, you could somehow turn it into a usable sword.
“So you really only need one skill.”
—Then it’s time to work, kid.
“Obviously. First…”
For the first time, Gangcheol and the notification seemed perfectly aligned.
“I’m making a sword.”
—First solve the issue with the customer demanding compensation.
Apparently not.
—N-no, what are you talking about, kid? They threatened to shut your workshop down today.
“True, true.”
—Then work, kid! Defeat the asshole customer!
“But even then, it’s only the interim inspection. We still have three days.”
—Hey! You nodded when picking the steel! I even heard you go ‘Ohhh’!
The notification’s tone became increasingly desperate.
What Gangcheol had seen was both a tutorial and an enormous hint.
There was something wrong with the steel.
Both the steel already used and the unused pieces.
So he was supposed to use his abilities to solve the immediate crisis.
But contrary to the system’s intentions, Gangcheol remained completely relaxed.
“Yeah, I can probably see flaws in the steel now. But I still have to hide the fact that I awakened.”
—Th… that’s true?
Scratching the back of his head, Gangcheol said,
“Besides, I can’t directly solve things like Dad did. But if I can see stuff like that, making swords sounds insanely fun now. Right?”
—……
“So Dad had this amazing thing all to himself all this time. Hah.”
With a loose, carefree swagger, Gangcheol walked over to the material shelves.
Ignoring the customer’s steel set aside nearby, he hummed happily.
“Man, knives are fun, longswords are fun too… what should I make?”
Problems were difficult.
Being a fanboy—no, crafting—was fun.
For now, Gangcheol decided to satisfy his personal desires first.
“I’m home.”
“Welcome back. You look cheerful toda—wait, what’s this?”
His mother, who came to greet him, looked startled after taking the plastic bag from his hands.
She didn’t need to ask what it was.
The savory smell of fried oil mixed with spicy sauce stimulated the appetite.
And the mascot holding cooked chicken legs made it obvious.
It was a fried chicken chain bag they hadn’t seen in quite a long time.
“I made a little money.”
Gangcheol answered with a smile.
A smile so benevolent it resembled a Buddha.
After spending roughly eight hours indulging in his hobby while pretending to work, he had earned twelve coins.
Converted into Korean won, it became 240,000 won.
“And you?”
“I’ve got something to check in my room, so I’ll eat there. Make sure Ahyeon gets some.”
Leaving one chicken behind out of the two, he headed into his room carrying the other.
—You’re a good family man, kid.
“Oh, absolutely.”
—If you were a good boss too, I’d feel a lot better.
“I’m working, taking care of family, and keeping up appearances all at once.”
—All at once?
Gangcheol pulled something long out from the chicken bag.
It was the steel material the customer had left behind.
—Wait, kid. Are you some kind of self-motivated overtime slave? You brought work home?
“Earlier, I had no way to figure anything out.”
—And now?
THUD THUD THUD THUD.
Before the notification could even finish asking, hurried footsteps echoed outside.
Gangcheol grinned.
“She’s coming.”
—The solution?
Gangcheol nodded.
“She’s strong but dumb, so if I want information out of her, it takes at least two whole chickens.”
—Didn’t you leave two chickens outside, kid?
“My little sister isn’t evil enough to steal Mom’s share too.”
The footsteps stopped right outside.
Then—
BANG. The door burst open.
“CHICKEN!”
