Chapter 04
The Genius Blacksmith That Hunters Are Obsessed With Became Me (4)
Everyone has prejudices, and Kangcheol was no different.
From Kangcheol’s perspective—a man who had supported his family for three years by turning the work he loved into a livelihood—a scammer was someone dishonest, someone vile who coveted other people’s property.
So naturally, when he heard the word scammer, he imagined someone whose rotten personality showed plainly on their face.
But the impression of the steel scammer standing before him after he opened the door was…
“…Seriously? Mr. Kim Doyoon?”
The words “That’s a scammer?” nearly slipped out loud.
Honestly, if this guy walked into an entertainment agency, they’d probably feed and house him even without him committing fraud.
His face, his style—Kangcheol would’ve believed it if someone said he was an actor or an idol trainee.
“Hm?”
“No, I’m just saying you’re really handsome.”
“…I’ll leave you a good transaction review, so let’s just do the deal. You don’t sound very used to complimenting people.”
Watching the awkward attempt to recover the conversation, the scammer simply seemed to dismiss him as some weird guy and stepped into the forge.
Rrrrrk.
The sound of something heavy scraping across the floor followed behind him.
“Everything on the cart is CPM series steel. There’s stainless like S30V, tool steels like D2 and 3V too.”
“No, wait—you brought all this like that? I didn’t even hear a car.”
“Can’t I pull steel around on foot?”
Kangcheol clicked his tongue in disbelief.
At first, the guy had stubbornly insisted on doing a non-face-to-face transaction.
To lure him out, Kangcheol had offered to buy everything he had.
The scammer said he didn’t own a car, and Kangcheol offered a good price, so the deal went through—but now…
Judging by a glance, it had to weigh at least 200 kilograms.
And the man had really hauled it here on a handcart.
“Alright. Pay up. Five hundred thousand won per sheet, so that’s fifty million in cash.”
Fifty million won.
It was such a large amount that Kangcheol instinctively flinched.
Get it together. Why are you acting so relaxed?!
Kangcheol snapped himself awake.
Thanks to his awakening, he had discovered that the steel was counterfeit and that he wouldn’t be held responsible for it—but that was all for now.
He still couldn’t say he’d completely saved the forge yet.
“Ah, right! Of course. Let me inspect it first.”
“Ins…pect?”
“Sometimes steel has defects inside.”
Kangcheol pulled out one steel bar from the cart.
With his other hand, he grabbed the hammer tucked into his work clothes.
“So I thought I’d tap a few of them and check.”
“Do…do you really have to?”
The scammer visibly panicked at the mention of a way to inspect the steel.
Just from the reaction alone, it was obvious the steel was fake, but…
Check Steel Information. Pay 5 Coins.
By paying 1 coin, he could use the skill once to inspect one piece of steel.
By paying 5 coins, he could use one skill freely for an entire day.
—Steel Information: Steel not refined through normal methods.
—Steel Manufacturer: Kim Doyoon
As expected, the maker matched the producer of the steel Park Youngjoon had brought before.
There are even more hollow spaces inside than last time.
The steel glowed brightly in various spots.
It indicated empty sections inside, just like the previous batch.
The difference was that there were far more glowing spots this time.
Compared to this, Park Youngjoon’s steel almost looked acceptable.
And it wasn’t just one piece.
Every single piece he brought was the same.
Looks like they’d hit the jackpot.
Which meant the rest was merely a formality.
Clang! Clang!
If it made a hollow sound, Park Youngjoon would come out and confront him.
Then Kangcheol would simply split the steel open in front of both men.
And the moment Kangcheol struck the steel with his hammer—
Crack.
“…Huh?”
“Ghk!”
The steel snapped.
He’d only hit it a few times, and it was already too weak to endure.
Kangcheol and the scammer locked eyes.
“G-get lost!”
“No, this is my workplace?”
The scammer reacted violently and immediately turned to flee, abandoning the cart.
Just as he was about to run out of the forge, Park Youngjoon blocked the entrance.
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
“You! That sucker!”
“Huh?”
Apparently the scammer recognized Park Youngjoon too.
The scammer glanced between Kangcheol and Park Youngjoon before laughing like a madman.
“Kekeke… so you two set me up and lured me into a trap.”
“You’re the one running scams! Damn it! I’m scared my daughter might grow up learning from trash like you!”
“And a guy raising a daughter thinks it’s fine for multiple people to gang up and trap one person?”
Park Youngjoon’s face turned bright red in anger.
—Oh dear, this guy really can’t argue.
No sooner had the pitiful system notification finished than Kangcheol cut in.
“Uh, mister.”
“What now? Hunters are talking here. How dare some blacksmith butt in.”
“Well, I didn’t really want to get involved in dangerous people business anyway.”
Scratch.
Kangcheol scratched his head once before curling up the corners of his lips.
He looked exactly like someone deliberately trying to piss another person off.
“But if a Hunter gets trapped outside a gate, doesn’t that usually mean he’s a complete asshole?”
“What?”
“I mean, isn’t it true? Most Hunters who visit my forge come in decked out with stylish gear, looking rich and polite. Meanwhile someone else is out here scamming people on MarketPlace—ugh!”
Before Kangcheol could finish, the scammer’s kick came flying at him.
Kangcheol barely dodged in time, and the workbench behind him exploded into splinters.
“Huh? This bastard dodged?”
“Mister, if I get hit, I’ll die. Of course I’m dodging.”
“You’ve got a real punchable way of talking, boss.”
Park Youngjoon stepped in front of Kangcheol.
“Fighting’s my specialty. Let me show off a little this time.”
“Why’s this sucker suddenly trying to get in my way now, huh?”
“H-he called me a sucker again!”
“Well, what else do you call an old man who gets scammed on MarketPlace?”
Park Youngjoon looked at Kangcheol as if seeking support, but Kangcheol was coldly honest in situations like this.
“…Honestly, he’s got a point.”
“Hah! That’s awfully harsh…”
The moment Park Youngjoon looked away, the scammer charged viciously.
No matter how pretty his appearance was, he was still an awakened being far stronger than an ordinary human.
The fact he could instantly smash a workbench sturdy enough to hold piles of steel and tools meant—
“Hup.”
Bam! Crash!
Apparently, he posed no real threat to Park Youngjoon.
One simple straight punch.
That single blow sent the man literally flying.
He shot across the forge and crashed miserably into a corner, almost like someone had thrown a ball.
“Pathetic. Throwing punches at ordinary people.”
Kangcheol’s mouth fell open.
“H-he’s not dead, is he?”
“Nah. Judging by his strength, he’s awakened too. He’ll get back up from this much.”
Sure enough, the shadow in the corner twitched.
But something felt strange.
Watching the figure rise, even Park Youngjoon’s expression slowly changed.
“What’s with that? Do awakened people… get bigger when they get hit?”
“That’d be funny if it were a joke, but…”
The scammer’s size was wrong.
Compared to before, he was much larger.
At least ten centimeters taller.
As they froze in unease, the scammer suddenly accelerated toward them.
The moment light from the window struck him, Kangcheol realized what felt so strange.
“He covered himself in iron?!”
“Damn it! Does he have a skill that uses surrounding metal for defense?!”
The skill he used to make steel.
It seemed he could manipulate iron freely and had wrapped it around his own body.
“So that’s why you ended up running scams.”
“Huh?”
Whether from experience or instinct, Park Youngjoon quickly pieced things together.
It matched what Ahyeon had said about his mediocre abilities.
“If he has a skill like that, he’s probably a tank. And if the steel was hollow like you said, then he wouldn’t have been able to fulfill his role.”
The hollow steel meant its defensive power was far lower than expected.
And if the tank responsible for protecting the team couldn’t endure attacks, it directly affected mission success rates.
A weak tank would naturally become isolated.
And if his livelihood collapsed, maybe he’d turned to fraud to survive…
“A guy who got scammed sure talks a lot!”
The enraged scammer lunged forward.
Boom!
Park Youngjoon and the scammer clashed again.
And the result—
“Huh?”
“…Aha.”
The scammer grinned smugly.
Unlike the first collision where he’d been blown away effortlessly, this time the balance of power was surprisingly even.
If anything, Park Youngjoon seemed slightly pushed back.
“Wait. Wasn’t your defense supposed to suck?”
“Mister! This is a forge!”
“…Ah. Damn it.”
Only then did Park Youngjoon realize this place overwhelmingly favored the scammer.
A forge was filled with high-quality metal.
Even a weak tank who resorted to scams could achieve near-prime defensive power in a place like this.
Bang!
Park Youngjoon redirected the incoming punch, and the wall struck by it crumbled apart.
The speed remained the same, but with the added mass of iron, the power resembled a siege weapon.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Wahaha! Acting all angry because some nobody scammed you! Hahaha!”
“Ghk.”
While focusing on defense, Park Youngjoon shouted:
“Hey, boss!”
“Yes?! Should I run?!”
“No, not that—but, ugh, can I fight a little rougher?!”
“No! You’re not paying for the damages anyway!”
After blocking several more exchanges, Park Youngjoon apparently decided he had no choice.
“I will pay for it!”
“Really?! You’ll sign a contract, right?!”
“I’m a guild team leader! Expense claims! Aagh! They approve whatever I submit! Oof!”
“Okay! Go for it!”
The moment Kangcheol gave permission, Park Youngjoon’s movements changed entirely.
Crunch!
His explosive step shattered the urethane-coated factory floor beneath him.
“Ghk!”
Boom! Screeeech!
In an instant, he reversed the momentum of the battle.
Until now, he’d gradually been pushed backward.
Now he began advancing forward instead.
But that was all.
The scammer had layered himself in thick iron plating, so the attacks still weren’t dealing real damage.
While the two awakened fighters exchanged blows furiously…
—Oh no, there goes another shelf. If the frame tears like that, it can’t even be recycled.
—Student, the scammer just melted your power hammer. Oh dear…
—What a shame. That anvil was a good one. And now this is how it dies.
The desperate system notifications echoed endlessly in the same space.
…I’m already heartbroken enough, so stop giving live commentary.
At this rate, even if the damages were reimbursed, the forge’s business would still suffer badly.
Whether he forged new items or took repair jobs, he needed equipment for all of it.
Even repairing salvageable machinery and replacing the destroyed ones would take forever.
And I doubt they’ll compensate me for the lost income while I shut down for repairs.
Crunch. Crunch.
As he absentmindedly chewed at his fingernails—
Huh?
Something strange caught Kangcheol’s eye.
A red glow.
The same glow that indicated flaws in the scammer’s steel was faintly shining from the iron wrapped around the scammer’s body.
Hey, I’ve got a question.
—Suddenly?
I paid 5 coins to use Information all day, right?
—Right.
So every time I see a new piece of steel, I still have to inspect it individually?
—Yep.
But once I’ve checked a piece before, I can recognize it automatically later?
—Exactly. You’ve been studying hard, student.
Color returned to Kangcheol’s face.
The glowing sections on the scammer’s armor were the same defective steel he used in his scams.
Which meant those spots were weak points with poor defense.
“Mister!”
“Mister’s a little busy right now, boss!”
Kangcheol shouted:
“Can you trust me and smash that bastard in the side as hard as you can?!”
