Chapter 07
Kwon Semi spent a long time examining the sword before finally suppressing her anger.
When she at last demanded an explanation from Park Youngjun, he told her everything that had happened involving Steel Workshop.
He explained that he had tried to commission a sword in order to impress her, that he had been scammed during the process of purchasing steel materials, and that the young owner of Steel Workshop had helped catch the man who had tricked him.
The steel had been faulty, and considering how arrogantly he had acted until now, he admitted he would have no right to complain even if he were simply thrown out. Even so, the blacksmith had used the materials he possessed to make what had been ordered.
Then he added that there was one thing he had deliberately not made according to the order, and had told him to give it to the person it was intended for and bring back an evaluation.
That had been only dozens of minutes ago.
“…That’s all.”
Park Youngjun cautiously glanced at Kwon Semi.
Her expression now was unmistakably that of a mature adult.
The heat of battle, the anger over having her achievement stolen, the excitement from encountering a fine blade—none of it remained anymore.
Kwon Semi looked around at the hunters and asked,
“You team leaders all know what I’ve been worrying about lately, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, we’ve heard.”
“Yes. You mentioned it before.”
After hearing their replies, Kwon Semi fixed her gaze back on Park Youngjun.
“Team Leader Park, do you think the blacksmith who made this sword might be able to solve that concern?”
Park Youngjun hesitated briefly before giving an answer that sounded oddly awkward at first glance.
“That guy said this: a blacksmith understands swords best. If a customer places the wrong order, then it’s the blacksmith’s job to make it correctly.”
But at that awkward answer, every hunter present began murmuring.
Everything they had heard until now had sounded like some absurd heroic tale about a blacksmith they’d never heard of before.
Some had even scoffed, thinking Park Youngjun had simply fabricated the story to cover up his mistake.
However—
The moment he relayed the blacksmith’s words, everyone listened seriously.
That single statement—that even a mistaken order should be made properly.
It was something they could never have imagined hearing from the mouths of any blacksmith they’d encountered until now.
Yet even though it was unimaginable, there was something about it that made them want to believe it was true.
Kwon Semi picked up one of the swords from the box.
Her slender fingers, completely at odds with the rough image she had shown until now, gently traced along the blade.
“I’ll postpone disciplinary action. I’ll meet this blacksmith first, then we’ll talk again.”
Srrrk.
Even after clearing countless dungeons without receiving a single wound, a thin red line appeared at the tip of Kwon Semi’s finger.
She looked down at the cut finger and smiled in delight.
“Secretary Choi.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Find me one more gate that can go anywhere.”
“Pardon? R-right now?”
Kwon Semi nodded.
Her eyes remained fixed on the freshly forged sword from Steel Workshop.
“I’ve been holding myself back long enough.”
“Fwaaaah.”
When he woke up, the bed was covered in dust, but there wasn’t the slightest sign of displeasure on Gangcheol’s face.
“Can mornings really feel this refreshing?”
Only one thing had changed.
He had awakened.
But that one thing was enormous.
Thanks to it, the penalty fees, defective steel materials, and every other problem that had tormented him for a week had all been resolved.
Who knew peace of mind was this important?
“Maybe I’ll actually eat breakfast and head out leisurely for once… huh?”
He opened the rice cooker—empty.
He checked the rice container—also empty.
When he opened the refrigerator, it looked barren.
Even if there wasn’t any rice, he’d planned to just eat whatever was available, but there wasn’t even a single egg to fry, let alone side dishes.
That was when the bills pinned beneath the calendar on the dining table caught his eye.
“No way… all of these are due this month?”
Unfortunately, they were all newly arrived—clean and stiff.
Water bills, electricity bills, gas bills, and to make matters worse, property tax too, despite him having no income whatsoever.
His face twisted into a grimace when Ahyeon suddenly emerged from her room.
“Oh right, Oppa. I need to pay tuition for next semester…”
But after seeing Gangcheol’s expression, Ahyeon trailed off.
Since they rarely saw each other except in the mornings and evenings, it was something she had to mention, but talking about money to someone already looking miserable naturally felt difficult.
“…Sorry.”
“What are you apologizing for? You’re a student, stop worrying about money and hurry to the academy.”
Only after Ahyeon left the house and the door shut did Gangcheol finally release the sigh he’d been holding in.
“I thought all my problems were gone, and now they instantly refill.”
His eyes rapidly scanned the notices and invoices.
Numbers multiplied rapidly inside his head.
And the conclusion he reached:
“Wow… I’m dirt broke.”
No denying it—he was completely penniless.
How had it ended up like this?
Was it because of that troublesome customer?
Gangcheol shook his head.
He had the cause and effect backward.
It wasn’t that troublesome customers made him poor.
He had accepted obviously troublesome customers because he was poor.
—Geez, I told you to take more time choosing, student. In this situation, I wouldn’t even have scolded you if you’d just converted it all into cash.
It was criticism telling him he should’ve been more careful, but then—
Flash.
Something suddenly occurred to Gangcheol.
“Wait. Yesterday you definitely said you wanted to shower me with rewards, didn’t you?”
—That part’s true. I did say that.
“But despite saying that, you won’t just hand over coins for free.”
—Student, the world isn’t that easy. If you want something, you need to pay a price.
“Then can you also hand out job quests whenever conditions fit, like yesterday?”
—Huh?
It sounded like something the system had never considered before, but the notification window surprisingly answered readily.
As long as the conditions were met, quests could be generated.
In that case, if he deliberately got involved in situations likely to trigger job quests, he could earn both cash and coins.
“Then change of plans.”
—Oh?
The plan Gangcheol thought up was the flea market hosted by the Hunter Association.
Hunter work was dangerous, so many people retired.
At first, the market had started as a way to encourage retiring hunters to sell used equipment cheaply because resources were scarce, but now it had expanded massively with all sorts of things attached to it.
Blacksmiths were one of those additions.
What was the first thing people who bought secondhand equipment thought about?
They wanted to repair it quickly and erase traces of the previous owner.
To lure those customers, blacksmiths with bloodshot eyes hauled every potentially profitable thing they owned to the market.
Participants even received various benefits from the Hunter Association, and hunters paid labor fees for every repair.
At least on the surface, it sounded perfectly fine.
—Student. But people with money don’t buy used goods.
“That’s true.”
—Sounds like the perfect place for troublesome customers to gather.
Also true.
Rich hunters didn’t buy used equipment.
And wealthy blacksmiths opened shops and waited for customers instead of aggressively soliciting them.
Both sides lacked money, so they fought like hell, and because their fields differed completely, they couldn’t even communicate properly.
Blacksmiths didn’t understand fighting, and hunters didn’t understand swords.
Meanwhile, broke hunters desperately trying to repair equipment cheaply clashed with equally broke but physically resilient blacksmiths trying to survive through volume sales.
A chaotic battlefield of poverty from every direction.
That was the Hunter Association flea market.
Still, for Gangcheol…
“Well, thanks to the coins, I’ll probably make at least three times more than everyone else, so won’t it be fine?”
—Really? Poverty still looks miserable no matter what.
“Work earns coins, customers pay cash, and job quests bring side income.”
—You keep saying ‘poor’ so much that it’s genuinely depressing, student.
“But I really am poor. So hand over the coins.”
While exchanging nonsense with the system, Gangcheol pulled out his phone.
Checking the flea market announcements and participation reviews, it looked like people did practically everything there.
Blade repairs. Sharpening dull edges, fixing chipped or bent blades, replacing handles, swapping screws—some even offered services unrelated to blades themselves.
Others sold universal sheaths for damaged scabbards or sword belts for carrying weapons.
—If you’re going, wouldn’t it be better to hurry? Starting early probably attracts more people and attention.
Gangcheol nodded.
“Need to pack and leave ASAP.”
The first place he headed was the utility room.
He grabbed the folding table and plastic chair his family occasionally used during beach trips.
“And a basket.”
—A basket?
Since it was a flea market, he couldn’t expect much space.
Meaning he needed something manageable with minimal equipment in a cramped area.
Considering that, one basket’s worth was ideal.
“And people hate waiting a long time in cramped spaces.”
So he needed to work quickly.
Naturally, that meant simplifying procedures, and simplified procedures meant less equipment.
—You also said you couldn’t get complaints, so whatever you’re planning must be pretty simple?
“Exactly.”
In summary: an easy, fast service that delivered immediate satisfaction.
—And what do you think that is, student?
“Without question—sharpening.”
Sharpening. The process of grinding a blade.
The most common kind was sharpening a dulled edge back to life.
The grinding angle changed depending on blade size, but regardless of size, sharper was always better.
The next level beyond that was thinning.
In cooking terms, this was also called “face grinding” for kitchen knives.
After repeated sharpening, blade edges gradually became thicker.
Thinning involved grinding down the entire side surface of the blade to make the thickened edge thin again.
Some items certainly needed that level of treatment, but it drastically increased work time.
So Gangcheol’s policy was simple.
Just do sharpening.
But make it dramatically sharper than everyone else.
“So this should be enough.”
Gangcheol filled the basket.
A power bank, a low-power grinder, two rough wheels, medium-grit whetstones, fine whetstones, polishing compound, and…
—A leather paddle? What are you planning to do with metal using that?
“Looks like you don’t know what a stropper is.”
Stropper.
The term sounded unfamiliar, but everyone had seen one before.
Quite a few people had probably even watched it being used.
“You know how old-fashioned straight razors get rubbed against leather before shaving? That’s called stropping, and the leather used for it is called a strop.”
Surprisingly, blades could be sharpened using leather too.
It would be a lie to say leather alone could sharpen a blade from scratch, but to achieve hair-popping sharpness—sharp enough to split hairs merely by touching them—it was practically essential as a finishing step.
Its biggest advantage was that it barely added any extra time.
And the preparation wasn’t difficult either.
—Then doesn’t everyone already do that?
“Surprisingly, even rubbing properly takes skill.”
You couldn’t just mindlessly rub it.
You had to do it correctly.
Without proper technique, people often made blades duller instead.
Compared to rigid whetstones, leather had cushioning.
So if someone used the same angle and pressure as on a whetstone, the blade edge would round over.
People often spent extra effort only to end up with a shiny blade that still slipped when trying to cut paper.
Which meant it was probably too difficult for low-level blacksmiths throwing themselves into chaotic flea markets.
—So your differentiation is clear. Not bad, student.
“Right? Oh, I should hand out business cards too.”
The workshop business cards, unused for so long, were dusty and worn.
—Good. Building a reputation through freehand sharpening while giving customers something memorable. You really haven’t wasted your years, student.
“Of course.”
Gangcheol nodded and lifted the basket.
“Alright, let’s go. Time to earn money and coins.”
