Chapter 12
Hunter Who Became a Genius Blacksmith (12)
Drrr—drrr—drrr.
The heavy wheels supporting the massive gate rolled with a pitiful groan.
They had built the gate so large and stationed guards too, yet it opened so helplessly with just a single word. And strangely enough, no verification was done for the unfamiliar “steel” who had just arrived.
“Um… I’m absolutely not asking this because I don’t want to go inside, but…”
“I’ll pretend I believe that. Go ahead.”
“…From the perspective of someone entering, this is a strange question, but is it really okay to just walk in like this?”
Choi Sang-won casually waved a sword in front of him.
“That’s how welcomed you are. And it’s not just my opinion.”
At that, Gangcheol—who had previously looked a little sympathetic—twisted his expression.
“Excuse me?”
“…? Do you not like being welcomed?”
“No, that’s not it.”
Gangcheol pointed at Choi Sang-won’s sword.
“Are you saying everyone in your guild uses swords like that?”
“Yes, of course. They’re issued items. We buy them in bulk and send them for repair all at once.”
“Wait, then isn’t your entire guild getting scammed?”
“That’s correct. Though hearing it so bluntly is a bit upsetting.”
Gangcheol scratched his head aggressively and raised his voice.
“No, then you should’ve asked for help instead of whatever this is! You should’ve said you’re being treated badly!”
“…Is that so?”
“Do you not understand self-correction? Self-correction!”
He was a strange man.
Normally, blacksmiths consider not only the work itself but also the client before accepting commissions. Work is work; everything is similar, so they usually choose clients who pay well and consistently.
But Gangcheol was different.
“Didn’t he refuse at first because it was an urgent order?”
The young blacksmith, who had initially waved it off saying it was too burdensome, had changed his mind the moment he heard the material brought by Park Young-jun was steel made using powder metallurgy—a rare process.
And even now, it was the same.
He had looked reluctant when told the guild was “friendly,” but the moment he heard about another blacksmith who had done a terrible job, he looked ready to storm out immediately.
“What are you doing, customer? Let’s go.”
“Ah, sorry.”
The car slid smoothly into the gates of Yeonhwa Guild.
Perhaps many things were about to change.
Inside Yeonhwa Guild,
After getting out of the car, Gangcheol recalled a conversation he had with Ayeon a few days ago.
“Yeonhwa Guild is quite a unique guild.”
For information obtained in exchange for a few pieces of fried chicken, it was surprisingly detailed.
The first thing he had asked about was Park Young-jun’s guild.
A guild formed by hunters who possessed martial arts skills.
Centered around Master Kwon Se-mi, it operated five separate teams.
Just as he was thinking it sounded like a typical corporate guild description, Ayeon added:
“Yeonhwa Guild is located in a residential area, and they don’t even have a separate headquarters building. Each team just uses regular houses as offices.”
“Normally, when a guild gets money, don’t they build a headquarters first? Like a training facility and everything?”
“That’s the coolest part.”
At one point, a gate had suddenly appeared in a residential area and gone into a rampage.
At that moment, a passing hunter happened to notice it and single-handedly held it back.
Thanks to that, residents had time to evacuate and reinforcement forces arrived in time. Because of that one person, a gate that could have erased the entire neighborhood was suppressed.
After things settled, that hunter was appointed to manage the gate area. They purchased the surviving houses around the gate and built a guild there, gathering people.
That was the origin of Yeonhwa Guild.
And that hunter, who suppressed the gate alone, was only twenty-two years old—the founder and current master of the guild, Kwon Se-mi.
“Isn’t Se-mi unnie amazing? Seriously, how can a person match their name that perfectly? I bet she just thought, ‘I’m strong, so I’ll call myself Se-mi,’ right? Wow…”
Gangcheol, who had once been silenced with fried chicken due to her nonstop chatter, now deeply regretted everything.
‘I thought she was someone I’d never get involved with…’
But now he was dealing with someone who got excited just because a sword was well-made and drew blood to test it.
And now he had to work for someone like that just because he made a decent sword.
“I should still do my job…”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, nothing. Just talking to myself.”
“Understood. That’s the building over there.”
Inside the guild, the atmosphere resembled a martial arts sect more than anything else.
In one courtyard, a heavily scarred instructor was teaching newcomers who still looked soft and inexperienced.
In another, people gathered in groups to spar in order.
Further along, some were testing weapons on bamboo or straw dummies, while others trained with pull-ups or push-ups.
After passing through several such areas, Choi Sang-won suddenly stopped.
Knock, knock.
He knocked and said:
“This is Choi Sang-won. I’ve brought the blacksmith.”
The moment the knock sounded, Gangcheol felt an indescribable presence wash over him.
“W-what?”
Ice within fire, maturity within a child, darkness converging at the center of light.
A contradictory force passed over him.
As soon as he barely recovered from that sensation, a voice pierced his ears.
“Please, come in.”
The door opened.
Inside was a room that looked like a training hall.
All unnecessary walls and decorations had been removed, leaving only the main pillars.
The bare walls were lined with weapons and armor.
Training equipment stood along the sides, and in the center lay a mat divided into sections like a ring.
At the center sat a woman in a martial arts uniform, seated neatly in meditation.
Her posture was so natural that Gangcheol instinctively removed his shoes and sat down opposite her.
Watching him fidget awkwardly, Kwon Se-mi finally adjusted her posture and met his eyes.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Kwon Se-mi, leader of Yeonhwa Guild.”
“I’m Gangcheol, from Geumgang Blacksmith Workshop.”
“I prepared this meeting suddenly because I was so happy about receiving your sword. Please forgive my rudeness.”
“Yes, it’s fine. But, um…”
As if she hadn’t expected him to speak first, Se-mi looked at him quietly.
“About that… the guild is being taken advantage of, right?”
“Pardon?”
Blink.
Her long eyelashes blinked once, then again.
Gangcheol, confused by her reaction, quickly corrected himself.
“Ah! No, that’s not what I meant. I meant the person who commissioned the work seems pretty terrible!”
“Ah. So the boss is aware of our situation to some extent?”
Her gaze shifted past his shoulder.
“I went to repair a sword and things just happened to overlap. If I deserve punishment, I will accept it.”
“No, if someone who uses swords for a living gets punished for repairing one, people would start looking down on Yeonhwa Guild. It’s my fault. Please forgive me.”
“Forgiveness is too much. And to answer your question, our boss was criticizing the blacksmith who repaired it just by looking at my sword.”
“…Oh my.”
While they spoke, Gangcheol got stuck on one question.
‘Is it not allowed to get your sword repaired elsewhere?’
As a blacksmith, he couldn’t think of any reason why that would be a problem.
And yet it seemed serious enough to warrant punishment.
Choi Sang-won had called A-level hunter Park Young-jun a “colleague,” implying he was highly skilled and not far below their level. Yet even someone like that was apparently going around bargain hunting for repairs.
“Um… I’m not sure how to phrase this, but…”
Gangcheol carefully chose his words, remembering the awkward reaction to his earlier blunt question.
How could he politely ask, “What on earth did you do to end up receiving such garbage-quality swords and not even being able to complain?”
Kwon Se-mi smiled softly before he could continue.
“Just hearing you talk makes it clear you’re very skilled. I also really liked the sword you sent yesterday.”
She placed four swords in front of him.
Two were her own creations, and two were similar in appearance but not made by her.
Gangcheol immediately understood what that meant.
“So there was an original reference.”
“Yes.”
A commission with extremely detailed specifications and nuance.
Park Young-jun wasn’t the type to do that, so the request must have been one that needed to be that way.
“A sponsorship contract?”
Se-mi nodded.
“It’s hard to secure guild land in this residential area. It was originally for me, but it also helps the residents. Still, no one was willing to help.”
“Oh dear…”
“Fortunately, the place you’re sitting in right now…”
“Pardon?”
Se-mi pointed at the floor.
Or perhaps slightly deeper.
“About ten meters below this spot… that’s where the gate is.”
Gangcheol quickly stood back in shock.
Se-mi ignored him and continued calmly.
“I’ve been practicing martial arts since before I awakened. By the time I was fourteen, I could manifest sword aura with my bare hands. So when the gate broke out… I was actually a little happy.”
“Master, that story is…”
Choi Sang-won tried to stop her, but something seemed to suppress his voice.
“It’s fine. I’m completely normal now. Of course I am. But…”
Gulp. Thump-thump-thump.
Even swallowing and heartbeat sounded unnaturally loud.
—Kid, I’ve never seen anyone who calls themselves ‘fine’ actually be fine.
‘You too? Same here.’
Ignoring Gangcheol’s unease, Se-mi continued:
“I like fighting. I like risking my life. The tension right before release, the moment I swing my blade, the feeling of getting stronger—that’s what I like. So when the gate opened… I was honestly happy I could fight freely. But…”
She tapped her sword lightly.
The original version of the poorly made blade Gangcheol had created.
At first glance, it looked so crude it seemed like a fake.
“I became too strong.”
So strong she could cut without looking, sense the air at her fingertips, and eventually realize even betrayals naturally.
A wind blew through the sealed room.
The sword she had been tapping twisted like paper under her hand.
Gangcheol silently watched the steel crumple.
“I can’t forgive it. But they are still people. I can’t kill them, right?”
She was insane.
But she was aware she was insane.
And Gangcheol could tell—she also knew exactly why she had gone insane.
She had gone mad because what she loved had been defiled.
Gangcheol cut her off.
“I…”
“Can’t I?”
“Pardon?”
The last thing she had said was, “They’re people, so you can’t kill them.”
And yet she asked if she couldn’t?
Se-mi looked straight at him.
Pure, unadorned eyes.
The pressure in the room vanished.
Choi Sang-won collapsed to the floor.
After a long silence, Se-mi spoke again.
“May I ask who you work for right now?”
“Whoever pays me.”
“Who is that person?”
“I don’t have one at the moment.”
Se-mi nodded.
“…From the moment I held your sword, I knew. It’s on a completely different level from what I’ve used before. So…”
She was certain.
This person could help her grow stronger.
This person could help Yeonhwa Guild grow stronger.
This was the person she had been looking for.
“If it’s money…”
“I’ll earn it somehow.”
“So…”
She looked at him.
“Please help me.”
