< Preparations Done (3) >

We went right back home. There were too many people with one door between us and them, for us to speak in detail in the workroom.

-Chiiirp!

Lowered onto a table, Chirpie stared right at Myeongwoo. I didn’t know the reason, but it seemed like it had received an immense impression. What was it thinking in that tiny head?

“It’s pretty late – what do you want for dinner?”

Myeongwoo asked normally. It was an attitude as if he hadn’t even seen the SS-Rank skill. But he wasn’t exactly the same as before.

The uneasy look that showed up at the drop of a hat, had completely disappeared. Of course his expression had brightened, and even his attitude, voice seemed leisurely.

It was like only the outward appearance was the same and the person had completely changed. That was reasonable, but still.

“Is dinner the problem right now?”

I spit out sulkily, sitting on the sofa while holding Peace. Why didn’t you explain the skill? I only saw the skill name so I was curious. I had thought he would have been so excited he would babble on about it as soon as we came home, but wasn’t he too nonchalant?

“Sit down and explain it to me a bit.”

At my urging, that Myeongwoo smiled proudly. That guy, he couldn’t have been taking his time on purpose, right?

“Sorry. You must’ve been really curious.”

It really was an apology that didn’t feel like it had a speck[1] of honesty. That guy sat next to me on the sofa.

“The skill’s name is Gold Forge’s Owner. Like I said, it’s an SS-Rank skill.”

“Forge? Just looking a the name, it seems like a production related special skill; is that right?”

“Yeah.”

That Myeongwoo nodded his head proudly. So it really was a production skill. Looking at the name, it was hundred percent that, but I had worried a little that something weird would come out.

“Exactly like the name, it’s a skill where you can make items. Of course weapons and defense tools, and if even a little bit of metal goes into it, even types of accessories are possible.”

To think that he could make anything as long as it had metal. It really was more impressive than expected.

Maybe he had turned on the skill’s explanation window, because Myeongwoo moved his gaze toward the air.

“There’s no restriction on the rank of the items I can make.”

“There’s no restriction?!”

Wasn’t that too much of a scam? It was SS-Rank, so I had thought you had to do well to make up to SS-Rank.

“There’s no restriction, but with my current level, only low rank ones will come out. There’s something called ‘proficiency’ here.”

“Proficiency?”

“Yeah. It says that the higher the proficiency level is, the higher the probability of a high rank item coming out. And the materials’ rank is also important. There’s something called a beginner blacksmith’s production encyclopedia, but here… only up to A-Rank items come up. It says ‘Please use as reference to a certain extent, and demonstrate your own strength for genuine item production’?”

It seemed like instead of a restriction on the produced item’s rank, it was affected significantly by the Awakened Person’s competency. Acquiring it also made him do physical labor, and was it saying to keep on doing physical labor even afterwards?

But.

“……The skill explanation window seems quite detailed?”

Just listening to it roughly, the explanation was long and what was with that production encyclopedia? Wasn’t it too kind?

“You’re right. Unlike Whetstone, it’s detailed. Is it because it’s an SS-Rank skill?”

…I wanted to show him my L-Rank skills that only came with one little line of explanation. Look here, system people? Wasn’t this too discriminatory?

Putting aside the resistance skills, wasn’t the My Brat skill explanation too lacking?

“The way I know it, rank and skill explanation length doesn’t really have a relationship.”

It was so just looking at Yoohyun. The Green Willow Leaves skill had just one line of explanation as ‘make many willow leaves to disturb the enemy’.

“Then because it’s a special skill? Even just the basic explanation page is 5 pages. And the production encyclopedia is over three hundred pages.”

Wow, really, it was really too much. I really was made to tear out my hair[2] because of the skill explanation, and then you gave even a book to Myeongwoo?

The system guys pretended to be interested in me, but was it actually that their real target was Myeongwoo? Did they just need me for acquiring the SS-Rank production skill? After uselessly pretending to be friendly. I felt a sense of betrayal.

“…Well, it’s good if the explanation is detailed.”

“And a pack of materials also appeared in my inventory.”

Hey, you system guys! That was too openly discriminatory! They really gave him a lot. Myeongwoo took out a pouch from his inventory. It was small enough to be used as a handbag. So they didn’t give him that much, in the end.

“It’s called a subspace pouch.”

“……Subspace?”

“Apparently up to 1 ton can go inside here? It’s fascinating.”

Myeongwoo admired. 1 ton in that small thing… was it an assistant inventory? It wasn’t that there weren’t space-related items, but it was my first time hearing of it.

“Look at this. It’s an S-Rank material, a Thousand-Year Unicorn Horn. This here is called a Piece of a Hidden Star, and it’s an SS-Rank ore. They’re too much of a waste to use now. All of them seem like they’re S-Rank and higher?”

“Really… that’s impressive……”

It was good that high rank materials were rolling in like a ball, it really was good. ……I mean, it’s a great thing to happen. It was better than not giving anything. If you had 1 ton of S-Rank and higher materials, you could build up your proficiency and quickly churn out S-Rank and higher items. It was great.

-Chirp chirp!

On the table, Chirpie ran toward Myeongwoo and then tumbled to the floor. No, it also seemed like it was aiming for the pouch instead of Myeongwoo.

“Could there be magic stones in there?”

“Magic stones? Maybe…”

After rummaging around in the pouch, Myeongwoo took out something like a transparent crystal. It was a gem that was slightly bigger than a young child’s head.

-Cheep cheep cheep! Chirp! Cheep chirp!!!

“Put it back, quickly!”

“Uh, okay.”

When the gem disappeared, Chirpie became blank and collapsed to the floor. It was an expression that was past dispiritedness and like it had lost its country[3]. That complex feelings could dwell in those tiny eyes like that; it was surprising.

-Chee…eep…

“Chirpie, come here.”

-Cheeep… cheep…

Geez, this kid. When I lifted it up, it drooped like a wet plushie.

“Exactly what was that?”

“Just an SS-Rank magic stone.”

SS-Rank magic stones were definitely white, though. Did people just say that the transparent things were white? I had never seen one for real, so I didn’t know.

“Chirpie. Throw away your greed. Anyways, I gave you a D-Rank magic stone today.”

-Cheeeep…

“When you get a little bigger, I’ll raise the rank for the magic stones too.”

Though I didn’t know if it would grow properly.

Maybe because of the error, even the taming failed on Chirpie. Applying the keyword was possible, but the status window was still expressed in just □□. Of course, I couldn’t see the growth conditions either, and the My Brat skill also didn’t work, like the taming.

Well, there wasn’t much of a problem if it stayed F-Rank. And it wasn’t like I couldn’t afford its food costs. Of course, if it tried to eat an SS-Rank magic stone like just a while ago, even the richest person in the world would go bankrupt.

“Right, my stats also rose.”

Myeongwoo said, putting the pouch back into his inventory.

“Your stats? Even though your level didn’t go up too? Without an increase effect from a skill or a title?”

“Yeah. Without any of that, they just went up as I got the skill.”

A stat rank was decided by levels versus number. If the the stats increased without the levels going up, that meant the rank went up.

“…Let’s calculate it. How much is your stats average? Taking out Mana.”

“The average is… about 21?”

If it was 21, compared to level……

“It’s E-Rank. And on the higher side among E-Ranks.”

It would be closer to D-Rank. To the point that, depending on the growth, the possibility of going up to D-Rank was high. It was my first time hearing that your stat rank grew because you earned a skill.

“Then am I E-Rank now?”

Myeongwoo said, smiling brightly. Why did he have so many exceptions?

“Only your stats are E-Rank, and your Hunter rank would probably be B at minimum. When the proficiency goes up, you’ll be recognized as up to A. For S-Rank, a basic condition is having the ability to participate in an S-Rank dungeon attack, so it would be hard.”

It was an unreasonable condition. It was the same as meaning that only combat aptitudes could become S-Rank.

Anyways, now.

“Myeongwoo, what do you want to do?”

It was time to think about the future.

“For now, there are no item production skill holders except for you. And at that, it’s a skill rank SS and unrestricted produced item rank, so you could be called an existence that is unrivaled in the Hunter community.”

“It’s a bit embarrassing hearing that from you.”

Myeongwoo had a bashful expression.

“It’s just the simple truth. S-Rank and higher items are rare. Even if you attack S-Rank dungeons, usually S-Rank byproducts including magic stones come out, and things you could call items don’t come out that much. Especially things like weapons and defense tools are precious, so you would get them as a first attack bonus, and otherwise, it’s at a level where they’re hard to even see.”

“They only come out in the one first attack?”

“There are times when they do come out in normal attacks, but usually it’s like that. Up to now, the S-Rank weapons that have come out in the country are just fifteen, and there are no SS-Rank weapons at all.”

5 year later, they did increase a lot. Since the number of S-Rank dungeons and their level of difficulty went up. Even so, the number of well-known SS-Rank weapons couldn’t reach thirty. The last was the news that the twenty-eighth SS-Rank weapon had come out. There were more defense tools, and minor equipment types were in the hundreds, though.

“If you just stably make S-Rank weapons, it would be easy to establish yourself. It’s not that it’s impossible for you to be replaced, but the scarcity is plenty high. If you make even SS-Rank weapons, you would receive more interest than me? Familiars are an assistance to a certain extent, but weapons raise a Hunter’s ability itself.”

Unless it was an unusual case like Kang Soyoung, if you had to choose between a familiar and a weapon, a hundred out of hundred would choose the latter. It was a choice that made dungeon attack times shorter and made you stronger so that it was safer, so would there be any need to think long about it?

“And in the rare possibility that you make an SSS-Rank or higher weapon. Yoo Myeongwoo, you would become the sole existence that could raise an S-Rank Hunter’s rank.”

On average, if you were fully equipped with equipment that were two ranks higher, you could see it as the Hunter rank practically going up by one rank. But there was a limit to the rank supplementation caused by equipment, so even if an F-Rank plastered on S-Rank equipment, about high grade D-Rank was the limit. The other ranks were similar.

A B-Rank could plaster on S-Rank equipment and become about A-Rank. If an A-Rank plastered on SS-Rank equipment, in theory, they could have an S-Rank’s ability.

It was up to exactly that. Since SSS-Rank equipment had never come out before.

“There is nobody in the world who would look down on your status. All the S-Rank Hunters would probably depend on you. Since, if you’re chosen by Yoo Myeongwoo, you could become the world’s strongest Hunter. The first ever Hunter with SS-Rank abilities! It’s cool, it’s impressive. Isn’t it the best?”

Thinking of it while I was speaking, it was worth specially giving a lot to Myeongwoo. Since there wasn’t a restriction on produced item rank, couldn’t L-Rank come out, too? And there was the wish stone, myth rank items, too.

Myth rank equipment. Instead of being about SSS-Rank, you could become a Hunter with L-Rank abilities. Since the equipment rank versus Hunter rank growth was all theory starting from S-Rank.

“Aren’t you inflating it too much?”

“It’s an objective truth. But I think it’s impossible for you to immediately stand alone. For the very first thing, there’s the problem of safety, and after that, there’s the problem of materials’ supply and demand. Since you need to practice a lot to build up the proficiency.”

He could buy materials and then make and sell items. But the time spent on buying and selling was a waste. In the beginning, only low rank items would appear, and low ranks sold worse than you would think. It was because the purchasing power of low rank Hunters was relatively low. And there weren’t that many Hunters because it was before the Awakening Centers were made.

So it was a lot more effective to get support and get a ton of materials and make a ton of items.

“The most comfortable road would really be entering a giant guild. Once they check the skill, they wouldn’t skimp on support, and it would be possible to grow quickly. Outside of that, they would take care of everything for you. You don’t have to pay attention to miscellaneous things and just produce items.”

And it could be that that would be better for Myeongwoo. Since it was comfortable for both his mind and body.

“But if you don’t want to be affiliated to a guild, and don’t want to get interference and want to set up something like an independent workshop, I can help you. No, I want to make an investment.”

Now, it wasn’t helping, like before. Since Yoo Myeongwoo could go anywhere and be welcomed.

“Investment?”

“Yeah. You also know that I’m going to leave Haeyeon soon. So… I’m suggesting we go together. It’s just a suggestion and you don’t have to feel burdened. Being affiliated to a guild definitely is comfortable.”

If it was possible, I didn’t want Myeongwoo to be affiliated to a particular guild. Since, if he entered a particular guild, there was no reason that guild wouldn’t try to monopolize the items, especially the S-Rank and higher equipment. It might’ve been different if the increase of the dungeons’ level of difficulty and number went up slowly over the span of 5 years, like before, but a monopoly in the current situation wasn’t good. And above all, it was highly likely they would try to control the number of equipment made. Since it would be easier to maintain a premium if the amount didn’t cross a suitable limit.

“If you’re going to enter a guild, enter Haeyeon. For my sake.”

Still, if it was Haeyeon Guild, I would be able to interfere somehow. And I could put a prohibition on excessive monopoly or on amount restriction in the contract conditions.

“If I become self-reliant, even if I get your help, Yoojin, there’d probably be a lot of things I’d have to handle on my own.”

Myeongwoo said calmly.

“No matter how I look at it, it seems so. All I can do for you is supplying a safe place, as well as materials and funds, and connecting you with Hunters coming to find me. Still, if you make a few high rank items, and show them, the rumor would spread pretty fast. If an S-Rank or higher comes out, you would have the power, so you could act however you want… or even so, that in itself could be tiring too.”

Famous Hunters lining up, and wielding items as hostages, needed to fit your aptitude too. If you were timid, that situation in and of itself would be stressful. And there would definitely be empty-headed guys who would look down on him and act haughty if he seemed even the slightest bit easygoing.

As expected, should I just tell him to enter Haeyeon Guild?

“Just choose whatever makes you comfortable.”

He had already suffered a lot. I couldn’t tell him to suffer more.

“Truthfully, I didn’t even think a skill this good would come out.”

Myeongwoo scratched the back of his head.

“But, by your words, as long as I try, I can become bigger than a giant guild. Right?”

“Of course.”

“Then I don’t have to think for long. Being stupidly shut up at home was enough with just once.”

At him saying that while raising his body, my heart pointlessly stung. I completely didn’t let him outside, but it wouldn’t be my fault, right? He was probably talking about the time when I was kidnapped.

“If something like that happens again. Then……”

He didn’t continue his words and smiled.

“Do you want to explore my forge?”

“…What?”

It was something you could explore?

[1] lit. ‘as much as an ant’s eye gunk’ where ‘as much as/like eye gunk’ is a way of saying sth is small, but he put in ‘ant’ which makes it even tinier

[2] lit. ‘grab the back of my head and thump my chest’ which is a way of expressing (mental) distress/agony, but the only thing similar to that I could think of in eng was ‘tear one’s hair out’

[3] according to my dad, since kr has a history of losing its independence at times, the biggest and most recent being to jp in wwii, this is a common expression used to express losing sth v important, i guess similar to the more gen eng ‘losing one’s world’

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