Waiting for Carl to speak, Hyunsoo swallowed dryly.The quest to Repair the Bell of Lamas was originally set at 30,000 Gold.If you looked only at the process and result, it was easily worth 150,000 Gold.Carl fanned out the parchment he’d prepared.“Your bell is a Unique Artifact, with the special property of being a broad-area artifact; however, even if it’s better than typical Unique, it can’t quite reach Legendary.”Hyunsoo agreed.“No matter how good it is, its effects don’t reach Legendary grade. So the figure we measured is 250,000 Gold.”“T—250,000 Gold…?”The number—250,000 Gold—left Hyunsoo aghast.Converted to won, that was ₩250,000,000. Money most people could only hope to accumulate over an entire lifetime.“You are the benefactor of our Cassel Territory. Ordinarily, 180,000 Gold would have been appropriate, but the Lord put his weight behind it.”[You obtain 250,000 Gold.]It was real. Hyunsoo could see the staggering sum deposited into his inventory.And Carl offered something else.“This is the price realized by selling the Gold and rewards gained from killing the Death Lord.”[You obtain 78,000 Gold.]“……”Looking at the Gold Carl had extended out of goodwill, Hyunsoo couldn’t hide his gratitude.“Benefactor of Cassel Territory, accept our heartfelt thanks.”[Affinity with Carl is already MAX.]He bowed formally. Then, raising his head, he gave an awkward smile.“Visit Cassel Territory again anytime.”“…Thank you for taking care of me.”“Oh, and I mentioned the ores to the Lord; he said he’ll bestow them to you personally.”With that, Carl took his leave.As he left, Hyunsoo’s heart raced.With this money, I can reclaim my father’s forge…!The total came to about 328,000 Gold. He could cover the rest with the funds he already had.KNOCK, KNOCK—There was still one more matter. After a short while, Nell opened the door and came in.Hyunsoo was curious what value his work—creating a bell that surpassed the Bell of Lamas—had set for him.So he’d told Nell to appraise his value.She was blunt.“I’ve finished assessing your value. Our Golden Shield Guild offers you an annual signing bonus of ₩1.2 billion.”“……”Huge. An amount so large that an ordinary person could never touch it even in a lifetime.“Of course, you would craft with materials supplied without limit by the Golden Shield Guild, and we promise the industry’s best revenue split on production. The split is 7:3.”Hyunsoo could feel it.How much Nell wanted him. How thirsty she was for him.And Nell had effectively brought approval for a top-of-the-industry figure.It was a number only someone with Nell’s trust inside the Golden Shield Guild could make happen.In truth, no one could realistically offer more.Nell looked at him with a face full of desire.And soon, Hyunsoo gave his answer.“…I refuse. Thank you for the offer.”“……”Nell did not reply.Within Hyunsoo’s polite refusal, she couldn’t bring herself to cling.He was a clever player.I know…That it was a mere ₩1.2 billion.High-rankers within the domestic top ten could earn over ₩10 billion a year.The value of players with high levels or special qualities had become so great as to defy imagination.A mere ₩1.2 billion.And right there, Hyunsoo settled one fact. Perceptive and shrewd, Nell smiled.“Usually, when someone turns down this level of money, there’s always a reason.”Yes—there was a reason, and Nell knew it.“You’re planning to open your own forge.”“…That’s right.”Yes, Hyunsoo would open a forge. Hyun’s Forge. And that would soon become a guild.“Even if you come back with another offer, I won’t waver now. I’ll start very small at first. But I believe people will gather.”Nell didn’t reply.Soon, with a small bow, Hyunsoo started toward the door.At that moment, Nell spoke.“When you open that forge.”Hyunsoo turned his head with a puzzled look.“I intend to leave the Golden Shield Guild.”Hyunsoo’s eyes flew wide. Smiling broadly, she faced him and said:“…I want to be your first guild member.”She swallowed the words that followed——that she was quite capable.“I’ll lift you to the very top, in every way.”Just as she had grown the once-humble Golden Shield into something more.“I’ll make sure you can be called the greatest blacksmith.”At that, Hyunsoo nodded and extended his hand.“Welcome aboard, Nell.”Nell gripped that hand tight. ****After parting from Nell, Hyunsoo logged out immediately.The instant he reached his target sum, urgency took hold.My father’s forge… have they started construction yet…?Kang Hyeok-soo had said that if construction hadn’t started yet, he would sell it back at the original price.When he called, thankfully, he answered. And without being asked, he spoke.—Tomorrow I’m scheduled to sign the contract with the construction firm.He wasn’t too late.Hyunsoo arranged to meet him at a café and hurried straight over.As he ran, one worry pricked at him.Strictly speaking, Hyeok-soo was a stranger. He didn’t know the exact reason why the man was showing him such favor.Nor was Hyeok-soo the type to make a big deal out of someone saying they’d scraped together the money to reclaim their father’s forge.He wanted to hear the reason from him, slowly.Of course, he also had doubts.A suspicion that a man like Hyeok-soo, seeing someone with the ability to make that kind of money, might try to bind him with something.They met at the café and talked.He heard the first reason. Even to Hyunsoo, it felt sincere.And his gaze was steady. Those steadfast eyes told him——at the very least, he was not the kind of person who would lie. He had simply wanted to give Hyunsoo a chance.And the second reason.“I wanted you to live.”He had wanted to die.When everything collapsed, the only thought he could form was to die.“I wanted you to live without dying—because, in that moment, you need at least one goal. You have to move toward that goal. You need at least that to go on living. But now, looking into your eyes, I can tell.”Those words gave him complete faith in Hyeok-soo.And then, thoughts entirely different from wanting to die rose up.Now…A desire to live, stronger than anyone’s, stirred. He handed over the bankbook with the money he had exchanged.Hyeok-soo checked it and stared in surprise, and hot tears ran down Hyunsoo’s face.“I will live… giving more than my all, more exceptionally than others. I’ll live more splendidly than others…!”He had no doubt that was his repayment to Hyeok-soo for the grace he’d received.Hyeok-soo laughed.“Ha, hahaha, hahahahahaha!”After laughing for quite a while as he looked at Hyunsoo, Hyeok-soo said:“Well done, well done…!”He rejoiced as if it were his own affair.He could clearly see the road Hyunsoo would climb from here, and it excited him.And Hyeok-soo did not ask how he’d earned the money. Because he knew Hyunsoo was not someone who would do something wrong.Things proceeded without a hitch.They called in a real-estate agent, drafted the contract, and stamped it on the spot.Then Hyunsoo went with him to the place where his father’s forge had stood.The forge that had once occupied the spot was gone without a trace.The forge had already burned down completely.The forge, which had been attached to the house where Hyunsoo had lived, had become no different from a haunted ruin.“…How much would it cost to build a forge there again?”“It’ll run about ₩600 million. Since we’ll need to rebuild the house too.”Money kept being necessary. There would be no rest. But now that he had confidence, he nodded.“Contact me when you need to. I’ll connect you with a construction company I know.”“Thank you for looking out for me.”Hyunsoo wanted to repay Hyeok-soo with at least something.He knew the reason Hyeok-soo had acquired this land was for investment. And Hyeok-soo was a man who had amassed great wealth by leveraging people like him.Whatever he had built, it would have prospered.Yet he had given up that profit to show favor, and all Hyunsoo wanted was to do something for him.“It’s fine. I have more land like this than I can count in the hundreds.”Reading his heart, Hyeok-soo waved it off, and it was the truth.“Even so, I want to do something for you. Do you by any chance know the game Ares?”At that question, a peculiar light flashed in Hyeok-soo’s eyes and vanished. It disappeared so quickly that Hyunsoo didn’t notice.“Of course. Is there anyone these days who doesn’t know that game?”“I’m a blacksmith in Ares.”“Oh ho, is that so? That job suits you perfectly, doesn’t it? Haha.”“So I’d like to craft at least one Artifact for you.”“An Artifact, huh…”Hyeok-soo was a real-estate tycoon. As a fellow Ares player, would he not have spent money? He was a man armed with tremendous gear.But if he refused even this, Hyunsoo would never be able to lay down his burden of gratitude, so he nodded.“Good. Then craft one for me.”He wasn’t expecting much, of course. The things he already had were simply too valuable.Soon, Hyunsoo found a pen and paper.“If you write down the effects you want, the Artifact type, and the level, I’ll make it and send it to you.”“Effects?”Asked to write effects, he gave a small smile.“It’s like you’re offering me a tailored suit, eh? Haha. I won’t write a level. Just make me something reasonably good.”When Hyeok-soo handed it over, Hyunsoo tucked it carefully into his inner pocket.“I’ll do my utmost to make it.”Hyeok-soo got into his car and drove off, and Hyunsoo returned home.I need more money…He needed to build the forge and also a new place to live.Ah, come to think of it—Hyunsoo smiled. He remembered that Lord Kern had said he’d grant him ores.His steps grew lighter as he headed home. ****Lord Kern had heard the tale.That when he had cast all burdens aside and drunk himself insensible, a blacksmith spent an entire week without a wink of sleep to craft a bell.The man kneeling on one knee before him, prostrate, named Hyunsoo, looked exceedingly young.Already, beside Kern’s seat, an elegant wooden chest stuffed with ores had been prepared.Before giving, he asked:“Why did you give so much? Why did you labor so, without even a wink of sleep?”To that, the outlander Hyunsoo answered as if it were obvious:“Because this territory needed it.”The blacksmiths Kern knew were brutes who only knew how to handle ore.In his life he had never once lent an ear to their stories, and he had never cherished men who did not go out onto the battlefield.They were not more valuable than soldiers.That fixed idea cracked.“I merely fought together, from the forge.”It struck his heart.It told him that not all combat took place solely on battlefields drenched in the /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ scent of blood.“I see.”Kern smiled faintly. Of course, though he had never lent an ear to most blacksmiths’ stories, he knew well enough the things they commonly said when making deliveries.How much will you pay me.What will you give me.If I make it Rare, will you hire me in this castle. But this was different.“You are a master.”Smiling thus, Kern said:“Carl, bring it.”His mind had changed.Carl had known and yet pretended not to know what those ores were, and Kern himself had thought a “special ore” meant this.But now he understood the true reason Deng had sent this man.A treasure passed down through the family from generation to generation.A stone that had been handed down since ages past, and yet, in the end, shoved into a storeroom.Carl handed Kern a dust-caked chest. ****Hyunsoo watched as Kern descended the steps toward him.[The reward is changed.]An unknown notification rang out.Standing before Hyunsoo, Kern personally held out the chest and threw open its dust-laden lid.“A gift befitting you.”A notification chimed at once.[You obtain Orichalcum (Lowest Tier), a mineral of legend.]

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