=========================================
SERIES: Regression of the Cursed Blacksmith
=========================================
Chapter 20 - The Next Stage
Choi Hyun smiled as he looked at the item's information.
The sword's name itself was still the same, but its durability and attack power had increased significantly due to the elimination of impurities.
However, as the description stated, its size had decreased.
The surface of the blade had shrunk by 30%, and its length was also about 20% shorter.
“It can’t be helped. They were impurities, but I still removed that much mass from the sword.”
But since the weapon's performance itself had improved, he had achieved the purpose and essence of the disassembly repair.
“A durability of 150 and an attack power of 15. This is the true form of the Tutorial Sword.”
On top of that, now that his trait level had reached 5-star, the Enhanced Repair buff had been upgraded from 10% to 20%.
Choi Hyun stood up.
“I think this much should be enough for the Repair trait.”
From now on, he could only advance this domain with leveling up, so he decided to stop grinding proficiency here.
Choi Hyun packed the sword he had just worked on, along with a few other repaired swords, into his inventory.
While doing so, the impurities that had fallen off the sword caught his eye.
Choi Hyun picked them up and checked their information.
[ Fragments from the Tutorial Sword. ]
- Type: Item
# A portion that fell off the Tutorial Sword during the disassembly repair process.
Choi Hyun let out a smirk after reading the information.
“The name and the information are so half-hearted.”
It couldn't be helped.
This was once a material, a part of the sword, but in the disassembly repair process, it was treated as an impurity and removed like a cancer cell.
“The material itself isn't bad.”
It was just an unnecessary element that didn't quite fit from the perspective of the Tutorial Sword.
Still, all of this could be recycled.
After all, its essence was still that of a material.
But for now, there was nothing he could do about it.
He didn't have the related skills to make them recyclable.
“Well, I plan on getting them soon enough.”
Choi Hyun casually pushed the impurities into a corner.
They weren't particularly valuable materials anyway, so he didn't really care how they were disposed of.
He then checked the time.
It was already night.
The dead of night, at that.
After a moment of contemplation, he decided to rest tonight for the sake of tomorrow.
“I should probably wash up, eat, and get some proper sleep.”
He felt like he had been awake for over 40 hours.
He didn't feel overwhelmingly tired, but managing his condition was important, so he decided to take a strategic rest.
“Should I have some chicken for a change? With beer.”
He had grilled meat last time.
Choi Hyun called a taxi and headed home.
His steps on the way back were incredibly light.
* * *
The next day.
Choi Hyun was picked up by Jin Hyun-geun, who had contacted him in the morning, and they went to the warehouse together.
Arriving at the warehouse and checking inside, Jin Hyun-geun was speechless at the sight of the repaired weapons that were piled up like a mountain.
“D-did you really repair all of this in just one day?”
“Not one day, it took about two days in terms of hours.”
“My goodness… I knew you were a blacksmith, Consultant, but the production classes really have it tough. You probably haven't even been able to level up yet, and you're going through all this trouble just to raise your trait experience.”
“It’s not really that much of a trouble. It’s just hammering without any special technique, you know.”
“Still, that’s not as easy as it sounds.”
Jin Hyun-geun said that, while picking up a nearby item to check its information.
He had just grabbed it because it caught his eye.
But right after seeing the information, Jin Hyun-geun froze without realizing it.
“Huh…?”
“What did I just see?”
“Did I see it wrong?”
No.
He rubbed his eyes and looked at it again, but he hadn't seen it wrong.
He was so shocked that he was at a loss for words, Jin Hyun-geun barely managed to compose himself before checking the other items.
And he was even more surprised.
No, he was horrified.
This one, that one—every single item he picked up and checked was not of the same quality as the equipment he had originally brought in.
Genuinely shocked, Jin Hyun-geun asked Choi Hyun with his mouth half-open.
“Um… Consultant?”
“Yes?”
“I’m sure all of these were junk, but just what kind of magic did you perform on them?”
“It’s not magic, they just ended up that way under the influence of my repair skill.”
“Ah, no, that’s not what I mean…”
It wasn't that Jin Hyun-geun didn't know that.
Where did Jin Hyun-geun belong to?
He was from the Chairman's own Secretary's Office at Daesan, a guild with more production-class members than combat-class ones.
How could he not know such a fact?
On the contrary, he was surprised because he knew it all too well.
The results of the repairs here were all things that could only be produced by the hands of at least a 4-star blacksmith.
“The Tutorial series is free to begin with, so no matter how well it’s repaired, there’s no profit in selling it, but the rest of the items…”
There was definitely a profit that could be made.
No, it was estimated that there would be a considerable profit margin compared to the original cost.
Because junk items originally had to be disposed of by paying a waste disposal fee, but if they were restored this well and even had an enhancement buff as an option, they could be sold quickly for more than their standard price.
Jin Hyun-geun swallowed hard.
“And everyone is desperate to recruit 4-star blacksmiths…”
Then, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
“Wait a minute, how long has it been since the Consultant took the Hunter Exam, and to think he’s already showing this level of repair quality? Could he have really reached the 4-star level?”
Jin Hyun-geun asked with a look of disbelief.
“Consultant, if you don’t mind my asking, may I ask what your current trait level is?”
“I just hit level 5 last night.”
“Ah, yes, as expected, 4-star… wait? Level 5?”
“Yes, I reached the disassembly repair level and then rested soundly until morning.”
“Good heavens…”
“Is something wrong?”
“Ah, no, it’s not that… I mean, aren’t you surprised, Consultant? Or is it because you just don’t know much about this industry?”
“Is it because I reached level 5 in the Repair trait in two days?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, I’m well aware that it’s a significant achievement. In fact, I even received achievement bonuses for being the fastest player in history to reach 3-star, 4-star, and 5-star.”
“What?!”
He already knew it?
He even set new records?
Then why is he so nonchalant?
While Jin Hyun-geun stood there with his jaw agape, Choi Hyun paid him no mind and gave his instructions.
“More importantly, please take care of disposing of the items here. I don’t need them anymore.”
“Yes, I understand. Anything else?”
“From now on, please fill the warehouse mainly with cursed items.”
“Cursed items? Ah, yes, I understand.”
As expected of Jin Hyun-geun.
As a competent secretary, he answered readily without questioning Choi Hyun's instructions.
Jotting down the instructions, Jin Hyun-geun asked.
“What is your next schedule?”
“The Chairman doesn’t need me for anything, does he?”
“No, he said he won’t need you for a while. He mentioned he would contact you first if anything urgent comes up.”
“Then please gather some reporters at Bukhansan Mountain. I’m planning to climb the Tower of Growth by myself from now on.”
“The Tower of Growth?”
“Yes. I’m sure everyone is very curious about the top scorer of this year’s Hunter Exam, so I’m going to use this opportunity to draw some serious attention to myself.”
Choi Hyun said with a faint smile.
Having gained financial freedom through Han Young-min, it was now time to gain social standing.
And the beginning of that was the Tower of Growth.
* * *
“Ha, this is driving me crazy…”
Han Young-min was at his wit's end.
Ever since Choi Hyun's visit, no matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn't come up with a suitable solution for this problem.
It wasn't a small sum; it was a hundred billion won.
Not one billion, not ten billion, but a hundred billion.
Ten billion was already a huge amount, but a hundred billion was a truly massive sum of money. One that would be difficult to part with, even for his own father.
Of course, if he used company funds, it wouldn't be a major concern, but the problem was that this bet was tied to Totoland and was a personal transgression, so there was no justification for him to use the company money.
Even if you were the owner of the company, using company funds as you pleased without justification would be considered embezzlement.
Psssssh-
Thanks to that, he had started smoking again which he had quit.
What should I do?
When I looked into Choi Hyun's background, he had made two separate billion-won deals with Daesan.
What on earth is his relationship with Daesan?
To be precise, what is his relationship with the Daesan Guild's chairman, Jang Hae-hyun?
Is all of this Jang Hae-hyun's doing?
His mind was a mess.
Should I really hire someone to kill him?
Yes, perhaps that would be cleaner.
Whether he gets eliminated from the succession race for soliciting murder or falls from grace in his father's eyes after the truth about Totoland's black money is revealed, the outcome would be the same anyway.
Daesan is behind him?
Honestly, if I handle it without anyone knowing, would Daesan even be able to find out?
If I spend a few billion, I could probably hire a renowned killer from overseas, right?
“Yes. That’s right. If the evidence is perfectly destroyed and the killer leaves the country, how could they possibly be found?”
Movies were by no means an exaggeration.
They were all based on reality.
Of course, the attempt to crush the guy by sending in a trio of established Hunters had ended in failure, but he thought that was because he had used mediocre people for the task.
He also believed that the equalization of stats in the virtual reality was a major factor in the defeat.
The discovery of the mercenary trio's identities was somehow smoothed over.
The mercenaries also kept their mouths shut until the end, stating they took the exam for fun. They would be punished, but it would be very minor. He would make it so.
So this time, he would prepare thoroughly, and there would be no mistakes.
“This time, I’m going to use a killer worth billions.”
That would change the story.
Just as he made his decision and began to formulate a plan in his head.
“Chairman, an urgent matter has come up.”
It was his secretary.
Han Young-min frowned and asked.
“What is it?”
When Han Young-min, who would normally have told him to leave, asked a question back, the Secretary finally opened the door.
It was the same middle-aged man who had taken the call on Han Gu-hong's phone.
He brought his tablet and showed him a video.
The video was a live news broadcast.
“What is this?”
“Please look at the person being interviewed. It's him.”
“Him?”
At the Secretary's words, he finally took a proper look at the screen.
On the screen was Choi Hyun, being interviewed by reporters at Bukhansan Mountain.
0 Comments