[ Senior? ]
“Isn’t that your skill? It sounds like it’s something real.”
“It is.”
“…It is?”
What do you mean? It’s not like it’s fire or ice appearing out of nowhere—there’s a blacksmith’s forge? This is the first time I’ve ever heard of a skill like that.
“To be precise, the skill allows me to enter a subspace where the Golden Forge exists.”
“Wow…”
Wow. What even is that? This is nothing like the skills I’m familiar with.
‘It seems more like an item than a skill.’
Like the S-rank trap item, the Gingerbread House, or the SS-rank defensive item, the Silent Darkroom. Both are special items that appear much later on.
But a skill that creates a building? I’ve never heard of such a thing. Skills are typically intangible abilities. They can gather energy or elements to form simple shapes, but a forge? With a furnace and anvil? Does that even make sense?
“How do you get in?”
I asked as I stood up.
“Just like this.”
Myungwoo reached out his hand to me. So, it’s as simple as just deciding to enter? I put Peace in his pen and set Chirp down on the sofa.
I had some doubts about its stability, but that just made me more determined to follow along. Besides, the effect of Final Recompense still had some time left.
“Can anyone come along?”
“If I want them to.”
“Then it could be used as a hideout too. Maybe you could even store emergency supplies in there?”
I said as I took his hand. If the subspace with the forge was safe, it could be an excellent refuge in case of emergencies.
As I felt the sensation of passing through a dungeon gate, the scenery before me changed.
Sunlight streamed in through a large window, illuminating the interior. The first thing that caught my eye was the flickering flames within a massive furnace. The golden fire burned without consuming any logs or even a single straw, just burning on its own.
The walls, incongruously, were made of intertwined tree branches and roots. The air was filled with the scent of wood and fire. Hammers, large tongs, and various other tools hung on the walls.
It was an old, traditional blacksmith’s forge. In the middle, atop a large anvil, was a bouquet of flowers and a note. Quite unexpectedly.
“…What’s with that bouquet?”
“No idea.”
Myungwoo walked over to the anvil and picked up the note. There was something written on it, but it wasn’t in Hangul, nor was it in Chinese characters or the alphabet. It was a script I had never seen before.
“It looks like it’s addressed to me.”
“To you, Myungwoo? Can you read it?”
“Um… it says, ‘Welcome, successor. May the blessings of flames and molten metal be with you on your path.’”
So it really is more of an item than a skill. Given that talk about a successor, it looks like some unknown senior left it for him.
“It says I’m the successor, so does that mean someone else had the Master of the Golden Forge skill before me?”
Myungwoo asked, tilting his head.
“Hard to say. It’s only been three years since Awakened ones started appearing, so it’s not like we have a clear lineage of seniors and juniors. And no equipment made by this skill has ever shown up. At least in our world, you’re probably the first.”
As I spoke, I thought of the system administrators. Could one of them have had the Master of the Golden Forge skill in the past? And did they prepare these items for the next skill holder? Was that even possible?
‘Who are those people anyway? The list of things I want to ask them keeps growing.’
At that moment, Myungwoo flipped the note over to check the back.
“There’s something written here too… Ismuar?”
Whoosh!
“Get back!”
The flames in the furnace suddenly surged. I quickly moved to shield Myungwoo, but instead of stepping back, he stepped forward.
“Yujin, you should be the one stepping back! Your stat grade is lower right now.”
…Well, Final Recompense is still active. But I can’t exactly say that out loud.
“I’ve got a protective barrier skill item, remember? The one the Hanshin Guild Leader gave me.”
I had planned to use it on Myungwoo, but—
“You were going to use that on me anyway, right?”
…When did he become so sharp? But my current stats are above B-rank, so I don’t actually need the B-rank barrier—
“Not exactly, but… kind of. But look at that!”
I pointed to the flames that had surged up. The flames had started to take on a shape similar to that of a person. It shifted between a round, childlike form and a tall, adult one before settling on something in between.
Soon, the flames took on a form almost indistinguishable from a human being.
Though it was clearly made of fire, so no one would mistake it for an actual human. Is this another item?
“Greetings, Master.”
…Did it just speak?
“It talks?!”
Myungwoo was just as shocked. A talking creature? This was my first time seeing something like this, excluding the system folks. And I’ve never seen them in person.
“I am the spirit Ismuar, born from the Creator’s final breath.”
“…There are spirits?”
“…I had no idea.”
I shook my head at Myungwoo’s question. Were spirits actually real? Spirits like Salamanders or Sylphs were something you’d only find in games or novels, not in real life. I’d never heard of any Awakened with spirit summoning skills either.
But suddenly, a spirit? What is this?
While we were still reeling from the shock, the so-called spirit, Ismuar, looked down at us with its emotionless golden eyes. Was it truly a living being?
‘Let’s see if Promising Talent works.’
I tried using the skill to check, but the status window didn’t appear. Instead, information started popping into my head.
‘…A fire spirit, very strong, can control flames. It’s fully grown. The contractor is the person next to me. What even is this?’
The information didn’t appear in a neat little rectangular window like usual but was instead conveyed directly to my mind. It felt vague compared to reading something written down. How strong is this thing? It feels like it’s at least A-rank. But I can’t get a handle on its skills. Other than the fact that it can control fire at will, I don’t know much. And it seems like physical attacks won’t work on it.
What the hell is going on? Did the system glitch out?
I nervously opened my own status window. But nothing appeared. I couldn’t sense anything about my own status either. No information came to mind. I couldn’t even tell my rank, level, skills, or titles.
It felt like I had suddenly been thrown into a pitch-black, sealed room.
“…Myungwoo, can you open your status window?”
“Status window?”
Myungwoo paused for a moment before his eyes widened in surprise.
“It’s not coming up! Can Awakened status get canceled?!”
“No, I can’t open mine either. But it seems like skills still work. My stats probably haven’t changed either. It’s just… the system window isn’t showing up. The inventory… I can’t check the contents, but I can still take things out and put them back in.”
I took out and then put back the bottle of mana stone powder. Normally, I could see a list of the contents, but that wasn’t showing up now.
“It’s a relief that we haven’t lost our skills, but… is this space somehow affecting it?”
“That seems likely.”
Maybe it’s because this is a subspace that we’re outside the system’s influence. …But isn’t the Awakening itself a part of the system? If our abilities remain intact even without the game-like system windows, does that mean the system and Awakening are separate?
…This is getting confusing.
“Please tell me your name, Master.”
Ismuar, who had been quietly floating in the air, spoke. Or rather, its mouth remained firmly shut, and only its voice came out.
“My name? Yu Myungwoo.”
“Yu Myungwoo. Would you like to receive the foundational training prepared by the Creator?”
“Foundational training?”
“Yes. It’s only basic training, so if you’re already sufficiently skilled as a blacksmith, you don’t need it. However, if you’re just starting out, it will help you grow quickly.”
Whoever this mysterious senior is, they must have been very thoughtful, considering how generously they’ve prepared for their successor. I wish I had a senior like that.
“Of course, I’ll take it.”
As soon as Myungwoo agreed, Ismuar’s gaze shifted to me.
“My flames are safe only for the contractor. If you don’t have a high resistance to heat, you risk burns or death.”
Is this workshop okay? It’s made of wood.
“I’ll wait outside.”
“Alright. Oh, take this with you.”
Myungwoo handed me the bouquet. It would probably burn if left here. Moments later, I found myself back in the living room, alone.
-Chirp!
Chirp, who had been quietly sitting on the sofa, flapped his wings and greeted me. Peace wagged his tail from behind the glass wall. Judging by their reactions, time seems to be passing at the same rate here and in the subspace.
‘…I want to go into a dungeon and get some answers right now.’
Even though I know all I’d get is a “we can’t tell you” message or something, it’s still frustrating. But there are only a few days left.
‘Before that, I need to make sure Yuhyun isn’t still upset.’
He hasn’t answered my calls since yesterday. He could be busy, but I’m pretty sure he’s mad at me. Should I bring him flowers?
“What kind of flowers are these?”
I looked down at the bouquet in my hands. There were five large blossoms, about ten medium-sized ones, and a scattering of smaller flowers. None of them looked familiar.
I’m not exactly a flower expert, but I’m pretty sure these aren’t from this world. The largest ones had a faint glow, and some of the small ones were gold-colored and felt hard and cool to the touch, almost like metal. When I plucked one of the petals, I found that it wasn’t actually metal. The flowers that resembled moth orchids occasionally moved on their own.
These definitely weren’t ordinary flowers, but they didn’t trigger any kind of description window like dungeon byproducts usually do.
They are pretty, though.
“Can you mix this with ice?”
Yerim, who had brought me some sort of frappe, asked as she glanced at the cup in front of me. It was a mana potion poured into a cup filled with ice.
“It should be fine.”
“It looks like orange flavor. Aren’t you sick of it by now?”
“I am.”
How could I not be? Even when I first started drinking it, it was just tolerable, not tasty. Now that I’ve been chugging it like water, it’s becoming unbearable.
I sighed and looked around.
To find B-rank and higher special initial skill holders, we had rented out an entire café on the first floor of a building with heavy foot traffic. In addition to Yerim, there were also one A-rank and three B-rank Hunters. One of the B-rank Hunters used to work as a café part-timer, so they were making various drinks for us.
“…Should I try mixing mana potion with coffee?”
“That sounds like it would taste terrible. How about real orange juice? Make it strong.”
“I’m tired of orange too… And apple.”
“Then why not order a custom mana potion?”
“That’s a good idea.”
It might be expensive, but if I keep drinking like this for two or three more days, I’ll get so sick of it I’ll throw up.
“Maybe I should just gear up with magic-boosting equipment. My mana pool is so small that I have to drink it too often.”
But that would feel too restrictive. Besides, it’s summer. I grumbled as I turned my gaze back out the window. People were walking along the street. Our target was anyone with a B-rank or higher special skill. We couldn’t afford to miss anyone with A-rank or higher stats, either.
But we hadn’t found anyone yet.
“Another C-rank. It’s ‘Persuasive Eloquence.’”
“Ah, isn’t that person an EVS middle school teacher? They’re pretty famous. Their lectures are really easy to follow. I heard they’ve been getting a lot of offers from tutoring centers.”
I guess they found the right calling.
“There are more C-ranks than I expected. Weren’t there even more D-ranks?”
“Yeah. About half of them had E-rank or higher skills.”
Yerim tilted her head.
“If they have E-rank or higher skills, shouldn’t they be able to get a Hunter license? But only about 1% of Awakened become Hunters.”
“That’s because… most Awakened up until now had combat-related skills.”
I couldn’t be sure after just a brief survey this morning, but it seemed like most people’s aptitudes weren’t combat-related. I hadn’t paid much attention to C-ranks or lower before, so I hadn’t bothered calculating the ratio, but thinking about it now, it’s actually pretty obvious.
A hundred years ago, maybe, but how many modern people would have a knack for fighting? Especially in our country, which has been relatively peaceful for over fifty years, aside from the military. Hardly anyone ever handles real weapons. Unless they’re into sports like archery, kendo, or shooting, and even then, it’s just a hobby. Not exactly a common one, either.
“If more than half the people have talents that are better than average, how many of those talents do you think will be combat-related? Probably not many.”
“Yeah, it’s a pretty small percentage when you look at jobs too.”
Yerim nodded.
“Since they were forced to Awaken with combat-related skills, most of them ended up as FF-rank. As for F-rank stats, it’s well known that modern people are generally out of shape.”
If F-rank had been broken down into finer gradations like plus and minus, there would have been plenty of F-minus folks.
“It’s a little shocking, but there really were a lot of people with valuable talents who didn’t even know their own worth.”
That C-rank initial skill holder who just passed by would probably have ended up with an F to E-rank combat support skill if they had gone through the Awakening Center like everyone else.
“That office worker over there, they have a C-rank singing-related skill. Remember when we went to the broadcasting station and met those singers with good voices? One of them had the exact same initial skill.”
“Really?”
Yerim asked excitedly as she looked at the man I pointed out.
“Should we tell him? That he should debut!”
“Isn’t it tough to make it as an entertainer just by singing well?”
“Still, it’s better than living without knowing your own talent.”
After taking a long sip of her frappe, Yerim suddenly looked at me with concern.
“But… doesn’t it mean things will get harder for you if there are so many E-rank and higher skill holders? You might have to help half of the hundred people you meet.”
“Ah… Right.”
I hadn’t considered that.
–TL Notes–
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