Master Artisan Jo Chul — Part 2
“Nice to meet you.”
I hid my true feelings and shook his hand.
Jo Chul gripped it tightly.
Whirrr. Whirr.
His right prosthetic arm roared into motion.
The internal magic circle emitted light, and the mechanism was fully activated.
The prosthetic arm pumped with strength, almost as if it wanted to crush my hand.
Was he testing me?
I gripped his hand harder as well.
[Strength] [Mighty Strength] [Toughness]
[Einherjar Cultivation Technique] [Mana Core] [Endurance]
My muscles swelled with power, growing visibly.
My body seemed to grow slightly larger, especially my arm, which bulged in response to his prosthetic.
Mana surged from my heart, circulating through my mana circuits and amplifying efficiency.
My face was bulging with veins.
But Jo Chul remained completely at ease.
Despite being a man with both legs amputated, Jo Chul was a 6th-level superhuman.
By Episode 3, he would even become a 7th-level powerhouse.
It didn’t make sense for someone like him to be overpowered by me, a mere level 3 superhuman.
“Strange.”
Jo Chul tilted his head curiously.
“I didn’t think a level 3 superhuman would be this strong.”
He released my hand and looked at me with a confident demand.
“I heard you refused the baptism of the Old Father. Show me your Black Flame.”
I shook my hand out once. In that brief moment, my hand had swollen.
If Jo Chul had wanted to, he could have easily crushed my hand bones.
‘Is he picking a fight?’
But no, his expression was blank, almost businesslike. It didn’t seem like he was trying to provoke me.
Instead, a cold chill radiated from the paladin who had been watching me this whole time.
His face was hidden behind a closed helmet, making it impossible to read his expression.
I played along for now.
Activating the Black Flame, I let it manifest fully across my body. Jo Chul nodded slowly.
“Black Flame… That’s real. Few people throughout thousands of years of history have awakened the Black Flame. Are you sure you don’t want to join our Order? If you join, becoming the future Knight Commander—or even an Apostle—is guaranteed.”
‘Have I lost my mind?’
I glared at him with a deadpan expression, but Seo Woojin quickly intervened.
“Master Jo, the Order has already made concessions in this matter.”
“I know. I heard it directly from the Saintess.”
“The Saintess?”
“Originally, I was supposed to make armor for the new Knight Commander. But the Saintess adjusted the schedule for you. Tch, you should be grateful.”
Jo Chul clicked his tongue loudly.
“This so-called ‘free will’ nonsense… That damned War of Divine Annihilation keeps holding our Order back. We should’ve won it back then.”
Such fanatic statements.
“The Saintess said that as a sign of respect for your strong will, she has decided to grant you a set of magic armor. And it’s custom-made, no less. I heard the Order will also compensate Jaelboan?”
So all I get in return for being tormented with divine fever is a single set of armor?
Blatant abuse of power.
Seo Woojin didn’t seem too pleased with the deal either.
Even if you get compensated, it doesn’t restore over ten years of a life spent suffering.
But what can we do?
The Old Father’s Order is powerful, and we are weak.
I’m in no position to challenge them—just one paladin could put me in a crisis.
Seo Woojin sent me a desperate look, urging me to compromise.
I clenched my fist tightly enough to hear my knuckles crack.
‘Fine.’
I’ll deal with the Old Father’s Order eventually.
For now, it’s better to play along and squeeze out whatever compensation I can.
I just need to get stronger.
Once I’m strong enough!
“I understand what you’re saying. But I still won’t join. It’s not just the Old Father’s Order, I’m not interested in joining any church.”
“Heh heh heh.”
Jo Chul laughed, discarding any formalities, his expression turning cryptic.
“Do whatever you want. But did you know? Even Emperor Henry IV of the Western Roman Empire overcame divine fever but eventually chose to become an Apostle of the Old Father. You’ll end up the same.”
In this world, there is no Christianity.
So, naturally, the Holy Roman Empire doesn’t exist either.
There’s only the Late Western Roman Empire.
I responded curtly.
“We’ll see.”
“The Saintess holds you in very high regard. She told me personally that you are the light of the Order and the savior of the world. So I’m determined to make the best possible armor for you.”
“The light and savior? That’s a load of crap.”
“Hmph. It’s the prophecy from the Saintess. A revelation from the Old Father himself. It’s something your small human brain can’t begin to comprehend.”
“Then why did the baptism fail?”
“The Old Father must have a grand plan. Now stop talking and come over here. I’m not in the mood to drag this out either. Let’s get this done quickly.”
Jo Chul floated through the air, moving toward one side of the room.
The reception room opened up into a wide space filled with armor displays.
Hundreds of sets, at least.
Each one had a different design, a different function.
Jo Chul caressed a full-plate armor set.
“This is the most basic type. Paladin armor. Let’s talk about the form, not the function. What do you think about full plate armor? It’s my specialty, and it’s optimized for both defense and mana amplification.”
Not bad.
If I were building a tanky character, it would be essential.
Some defensive warriors even built their characters around traits like [Armor Mastery] or [Armor Defense Techniques].
But I shook my head.
Heavy armor is certainly appealing, but it doesn’t suit my fighting style, where I constantly switch traits in real-time.
“It’s too heavy. I need something lighter and easier to move in.”
“Full plate armor isn’t as cumbersome as it looks. It’s different from what you’d expect. Even an ordinary person can do rolls, wrestling, and hand-to-hand combat in full plate.”
“But still, it’s not as easy to move in as light armor.”
“Hmm, I thought you were a heavy-armored warrior. Your strength earlier was perfect for that.”
Jo Chul slid over to another display.
He picked up what looked like tights.
Or was it?
On closer inspection, it was armor woven from metallic threads, designed like clothing.
The surface shimmered like starlight, closer to an art piece than functional armor.
Jo Chul looked at the metal outfit with a loving gaze.
“This is metallic microfiber armor. It perfectly balances mobility and light weight. Sure, its defense is lower, but you can always layer something over it.”
The problem was the defense.
And the mana capacity.
Armor that thin could never hold much in the way of magical enchantments.
It’s expensive to produce, and the magic it can hold is weaker.
When it comes to armor, both the surface area for magic circles and the volume to contain mana are critical.
“Is there something in the middle?”
“In the middle? Between heavy and light armor, you mean.”
“I don’t care about the appearance. I want something simple, like the protective gear I’m wearing right now.”
“Protective gear? Are you serious?”
Jo Chul grumbled but moved to one corner of the room.
A spot hidden by other suits of armor.
He pulled out a set of armor.
It was more like reinforced combat gear than actual armor.
The outside was adorned with dark reinforcement plates.
It looked like the body of a soldier packed with muscle.
Completely focused on function rather than aesthetics.
“I like it.”
That was my honest impression.
Jo Chul’s face twisted with obvious displeasure.
“You really want this mass-produced design? I can’t allow that.”
“I like this one.”
“You like this? Ridiculous! Look at this armor! The smooth curves, the luster, doesn’t it stir your soul? This beautiful gleam! The overwhelming presence! This is what armor should be!”
Jo Chul grabbed a nearby suit of armor and began passionately describing it.
It was indeed beautiful.
Partial plate armor.
The key areas were protected by metal, while the joints were covered by woven metal fibers.
Defense, mobility, and mana capacity—it had it all.
Which is why it stood out so much.
No matter how much stealth or feigned death I used, this armor would still draw attention.
I pointed to the reinforced gear, or rather, the protective suit.
“I’ll take this one.”
“That’s ridiculous! That thing doesn’t contain any metal! It can’t be enchanted with Holy Armor!”
The critical difference between armor and protective gear was the material.
Armor is made from metal, while protective gear is primarily made from fibers, with only the inner plates being metal or ceramic.
What I had picked was apparently ceramic.
“I don’t need Holy Armor.”
“Are you insane? Do you have any idea how powerful Holy Armor’s protection is? If you combine it with Radiance, you’ll be a walking fortress!”
Holy Armor with Radiance.
Classic paladin equipment.
If Jo Chul made it, it would probably be SSR-grade, wouldn’t it?
I couldn’t help but feel a little impressed.
‘SSR armor!’
But I couldn’t get greedy. This was a trap.
The trap was Radiance.
For Radiance to function properly, you needed the Holy Power trait.
And once you started using Holy Power, you would inevitably end up pledging yourself to some god.
In my case, that god would be the Old Father.
Because my mana circuits were already engraved with Black Flame.
‘How devious.’
I realized something important.
The Old Father’s Order—and the Saintess—hadn’t given up on me yet.
“Forget Holy Armor. Enchant it with [Mighty Body] and [Endurance] instead.”
“What? [Mighty Body]? [Endurance]? Why would you want that crap? Do you even understand what Holy Armor is? It’s a triple-stacked ability! It’s leagues beyond [Mighty Body] and [Endurance]!”
Jo Chul’s face showed clear displeasure.
But I needed those two traits.
They were the components of higher-tier traits: the strength of a giant and the body of a Vajra.
“I need them more than Holy Armor.”
“Ugh, are you serious? You’re really going to give up on Holy Armor and Radiance?”
“As I said before…”
“Damn it! Fine! Fine, whatever. You’re as stubborn as a bull, like a true warrior. But mark my words, the performance will be way below Holy Armor with Radiance! Don’t come complaining later if it’s not as good. Got it?”
“I’ll remember that.”
Jo Chul let out a long, exasperated sigh.
“Choosing copper scraps over gold… whatever, I’ll do it. The Saintess did say I should follow your wishes. The work will take about a month. Once it’s done, I’ll send it through that greenhorn, Seo Gan.”
With that, he waved his hand dismissively.
A clear signal to leave.
I had no desire to linger any longer around members of the Old Father’s Order either.
I immediately grabbed Seo Woojin and headed outside.
Seo Woojin looked at me like I was crazy.
“Teacher… wasn’t it a waste to pass up Holy Armor?”
“Not even a little.”
“But still…”
“Watch yourself, too. If you get greedy for treasure, you could end up brainwashed and turned into a paladin.”
“Come on, Holy Armor doesn’t brainwash you.”
“Holy Power does. You need Holy Power to use Radiance properly. What do you think will happen if Holy Power gets absorbed into your mana circuits and starts merging with you?”
“You could just use it as armor without letting it merge.”
“Sure, like that’s going to happen. If they ever offer you a Holy Sword, don’t take it. You’re a swordsman anyway. Just use a magic sword or a spirit sword.”
Seo Woojin hesitated.
Seems like I’d hit a nerve.
Apparently, they’d already proposed giving him an Apostle-level Holy Sword.
“Sigh, you’re too naïve.”
“Uh… should I refuse it?”
“Ask for some other compensation or have them open their treasure vault. You should be able to find a decent magic sword in there. But don’t request one made. I can see you getting talked into getting a Holy Sword made.”
Seo Woojin grimaced.
“I guess I’ll just talk to my father and ask for some kind of privilege or reward instead.”
“Good thinking. There are plenty of swords. If you really need a Holy Sword, you can get one from the Gaia Order or the Shiva Order. You could do a few quests for them.”
“But they won’t give you an Apostle-level Holy Sword unless you join.”
“Then joining the Gaia or Shiva Orders would still be better than joining the Old Father’s Order.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
The armor commission was successful.
I didn’t know what grade of protective gear I’d end up with, but it should be good enough for a while.
Vroom!
As we sped away from Jo Chul’s place in the car, I happened to make eye contact with the paladin.
The same one who had exuded displeasure throughout my entire conversation with Jo Chul.
His eyes were hidden behind dark goggles, making it impossible to read his gaze.
But one thing was certain.
The paladin did not view me favorably at all.
“Will you really make it for him?”
The paladin asked Jo Chul outright.
Jo Chul snorted.
“Of course. Are you suggesting I disobey the Saintess’ orders? She said that man is the light of our Order and the savior of the world.”
“I can’t accept that!”
“Whether you accept it or not doesn’t matter. Both of us are nothing but specks on the tendrils of the Old Father. Just do as the Saintess instructed. You’ll be a full-fledged paladin once this mission is over, right? I’m humoring you because of your father, but don’t push it. Right now, you’re not the eldest son of this conglomerate; you’re just an apprentice paladin. Understood?”
The paladin clenched his mouth shut.
His face, hidden inside his sealed helmet, was contorted with frustration.
‘That bastard…’
He couldn’t accept it.
The light? The savior?
How could someone who didn’t even believe in their god bear such a glorious title?
‘There must be a mistake.’
The Old Father was now a being of spirit, his physical body long gone, leaving only his consciousness behind.
He speaks through the Saintess, but his revelations are not always clear.
Most are vague, only occasionally becoming lucid.
‘Yeah, that’s it.’
It had to be a misinterpretation.
There’s no way a heretic like him could be the savior.
Murderous intent bubbled up inside him.
From its root came jealousy and envy, gleaming with malice.
‘A simple greeting should be fine.’
Just a little greeting.
If he really was the savior, he’d surely overcome it.
But if he couldn’t?
If he couldn’t handle it and died on the spot?
‘Then he was never the savior to begin with.’
His rationalization complete, the paladin felt satisfied.
Night had fully fallen, shrouding the sky in heavy darkness with not a single star in sight.
A discreet number flashed across the paladin’s smartphone.
–TL Notes–
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