Chapter 17
Luck is also created (10)
‘What kind of reward is this?’
After the loyalty increase, the connected quest was cleared, and the reward followed.
What exactly would it be?
I quietly saw the emerging message.
[You have acquired the reward.]
[You have acquired the Little Blacksmith’s Blessing.]
[Passive Skill: Lv 1. Little Blacksmith’s Blessing – When summoning the Little Blacksmith, the stats of engraved items increase by +5%.]
‘Another skill?’
Although the name was different due to the connected quest, the process and reward were similar to the second hidden quest.
But.
‘Little Blacksmith’s Blessing? Engraved items?’
I couldn’t immediately understand the skill description.
It was definitely a beneficial skill for me, but the term “engraved items” was new to me.
Then.
Flash-! Clunk-!
[Additional Reward: You have been granted the Little Blacksmith’s Return Gift.]
As I tilted my head while looking at the skill description, a sudden flash of light appeared, and a large treasure chest materialized in the middle of the room.
It was an unexpected additional reward, but Jejangi explained the chest.
“Huh? This is…?”
“Do you know what it is?”
“Yes! It’s a gift I prepared to give to you when we meet again. Open it quickly!
With Jejangi urging me, I approached the large wooden chest.
Sure enough, it was as described.
[Little Blacksmith’s Return Gift]
[Grade: Unknown]
[Feature: A gift crafted by the Little Blacksmith over a long period, anticipating a reunion with a great being.]
Inside the box seemed to be the items Jejangi had crafted, which I had seen while being possessed.
‘Is this like a returnee gift?’
Usually, games have such events.
When a player who hasn’t played for a long time logs back in, they receive special buffs or items to help them play smoothly.
Jejangi’s gift seemed to be similar.
The gift to the character had become a gift from the character, and although I was closer to a new user than a returning one, it felt similar.
I knelt on one knee before the treasure chest and lifted the lid.
Inside were a black sword and shield.
Unified colors and designs like a set item.
I picked up the sword and shield one by one and checked their stats.
[Little Blacksmith’s Volcanic Sword]
[Grade: Transcendent]
[Effect: Attack Power +135]
[Skill: Lv 1. Eruption]
[Engraving: Little Blacksmith’s Engraving – An item engraved by the Little Blacksmith. It can be used across dimensions. It does not disappear even when the Little Blacksmith is unsummoned.]
[Little Blacksmith’s Volcanic Shield]
[Grade: Transcendent]
[Effect: Defense +80]
[Skill: Lv 1. Lava Deployment]
[Engraving: Little Blacksmith’s Engraving – An item engraved by the Little Blacksmith. It can be used across dimensions. It does not disappear even when the Little Blacksmith is unsummoned.]
‘Transcendent items? And two of them!’
The moment I checked the items, I couldn’t help but be astonished.
The equipment crafted by Jejangi was of the Transcendent grade, one level higher than the rare grade.
Generally, returnee items have slightly lower performance than their actual grade, but even so, the Transcendent grade is not easy to come by.
Transcendent-grade items are those that A-rank hunters usually have one or two of.
“Do you… not like it? Should I make something else?”
Seeing me staring at the items without saying a word, Jejangi seemed to think I didn’t like them.
“No, I like them. Very much.”
I reassured Jejangi by patting his head.
They wasn’t just comforting words, it was sincere.
I felt almost guilty for receiving such great gifts after not logging in for so long due to raising other characters.
Sensing my sincerity, Jejangi smiled brightly and responded.
“Wow, I’m so happy! I’m glad you like them, my lord!”
“Thank you, Jejangi. I’ll use these items well.”
“Really? That would be such an honor!”
“It’s an honor for me to use such good equipment.”
I responded with a smile and said so to Jejangi.
At that moment.
[Your mana is at 10%.]
A message appeared in the air, indicating that my mana was almost depleted.
Although I had brought mana potions, I hadn’t had a chance to use them as I didn’t use [Character Summon] much. Nevertheless, Jejangi’s summon time was quite long.
Perhaps due to the level difference with Taeseng GilgeoI, maintaining Jejangi’s summon consumed much less mana.
‘Fortunately, I now have a character that I can summon without worrying too much about mana.’
Jejangi seemed to know that my mana was almost depleted as well.
“The time to part is approaching.”
“Don’t be too sad. We’ll meet again soon.”
“Really? Thank you, my lord! Summon me anytime!”
“Sure, thanks for preparing the gift. Take a rest.”
Whish-!
[Character: Unsummoning Jejangi.]
After unsummoning Jejangi, I looked at the sword and shield once again.
Unlike with Taeseng GilgeoI, whose items returned to the hire after unsummoning, the items Jejangi crafted remained with me.
Thanks to the ‘engraving’ effect, I could use the hire’s items in reality even after unsummoning Jejangi.
‘If this is the effect of engraving, I wonder if it can be applied to other items as well.’
I carefully stored the sword and shield and started thinking about the next achievement.
‘I’ve gotten really strong again. Next up is reaching level 50, huh?’
Since awakening, I was getting stronger by the day, making clearing quests a joy.
The next achievement would unlock once I reach level 50.
To reach level 50 by tomorrow, I needed to rest now, as fatigue was setting in.
But.
‘I can’t rest just yet.’
I took out my phone and logged into Hayer.
Even though I had grown significantly, enough to shock other hunters, I couldn’t be complacent.
Always taking one step further than what I could do—this principle had made me the best in the game.
And now, the strength of my game character was equivalent to my own physical power.
Even though the blacksmith was an unpopular class, I had to level it to the maximum.
“Let’s push ourselves to the limit, Jejangi.”
I smiled at the sight of Jejangi running around in Hayer.
“Hmm, an F-rank, huh….”
In the Hunter Agency’s Personnel Office, Shin Daehun murmured to himself as he looked at the hunter’s information on the monitor.
F-rank hunter Han Sangwoo.
His gaze was fixed on Han Sangwoo’s hunter certificate image.
The registration date was recent.
Shin Daehun, while examining Han Sangwoo’s hunter certificate, double-clicked a video on his desktop.
Then.
Thud, thud, thud-! Slash-!
Kieeeeeek!!
The video showed Han Sangwoo climbing the wall of a mansion and cutting off the wings of the Hell Gargoyle.
It was footage recorded by the body cam of the 14th Dungeon Team.
The boss monster encountered was a Hell Gargoyle, a C-rank dungeon that overlapped with a D-rank dungeon.
According to the Hunter Agency’s records, the Hell Gargoyle was a tricky monster to deal with, possessing mid-range fireballs, flight capabilities, and the ability to summon minions.
Typically, it would take at least six D-rank hunters or three C-rank hunters to deal with it easily.
Usually, a C-rank hunter’s combat power was roughly equivalent to that of two D-rank hunters, so simply calculating it, Han Sangwoo was at least as strong as a C-rank hunter.
“But he practically handled it alone….”
So, does that mean Han Sangwoo is at least a B-rank? And it hasn’t even been a month since his awakening?
‘That doesn’t make sense. Even SS-rank hunter Choi Daecheon, the head of the Hunter Agency, didn’t grow this fast. I wish there were more data….’
The footage showing Han Sangwoo fighting the Hell Gargoyle was all they had.
The subsequent scenes were obscured by spirits, making it hard to see him fighting the gargoyle.
In the previous fight with the crows, he fought well, but nothing unusual was noticed.
‘Both the blond hunter and Han Sangwoo are complete mysteries.’
The blond hunter who had burst the punching bag in the skill verification room was one thing, but his friend Han Sangwoo was also strangely strong.
Hunters whose strength couldn’t be estimated at all.
To offer them a contract fee for recruitment, their exact strength needed to be known, but they were hiding it, making Shin Daehun deeply troubled.
At that moment, Seo Sangjae, a deputy, approached Shin Daehun, who was deep in thought.
“Sir, we’ve received a support request from the Asin Guild. How should we handle it?”
“Support request? Why from that big guild?”
Asin Guild.
One of the top five guilds in Korea, known for its high standards, even rarely moving for the Hunter Agency’s requests.
Shin Daehun frowned as Seo Sangjae handed him a document.
“It’s for cooperation in clearing the C-rank No. 223 dungeon, nicknamed the Ice Fortress, where casualties occurred recently.”
“Ice Fortress? Is it already time to clear it? Isn’t that a dangerous dungeon?”
“Yes. Ten people have died there in the past year alone. This time, the Asin Guild plans to dispatch one B-rank and two C-ranks. They want us to send similar levels and numbers.”
A dangerous dungeon.
A term used for dungeons where many casualties occur. These dungeons are often cleared in cooperation with skilled large guilds and the Hunter Agency.
If a dungeon isn’t cleared within a month, a dungeon break occurs, so they increase the number of participants to clear it as safely as possible.
After hearing Seo Sangjae’s explanation, Shin Daehun nodded and spoke.
“It’s overkill for a C-rank dungeon, but since it’s a dangerous one, we should go properly. But do we have any teams available?”
“No. All teams are fully scheduled. Only the D-rank and E-rank public hunter teams have a bit of free time.”
“Ugh, this is frustrating….”
Shin Daehun rubbed his temples and sighed.
Recently, the manpower shortage had been getting worse.
There were many places needing public hunters, from dungeon clearing to arresting hunter criminals, but skilled hunters often went to large guilds offering big money or promising mid-sized guilds.
Seo Sangjae was also aware of this situation.
“Should we just tell them we don’t have the personnel and suggest clearing it in three days? From what I’ve checked, one team will be available then. The dungeon break is tight, but we might be able to hold out until then.”
“We can’t hold out until three days. The Ice Fortress could break at any moment.”
“Then we’re out of options…. These days, even C-ranks don’t want to work as mercenaries. If they do, they need to be booked at least a week in advance.”
“Sigh, I’ll look into it. I’ll have to use some connections.”
Shin Daehun stood up, stretching as if preparing for something big, and spoke grandly.
He exaggerated his actions to lighten the grim atmosphere, causing Seo Sangjae to chuckle.
“Heh, do you even have any connections left? The high-rank hunters who were with the Hunter Agency don’t like you because you’re not fun.”
“I do have someone, like a lucky box with unpredictable but amazing results.”
Shin Daehun glanced at the monitor and started typing a message on his phone.
