Chapter 82: Precursor (1)

Chapter 82: Precursor (1)

With a bang! As if a rock had fallen on his head marked by ‘Shock!’, Kim Hyunwoo was perplexed by the dwarf’s expressive reaction and thought to himself.

‘Who is this?’

Kim Hyunwoo looked at the girl in front of him.

The small dwarf, expressing ‘I’m totally shocked’ with a rich expression, fiery red hair, and red eyes looked quite beautiful, even considering the racial trait of being short in stature.

‘Was she one of my heroes?’

He quickly racked his brain.T/his chapter is updated by nov(ê(l)biin.co/m

More precisely, he began to earnestly research, reviving his memory of the blacksmith heroes he had diligently managed in Lartania ten years ago.

But the more he thought about it, the more Kim Hyunwoo found himself in a maze of confusion.

At least in his mind, most of the 4-star blacksmiths in Lartania he had managed were male and human.

Even if a blacksmith had grown over ten years, there were not specifically 2-star or 3-star blacksmiths.

If he could have chosen the heroes directly, there would have been many female blacksmiths, but strangely, in Arteil, he had to use heroes who came in randomly, especially for blacksmiths.

So, as Kim Hyunwoo was diligently researching with all his might, he started to notice the dwarf who was now on the verge of tears.

“Did you forget!? Me?! This River!?”

“Huh?”

Confused by the dwarf’s words, he asked with a puzzled expression.

“...River?”

“Yes! River!”

“...The River who was a 1-star hero but didn’t learn blacksmith skills, only research skills in abundance?”

“Yes, that one! I don’t know what a 1-star hero is, but I always got a lot of advice from a close friend to make amazing things! Do you remember now!?”

At her words, filled with great anticipation, Kim Hyunwoo unwittingly opened his mouth.

It made sense because, by this point, Kim Hyunwoo had realized who the blacksmith in front of him was.

‘...The blacksmith who brought me despair...?’

Ten years ago, when Kim Hyunwoo was enjoying Arteil, he’d always wanted a dwarf blacksmith but didn’t get one until the very end of his gameplay.

The reason was simply that in Arteil, he couldn’t choose and place blacksmith heroes at will.

Of course, there was a method of demolishing and rebuilding the forge to change the heroes that came with each rebuild until he got the hero he wanted, but Kim Hyunwoo didn’t go to such lengths.

No, he couldn’t.

By the time Kim Hyunwoo knew that blacksmiths came randomly, the forge level was already over 4, and for him, who was earnestly enjoying the game, demolishing and rebuilding a Level 4 Forge was too much to bear.

So, he just focused on raising the blacksmiths he had as Lartania grew significantly.

One of the heroes who came when the forge reached Level 10 was the dwarf in front of him, Reneide River, namely her.

For Kim Hyunwoo, Reneide River was a ray of hope that fell onto the forge.

Strangely, in the case of auxiliary heroes, in Arteil, which was heavily biased against races, the chance of a blacksmith reaching 5 stars, or a signature level in game terms, was significantly reduced unless they were a dwarf.

Anyway, he treated the 1-star Reneide River, who appeared in the forge with all of Kim Hyunwoo’s expectations, very well.

With utmost care when feeding.

With utmost care during conversations.

With utmost care when raising affection.

With utmost care even when talking nonsense...!!

He cared for her with all kinds of utmost care.

Kim Hyunwoo really wanted to provide his heroes with the so-called world-class items that other rankers were already making one or two of.

Regrettably, contrary to Kim Hyunwoo’s expectations and his diligent care, Reneide River began to grow in a strange (?) direction.

‘...Why suddenly not learn blacksmith skills and focus on something strange.’

Kim Hyunwoo wished Reneide River would improve her blacksmithing skills.

After all, her talent was considerable, even for a dwarf.

“In the forge of Lartania?”

“Yes, first off, once you become the Guild Master of the Blacksmith Guild, you can’t step down for three years. It’s tradition.”

River, indicating it was a tricky situation, grinned and said,

“But what if my close friend provides the land for the Guild branch?”

“In return, I can work legally in Lartania?”

“Right! Even though I’m the Guild Master of the Blacksmith Guild, I can’t just do everything on my own. Could it work? Now that my close friend is back, I want to work under you...!”

Seeing River speak with her eyes slightly raised, Kim Hyunwoo nodded without much hesitation.

Her proposal wasn’t something Kim Hyunwoo could simply reject; it was rather a matter for which he could prostrate himself in gratitude.

“Really!? Wow! Thank you!!”

Following that, River spoke with a bright smile, and after some detailed discussion,

“See you next time! It might take a bit because I have to procure materials and do this and that, but it won’t take more than a week!”

“Okay. See you then.”

After showing a bright smile to Kim Hyunwoo and exiting the office, closing the door behind her, River let out a big sigh.

“Sigh...”

And then,

“Su-success...! I can go back to my close friend...!”

With her face, now flushed to the ears, full of rosiness, she smiled, making a small fighting pose with her hands.

“......”

Unbeknownst to her, the hero recently known as Snow Spirit was secretly watching her.

Until just a moment ago, Merilda was in a very good mood.

The reason was she found out that by dealing swiftly with notorious criminals, she could return to her Master a bit faster.

Additionally, stomping on criminals and seeing her infamy decrease through an artifact that changes color based on notoriety, which she had obtained recently, further improved her mood.

She felt good because, with each passing day, seeing even a slight lightening of the red color (though still as red as blood) made it seem like the path to returning to her Master was opening up quicker.

Therefore, Merilda was in a good mood even just before discovering a slave trader, saving the slaves, and about to burst the slave trader’s head.

She was, but then...

“......”

Merilda looked at the slave trader’s head that had exploded in front of her.

Upon checking the ledger, the number of humans sold reached a staggering 1,000, and including various beastfolk and elves, over 3,000, making him the scum of scum, whose death seemed to greatly reduce her infamy, yet his head had exploded.

Not by Merilda, but by a sword that shot out at the moment her hand was about to touch him.

“......”

Merilda turned her gaze toward the direction from which the sword had come.

There stood the Absolute Ruler of Darkness.

She was, unmistakably, smirking.

And then,

“Hmm, not bad.”

“What are you doing?”

“I did not specifically seek a fight, unlike some dog that steals others’ belongings at will, I merely took what had no owner.”

Following the words of the Absolute Ruler of Darkness,

“Shall we give it a try, then?”

Merilda responded,

“Let’s see then. Let’s see if you can continue to kill evildoers.”

Along with the Absolute Ruler of Darkness, who was unmistakably dispersing magic power, both figures disappeared simultaneously.