“How are you gonna prove it to me in a place like this?”
When asked by Kang Jinhyuk, the dwarf picked up his luggage and spoke in a strong voice.
“Follow me.”
“Where are we going though?”
“Come and you’ll see, kid!”
The dwarf’s anger could reach the tip of his hair because Jinhyuk kept calling the Oriharukon, the metal of dreams, a cheap metal.
Jinhyuk followed after the dwarf unwillingly.
They encountered some goblins as they trudged through the labyrinth, but it was no problem at all.
“Get lost you jerks.”
With one hit of the dwarf’s hammer, the goblins were shattered as easily as popping a balloon.
It was Jinhyuk’s first time seeing monsters die in that manner.
“It’s like it’s no big deal for him…”
“Hm? What did you say?”
“N-nothing. I was just talking to myself.
As Jinhyuk was walking behind the dwarf, they discovered an unusual place shortly after.
A huge furnace, anvil, and numerous hammers and equipment that did not fit into the setting of the maze-like labyrinth were seen.
The setting was a stereotypical appearance of a blacksmith’s equipment.
“What’s with that lost expression? Did you fall in love with my house?”
“Y-your house? In this kind of place?”
“It’s pretty annoying when monsters come around sometimes, but it’s a pretty good place to live in especially with the quality ore ‘round here.”
“…You have a very unique standard of living.”
It was a soft way of seeing ‘are you crazy?’, but the dwarf accepted it as a compliment.
“I know right? I think it’s a very creative idea too.”
The dwarf laughed heartily. When he remembered that he was in the middle of making a bet, he coughed and put on a serious face.
He put his luggage on a desk and reached his hand out to Jinhyuk.
“Give me that bat.”
“What are you going to do with it?”
“Oh please! Stop with that ask-y ask asking and just give it to me!”
Jinhyuk handed over his bat while suppressing some insults in his throat. He thought that the dwarf was really f***ing crazy.
“Don’t try something weird and make it useless in the end.”
“You fool! Do you think I’m gonna do this as if I don’t know that the Oriharukon is a precious metal?”
The dwarf picked up the bat and went to a room near the furnace.
Jinhyuk couldn’t enter the room with him because the door closed.
“I thought you’d melt it down because you headed towards the furnace…”
When the dwarf entered the room, he felt relieved because he thought that the dwarf didn’t intend to melt his bat.
However, that moment of relief ended quickly.
There’s no way that the crazy dwarf would use his bat for some ordinary purpose.
Sure enough, brilliant lights began to leak through the door.
“What in the world is he doing with my 250,000 won bat!?”
As the light’s intensity became stronger, his anxiety increased immensely as well.
Kang Jinhyuk couldn’t stand it so he walked towards the door and knocked hard with his fists.
“What are you doing there?!”
“I’m almost done so just sit tight and shut up!”
“No, you have to explain what you’re doing! You’re not changing my bat into another item, are you?!”
Despite Jinhyuk’s loud shouts, he heard no response from the other side.
As the other side kept its silence, Jinhyuk started knocking on the door recklessly.
Bang bang bang!
Soon, the sound of his knocks resonated throughout the blacksmith’s room.
When the door opened, the dwarf took off his glove and it flew right to Jinhyuk’s face.
“Ahk!”
Jinhyuk covered his face after it was hit loudly.
“You’re so impatient! Can’t you wait for just one moment and stop being a f***ing jerk for once!”
“Euuh… If you just explained to me before going into that room, this wouldn’t have happened!”
“What the fuuuuuuuuuuxx! If I told you what I was doing, would you believe me?”
The dwarf shouted roughly and held out the bat.
“Look at this, you bastard!”
Kang Jinhyuk took his bat and observed it.
“Are you sure this one’s my bat? The color turned red.”
“That’s the characteristic of an Oriharukon, bastard! It’s a weak and delicate metal if it’s unprocessed, but it becomes stronger and redder through enchantment.”
“E-enchantment?”
Jinhyuk doubted his own ears.
As far as he knows, when a special effect is used on an item, it is said to be ‘enchanted’.
Enchanted items were very rare and only dropped by superior monsters of A-rank or higher.
Even if it was a normal item, an enchanted item can be sold several times more expensive than a rare item.
He can’t believe that there’s someone who can enchant an item manually.
Jinhyuk’s perception of the dwarf has changed.
He thought that the dwarf was a mentally ill guy, but he turned out to be a great talent!
Jinhyuk held the bat with an excited face.
[Legendary baseball bat]
Rank: Legendary
Explanation: A common aluminum baseball bat reached a legendary status after repeated enchantments.
[Added effects]
Durability, S rank
High instinct
Automatic withdrawal
Jinhyuk jumped in surprise as he checked the item’s information.
The other effects were amazing too, but his attention was focused on the ‘S Durability’
Tens of millions of won was the price of even just a B-rank durability, what more for an S-rank!
“At this rate, it’s going to be worth so much more…!”
His B-rank durability weapon is…
Even selling just this one item, he’d be able to live comfortably for three generations without lifting a finger.
It’s like winning a lottery that turns the tables!
The dwarf proudly spoke to the over-zealous Jinhyuk.
“What’cha think? It’s amazing, isn’t it? On top of that, the enchanted Oriharukon lets you demonstrate more than 300% of your ability!”
“Is that true?”
“Do you think I’m lying?”
Jinhyuk couldn’t shut his wide-open mouth.
He thought that the dwarf was just spouting nonsense about his aluminum, but he really did make a tremendous object out of it.
There’s no reason not to admit defeat when he saw his item.
“It seems like I lost.”
It’s useless now to ask whether the dwarf exchanged his bat for a different item
After checking the item’s information, Jinhyuk confirmed that it was indeed his own bat.
When Kang Jinhyuk admitted to losing the bet, the dwarf let out a big laugh.
“Wahahaha! This newbie bastard finally believed me!”
Jinhyuk expected the dwarf to ask for something given the fact that he won.
However, the dwarf asked for a completely different thing from what he expected.
“So, just don’t mess with things that you don’t know, and just keep that bat safe.”
“W-what?”
Jinhyuk looked at the dwarf with a surprised face.
“You’re saying I can keep this?”
“Why ask such an obvious thing? Don’t tell me you thought that I was goin’ to steal that from you?”
“A-ah, about that….”
Just as the dwarf said, Jinhyuk thought that he would take his bat from him in exchange for losing the bet.
After all, the dwarf referred to the oriharukon as a very valuable item.
But the dwarf had no such thoughts at all.
“Did you think that I was a lowly thief and that I’d steal your bat from you?”
“Then why did you do the enchantment on….”
“Well, you told me to give you proof.”
The dwarves were a greedy race, but this one only touched two items so far.
It was none other than an equipment made by the blacksmith himself, not the one that he owned.
“I’ll gladly take it if you give it to me, but from the looks of it, it seems like you don’t have anything to use except for that weapon.
The dwarf indeed wanted the Oriharukon, but he was considerate of Jinhyuk’s situation.
‘I guess there’s a reason why ‘God’s Metal’ is in the hands of this guy.’
The dwarf thought that way, and put aside any greed within his heart.
“It’s been a while since I’ve enchanted an item, so hurry and get that thing out of this beggar’s face.”
Jinhyuk felt touched by the dwarf’s words.
“Thank you so much, Ahjussi.”
(T/N: Ahjussi is used to refer to a middle-aged looking man.)
All his anger and annoyance from the dwarf’s constant shouting and swearing already disappeared.
He transformed the 250,000 won bat to something worth hundreds of millions of won, so he didn’t mind all the cursing from before.
Jinhyuk wanted to make sure that he wasn’t dreaming so he checked the bat’s information once again.
Aside from S Durability, two other effects were listed.
High Instinct was the ability to detect enemies within a 5-meter radius, while Automatic Withdrawal was the ability of the item to return to its owner when it falls off.
“Uhm, is it impossible to change the target of the Automatic Withdrawal effect?”
The dwarf nodded when Jinhyuk asked the question.
“You’ll get in trouble if that item gets stolen, so I put that effect in for you.”
Upon hearing the dwarf’s response, Jinhyuk made a complicated expression.
He was thankful for it, but it meant that he could never transfer or sell the bat to others.
‘It’s a bit disappointing that I can’t sell it despite its superior stats.’
The disappointed Jinhyuk suddenly remembered something.
“If I bring you another Oriharukon, will you be able to enchant it just like you did with this one?”
“That’s easy enough. But I can’t do it right now.”
“What? Why though?”
“I ran out of materials to do the enchantment.”
That was a very disappointing answer.
There were lots and lots of aluminum outside this dungeon, so he could’ve brought in as much as he could.
“Then can’t we just gather more materials?”
“Hmm… You can get some by searching through this dungeon.”
“Really?”
Jinhyuk had his eyes wide open.
“You’d be able to create more things like this if you had more materials right?”
“T-that’s right. It’s possible if you bring me the right materials.”
The dwarf wondered why Jinhyuk was so excited.
It would make a big difference when the ordinary oriharukon goes through the enchantment process.
He thought that Jinhyuk was just living inside a vague dream, but that was not the case.
Jinhyuk burned with more motivation as he discovered another reason to explore this dungeon.
* * *
Jinhyuk parted ways with the dwarf with the excuse that he had something to do. He then exited through his attic.
He knew that just because he felt tremendous motivation, he can’t just keep going at it without much thought.
For now, he had to prepare thoroughly because he still had little knowledge about the dungeon.
“First, I should sell this goblin corpse and buy a new inventory.”
For him to be able to stay in the labyrinth for an extended period of time, he needed a steady inventory with lots of slots.
“But how am I supposed to sell these?”
It’s impossible to sell it without disclosing the dungeon’s location.
The association’s unreasonable policy prevented other hunters from getting loot, so Jinhyuk was faced with a huge barrier.
“Should I even try the black market…”
There’s an illegally operated market that hosts all sorts of transactions.
To sell the goblin’s corpse without revealing the dungeon’s location, he had no choice but to visit the place which he never thought he would visit.
“Let’s see… I’m sure I received a business card somewhere.”
Jinhyuk grabbed his wallet and found the business card he had received before.
As he saw the business card that contained only a name and a phone number, he recalled what the other person said to him before.
‘One kidney is worth some pocket money. Contact me when you need it.’
Thinking about it again made him realize this blessing.
He can’t believe that he’s about to trade monster corpses with the skills he accumulated from his time in the sales industry.
Just thinking about it gave him goosebumps.
“I’m not even gonna sell my body, so no need to be scared.”
Jinhyuk let out a huge sigh and regained composure.
He then took out his phone and entered the number written on the business card.