Level Up Monster

Chapter 23

[Smithing Technique has been completed. ]

[Hardness Level: D]

[Successfully overflows special characteristics: "Actitude Level C" ', "Weight Reduction Level: D"]

[Because of the outstanding quality of the finished item, the Skill Proficiency Level has increased from F to D-. ]

"Oww yes .." (TL: the author didn't really say this, but I watched Guardians of the Galaxy before TLing this chapter and Rocket Raccoon was very bad a * s.....)

Kim Sae-Jin in Form Goblin muttered in satisfaction as she stroked the dagger. On the short but sharp and straight blade, an intricate pattern carved by Goblin craft skills worth 10 minutes was visible, and the hilt made of stone was perfectly shaped, as well as light.

In fact, he wanted to create a longer and more destructive weapon like a single-edged or double-edged sword if possible; unfortunately, with the current Mana Pool and Proficiency Level, this dagger was the limit. No matter how much Mana he poured, the Smithing Technique only lasted for 10 minutes, and it proved very difficult to try to make anything more than a dagger with the hands of a Goblin's little donkey over that short period of time.

But contrary to what he felt about the process itself, he really liked this dagger. This could be called a work of art that combined the Orc Demonstration Technique and Goblin Skills. Of course, since he was the one who made it, there was a bit of his own pride mixed in there with the evaluation, but then again, the word "incredible" did appear for the first time in the message window, so …

'But this is the best I can do right now. '

He would rather raise his Skill Proficiency Level higher before sending out an item for the tournament, but the final day of submission was tomorrow, so it was inevitable. st round of judging committees . He decided that, since he would be given another chance to make something new after passing the preliminary round, he diligently raised the Level before the first round of judging began.

Kim Sae-Jin transforms into human form and rises to leave.

*

"Excuse me, can you tell me how I can send this type of weaponry by mail?"

Looking like a suspicious person while hiding a dagger in his pocket, Sae-Jin lingers inside the post office before asking one of the employees behind the counter.

"Eh? Weapon type?"

"Yes. I want to participate in the open invitation blacksmith tournament."

It was as if Sae-Jin was looking at the employee sitting on the chair as she spoke. It was because he was currently in the Ebony Wolf Shape Human Mode, and as a result, he was 189 cm tall.

"A-ha. If that's the case …. It should be here somewhere. Please, wait a minute."

The post office worker ransacked one of the drawers and took out a piece of paper. That's the application form for the tournament.

"You can send the goods after filling out this form. But you're a little late? Most people come to apply on the first day of the application period, you know."

"Oh. Well, I .. it took longer to make mine. I haven't made anything up front like the others."

Sae-Jin sits on an empty chair nearby. Only three things should be written on the form – name, contact details, and address. He left his name a bit blank for now and filled in the rest. As for the most important "name" part, he found it rather burdensome to use his real name, so he wrote down the alias he thought of last night.

"Here, I'm done. How much does it cost?"

"The shipping cost is handled by the Iron Clever Association."

"Oh …"

Sae-Jin nods her head, thanks her and leaves the post office.

The post office he visited was located in downtown Gangwon Province, so as soon as he came out, he was greeted by a crowd of people who came and went. Rather than immediately returning to his cave, Sae-Jin mingles with the crowd and goes for a walk.

He wanted to fully enjoy the partial freedom he finally gained after swimming in misery and despair.

SFX for eyes swiveling* – * SFX for eye twisting *

He could hear the sound of people's eyes moving.

The freedom gained after such a difficult struggle was much sweeter than he could have imagined. Because he has the attractive athletic body and sharp face of an Alpha male, the current Kim Sae-Jin is a very different animal from his past. Unlike before, when he gave up on getting the attention of the opposite sex, all he had to do now was just take a walk and the woman would send a agreeing gaze to him. He even saw someone consciously making a fake cough and flicking his hair back.

In short, it was fun. Really am.

"…?"

Then, out of nowhere. A strange fragrance invaded his nostrils. It was the smell of blood with the faint scent of brass mixed in that felt different from the smell of a human. Sae-Jin turns her head here and there, trying to find the origin of this scent.

And soon, he found her. A normal couple, male and female, outwardly is not at all extraordinary. But the origin of the smell of blood was clearly the two of them.

Sae-Jin slowly moves her legs. Hiding among the crowd, he tailed the couple. He couldn't understand why he was doing this. Only that, he was sure that he would need to follow them. That must be his instinct.

And so, in the midst of trailing them, his vision suddenly widened.

The skill interwoven into his basic instinct, "Wolf Eye", seemed to be activated by itself.

In this world where each color has acquired another level of wealth, Sae-Jin can clearly see it. From the couple, no, rather, a sinister blood aura emerged from the man.

'A .. Vampire. '

The moment he realized this, his sanity wavered. His heart started pounding, and his breathing became short. The killing intent of the wolf beast tried to rear its powerful head, almost causing him to rush out and beat the Vampire's skull into a pulp. But Sae-Jin's humans bear it, albeit barely. No, not yet. Need to wait longer. I have to find the right opportunity to attack …

Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long. The man held the woman's hand and took her to a shabby residential area. To suck his blood, most likely. Seeing this, Sae-Jin also moves her legs.

*

As humans monitor the activities of Vampire species every second, Vampires become very careful when performing blood-sucking rituals. Although it was troublesome, they hypnotized their victims and drank blood in the indoor environment. This has become an unwritten rule for Vampires.

The male vampire, Yu Sang-Hyun, pulled the woman into his house while carrying a satisfied expression. That was because, this beautiful woman under hypnosis would become her own personal blood bank. For 1 year, he sucked his blood periodically until his body quickly withered.

"…Laying . "

As he ordered, he showed no resistance and lay down on the bed. Seeing him wearing only one piece of clothing was quite alluring, to say the least.

He slowly approached the woman and stroked her body. From his toes to his shin, then from his shin to his thigh. Inch by inch, creeping a little. The feeling of a high touch gave Yu Sang-Hyun a deep chill on her waist.

He could no longer resist his will and almost pressed hard, when ….

Knock, knock . – Tap, tap.

There was a sound of someone knocking on the door. For a Vampire who had a superior sense of hearing, this was the absolute worst form of obstruction, just like before. Yu Sang-Hyun's expression tangled into an unsightly mess. (TL: c*ckblock!!)

"…. F *..ck."

Opening his red eyes wide, he uttered the word swear.

Knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock knock – Knock knock knock knock knock knock

The unknown person kept knocking from the other side of the door. The knocking was now becoming more aggressive than before. Enraged by this inopportune obstacle, Yu Sang-Hyun growled furiously and stood up. His eyes, burning with a deep red hue, contained a thick killing intent. (TL: the author says "very angry at bad behavior". Changed at my discretion.)

Knock knock... – Tap the tap …

Before the second knock ended, Sangg-Hyun violently jerked open the door. The original plan was to drag whoever was outside with his neck and tear him apart, limb after limb.

"Basic boy .. Keheuk !!"

But before he could act, the hand of a savage beast shot out and wrapped around his neck first.

Panicking with the sudden attack, Yu Sang Hyun clawed at the beast's arm repeatedly, but he could not even leave a scratch mark on the arm covered in black feathers.

SFX for a door slowly opening* – * SFX to open door slowly *

The half-open door slowly opened, revealing a single man standing there.

It must be human.

It was, only after ignoring the pair of golden eyes that shot a deathly cold gaze and an arm that, without a doubt, belonged to a savage beast.

"Keeeeuk…"

* SFX to break bones *

With a terrifying sound of something spinning, his neck bones broke into pieces.

"…."

Kim Sae-Jin throws away the limp body of the Vampire as if it were trash, and closes the door behind him. He did not have the slightest bit of guilt from taking a life. No, it was more like he stepped on an insect. And if he didn't kill this, the Vampire would have committed the first murder, so he felt completely justified for his actions that had saved humanity.

He turned his head and examined the woman who was still under Vampire hypnosis. Fortunately, it did not seem like there had been any damage done to her, as she was just unconscious, only her clothes were a bit half messy.

There was no other special smell next to the dead Vampire and the woman in this place, so he returned his arm to the human hand. This was one way to use the Beast Mode/Human Mode that he had discovered recently, where he could turn parts of his body into those of a Beast.

Sae-Jin explores the entire house. Whether it was because the house was so shabby, he could not see any CCTV cameras inside or outside.

"He'll probably call the police later. '

Satisfied, Sae-Jin looks at the unconscious woman one last time, and walks out of the house.

And exactly 3 hours later. Waking up from hypnosis, the woman screamed at the top of her lungs before calling the police.

*****

Located in front of Seoul City Hall, is the Iron-Savvy Association. Inside this simple-looking three-story building, people were busy sifting through all the war supplies handed over for the open invitation tournament.

"I wonder, will there be anything interesting this time? The best items we got from the last tournament are only ranked around the Mid Quality level."

The Supreme Knight of the Raven Order, Kim Yu-Rin, asked while observing the process of sorting. The Association Chief standing next to him nodded meaningfully.

"It should be okay to expect something good this time. First, the workshops in the Busan and Gwangju areas participated en masse, and the direct disciple of Master Kim Tae-Baek also sent in his work, saying he wanted to enter as well. Perhaps, it is too much to expect a Branded Product but, just maybe we can find some High Quality Goods. "

"Oh, is that true?"

The master craftsmen are rather specialized in choosing their students. Some masters don't even bother to have one, and others won't have at most 1 or 2. The government pleaded with these masters with the promise of a greater level of support if they even showed a slight sign of raising a disciple or two, but stubbornly they knew no bounds.

"of course. We've let them get through the Introduction. I'll introduce you to them later."

"A direct disciple of the stubborn Mr. Kim Tae-Baek …. Maybe, is that the person I think is him?"

"Md. Your mind is on the money. The hot-headed old man would never accept a disciple, unless it was his own blood and flesh, right? 19-year-old flesh and blood, that's."

Kim Yu-Rin peeked a smile at the Chairman's dissatisfied voice.

"But didn't he leave the first one, saying he had no talent? I heard he was the last born – his talent must have been amazing." (TL: the gender of the student was not revealed rawly this time. Will continue with "he" until the author clears it.)

"That's true too. Shipped with a sword but, well, it's a little good."

As the two of them conversed, the final day of surrender finally ended inexorably.

"This is the last one!"

And finally . One of the employees shouted as he lifted the metal box.

"Can I see it too?"

"No problem. But it would be better not to expect much. Since the products sent from all the famous workshops had already passed through, it was probably something not too impressive."

"Yes, I'm conscious too. But still, it's the last one, so I want to be there."

"Good . "

The chairman smiled generously and nodded.

"Hey, you're there! Waitaminute! Miss Yu-Rin wants to see it too!" (TL: Uhm, the author, for some reason, wrote a line like this: "Darling, better wait a minute!" I was like, wut)

"Eh, huh? Oh, yeah, of course!"

The employee held his hand from opening the box and quickly sat up straight.

And people started to gather around the table with boxes on it. Not because employees were interested in seeing weapons of potentially low quality, but clearly, being around the presence of the beautiful and insane Knight Kim Yu-Rin.

"Should I open it?"

"Yes. Please."

After Yu-Rin spoke, the employee carefully opened the box.

At that moment the box was open. The light from the light bulb was reflected by the blade and pierced the employee's eyes.

"Geek !!"

Ignoring the busy employee rubbing his eyes, Kim Yu-Rin and the Chairman look into the box.

"…. Huh uh?"

A stunned gasp came out from between Kim Yu-Rin's lips. The only reason why he wanted to see this item was because it was the last one handed over to the tournament and thus had some sort of ceremonial meaning. In other words, he also did not have high expectations either.

However..in this box there was an unexpectedly good item. From the outside, it could be referred to as an ornamental dagger thanks to all the intricate carvings, but the sharp aura of Mana infused into the short blade was just outside the norm.

The cold gray blade seemed sharp enough to slice through anything that came into contact with it; the beautiful patterns on the surface and the smooth, clean hilt raised the flames of greed within him, want to have this dagger.

"…."

Yu-Rin confusedly reached out and grabbed the handle. It didn't feel foreign at all, and he could hold it comfortably, as if it was part of his own body. This familiarity shows that these daggers are carefully designed taking into account the physiology of the user.

"…. Looks like, we might have another good product on our hands."

The chief, also confused like Yu-Rin, muttered while admiring the dagger.

"Oi, what's the name of the participant?"

Hearing the words of the Chairman, one of the employees, who was also stunned speechless by the dagger, hurriedly got up and took out the application form inside the box.

"…. What'sthat?"

"… Why? Is something wrong?"

Orc in the shortened form . " "Ah, no, that's .. the name is a bit strange, sir. That's Forc Orc – and the sender wants to be called Orc in short form."

Hearing this monstrous name, the Chief's eyebrows narrowed. Although they approved the use of aliases as well as anonymity for this competition, but to use the name Monster ….

"It's definitely a hot trend right now, using the names of Monsters on their products. I mean, there are Goblin Alchemists and others."

Kim Yu-Rin smiled brightly as if finding this pleasant surprise.

"And .. well, since the Orcs are known to make good weapons, I think that's a fitting name. Sorry, Mr Chairman?"

"Mmm?"

Orcs for me? What he wrote does sound a bit strange. . but I really like this weapon . If I build a personal connection with this person, I think he'll make me an excellent weapon later on . " (TL: The 2nd sentence in this paragraph confirmed me greatly as well . I tried to make sense of it and this did not try to do a literal TL of the line . ) "Rather than Master Tae-Baek's student, can you arrange a meeting with Mr. Orc for me? What he wrote sounded a little strange .. but I really like this weapon. If I build a personal relationship with this guy, I think he'll make me a very good weapon later. "(TL: The 2nd sentence in this paragraph is also very confusing to me. I try to understand it and thus do not try to do a literal TL of the line.)

Hearing his request, the Chairman scratched the back of his head but in the end, nodded his head as if he could not help it.

"If that's what you want .. I'll try my best. But before that, we should test this dagger first. It was possible that a craftsman or master could play around here after deliberately lowering the quality of their work."

"Yes, of course. All right, thank you for your help, Mr. Chairman."