Level Up Monster
Chapter 24
Ten days after the handover of the daggers to the Blacksmith tournament, Sae-Jin maintains a regular lifestyle.
break . In the morning, he practiced Alchemy and Iron Clever Techniques, and in the afternoon, he went to the city center to rest. Although he called it a break, it was nothing more than him walking the streets of the city aimlessly. But that was enough to calm his mind.
And at night, when the number of Hunters and Knights were few and far between, he hunted monsters in the low Mid Tier and Mid Tier hunting grounds. Most of the time, he hunted in his Beast Mode Ebony Wolf Form, but occasionally, he intentionally came out in the Orc Form as well. He did it to grow. Well, the problem is .. he ran into a very difficult wall while doing the Smithing Technique.
[As "Orc Warrior", Violence Level: D and Skill Skill Level: D is the maximum limit that can be achieved. ]
Unfortunately, although – no matter how many Monsters it hunts, the Orc Warrior shows no signs of flourishing.
"Fw…"
Right now, 11am. Sae-Jin puts down the mortar and pestle after making three bottles of potion. He had been grinding potions for so long now, the little hands of the little Goblin were swollen red and all.
The making of potions proved to be a complicated and difficult endeavor. Although he was blessed with Goblin Workmanship skills, his Proficiency Level was still low; and to repeatedly refine the ingredients as well as to augment them to date, to a demanding degree, he said, it takes a lot of mental strength and focus.
[The making of the Element Resistance potion has failed. Skill Skill Levels will be increased. ]
He often experienced failures whenever he tried to concoct difficult potions. Just like the high price suggested, the Element Resistance potion was hard to concoct. This was his fourth attempt today, but he had not succeeded once. Right now, he had completely lost the sharp-fingered tiger fangs powder as it not only doubled as a Mana Stone, but it could also greatly increase the success rate of concocting.
"Help …."
As he tasted defeat again, strength left him in droves. And the dizzy head from inhaling the smoke of the ingredients too late began to attack him as well.
For the sake of resting, Sae-Jin transforms into Human Mode of the Wolf Shape and turns on the TV. Without a doubt, proper rest or play needs to be done in the human body. Of course, just by being inside this stupid cave, the level of enjoyment he got would be reduced by half by – no, maybe even worse than that, but still.
Precisely 10 days ago, a man's body was discovered in one of the Gangwon Province's rental houses . – Exactly 10 days ago, the body of a man was found in one of the rented houses in Gangwon Province. The victim died instantly after his collarbone was twisted, and on his neck, traces of an unidentifiable animal's claw were found. A team of crack detectives investigates the case using that evidence as a starting point, until they announce that they have made a surprising discovery. What was the exact discovery like, can you tell us, Professor Kim?
It was a program related to the current trending news topic. Taking an event that is already happening as a topic of discussion, chat shows let anchors and panels called experts talk about things and pass information on to the viewer. Sae-Jin's ears should be excited from the content of this show, as it is definitely related to what he has done.
Thank you . – Thank you. Yes, the identity of our victim is the identity of a vampire. This fact was revealed by investigators after they tracked down the autopsy quickly. The decision came after hearing strange testimony from the first person to find the body, as well as the discovery of several blood packets inside the victim's refrigerator.
This sparked a heated debate among the public. On the one hand, there are those who argue that Vampires are a sub-species of humans so the perpetrators should be captured and punished, he said, the other side opposes that view by stating that Vampires are the enemy of mankind to be annihilated and thus there is no need to investigate the matter further.
Also, there is an argument as to whether the culprit knew the identity of the victim as a Vampire and thus committed this act or not….
Sae-Jin involuntarily sneers mockingly. Even after suffering at the hands of these damned Vampires, there were still fools who were busy raving about respecting the human rights of these bloodsuckers. No, at this point, he should be suspicious whether the vampire's sleeper cells have infiltrated human society and what not.
Lumps.
That was when, when he thought up to this point, his heart suddenly felt like it was about to explode. An insatiable thirst for murder struck his brain, telling him to track down each of these and slaughter them all.
It was a poisonous and powerful hatred born from the deep-rooted hostility Sae-Jin had carried in her heart combined with the Werewolf's basic instincts.
"… !!"
And it was then that he found himself busy smashing his cave floor with both of his hands turning into Werewolf's. This ... weird. Totally terrified by this ... he quickly assumed the Human Form and flipped the channel . The show, he quickly took Human Form and flipped the channel.
"Fuu."
His heart was somewhat calm by doing that, but his anger towards Vampires would not cool down so easily. Sae-Jin concentrates hard on the TV to calm this simmering anger. Fortunately, his attention was fixed by a very interesting program on the channel he changed.
A total number of 33 workshops and 1308 blacksmiths have entered in this year's 4th Blacksmiths Open Invitational Tournament . – A total of 33 workshops and 1308 blacksmiths have entered the 4th Blacksmith Open Invitational Tournament this year .
He recalled hearing that every step of the selection process by the judges would be televised. And during the Final Round of judging, more than a thousand spectators will participate in finding the winner who has mass market appeal and also, is recognized by professional users.
The previous tournament's Preliminary saw only 100 participants making it through, but this year, 208 people have managed to reach this stage, ensuring that we will be blessed with a fierce competition to determine the eventual winner . – The previous tournament preliminary was only followed by 100 participants, but this year, the, 208 People have made it to this stage, ensuring that we will be blessed with fierce competition to determine the eventual winner. And here, inside the main headquarters of the Dawn Knights Order, 20 items selected from 208 participants are on display. The accomplished Knights will lend us their expert opinions in assessing these items …. Oh, here it is!
Sae-Jin wonders if her dagger is among the showcased and takes a closer look, only to let out a little surprise after seeing the face of one of the Knights there trying to play the role of a judge.
To start off the proceedings, we secured the aid of someone that was very difficult to get a hold of . – To start the process, we get help from someone who is very difficult to reach. Welcome, Knights of the Order of Dawn, Miss Yu Sae-Jung !!
There she is, the girl Sae-Jin saved from the Trolls back then.
Oh... yes, hello to you as well . – Oh .. yes, hello also.
– I heard that last week, you were promoted to the ranks of Mid Tier low. Now that you've become the youngest Low Tier Mid Knight record holder ever in history, how do you feel now?
– …. I am not sure. st Round thing, I would like to concentrate only on judging for now . But since I have agreed to do this first round, I want to concentrate only on scoring for now.
*
The Dawn Knights Order gets its first chance to obtain a single weapon after each round of the scoring process, thanks to being the tournament's biggest sponsor.
st Round, even the armaments rated Low Quality would still be rare . Obviously, since this was only the first round, even Low Quality rated weaponry would still be rare. But it is still possible to identify "good seedlings" from the start. That was why Yu Sae-Jung volunteered and said she wanted to participate in the assessment process. He still hasn't found a weapon that could be called "primary" just yet.
He already had a sword of High Quality rank that no other Mid Tier Knight could think of, but to the granddaughter of the Chairman of the Dawn Corporation, that sword was not satisfactory enough for him and his grandfather.
"Haha. All right, then. Please score these 20 weapons on display here after giving them your opinion, Miss Sae-Jung. The score you give will be combined with the score from the other judges and the winner will be decided from it, so please give it your best !! "
The normal equipment used by the Knights is divided into the rating system [Lowest → Low → Medium → High → Highest] in that order. And at the very top, there are those who go beyond this classification and reach the rank of "Branded Items" or "Freasures." (TL: this is the first time the author clarified one of his ranking systems. Hurrah !! And BTW, Treasure rating is a literal TL of raw. We can probably expect that rankers and other Tiers work on the same classification system.)
So, Low Level Knights would use Low Quality equipment, and low Mid and Mid Tiers would use up to Mid Quality. And the upper Middle Class Knights and above, need at least a High Quality weapon or better. (Of course, this changes slightly depending on the level of the Knight Order.) (TL: this brackets sentence from the author.)
"Will do . "
Yu Sae-Jung walks with heavy footsteps and looks at the weapons arranged in rows. His judgment was very quick and also rather strict. One look, and he gives 2 points, quick glance again, then one point is given this – repeated several times. The maximum points that can be awarded is 10.
"…. Forgive me, but if you can tell us what's on your mind …"
"Oh, my apologies. This is my first time on TV."
He quickly lowered his head, and then pointed at the item he had given him a point, just now.
that get past the Preliminary screening . " "The sword is too soft to use. It's of a lower quality than the lowest that won't even leave a wound on the Skeleton bones. That's why it's only worth one point. I have to wonder how it got past the initial screening. "
"…. Oh …"
Broadcasters don't expect a landslide of praise, obviously. Yu Sae-Jung's fussy personality is already well known throughout the Dawn Knights Order. But he had not expected him to be so cruel with his disappointment …
"Hm. All right, please, continue your evaluation."
However, wouldn't such a character be a match for the audience as well? An ice-cold high school girl with a cute face vomited harsh judgments. The announcer's face regained her happy demeanor and she casually smiled.
"And this axe here, it looks like it will break if I slam it just once. Oh, it's really broken. It was made of steel but, I thought there was a problem with the base material. If not, then .....well, the blacksmithing skill must be terrible. "
"Ha ha ha…"
After that, he continued to pour out more scorn. Yu Sae-Jung never gave a point higher than the number 4. st Round was, at minimum, "better than Lowest Quality" but may she wasn't aware of this little fact, he said, as she continued to slap extremely points to all the equipment she saw . The passing criteria for the 1st Round was, at the very least, "better than the Lowest Quality" but perhaps he was unaware of this small fact, at the very least, "better than the Lowest Quality, because he kept slapping horrible points on all the equipment he saw.
So, his evaluation for the 17 weapons ended in the blink of an eye. th.. when he arrived on the 18th …
Yu Sae-Jung's legs, which continued to move forward, finally stopped. At this strange behavior, the camera hurriedly approached and alternated between his face and the weapon that made him stop.
"Is this different from the others?"
"… Yeah. Different enough. Would it be okay if I touched it?"
"Of course . "
Yu Sae-Jung picks up the weapon, his eyes sparkling brightly. It was an expertly crafted dagger, the reflection from his sharp sword giving off a cold sensation on his spine.
"… And your evaluation?"
The announcer asked, full of hope. Even he, who was not a blacksmith, could see that this dagger was an excellent item as well.
"This is amazing. It is made very beautifully and the blades are really sharp. The carving on the blade itself is also quite complicated .. and the grip feeling is stable and light as well. The most important thing was, it was very easy to infuse it with Mana. In the open market, this dagger would be good enough to get a Low rating, even the Top Low Quality was quite easy.Too bad it was a dagger, but still, a very good product. It's the best among what's on display here. "
Yu Sae-Jung speaks to the announcer after checking this and that dagger for a while.
"Is it possible for me to learn the name of the blacksmith who made this?"
"I heard it's already carved into the bottom of the hilt."
Yu Sae-Jung turned the dagger around and checked the bottom of the handle. There are exactly three English letters engraved there.
'Orc' ?" "… ORK? Is this supposed to be 'Orc' ?"
"The blacksmith has asked to be called an Orc, apparently."
"…. But isn't the spelling supposed to be O, R, and C?"
"Haha ... well, even I don't .. oh, please set the points first."
Yu Sae-Jung gave it 8 points.
"Oh, did you deduct the last 2 points because it was a dagger?"
"Yes, unfortunately."
"Haha, but wouldn't the blacksmith be a little unhappy if you deduct such points?"
The announcer is making a little joke. But Yu Sae-Jung suddenly became very serious and thought for a while, before nodding in agreement and changing his evaluation.
"10 points. It's 10 points."
"…."
The announcer's lips automatically twitched upon seeing Yu Sae-Jung's rather adorable actions, but since she was serious enough about all this, she worked very hard to swallow her smile.
"that 8 points, it's my fault so please edit it."
*
"Ha ha ha…"
Unfortunately for her, Yu Sae-Jung's mistake was not edited, and Kim Sae-Jin was busy laughing.
“I think he's picky and rude, but I think he's got a sweet side too. '
She felt that she was even more cute now that she had heaped praise on the dagger as she completely wet the others.
Now then, next up – we'll chat with Mister Kim Hyuk-Joon, a Mid Tier Knight from the Gaebyuk Knights Order who's been igniting the world of celebrity gossip . – Now, Now, next – we will chat with Mister Kim Hyuk-Joon, Mid Tier Knight of Gaebyuk Knights Order who has sparked the world of celebrity gossip.
Before he realizes it, the tournament coverage has ended; Sae-Jin checks the current time, and stands to leave.
It's 1 o'clock. Time to go to town.
