Level Up Monster
Chapter 36
Within a month, the Finale of the much-anticipated Blacksmith Open Invitation Tournament will begin.
– I know that there is not enough time so I even reduce my sleeping hours to concentrate on completing my work.
However, the TV show covering the tournament has been airing for a while now. Once every week, it shows the daily life and workplace of the eleven finalists who have passed the 2nd Round of the tournament.
Of course, since Sae-Jin had to refuse to be filmed, the program could only show the remaining ten participants.
– From the rumors, I heard that Mr. Tae-Sahn, you, have intentionally destroyed the item you prepared for the Tournament Finals?
The person being interviewed on the screen right now is Kim Tae-Sahn, the son of renowned Korean craftsman Kim Tae-Baek. Treated as an uphill star among the Blacksmiths' current crop, he gained a lot of fame for his warm, gentle face as well as an athletic body that matched that nice face. (TL: Oh son. Our writers have made a big mistake here. Previously, he wrote "Kim Soo-Han" as a name for this son/student. I guess he forgot or didn't like the name ..)
– Yes it is true.
– Why did you do it?
– Haha .. as you might expect – because I believe it's not good enough to stand toe-to-toe with the Iron-Savvy, Mr. 'Orcs'. Compared to his extraordinary creation, I felt that my missteps were incomplete and did not have many criteria. I wanted to make something better, even if it was just a little bit, so I chose to get rid of it altogether. I was afraid of compromising my ideals so I had to destroy them completely.
– Oh... That's kind of sorry, I said. I believe the weapon is still a good quality product.
– Haha .. No, that's not true. Well, anyway, please follow me. Let me show you my workspace.
While carrying a gentle and friendly smile, Kim Tae-Sahn leads the interviewer to his workshop.
"… Oh."
The program isn't over yet, but Sae-Jin still turns off the TV and starts thinking hard afterwards.
The man on the screen, Kim Tae-Sahn, he looked very attractive and excited. If it wasn't a tally set up to make himself look good, then he would be a perfect main character filled with great ambition. It's fine getting there. After all, having someone as talented as a guy who thinks of you as a rival certainly makes him feel pretty good about himself.
But the problem lies with the mass media and changing public opinion. Since he couldn't do some sort of interview or allow filming, the Blacksmith 'ORK' couldn't show himself, not even once.
He believed that people would naturally understand and might even find pleasure from his enigmatic actions.
Of course, they did just that, at least at first. But that was until Kim Tae-Sahn's appearance on TV.
Using appearances that even men would find handsome, and with his spirited and humble personality, he was able to capture the public imagination to the fullest.
'There was no doubt that the Orc Blacksmith was the most likely candidate for victory overall. And I am less than. But my goal will always be to win. To surpass him, I will always try my hardest. '
That's what Kim Tae-Sahn calls the slogan, which showcases his public personality brilliantly. Again, no problem here.
The real problem, though, is Kim Tae-Sahn's rapidly increasing fan base. They were busy talking about Kim Tae-Sahn's products and at the same time, mercilessly cut the Orcs. Their reason was that the unknown blacksmith was arrogant, did not know how to be humble and all that.
Even the media is on Kim Tae-Sahn's side. While Kim Tae-Baek's son is quite friendly towards the members of the press, the mystery blacksmith, Orc, seems to show hostility towards them.
And that's the situation, with only a month left until the final. The current atmosphere has reached a point where people think Kim Tae-Sahn is the protagonist while the Orcs, as the name suggests, are the monsters he must defeat.
Kim Tae-Sahn, who works hard to become a better person, whereas Orc, who hasn't even shown his face to anyone until now.
The media and public acknowledged the fact that Orc skills were superior, but they all hoped that Kim Tae-Sahn's hard work would be enough to defeat his opponent and win.
"… Hmph."
However, Sae-Jin has no thoughts of letting this fellow go with an easy victory. The more bad press he gets and the more he gets scolded by Kim Tae-Sahn's fans, both from his stubbornness and unwillingness to lose blazing higher, and now, he's, his greed for victory had become much more severe than before.
'At least, I need something better than High Quality. '
In order to win, he would have to make items that exceeded medium rank, which meant at least weapons with High Quality rank. If he could make Branded Items then he would definitely win so it would be preferred but with his Smithing Technique only at C-, it was still too difficult for him until now.
He thought that he should be at least B + before even trying to make Branded Items.
'… No, wait a minute here. '
No, he's wrong. Actually it's not impossible.
The attributes that could allow a weapon to grow towards the rank of Branded Goods were increasingly used in hunting. Like an idiot, he had already forgotten all that, even though he had already given such attributes before.
[Growth with Absorption]
Attributes where weapons could grow by absorbing the Mana present in the blood and flesh of Monsters.
Of course, this attribute was extremely difficult to give so he would only reach level D or C-but, even though it was only at that level, it was only at that level, most Knights would be completely enraged by the greed of such a weapon for sure.
However, this highly sought after weapon would remain like a cake in the sky for the absolute majority of the Knights out there. After all, it would be no different from a weapon that already had a designated owner.
'The type of weapon that Yu Sae-Jung liked was called Broadsword, right?'
He recalled that his weapon was called 'Lorenzo's Broadsword'. It was a pretty good weapon to add to the name of the maker. Sae-Jin is convinced that she can make something better than that.
'… Let's take this opportunity to give him a new weapon. '
Sae-Jin predicts that, thanks to the first refusal approval, the weapon will end up in the hands of Yu Sae-Jung, so she will have to make it fit for her best from the start.
*
\=\=\=
Title: [The Wolf Guardian]
By: [Slope] (TL: Yes, the author actually wrote this. Smhs)
Have you ever seen the back of a lonely wolf?
The creature that shone brightly, carrying the full moon on its back and climbing the mountain, observed all the other lesser beings with its flaming golden eyes.
Most likely the avatar of our world, symbolizing the purest form of desire, a divinity more fantastic than the miracles of the gods …….
…
…
…
Seeing that it's back to being completely reliable, I want to summon the creature 'The Guardian'.
\=\=\=
It was a certain daydreaming night, with a full moon high in the sky.
The members of the Knight Order ranked 6th in Korea as ranked by the 'Korea Daily' publication, Genesis is currently engaged amid 'adaptive training exercises' at the Mid Tier hunting grounds.
Adaptive training was where Knights would attempt to survive in hunting grounds that were one level higher than them, while under the supervision of senior Knights who had higher ranks. This hunting party currently consisted of three low-ranked Intermediate-ranked Knights and one single Intermediate-ranked Knight, who had previously boasted that he would rise in rank soon.
"But there's a reason for that, isn't there? The Wolf Man that had appeared on the Mid Tier hunting ground had saved countless people countless times. That was why the Hunters who were afraid of entering the hunting ground all changed the tone and said they felt safer now precisely because of this Werewolf. "
There were rumors circulating around the Mid Tier hunt. Werewolves with the rank of Mid Tier above or higher were supposed to roam the Mid Tier hunting grounds and save humans in trouble.
The rumors were classed as total rubbish, but as the number of witnesses and survivors continued to increase, the situation was at a point where even the media were increasingly interested in the story. Of course, the Mid Tier hunting grounds were off limits to media personnel as they were considered too dangerous, but seeing how they conducted interviews with various witnesses, it was clear enough to see their level of interest in these rumors.
"Oh, man ~ Are you talking about that Wolf Guardian? Do you really believe in something like that? As Knights? Besides, as a Knight of the Genesis Order?"
"… No, that's not …"
A male Knight scratched the back of his neck and avoided eye contact with the female Knight. Filled to the brim with pride for being a member of Genesis, the female Knight narrowed her eyes at him with a dissatisfied expression.
"Even if that's true, it's still a monster. And it's our job to kill monsters."
"Some people said it wasn't a Monster, but a Spirit Beast. I mean, the Ebony Wolf that frequently appeared in the lower Tierred hunting grounds has not been seen in a long time, right? So, maybe it has evolved …."
"Hey, excuse me? What kind of nonsense are you saying …"
"Enough . "
When the heavy voice separated the arguments of the two Knights, they quickly lowered their heads at the same time. That's how their in-time war of words ends abruptly by the person in charge.
"What the lowly Mid Tier Knight said, Miss Soh Yeo-Jin was right. Our job is to kill all the monsters. It did not matter whether it was the Guardian Wolf, Vermillion Bird of the South, Black Turtle of the North, or the Azure Dragon of the East. "
Mid Tier Knight, who was about to ascend to the upper Mid Tier soon, also known as the Savior of Light, Kim In-Soo put some weight behind his words as he warned the junior Knights.
"All you have to do is watch how I fight monsters in the Mid Tier hunting grounds, that's all. Witnessing the battle of a Knight who is much bigger than you should be a good learning experience at the end of the day for all of you. "
And as soon as he finished talking and moving his legs …
* SFX for the distant roar of unknown wild beasts *
The ferocious roar of monsters shook the mountain. It really sounds like an unpleasant call to all who hear it.
"Follow me!"
Immediately, Kim In-Soo ran towards the roar.
*
Kim Sae-Jin goes out to hunt at the Mid Tier hunting grounds. It was to obtain something called the Monster section that could improve the results of the Smithing Technique. (TL: the author wrote Monster " ⁇ " here. It literally means a byproduct of Monster. Transformed into "parts".)
The target was a three-horned monster named 'Treynos'. (TL: ⁇ )
Physically resembling a rhinoceros, it not only had three horns on its head but also had three eyes, making it somewhat ugly to look at. Plus, its nature was quite harsh, so it was seen as one of the Monsters that was difficult to fight in the Mid Tier hunting grounds.
After acquiring the ability to read information about weapons, Sae-Jin must read the following words:
[When the 'Treynos' horn was used as an acceleration in the Smithing Technique, the quality and attributes of the finished item could be further improved. ]
… Which made him realize that this Monster horn could greatly increase the efficiency of the Placement Technique.
And now, Sae-Jin can find Treynos without much difficulty.
* SFX for Monster growls *
Surprisingly, the rhinoceros-like monster facing Sae-Jin only growled and remained glued to the spot, unable to charge towards him. Most likely, this creature instinctively felt that the Werewolf standing in front occupied a higher rung on the food chain than himself.
"… Khrrr."
As Sae-Jin returns her own growl, the Monster begins to retreat slowly.
He thought that the creature was trying to run for it. That was why he lowered his guard and casually watched her move. After all, the Werewolf's speed would be much faster than these trying to escape …
* SFX for the loud roar of Monsters *
However, all of a sudden, the Monsters began to charge forward with all their might after roaring furiously. Unfortunately for Sae-Jin, it seems the Monster makes room for himself to push forward and gain a lot of speed in the process.
Sae-Jin panics a little, but she knows there's really no need to dodge here. The Wolf's claws were now at C-, and the hardness was comparable to 'pronium' which was only slightly worse than the famous 'mithril.
He knew that, just one swing of the claws would be enough to turn this rhino into finely sliced pieces of flesh.
He stretched out his claws. Looking sharper than any other weapon there was, they shone under the pale moonlight.
* SFX for thumping footsteps *
And he powerfully swung them at the monsters that were still charging. It was such a powerful attack, the air that was holding back the claw advance was torn apart and as a result, the sky seemed to tremble like the surface of the sea.
* SFX for separate sliced meat *
The belly area of the rhino was sliced open, and the creature finally collapsed before arriving at the Werewolf's feet.
Just as he was about to recover the horn of the fallen Monster …
He felt a sharp aura of Mana on his back.
"…!"
When Sae-Jin turns around, she finds a man with a rather familiar cup standing there.
Kim In-soo's.
It was a slimy man with a personality that was not so good from before. He glared heavily over here with his sword drawn. It was as if he would rush in right then and there.
"… Khrrnnng."
And that's how Kim Sae-Jin and Kim In-Soo meet back in person.
