The morning of the Wild Forest raid was bright. Cha Min-woo was among the crowd of people that were gathering in front of the Gate, wearing an armband. He scanned the players and quietly nodded his head. 

“As expected…”

“Huh? What did you say?” His team member asked. Cha Min-woo jutted his chin toward the other players. 

“Look at the players around you. There’s not a single one.”

Most players were no longer considered beginners when they reached around level 25. If you didn’t go around clearing Uncleared Gates like Seo Jun-ho, you needed to clear at least twenty Gates to reach that level.

That also meant you had to have at least ten near-death experiences. None of the people today looked inexperienced

“Well… this Gate only lets in players between levels 20 and 35.”

“The energy is different from the players we’ve seen in our country. Their equipment is good too.”

“We’re on the stage of the world.”

Cha Min-woo was strangely restless as he looked around, as if looking for something. His team members noticed and smiled. 

“You’re looking for player Seo Jun-ho, aren’t you?”

“You’ll hurt your neck.”

“…Leave him alone, he’s excited.”

Watching Seo Jun-ho fight the Cinder Fox had given him a new perspective. 

It’s embarrassing to think about how I’ve always taken the easy, comfortable paths. 

After that day, Cha Min-woo had started to train himself. He wanted to show Seo Jun-ho a better version of himself if they met again. 

“…He’s over there.” Cha Min-woo whispered as he stared to one side. Seo Jun-ho looked much better than last time. “But who is…?” 

Cha Min-woo tilted his head and walked over to Seo Jun-ho. As he got close, Seo Jun-ho blinked as he recognized him. 

“Huh? Are you the one from the Cinder Fox…”

“You remember me. Let me introduce myself again. I’m Cha Min-woo of the Cheong-hae Guild.”

“It’s nice to see you again. I heard that you helped me after the fight, but I never got to thank you.”

“I should be the one thanking you. You saved my life.” The team members standing behind him also bowed. “Did you have a problem? Your armor… I mean.”

“Oh, this…?” Seo Jun-ho laughed bitterly and looked down. The leather armor that Kwon Noya had made him was ripped and messy. I got too greedy. 

Seo Jun-ho let out a small sigh. The idea of going into a Gate to condition himself was good in theory. But he’d gotten too excited. 

…I should’ve only done one. Two Gates was a little too much. 

During those four days, he’d cleared two Gates in the area. Thanks to that, he’d been able to reach level 23 to equip Black Dragon Fang, but his armor had been reduced to rags in the process.

“I warmed up before I came.” 

…What kind of warm-up did he do to ruin his armor? Cha Min-woo doubted him, but he swallowed the question. 

“Are you really going in with that armor? It looks really dangerous.”

“There’s only five minutes left until we go in, so it’s not like I can do anything. It’s fine.”

That was true. Cha Min-woo looked disappointed. He didn’t really have any way to help him.

Vroom!

A motorcycle parked in front of them.

“Mr. Seo Jun-ho, correct?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Please sign here. It’s an express delivery.” After he signed, the driver got off and put down a large carrier and disappeared. Cha Min-woo watched from the side.

“Did you order new armor by any chance?”

“No, I didn’t order anything…” 

Seo Jun-ho tilted his head and picked up the carrier. It’s super heavy. He put it down again and pressed a button on the handle. There was the sound of creaking cogs, and it opened. Inside it was beautiful black armor.

“This is…?” Seo Jun-ho stroked the surface, and his suspicion turned into certainty. 

I’m sure of it. The armor’s made of dragon bones. He picked up the note inside. 

– This is a commission for Association President Shim Deok-gu. The name of the armor is simply ‘Black Armor’. I hope you like it. -Kwon Palmo.

…There’s no way I wouldn’t like it. The armor fit Kwon Noya’s ‘Black Dragon Fang’ perfectly. 

Who would have thought that grandfather and grandson would make such a great set of gear together.

Seo Jun-ho suddenly realized what Kwon Palmo had said at the workshop. He said I’d know soon, and it was this… Deok-gu, that rascal. 

He grinned, far from disappointed. Deok-gu had used the dragon bones Seo Jun-ho had given him to gift him armor. It was an unexpected gift, but the timing was perfect. He needed armor now more than ever. 

“…It’s beautiful,” Cha Min-woo whispered. He was staring at the armor like the soul had left his body. He swallowed.

The quality of this armor is much better than the ones we get from the workshop we have an exclusive contract with. 

Armor made of bones were usually coarse and uncomfortable when you wore them, but the armor in front of him didn’t give him that impression at all. 

Even the joints are delicate. They’re made up of smaller bones. 

The technique would be hard to imitate, even for a skilled craftsman. Cha Min-woo started to get curious. Which master made this? He looked around the carrier, but there wasn’t a single brand logo he recognized. 

However, the word ‘Kwuan*’ was written lightly, as if it was added as an afterthought. 

(TN: This is written in English. I’m keeping the romanization as is.)

“Kwon…?” He read the name without a second thought, but his eyes went wide as he said it out loud. There were countless blacksmiths in the world. But among the Kwon smiths, there were only two people who could make armor with this level of skill. 

“Oh, the Kwon workshop in Andong…!” The clan had been blacksmiths for generations and was world-renowned. That was because it was the family of one of the best blacksmiths in the world: Kwon Noya. As soon as he said that, the faces of the nearby players changed. 

“What? That armor is from the Kwon workshop?”

“No way. I never heard that they made armor for rookies.”

“There must be a mistake.” 

As the people watched, Seo Jun-ho carefully raised the Black Armor. He looked down at the carrier to double-check, but there was only one piece of armor. 

Armor sets usually have one set for the upper body and another set for the lower body… Did he leave out the latter because there wasn’t enough time? Seo Jun-ho was slightly disappointed, but he put it on. 

The armor expanded like a machine, covering him from head to toe. 

“O-oh my god! It’s Spread Armor?!”

“That’s insane… Only ancient artifacts can do that!”

“There aren’t many people who can make Spread Armor…”

“Wait, it says ‘Kwon’ inside the carrier!”

“What? Then… it really was made at the Kwon workshop?”

All around him, people gulped. They were looking at Spread Armor from the Kwon workshop, giving it an instant market value. The players who realized this looked at Seo Jun-ho with envy.

“Hup.” Seo Jun-ho moved his body to test out the armor and smiled. 

I like it. Even if hard, heavy armor had magic attached to make it light, it was still hard to move in. But the armor that Kwon Palmo made didn’t bother his movement in the slightest. 

The options are great too. Seo Jun-ho’s eyes were bright as he finished reading the item info. 

「Black Armor」

Grade: Unique

Stamina +15

∗Lightweight: Magic is attached to make this armor lightweight.

∗Disruption: This armor can block tracking skills (C-rank and lower) aimed at the user.

Equipment Requirements: Level 23, 60 Stamina, 60 Strength. 

It was a bit lacking compared to Kwon Noya’s sword, but the armor was also Unique-grade. It was the best armor he could get at his level. 

And since they’re a set, they’ll be extra efficient. 

Equipment with too little prerequisites usually had limited functions. If it had too many, players wouldn’t be able to use it. But that didn’t apply to these two items. 

This is the perfect synergy that’s created when a player and a talented blacksmith meet. 

The required level of the Black Dragon Fang and Black Armor was low, but the required stats were high. They were made to push Seo Jun-ho to his limits. That’s what happened when he received items from an outstanding blacksmith.

“I didn’t know that the Kwon workshop made deals… I guess that’s the Association for you.”

Cha Min-woo thought that the Kwon workshop had made the armor because of the Association. Seo Jun-ho was an outstanding player, but the Kwon workshop had never done dealings with newbies. 

“The President used his power,” Seo Jun-ho smiled brightly at him and checked the time. 

It was exactly eleven o’clock. It was time to go into the Gate. 

“Excuse me, Mr. Seo Jun-ho,” Cha Min-woo said reluctantly. 

“Speak.”

“Well… is there a party you belong to?”

“Party?” 

In Gates like the Wild Forest, no one went off on their own. The smallest units they went around in were parties. Seo Jun-ho was no different. 

The Party Cap is 200… so there will probably be about a thousand monsters. 

In a Gate like this, he also needed some people to watch his back. It wasn’t impossible for him to go around alone, but it would be inefficient. 

“Not yet.”

“Th-then, would you like to join our party for this Gate?” Cha Min-woo nervously looked back at his teammates. 

The Cheong-hae Guild isn’t a bad option… Actually, it’s good. They were a noble guild with elite members. Seo Jun-ho couldn’t find any reason to refuse and accepted happily. 

“Thank you for asking. Let’s do this.” 

11:02 AM. 

Two hundred players filled the Cap and entered the Wild Forest Gate.