Chapter 31: 31

Countless items were required to create Balmung . It was impossible to gather all the items needed to make only the shaft now . Balmung was the highest-grade weapon created to capture Fafnir, after sacrificing countless awakeners .

Su-hyeun hailed a taxi and traveled towards Yangpyeong .

It took him an hour’s ride to reach the remote forest . Su-hyeun walked along the forest path, where there were little street lights, and not a single local resident could be seen .

It was 4 PM in the afternoon . Although it was still quite early, it was getting dark in the forest . As he was in the woods and it was winter, it was a given for the sun to start setting early .

Su-hyeun’s footsteps hastened . Soon after, a standalone house with a small yard came into Su-hyeun’s sight .

Clank, clank—

The sound of iron could be heard through the door that was left slightly ajar . He had found the right place .

As he carefully opened the door to the house, Su-hyeun spoke . “Is there anyone in?”

Clank, clank—

The sound of iron did not stop, nor was there any reply . Su-hyeun spoke in a louder voice this time . “Is there anyone in?”

Clank—

The sound of iron stopped momentarily . Su-hyeun stood at the door, waiting . Soon after, a middle-aged man donned in thick cloth walked out from the back of the house .

“What is it? You’re making so much noise!” He had a shaggy beard, burning red face, and questionably raised eyes . It was a face Su-hyeun hadn’t seen for a long while .

Craftsman Kim Dae Ho .

He was famous for his many talents, including iron smelting, weapon creation, and jewelry crafting . He was now holed up in the mountains, after taking a massive interest in ether stones and the awakeners’ weapons .

The weapon, Balmung, that Su-hyeun had was also crafted by him .

Act 5

The year was 2032 .

There were lots of people gathered around him . Amongst them were high-ranking awakeners, and even some amateurs were present as well .

They were all here to just guard one man . It was top secret that this large number of people was called to gather by the edge halfway up the Yangpyeong mountain .

Just for one man . No, they were all here just to guard the one and only item .

Clank, clank—

The sound of iron could still be heard coming from the door . When would that sound stop?

Sung-in pushed the door open and said, “Uncle, it’s me . ”

The sound of iron had continued for quite some time before, but now it stopped immediately, and the owner even came out to greet his visitor .

“You’re here?”

Not knowing how long he had been sitting for, Kim Dae-ho walked out, hitting the back of his waist . He scanned Sung-in from top to bottom and asked, “You seemed to have made some achievement?”

“How did you know about it?”

“It’s all over the news, kiddo . Are you crazy? You’re still so young, yet going to all those dangerous places trying to get yourself killed?”

“Well, it’s my job to do so . ”

“What sane person would be so hardworking and go around looking for all these places? Don’t care about others, but take care of yourself first . ”

“Things never go as how I wish . ” Sung-in laughed lightly . If things had gone his way, he would have already done it .

It was a topic that he hadn’t hoped to talk about . Every time it was the same result, a problem that had no answers to it . Sung-in changed the subject .

“What about the item I asked about the last time?”

“It’s all done now . Here . ”

Kim Dae-ho pulled out the sword that was on his back and passed it to Su-hyeun . As he had it on him so carelessly, Su-hyeun had not realized that it was the exact item that he had asked for .

“This…”

“I named it Balmung . ”

Balmung . It was the name of the sword used by the hero Siegfried .

“What do you think? It’s awesome, right?” As if satisfied with his own creation, Kim Dae-ho grinned so wide that his yellow teeth showed .

Sung-in looked at the sword closely . At that moment, his expression had stiffened .

“What did you add into the sword?” Did he think that Su-hyeun wouldn’t be able to find out?

Kim Dae-ho, who had a smiling face on, shook his head . “Ah, this kid . Can’t you just shut up and take it?”

“Uncle, could you have…”

It wasn’t only the highest-grade ether stone that was put into the sword . There was also the item which Kim Dae-ho had cherished in his whole life, saying that he would make a masterpiece out of it . It was thanks to that item that Balmung was a masterpiece .

But…

“I can’t accept this . ”

He wasn’t happy at all .

“How can I accept this? Uncle, uncle, why did you…”

“Sung-in,” Kim Dae-ho said in an attentive tone that was never heard from his mouth . It made Su-hyeun wonder if such a warm tone could actually be heard from his husky voice .

The flustered Sung-in kept quiet . Strangely enough, Sung-in’s mouth was tightly shut .

“Everyone in the world calls you a hero . You know that, too, right?”

“…Yes . ”

“Don’t live like that . ”

“What?”

“Your expression . Did you know that as you progress, it becomes darker? Why on earth would you go around carrying the people’s expectations, hopes, and everything else?”

“That’s because…” Sung-in could not answer .

It was a question that he could not find an answer to . Although he had thought about it countless times a day, he could only arrive at one conclusion .

It was because he had no other choice .

If it weren’t him, if he hadn’t done it, if he hadn’t existed…

After a long string of assumptions, his body eventually reacted first . And the result was an exhausted body and mind . But it would happen all over again .

“Well, up until now, it was just my grumbles . I know it, too . No matter what I say, you would never step out of your stubbornness,” said Kim Dae-ho .

“…I’m sorry . ”

“You asked earlier, right? Why . ”

“Yes . ”

“Because it’s unfair . ”

Just what about it was unfair?

He needed more details . Sung-in stared blankly at Kim Dae-ho .

Kim Dae-ho took over the sword in Sung-in’s hands once more . He slid the sword back into the sword shaft where the word “Balmung” was engraved on it .

“Everyone in the world has never done anything for you, and yet hope for your assistance . What else is there in this world that’s this selfish?”

“Is that being unfair?”

“Otherwise?”

“But that’s…”

“You’re saying it’s your choice?”

Kim Dae-ho had already known what answer Sung-in was going to give . It was obvious . It was something that Sung-in and Kim Dae-ho had talked about not long ago . Kim Dae-ho hated it the most when people called Sung-in a hero .

“Yes, I know . That it was your choice . ”

Sung-in didn’t respond .

“So that’s why I want to take a stand in this unfair relationship, too . ”

The unbalanced relationship that Kim Dae-ho was referring to had meant the vertical, one-sided relationship of unconditional giving . Kim Dae-ho grinned as he handed over the sword with its shaft engraved with the word “Balmung . ”

“When the whole world is waiting for your assistance, there should at least be someone who could be of help to you . Don’t you agree?”

The craftsman, Kim Dae-ho .

When Su-hyeun first got to know of Kim Dae-ho, it was also at this place . Hearing that Kim Dae-ho had taken an interest in weapons used by awakeners and started making them in 2018, Su-hyeun had thought that he could be found there . A smile naturally crept onto his face . There weren’t many times where he smiled, but when he saw Kim Dae-ho, a smile came to him .

“Uncle, I’m here . ”

It was a place that he often came to whenever he had tough times . But now, Kim Dae-ho could not recall who he was .

He was already well over his sixties . However, Su-hyeun had last remembered Kim Dae-ho to be an elderly man with grey hair and a hunchback . He looked much younger now compared to back then .

Su-hyeun was glad to see him . He clasped his hand and spoke . “Nice to meet you . I’m Kim Su-hyeun . ”

“Kim Su-hyeun? But what brought you here?”

Kim Dae-ho, who was working on his equipment until a while ago, showed an irritated look on his face . What other reasons would there be for him to be holed up in a mountain like this? It was for him to not get disturbed .

But Su-hyeun, who had already accepted his feelings, was undeterred by it .

“I heard that you have been creating weapons for awakeners . ”

“Who said that? Which blabbermouth…”

It looked like he was going to get furious right there and then . He seemed to have thought that someone had exposed his location . Su-hyeun spoke in a calm voice while Kim Dae-ho was jumping around in anger .

“I have a favor to ask of you . ”

“Get lost, kid! I don’t do just any weapon!”

“It’s not just any weapon . ”

“Ah, whatever, I’m not doing it…”

Kim Dae-ho’s eyes widened in surprise . The stone that was the size of a fist was held in Su-hyeun’s hand . He spotted the highest-grade ether stone .

“Could this be…”

“It’s an ether stone . ”

“Is this for real?” He gave a flabbergasted and astonished look also filled with joy and anticipation . It was the exact reaction of the Kim Dae-ho he knew .

When others saw an ether stone, they would have a greedy expression on their faces because they saw it as money, but it was different for Kim Dae-ho .

The greed shown on his face was not materialistic . It was out of curiosity and anticipation . It was the aspiration that had made Ki Dae-ho a craftsman . He was, indeed, a true blue craftsman .

“Yes, it’s the real deal . ”

“I’ve never seen such a huge ether stone . Never…”

“Wouldn’t you recognize it, though?”

Kim Dae-ho nodded slightly at Su-hyeun’s question .

Ever since the ether stones were discovered, he was a craftsman who realized that the ether stones could be used to make items and had continuously made them . He sold items when he had insufficient funds and used those funds to purchase ether stones and other materials . Then he would continue to make equipment and items again . He had dealt with ether stones more than anyone else in the world . Thus, there was no excuse for him to not be able to differentiate between an ordinary stone and an ether stone .

“Where exactly did you get this from?” It finally seemed that he wanted to talk .

“Is the source of it important?”

“Not really . ” Kim Dae-ho grinned widely . It looked as if he was really enjoying it .

His reaction was as expected . The origin of the ether stone was never important to him . What was most important was that an ether stone of this size had appeared in front of him .

“Right . What do you want?”

“I want a sword . ”

“A sword?”

“Yes . I hope you could make me a killer sword . ”

In this era, no one else in this world had better weapon crafting skills than Kim Dae-ho . To Su-hyeun’s knowledge, Kim Dae-ho would still be the only renowned craftsman even in the distant future . It was up to the point where the equipment and items created by him were traded at premium price points in the future .

“If so, you’ve come to the right place . ” Kim Dae-ho kept smiling and spoke with confidence .

“I don’t need any payment . Since you’ve brought such a precious item, it’ll be free . ”

“You’re quite straightforward . ”

“Let’s set up a contract . As for the guarantor…”

“I don’t need it . ”

Su-hyeun shook his head at Kim Dae-ho, who was anxious to get started on the production .

Kim Dae-ho, who was in a hurry to create the contract, stopped and turned his head around .

“What?”

“I don’t need the contact, Uncle . ”