From Today, I'm a Player

Chapter 19: Preparation Pt. 2

The reason why Lee Jun-Kyeong had thought it would have been difficult to convince Park Jae-Hyun wasn’t just because the Dvergr was slightly eccentric. The stories about Park Jae-Hyun and the other heroes of the time were high-quality information that wasn’t easily accessible, but he had access to them through the book that had been passed down to him. However, the problem stemmed from the fact that his information had come solely from the book.

‘You can only put so much content into a thin book.’

It wasn’t as if the book was as thick as an encyclopedia; it was just a little thicker than a typical . While a lot of content was contained within it, it wasn’t as if Lee Jun-Kyeong had been able to memorize it word for word either. The content regarding Park Jae-Hyun was quite sparse.

‘The Demon King had persuaded Park Jae-Hyun.’

There were two blacksmiths, the eccentric Park Jae-Hyun and another, who were already famous by the time the Demon King had risen in fame. They were so renowned that they did not need to provide equipment to the Demon King. Since the Demon King needed their help, he exerted great effort to convince them.

‘But I don’t know how he did it.’

The process wasn’t mentioned in detail in the book. Therefore, although Lee Jun-Kyeong had prepared as much as possible with the information he knew about Park Jae-Hyun, he wasn’t confident in obtaining results.

‘To think he would say he needed a better fire.’

Still, he wondered to himself why he couldn’t think of something that simple.

‘The most important thing a smith needs is a good fire.’

Lee Jun-Kyeong had prepared some of the things of the future that the blacksmiths would like, but it seemed he wouldn’t need to use them immediately. If anything, it seemed as though he would be able to use them in a more meaningful way.

Because all Park Jae-Hyun wanted currently was simply a fire that he approved of.

“You want to make a fire?”

By this point, Lee Jun-Kyeong was sure of the reason why the Demon King didn’t make a big deal about convincing Park Jae-Hyun and the other blacksmith…

‘Because all he needed was his fire.’

It was a power possessed by the Demon King and the ability that Lee Jun-Kyeong had now.

“What do you know about abilities that can control fire?” said Lee Jun-Kyeong, the smirk on his lips as lively as the fire in the smithy.

“Are you trying to show me that you can control fire with that little dancing spark in your palm? You’re funny,” Park Jae-Hyun said as he snorted and stretched out his palm. “As long as someone has intimacy with fire… even a blacksmith like me can do that much…”

Flicker.

“Huh?” Astonishment appeared on the Dvergr’s face

The flickering flames within the smithy suddenly shifted. Park Jae-Hyun was a natural blacksmith; there was no way for him not to know the temperature of the burning flames within his furnace.

Flicker.

It shifted again.

“How…?”

Park Jae-Hyun turned around, his eyes staring at the same spot as Lee Jun-Kyeong.

Roar.

Blue flames completely filled the furnace.

“I have the power to control flames. It’s not that I can just manipulate it. This is true…” Lee Jun-Kyeong laughed again. "Domination."

***

It was impossible to separate Hunters from their equipment as they were synonymous with each other. Their equipment were essential tools for survival and hunting. Of course, while some unique clans hunted monsters without any equipment, they were, as their description entailed, very unique amongst themselves.

For most Hunters, their equipment was precious, equal in importance to their own lives. That was why famous Hunters would put so much on the line to obtain better equipment. While Sponsors would also occasionally give equipment to Hunters as a gift, it almost never happened.

‘Getting equipment is rarer than getting a summon opportunity for Familiar Summons.’

Maybe it was because it could be a big risk for Sponsors to give physical objects directly, but it was a type of sponsorship that didn’t happen frequently. Naturally, the equipment obtained this way had overpowered effects and abilities, but there were very few idiots who would wait forever for sponsored equipment.

The same applied to hunting monsters to obtain items. Items dropped by monsters could be pretty useful, but there were cases where the items weren’t suitable for human use, even going so far as to lower the user's ability. Finding good items through hunting was just as difficult as being gifted an item through sponsorship.

That was why blacksmiths were so important. They were Hunters who could make equipment for other Hunters, and the quality of the weapons they made was uniform and powerful. Hunters frantically sought after great blacksmiths, and Park Jae-Hyun could be said to be the best among the blacksmiths, even if he hadn’t awakened all of his potential yet.

'Damn.’

Lee Jun-Kyeong thought the other man looked cool even though he was basically an eccentric boy with a hammer. He hadn’t asked how old the Dvergr was, but he knew the blacksmith was older than him. However, it wasn’t a pleasant experience to be continuously insulted by someone who still looked like a little boy.

‘It would have been nice to have the other blacksmith here…’

Park Jae-Hyun had not become famous alone. There had been another blacksmith that always stayed with him. However, at this point, they most likely weren’t all that close just yet. Unfortunately, he most likely could have gotten a more impressive and sturdy item if that person was here…

‘I’m not going to be using this weapon till the end anyway.’

Lee Jun-Kyeong already had something he had been considering. He would have to end up using it in the future anyway, which was something that even the Demon King wasn’t able to obtain. Since he had decided to acquire it, any other weapon would be a temporary placeholder. In fact, it didn’t matter how excellent a blacksmith Park Jae-Hyun was as any weapon he made would still be put away in the future.

Nevertheless…

“Amazing,” said Lee Jun-Kyeong eventually. Park Jae-Hyun made him work for three days to find the fire he had wanted. It had been such a difficult task that his Authority level had also risen.

[Reign of Fire Lv 3]

Blaze!

Park Jae-Hyun was staring at the flame that was the end result of their efforts together. He started working immediately while expressing his immense joy by working continuously for three days. Consequently, Lee Jun-Kyeong had been unable to leave the smithy for six days.

The Dvergr suddenly screamed, “The fire is going out! You idiot!”

He was unable to leave because of that, so it was obvious he couldn’t even go hunting, either.

‘Damn it.’

As it was a fire created through Reign of Fire, it would lose its strength over time. Therefore, when the fire began to dim, he had to rekindle it. He silently regretted that he had felt Park Jae-Hyun was cool for even a minute.

Lee Jun-Kyong muttered, “I’m going to beat the shit out of him. I’m definitely going to beat the shit out of him.”

Park Jae-Hyun then yelled, “Shut up!”

Lee Jun-Kyeong decided that he had to get a weapon first before he made any rash moves.

***

"Damn it. If only that punk were here too..." Park Jae-Hyun mumbled as if he was dissatisfied. However, it was as if Lee Jun-Kyeong couldn’t hear a single word. His full attention had been taken up by one thing.

‘This is insane.’

The only thing he could see was the spear held in his hand.

Park Jae-Hyun nodded. “Well, it’s a relief that it’s to your liking… I can’t craft the shield you mentioned earlier. Like I had said before… It’s not something that can be crafted alone.”

“...”

Although Lee Jun-Kyeong didn’t answer, Park Jae-Hyun continued to speak, “I still paid a lot of attention to ‘that thing’ you wanted specifically for the spear. Though there aren’t any other abilities… it’s as you had wanted.”

Flicker.

The flames were dancing, suddenly shifting towards the spear in Lee Jun-Kyeong’s hand. The embers spreading out from the brazier permeated the air as the weapon began spurting bouts of flames.

Park Jae-Hyun commented, “I tried my best to match the level of the fire with my skills. Considering the materials you had… While I hate to admit it, that’s the limit of my abilities.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong extinguished the flames on the spear and looked at the smith. To think that the other man was saying that this was his limit. Although he had never had a chance to see something like this in the past, he could still tell at a glance that this was a masterpiece for something at this level. It was a luxury item to the point that anyone would be jealous. A blue window appeared in front of Lee Jun-Kyeong’s eyes, showing the details of the spear he was currently holding.

[Muspel's Spear]

As he read through the blue window, his smile widened.

[Unique]

The fact that it was a unique grade meant a lot. The weapons that occasionally would appear in dungeons were generally rated normal or rare. Even the weapons made by the currently famous blacksmith Hunters were only rare or, at best, super rare. Unique grade was above all of those.

‘This is enough to be compared to the sponsored items from the Sponsors.’

Even if someone wanted to be picky, they would have no choice but to be satisfied by this weapon. How many Hunters could have unique-graded weapons at this point? Likely no more than the fingers on one hand. Furthermore, the description written under the grade was even more impressive.

[Increases the power of Reign of Fire.]

[Increases Fire Resistance by 30%.]

The most impressive thing was...

[The weapon will grow as it is exposed to fire.]

…it was a growth-type weapon.

Lee Jun-Kyeong had lived in the distant future, but even he knew of very few growth-type weapons. It was to the point that even the Twelve Heroes didn’t have very many of them. But in front of him, on the last line, was a description that cemented the fact that it was a growth-type weapon.

[Lv 1]

He couldn't believe it. From this point on, Muspel’s Spear would grow with him. As he grew stronger, its ability to grow stronger would further increase his power. It was amazing, to the point where he was dumbfounded.

He felt as though he wouldn’t have to find another weapon until he had found the one he had planned on. Or maybe this spear might be able to overcome that weapon as well. He couldn’t be sure as of yet, as regardless of whether he would use it or not, he would have to get it anyway.

"It's not finished yet," Park Jae-Hyun remarked.

“Wait, what?” Lee Jun-Kyeong found that last comment so absurd that he forgot to speak politely. However, Park Jae-Hyun didn’t seem to care about that.

The smith merely said, “Come back later. That person isn’t here either, nor do I have the materials, nor is your ability up to par… That weapon is at a lower level because it matches the level of fire you can produce. Don’t come too often… but if you come from time to time, I’ll strengthen your weapon.”

“Here.” Lee Jun-Kyeong took out the things he had prepared. They were the materials he had prepared to convince Park Jae-Hyun, but he hadn’t needed to bring them out during the previous six days.

Park Jae-Hyun sputtered, “What… What are these things?”

Living up to his name as the best of the blacksmiths, the Dvergr had immediately recognized the materials.

“Not only did you bring materials that could make stronger flames… but even different materials to synthesize several types of different metals… this is making me crazy. What in the hell are you? To think making the fire that I had wanted wasn’t enough for you…” Park Jae-Hyun was inspecting the materials he had received and then looked over at Lee Jun-Kyeong with a gaze completely filled with skepticism and suspicion.

“Please take care of me from this point on.”

This was the day that Lee Jun-Kyeong had become close with the blacksmith, Park Jae-Hyun, who would make the world cry in the future.

“Good,” responded Park Jae-Hyun with a smile full of sincerity. As Lee Jun-Kyeong turned around and was about to leave, completely satisfied without any complaints, he heard a chirping voice, "Don't forget to pay."

***

‘That bracelet on your wrist… While I can’t tell for sure, it gives me an ominous feeling.’

Right before he left the smith’s workshop, Park Jae-Hyun had said something that bothered him. The smith had referred to the bracelet that had been summoned at the first Familiar Summon chance gifted by <The Sky of the Apocalypse>. Its use was still unclear, but Park Jae-Hyun seemed to have felt something from it since it was in the form of a piece of equipment.

‘The way to use it seems really shitty.’

Unfortunately, that was all the smith had to say on the matter, but Lee Jun-Kyeong understood what he was saying. From what the smith was insinuating, he now knew that his guess on how to use the bracelet was likely right.

"It most likely is going to be shitty," he said aloud.

The Demon King had once said that <The Sky of the Apocalypse> was not a normal Sponsor by any means. He had said that if it had been a human…

‘That he would have killed him without any hesitation.’

As he was thinking, Lee Jun-Kyeong suddenly heard a voice boom out in a terrifying manner.

[<The Sky of the Apocalypse> is watching you.]

He wondered if he had just imagined the sound of laughter. Lee Jun-Kyeong soon shook his head and focused on the red spear in his hand. He had been able to obtain much more than what he had initially expected. Of course, the price had been comparably larger than expected, but it was cheap when compared to the weapon he had received. He had been thinking about moving to a new place, but most likely, he would have to delay it a bit.

‘The final thing to prepare…’

He had three things to prepare before going to the Gate Mobilization with the Northern Army Guild. The first was growth, the second was equipment, and the third was the bracelet in question, the familiar that had been summoned, the Skull that Contains Souls. He thought his success rate would increase even further if the familiar could be used.

However, the method to use it wasn’t clear yet, and even if it was, it was something that needed consideration. For now, he knew it was sufficient to focus on preparing two of the three things he originally had planned. He still had some growth potential remaining, and the weapon he had procured had a better performance than he had been expecting. Most likely, he would have a fairly high chance of winning in the fight that would take place soon.

‘It would have been great if Jeong In-Chang was definitely on my side, but…’

Getting the deputy guild leader to definitively be on his side looked difficult for now, but he was sure that it wouldn’t take much longer. Even at this very moment, that man was suffering as he saw his guild decay.

It had been a satisfying week for Lee Jun-Kyeong. Now, there were a little more than two weeks left until the Gate Mobilization. Until then, without even taking time to sleep, Lee Jun-Keyong threw himself at the gates.

“We hunt.”