The sliding door opened at Genevaâs answer, and Su-hyeun went inside the room. âHi. How are you?â
âWhat brought all the way here? Oh, have you eaten?â Geneva asked.
âYes, I already ate. Youâre eating pretty late.â
âI usually do. Please, sit down.â Geneva pointed to the seat opposite of him.
âWould you like some Sikhye, at least? Iâve never had this in my life and had it for the first time when I came to Korea, and I really like this sweet rice punch.â
âI guess you like Korean food.â
âI enjoy eating food from the countries I visit, but I especially prefer Korean food than any other countriesâ food. I would like to stay longer in Korea because of it.â
Geneva smiled at Su-hyeun as if he had forgotten what happened in the previous day. The last time they met, Geneva had been red in his face with anger. But now, he treated Su-hyeun like an old friend. When they were almost finished with their drink, Geneva, who read Su-hyeunâs face, brought up the real topic.
âSo, Mr. Su-hyeun, what brings you here? I thought you didnât want to have business with me.â
âPeople change their minds all the time, donât they?â
At Su-hyeunâs response, Geneva narrowed his eyes. He lifted the empty cup to his lips to hide his distaste.
âSure, they do,â Geneva answered.
âI thought about the conditions you told me last time, and I think they were pretty good.â
âAre you sayingâ?â
âI wasnât really thinking straight at that time. Sure, letâs work together.â
At Su-hyeunâs word, Geneva finally put down the cup and let out a bellow of laughter
The loud laughter filled the room. Su-hyeun wondered if loudness was a characteristic of blacksmiths. Kim Dae-ho didnât laugh often, but when he did once, his voice was super loud.
Geneva laughed for a while and nodded his head. âI am so glad to hear that. Cool. Letâs work together.â
âWhat about the sword you showed meâŠâ
âOh, itâs in the auction house right now. I was planning to submit it for the next auction, but donât worry. For you, Mr. Su-hyeun, I will bring it back.â
âThank you.â
âSo, if you donât mind, could you do me a small favor?â Geneva asked cautiously.
Su-hyeun put down the cup that he was holding on the table and leaned his body forward. âWhat is it?â
âItâs simple. I want you to advertise that sword. I want you to let people film your raid. You know? The scene where you use my sword.â
It was a sure way to promote. It could show not only the fact that the worldâs best awakener was using Genevaâs equipment but also the vivid scene that he performed actively with it.
âWhat do you say?â Geneva asked.
Su-hyeun nodded, smiling. âOf course.â
***
Clangâ! Clangâ! Clangâ!
There was the usual clear sound of metal hitting in Kim Dae-hoâs workshop. Having gone inside the workshop, Su-hyeun waited for Kim Dae-ho to finish his work. For another 10 minutes, Kim Dae-ho struck the armor he had been working on with a hammer and then got up from his seat, putting the armor aside.
âDid you wait long?â
âArenât you tired? You have aged. You should take it easy.â
âHey. I was working on the armor you asked for. What? Do you have another request?â
Kim Dae-ho took a towel and wiped his forehead with it. With the used towels that were piled up on one corner, Su-hyeun could tell how hard Kim Dae-ho had been working.
âItâs easy.â
âYou just told me Iâm old. Why are you trying to take advantage of an old man? What is it?â
âI just want you to put your name on the armor. And if you can, engrave your name on this sword, too.â
Su-hyeun took out the Balmung with the scabbard and handed it to Kim Dae-ho, who, in turn, frowned a little as if he could not understand Su-hyeunâs request.
âMy name? Why the hell do you need it?â
Kim Dae-ho did not like putting someoneâs name on equipment such as weapons and armor, especially his own name because there was no point in doing so. The reason was simple: it was not practical. A name on any equipment did not add to its function or something. Su-hyeun knew this as well. Nonetheless, he insisted.
âStill, please do it for me. You may remove it later, but I need it now.â
âI mean, I can do it, if you need it. ButâŠwhat is that?â
âOh, this?â
When Kim Dae-ho pointed to another sword that Su-hyeun had, Su-hyeun grinned and answered, âI have to use it for something.â
***
âWhere the hell is Son Byeong-cheol? I told him to find information about the dungeon! We should make a briefing soon!â
âWriters! Donât be bothered about the direction. Things will go well anyway. Camera team, you guys are important today! Pay attention!â
âHey! Hey! I thought we would broadcast exclusively!â
âNo, there are other broadcasters, too.â
At the foot of the Heukseongsan Mountain, located in Cheonan, more people were busily working than usual. There were many public broadcasters, as well as famous bloggers and personal broadcasters. They all gathered there for one reason.
âI will shoot Kim Su-hyeunâs raid!â
âThis is a scoop. Even if I shoot it poorly, my ratings will go up by more than 3%.â
âI have to get an image thatâs better than other broadcastersâ.â
âShould I take close-up shots? No, things will move too fast. People usually record from a distanceâŠâ
Up to now, the video raids of awakeners had been released numerous times through broadcasts. Most of them were of famous A-Ranks or S-Ranks. Of course, the level of the dungeons was low enough to allow network staff. People had been recording high-rank awakenersâ orange-colored dungeon raid, but it was different this time.
âA green-colored dungeon raid!â
âMoreover, Kim Su-hyeun will do it alone!â
âThis is a super-exclusive scoop.â
Kim Su-hyeun was the awakener who finished attacking the blue- and indigo-colored dungeons by himself. For him, the green-colored dungeon was just a piece of a cake. Thanks to this, the broadcasters had gotten the opportunity to shoot the raid under Su-hyeunâs protection.
Even so, Su-hyeun was still just an individual, and there were several people from different broadcasts. An accident is possible. However, it seemed like Su-hyeun wanted to prevent any accident that he brought another awakener.
âThen, letâs go now. Do you guys need more time?â
Hak-joon, who was being interviewed on one side, spoke aloud with a weary expression. In response, Su-hyeun immediately began to move.
***
âThis is the inside of the green-colored dungeon. It is a cave-type, and it appears most in number after the forest-typeâŠâ
âKim Su-hyeun is on the move. Next to him is Choi Hak-joon, the youngest S-Rank awakener and one of the members of the Paragon GuildâŠâ
Su-hyeun turned his body and stared at the reporters who were busily talking in front of the cameras.
âStop,â he told the reporters.
The reporters who were following him closely instantly did so. Hak-joon noticed something as well. He pulled out his sword halfway and went forward.
Gyaongâ!
Miru tore apart space next to Su-hyeun and stuck his head out. Some reporters misunderstood Miru as a monster, but some of them noticed that he was Su-hyeunâs divine beast.
âItâs a divine beast!â
âItâs a dragon! It is the same as the one that Song Hyeong-gi has!â
âTake pictures! Take pictures!â
The reports hurriedly took pictures of Miru. Miru was confused with the sudden attention. He tilted his head and looked at Su-hyeun as if he was asking what was going on.
âHey, Miru. Protect them, not hurt them, okay?â
Gyaongâ!
Miru answered loudly as if telling Su-hyeun to trust him.
Whirlâ
A thin translucent layer appeared around the reporters. Surprised, they knocked on the wall, making solid sounds. They realized that it was a barrier to protect them.
âOhâŠâ
âWowâŠâ
While they were marveling about itâŠ
âLâlook up!â
âCamera! Shoot up!â
Kiyaaaaâ!
A scream came through the barrier. The monsters that had shells like crustaceans popped up from above the cave. These monsters were huge; each one was at least three meters in length. They looked like stag beetles with hard shells and claws that looked like deer horns. The reporters took pictures or filmed the monsters and turned their heads to find Su-hyeun.
âWhere is he?â
Su-hyeun had disappeared. They could not find him, so they just continued filming or taking pictures of the insect-type monsters.
Splatterâ
Crack, crackâ
Splatterâ!
The shells of dozens of the insect monsters, which attached themselves to the ceiling, were cut off. Green blood rained down. The startled reporters hurriedly turned their camera angles. Su-hyeun was standing upside down on the ceiling like the bugs did earlier. He shook off the blood on his sword.
âWith just one blowâŠâ
âHe got rid of so many monsters?â
They saw everything with their own eyes, but they found it hard to believe. Just as the startled reporters were recovering to shoot Su-hyeunâs face closely, another scream broke out.
Kiyaaaaaaâ!
âArgh!â
A bug monster popped out from the ground. One reporter was too shocked and fell back, screaming.
Slashâ
But it didnât take a second for the monster that came at the reporter to be cut off in half.
âThere are plenty under the ground, Su-hyeun,â Hak-joon said.
âI know.â
Rumbleâ
The cave began to shake. No, more precisely, the ground under Hak-joon and other reporters shook. The field started to crack little by little and hot steam leaked out from underneath.
Swishâ
Whompâ
Su-hyeun jumped back down from the ceiling. He stomped on the ground a couple of times and said, âThey are gone now.â
***
The raid went pretty fast. The dungeon was not that large after all, and they didnât take a break during the raid. In the course of the continuous raid, the reporters took turns in getting closer to Su-hyeun and Hak-joon to interview them.
âDid you get your equipment from the Tower of Trials? Or do you have any special blacksmith that you prefer?â
âI saw Genevaâs seal on the sword you are using, Mr. Su-hyeun. Do you have any special relationship with him?â
âWhat changed your mind? You never allowed your raids to be shot beforeâŠâ
Su-hyeun was asked questions as they moved, and he answered them thoughtfully one by one. He, of course, answered the questions about Genevaâs equipment.
âThe sword Iâm using is one of Genevaâs top 100 masterpieces. I got it recently, and the name of the sword is Aron. He said it was named after the sword that Lancelot used.â
âWhat would you say about the craftsman Geneva?â One reporter asked.
âI donât judge people easily, but, fortunately, things are different.â
âAre you saying that you judge the items, then?â
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Su-hyeun grinned at the reporterâs question. âI will tell you that with the result.â
It was a very confident answer.
Crackâ
Just as he answered the question, a small sound came from inside of the scabbard, but nobody heard it.