WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Occult World’s Coveted Blacksmith ◈

Chapter 23: Please Fix My Sword!

──────

"..."

What was everyone doing, just standing there?

I held out the dagger I was holding toward Jin Mu-yeong, who was sitting on the floor.

"Here. Your dagger."

"...Huh? Oh."

Jin Mu-yeong absentmindedly took his dagger.

He stared blankly at the blue circuit engraved on its blade before looking back up at me.

His face was still completely dazed.

"H-How in the world did you do this?!"

That was when Yoo Seon-woo, who had finally come to his senses, staggered over to me.

The same man who had been acting so smug earlier, asking what someone who only hammered metal could possibly know.

Now, with all the color drained from his face, he pressed right up to me and asked.

'...Is he seriously asking because he doesn't know?'

It wasn't anything special.

The circuit... no.

Wasn't that why they had called in an artisan in the first place? To look at the Spell Formula and ask for it to be fixed?

'...Though this guy did seem like he didn't know much.'

Ji-an had been right after all.

She'd said that even among people from the Four Great Houses, there were those who talked a good game but didn't actually know much about Spell Formulas.

It sounded like she'd been talking about him.

I answered casually.

"...I only read the Spell Formula."

"W-What did you say?!"

Yoo Seon-woo's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

* * *

He only read the Spell Formula?

Yoo Seon-woo doubted his own ears.

That greenhorn was calmly saying something utterly absurd.

'...He read the Spell Formula in a painting?'

With trembling eyes, he turned back toward the sunflower painting hanging on the wall.

It wasn't as though he didn't know a Spell Formula had been etched into that painting.

He was a Spell Painter of House Jujak.

He knew better than anyone that a painting contained paths of Spiritual Power, formed as pigment, shape, and the artist's Imprinted Intent accumulated layer upon layer.

But that was the problem.

It couldn't be read.

If it had been a conventional inscription carved into metal or another Spell Artifact, that would have been one thing.

A painting's Spell Formula wasn't something deliberately drawn into it from the start.

Once the brush completed the image, it was closer to something that naturally grew from the finished work, twisting and tangling like vines.

Each strand inevitably coiled and tangled as it pleased.

Analyzing and reading it logically was considered nearly impossible even among Spell Painters.

Yoo Seon-woo himself was proof of that.

Even when he had seen Master Cheongram's genuine work right in front of him earlier, all he could do was admire the sunflower, its signature symbol, for its effect of attracting wealth and the master's brushwork.

He hadn't even been able to guess how the Spell Formula within it flowed to create that effect.

And yet...

This young blacksmith had stood in the middle of that rampaging illusion.

He had read the flow of that impossibly complex Spell Formula in an instant.

He had pinpointed its core precisely.

Then he had thrown a dagger into it and shattered the entire illusion.

"H-How is this...?"

A dumbfounded sound escaped Yoo Seon-woo's lips.

Only then did a terrible thought cross his mind.

The overwhelming feats of that Tianshan Sect artisan, which he had only heard about through rumors...

Perhaps they weren't exaggerated nonsense.

'...No way.'

Yoo Seon-woo hurriedly shook his head.

'N-No, that can't be...'

He must have just gotten lucky and struck a vital point.

Yes. It had to be that.

Even he, a Spell Painter of House Jujak, hadn't been able to touch Master Cheongram's Spell Formula.

There was no way some mere blacksmith could have read it in an instant.

...There couldn't be.

* * *

'That's what I've been saying. I read the circuit.'

Do-hyeon gave him an indifferent glance.

Yoo Seon-woo was staring at the painting with an empty look, wearing a stupid expression.

He'd said it was his first time getting trapped inside a painting. He must have been pretty shaken up.

Not particularly interested, Do-hyeon turned his attention back to the sunflower painting on the wall.

As if nothing had happened, the sunflowers in the painting were quietly blooming where they belonged.

He poured Spiritual Power into it and examined it closely.

'...Hmm.'

The circuit that had been going wild earlier was now quiet, like any ordinary painting.

'Was it called Vengeful Spirit Transfer?'

If what the butler had said was true, this painting might not have been the real host either.

Most of the objects in this repository were Spell Artifacts infused with Spiritual Power.

They were items designed to contain and circulate energy in the first place.

There was a strong chance that a vicious Cursed spirit had temporarily inhabited one, run rampant to its heart's content, then hidden elsewhere once the situation turned against it.

Of course, it was also possible that everything had begun with this painting.

For now, though, it looked completely ordinary.

Either way, it was too early to be certain.

'More importantly, I'm worried about the butler.'

Do-hyeon turned to look at the butler.

Leaning against the wall, the butler was sweating coldly with a startled expression.

Thankfully, the butler hadn't collapsed like the chef had.

'...That's a relief, at least.'

* * *

That was where their tour of the repository came to an end.

The butler said everyone must be tired and led them to their respective rooms to rest.

"Phew."

As soon as Do-hyeon returned to his room, he tore open a pouch of herbal medicine and poured it into his mouth.

"Ugh."

Cold herbal medicine seemed twice as disgusting as warm herbal medicine.

'...I tried to keep it under control, but I guess it was fine.'

The Spiritual Power he had released while breaking the illusion earlier bothered him a little.

The butler had seemed like an ordinary person, with barely any Spiritual Power to speak of.

Nor did the butler seem to be hiding it with a Suppression Talisman like the people Do-hyeon had seen at the party.

People who concealed their Spiritual Power with Suppression Talismans still gave off a faint, heat-haze-like trace.

Hmm. Good.

Do-hyeon lightly tapped the Suppression Talisman hanging inside his clothes.

Carelessly releasing Spiritual Power around ordinary people could affect them badly.

The chef had actually collapsed because of it.

That was why.

Other than the minimum amount of Spiritual Power needed to change his face, Do-hyeon had been suppressing it as much as possible.

There was another reason he hid his Spiritual Power so thoroughly.

It had happened in the car on the way to this job.

.

.

.

"Oh, right, Do-hyeon. Just in case, you should keep your Suppression Talisman on unless it's absolutely necessary to take it off."

"Ah, right... You said it could have side effects on ordinary people. And weird Cursed spirits might come looking for me."

"Um... That's true too, but..."

Seo Ji-an trailed off strangely.

"The truth is..."

"...?"

What she said next left Do-hyeon blank for a moment.

The person everyone on the Goblin Fire Gallery had been making such a fuss about.

The so-called Goblin Market bomber.

It was him.

'...Seriously?'

Apparently, using a Grade 2 spell or an equivalent amount of Spiritual Power required prior authorization.

They were especially sensitive about it in underground locations like the Goblin Market for safety reasons.

Who would have thought that testing a Talisman once would turn into something this big?

Before Do-hyeon could even say anything,

"...W-Well, I didn't know something that ridiculous would come out either..."

Seo Ji-an started fumbling out excuses like someone with a guilty conscience.

"No, haha! I should've stopped you earlier."

She laughed awkwardly and subtly changed the subject.

"Anyway, it seems like the bureau is still looking for you. Thankfully, they appear to be chasing the wrong lead."

Seo Ji-an shrugged.

"But foreign sorcerers aren't required to register their Spiritual Power yet. You weren't registered in the first place, so you don't need to worry too much."

"Do I have to hide my Spiritual Power forever, then?"

"No, no. They don't usually track Spiritual Power, so it should be fine. I just think it'd be better not to go around leaking it for no reason until things quiet down."

.

.

.

That was why.

Everyone else was hiding their Spiritual Power with Suppression Talismans anyway, so there was no harm in being careful.

...As he stared blankly at the ceiling.

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the door.

Do-hyeon opened it.

Jin Mu-yeong was standing outside.

"...?"

"Brother!"

Without warning, he bent at the waist in a ninety-degree bow.

"I-I have committed an unforgivable sin...!"

'...What's wrong with him now?'

Good grief.

So he had figured it out after all.

"Come in first."

At Do-hyeon's words, Jin Mu-yeong hesitantly entered the room.

The moment the door closed, he bowed again.

"Kuh... You engraved a Spell Formula onto my dagger earlier, didn't you? I knew it right away."

'So that was it after all.'

Still, there had been no other way.

If he had been even five minutes later, they would have been fertilizer in that sunflower field by now.

The prickly attitude Jin Mu-yeong had shown in the repository earlier was nowhere to be found.

He had already returned to the eager, tail-wagging version of himself Do-hyeon had seen at the hotel.

"Oh, I kept acting that way because I didn't recognize you, brother... I'm truly sorry, brother!"

He apologized over and over.

"To be honest... I thought some punk had the nerve to go around pretending to be you."

Jin Mu-yeong awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"So I was going to dig up that bastard's identity and tell you everything. I couldn't just let someone tarnish your good name, could I?"

'...Is that why he kept following me around?'

There seemed to have been a reason he had stuck so close to Do-hyeon from the repository onward, constantly picking fights.

Do-hyeon had only thought he was annoying.

'...Huh. He had some loyalty in him after all.'

"I'd been wanting to see you again, brother. It's an honor to meet you like this, Brother Do!"

Well, look at that.

...And what was this Brother Do nonsense?

"But Brother Do, how did you change your face again...?"

Jin Mu-yeong stared intently at Do-hyeon's face.

When Do-hyeon simply looked at him without saying a word,

"Ahahaha... Well, if it's a secret art of the Tianshan Sect, something like that is nothing!"

He came to his own conclusion and grinned broadly again.

'...Sure. Think whatever you want.'

At this rate, he looked like he would cling to him all day.

Do-hyeon gradually pushed him toward the door.

"Brother! I'll see you again when we eat later!"

Jin Mu-yeong waved through the gap in the door, repeating "Brother Do" over and over.

What was he, some kind of puppy?

After finally sending him away, Do-hyeon let out a sigh of relief.

Not long after that, someone knocked on the door again.

'...Jin Mu-yeong again?'

He opened the door with annoyance already rising.

But it wasn't Jin Mu-yeong.

This time, it was the woman holding the Japanese sword earlier that day.

Wearing loose pajamas, she stood hesitantly in front of Do-hyeon.

She couldn't even raise her flushed face, fidgeting anxiously with her fingers.

"U-Um..."

'...What is this?'

Do-hyeon looked at her in confusion.

The woman who had clutched her sword so tightly earlier and insisted she would never lend it to anyone suddenly thrust it toward him.

"P-Please...! Please fix my sword, Master!"

'...What's this now?'

Footnotes:

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