WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Occult World’s Coveted Blacksmith ◈

Chapter 27: You Can’t Lose to a Blacksmith!

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It was the following morning.

As Yoo Seon-woo walked down the hall toward the dining room, he mulled over what had happened yesterday.

…Yes. No matter how he thought about it, it still made no sense.

That blacksmith had read the Spell Formula in a painting? A man who did nothing but hammer iron?

The logical answer was obvious.

‘He must have been bluffing.’

He had probably just gotten lucky and struck the illusion’s weak point.

Yesterday, he had been so flustered that the brat had seized the initiative.

Today would be different.

After tossing and turning all night, unable to sleep, Yoo Seon-woo had finally told the spell painter elders in the secret chat room he belonged to, [Ink Scent Society], everything that had happened yesterday.

-Brothers! Please, listen to me!

He sent the message urgently, but the responses were terribly lukewarm.

What could possibly be so important at this hour? They all had early golf appointments tomorrow and were already in bed, and so on.

Every one of them sounded annoyed, telling him to wait until dawn and explain it properly then.

So Yoo Seon-woo dropped a decisive line.

-A blacksmith read the Spell Formula in a painting!

Then.

The chat room, which had been dragging along as though everyone was about to leave him on read, erupted despite the late hour.

Hakjeong was the first to react.

-What! How could that possibly be true?!

-A blacksmith read a painting’s Spell Formula? I’ve lived a long life, but that’s the strangest thing I’ve ever heard!

The fuss continued for some time before Mukgye, famous for being a man of few words, cut through the noise in one stroke.

-That won’t do.

-You call yourself a spell painter, yet you’re cowed by some iron-pounding blacksmith’s tall tales.

-Tsk. That won’t do.

There had already been talk of some upstart with no family backing running wild lately.

They were not some third-rate neighborhood sorcerers. How could they lose face to a brat like that?

Yoo Seon-woo’s shoulders shrank at the stern rebuke telling him to put the upstart firmly in his place.

That was when Hakjeong chimed in again.

-But Teacher Yoo, was that even possible to begin with? Rather than this, why not ask Teacher Simun? @Teacher Simun! You would know, wouldn’t you?

Simun was an orthodox master with no equal in this chat room when it came to deciphering Spell Formulas in paintings.

At last, Simun spoke.

-To give you the conclusion first, it is utter nonsense.

Simun then calmly explained what a Spell Formula in a painting was.

Once an artist moved their brush and completed an image, the Spell Formula emerged as a result, growing freely and tangling together like vines.

Even among spell painters, reading one through logic alone was considered impossible.

-Even I cannot discern the branches of Master Cheongram’s Spell Formulas. And a mere blacksmith read one? He got lucky, struck its vital point, then puffed himself up.

Yes. That was what made sense.

They were elders among spell painters.

Even Teacher Simun, who would take offense at being called second-best when it came to Spell Formulas in paintings, said he could not even trace the branches of Master Cheongram’s formulas.

So how could a mere blacksmith do it?

There was no way he could.

‘…Yes. It was luck. Like a cow stepping backward and catching a mouse.’

Only then did the anxiety that had weighed on his heart all night seem to melt away.

Feeling encouraged, Yoo Seon-woo cautiously brought up the main point.

-Ha, I thought so! But Teacher Simun, is there perhaps a way to counter Spell Formulas in paintings? I plan to make a proper showing today.

He swallowed dryly as he waited for an answer.

-Obviously, you counter a Spell Formula with a Spell Formula.

-We face paintings with paintings. That is the way of us spell painters, is it not?

* * *

Creeeak.

The dining room door opened.

Yoo Seon-woo strolled over and took a seat before the breakfast the servants had carefully prepared.

‘Yes.’

After speaking with the elders in the chat room, he finally felt as though his head had cleared.

What that brat said yesterday had been absurd nonsense after all.

The bastard was surely skilled at exaggerating his own achievements and deceiving others.

But now the elders had even taught him how to deal with Spell Formulas in paintings.

There was nothing left to hold him back.

Today, he would finally prove himself as a spell painter, resolve the request, and secure his share properly.

He happily picked up his spoon.

…But, huh?

‘What is this?’

Something about the atmosphere was strange.

“Brother Do! You should try this abalone porridge too! Isn’t this the best thing for breakfast? Hahaha!”

Yoo Seon-woo could only stare in confusion.

Jin Mu-yeong had somehow glued himself to the side of that blacksmith, who looked far younger than him, and kept calling him “brother.”

He had heard Jin Mu-yeong was a notorious delinquent with a foul temper.

A man who had even been thrown out by the Jin family.

Why was that ill-tempered punk suddenly acting like this?

‘…Don’t tell me.’

Had he seen that blacksmith get lucky during yesterday’s painting incident, become intimidated, tucked his tail, and decided to call him brother?

‘…Tsk. He’s supposed to be from the Jin family. Even if he’s a castoff child, he has no sense of dignity.’

Well, the answer was obvious.

They must have secretly shared a few drinks in their room last night.

Birds of a feather flock together.

Clicking his tongue, Yoo Seon-woo quietly turned away.

Then.

“Um, Master…”

It was Kim Yu-ha, the woman with the sword.

When he first saw her yesterday, she had barely spoken and remained quiet the whole time.

“You should try this too. I… peeled it for you…”

Her cheeks flushed red as she shyly tucked her hair behind one ear.

Then she gently slid a peeled shrimp onto Do-hyeon’s side plate.

She was even glancing at him cautiously, clearly unable to hide her fondness.

‘That woman too…?’

A thug of a sorcerer was fawning over a brat full of bluster who had merely gotten lucky, calling him brother.

Even the stoic swordswoman, who had barely said a word, was trying to charm him?

What on earth had happened while Yoo Seon-woo slept?

…What had happened in that single night?

* * *

After breakfast, the group headed back to the repository.

Do-hyeon was having a strangely burdensome morning.

Jin Mu-yeong was on his right.

He was still glued to Do-hyeon’s side, constantly calling him brother.

‘…Well, he’s always been like this, so I can let that slide.’

The problem was on his left.

“Um, Yu-ha?”

“Y-Yes?”

“Could you walk a little farther away? You seem awfully close.”

“Ah. S-Sorry!”

Yu-ha jolted in surprise and stepped back about half a pace.

Then, her face burning red, she hugged her sword for no reason at all.

Her attitude had somehow changed since yesterday, and the sudden closeness was making him uncomfortable.

“Why is she acting like this too…?”

Even during breakfast, the two kept trying to talk to him, leaving him no peace at all.

‘…Well, I guess she’s happy because her sword was fixed properly.’

Do-hyeon decided not to think too much about it.

After walking for some time, they arrived at the gallery they had visited yesterday.

“This is the gallery you saw yesterday,” the butler said, stopping in his tracks.

In truth, Do-hyeon had asked to return here.

As he examined the Spell Formula inside the sunflower painting last night, one detail had continued to bother him.

Do-hyeon went back over the Spell Formulas in the paintings hanging throughout the gallery, one by one.

Then.

‘…Just as I thought. So that was it.’

Do-hyeon nodded quietly, then turned to the butler beside him.

“Butler, aren’t there more paintings here by Master Cheongram?”

“…!”

The butler looked slightly startled. After considering it for a moment, he spoke.

“…That is correct. I was actually planning to show them to you today. This way, please.”

As the butler led the way, he continued his explanation.

“To be honest, the late former master was particularly fond of Master Cheongram’s paintings during his lifetime. He collected them diligently until the day he passed away.”

After crossing the gallery, the butler led them before another tightly shut door.

He slowly opened it.

Creeeak.

The moment they saw inside.

“…N-No. This can’t be!”

Yoo Seon-woo, who had followed behind, cried out.

The spacious room had paintings in the exact same style as yesterday’s sunflower filling every wall.

“T-These are all Master Cheongram’s…! My goodness. Does another collection this large even exist in the world?!”

Yoo Seon-woo hurried between the paintings, making a tremendous fuss.

But Do-hyeon’s attention had been elsewhere from the start.

‘…As expected.’

Do-hyeon slightly loosened the Suppression Talisman beneath his clothes and gathered Spiritual Power at his fingertips.

Then he quietly brought those fingertips to his eyes.

Swoosh.

The moment his vision blurred and cleared again, blue circuit patterns rose across every painting that filled the room.

‘…I see.’

Do-hyeon slowly traced those patterns one by one.

The structure he had sensed in yesterday’s sunflower painting, the one that drained life force.

That vicious Spell Formula was carved into Master Cheongram’s paintings all around this room.

* * *

Yoo Seon-woo moved through the paintings, constantly letting out exclamations of admiration.

“This is surely an authentic piece depicting one of the Twelve Zodiac Animals! And what about that one? Isn’t that Master Cheongram’s brushwork from his later years?”

In front of paintings, it was only natural that he, a spell painter, should shine.

He raised his voice and began rattling off everything he knew.

But.

“…”

The atmosphere was strange.

“…So, this work is, well. Ahem, are you even listening?”

Yoo Seon-woo’s expression hardened as he looked around.

No one was listening.

Wondering what was going on, he cautiously turned his head.

Every last one of them.

They were clinging to that young brat’s sides like leeches.

“Brother Do! What do you think of this painting? How does it look to you, brother?”

“M-Master… L-Let’s go together…”

They were fawning over that bastard alone.

‘Ghk…!’

He had been invited here as a spell painter.

They were looking over paintings, yet no one was paying him any attention.

It went beyond losing face. It felt as though his pride had been trampled into the dirt.

‘…Just wait. I’ll make you realize who the real master is soon enough.’

Yoo Seon-woo gritted his teeth.

The group then gathered before a massive painting that filled an entire wall.

The instant Yoo Seon-woo faced the canvas, he was overwhelmed.

A tidal wave as large as a house rolled across the entire painting.

A massive black wave that looked as though it would burst through the canvas and come crashing down at any moment.

It surged violently, as if it would swallow whoever looked upon it.

“…Huh.”

Completely entranced, Yoo Seon-woo took a step toward the painting.

“Wait, don’t get any clos-”

Do-hyeon tried to stop him urgently, but he was a step too late.

Swoooosh.

All at once.

The air in the room grew subtly heavier.

‘…Huh?’

The moment something felt wrong.

The black tidal wave in the painting.

Rippled.

Like real seawater.

“…What?”

Then, the next moment.

Craaaash!

The huge wave inside the painting spilled over the frame in a flood.

.

.

.

Consciousness returned.

An endless black sea rolled beneath their feet.

Footnotes:

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