WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Occult World’s Coveted Blacksmith ◈
Chapter 48: Did I Become the Owner of an E-Rank Cursed Tool?
──────
“Damn it... I’m dying of impatience here. When is it getting here?”
Han Tae-gyeong bounced his leg anxiously, glaring back and forth between his phone screen and the access road.
This was the entrance to the Isolation Zone deep in Jirisan Mountain.
The Cursed spirits that had started multiplying had formed an enormous horde, and the authorities had commissioned a large-scale Exorcism operation.
Among the teams deployed for the subjugation was Meteor Squad, an Exorcism team considered among the elite of non-House sorcerers.
It was a powerful team led by a Grade-1 sorcerer, with Grade-2 aces filling out its ranks.
Before entering the zone, everyone was checking their Ritual Implements, Talismans, and other equipment.
Han Tae-gyeong stood off to one side of the team.
“Hey, Han Tae-gyeong. What are you doing?”
Click, ting!
A man irritably flicked open and shut the lid of his Zippo lighter as he called out to Tae-gyeong.
Kang Hyeon-seok.
He was a fairly prominent Grade-2 sorcerer even within the team.
“Phew...”
After exhaling a long stream of smoke, Hyeon-seok tossed his cigarette to the ground and ground it out irritably.
“Hyung, let’s just leave him and go in first. He’s just dead weight. How long are we supposed to wait?”
At that, the Meteor Squad leader pressed a hand to their brow.
“Tae-gyeong. We need to enter soon. Are you still not ready?”
“Ah... Yes. The courier said they’re almost here. I’m sorry.”
Tae-gyeong repeatedly bowed his head.
The other members murmured among themselves.
“...Why? Isn’t it about time to go in?”
“Tae-gyeong says he’s waiting for something.”
“Ah...”
“What does an archer need so much gear for?”
“Let’s wait. Maybe he ordered arrows or something.”
“...”
* * *
Like his younger brother Si-u, Tae-gyeong had once dreamed of becoming a competitive archer.
But only after entering that world did he realize the truth.
There were gaps in talent, and in that field, anything less than being the best meant nothing.
When he realized that even Si-u, who was much younger, had surpassed him.
‘Ah. This isn’t going to work.’
Around the time he was about to put down the bow, his Spirit Sight awakened.
‘Well, it’s not like I had the confidence to study anyway. This works out. They pay a ton, too.’
After entering the Occult World, he naturally chose a bow as his weapon against Cursed spirits.
If nothing else, he was confident with a bow.
Maybe he had more talent for sorcery than he expected, because he quickly shot up the popularity rankings.
At first, it felt like he had the whole world.
Ah, this is easy. So easy.
‘This is my talent? Even I’m scared of myself.’
If things kept going this way, he thought he could achieve the dream he had failed to achieve in archery.
But reality wasn’t so kind.
When people thought of an archer, they usually imagined a key damage dealer standing in the rear and unleashing flashy bursts of damage.
That was only possible in games.
In reality, arrows weren’t unlimited.
They didn’t avoid allies on their own, either.
As Tae-gyeong climbed higher, he had to face a painful truth.
He was becoming more and more useless.
After moving to increasingly larger agencies, he joined Meteor Squad, a team made up entirely of high-ranking sorcerers. Before he knew it, though, he was being left out by the other members.
It went like this.
A chaotic melee where dozens of creatures were tangled together, making it impossible to see even an inch ahead.
Even in that mess, Tae-gyeong found an opening and planted an arrow right on target.
Ping, thud!
[Kieek!]
The Cursed spirit’s head was pierced in a single shot.
“Hey, fuck. You did that on purpose, didn’t you? I almost got hit.”
“...That’s not what happened.”
The arrow had barely grazed the ear of a teammate who had suddenly stepped into his line of fire.
‘They would’ve gotten hit if I hadn’t fired.’
...It was always like that in a chaotic fight.
He couldn’t fire freely because he was afraid of hitting an ally.
And whenever a Cursed spirit got close, someone had to stay beside him and protect him.
His reloads were slow, and close combat put him at a disadvantage.
“Hey... Just stay in the back and shoot the ones trying to run away.”
Bows had always been a niche weapon in the Occult World.
You had to carry arrows around, and bows were bulky enough to reduce mobility.
Ordinary arrows couldn’t hit Cursed spirits, so he had to use special arrows designed to hold Spiritual Power. Those were ridiculously expensive.
Each one was a Ritual Implement handcrafted by an artisan.
Every shot took a chunk of money out of his pocket.
So he gradually became someone who only picked off enemies fleeing in the distance.
[Wow, did you see Meteor Squad’s fee for this job got leaked? I heard it’s three billion won.]
└ Damn... That’s insane.
[The person I envy most right now: Han Tae-gyeong.]
└ He joined Meteor Squad right when his ranking peaked, then does nothing.
└ Why, though? Archers are cool. Isn’t that the romance of it?
└ What romance? I saw him from afar last time, and he didn’t do anything.
└ For real, all he does is go collect arrows lol.
“...”
...Yeah.
They were all right, so he couldn’t even argue.
The popularity ranking he had reached when he first became a Grade-2 sorcerer was steadily falling.
As his contribution to the team decreased, he could only keep walking on eggshells around the others.
...But.
‘Today will be different.’
* * *
When Do-hyeon’s Ritual Implements went up for auction, Tae-gyeong had been unsure at first.
An Eul-tier... and a bow, too?
‘Will another Eul-tier bow ever come up for sale?’
Honestly, he had wanted to buy it.
But.
“Fuck...”
The price had already risen beyond everything he had saved up.
“Goddamn it... How can one bow cost this much...?”
Just as he was about to give up, the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Treasures auction was canceled, and the item appeared on Gyeongseong Auction, a regular auction site.
Then Noh Jin-hyeok, a special-grade sorcerer, uploaded a video verifying the necklace’s performance.
The moment Tae-gyeong heard that the Houses were also moving to buy the item, he made up his mind.
‘I have to buy this no matter what.’
This was an opportunity.
My entire fortune? Throw it all in.
My house? I can sell it.
“What? You want an advance?”
The head of the large agency that had formed Meteor Squad, a major player in the Occult World, looked at Tae-gyeong uneasily.
“Have you been gambling lately?”
“No.”
“You... know you’ve got the lowest contribution in the team right now, right?”
“I know. Please trust me just once. I’ll take every individual job that comes in, too. That advertisement you mentioned? I’ll do that as well.”
‘What’s gotten into him? The bastard actually gave me an advance...’
He had to put down a deposit of that size just to participate in the bidding.
Then next was...
Goblin Bank.
It was called a bank, but it was practically a loan shark operation.
Interest-rate caps on loans in the Occult World?
There was no such thing.
“Oh my, Mr. Han Tae-gyeong of Meteor Squad! A famous name like you has come to see us in person!”
That was how he loaded up every last bullet he could scrape together.
[Gyeongseong Auction]
Your deposit has been confirmed.
You may now participate in the auction.
“Shalla, shalla.”
At the time, Tae-gyeong was abroad, carrying out the awful overseas schedule he had promised the agency head.
“It’s hot as hell. I’m telling you the air conditioner in my room isn’t working. What are you talking about?”
The humid air made his shirt cling to his back.
“Please... Please don’t cut out, internet...”
Still, at least the internet here was fast.
Please, please...
“It worked!”
He got in.
The flood of users had kept him from accessing the site, but after persistent attempts, he finally managed to connect.
This is crazy...
Thump, thump.
He checked the price.
It had already skyrocketed.
‘How much should I bid...?’
The Houses were coming in with bags of money. If he hesitated here, they would definitely take it from him.
There was no guarantee he would be able to access the site again, either.
It had taken weeks just to get through this surge of users.
Then.
He saw a button beside the bid price.
[Buy Now]
The moment he pressed it, the competition would end right there.
Of course, it cost far more than the current price.
Since he had no idea how high the price might climb, he had scraped together every last bit of money he could and deposited it. It was almost exactly enough.
His legs trembled.
“Damn it, whatever!”
Click.
Ding.
[You have won the auction.]
“...”
He bought it.
He bought it, but...
How many years was he going to spend paying off this debt?
* * *
Buried under debt, Tae-gyeong was delayed in returning home because he had to work through the schedules the agency head threw at him.
The moment he returned, he tried to receive the item.
But then.
“What? It didn’t arrive at the agency?!”
...What?
He was sure he had set it to be delivered there.
Ah.
Only then did he remember.
At first, since he had sold his house and had nowhere suitable to receive it, he had entered his family home address.
He meant to change it to the agency address later.
...But the overseas schedule had been so hectic that he completely forgot.
On top of that, Tae-gyeong had been sent straight from the airport to this Jirisan Mountain operation, leaving him without time to stop by home.
That was why he had asked Si-u to send it by courier.
“Ha... That bastard. Seriously...”
Hyeon-seok became irritated.
The team leader received a radio transmission.
The authorities had ordered them to stop waiting and enter now.
Damn it... What do I do?
Just then.
Vroooom.
A motorcycle kicked up dust as it came roaring up the Jirisan Mountain access road.
Tae-gyeong hurriedly ran over and accepted the item from the courier.
A long black leather case.
“...You made us wait this long over that one thing?”
Hyeon-seok looked at him in disbelief.
“A bow is a bow. Whatever, let’s go.”
...Yeah. Keep looking down on me.
Once we get in there, you’ll see.
.
.
.
Inside the Jirisan isolated zone.
Under an ash-gray sky.
Black Cursed spirits poured endlessly from between the trees.
[Kieeeeeek!]
“Hyeon-seok! How much Spiritual Power do you have left?”
“...Almost none!”
Hyeon-seok drew up his Spiritual Power until his cheeks looked ready to burst.
Snap!
When he flicked his fingers, a small goblin fire flared above them.
Then he violently expelled the Spiritual Power he had gathered.
Whoosh!
Flames poured from his mouth and swallowed the entire horde of charging Cursed spirits.
When they were overwhelmed by sheer numbers, Hyeon-seok usually handled the bulk of them.
But there were far too many today.
“...Hey, save the Karmafire Talismans! At this rate, we’ll run out!”
The other members kept throwing Karmafire Talismans, but there was no end in sight.
“Argh!”
“Don’t fall back! Hold the formation!”
The front line was steadily being pushed back.
Hyeon-seok briefly retreated to replenish his Spiritual Power, chewed a spiritual pill, then looked back at Tae-gyeong.
“Hey, Han Tae-gyeong. Save your arrows on a day like this, got it?”
“...”
“This is a battle of attrition. Don’t waste them on anything useless. Only shoot when it’s really dangerous.”
Usually, he would have stayed in the rear, aiming at those trying to escape.
But.
Click.
Tae-gyeong opened the case slung across his back.
Then he pulled out a bow.
‘...It’s light.’
A smooth black bow with a yellow Spirit Stone embedded in the center of its grip.
Slide.
The moment he adjusted his hold, the bow fit snugly into his palm.
This is Eul-tier...?
‘The grip feels... insane. Seriously.’
Tae-gyeong slowly walked forward.
“Hey, how many arrows did you bring?”
Tae-gyeong didn’t answer.
“Hey, Han Tae-gyeong, can’t you hear me? Where are you going?”
But his back looked strangely empty.
“What the hell? Why didn’t you bring any arrows?”
Tae-gyeong walked toward the members standing at the front.
“Please move aside for a moment.”
“...?”
Here I go.
He drew the bow.
Creak.
The feeling of it fitting perfectly in his hand.
It barely took any effort.
Tae-gyeong poured Spiritual Power into the Spirit Stone in the grip.
His Spiritual Power was sucked into it like crazy.
The Spirit Stone glowed yellow.
Crackle!
Blue flames crackled to life over the drawn bowstring.
They gradually condensed into the shape of an arrow.
“Hey, you crazy bastard. Aren’t you going to fall back... Huh?”
“...!”
Tae-gyeong already knew.
He had memorized the manual and precautions the auction house had sent by email.
Still, when he saw it in person.
This was real. It was real.
‘...This is insane. Seriously.’
A bow that didn’t need arrows.
And it fired lightning?
‘This is fucking cool...’
An arrow had appeared before his eyes. As an archer, there was only one thing he had to do.
‘Yeah, fuck! This is what makes borrowing from private loan sharks and throwing in my entire fortune worth it!!!’
Without hesitation, Tae-gyeong released the bowstring.
Shwaaaak!
A blue bolt of lightning shot forward in a straight line.
Crackle, boom!
[Kieeeeeek!]
It tore straight through the center of the charging horde of Cursed spirits.
Dozens of Cursed spirits turned to ash and vanished at once.
“W-What was that?!”
“Did Han Tae-gyeong just fire that?”
Tae-gyeong didn’t stop.
He no longer needed to pull out arrows.
The moment he drew the string, it was loaded.
Twng, twng, twng!
Draw and release.
Draw and release.
Boom! Boom! Kwoooom!
Crackle.
The more he fired.
This was crazy.
This is insane...!
It was beyond anything he had imagined.
When he gathered Spiritual Power and drew the string, lightning formed at his fingertips.
Every time he fired, the Cursed spirits were blasted away as ash.
He didn’t need to carry a quiver on his back.
He didn’t need to spend time loading arrows.
He didn’t need to count how many arrows he had left.
...This bow had eliminated every drawback that had made bows obsolete.
.
.
.
Shwaaa.
A Barrier began descending from far away.
The Exorcism mission for the Isolation Zone, which had originally been expected to take a week, had ended far ahead of schedule.
‘Taking on debt was worth it... It really was...!’
This was seriously insane.
Wow, this is fucking amazing.
Master Do is seriously crazy.
I’ve never seen a weapon like this before.
‘Why did you come to me so late? Oh, you’re so precious.’
No amount he had paid for it would feel like a waste.
He felt like he could earn as much as he wanted with this thing by his side.
Only now did it truly sink in.
‘That I’m the owner of an Eul-tier Ritual Implement.’
‘Wahaha... Fuck.’
Tae-gyeong was grinning as he carefully stroked the bow when his phone vibrated in his pocket.
Bzzzt. Bzzzt.
It was an unfamiliar number.
“Hello?”
“Ah, hello! Are you the person who won the Lightning Bow at Gyeongseong Auction this time?”
“Uh... Yes, that’s me. Who is this?”
“Ah! I’m Seo Ji-an, the exclusive broker for Master Do of the Tianshan Sect!”
“What?! Do Emperor! No... Master Do?”
“Yes! I’m calling about after-sales service for the item you won. Master Do would like to meet you sometime. Would that be possible?”
He could meet the person who had personally made this insane item?
“I-I can come! Of course I can!”
Footnotes:
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