WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Occult World’s Coveted Blacksmith ◈
Chapter 49: A Bound Spell and a Stray Cat
──────
A wildly popular restaurant, on par with a three-Michelin-star establishment.
Pungnyu Pavilion.
Once again, I found myself here today.
“Looks like you really like the food here?”
Seo Ji-an asked.
This was already my third visit this week. Even I had to admit I’d been coming a little too often.
I kept thinking about the food before bed...
But!
I had a perfectly reasonable excuse for coming today.
“Well, he’s a VIP customer who bought an Eul-tier Ritual Implement. It’s only right that we treat him this well.”
We were meeting here to provide after-sales service for the customer who had bought the Lightning Bow.
Ahem.
“Right, right. VIP management is important.”
Seo Ji-an answered as if she understood everything.
Of course, she was the one who had made the reservation.
I’d heard it was incredibly difficult to get a table here. A veteran broker really was on another level.
We still had some time before our appointment.
Let’s see...
“Ji-an, would it be okay if I did a little work while we wait?”
“Ah, sure. Of course.”
I rummaged through my bag and took out a carving knife and a block of wood.
I’d already gotten permission from the restaurant to do some simple work here.
Now this is what I call service. Expensive places really are different. I should learn from them.
‘Shall I get started?’
First, I spread out a cloth so the shavings wouldn’t scatter across the floor.
Scrape. Scrape.
Scrape, scrape.
The carving knife glided smoothly over the wood.
Feeling out the grain, I carefully shaped it bit by bit.
...When I focused on my fingertips like this, all my stray thoughts disappeared.
‘Ah, this is nice.’
Shhk. Shhk.
The block of wood in my hand gradually began to take shape.
After some time had passed, it had become a fairly convincing carving.
“Oh... Master, is that perhaps...?”
Seo Ji-an, who had been quietly watching beside me, asked.
“Yes. It’s a rabbit.”
Lately, I’d gotten completely hooked on carving.
What was a blacksmith doing carving, you ask?
This was my new business idea.
I’d learned something new while making the gourd bottle.
Spirit beasts were made of Spiritual Bodies.
Which meant they could escape the physical limits of flesh and be carried around inside a Sealing implement!
From what I’d seen, everyone had a hard time hiding their spirit beasts while taking them around.
Apparently, people who kept even slightly larger ones bought delivery trucks.
How could they work properly after driving a truck to every job request?
So, I made this!
A sealing accessory for transporting spirit beasts!
I attached a small chain and made it into a key ring.
Clink.
I looped the carvings over my finger and showed them to Seo Ji-an.
Ahem.
For now, I’d just made whatever came to mind.
Rabbits, horses, and chickens.
“Do they look all right?”
When it came to designing a forge piece’s exterior, I occasionally had to carve things.
So I’d say I wasn’t half bad at it.
“Ooh... They’re really cute!”
Seo Ji-an’s eyes lit up as she fiddled with them.
They were about the size of a finger.
Each one could hold only a single spirit beast because of its small size, but that was still something.
My goal had been to make something simple whenever I had spare time.
I’d optimized and simplified the circuits as much as possible, too.
‘Still, it should probably be able to seal a Grade-3 spirit beast.’
Of course, it couldn’t hold creatures that hadn’t fully become Spiritual Bodies and still retained some physical flesh.
...The Soul Thread connected to a Spiritual Body was much looser than one connected to a physical body.
“But you’ve been carving whenever you get the chance lately. Don’t you get tired of it?”
“Come on, doing the exact same thing over and over would get boring for me too. Look closely. They’re all different.”
“Huh? How...?”
I took several more rabbit carvings I’d made in advance out of my bag.
Seo Ji-an turned each key ring over as she studied them closely.
“Oh...! You’re right.”
...Yeah, because they all had different poses.
One was making a V sign, another had its teeth bared. Their faces were slightly different too.
I’d even carved serial numbers into their bottoms to show which number each one was.
...Ahem. Doesn’t that make you want to collect them?
‘Little details like this are what stir a collector’s desire.’
“Wow... Do-hyeon, you really have amazing taste.”
Seo Ji-an admired the key rings as she turned them over, then casually asked,
“Hehe... I had no idea you had such a cute hobby.”
“No? These are all Ritual Implements too.”
“What?!”
* * *
Seo Ji-an was stunned after hearing Do-hyeon’s explanation.
‘These are all Ritual Implements?’
They were Sealing implements that let someone carry a familiar around in key ring form.
“Everyone seems to have the hardest time hiding their familiars. They’re heavy, too. Of course, they can’t stay inside for long, only while traveling. If they’re sealed too long, the Ritual Implements could be damaged.”
She couldn’t believe it.
Ritual Implements that could hold familiars inside totems and be carried around...
She’d never seen anything like them.
...How was this even possible?
‘No, I knew Master Do was a once-in-a-generation super-ultra genius blacksmith, but still.’
...Making Ritual Implements like they were mass-produced?
Ritual Implements were normally all handmade.
You had to pour Spiritual Power directly into them while densely engraving markings thinner than a strand of hair.
That wasn’t all. Even when made from the same material, every piece had naturally formed internal grain that differed from the next.
You had to feel out those subtle grains with your fingertips, then alter and refine the engravings to suit them every time.
If you went against the grain even slightly, or the Spell Formula was misaligned, the Ritual Implement wouldn’t function properly.
That was why automation was impossible.
‘Right, even a Ritual Implement that small would take an ordinary artisan at least several weeks.’
Yet that insane artisan had been carving things like that whenever there was spare time!
...How much money was Master Do planning to rake in?
Seo Ji-an was thinking that when Do-hyeon smiled while playing with a key ring.
“Doesn’t it sound fun?”
“When people gather for a job, they could all pull their spirit beasts right out of their accessories and fight. It’d be a little like an animated movie.”
“...”
...Ah.
Perhaps because she’d watched from the sidelines for so long, Seo Ji-an felt like she could now read a little of what lay behind Do-hyeon’s expressionless face.
Money wasn’t important.
Making things was what mattered.
There was genuine enjoyment in it.
Seo Ji-an finally felt as though she understood why Do-hyeon spent all day sitting in front of the furnace.
“...”
As she watched...
Knock, knock, knock.
“Um... Excuse me.”
The door opened, and a man entered.
He was carefully holding a long case in his arms.
.
.
.
“It’s done.”
“Huh? Already? That fast...?”
“It was a simple job to begin with.”
“Ah? Right...”
Something seemed strange, but Tae-gyeong let it go.
He knew nothing about engraving, after all.
‘Tsk, could you normally engrave things by hand?’
“Here... Please enjoy.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
Yet even with an extravagant Korean set meal spread before him, Tae-gyeong couldn’t settle down.
He kept stealing glances at Do-hyeon across from him.
‘...This guy is the Do Emperor?’
Seeing the Do Emperor in person was quite shocking.
Just as the rumors on Goblin Fire said, even the face looked unreal.
‘He’s seriously handsome. More importantly...’
Tae-gyeong had expected someone much older.
No, Do-hyeon looked young.
...And he’d made that insane bow at this age.
Tae-gyeong wanted to open his mouth and make a huge fuss right away, but he held himself back.
He was a Grade-2 sorcerer. He couldn’t go overboard like a fan.
Ahem. Stay calm, Han Tae-gyeong.
Master Do had explained that the Spirit Stone set into the bow constantly leaked a tiny amount of Spiritual Power.
...Apparently, that could attract Cursed spirits.
It seemed the bow had been adjusted to activate only when used.
‘...Well, I don’t understand the details, but it must be better now.’
“Were you injured anywhere, by any chance?”
“No. I was overseas for a while, so I haven’t had it for long.”
“Have you been using the bow well?”
“Ah! Yes, of course. I’ve been using it very... very well.”
‘Damn it, I can’t hold it in anymore.’
He’d tried to act dignified in front of the Do Emperor, but he couldn’t contain the fanboy feelings swelling up inside him.
Without realizing it, Tae-gyeong began showering Master Do with praise.
The grip, the accuracy, the Spiritual Power efficiency. There wasn’t a single flaw.
“Ha... I don’t have to run around picking up arrows anymore. Do you know how great that is? Honestly, I mean it. I’m a Grade-2 sorcerer, and... having to go pick up the arrows I shot was really embarrassing, you know? But I couldn’t exactly leave them behind. They aren’t cheap...”
“...”
“And, um... The performance is one thing, but honestly, isn’t it just too cool? Take romance away from an archer, and they’re just a corpse. If not for that, who uses a bow these days? But I drew an empty bow, then crackle, boom, lightning shot right out. Wow, the first time I did that, I got chills all over...! Man. Seriously.”
Tae-gyeong ended up gushing for quite a while.
Damn... Had he gone too far?
Ahem.
“I’m glad you’re using it well.”
The artisan simply smiled with satisfaction.
“Ha ha... But because it’s so good, there is one little problem...”
“Is there a problem with the Ritual Implement?”
“No, it’s not that!”
Tae-gyeong hurriedly waved his hands.
The more he used this bow, the more he felt it.
‘...It’s incredible. More than I can put into words.’
It was his first time using an Eul-tier Ritual Implement, so he couldn’t be sure.
Still, he thought it had to be high-tier even among Eul-tier implements.
It felt like a dream that such an item had somehow ended up in his hands.
“That’s why I’m worried.”
It was too good. That was the problem.
If he carried such an incredible Ritual Implement around carelessly, wouldn’t someone hit him over the head in a secluded place during a job?
He’d started having thoughts like that.
“Ha ha... I even had nightmares.”
“...”
“I mean, that’s how good it is.”
Only after he said it did Tae-gyeong wonder what nonsense he’d just spouted.
What was Master Do supposed to do about a complaint like that?
Hire him a bodyguard?
An artisan’s role was only to make Ritual Implements.
...He seemed to have said something pointless.
“Please don’t worry about it. I’m a Grade-2 sorcerer myself, after all. I can protect myself.”
Then...
“Ah, if that’s the problem, I do have a way to help.”
“Huh?! What...?”
“I can make it a Ritual Implement bound exclusively to Tae-gyeong.”
“...Excuse me?!”
.
.
.
“Are you really sure? Once I engrave a Binding Spell Formula, it can be modified to a certain degree, but you won’t be able to sell it to anyone else.”
“Yes! That’s fine!”
Tae-gyeong answered without a moment of hesitation.
“Sell it? I knew from the first day I used it.”
He looked at the bow with a broad grin.
“We’re destined for each other.”
“Ah... Well, if you say so.”
Do-hyeon gave a light nod, then reached out and gently placed a hand beneath Tae-gyeong’s collarbone.
After closing his eyes for a moment, seemingly tracing Tae-gyeong’s Spiritual Power, Do-hyeon quickly opened them and picked up the bow.
Do-hyeon began gathering Spiritual Power at his fingertips.
Crackle.
Tae-gyeong stared blankly at the sight.
Blue Spiritual Power condensed into a thin line at Do-hyeon’s fingertips.
Then Do-hyeon rapidly engraved lines so delicate they were nearly invisible across the bow’s grip.
Snap. Crackle.
Blue flames leaped in every direction, carrying a sharp, acrid scent.
‘He really is... insane.’
It had happened so fast earlier that Tae-gyeong hadn’t even realized it was the process of engraving a Spell Formula.
Now, he was watching the Do Emperor’s legendary engraving work right before his eyes.
He needed to take in every bit of this historic moment while he could...
“It’s done.”
“...Huh?”
“It’s finished.”
“Already?”
It felt like the work had only just started.
“Ah, I designed the other parts to repel Spiritual Power so no one can read the internal Spell Formula.”
Do-hyeon held out the bow as he spoke.
“So I only need to work on the part where you pour in Spiritual Power, here where your hand touches, and here.”
See? Easy, right?
‘Ha ha...’
What was he even talking about?
Tae-gyeong didn’t understand the explanation at all.
...But it looked cool.
That aura unique to an expert.
‘Either way, it’s freaking amazing...’
“Um, then... How much should I pay you?”
Tae-gyeong asked carefully.
“Ah, it’s fine.”
Do-hyeon waved a hand.
“This is for the customer’s safety. I’ll engrave it for free.”
“Huh? No, but how could I...?”
“Only this once, though.”
He was engraving it for free for Tae-gyeong’s safety?
Tae-gyeong felt something tremble deep within his chest.
‘...This is what a true artisan is.’
The artisans he’d met until now weren’t like that.
They’d been desperate to sell even one more arrow.
Some had even secretly tampered with their products to prevent them from being reused.
But this man...
‘Sniff. A measure for the customer’s safety?’
Tremble...
That was a true artisan.
As Tae-gyeong was moved to the depths of his heart...
“Ah, come to think of it.”
Do-hyeon suddenly asked as if something had just come to mind.
“Do you not keep a spirit beast?”
“Huh? Ah, no. I don’t keep one.”
“I see.”
Do-hyeon nodded lightly.
...What was that about all of a sudden?
It was an odd question, but Tae-gyeong didn’t think much of it.
After finishing their meal, the two left the restaurant.
“Then I’ll be going.”
“Ah, yes! Thank you so much, Master!”
Tae-gyeong repeatedly bowed.
“Oh, Tae-gyeong. Starting tomorrow, there’ll be an article saying the bow has been bound to you.”
Seo Ji-an, standing beside them, spoke up.
“...An article?”
“Yes. Once it’s public knowledge who it’s bound to, people won’t dare target it so easily. It’ll be safer that way.”
“Ah, yes! Of course.”
The rumors had already spread as far as they could after the Jirisan Mountain incident.
“Thank you.”
Tae-gyeong watched Do-hyeon’s departing back for a long time.
“Wow...”
Seriously, what was that guy?
That kind of skill at that age.
It was like he’d seen a ghost.
‘That guy is just cool. Seriously.’
He’d known Master Do was skilled at making Ritual Implements, of course.
Still, from that brief encounter alone, Tae-gyeong could feel just how much conviction and professionalism Master Do had toward the work.
‘Even from a man’s perspective... he’s cool. Seriously.’
‘So there was a reason everyone called him the Do Emperor.’
I think... I just became a fan!
* * *
Click.
Tae-gyeong opened the front door and stepped inside.
The familiar living room.
That was right. After selling even his house to buy a Ritual Implement, Tae-gyeong had decided to stay at his family home for the time being.
“You’re home? Did you eat, son?”
“Yeah. I ate already.”
Tae-gyeong answered absently as he took the case off his shoulder.
“I’m going to sleep...”
His body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.
He’d been run ragged overseas for days, then gone straight into one operation after another. It would’ve been stranger if he weren’t tired.
Entering his room, Tae-gyeong carefully stood the bow case inside his closet.
‘Heh heh, see you tomorrow.’
Then he collapsed straight onto the bed.
Grrr...
Was it jet lag? The moment his head touched the pillow, sleep washed over him.
Tae-gyeong quickly fell into a deep sleep.
Slip.
.
.
.
Knock, knock, knock.
“...Hyung, are you asleep?”
Whisper, whisper.
Through the slightly open door, his younger brother Si-u poked his head inside.
“...”
There was no answer.
Soft, steady breathing.
Only his brother’s breathing could be heard.
Walking on tiptoe, Si-u carefully entered the room so he wouldn’t wake him.
He gently opened the closet door.
Then Si-u carefully lifted the long black case standing inside with both hands.
Thump, thump.
“...I’ll borrow this for a little while, hyung.”
Like a stray cat, he quietly slipped out of the room.
Footnotes:
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