WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Occult World’s Coveted Blacksmith ◈

Chapter 5: Goblin Market

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"If you leave it to me, Seo Ji-an, the most experienced broker in this business!"

She grabbed my hand.

"Whether it's a commission to make Ritual Implements or auctioning off something you've made, I'll handle everything perfectly. Just leave it to me!"

My head spun.

My mind was already a mess from all the incomprehensible things she'd been throwing at me.

So...

She was saying she wanted to be some kind of manager for me, right?

The faint, alluring scent of her perfume.

Seo Ji-an's charming face as she stared straight at me.

The faint line visible through the opening of her shirt as she leaned forward.

"...!"

I snapped back to my senses.

Calm down. Let's calm down.

Wasn't this whole situation far too unreal?

The Occult World, minor spirits, Spell Artifacts, Recognition-Obscuring Talisman.

And five million won? For a shabby brass bell like that?

'...Is this some kind of scam?'

Come to think of it, a website like that was probably easy enough to throw together if someone put their mind to it.

This felt like a classic honey-trap scam.

"Um, just a moment."

I gently pulled my hand free and stood.

"I'll think it over first and contact you again..."

"Uh, wait! Wait!"

Seo Ji-an rose after me, looking flustered.

"Is there something you don't like? I can accommodate any conditions you-"

"No... It's not that. I'll contact you again."

I gave a small bow and quickly headed for the cafe entrance.

I had to get out first.

My thoughts were too tangled.

Whoosh.

The automatic doors opened, and cool outside air washed over my face.

I felt like I could finally breathe.

Back there, it felt like I'd been bewitched by something.

It was ridiculous.

Sorcerers? What kind of joke was that?

The more I thought about it, the more wrong it felt.

Could it have been a scam disguised as job placement? Or human trafficking?

I thought I'd seen something like it online.

They promised high pay, took people overseas, confiscated their passports, locked them up, then made them spend all day making voice-phishing calls.

Or they harvested their organs and sold them, or took them to some remote island and worked them as salt-farm slaves for the rest of their lives.

Right. I might have narrowly avoided something terrible.

"..."

Thinking that way made my head feel a little clearer.

Thank goodness.

I was still holding my half-finished iced Americano.

When I took a sip, all the ice had melted, and it tasted like watered-down coffee.

I tossed the cup into a trash can and slowly started down the street.

Gangnam on a weekday morning. Office workers in suits hurried past me.

People glanced at their wristwatches before heading back into cafes.

Others crossed the street with earphones in, talking to someone on the phone.

Everyone was headed somewhere.

'...Where am I supposed to go?'

The thought suddenly crossed my mind.

Bzzzt.

Then my phone vibrated in my pocket.

[KC Card: Expected payment amount this month: 347,200 won]

"Ah..."

My bank balance was starting to run dry.

After paying next month's rent, it would probably be completely empty.

It wasn't as though I hadn't made money when I played the game.

My custom gear as a max-level blacksmith had always been in high demand among high-level players.

There had even been times when selling a single greatsword put more than a million won into my account.

But the blacksmith class had one fatal drawback.

To make better things, to raise my level and improve my skills, I needed more expensive materials!

I spent money like water trying to please eccentric NPC craftsmen hidden across the continent and obtain legendary blueprints.

Most of the time, I bought my way through those hurdles.

Later, once I set my sights on becoming the first player to reach max level, I became even less willing to save.

Aside from necessary expenses, I reinvested everything into the game.

After grinding away for ten years like that...

If I couldn't find a new part-time job by next month, I'd be kicked out of my studio apartment too.

'Mr. Mu-hyeok, I didn't think you were the kind of person to do this...'

Well. What could I do?

Now that I knew I could work as a blacksmith, I could look for another forge.

One day, I'd save up enough money to open my own forge.

There couldn't be only one forge in all of Seoul.

I kept walking, trying to firm up my resolve.

...But wait.

Didn't blacksmithing usually work through apprenticeships?

What if they made me do nothing but odd jobs for years?

Then who knew how long it would take before I could start saving money again?

When would I ever have enough to open my own place...?

Scrape.

The sole of my sneaker dragged across the pavement as I came to a complete stop.

'...Five million won.'

She said that one old bell, with its uneven inner wall thickness, was worth five million won.

Was it... really true?

'...But if a shoddy bell like that is worth five million won...'

I could make ten bells like that a day.

No, I felt like I could make something far more impressive than that with my eyes closed.

Which meant...

If what she said was true...

My skills, my ten years of virtual grunt work, could be worth millions or tens of millions of won.

I couldn't make myself take another step.

'Should I... hear her out a little more?'

If it really turned out to be some weird pyramid scheme or scam, I could just say no then.

As I smacked my lips and weighed it over...

Click. Click. Click.

Urgent high heels approached from behind.

"Do-hyeon! Wait a moment!"

Seo Ji-an had run out of the cafe and caught up to me.

It was almost strange how quickly she'd run in those expensive-looking heels while wearing a luxury suit.

After catching her breath, she spoke.

"I guess I was too abrupt. I'm sorry."

"...No."

"But Do-hyeon. Honestly, isn't it such a waste to just leave like this?"

Seo Ji-an smiled that beguiling smile again.

"Just one place. Could you come with me to just one place? Take a look, and if you really don't like it, you can leave then."

"...Where?"

"It's close. About ten minutes by car?"

She pointed over her shoulder at a red sports car.

"...Uh, I..."

She wanted me to ride in that?

When I hesitated, Seo Ji-an clasped her hands together and pretended to plead.

"Please. You really won't regret it."

She looked up at me, blinking those big eyes, and I ended up nodding as though I had no choice.

Well, I'd already decided to hear her out a little more.

When I got into the passenger seat, the premium leather seat softly enveloped me.

A low engine hum filled the car, along with a luxurious fragrance similar to the one she wore.

'...She looks about my age, but she drives a car like this.'

If everything she'd said at the cafe wasn't nonsense...

Then being a broker really must pay well.

"Make sure you fasten your seat belt."

Vroooom!

The car slid onto the road.

Unlike her delicate appearance, she drove boldly and skillfully.

"By the way."

Holding the steering wheel, she spoke up.

"Do-hyeon, I wanted to ask, just in case."

"Yes?"

"Which family are you affiliated with?"

"...Affiliated family?"

A family. I quickly ran through my thoughts.

I was a Jeonju Lee...

What was it again? The twenty-third-generation descendant of Grand Prince Hyoryeong?

'...That's probably not what she means.'

It didn't seem like she was asking about my genealogy.

"...I don't belong to one."

"Mm... I see. Hehe. All right."

Ji-an smiled as though she understood.

"...Is that important?"

"Mm... No. It'd be better to explain after you see it for yourself. We're almost there."

The car smoothly pulled over to the side of the road.

I got out and looked around.

It was an ordinary part of the city.

The entrance to a narrow alley.

Old walk-up buildings beside it, and a convenience store on the corner.

"...Here?"

"Yes."

"What's here?"

Seo Ji-an grinned.

"What you see isn't all there is."

A vacant commercial building plastered with rental notices.

A narrow alley ran alongside it.

Seo Ji-an stopped before a brick wall at the dead end.

Then she drew a strange pattern in the air with her finger.

And then...

Swoooosh.

The space rippled.

The brick wall scattered like waves, each brick shifting into a new position.

Rumble.

Before long, a massive arched entrance appeared.

"...Huh?"

I instinctively stepped back.

I rubbed my eyes hard.

Was it a hologram? No, I wasn't wearing VR gear, so how could I see something like this with my bare eyes?

'The stories she'd told me... They weren't made up? The Occult World, all of it was real?'

As I stood there frozen, Seo Ji-an stepped through the entrance first and held out her hand.

"What are you doing? Come on."

As if in a trance, I followed after her.

An old wooden sign hung above the arch.

[Goblin Gate]

* * *

"All right, welcome to the Goblin Market."

The moment I crossed the entrance, an entirely different world unfolded before me.

The thick scent of incense stung my nose, and damp air rushed over me.

It was a massive underground arcade, so vast I could hardly believe a space like this existed in the middle of Seoul.

Countless people hurried beneath bizarre lights in every color.

There were people dressed in suits, elderly people in worn modernized hanbok, and even people wearing black monk's robes and gat hats.

"..."

My mouth hung open.

Bizarre objects were displayed at every stall.

Antique-looking knives, colorful talismans, animal bones, and unidentified herbs.

And in the hands of the people bargaining among them...

Stacks of checks, gold bars, and unfamiliar types of coins changed hands.

'...This is all real?'

Just a few days ago, I'd been staring at the ceiling of my studio apartment.

Now, I was standing in the middle of the Goblin Market hidden beneath Seoul.

'...Life really is unpredictable.'

Footnotes:

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