The Occult World’s Coveted Blacksmith - Chapter 50

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Occult World’s Coveted Blacksmith ◈

Chapter 50: Meow, You’re Mine Now

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[HOT] They said the Jirisan Mountain isolated zone was cleared in half a day. Is that for real?

└Yeah, it was easy as hell. Meteor Squad carried.

└They said it would take days, but half a day? Meteor Squad really is something else.

└Damn, I got called in too. I should've gone.

└Ahhh, Meteor Squad, carry me too~ Stop carrying only Tae-gyeong all the time~

└No, no, no. I heard Han Tae-gyeong carried the whole thing by himself this time?

└Welcome back, Tae-gyeong.

└What could that arrow-picking bitch possibly carry?

└Nah, I watched it live, and it was absolutely insane. He fired lightning arrows. It was a Spell Formula I'd never seen before.

└????? What the hell is that?

[Question] Is this the Spell Formula Han Tae-gyeong supposedly used in that best post??

Posted by: ArchersAreRomantic

(A GIF of a foreign sorcerer firing lightning arrows.)

I brought this over from an overseas occult community.

This is a Grade-1 Spell Formula, though? There probably aren't many people in Korea who can use it, especially not lightning infusion.

└Whoa, what is that? That's sick.

└How did you even get into a foreign occult forum? Damn.

└I'm an overseas Korean, yeah.

└Damn, lightning infusion? That's ridiculously cool.

└Tsk... Can someone's skill really improve that suddenly?

└So is Tae-gyeong world-class now?

└No, it wasn't that. I watched it live, and he didn't even have arrows. He made lightning arrows in midair and fired them.

└??? Lightning without arrows?

[HOT] Hey, I watched the Jirisan Mountain operation live. This is 100% the bow Han Tae-gyeong was carrying.

(A photo of the 'Lightning Bow' that was posted on the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Treasures.)

I saw it clearly up close.

That pitch-black bow with the yellow gem set in the grip.

I was wondering where I'd seen it before. It's definitely the Do Emperor's Ritual Implement that was posted on the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Treasures.

└?????

└Holy shit, lol. Why is this real?

└I was wondering who bought this, but Tae-gyeong did??? What the hell?

At first, everyone had their doubts.

Some thought Han Tae-gyeong had secretly gone abroad to learn a hidden technique, while others believed he had bought a new Ritual Implement.

A Spell Formula like that couldn't be learned overnight, so public opinion had been leaning heavily toward the latter when the articles came out.

[Exclusive] Meteor Squad's Han Tae-gyeong Bought the Eul-tier Ritual Implement 'Lightning Bow'...

[Interview] Han Tae-gyeong: "Master Do Personally Engraved a Binding Spell Formula for Me... This Bow Is Mine for Life Now."

└A Binding Spell Formula, wow... He can engrave those too? What the hell can't our Do Emperor do?

└Is Tae-gyeong loaded? He actually had a Binding Spell Formula engraved on this? Damn.

└What an asshole. He's going to bind such a precious Eul-tier Ritual Implement to himself for life? Is an Eul-tier Ritual Implement even his to claim? Isn't that a national loss?

└Fact) It is his.

└Honestly, if he hadn't done that, I don't think I'd be able to sleep at night either. Lol.

* * *

"Did you see the interview article? The response is pretty good."

Seo Ji-an slid a tablet toward me.

Han Tae-gyeong's interview article was displayed on the screen.

A Binding Spell Formula.

Apparently, artisans capable of engraving one were so rare that even well-known workshops usually refused to do it.

"I guess Tae-gyeong can finally sleep easy now."

Since it had been announced so openly, even if someone stole that bow, they wouldn't be able to use or sell it.

The moment they tried to fence it, the culprit would be identified.

I did wonder whether it was a little wasteful to engrave something that would make such an expensive purchase impossible to resell.

'But he likes it that much.'

Han Tae-gyeong's sparkling eyes as he hugged the bow came to mind.

'He seemed pretty happy with it.'

Ahem.

I picked up my carving knife again.

Scrape.

"Oh, you've already made this many?"

Seo Ji-an bent over to look at one side of the workbench.

The sealing key rings I'd carved whenever I had spare time were neatly piled there.

A rabbit, a horse, a chicken, and the cat I'd carved today.

'Still, I've gathered quite a few now.'

Of course, I wasn't only carving figurines.

I was a blacksmith, first and foremost.

This was just something I made when I had free time.

"Let's see, the next client is..."

Knock, knock, knock.

"Ah, she's here."

Seo Ji-an opened the door.

"Come in, Yu-ha."

* * *

Creak.

The door opened, and Kim Yu-ha entered, struggling to drag a large suitcase and a bag.

That's right.

Today's client was none other than Ishihara Yua, who's been rising in popularity lately.

Kim Yu-ha.

...But why did she have so much luggage?

"Today's the day Yu-ha moves in."

Seo Ji-an said as she took the suitcase from her.

Ah. Was that already today?

Yu-ha had left her old office and decided to transfer here entirely.

There were plenty of vacant rooms above the workshop, so it seemed Seo Ji-an had offered her one as part of an exclusive contract.

"Master, I brought what you asked for."

Yu-ha carefully set down the bag she'd brought.

Ziiip.

When she opened the zipper, something poked its head out from inside.

"Meowww."

A gray cat.

"Oh my, it's a cat? How cute."

Seo Ji-an reached out to pet it.

Chomp.

"Eek!"

The little thing immediately bit her hand.

Tap.

Then, with its tail held high, it strutted straight toward me.

Hop.

It lightly jumped onto the table and stared at me.

Hmm... It was rather pretty.

"It's female?"

When I held out my hand, it started rubbing its face against it.

[Meowww.]

No, it was really cute.

Maybe I liked cats.

"...Tch. It bit me."

Seo Ji-an blew on the back of her bitten hand and muttered in disbelief.

"I think she likes you, Do-hyeon."

"According to a Japanese appraiser, she's a Grade-3 spirit beast."

"Thank you for bringing her all this way."

"It was nothing."

I had been needing a spirit beast to test something on anyway.

Yu-ha had mentioned that she rescued a spirit beast while on a job in Japan, so I'd asked her to bring it along.

'All right, then.'

"We can see her later. Shall we discuss your request first?"

Yu-ha's request this time was for a defensive Ritual Implement.

There was a reason I'd accepted Yu-ha's request first while requests for Ritual Implements were flooding in.

Yu-ha had been making a lot of money lately.

And I couldn't help knowing that.

A certain percentage of her earnings came to me in the end.

Besides, if the Ritual Implement I made improved her success rate, my share would grow as well.

...Well, a VIP was a VIP.

Ahem.

"I heard you were looking for armor?"

"Yes. What happened was..."

Normally, Ritual Implements were powered by the caster's Spiritual Power.

Yu-ha's situation, in summary, was this.

Because her Spiritual Power had been running wild, she hadn't even considered using defensive Ritual Implements. Only after repairing her sword stabilized her Spiritual Power had she begun wearing one.

But defensive Ritual Implements had to stay activated throughout battle, so they consumed an enormous amount of Spiritual Power.

'So that's the problem.'

From what I'd seen when examining her before, Yu-ha wasn't naturally blessed with a great deal of Spiritual Power.

In short, she wanted a defensive Ritual Implement with low Spiritual Power consumption.

'Should I attach a Spirit Stone or something so it can replenish her Spiritual Power?'

But if armor had a Spirit Stone embedded in it, it would be uncomfortable to wear and likely to break easily if she rolled around.

"Then before this, did you go on jobs completely unprotected?"

"Ah, I used this."

Yu-ha rummaged beneath her clothes and took something out.

A sheet of yellow paper.

"That's... a Protective Talisman?"

Seo Ji-an recognized it.

I'd seen a Protective Talisman in You Can Make Them Too! Starting Today, I'm a Talisman King.

Simply put, it was an item that could block one fatal blow.

I thought I'd seen it in the advanced section at the very end.

"That's a pretty high-grade one too, isn't it?"

Apparently, only top-class talisman masters could make them.

They were single-use and incredibly expensive.

"I didn't have a choice. I couldn't wear a defensive Ritual Implement..."

...Hmm.

Naturally, I could optimize it to reduce Spiritual Power consumption.

But that was too ordinary.

There had to be a more groundbreaking way...

Adding a Spirit Stone would make it heavy and uncomfortable. Was there something else that could replenish Spiritual Power?

Hmm... A talisman?

...A talisman.

'Ah.'

That was it.

Grin.

Another new method came to mind.

...This could be fun.

Fun.

Since I'd have to start with development, I thought it might take a while.

"I might be able to make it faster than I thought."

"Huh?"

"Let's take your measurements first. Please remove your outerwear."

"Ah, okay."

Yu-ha took off her outerwear.

Rustle.

The curves hidden beneath it were revealed in full.

Ahem.

More than I expected, uh...

"Excuse me for a moment."

I cleared my throat and unfolded the measuring tape.

"Y-Yes..."

Yu-ha awkwardly raised both arms and lowered her gaze.

As I wrapped the tape around her back and brought it forward...

Flinch.

Yu-ha's shoulders trembled slightly.

I silently looked down at the number marked on the tape.

'...Hmm.'

It seemed I'd need quite a lot of material.

Only after I put the measuring tape away did Yu-ha release the breath she'd been holding.

Her face was somehow red all the way to her ears.

"That's done. Give me a few days, and I'll have it made for you."

"Okay..."

During our consultation, Seo Ji-an had been feeding the cat treats and playing with her off to the side.

Tap.

"Ah, kitty?!"

The gray cat jumped onto the table again, came straight over to me, and repeatedly rubbed against me.

Rub. Rub.

"I think she likes you, Master. She always hisses at me..."

Yu-ha muttered with a dejected expression.

Little punk. Did she recognize her owner?

When I stroked her head, she purred contentedly.

Well, the consultation was over.

Should I test this first?

I took out the sealing key ring I'd engraved beforehand.

I'd carved it in the shape of a cat in advance.

All right, then.

When I pulled the chain portion of the key ring...

Pop.

A small hole appeared at the end.

I pointed it at the little thing.

Then poured in Spiritual Power.

[Meowwwww!]

Whoooosh.

The gray cat became a streak of light and was sucked right into the key ring.

...Nice.

It may have gotten smaller, but it still had the same satisfying feel!

'This has its own kind of satisfying feel too.'

Mm-hmm.

Kitty, you're mine now.

"Wow..."

Yu-ha looked a little surprised as she watched.

"Ah, it's a Ritual Implement I've been developing lately. It's a Portable Spirit Beast Sealing Key Ring."

Yu-ha stared intently at the key ring.

"Ah, do you not keep a spirit beast, Yu-ha?"

"Uh... My family does have a spirit beast they've raised for generations, but it's hard to take it around with me. I usually leave it at the main house. I can't really bring it on jobs."

"I see."

That worked out perfectly.

"I'll give you one of these. Would you like to try using it?"

"Huh? Is that really okay?"

"Think of it as sponsorship."

Yu-ha was an Occult World celebrity now, so simply having her carry it around would be good publicity.

* * *

"Where should we sell these sealing key rings?"

'I could post them in the Goblin Fire marketplace tab...'

Still, that felt a little lacking.

The dopamine rush of prices shooting up in real time, with people flooding in with bids!

I'd developed a taste for that thrilling auction system!