WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Occult World’s Coveted Blacksmith ◈
Chapter 51: W-Why Isn’t It Working~?! (Revised)
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Early that morning, before the article on the Binding Spell Formula was posted.
On the way to the archery range at the old district office.
Si-u had ended up taking the bow out for real.
‘Damn... Should I turn back even now? My brother is seriously terrifying when he gets mad.’
His heart felt like it was about to burst.
If he got caught taking it out without permission, there was no telling what might happen.
‘No... I’ve already come this far.’
Right. Just once.
I’ll just check whether I have the makings of a hero hidden inside me, then leave.
.
.
.
After that day, Si-u started going to the school archery range again.
It wasn’t because of his coach’s nagging. It was because of the exhilarating feel in his hands that day.
Maybe it was because of the memory of his shoulder injury, but his timing had kept slipping at crucial moments.
Yet after trying Tae-gyeong’s bow that day, that problem had strangely disappeared.
Then again, he had said the injury had completely healed long ago.
Was it because he had gained the confidence that it was okay to draw with all his strength?
Or because he had regained the confidence he had lost?
Whatever it was, he was gradually getting his feel back.
There was one problem, though.
His form was steadily returning, but he couldn’t forget the feel of using his brother’s bow that day.
That night, Si-u was once again lying awake, lost in thought.
‘What the hell is my brother, really?’
Was he some kind of hero?
A world of heroes.
No, was something like that actually real?
Of course, he couldn’t bring himself to ask his brother outright.
‘Ah... You’ve learned too much, little brother.’
There was no telling what his brother might do after saying that.
I’m his only biological younger brother. Surely he wouldn’t hurt me, but there was nothing wrong with being careful.
You know how it is in movies.
They give you memory-erasing drugs or flash strange lights at you. Things like that.
‘...Am I taking this too far?’
Maybe he had watched too many hero cartoons.
No. No, that wasn’t it.
Then what was that bow from back then?
And what exactly had I experienced that day?
My brother said he did tile work, so why was he traveling all over the country with a bow like that?
No matter how much I thought about it, it didn’t seem like my imagination.
It definitely existed.
A hidden world I knew nothing about!
‘Yeah. There’s definitely a world of heroes.’
And my brother was part of that world.
‘...Then what about me, his only little brother?’
Don’t I have the makings of a hero too?
Thump, thump.
Just thinking about it made his heart race.
Gulp.
A thought suddenly occurred to him.
Maybe his shoulder giving out right before the national competition had all been meant to lead him down this path.
Maybe he was destined to become a hero...
‘Ah... Just once, seriously... Please, just one more time.’
.
.
.
That was how this happened.
Creeeak.
He arrived at the archery range at the old district office.
Gulp.
When he unzipped the case, that pitch-black bow from that day was inside.
Swish.
Si-u lifted the bow.
...But then.
“...Huh?”
Something felt off.
The first time he held this bow a few days ago, it had settled into his palm as though it had been custom-made for him.
Now...
‘How do I put this? It feels strangely stiff?’
It felt quite heavy too.
‘Did my brother change the setup already?’
Tzzzt―
“Ow! That stings!”
The palm gripping the bow stung as if he had been pricked by a needle.
‘What was that? Have I been practicing too much lately?’
Then again, the calluses he had lost while resting were probably growing back.
Si-u didn’t think much of it.
“Phew.”
He took his stance and nocked an arrow.
Just as Si-u tried to draw the bow with all his strength.
Hng...!
Hnnngh...!
The bowstring didn’t budge.
‘W-What is this?’
It had drawn so easily a few days ago.
Panicking, Si-u gritted his teeth and forced the string back.
That was when it happened.
Crackle―!
Light burst from the yellow gem in the bow’s grip.
“Uh, uhh―”
Bzzzzzz―! Crack!!
“Hot! It’s hottt!”
Si-u threw the bow away and rolled across the floor.
“Urgh...! Aaaah...!”
.
.
.
“...Ugh.”
When Si-u came to, he picked up the bow again.
Tzzzt―! Crackle!
“Ow! Aaaah!”
...In the end, no matter how hard he tried, it didn’t work.
Even touching it sent pain through him like he had been burned.
‘...This can’t be happening.’
Just moments ago, he had been brimming with excitement at the thought that he might be destined to become a hero.
‘...My arm just fucking hurts.’
“Argh! W-Why isn’t it working?!”
Does that mean I can’t become a hero?
Slump.
‘What the hell...’
Si-u left the archery range with his shoulders drooping.
Inhale. But...
...Somehow, it had gotten too late.
The sky was already turning bluish with dawn.
“This is bad. What if my brother wakes up...!”
Si-u went pale and started running.
* * *
Outside the house.
Beep, beep. Bweep.
Click.
As he carefully opened the door...
“What’s this? Where’d you go?”
“...!”
He locked eyes with his brother, who was sitting at the table eating cereal.
“Me...? P-Practice.”
Thump, thump, thump.
‘Please, don’t notice...’
If he found out I’d secretly taken it out and ended up like this, he might actually beat me to death.
Maybe because of the electric shock, his hand was trembling.
“...You.”
Tae-gyeong’s eyes fell on Si-u’s shaking arm.
“...Have you really decided to get serious about it again?”
“Y-Yeah...! R-Right?”
Grin.
Tae-gyeong smiled warmly.
“You went so hard at dawn practice that your arm is shaking? Damn, kid. Good job. I told you, you’ve got talent! Your big brother guarantees it.”
“Ah, haha...”
‘...Please just hurry up and go wash up.’
Fortunately, his brother soon got busy preparing for work.
In the meantime, Si-u quickly hung the bow back in the wardrobe in his brother’s room.
Phew... Phew...
That had been close.
Tzzzt.
His arm still tingled.
‘Destined to become a hero, my ass...’
Si-u made himself a promise.
He would never touch that terrifying thing again.
* * *
Recently, a new tab had appeared on 『Goblin Fire』, the anonymous community exclusive to the Occult World.
It was the [Goblin Auction] tab!
There had already been a [Goblin Marketplace] tab where people bought and sold items, but it was not much different from any ordinary secondhand marketplace. Most users agreed that it was full of lowball offers and scam listings.
That was why Goblin Auction had been created!
Moreover, after the “selective verification failure” abuse-of-power scandal at the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Treasures’ Hundred Flowers Festival, Goblin Fire had been flooded with requests for a proper permanent auction system.
And so, the Goblin Auction tab was born.
Using it was simple.
You listed an item and wrote a brief description.
Then, once you set a starting price and sale period, the item would be sold to the highest bidder at the end of that period.
[Daily] Hmm, this Goblin Auction tab feels kind of pointless.
What’s the difference between this and the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Treasures?
At least the families there verify the quality and put their marks on the items.
└ lol, that place mostly handles stuff from the families.
└ They hardly take items from regular freelancers. Their reviews take fucking forever too.
Goblin Auction, on the other hand...
Like the old marketplace tab, anyone could list and sell goods, while verification badges from the various families, famous sorcerers, and workshops boosted their credibility!
The auction tab had another key feature.
The [Best Products] ranking!
It compiled bidding competition, views, favorites, search popularity, and more to rank and display the hottest items available at the moment.
It might not seem like much.
But that alone gave them the effect of a billboard with enormous traffic.
Traffic creates demand, and demand sets the price!
Once the workshops caught on, they began pouring out listings as soon as the tab opened.
They released all the Ritual Implements they had been hoarding instead of selling.
Why?
Because if they extended the sale period, they didn’t have to sell the items right away. If they claimed and maintained a high popularity ranking, it would become a huge billboard for the workshop itself!
On top of that, clicking the seller on a product page brought up all the other items sold by that workshop.
So everyone rushed to put up attractive, rare listings as bait.
[Daily] Damn. Did you guys see the Byeong-tier armor Cheongsong Workshop put up this time?
└ Wow, its performance is insane.
└ They’d been hiding something like this all along? Damn.
└ But why is the sale period six months? lol
└ Obviously they aren’t trying to sell it. They just want to use it as a billboard.
└ For real. They’re pulling tricks so it stays in the rankings longer.
[Info] Wow, did you see Haedong Talisman Workshop’s Heavenly Thunder Talisman? Its performance is fucking crazy.
└ Starting price is 100 million won for one Talisman lol, they’ve lost it.
└ But this place set the sale period to a year too lol, they have no intention of selling it.
└ It’s a one-year billboard~
A fierce battle for control of the Popular tab and a rush of prized possessions from famous families and workshops swept through the community.
[Daily] Everyone’s criticizing them for making billboards and all,
but I think it’s good that so many listings are coming out!
When have we ever been able to look at stuff like this whenever we wanted?
Things they wouldn’t show just anyone are appearing too. I like it, honestly.
└ For real, I think it’s good too.
└ lol, it’s fun just looking. There’s so much stuff I’ve never seen before.
└ Looks like they’re all putting their pride on the line and gritting their teeth as they list them.
Within days, the Goblin Auction tab had become the biggest topic in the Occult World.
It was around then.
With powerful families and famous workshops already occupying all the top popularity rankings.
Strange items started appearing at the auction one by one.
[Portable Spirit Beast Sealing Key Ring ― Rabbit]
[Portable Spirit Beast Sealing Key Ring ― Horse]
[Portable Spirit Beast Sealing Key Ring ― Chicken]
[Portable Spirit Beast Sealing Key Ring ― Cat]
[Chat] ??? Did you guys see this?
(Screenshot)
This was listed on the auction tab today. What is this?
It says you can put spirit beasts in these and carry them around lol
└ lol what are they even talking about?
└ The bait posts have been getting seriously outrageous lately.
└ This is why verification is necessary. Anyone can list anything, so scam listings like this show up.
└ Goblin Fire staff, what are you doing instead of banning trolls like this? Seriously.
└ Hey, wait a second. The seller is Do Emperor?
└ ??? It really is. There’s a verification badge too.
└ Uh... It really is.
└ ??????
At first, people assumed it was an ordinary scam listing. Then they saw the verification badge next to the seller and, as though possessed, started clicking the sales page.
[Portable Spirit Beast Sealing Key Ring ― Rabbit]
Seller: Master Do of the Tianshan Sect ✔
Starting Price: 10 million won
Sale Period: 3 days
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.
.
At the very bottom of the page.
There was a short product description.
[Product Description]
- No Weakening required.
- Can immediately seal and carry spirit beasts up to Grade 3 that have completed Awakening.
Footnotes:
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