WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Occult World’s Coveted Blacksmith ◈
Chapter 59: Should I Use a Golden Headband or a Couple Ring?
──────
[HOT] Live Octagon Highlights.
(A GIF of Wukong sending Vulcan flying with the very first exchange.)
└Damn, Wukong's form is insane.
└Whoa, what was that??
└That water and lightning exploding together was fucking cool;;
└Whoa, where's that Ritual Implement from?
└If it's Wukong, isn't it Cheongsong Workshop?
└Damn, Cheongsong's on fire.
[HOT] Breaking: Apparently Do Emperor made Wukong's Ritual Implement?
└?????????????????For real?
└Yeah, the announcer said Cheongsong at first, then hurriedly corrected it to Do Emperor lol
└Do Emperor? What's he doing here?
└Ah... You again.
└Damn it, Do Emperor again. I have no choice but to worship Do Emperor...
└Shit, I got so hyped that I ordered Cheongsong Workshop's training staff -_-
└Get a refund. Hurry.
[HOT] Tournament rules: Yep, only one weapon allowed^^ ???: Then I'll make a transforming weapon~
(A GIF of Wukong getting cornered, only for Wukong's staff to unfurl into a Three-Section Staff.)
I think Do Emperor's actually insane... T_T
└How does anyone even think of something like that?
└I seriously got chills when that came out.
└The catharsis was unreal. T_T
└Please put it up for auction, I beg you. T_TTTT
└Does anyone seriously know where Do Emperor's workshop is? I'll go kneel if I have to.
Ahem.
Things had blown up again.
At first, I thought the posts were only appearing in the arena tab.
Before I knew it, Goblin Fire was covered in stories about Wukong.
“Man... Goblin Fire's got nothing but posts about you and Wukong right now. This is amazing!”
“Why'd you follow me all the way here, though?”
This was the Geumgang Spirit Beast Training Center.
The moment the match ended, Choi Yu-jin contacted me.
She asked if I could take on one more commission, so I rode with her in her van to the training center.
“Man! Look at that wall! Wukong's championship belts are all lined up over there!”
Look at him.
He'd obviously followed me because he wanted to see Wukong.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
Yu-jin came out from the back, shaking her wet hair dry with a towel.
Wukong, all fluffy and dry now, was beside her.
It looked like they had just finished showering.
‘...But why did they come out through the same door at the same time?’
Don't tell me they showered together?
As I was thinking that...
“Ah, well... I've been bathing Wukong since Wukong was little, so Wukong still throws a fit if I tell Wukong to wash alone... Ha ha.”
I hadn't even asked, but Yu-jin hurried to explain.
“Sure, sure. That can happen.”
‘Wukong's a pet. What's the big deal?’
I bring my kitty into the shower and bathe it too.
“Ahem. Anyway, you said you wanted to commission a Binding Spell Formula.”
“That’s right!”
“What item would you like it on?”
Come to think of it, she'd bought armor, a Three-Section Staff, and even key rings.
By my standards, she was an excellent VIP customer.
Man, the owner of a star player really did spend differently.
“The Three-Section Staff! You see, Master, the problem is...!”
.
.
.
“A weapon-stealing rule?”
“Yup.”
‘Ah...’
From what I heard, the arena rules limited each competitor to one offensive Ritual Implement when entering the ring.
But stealing an opponent's weapon and using it in the middle of a brawl was allowed.
“After seeing Wukong use it in today's match, I realized it for sure! This Three-Section Staff is a completely broken, ridiculously overpowered item!”
Ridiculously what?
“So when I thought about an opponent stealing it...! I seriously felt my vision go dark!”
Fair enough.
Watching an opponent NTR the expensive Ritual Implement I'd bought right in front of me would be enough to make anyone cry tears of blood.
“Sure. I'll inscribe a Binding Spell Formula on it.”
‘But...’
Hmm.
She was a VIP who had bought three Ritual Implements, but this was a little different from Han Tae-gyeong's Lightning Bow.
A bow or sword had a fixed place to grip, so all I had to do was make a Spiritual Power input point there and bind it.
The rest already had an anti-piracy coating.
The Three-Section Staff was different.
Depending on how it was used, there was no telling where it would be gripped. It was hard to designate a single Spiritual Power input point.
That meant I had to inscribe a Spell Formula across the entire weapon, leaving no gaps, so it would reject all Spiritual Power other than the designated user's.
That... was a fairly labor-intensive process.
‘Hmm. Nice, I've decided. From now on, I'll charge for Binding Spell Formulas too. Hehe.’
Ahem. I sold key rings that made people stronger.
I sold weapons too.
Now I could sell Binding Spell Formulas as well.
Somehow, I was becoming more and more of a creative economy.
Ah, was that why rich people found it easier to make money?
...Probably unrelated. Whatever.
The more money, the better.
That way, I could get better materials and techniques.
“Um, Master...”
Yu-jin cautiously asked, fidgeting with her fingers.
“Is it... possible to use a Binding Spell Formula for two people?”
“Cough, cough!”
Jin Mu-yeong, who had been absorbed in looking at the belts on the wall, choked behind us.
“Y-Yu-jin. That's a little... How would two people share a binding?”
Mu-yeong waved his hands, speaking for me.
“...?”
Yeah.
What kind of ridiculous question was that?
Had she never even played a game?
If two people could equip it, it wasn't a bound item anymore!
Then again, judging by those sturdy arms, she looked more familiar with punching bags than game screens.
‘Tsk... No, wait.’
Come to think of it, I'd never made one before. That didn't mean I couldn't.
It would be impossible to overlap two people's circuits on every single Spiritual Power input point.
But what if I changed the approach entirely?
I could inscribe another Spell Formula at a specific spot to activate the Ritual Implement.
Like registering two fingerprints on a phone.
Then, if I locked it so it couldn't be used unless it was activated first, it might work.
“Is there a particular reason you want that?”
“Ah! Well, ha ha. I take regular commissions too, not just arena matches. I fight alongside Wukong then... and honestly, I want to use it too.”
Apparently, she hadn’t started out competing in matches like this.
She had trained in martial arts with Wukong since childhood.
Sometimes, influential people who watched their matches would commission her specifically.
“You want to use it too, Yu-jin?”
“Yup... That's about it. But if it can't be done, there's nothing I can do. Ha ha.”
She said that, but she looked thoroughly dejected.
Ha ha. My Ritual Implement was pretty tempting, after all.
‘I haven't tried it even once, though.’
I grinned.
That made it more fun.
I rose from my seat.
“Sure. Why not give it a try?”
“Really?!”
* * *
[Squeak...?]
“Urgh...!”
I placed one hand on Wukong's chest and the other beneath Yu-jin's collarbone, reading the flow of their Spiritual Power at the same time.
“All right, that's enough.”
“Whew...”
Now that I was done analyzing both of their Spiritual Power...
“Okay, I'll get started right away.”
‘Good. First, let me draw up the design in my head.’
Normally, every Spiritual Power input point in the circuit needed to be modified for the person receiving the Binding Spell Formula.
With two people, that was impossible.
So I would inscribe blocking gates at the key junctions along the path of Spiritual Power running through the staff.
Then, I would connect each gate to both ends of the staff with thin control circuits.
At the ends, I'd create points that could absorb only specific Spiritual Power.
Activating those points first would open the gates along the central Spiritual Power path and allow the weapon to be used.
In short, I was attaching a switch to each end.
The Spiritual Power input point on this side, slot one, would be inscribed with Yu-jin's Spiritual Power circuit, while the end on the other side would be inscribed with Wukong's circuit.
‘Good. Design complete.’
Let's get to it.
Sizzle.
.
.
.
Yu-jin blankly watched Do-hyeon's fingertips.
‘...This is actually working?’
Honestly, she hadn't expected it to.
No, it was only natural that it wouldn't work.
‘A Ritual Implement bound to two people at the same time? Something like that doesn't exist.’
Even the assistant-like person beside Master Do had firmly said it was impossible.
She'd felt a little embarrassed after asking.
‘Did I just make an unreasonable demand?’
Still, there was nothing to lose.
If it didn't work, it didn't work.
She had only asked because she was desperate enough to grasp at straws...
‘How is this even happening?’
Now that she thought about it, the Three-Section Staff itself had already gone far beyond anything she could have imagined from her original commission.
And now, a double binding.
Was that really possible?
As Yu-jin stared blankly, lost in thought...
Sizzle─
“All done.”
“Whoa, already?!”
He said it would take a while, but it hadn't taken that long at all.
“Have you tried it yet?”
“No, not yet... Wukong wouldn't let go of it.”
“Then give it a try while we're here.”
Yu-jin accepted the Three-Section Staff with a dazed expression.
It fit perfectly in her hands.
“The triangle mark is where you can unlock the Ritual Implement. The circle is Wukong's.”
Following his instructions, she placed her hand over the triangle and gently fed in Spiritual Power.
Click.
It felt like a door had opened inside the Ritual Implement.
“Go ahead and use it now.”
She took a breath and drew Spiritual Power up from her dantian.
As expected, Yu-jin had a lightning attribute too.
Whoom─ Whoom─
She spun the Three-Section Staff with familiar movements. Its three sections whirled like spinning tops along separate trajectories.
She approached the newly installed punching bag.
The moment the weapon struck it...
Crack-boom-boom-boom─
Blue lightning exploded in a chain, mercilessly hammering the punching bag.
Bzzzz─
The recoil from the lightning bursting out at the striking end traveled through the chain and staff straight into Yu-jin's wrist.
This... This!
It had looked incredible just watching Wukong use it.
But actually trying it...
‘Ah...’
It felt amazing.
The feeling of becoming one with the Three-Section Staff as it made her whole body vibrate.
The feel in her hands. The impact.
Water spraying out, sparks exploding.
It felt so good.
‘This is crazy. Isn't this seriously crazy?!’
The perfect immersion made her mind go blank.
Yu-jin kept unleashing frenzied strikes at the punching bag.
She couldn't stop.
No, she didn't want to stop.
“Uh, Yu-jin, that's enough now.”
In the end...
Bam-bam-bam!
Crunch.
Whoosh...
The special punching bag inscribed with a defensive Spell Formula burst again, spilling its stuffing all over the floor.
“Haah, haah...!”
She was completely out of breath.
This feels so good...!
“Wah...! Master! I-It's incredible!”
“This, this is seriously insane! I got so electrified in the middle that I almost came... I mean, I almost passed out!”
.
.
.
I stared blankly at the white stuffing scattered across the floor like snow.
Whoosh...
Hadn't they said that stuff was really expensive?
“Wah...! Master! It's incredible!”
Yu-jin jumped around in delight.
“Master! You haven't had dinner yet, right? Let's have chicken and beer here! I'll treat you to celebrate winning the match. You too, Assistant.”
“He's not my assistant-”
“Chicken and beer sounds great!”
* * *
That was how we ended up eating chicken and drinking beer together at the training center.
Crunch. Crunch.
Wukong had claimed a seat too, thoroughly gnawing on a chicken drumstick while clutching the new Three-Section Staff tightly in one hand.
Looking closer, I saw a shallow wound on Wukong's cheek.
The spot where the spinning attack had hit.
‘If she'd stored Wukong in the key ring, it would've disappeared already.’
Ah, Wukong must have been so excited that it rode in the van with us.
Putting that aside...
“Come to think of it, about that spinning charge earlier. Wukong couldn't dodge it. Why was that?”
“Ah... So you noticed. Wukong has gotten so fast lately that... sometimes my commands don't match the timing.”
I had been curious about how spirit beast handlers controlled their spirit beasts in an arena that loud.
What did the handlers do while their spirit beasts fought?!
Cheer? Or maybe shout instructions?
No!
There was a separate area for spirit beast handlers beneath the arena. They controlled their familiars from the handler zone.
But as I concentrated on Spiritual Power to see whether the Ritual Implement was working properly, I could see everything.
A thin stream of Spiritual Power was continuously shooting from Yu-jin's body toward Wukong.
I looked it up on the way here, and apparently that process of conveying intent was called [Imprinted Intent Transmission] in spirit beast taming.
The moment Vulcan started dashing earlier, Yu-jin's Spiritual Power had shot out in a burst.
‘...Too late.’
The problem was that Wukong had already started moving.
That was why the timing didn't match.
Wukong had become incredibly fast through Lightning Energy Refinement, and it seemed the speed at which Wukong's owner sent commands couldn't keep up.
Getting too fast came with all kinds of side effects.
They'd trained together their entire lives, then Wukong suddenly got faster. Of course their coordination would be off.
Hmm...
A Ritual Implement that linked a spirit beast handler and familiar in real time...
That sounded fun!!!
I could make them and sell them.
Should I make them in the shape of couple rings?
Or, since it was Wukong, in the shape of a Golden Headband?
Man...!
Just thinking about it gave me a rush of dopamine.
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
