[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 124
Upon seeing the Orichalcum, known as the metal of the gods, Golin's eyes widened as if they would pop out.
When Zeke unequipped the Hercyon, Golin panicked and started causing a commotion.
"O-Orichalcum! Give me the Orichalcum!"
Seeing Golin causing a scene, Zeke said in a firm voice,
"Do you want to handle Orichalcum?"
"O-of course! Besides, I'm the only craftsman in the world who can handle the metal of the gods!"
Although it was an arrogant statement, it wasn't wrong.
Even Gelion, the Soul Craftsman, expressed difficulty in handling the Hercyon made of Orichalcum.
However, as soon as Golin saw the Hercyon, his eyes turned red, and he lunged at it.
Zeke said to Golin,
"If you listen to what I have to say, I'll entrust you with the repair of this Hercyon."
It was an unheard-of way of commissioning a repair, not asking for it but saying he would entrust it if Golin listened to him.
Surprisingly, Golin calmed down noticeably at Zeke's words.
"Hmm... Alright. Let's go inside for now."
Golin took Zeke inside the smithy.
The inside was unexpectedly ordinary for a smithy.
Except for the mountain of failed works piled up on one side.
'I can see why he's Gelion's master.'
Gelion also had a habit of piling up failed works like a mountain on one side.
Golin brought a crude-looking mug filled with beer.
"This is Master Golin's special homemade beer, so good that if two people drink it, one might die without the other knowing."
Zeke took a sip of the beer Golin handed him.
As he said, it was a truly fragrant beer.
"This is delicious beer."
Golin smiled with satisfaction at those words.
He downed the beer in one gulp and then brought a whole barrel of beer.
Since dwarves and beer were inseparable, it seemed he brewed beer even here in the Barbarian territory.
After finishing the beer, Zeke felt a magical aura from the mug he was holding.
'What's this?'
Surprisingly, a temperature control spell was cast on the crude-looking mug.
When Zeke noticed the magic on the mug, Golin chuckled.
"It's something that brings out the taste of beer amazingly. You have a good eye."
Golin took a gulp of beer and continued,
"By the way, a Hercyon made of pure Orichalcum... Are you a knight from the Empire? You must be of high status. Even I have never even imagined such a thing."
Zeke shook his head.
"No. My name is Zeke Draker."
Golin spat out the beer he was drinking at those words.
"D-Draker?"
Golin finally noticed the pure-blood Awakened gloves Zeke was wearing.
Putting down the mug, Golin scrutinized Zeke from head to toe.
"A pure-blood Awakened of Draker with an Orichalcum Hercyon..."
The Rom Empire's Hercyon crafting techniques were treated as top secret.
Although the Holy Kingdom also crafted Hercyons, they couldn't match the Rom Empire's.
However, there was an exception: the Silver Armor that the Holy Kingdom gave to Carly Draker.
That armor was also a type of Hercyon, made of pure Mithril, so its performance was superior to ordinary Hercyons.
It was no wonder there was a saying that a single Silver Armor cost as much as a year's worth of operating expenses for a large city.
Zeke said to Golin, who was looking at him suspiciously,
"It's an artifact I found in an ancient ruin."
"You found such a sacred object in a ruin?"
He nodded.
Zeke lied without batting an eye.
There was no way such a Hercyon could have been excavated so quietly. Even if it were possible, it wouldn't be something an ordinary Draker knight could do, but something only the lord could achieve.
However, Golin didn't mind Zeke's words.
"Well, let's say that's the case. Are you saying you want to repair this Hercyon?"
"Yes. It's an ancient artifact, so the magic circles engraved on it aren't properly activated."
"Magic circles... If it's that kind of artifact, it could have five, no, six 3rd-circle magic spells engraved on it."
Zeke shook his head at Golin's words.
"There are twenty-eight grand magic circles engraved on it, but only three are active."
Golin once again spat out the beer he was drinking.
"H-how many?"
"I said twenty-eight."
"T-twenty-eight grand magic circles?"
Golin clutched his head with an incredulous expression.
"N-no way... No, wait, no. If it's Orichalcum, the metal of the gods, maybe it's possible to layer the circuits and engrave them more densely...?"
Zeke clapped his hands towards Golin, who was lost in his own world.
"Gasp! Yes. Can you show me the H-Hercyon?"
Zeke said with a firm expression,
"First, write a confirmation letter to send to the Guild Federation. The commission comes after."
Wanting to touch the unimaginable artifact as soon as possible, Golin hurriedly wrote the confirmation letter.
<I'm alive. Don't bother looking for me. — Golin Yober>
Golin even stamped his seal firmly.
Zeke carefully stored the confirmation letter in his inventory.
Meanwhile, Golin, with his eyes bloodshot, waited impatiently for Zeke to take out the Hercyon.
Zeke took off the armor he was wearing and handed it to Golin.
"Oooh!"
Golin carefully received the armor and took it to his workbench.
Then, he put on a magnifying glass and examined the armor closely.
He made all sorts of noises.
"This is! N-no way... How is this possible! Huh... This is crazy. Crazy."
After an hour of examining the armor with exclamations and sighs, Golin took off the magnifying glass and said to Zeke,
"C-can you activate this?"
Zeke ordered the system to activate the Hercyon.
Whoosh!
The Hercyon transformed from the form of a breastplate into a full plate armor.
Golin marveled again and examined the Hercyon closely.
Zeke, watching Golin, started to feel a bit bored.
'This time, it seems like it'll take a few hours.'
While Golin was examining the Hercyon, Zeke decided to check the random boxes he received as rewards and organize his points.
Zeke went outside the smithy and opened the three random boxes he received for defeating the Hydra.
Thud!
Three items appeared in front of Zeke.
'What are these?'
An old mace, a cloak, and an old book appeared.
Zeke checked the information of the items.
—Mace Information—
Description: A holy mace imbued with the power of light, crafted during the Lubern dynasty.
Inherent Ability: Light's Punishment (effect applies only upon striking)
Special Note: Deals triple damage when used against undead or demonic creatures.
—Cloak Information—
Description: A cloak that changes the appearance of the wearer.
Inherent Ability: Perception Alteration
Special Note: It changes the perception of others, not the actual appearance, so the reality remains unchanged.
—Book Information—
Description: The latter part of a magic book containing light magic passed down since before the Lubern dynasty.
Inherent Ability: Magic Inheritance
Special Note: Automatically transfers knowledge to the descendant inheritor of the Lubern bloodline who has learned light magic.
Zeke pondered the mace and the magic book.
"Light magic? A magic that can only be learned by a descendant inheritor of the Lubern bloodline. Interesting."
The crown of the Lubern dynasty, which he had taken from Richmond, also had the inherent abilities Mace of Light and Shield of Light.
And although Zeke couldn't use magic, he acquired them as skills and could freely use them through the system.
However, since there was no mention of a descendant inheritor back then, it seemed he wouldn't be able to use this book like the crown.
"Hmm, first theseries, and now the Lubern series. I wonder what's with the Lubern dynasty."
As far as Zeke remembered, the Lubern dynasty was the predecessor of the Holy Empire.
They expanded their territory with holy knights armed with strong faith at the forefront.
The Lubern dynasty, which was nothing more than a small to medium-sized country, soon expanded into a vast empire, and that became the foundation of the Holy Empire.
The Lubern king became the first emperor of the Holy Empire, but after two generations, the royal authority was overshadowed by the papal authority, and the Lubern bloodline was either executed or exiled.
The position of the emperor was changed to be determined by votes from the elders among the elector clans.
'The fact that items from the Lubern dynasty keep appearing means there's something to it.'
Zeke opened the hardcover light magic book.
Then, a message popped up.
—Main Quest Mission—
[Return the lost latter part of the magic book to the inheritor of the Lubern bloodline who inherited light magic. (No time limit)]
[Quest Mission Reward: Acquire the title Light Knight, acquire the skill Holy Flame]
'Main quest?'
A main quest, which had been quiet for a while, suddenly appeared. He couldn't use it himself, but it seemed a reward would follow if he found someone who could.
Zeke pondered the mission details.
"A descendant of the Lubern dynasty... How am I supposed to find a royal family that disappeared hundreds of years ago?"
Zeke stored the book and the mace in his inventory for now.
He planned to search for them later using the Syndicate's information network and give up if he couldn't find them.
Zeke picked up the remaining item and muttered,
"A cloak that alters perception."
Zeke put on the cloak.
Then, a message popped up.
[Imagine the appearance you wish to transform into.]
'What should I transform into?'
After a brief thought, Zeke thought of Kaisir.
Woooong!
The cloak shimmered, and light enveloped his body.
Zeke examined his appearance.
"What, I don't see much of a change..."
Just then, the smithy door burst open, and Golin came out.
"This is! Amazing! No, even that word isn't enough, it's incredible...! Huh? What? Where did the Draker guy go, and why is there a bastard with an annoying elf face here?"
Golin didn't recognize Zeke. Seeing this, Zeke asked Golin,
"What color are my eyes right now?"
Golin frowned and said,
"Don't show me that annoying face! Get out of here!"
Zeke deactivated the perception alteration.
Then, he returned to his original appearance.
Golin, who was watching this in real time, was startled.
"W-what was that! Magic?"
Zeke nodded.
"Something like that. What color were my eyes when I transformed earlier?"
Golin clicked his tongue and said,
"They were a dull sky blue. Ugh, it's annoying, so don't ever change into that face again."
Zeke confirmed that he had properly transformed into the image of Kaiser he had in mind.
With a pleased feeling, he followed Golin back into the smithy.
Golin, looking at the Hercyon, said,
"Do you know what this is?"
"No, not really."
Golin grinned and said,
"This is a sacred object imbued with the power of a constellation."
"By the power of a constellation, do you mean something like the Empire's Thirteen Zodiacs?"
Zeke recalled the Hercyon worn by Morgan Buffon, the Knight of the Serpent Bearer.
The Hercyon imbued with the power of the Serpent Bearer constellation was on a different level from ordinary Hercyons.
Golin nodded.
"It seems you understand quickly. This is a much more incredible artifact than those of the Thirteen Zodiacs."
"A constellation other than the Thirteen Zodiacs... Could it be?"
Golin grinned.
"Yes, this is a sacred object imbued with the power of the Moon Goddess, Teia."
The goddess worshipped by the constellations of the Thirteen Zodiacs.
The Moon Goddess, Teia.
Zeke was surprised to hear that the Hercyon Cain had was an artifact imbued with Teia's power.
"Teia's power... You're saying it's imbued with the authority of the Moon Goddess?"
Golin nodded.
"The grand magic circles are incredible, but compared to the authority of the Moon Goddess, they're like fireflies in front of the moon."
The Moon Goddess, possessing power comparable to the Sun God, was the ruler of the shadow world.
If the Sun God controlled the primordial light, the Moon Goddess controlled the primordial shadow.
The constellations of the Thirteen Zodiacs were far inferior to her power.
Just as Zeke was momentarily stunned by the unexpected identity, Golin said,
"And... there's good news and bad news."
"What's the bad news?"
Golin clicked his tongue and said,
"Don't people usually want to hear the good news first?"
"Not me."
"Just listen. The good news is that it's possible to repair this."
"What's the bad news?"
Golin scratched his head and said,
"There are two problems."
He went to the back and brought something.
It was a small stone with silver ore attached to it.
"What's this?"
"It's called Meteorite Iron. It's a metal that comes from rocks that fall from the sky, so it's hard to find."
At the mention of its rarity, Zeke thought of the Meteorite Iron armor series.
'Was Meteorite Iron that precious?'
Since it came out every time he opened a random box, he didn't realize it was so valuable.
Golin sighed and said,
"To repair that, you need an enormous amount of Meteorite Iron."
"By enormous, how much do you mean?"
Golin clicked his tongue and said,
"Well, about ten ingots?"
After pondering Golin's words, Zeke turned around and pretended to rummage through his bag while taking out the Meteorite Iron armor set from his inventory.
Thud.
The full set of Meteorite Iron armor fell in front of Golin.
"Will this be enough?"
Golin's jaw dropped as he saw Zeke casually taking out the Meteorite Iron armor.
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]