The promised day to hand over the masterwork blade was drawing near.
The sword had to be finished before then.
Just as Mok Cheol was about to head back outside, he saw that at some point I’d already taken my place, sitting and staring into the furnace fire.
The way I watched the flames made me look like an artisan who’d spent long years at the forge.
Gazing into the fire, I drew Chu Sowon’s dagger, separated the hilt, and slipped the blade into the Azure Flame.
The dagger began to glow a deep red.
Moving the tongs as if they were an extension of my own hand, I shifted the blade this way and that, adjusting it so the heat spread evenly. Watching that, Mok Gwang couldn’t help but be impressed.
“He’s controlling it so the heat spreads evenly,” he murmured.
“That’s no ordinary skill,” Mok Cheol said. “Where could he have learned that?”
“That’s not something you pick up in a day or two,” Mok Gwang said. “Well, that would explain why he wanted to show off his skill.”
“He looks like he’s treating the dagger with genuine respect, though.”
“It’s an act. Only because that level of performance is so perfect has he been able to fool people all this time. Who among them could tell whether what they’re seeing is truly perfect or not?”
Even now, Mok Gwang refused to acknowledge me.
After a while, I drew the glowing dagger out and examined it from every angle.
Overall, it was evenly heated, but here and there tiny specks of impurity showed like dots.
Seeing the blade’s state, Mok Gwang found himself once again in awe.
“As expected of Master Weapon-Craftsman’s work. To be this clean...” he muttered.
“There’s almost no impurity at all,” Mok Cheol said. “Just what kind of method did he use to make this?”
“It’s that perfect and still they call it a masterwork,” Mok Gwang said. “I can’t understand it.”
“But what part of that dagger could that young master possibly find unsatisfactory?” Mok Cheol asked. “I don’t see anything left that needs work.”
“I told you already,” Mok Gwang said. “Because it’s perfect, he can afford to just pretend to tap it a few times. You’ll see. He’ll only go through the motions. Since it’s forged from Blacksteel Stone, a few light taps won’t deform it anyway.”
“He’s not picking up a hammer, though. He’s just staring at it.”
“Hmph. He’s probably worried he’ll get caught if he does it while we’re watching.”
“Then let’s step out and give him room.”
“You’re right. I can’t stand here and watch this masterwork suffer any longer.”
“Me neither. Let’s get back to work.”
“Let’s.”
After the Mok father and son stepped out—
“I’m going to focus now,” I said. “Make sure everyone leaves and no one comes in here.”
“Yes, young master.”
Taecheon and Milyeong went outside. Chu Sowon lingered, staring anxiously at his dagger, but in the end he forced his reluctant feet to move and followed them out.
Only after everyone had left did I begin the reforging.
Sending them out was partly so I could concentrate—but more than that, the way I reforged the blade was beyond anything they could imagine.
For the sake of Chu Sowon’s mental health, it was better not to let him see it.
TTAANG—
A clear, pure tone rang through the smithy.
The instant it did, everyone outside turned their attention toward the furnace room I’d entered.
“Wh-what was that? How can the sound be that clear?” someone blurted.
“Isn’t it because it’s such a high-grade blade?” another guessed. “Maybe that’s just how it sounds?”
“No,” Mok Gwang said. “This is... he’s truly feeling the grain of the metal and striking it properly. You don’t get a tone like that any other way.”
“It even sounds like he’s hitting it incredibly hard,” Mok Cheol added.
At the mention of “hitting it incredibly hard,” Chu Sowon’s face turned ashen, and he squeezed his eyes shut.
The Mok father and son were burning with curiosity.
Just how was he reforging it to make that kind of sound?
When they tried to go back in, Taecheon stepped in front of the door.
“I’m sorry,” he said calmly. “The young master ordered that no one be allowed in. I know you’re the owners of this smithy, but while we’re borrowing it, we’d appreciate it if you didn’t interrupt him.”
“Grr... Very well,” Mok Gwang said.
“I apologize,” Taecheon added. “If the young master damages anything in the smithy, we’ll compensate you fully.”
“That’s not it,” Mok Gwang said. “The sound is so clear and beautiful that I just wanted to see how he was reforging it.”
At that, Taecheon nodded.
Even as a complete layman, the sound had been so pure that he’d almost peeked inside himself.
If it was this tempting for him, how much more must it torment someone who worked in this craft?
“I understand,” Taecheon said. “Even I, with no knowledge of reforging, found myself wanting to sneak a look, so I can only imagine how curious you must be. I’ll ask the young master later and tell you what he did.”
“If you’d do that, I can wait,” Mok Gwang said.
“Thank you for your understanding.”
While Taecheon smoothed things over outside, inside the smithy I watched the glowing blade with a careful gaze and flicked the flat of the dagger lightly with my finger.
TTAANG—
If the Mok father and son ever learned that I was forging the blade with my fingers instead of a hammer, they’d probably faint on the spot.
It really was a ridiculous sight.
All I did was flick the blade with my finger, yet the sound that rang out was that of a hammer striking steel.
TTAANG— TTANG—
Turning the dagger this way and that, I tapped at the tiniest spots with my fingertip.
Compared to using a hammer, it was far easier to control the force and to strike with much higher precision, so I could deal with even minute flaws one by one.
After tapping for quite some time, I went back to inspecting the blade.
I peered at it for a long while, then finally, with a satisfied smile, plunged the dagger into water.
CHIIIIIK—
Steam rose as the blade cooled.
I pulled it out and began to polish it.
SSSK-SSSK—
Slowly at first.
Then I gradually picked up speed.
How much time passed like that?
When I finally stopped, the dagger had been reborn, shining even more brilliantly than when I’d first drawn it.
It gleamed so brightly it could have reflected a face like a mirror.
I set the dagger carefully down on a cloth and closed my eyes.
Unknown words spilled continuously from my lips.
A mysterious sigil of light rose from my palm.
Opening my eyes, I brought that glowing sigil slowly down toward the blade.
ZZZZZING—
Sparks flared as the sigil began to burn itself into the flat of the dagger.
In the next moment, with a blinding flash, the dagger floated up into the air.
Light poured out of the sigil, wrapping around the blade and changing its color to a faint bluish hue.
THUNK—
When the light vanished, the dagger dropped back down onto the cloth. I picked it up and examined it closely, a satisfied grin tugging at my lips.
“There we go. Now this dagger is twice as sharp as before, lighter, and harder,” I murmured. “If you pour internal qi into it, it’ll reinforce itself by another factor of two—and it will reject anyone who isn’t its master.”
To designate a master, all you had to do was channel that person’s energy into the blade.
Once that was done, it would awaken a spiritual nature and recognize its owner.
Anyone else who tried to touch it would be greeted by powerful lightning.
“Huh? When did it get this late?”
Through the smithy window, I finally noticed the dimming light outside.
It felt like I’d only worked for a moment, but time had slipped by in a rush.
I stepped outside with the dagger in hand and found a crowd waiting.
The first to rush over when he saw me was, of course, the dagger’s owner, Chu Sowon.
I smirked and held the dagger out to him.
“Go on. Check it.”
“Th-thank you,” he said.
He took it and examined it from every angle.
“T-this is... It’s lighter than before,” he breathed.
“Careful,” I said. “The edge is sharper now too.”
“Just looking at it, I feel like it’ll cut me,” he whispered.
Chu Sowon stared at the dagger with rapt, dazzled eyes.
“Huh? There’s a pattern here that wasn’t there before,” he said.
“I inscribed a formula on it,” I said. “Once you channel internal qi into the dagger, it’ll recognize you as its master—and if anyone else touches it, it’ll shower them with lightning.”
“I-is that really true? I-I thought only divine swords could do something like that.”
“Well, it’s a divine sword now.”
“T-this is?”
At the words “divine sword,” his hands started to tremble.
It had been a fine blade before, but now it was on a completely different level—so far beyond that there was no comparison.
“Thank you, my lord!” he said, dropping to a knee.
I let out a small laugh.
“What? You were pretty nervous, weren’t you?”
“T-that was...”
“It’s fine. I would’ve been nervous too.”
Then I turned to Taecheon and Milyeong.
“So? Does this earn me a little more of your trust?”
The two of them nodded so vigorously it was almost violent.
“Say so now if you’ve changed your minds,” I added. “If you don’t need it, I can stop here.”
“N-no! We do need it!”
“We absolutely want to ask this of you!”
Their eyes were blazing.
“All right, all right.”
Chuckling, I picked up their swords and went back into the smithy.
Meanwhile, drawn by the noise outside, Mok Gwang and Mok Cheol came out and approached Chu Sowon.
“How did the blade turn out?” Mok Gwang asked. “We were so curious we couldn’t even work. We’ve just been waiting.”
“Is that so? No wonder I didn’t hear any hammering,” Chu Sowon said. “Here, take a look. It’s become even more perfect.”
“May I hold it?” Mok Gwang asked.
“Please.”
Grinning proudly, Chu Sowon held the dagger out.
Holding it in his hands, Mok Gwang trembled.
It was perfection itself.
The moment he handled it again he knew.
It truly was different from before I’d worked on it.
The balance had been subtly off.
“I can’t believe it,” he whispered. “It’s perfect.”
“I haven’t seen such a flawless dagger in a very long time,” Mok Cheol said.
The two of them kept stroking the blade, murmuring praise.
“The edge is perfect as well,” Mok Gwang said. “It can’t get any sharper than this.”
“Agreed,” Mok Cheol said. “The killing intent is so intense I feel like I’ll get cut just by bringing my hand close.”
“Amazing. Truly amazing.”
“Look here,” Mok Cheol added. “Something’s been engraved.”
“Mm. Looks like some kind of formula,” Mok Gwang said. “We occasionally get requests to inscribe formulas into blades, so I recognize the look.”
From the way they spoke, it was clear they had no idea what this particular formula would do.
Still wearing an expression of wonder, Mok Gwang glanced around, searching for me.
“Where is Young Master Jeok?” he asked.
“He took our swords and went back inside,” Taecheon said. “I expect it’ll take a bit longer.”
“Is that so... Ha ha.”
“Did you have something you wanted to say to him?” Taecheon asked.
“I wanted to apologize,” Mok Gwang said.
“Apologize?”
“Yes. I’d written him off as just another spoiled young master from a wealthy house, forcing his way in to show off in front of his followers,” he admitted. “Simply because he was young, I failed to recognize that he is such an extraordinary master craftsman. I owe him an apology.”
At his words, Taecheon smiled, clearly pleased.
“I understand. I’ll make sure to pass that on to the young master when he comes out.”
“Please do.”
“Yes.”
The Mok father and son repeated their request several more times, then went back inside to their work.
****
The next morning.
I walked out of the smithy with Taecheon and Milyeong’s swords in hand.
The blades shone like Chu Sowon’s dagger had, leaving the two men staring, dumbstruck.
Then, coming to their senses, they bowed.
“Thank you, young master!”
“Thank you, my lord!”
“Do you like them?” I asked.
“Yes! We’re more than satisfied!” Taecheon said.
The commotion brought Mok Gwang and Mok ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) Cheol outside again.
Their gazes locked onto the swords in Taecheon and Milyeong’s hands.
“P-perfect,” Mok Cheol breathed.
“Even from a distance, I can see they’re perfect,” Mok Gwang said.
After they’d examined the weapons, the two men hurried to me and bowed.
“About yesterday—we’re sorry,” Mok Gwang said.
Not sure what he meant, I glanced at Taecheon.
“Ah,” Taecheon said. “They said they were sorry for seeing you as a reckless rich young master yesterday, young master.”
I chuckled.
“It’s understandable,” I said. “It’s fine.”
“If you ever want to use our smithy again, you’re welcome anytime,” Mok Gwang said earnestly. “I won’t take a single coin for it.”
“Father...” Mok Cheol said, embarrassed.
“You brat!” Mok Gwang snapped. “When someone with that kind of overwhelming skill reforges weapons in our smithy, you should consider it an honor. How could we possibly charge him?”
“S-still...”
Seeing how flustered Mok Cheol looked, I smiled.
“A promise is a promise,” I said. “We should settle up properly.”
I tossed a pouch to him.
“It took longer than I expected, so I put in a bit extra,” I said.
“N-no! The original amount you promised is more than enough,” he protested.
“No,” I said. “I really did make good use of this place. If I have the chance another time, I’ll be in your care again.”
“It would be our honor,” Mok Cheol said, bowing his head.