Chapter 5: I Don't Like It
The persistent clerks who'd been tailing me vanished at some point, leaving no trace.
"Hmm…"
Before I knew it, the stalls that had crowded the street were gone, and a massive Tower came into view.
Hunters were lined up waiting in front of the arched entrance.
Armed with swords, shields, or bows, they chatted idly in low murmurs.
I didn't particularly care about what they were saying, nor was I happy to be surrounded by people again after all this time.
It was just that the items in their hands bothered me immensely.
Every single piece was utter trash.
Never mind the blacksmith's philosophy—the shoddy workmanship alone made my blood boil.
I recalled the long years spent in my forge.
The endless ages it took to forge a single proper weapon.
Countless failures.
The gear those Hunters held was so pathetic that calling it a 'failure' felt like an insult to actual failures.
"Tsk…"
Tucked away in a secluded corner past the crowd of Hunters, a boy sat sniffling, clutching an old iron sword snapped in two.
* * *
"Dammit…"
E-rank Hunter Minseong Yu squatted alone, lamenting his situation.
The rise in orphans following the Tower's appearance was a worldwide phenomenon.
It was only natural.
Countless people had been swept up in the chaos when the massive Tower first emerged, while others recklessly challenged it and never came back.
Minseong was also one of those many orphans.
The only thing that set him apart was that he had a little sister to support.
"I'm sorry…"
His little sister was an ordinary girl full of dreams.
As an older brother, Minseong wanted to give her everything he could.
However, money always held him back.
Monthly rent and living expenses.
On top of that, various academy fees.
With his wallet squeezed tighter every day, he found that manual labor alone was nowhere near enough to keep up with the expenses.
"Big brother, I'm fine."
With only each other to depend on, both siblings had grown up fast.
That fact always broke Minseong's heart.
He wished she would never have to understand his struggles.
More than anything, he wanted her to just act her age and throw tantrums at him like any other kid fresh out of elementary school.
Having dropped out of school himself, he wanted his little sister to spend her life pursuing whatever she desired.
That was why he had to earn money.
The day after seeing his sister smile bitterly, Minseong leaped straight into the Tower.
He believed that since he was a Hunter in his own right, he could somehow clear at least an easy difficulty tutorial.
Was that a delusion?
Or was it arrogance?
Though he barely managed to clear the tutorial, all he had left to show for it were a few tiny, low-rank mana stone fragments and a broken iron sword.
It was a D-rank iron sword he had begged an acquaintance to lend him.
Considering its 500,000 won price tag, Minseong's bold venture had left him completely in the red.
"Starting tomorrow… I'll have to work double shifts…"
Just as he tried to quietly wipe his tears and get up…
A shadow loomed in front of him.
"Huh…?"
He looked up and saw a girl.
A beastkin girl.
She was one of the Tower's natives, said to number fewer than a hundred in all of Korea, and she looked no older than his little sister.
Wow… it's my first time seeing a beastkin.
Knowing it would be rude to say that out loud, Minseong turned away, hastily wiped his eyes with his sleeve, and offered a small wave.
"Uh, hi?"
The girl responded with a pout.
She looked like something was bothering her.
No way… did she see me?
Her expression instantly made him recall how pathetically he'd been fighting back tears alone just a moment earlier.
He had been sitting there trying to collect himself, feeling too ashamed to face his sister in this state.
But considering someone had just walked right up to him, it seemed he couldn't even manage to hide properly.
Minseong felt heat rush to his face.
"No… Uh… This is…"
He found himself stammering, scrambling to make up an excuse.
"How much is that?"
At her words, he looked into her blue eyes—only to realize her gaze wasn't on him at all, but fixed on the broken sword in his arms.
Ah.
If anything, the burning flush on his face only deepened.
"…This? Around 500,000 won…"
"Aha."
At Minseong's response, the girl puffed up her tail and flicked her pointed ears for some inexplicable reason.
Ah… I must look pathetic right now, even to a girl my sister's age.
He felt like crying again, but he clamped his lips together to force it back.
Just then, the girl stepped closer to Minseong.
"Are you going to throw that away?"
"I probably should…"
Once broken, a sword was nothing more than a piece of scrap metal.
When it snapped, all the enchantment options applied by the craftsman were lost.
Moments later, the girl extended her hand toward Minseong.
"Then give it to me."
"Huh?"
"Give it to me."
Is she a crow instead of a fox…?
Perhaps because she was around his sister's age, Minseong couldn't bring himself to refuse her demand.
Hesitating, he handed the iron sword over to the girl.
"Here…"
"Hmm."
Turning the broken sword this way and that, the beastkin girl soon—
Crunch.
—began chewing on the chipped blade with her sharp fangs.
"H-hey, hey!!!"
He had been wrong.
She wasn't a fox or a crow—she was a mole beastkin.
Minseong grabbed the jaw of the girl chewing on the steel.
He tried to put a stop to her bizarre behavior.
But all his hands felt was the soft touch of her squishy cheek.
"Wah-it a minh-nut."
"W-what?"
Gulp.
"I said wait."
The next instant, the girl raised both hands.
A blinding white heat radiated directly from her palms.
"Ugh…!"
As Minseong closed his eyes against the glaring light, a wave of intense heat rushed over him from straight ahead.
When he opened his eyes a moment later, he saw the girl literally kneading molten iron with her bare hands—a sloshing liquid glowing white-hot and red.
Despite the freezing winter air, the blast of heat radiating off it made Minseong stumble back a few steps.
"Are you o—"
He couldn't finish his worried question.
As she worked the molten metal in her palms, an inexplicable sense of reverence washed over him.
Her eyes blazed with a sacred blue light, oblivious to everything else as she stared intently at the molten iron resting in her hand.
With every rub of her palms, the molten metal stretched longer and longer.
It kept stretching until a shape finally took hold, and a glinting edge flickered into being.
Moments later, the edge had become a fully formed blade.
The girl blew softly onto the still-glowing iron to cool it.
As the white steam dissipated, what emerged from those small hands was an imposing tachi, its long blade reflecting the sunlight.
"Whoa…"
The sword was mesmerizing—a single glance was enough to steal his heart.
Gone was the snapped, chipped blade from moments ago—in its place stood a genuine work of art.
Holding the blade up to catch the light, the girl slowly parted her lips.
"I don't like it…"
Nonchalantly, the girl dropped the hiltless sword straight into Minseong's hands.
=====
[Sword I Don't Like]
Rank: ???
Type: Tachi
Status: Incomplete (Crafting halted due to the creator's whim)
[A weapon hastily forged by ■■■■ ■■■, who melted down scrap metal using the heat of her mouth.]
Attack Power: +104
Attack Speed: +10%
[Applied Options]
Sharpness: All attacks are guaranteed critical hits.
Unfinished Warmth: The sword stays perpetually lukewarm, granting the user minor cold resistance.
=====
What had dropped into Minseong's hands was an indescribable sword.
* * *
The experiment was a half-success.
My current body was created by melting down a whole forge.
So my instinct hadn't failed me—I really could still craft.
But as for the quality…
"Hah."
I didn't like it at all.
Since this was my first creation after leaving the forge, I tried to put some real effort into it.
But the more I fiddled with the molten iron, the uglier the blade became—so I just slapped together a rough shape and called it a day.
"Annoying."
The quality of the steel wasn't much different from what I used to summon in the forge.
The forging process hadn't changed, either.
I melted the iron in the furnace nestled in my esophagus, then forged the sword using my palms as both anvil and hammer.
It was clearly the exact same process I had used to forge 'Death Moon'…
But something, something crucial was missing.
What could it be…?
While I was pondering what was lacking, urgent footsteps sounded from behind.
"W-wait a minute…!"
It was the boy who'd been crying alone against the Tower wall just a moment ago.
"Why?"
"T-this, what is this?"
"…It's a sword."
My head tilted on its own.
It was plain to see.
I couldn't fathom why he'd run all the way over just to ask the obvious.
"No, I mean… I know it's a sword! But you just chewed it! No, spat it out—no, kneaded it with your hands!"
I could barely understand what he was trying to say.
Meeting my narrowed eyes, the boy took a quick breath to steady himself before continuing.
"It's just… this weapon seems way too good for me…"
Trembling hands.
Tightly shut eyes.
Twitching lips.
He held out the thin metal base of the sword I'd just forged.
Ever since I sprouted long ears and a tail, my senses had sharpened.
Enough to see right through him.
Regret.
And greed.
"Just take it and do whatever you want with it."
It was just a piece of junk destined to remain unfinished forever.
If he really wanted it that badly, I had no reason to talk him out of it—and it certainly wasn't worth the trouble.
"R-really? Is that really okay…?"
Instead of bothering to answer, I turned away with a swish of my tail.
I'd never realized it until I got one, but whenever I was too lazy to speak, nothing could beat a quick flick of the tail.
Quite convenient, really.
"Anyway… Where should I use the rest?"
The handful of molten iron remaining inside my body was boiling endlessly.
It was a strange yet familiar sensation.
My body kept itching.
"Should I just craft whatever and sell it?"
After all, money was an absolute necessity to live in the modern world.
Naturally, even if I forged something with my eyes closed, it would be undeniably better than that 800,000 won dagger I had seen at the stall earlier.
"Let's see…"
I twitched my ears and listened closely to the voices of the people around me.
…Turns out ears are pretty convenient, too.
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