Chapter 65

Chapter 15. Tower (7)

The next day.

Night Watch arrived early in the morning and began repairing the door as Yeonwoo had instructed.

They also replaced the broken furniture, anvil, and hammer with more expensive and better quality items.

Thanks to this, the blacksmith's forge was significantly improved by morning.

"How is it?"

Yeonwoo smiled lightly as he watched the Night Watch members running around quickly.

"What is it?"

"Can't you see? It's much better than before, isn't it? You should be grateful to me."

In response to Yeonwoo's playful joke, Hennoba crossed his short arms and snorted.

"Hmph! You said you wanted Gies' eye to be completed as soon as possible, right? So you just did what you were supposed to do. Why should I be grateful? And they did all the work."

However, despite his harsh tone, Hennoba's nose and ears were slightly red.

He was grumbling because he was embarrassed to give praise.

'There's a term for people like this, I think I remember it from Earth.'

Yeonwoo could recall a word from the back of his mind.

"Tsundere."

"Huh, what are you talking about?"

A low murmur.

Hennoba looked up, his face asking what Yeonwoo was babbling about.

Yeonwoo quickly shook his head, saying it was nothing, but the corners of his mouth kept twitching. He was glad he was wearing a mask at such a moment.

Hennoba glared at Yeonwoo with a suspicious look, but the smile on Yeonwoo's lips wouldn't go away.

He thought it was a term that really suited Hennoba.

* * *

After all the facility improvements were completed.

Yeonwoo and Hennoba returned to their daily routine.

Hennoba picked up his hammer again to finish the remaining work, and Yeonwoo immersed himself in metallurgy practice.

Clang, clang, ding—

At least on the surface, it felt like the rough chaos of the previous night had never happened.

['Dragon Eye' reveals hidden 'Seams'.]

['Dragon Eye' proficiency increased. 22.9%]

For some time now.

Yeonwoo had become completely captivated by metallurgy.

With the 'Dragon Eye' fully activated, he stared intently at the molten metal.

He could see thin dotted lines forming on the metal just taken out of the mold.

These dotted lines were visible only to Yeonwoo.

'Seams.'

The Dragon Eye pierces through the truth.

Based on the information organized in the user's mind, it calculates and suggests the most efficient route.

These routes are indicated by seams, allowing Yeonwoo to hammer the metal relatively easily.

Ding, ding, ding—

The knowledge and techniques Hennoba had casually passed on, which were worth more than a thousand pieces of gold, were truly remarkable.

Yeonwoo knew this because he had observed Hennoba with the Dragon Eye for a whole day.

He saw how much effort Hennoba put into making great swords.

Yeonwoo observed Hennoba's posture meticulously with the Dragon Eye.

With his mind sharpened by the Adamantine Body, he carefully stored and organized every word Hennoba said.

Based on this information, the Dragon Eye could rapidly improve Yeonwoo's skills.

Things that others might consider cheating.

'Now I understand why dragons are called the race of sages.'

The Dragon Eye, which observes all things, acquires knowledge, and pierces through the truth.

Yeonwoo could only use a small part of the many powers the Dragon Eye possessed.

Yet, even with this, he could grow so quickly, which was truly amazing.

And when the inheritance process, which was almost complete, was finally finished.

When he obtained the Dragon Body, imbued with the power of a dragon.

He wondered what other abilities he would gain.

But thanks to this, Yeonwoo was captivated by the charm of metallurgy, both understanding it and practicing it.

Ding—

Yeonwoo hammered the metal he had folded several times for the last time.

Ripples were forming smoothly on the metal.

He picked it up with tongs and placed it in the cold water bucket beside him.

Sizzle!

White steam rose vigorously.

Yeonwoo, who might have been suffocated, didn't frown once as he watched the metal.

[Your understanding of metallurgy has increased. With deeper knowledge, more possibilities are opened.]

[Knowledge will endlessly expand your worldview. Learn more knowledge and explore more truths. The blessing of the dragon will be with you.]

['Dragon Eye' proficiency increased. 25.1%]

[Knowledge growth confirmed. The vessel has softened. The interrupted inheritance process has resumed. 93, 94%...]

[Current progress: 94.9%]

Drip, drip.

Cold sweat kept falling to the ground.

'It's tough. It's not something to be taken lightly.'

Yeonwoo lightly relaxed his tense shoulders.

Even with the help of the Dragon Eye, the process of acquiring it was not easy.

During the tutorial, he had run around, but now, being stuck in this hot and humid place, hammering continuously, his body felt twisted.

However, thanks to this, Yeonwoo realized that it was very important to grow mentally as well as physically.

The inheritance process, which had been stagnant and seemed impossible to restart, had made some progress.

It felt like a weight had been lifted from his chest.

'Being one-sided is not good. It's quite picky, and it gets worse the further you go.'

Was it because of the fatigue?

As the magic circuit activated, the fatigue that had accumulated around his eyes melted away.

He felt revitalized again.

Yeonwoo instinctively realized that he had grown.

He felt like the limits that had surrounded him had expanded by more than one level.

'Let's see.'

Yeonwoo stared intently at the metal.

[Good metal being made]

Expected classification: Two-handed weapon

Expected grade: F

Expected durability: 5~10

Description: The metal is not yet complete, but it seems to have turned out well for a first attempt.

'Not bad for a first try.'

Yeonwoo moistened his dry lips with his tongue.

He glanced at Hennoba, just in case.

[Dwarf Hennoba]

CP: ??? / Personality: Shy

"What are you looking at? Get back to work!"

Hennoba frowned when their eyes met.

The warm look he had shown Yeonwoo for a brief moment yesterday had returned to his usual self today.

Yeonwoo, knowing that Hennoba's attitude was a way to hide his embarrassment, didn't take it to heart.

However, he had another concern.

The information window that had appeared about Hennoba.

"Understood."

Yeonwoo nodded calmly and turned his gaze back to the metal.

'Can I now read information about people?'

This was a surprising achievement he hadn't expected.

While practicing metallurgy, his understanding of objects had deepened, but he hadn't thought it would apply to people as well.

'Being able to observe the opponent... is a great weapon.'

There was a big difference between knowing and not knowing your opponent.

Although he couldn't see much about Hennoba, even this would be a great help in the future.

He would have to deal with countless opponents.

A small but significant change.

Yeonwoo felt he could now faintly grasp the mechanism of the Dragon Eye.

The more he learned, saw, and experienced,

The more knowledge he acquired, the wider the range of the Dragon Eye would become.

And as his knowledge and experience deepened, the depth of the range would also deepen.

'But what is CP?'

Yeonwoo was curious about the concept he had never seen before, but he decided to figure it out gradually and cleared his mind of the question.

Then,

Yeonwoo, taking advantage of Hennoba's momentary distraction, took out a pocket watch from his inner pocket and activated the Dragon Eye.

However,

[Cannot read information.]

Yeonwoo clicked his tongue.

'So it's still not possible. Well, you can't expect to be full from the first meal.'

Still, his satisfaction didn't fade.

He could continue to train and improve his proficiency.

With that thought,

Yeonwoo picked up the hammer again.

Ding—

It felt like the hammer was going deeper than usual.

'Anyway, shy. It suits him.'

Yeonwoo smiled lightly, recalling the word he had seen about Hennoba.

* * *

Yeonwoo's visits continued.

And he continued to torment Hennoba.

"What is the standard for determining the direction and position when welding?"

"The temperature of the fire seems to have exceeded the appropriate level."

"The wind is weaker than expected."

"Why is this part like this?"

The more he knew, the more he realized he didn't know.

So, whenever he had a question, he would grab Hennoba and ask, and Hennoba would teach him, but he couldn't even hammer properly and had to hold his temples.

"Learn on your own, you brat!"

"I'm asking because I don't know."

"Then learn on your own!"

"Teach me on your own. I'll learn on my own."

"Argh! This brat!"

Hennoba even suspected that Yeonwoo was trying to get revenge for all the nagging he had done.

He couldn't ignore Yeonwoo, who would keep pestering him.

In the end, while the two of them bickered,

Yeonwoo's skills noticeably improved.

And,

"Can you take a look at this?"

"How many times are you going to call me in a day! I need to work too, work! This is your job, not mine. If it's late, it's your loss, not mine!"

"I'm showing you because I've completed it."

"What?"

Hennoba thought Yeonwoo was trying to torment him again and shouted.

But when Yeonwoo calmly said he had completed it, Hennoba's eyes widened.

"Completed?"

"Yes."

Hennoba snorted loudly. Yeonwoo had only been learning metallurgy for a little over ten days.

While Yeonwoo's growth speed was impressive, it was absurd to think he had already made something.

'This brat, he's just asking for it. He's been annoying me so much.'

Hennoba decided to scold Yeonwoo for all the trouble he had caused.

Yeonwoo, reading Hennoba's thoughts, smiled.

He handed the item he had made to Hennoba.

Hennoba took it with a suspicious look.

A well-formed sword.

[Beginner Blacksmith's Sword]

Classification: One-handed sword

Grade: E

Description: A well-made sword, better than expected. The durability is quite solid despite the flaws.

Hennoba's first impression of the item was.

"Like a dog."

A curse.

"What, this... impossible..."

Hennoba realized that the sword Yeonwoo had made was not something a ten-day blacksmith could make and muttered in disbelief.

He knew Yeonwoo's skills had improved rapidly, but this was beyond imagination.

What kind of guy is this?

Then, Hennoba, realizing that Yeonwoo was staring at him intently, cleared his throat.

"Well, for a first try, it's not bad. But to bring something like this and call it a sword? Can't you make it better?"

"Would a compliment help?"

"Shut up, brat! Whether I compliment you or not is up to me!"

The scolding, meant to prevent Yeonwoo from getting too cocky, was immediately shot down.

"Just keep hammering! You still have a long way to go!"

"Then I'll keep asking Hennoba."

"Now, can you stop bothering me? Huh?"

"No."

"This brat, really!"

Just as the two were bickering,

Yeonwoo sensed something intense flying towards the blacksmith's forge from outside.

Before he could warn Hennoba,

Yeonwoo grabbed him and dodged to the side.

Boom—

Suddenly, the wall broke, and something burst in.

A thick fist. Sharp eyes. Horns like a mountain goat.

Pant.

"Where are you, you brat! Because of you, Pant! Because of you! Do you know how many places I've searched, starting from the tower...!"

The boy, puffing and panting, stopped shouting and, as he was about to fly through the broken stone fragments,

Smack!

"Kweeek!"

He was hit and fell flat, letting out a strange scream.