Chapter 39

< Deception >

“What’s this… sudden broadcast?”

It’s really out of the blue. But it seemed that the sly fox on the other side of the table didn’t think so.

“It’s to make sure your face is well known.”

“…Wouldn’t the opposite be better for my personal safety?”

“No, it wouldn’t. After all, information about you will spread worldwide in less than a day after the negotiations end. Hiding won’t do any good.”

I had expected as much, but hearing it from someone else made me worry anew. Various crimes targeting awakened individuals with low stat levels but useful special skills flashed through my mind.

How much would my ransom be?

“That’s why it’s safer to have many people recognize you. It’s much more difficult to approach someone everyone is paying attention to, compared to the opposite case.”

It’s true. If I appear on TV and gain attention, there will be more people watching over me.

“If you were to be kidnapped, there’s a higher chance that a witness would report it. Like, why is a Hyun Guild member in a strange place with members of another guild?”

“I’m not a guild member, but an employee. A regular employee.”

He subtly tried to treat me as a guild member.

“Haha, you feel so close that you seem like a guild member. Regular employees have a certain distance, don’t they?”

“You shouldn’t discriminate.”

“You’re right. Whether guild members or regular employees, we’re all one big family. You, Han Yujin, are part of our family too.”

“…Please make a distinction.”

Indeed, this guy is tiring to deal with.

“It’s the first time a cute monster like this has appeared on TV, so it should attract a lot of attention. Besides, Pies is quite affectionate, right?”

“He’s kind, cute, and lovable.”

Now, he’s quite impressive. He still looks young, but his mane is fuller, his tail is longer, and his horns shine with a golden luster.

He’s really well-grown.

I smiled unconsciously, and Seok Shimyeong also smiled contentedly. Why are you smiling? At me, too.

“Because of the confidentiality agreement, we can only start preparing after the negotiations end, but I’ll thoroughly plan it in advance. You can trust me.”

“Mr. Seok, I trust your work. I’ll wait with peace of mind.”

Of course, I trust his work.

At my words, the sly fox had a look on his face as if recalling a golden calf stored in the master bedroom’s safe. I wonder what he’s thinking.

“If you have any questions or needs, feel free to contact me.”

“Haha, yes.”

I’ll probably be working with Seok Shimyeong frequently from now on. It’s better than being torn apart by his tongue, so let’s get along well.

“Pies, were you good?”

-Grumble

Pies, who was lying on my bed, jumped up and growled. Since the room has become smaller and I also had to hide the Beast Taming skill from Myeongwoo, Pies moved his sleeping place to my bedroom, the largest room in the house.

The bed is covered in fur. Luckily, I don’t have allergies.

“You’ll be able to move freely soon, so just bear with it a little longer.”

I said, picking up Pies. He’s now more than three times heavier than when we started, making my arms feel heavy. Pies’ growth has gradually slowed down, and by the third day, he only grew by 0.5 kg. Compared to the 2.8 kg on the first day and 3.1 kg on the second day, it’s a significant difference.

His level is still marked as C. Although his strength has increased significantly, if he was initially at the level of a lower C-grade dungeon monster, he’s now at the level of an upper C-grade dungeon monster.

‘They say he will transform into an adult, but perhaps he will stop growing for a while and then grow rapidly once certain conditions are met.’

The growth time has steadily decreased with training. At this rate, he will become an adult soon.

After playing with Pies for a while and feeding him, I went out again. I also need to take care of Myeongwoo. Why do I have so much to do?

I headed to the Hyun Guild’s equipment management team with various whetstones that Myeongwoo had bought in advance. This is a department that large guilds have, responsible for maintaining and repairing various items.

“Dungeon items can be repaired with ordinary methods if the damage rate is below a certain level. Of course, the materials must be dungeon byproducts.”

I explained to Myeongwoo as we took the elevator down.

“So there will be regular maintenance tools. It’s also good to get along with the team members. If you get a related skill, you’ll likely end up working there.”

Not just working, but you might even become a team leader. Or you could create a new department. Even so, you’ll need an assistant with the relevant skill, so it’s good to know in advance.

“It would be great if that happens. I don’t really want to tackle dungeons.”

“Right. You only need to occasionally visit low-level dungeons for leveling up.”

I wouldn’t ask an SS-grade blacksmith to do dangerous things. If something goes wrong in a dungeon, it would be a worldwide loss. I should safely transport him.

To enter the equipment management team, we had to go through another security check. After passing through a regular office with desks and computers, we opened a thick door, and warm air flowed out.

That’s the mana furnace over there, behind the protective wall. It looks similar to a small blast furnace but is used to melt various dungeon metals by boiling refined mana stones. It’s essential equipment for item repairs.

“Which of you has the grinding skill?”

A well-built middle-aged man approached, wearing protective gear, and threw us blue towels. They felt cool. The other people around also wore these blue towels around their necks or waists.

“This is really useful.”

“It costs mana stones to maintain.”

It’s expensive. That’s why items developed from dungeon byproducts are hard to popularize. It’s difficult until mana stones become cheaper.

“I’ve heard that we need a machine to sharpen the whetstones.”

There’s no rule that you have to carefully sharpen each one. We should at least try it.

I opened my skill window and checked Myeongwoo’s status.

[10,000 whetstones sharpened (Progress: 71/10,000)]

While I was training Pies, Myeongwoo was diligently sharpening knives in the kitchen. According to Myeongwoo, sharpening knives applies the sharpness buff of the whetstone even without using the skill.

‘If you sharpen enough to apply the skill, it counts as one.’

It’s easy to verify. Also, you can re-sharpen knives that have lost the skill effect. The whetstone’s duration is 3 hours, so you don’t actually need 10,000 whetstones. In four days, Myeongwoo only sharpened thirteen.

“Here’s a special grinder. It can smoothly sharpen dungeon metals.”

The middle-aged man tapped a firmly fixed machine.

Looking around, are all these people owners of equipment-related special skills? There are too many for that. Out of curiosity, I checked the status of the man in front of me.

[Awakened ? Im Minseok

Current Stat Level C

Potential Stat Level D~C

Optimized Initial Skill

Delicate Welding (B) Acquired

Hammering (C) Failed to Acquire

Health Up (D) Acquired]

Delicate Welding. It’s clearly a repair-related skill. Hammering is ambiguous from the name, but he failed to acquire it. If it’s a C-grade special skill, it’s a pity, but I don’t need to worry about a well-off uncle.

I checked the others. Apart from Im Minseok, the other seven were all awakened. However, four of them had E-level stats and F-level skills. Of course, you can acquire other skills besides the optimized ones, and good 10-level skills can appear, so it’s not certain that they only have F-level skills.

Still, their stats are not at the average human level. Maybe it’s because the work requires strength.

“Yujin?”

As I looked around, Myeongwoo nudged my arm.

“I was just looking around. Take out a knife and let’s try sharpening it. How do you use this thing?”

“There’s a clamp over there. Secure it firmly and press the button.”

“Don’t you hold it by hand?”

“Your stat is F, right? You might have an accident.”

It’s not made for ordinary people. If the machine does all the work, you won’t get credit.

Just in case, I asked Myeongwoo to try securing the knife. The machine started sharpening with a loud noise, but the progress didn’t change even when the knife was damaged. It doesn’t work.

“Is there a regular machine?”

“A regular one? There’s one in the workshop. You can adjust the pressure with your foot, making it good for delicate work.”

That’s perfect.

“Thank you.”

Myeongwoo and I went to the workshop. Among the various tools, a much simpler grinder was visible. I hope this works.

Myeongwoo sat in the chair in front of the grinder, turned on the machine, and placed a kitchen knife on it, putting his foot on the pedal.

The grinder started.

Myeongwoo hesitated a bit before pushing the knife blade in. The grating sound started and stopped repeatedly. His movements, which initially showed he was a beginner, gradually became more skilled.

A while later,

[10,000 whetstones sharpened (Progress: 72/10,000)]

“Done!”

Success. Hooray for the power of civilization.

“Good. This should finish quickly.”

“Yeah! Once I get used to it, I can sharpen over a hundred a day!”

How long did it take? It doesn’t seem like much time has passed.

Myeongwoo, who was briefly excited, took out a new knife. His expression was unusually calm. He can make that face too.

The knife blade started to be sharpened again. This time, it was faster, with no hesitation.

Clang

The sharpened knife fell to the side, and a new one was picked up. The knives, bought in bulk from a junk shop, started to shine.

Just by sharpening, they look this good. Is it because of the skill?

While I was distracted, the fourth knife started making noise. The movements of sharpening the knife, slightly adjusting the direction, were completely skilled. Even to my untrained eye, they were efficient, neither excessive nor insufficient.

He looks like a craftsman who has sharpened knives for ten years.

‘…Deception.’

What’s going on? How long has he been here?

‘Why did he only work in office jobs?’

He should have gone into a technical field. What’s the point of studying in a humanities department? If he had chosen a better career path, he could have walked a smooth road without ever meeting me.

I sighed inwardly and watched the knife being sharpened. Even though it was a repetitive task, I couldn’t look away.

The knife blade was polished like flowing water, precise like a machine, and without a single flaw. The noise even had a smooth rhythm. When the coolant splashed, the shine of the knife blade looked artistic.

To put it simply, sharpening a knife can look cool. It’s impressive. Indeed, it’s deception.

Clang

The knife fell, and the machine stopped. Myeongwoo put down his hand and looked at me.

“You’re still here?”

“Yeah, I was just watching.”

Wait, are they all done? I bought quite a few.

[10,000 whetstones sharpened (Progress: 115/10,000)]

…He sharpened over forty. How much time has passed? I didn’t check, but it should be within an hour. It could be even faster. I thought it would take 4-5 minutes per knife, even with the machine.

The knives, which were piled up, all looked like new. It might be because of the skill, but even without using it, the fact that it activates on its own is not ordinary.

“You… Can you finish in ten days at this speed?”

“Yeah, the machine is good.”

Myeongwoo said it casually. Scary. You’re not just pretending to be ordinary; you’re indeed an SS-grade skill holder.

“Should we buy about three hundred more knives?”

“Yeah. The skill’s duration is still far from ending. Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s completely fine. Don’t worry about it.”

I’ll invest as much as needed. Of course.

< Deception > End

ⓒ Geunseo

=======================================