Ranker's Return

‘It doesn’t look like metal.’

He couldn’t tell what it was just by looking at it with his eyes.

‘Is it really something I don’t know?’

“Can I touch it once?” Kapa took a step closer to Hyeonu and extended his right hand to Hyeonu.

“Yes, feel free to touch it. Just don’t break it.” Hyeonu placed the purple bead onto Kapa’s hand.

“Thank you,” Kapa said. He examined the purple bead all over and even tapped it with his fingers.

‘What is this?’

No matter what he did, he couldn’t figure out the identity of the purple bead. It wasn’t in Kapa’s knowledge.

‘It is hard, but it isn’t metal. I’ve never heard of a metal with this color.’

“What the hell is this?” Kapa’s voice was full of doubts. He was the only Mithril Hammer of this era. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that he had touched all the metals in the middle world. He had even smelted dragon bones over and over again.

“Great Tribe Chief, it is natural that you don’t know it. It isn’t a metal but a crystal of magic power. It is often referred to as an essence,” Hyeonu replied with a smile. It was natural that Kapa did not recognize it. Rather, it would be strange if he did.

“An essence? I’ve never heard of an essence with such color?”

“It isn’t unreasonable that you haven’t seen it. This is what I obtained from the demon world.”

“The demon world?” Kapa’s eyes widened with surprise. It was a really astonished expression.

“All the things I’m wearing were made by Edchan using materials I obtained from the demon world.” Hyeonu pulled at the leather armor he was wearing. His armor was the same purple as the bead Kapa was holding in his hand.

“Can you help me? Kapa?” Hyeonu stimulated Kapa’s curiosity as much as possible. It was only then that the chances of Kapa granting his request would increase.

“Do you know how to use it?” Kapa asked. It would be meaningless if Hyeonu didn’t know how to use it.

“I do. It will melt by itself if you put the essence into flames made of magic power.”

Hyeonu had heard how to use the essence directly from Callioraks.

“So what do you want me to do? Do you want me to melt it completely, mix it up, and make it again?”

“Melt the essence and roughly overlay it over the equipment. There is no guarantee it will be better than it is now if it is melted and remade.” Hyeonu made a remark that might hurt Kapa’s pride. However, it was a very natural thing to say from Hyeonu’s point of view. The items of the Mysterious Sky Sect had immense value as they were now. It was Hyeonu who would have a big problem if it were melted and ended up with bad results.

“Isn’t this disregarding me too much?” Kapa immediately frowned at Hyeonu’s words. Hyeonu’s words were clearly lowering Kapa’s own abilities.

Kapa said, “This single-edged sword—I don’t know who made it, but it was made well. Edchan did a good job repairing it. But that is it.”

Kapa’s pride as the sole holder of the title, a Mithril Hammer, was aroused. He was planning to show Hyeonu his strong abilities.

“It is a childish provocation, but I’ll let it pass this time. Dealing with new materials always makes my heart pound.” Kapa smiled slightly at Hyeonu and immediately started the preparations for the work.

“Then I will ask you to do it for the rings and necklace as well.” Hyeonu took off his necklace, pulled two rings off his fingers, and placed them in front of Kapa.

“I’ll keep the form intact. You can look forward to the results.” Kapa took everything that Hyeonu gave him and put them together in one place. Then he immediately started getting ready to go to work.

“How long will it take?” Hyeonu carefully asked the bustling Kapa.

“It will take a week. Good work takes time.” Kapa stopped moving and looked at Hyeonu. His hand had one index finger extended.

“One week... It isn’t that long.” Hyeonu smiled. One week wasn’t a long time.

‘There is a lot of work to be done, but it is good.’

Hyeonu had no intention of wasting that time on fun. He had to be busy when he traveled.

“I’m going to start now... Will you be leaving?”

“No, I’d like to watch a little bit. Is that possible?”

“Watching... Feel free if you like.” Kapa nodded indifferently. He didn’t even look at Hyeonu. He only cared about what he was going to do. The flames grew hotter every time Kapa used the bellows, and the entire workshop heated up in an instant.

‘It feels like I’m in a sauna.’

It wasn’t like the usual sauna room but one lit by a charcoal kiln. Hyeonu’s breathing was choked up and blocked.

‘I must watch until the essence melts.’

The reason why Hyeonu stayed and watched Kapa work was to see how the essence that Callioraks gave him changed the Mysterious Sky Sword. He wasn’t very curious about the other processes.

‘It won’t be much different from Edchan.’

Hyeonu had already seen the working process several times, so he wasn’t curious and didn’t have any expectations. The admiration had already burst out in the past.

“Wow...!”

An exclamation burst out from Hyeonu’s mouth just then. The Mysterious Sky Sword melted the instant it was placed into the flame that Kapa created. It lost its original form and started to become a molten metal. The Mysterious Sky Sword only had the handle left when Kapa walked over with the rings and necklace.

He put the ring and necklace in the molten metal—the dissolved Mysterious Sky Sword—without hesitation. The necklace and rings melted in the molten metal in an instant, more quickly than the Mysterious Sky Sword had done.

“Huu...” Kapa finished up to here and exhaled heavily. Then he carefully picked up the purple bead.

‘Now...’ Hyeonu was also very nervous.

It was just before the purple bead given by Callioraks would go into the fire. Kapa carefully picked up the bead with tongs and inserted it in the hot molten metal. The bead immediately lost its shape like it had been broken, and the red molten metal gradually started to turn purple.

“Hmm... It is amazing, amazing. It is really amazing,” Kapa muttered as he watched the melting purple bead.

“What is the amazing thing? You must not be new to dealing with essences,” Hyeonu naturally asked Kapa this question.

However, Kapa didn’t respond to Hyeonu’s words. He instead replied with actions. Kapa held out a tool full of molten metal to Hyeonu.

‘Wow, it is hot.’ Hyeonu felt the warmth intensify by several times the moment when Kapa turned around. Now he seemed to be exposed in front of a fire.

“I can’t tell when looking at it with my own eyes. I have no experience.” Hyeonu didn’t notice anything unusual even when he saw the molten iron emitting a soft purple light. It was a metal that just felt a bit mysterious. That was all he felt.

“I have quite a lot of experience dealing with essences. No, I am confident I’ve dealt with it more than anyone else. I’ve dealt with it to the point where it is impossible to count with both hands. However, there has never been a case like this. At that time, all of them had to combine the essence and metal using magic,” Kapa explained why he was surprised.

The essence that Hyeonu brought was completely different from what he had seen so far. He could even believe it was something else completely.

“I think it will be a lot of fun to deal with. I have a feeling that something good will come out. At this point, I would like to thank you. You gave me the opportunity to touch something like this.” Kapa looked genuinely happy.

“I will see you in a week to make sure I don’t get in the way of your work.” Hyeonu nodded and left Kapa’s workshop. His purpose in coming to Viper was accomplished.

***

“Guild Leader, it is time to make a decision. Will you be complacent or move on?”

“Everything depends on the decision of the guild leader.”

Two men pressed another man to answer.

“It isn’t an easy decision to make. The Venom Guild is a guild made up of a small number of elites. The level isn’t the same. They accomplished nothing within the empire. They had nothing to lose, so there was no hesitation in their decision. We are different. We are the exact opposite of them.” The man was hesitant despite the words of the other two.

It wasn’t easy to make a decision. The men’s words carried that much weight.

“Our growth has long disappeared. The only thing waiting for us in the future is a downhill road.”

“New World with Alley Leader is so overwhelming. In addition, people’s interest in professional teams is too great. The guilds that have changed to a different species are also a problem.”

The first two men continued to persuade the latter. It had already been a week since this started happening. To be precise, it began from the day that Alley Leader made a public statement on his live stream that supported the Venom Guild.

“Now you have to make a decision, Guild Leader.”

“This is the last chance. The Behemoth Guild can rebound.”

The man, Rain, was worried. ‘What should I do?’

Even if he asked for opinions around him, he only received different answers in return. Some people said it was an opportunity, and others said it was something that should never be done. The more Rain’s thoughts continued, the more complicated he felt.

‘The risk of losing is too great.’

No matter how he thought about it, he felt it wasn’t easy to give up everything he had built so far.

“Why don’t we let the other guilds go and then grab the remaining part of the pie? I don’t think we need to take on the challenge,” Rain tried to persuade the two men. Nevertheless, it didn’t work. It wasn’t any different from what he had said over the past week.

“The plate will be smaller. How much of the pie can we share on a smaller plate?

“If it is a pie that will be shared anyway, it is better to preempt the other side. Just the fact that we aren’t competing with Alley Leader is a huge benefit.”

The men persuaded Rain over and over. This time, Rain gave a different reaction than he had before.

“Okay, I will think about it today. I’ll make a decision tomorrow.” Rain had the two of them leave.

“You must give us an answer tomorrow.”

“I want you to think of the many guild members who believe in you and follow you.”

The two men acted as if Rain hadn’t come up with an answer. If it wasn’t the answer they wanted, they wouldn’t treat it as an answer at all.

“I understand, so stop.” Rain waved his hand in annoyance. The two men couldn’t stand Rain’s continuous requests to leave and left the room.

“Sigh...” Rain was left alone and let out a deep sigh.

‘Do I have to follow what they want?’

The Behemoth Guild was a guild that had been created by relying on one star—Rain.

They had sacrificed many things to maintain this stardom. It was because Rain knew this that he couldn’t decisively reject their suggestion. The thing Rain was looking for was a cool-headed helper, one who might tell him something useful.

“It is me, Rain. Can you give me a bit of advice if you have time?”