Chapter 4: Chapter 4

“Then how do you plan to prove it in a place like this?”

At Kang Jin-hyuk’s question, the dwarf shrugged off his baggage and replied in a booming voice,

“Follow me.”

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll find out when you get there, kid!”

The dwarf, fully devoted to his craft, felt immensely insulted that the precious orihalcum, known as the metal of dreams, was dismissed as cheap material, anger simmering from his head to his toes.

Though Kang Jin-hyuk felt reluctant, he had no choice but to follow the dwarf.

As they navigated through the maze, they encountered a few goblins, but they posed no obstacle at all.

“Get lost, you pests!”

One goblin, struck by the dwarf’s casually swung hammer, shattered like a popped balloon.

It was the first time Kang Jin-hyuk learned that monsters could die in such a manner.

“Did I bite off more than I can chew…?”

“Huh? What did you just say?”

“Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself.”

Following closely behind the dwarf, it wasn’t long before Kang Jin-hyuk discovered a most unusual locale.

A massive forge, filled with numerous hammers and equipment that seemed completely out of place in the labyrinth.

“It looks just like a blacksmith’s shop,” he thought to himself, eyeing the scene which spoke volumes about the dwarf’s passion.

“What are you gawking at? You haven’t fallen in love with my home, have you?”

“Y-your home?”

“Sure! Though the occasional monster visiting can be bothersome, the high-quality ores make it quite livable!”

“…Your standards for livability are quite unique.”

Kang Jin-hyuk cleverly masked his incredulity, but the dwarf took it as praise.

“Isn’t it? I think it’s a creative idea myself.”

Chuckling, the dwarf suddenly realized he was still betting and cleared his throat, suddenly adopting a serious demeanor.

He placed his belongings on a desk-like surface and reached out toward Kang Jin-hyuk.

“Hand over that bat.”

“What do you need it for?”

“Oh, come on! Quit asking too many questions and just give it!”

Suppressing his urge to express his disdain for the dwarf’s attitude, Kang Jin-hyuk handed over the bat he was holding.

“Just don’t ruin it by trying something strange.”

“Are you kidding me? Do you really think I’d mishandle something as valuable as orihalcum?”

The dwarf took the bat and entered a room near the forge without hesitation.

As the door slammed shut, Kang Jin-hyuk found himself unable to enter alongside him.

“I thought he was headed to the forge to melt it down…”

But from the looks of it, the dwarf didn’t seem the type to casually melt the bat for some unusual experimentation.

Still, it was too early to breathe easy.

The dwarf’s unpredictable nature made it unlikely that the aluminum bat would merely serve regular purposes.

Just as predicted, brilliant light began to seep out from the crack under the door.

“What on earth is he doing with a 250,000 won bat?”

As the luminescence intensified, Kang Jin-hyuk’s unease mounted.

Unable to contain himself, he approached the door and knocked with his fist.

“What are you doing in there?!”

“Shut your mouth, it’s almost done!”

“Hey, you can’t just leave me hanging! What are you up to? Are you switching it out with something else?!”

Despite his loud protestations, no answer came from inside.

As the silence persisted, Kang Jin-hyuk knocked on the door again.

Bang, bang, bang.

The sound of his knocks echoed through the forge, filled with urgency.

Then suddenly, the door flew open, and a discarded glove came flying out, smacking Kang Jin-hyuk right in the face.

“Ow!”

Having received an unexpected blow, Kang Jin-hyuk clutched his face.

“You impatient little brat! Couldn’t you wait just a moment?!”

“Ugh… If you’d just explained yourself, this wouldn’t have happened!”

“Damn it! Do you think I’m going to mess this up?”

Rumbling in irritation, the dwarf shoved the bat towards Kang Jin-hyuk.

“Take a look at this, you fool!”

Kang Jin-hyuk took hold of the bat and tilted his head in confusion.

“Is this really mine? The color looks all red.”

“That’s the characteristic of orihalcum, you dumbass! It’s a soft and weak metal to start with, but the more you enchant it, the redder and stronger it becomes!”

“Enchant?”

Kang Jin-hyuk blinked in disbelief.

To his knowledge, when items acquired special properties, they were labeled as “enchanted.”

An enchanted item was remarkably rare, only dropped by monsters of A-rank or higher.

Even standard items, if enchanted, could be sold for prices far exceeding rare items.

To think there was someone who could artificially create such enchantments!

His gaze on the dwarf shifted dramatically.

He previously thought the dwarf was a peculiar craftsman, but now he seemed to possess incredible abilities!

With a look of eagerness, Kang Jin-hyuk examined the bat.

[Legendary Baseball Bat]

Grade: Legendary

Description: Once an ordinary aluminum baseball bat, it reached a legendary status through repeated enchantments.

[Additional Effects]

Durability: S

Presence Detection

Automatic Retrieval

Kang Jin-hyuk’s eyes widened in shock as he read through the details.

While all the effects were astonishing, the one that drew the most attention was undoubtedly “Durability.”

An item with durability rated B could inflate its price to several million won!

For it to have an S-rating was incredible!

“With this, I could practically retire…!”

An item like this alone could keep him living comfortably for at least three years without lifting a finger!

It was like hitting the jackpot in life!

Gleefully, the dwarf gushed at the ecstatic Kang Jin-hyuk.

“What do you think? Impressive, right? Plus, orihalcum enhances enchantment abilities by over 300%!”

“Is that really true?”

“Why would I lie?”

Kang Jin-hyuk couldn’t shut his jaw.

Having brushed it off as nonsense spoken about aluminum, he soon found out the dwarf actually created something astounding.

Having seen such an item, he couldn’t deny its significance.

“I admit my defeat.”

Questions about whether it was swapped out with something else were meaningless now.

Based on the item details, this was indeed the baseball bat he had brought.

Upon acknowledging his defeat in the wager, the dwarf erupted in a booming laugh.

“Ha ha ha! The brat finally believes me!”

Kang Jin-hyuk anticipated the dwarf would demand something right away since he had won.

However, what the dwarf said next was completely unexpected.

“Just don’t get cocky and keep the bat safe.”

“Excuse me?”

Kang Jin-hyuk looked at the dwarf in disbelief.

“You want me to take this?”

“Why would you even ask? Did you think I was going to take it from you?”

“W-well…”

Since the dwarf had treated orihalcum as such a treasured item, he figured he would claim it as his own.

But the dwarf didn’t show any intention of doing so.

“I’m no thief! Why would I take someone else’s belongings?”

“Then why do you enchant it…”

“It’s because you asked for proof.”

The dwarf was a greedy individual but had two things he never touched—equipment belonging to other blacksmiths and gear not of his own making.

“I’d accept it if you gave it to me, but judging by your gear, it looks like you don’t have anything else of worth.”

Though he found the orihalcum quite enticing, that was also the reason he refrained from taking the bat.

‘If it’s divine metal, there must be a solid reason it chose that kid.’

The dwarf believed this and buried any personal desire deep within him.

“I enchanted your bat, so try to break out of that shabby appearance you’re in.”

Moved by the dwarf’s words, Kang Jin-hyuk felt a wave of gratitude wash over him.

“Thank you, sir.”

Memories of the dwarf being rude and shouting faded away.

He had just turned a 250,000 won bat into an item worth several hundred million, making it trivial to endure a little shouting.

Kang Jin-hyuk looked over the bat once more, just to ensure that this wasn’t a dream.

Aside from S durability, there were two additional abilities.

“Presence detection” allows him to sense enemies within a 5m radius, while “automatic retrieval” ensured it would find its way back to him within a minute, no matter where it fell.

“By chance, is this automatic retrieval conditional to the target?”

Upon hearing Kang Jin-hyuk’s question, the dwarf nodded immediately.

“I made it bound to you, so it’s safe from theft.”

Listening to that made Kang Jin-hyuk’s expression turn complex.

While he appreciated the kindness, it also meant that he could never transfer or sell the bat to anyone else.

‘Even with high performance, it’s a pity it can’t be sold.’

Feeling regretful, Kang Jin-hyuk suddenly thought of something.

“Then, if I bring other orihalcum, can you enchant it like this?”

“There’s really nothing easier! But not now.”

“Excuse me? Why?”

“I’ve run out of materials to use for enchantment.”

The answer was unexpectedly disappointing.

Heck, aluminum was overflowing outside, so if he had more materials, he could easily acquire them.

“Couldn’t you find more materials?”

“Hmm… You might come across some while exploring this dungeon.”

“Really?”

Kang Jin-hyuk’s eyes widened with excitement.

“So, if I find the materials, you can make me something like this again?”

“Y-yeah. If you bring the materials, I can certainly do that.”

The dwarf looked baffled by Kang Jin-hyuk’s intense excitement.

It wasn’t like orihalcum was a common item that could be easily found, so he couldn’t understand why Kang Jin-hyuk was so overly enthusiastic about the thought of acquiring enchanting materials.

However, the truth differed—Kang Jin-hyuk had discovered another reason to thoroughly explore the dungeon.

* * *

Kang Jin-hyuk excused himself from the dwarf, citing urgent matters, and slipped out of the attic.

It wouldn’t do to dive in without proper preparation now that his motivation was running high.

With the lack of information about the dungeon, laying solid foundations was now essential.

“First, let’s sell these goblin corpses and buy a new inventory.”

A strong inventory was necessary for long durations in the dungeon if he intended to survive, even with dozens of monsters inside.

“How to even sell these, though…?”

As there was no way to reveal the source, selling through the exchange was off the table.

The association’s unreasonable policies against poached loot from other hunters posed a significant hurdle for Kang Jin-hyuk.

“Maybe I should consider the black market…”

Every trade has its underbelly, and the only way to dispose of the goblin corpses discreetly was by visiting a place he’d never imagined stepping foot in.

“Let’s see… I’m sure I received a business card back then.”

Kang Jin-hyuk dug into his wallet and managed to find the card that had been handed to him previously.

Examining the plain white card bearing only a phone number and name, he recalled what the person had said back then.

“Even a kidney is a little cash given by the Lord. Reach out when you need money.”

Truly, what a peculiar expression to recall.

To barter for monster corpses using skills honed from dealing in long-term sales?

It sent chills down his spine just thinking about it.

“Let’s not be afraid just yet. It’s not like I’m selling myself.”

Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Kang Jin-hyuk steadied himself.

He then retrieved his smartphone and input the number on the card.