Chapter 103: Chapter 103

Ha-Jin visited Jang Dae-Hwi’s company for the first time in a while.

This was because Jang Dae-Hwi had contacted him as soon as he received the footage.

‘Ha-Jin, why don’t you come to our company and talk for a bit?’

‘Okay.’

The company had tight security, and entry was impossible without an employee ID card.

Therefore, Jang Dae-Hwi was waiting for Ha-Jin in front of the first floor.

“Ha-Jin!”

“Bro!”

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you up close.”

“Yeah. How have you been?”

“I’ve been doing well. I’ve been busy. But have you eaten? If not, let’s eat first.”

The restaurant was a Japanese restaurant outside the company.

It was a restaurant known for its good udon and pork cutlet, and it was so popular that you couldn’t get a seat unless you went there early during lunchtime to reserve a spot.

Fortunately, it was currently 11:20 AM, which was early for lunch.

“Thanks for the meal.”

“Sure.”

The crispy fried pork cutlet and hot udon were served as a set, and it was definitely delicious.

After the meal, they moved to a cafe and sat down.

“Is the editing of the video you sent going well?”

“…Yes. But I have a question.”

“Yeah.”

“The person who raided the dungeon with you is your friend, right?”

“Yes. My one and only best friend.”

“…That kind of talent is your best friend?”

Jang Dae-Hwi couldn’t believe it.

Even though Ha-Jin was his precious cousin, he wasn’t someone capable enough to be close friends with such a talented person.

“Why, there’s one.”

“Huh?”

“You probably saw him before. When I was in elementary school.”

“…Wait a minute.”

Jang Dae-Hwi slowly recalled his old memories.

And a kid slowly surfaced from the depths of his memory.

Ah!

Could it be him?

A guy who couldn’t be believed to be an elementary school student like Ha-Jin.

It must have been when Ha-Jin was in the third grade of elementary school.

‘What are you doing so diligently?’

‘Huh? Ah! I’m playing a game called Black Demon.’

‘Black Demon? You’re playing that difficult game?’

‘Yeah! Hoon said he’ll clear it today!’

Black Demon was a game with a considerably high difficulty level.

You choose a character, hunt normal mobs, and then the boss monster, and if you proceed through 8 rounds, you can see the ending.

Each character had different weapons, normal skills, and special moves, so it was quite a popular game.

However, the normal monsters in Black Demon had quite high defense, and the boss monsters in each round all had complex attack patterns.

Therefore, no one except for top rankers had seen the ending.

‘What? How is he so good…?’

But Ha-Jin’s friend skillfully progressed through rounds 1, 2, 3, and all the way to round 7.

It wasn’t just physical skill.

He perfectly found the cheat codes hidden in between and proceeded through the shortest path.

It was crazy play, unbelievable for a third grader.

Jang Dae-Hwi, forgetting that he had come to visit Ha-Jin’s house, was completely absorbed in the gameplay.

Crackle-

At that moment, a power outage occurred, and the electricity went out. If it hadn’t been for that, wouldn’t he have been able to see the end of round 8?

Anyway, that was the end of his encounter with that kid.

But to think that the friend who cleared this dungeon today was that same kid.

“You remembered?”

“…Yeah, I remember him as a kid who was incredibly good at games.”

“It’s not just that. He’s just crazy.”

Ha-Jin started bragging about Jeong-Hoon.

Jang Dae-Hwi’s jaw dropped after hearing the whole story.

“If he’s that amazing, why is he your friend? Aren’t you being used?”

“It’s okay. He’s not that kind of guy.”

The unbelievable play he had witnessed from the side.

He didn’t know if Jeong-Hoon had some information or a tracking skill to do that.

Otherwise, those plays were impossible.

Even though such contrived situations had unfolded several times, Ha-Jin didn’t ask Jeong-Hoon anything.

Because he was sure, having known him for a long time.

That Jeong-Hoon wasn’t the type to betray him.

‘It seems like he trusts him a lot.’

Seeing the look in Ha-Jin’s eyes, Jang Dae-Hwi decided to say what he had been thinking.

“…Phew, then can I be in charge of editing Honey Tube?”

“In charge?”

“Yeah. I’ll raise it properly. Of course, I’ll have to ask your friend too.”

* * *

[Secret Quest: Blacksmith Ruben]

– Restriction: Possess Enhancement Skill + Recommendation Letter with the seal of an Epic grade or higher Enhancer

– Reward: Acquire Enhancer Qualification

– Description: Get recognized by Blacksmith Ruben. You can learn some of the Enhancer’s abilities.

Strictly speaking, it could be considered a dual class.

Dual class meant acquiring a secondary class in addition to one’s main class.

Currently, Enhancer was recognized as a single class, but in the future, it would be relegated to a secondary class, called a dual class.

‘Unless you’re a truly exceptional enhancer, most will inevitably be eliminated.’

With the secondary class being relegated, and Iwase monopolizing the Unique and higher grade market… most enhancers wouldn’t be able to survive.

Jeong-Hoon accepted the secret quest.

“…This is absurd. You’re saying you can handle both powers?”

“Yes.”

Jeong-Hoon nodded without a moment’s hesitation.

Ruben chuckled at his confident answer.

“…Alright. Come inside first.”

The door opened wide, revealing the interior.

The interior was a simple mansion.

However, a portal was shimmering in the center, and next to it were several pieces of equipment used in blacksmithing.

Jeong-Hoon realized that the portal was connected to a blacksmith’s workshop.

“Are we going through that portal?”

“You’re quicker than you look. Yes, we are. I don’t think we need to give you any time to rest, do we?”

Ruben felt the urge to break Jeong-Hoon’s arrogant nose.

He could tell at a glance that Jeong-Hoon was a martial artist walking the path of combat.

How dare a guy who only knows how to punch think lightly of enhancement?

Alright.

I’ll make you work hard today.

Ruben gritted his teeth and guided Jeong-Hoon to the portal.

‘Oh man, your expression says it all.’ Jeong-Hoon thought to himself.

Jeong-Hoon had already seen through Ruben’s intentions.

[Oh no, we’re in trouble! It looks like we’re in for a tough time today!]

‘If it gets too hard, how about we just hold me up and threaten him?’ Jeong-Hoon suggested to Mukho.

[That sounds good.]

That’s not an option.

If he attacked Ruben, he would never be able to learn the enhancement skill, regardless of whether he won or lost.

‘You two, be quiet.’ Jeong-Hoon thought.

Jeong-Hoon stopped walking for a moment to warn them, and Ruben grinned.

“Why? Are you suddenly scared?”

“Ah, no, not at all.”

“Really? That’s good. I wasn’t planning on letting you go back even if you wanted to.”

“Yes. I’ll be in your care.”

Jeong-Hoon followed Ruben through the portal to the blacksmith’s workshop.

And a few hours later.

Ruben couldn’t close his gaping mouth.

“You, what are you?!”

“Yes? I’m Hoon.”

“That’s not what I’m asking! Where did you learn the enhancement skill?!”

Ruben, intending to make Jeong-Hoon work hard, placed a box containing equipment in front of him as soon as they arrived at the blacksmith’s workshop.

Next to it were enhancement stones suitable for the equipment grade.

400 Normal.

100 Rare.

The basic skill of an enhancer was enhancement.

Since he said he had the enhancement skill, he should be able to do normal enhancement.

If he couldn’t, he would make him clean the entire blacksmith’s workshop and use him as manpower to replace equipment.

‘I’m not going to let this slide.’

But Jeong-Hoon started enhancing the equipment one by one on the spot.

Seeing the golden effect appear, it was clear that he had indeed acquired the enhancement skill.

A martial artist with an enhancement skill.

He almost burst into laughter at the absurd sight, but he managed to maintain a poker face and watched his enhancement.

Ruben instructed Jeong-Hoon to fully enhance 10 pieces of equipment here.

And soon after, his face was filled with shock.

‘What? Why… Why isn’t there a failure effect?! Why!’

The effects of enhancement success and failure were clearly distinguishable.

So there was no way Ruben couldn’t recognize it.

‘It’s all done.’

Thus, all the enhancements were completed.

The result was 500 golden effects.

And 0 black effects.

It was an impossible result.

‘…Again.’

‘Huh?’

‘Again! Do it again!’

Ruben brought another 500 enhancement stones.

Similarly, 400 Normal and 100 Rare.

Jeong-Hoon grinned and nodded, then started enhancing.

Golden light.

Golden light.

Golden light.

Golden light.

This time, all 500 were the same.

Ruben brought another 500 enhancement stones.

“Again!”

“Yes.”

Jeong-Hoon started enhancing once more.

The result was the same.

Damn it!

Why wasn’t it failing!

Why!

But why was his face so happy?

The outsider’s face as he attempted the enhancement looked so joyful.

As if he was enjoying the enhancement itself.

In the end, Ruben couldn’t hold back and shook Jeong-Hoon’s shoulder, asking where he learned the skill.

“Do you know the Ruined City?”

“…Of course.”

The Ruined City.

Located a little distance from Märchen Kingdom, it was situated on the border between the Duchy of Caldera and the Marquisate of Lades.

And it was a place where the entrance itself was blocked off due to the swarming of ferocious monsters.

“I got it from there.”

“What…?”

“I got a recipe, and thanks to Master LeBlanc deciphering it, I was able to acquire the skill.”

“…Excuse me, but can you wait here for a moment?”

“Yes. Take your time.”

Ruben left the blacksmith’s workshop with a complicated expression.

* * *

Ruben excused himself and hurriedly went to find LeBlanc.

He had heard that he was very ill, but his face looked more comfortable than the last time he saw him.

“Oh, that’s right. He’s the benefactor who fulfilled my long-cherished wish.”

It was all true.

“This is unbelievable…”

“But why did that benefactor go to you?”

“…He came to learn my skills.”

“Oh, is that so? Well… it’s a shame you got the enhancement skill but can’t learn the art of enhancement. If it were an alchemy-related skill, I would have taken you as my disciple…”

LeBlanc muttered regretfully.

Reigner, who was serving him from the side, looked shocked.

“Master…? But your disciple is right here…”

“What’s wrong with having two disciples? Cough! Ahem, anyway, Ruben. Did you come all the way here to ask that?”

LeBlanc coughed and looked at Ruben.

Ruben slowly got up from his seat with a blank expression.

“…You should get going. Take care of yourself.”

* * *

Jeong-Hoon was still grinning.

[What’s so good…?]

Mukho asked in a disgusted voice.

“There’s something like that.”

Enhancing was a grind.

Nevertheless, Jeong-Hoon gladly accepted Ruben’s request.

The more he enhanced, the closer he got to the ‘Master Enhancer’ title.

[Master Enhancer]

– Normal (Fully Enhanced) 40/10,000

– Rare (Fully Enhanced) 10/10,000

Jeong-Hoon made a virtual count in his mind.

Normal was fully enhanced at +40, so he had completed a total of 40, and Rare was fully enhanced at +30, so he had completed 10.

It might seem like a real grind, but Iwase Haruto had personally proven how powerful this title was, so considering its performance, it wasn’t such a harsh condition.

“Well, if things go according to my plan, it’ll be done soon.”

If they just kept supplying him with equipment and enhancement stones like this, he could raise the count quickly.

‘The exchange is for accumulating the count.’

And the content he mentioned to Ha-Jin would be ‘promotion’.

Buzz-

Just then, Ruben returned to the blacksmith’s workshop.

He had a determined look on his face, unlike before he left.

“You said you wanted to learn enhancement, right?”

“Yes.”

Jeong-Hoon sat up straight and answered loudly.

“…Good! But remember, if I don’t like anything during the test, you’ll be disqualified immediately!”

Ruben tried to intimidate him, but the smile on Jeong-Hoon’s lips only grew wider.