Chapter 22 - Episode 4. The 1% World (2)
Chapter 22: Episode 4. The 1% World (2)
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Jaehwan calmed himself, quietly settling the memories that had risen to the surface.
So there was no Dream Demon here after all.
He had something he had to ask a Dream Demon, which made this disappointing.
Jaehwan asked again.
“Then who is the best of the remaining craftsmen?”
“That would be our Deputy Workshop Master, Meikal, but...”
The worker trailed off as they looked Jaehwan up and down. Jaehwan looked down at himself as well. He had forgotten that he was still dressed like a beggar.
“Deputy Workshop Master Meikal’s work is quite expensive. You also need to provide the materials...”
“I brought them.”
In a workshop, “materials” usually meant the horns of Horned Beasts. Metals like steel and black iron were refined as well, but inside the 《Tree of Illusion》, no material was as valuable as a Horned Beast’s horn. No metal was lighter or tougher.
“...You brought a horn?”
The worker asked in a doubtful voice.
“We do not accept commissions unless the horn is from at least a Two-Horned Beast. Wouldn’t it be better to choose one of our standard scabbards? Since they are made here at 〈Twilight Dusk〉, even the standard models are of quite good quality...”
Jaehwan shook his head. The worker looked embarrassed and was about to say something when Jaehwan asked,
“The Two-Horned Beast you mentioned is the monster with two horns, right?”
“...That is correct.”
Quietly, Jaehwan searched his Dimensional Bag and took out the horn he would use for the commission. It was from the wolf monster he had killed some time ago.
The worker accepted the horn without thinking and held it against their chest. After staring at it for a long time, their hands began to tremble.
“W-What is this...?”
Even after receiving years of training as a worker at 〈Twilight Dusk〉, they had never seen a horn like this. Its black sheen, hardness, and thickness were enough to leave anyone spellbound.
“Something this large and beautiful...”
The young worker realized that this was not a matter they could decide alone. Their eyes darted around until they settled on one spot.
Near the central furnace, around fifteen craftsmen had gathered, murmuring as though some spectacle was taking place.
“Ah, Deputy Workshop Master-nim is here...!”
Before the worker could finish, Jaehwan was already heading that way. Mino, who let out a deep sigh, and the worker carrying the horn hurried after him.
* * *
Meikal, Deputy Workshop Master of 〈Twilight Dusk〉, the ‘Artisan of Dawn.’
No one in Gorgon Fortress was unfamiliar with him. After all, among humans, he was one of the very few who had attained the rank of 「Apprentice」 Creator.
A Creator’s title, granted only to Dream Demons.
Although 「Apprentice」 was the lowest of the three Creator grades, the fact that those prideful Dream Demons had recognized another species as a Creator was a major event in itself.
“Heh heh, I suppose I’ve grown old.”
That had already been decades ago.
Recently, Meikal had been keenly aware of his limits.
“Blame the species you were born into. With a human body, you can never rise above 「Apprentice」.”
He remembered what a Dream Demon had told him when he first received the title of Apprentice.
At first, he had not believed it.
Young Meikal had thought that he had time. He had passion. Even if he had been born into an unfavorable species, there was nothing he could not achieve through effort.
While Dream Demons slept, he practiced tempering and polishing one more time. When they played, he studied metallurgy.
He believed that one day, he could become a 「Master Craftsman」 or even a 「Master」.
Meikal’s efforts eventually earned him the nickname Artisan of Dawn. Those who admired how he never spared himself, working until dawn while everyone else slept, had given him that name.
Yet even the Artisan of Dawn, now nearing the twilight of his life, gradually came to understand the truth of the world.
No matter how hard one tried, some things could not be done.
“I can’t keep doing this.”
Meikal muttered as he examined the horn before him. It was the horn of a Four-Horned Beast, personally entrusted to him by the Hall Master of Limitless Hall, one of the Ten Halls of Chaos. The commission had been for a sword, and the work itself was nearly complete.
The problem was the final detailing.
“Make a gem holder in the center of the hilt.”
Creating a holder in something as tough as a Four-Horned Beast’s horn was not easy. No, even breaking such a horn was difficult. He had managed to shape the blade and form it using his own techniques, but a gem holder...
The Dream Demon-exclusive skill, 「Crafting」.
Even with that skill, which he had learned from Dream Demons upon reaching the rank of Apprentice, precisely carving a holder into a Four-Horned Beast’s horn was not easy.
...Perhaps when he was younger.
In the end, Meikal set down his tools for a moment. He needed sufficient rest before he could continue.
The surrounding craftsmen, who had been watching, rushed in.
“Master, may I try?”
“Let me give it a try...”
Meikal gave a small laugh.
Being young was a good thing.
“With your skills, you do not stand a chance, you brats!”
Meikal knew none of them could surpass him. Some things in this world were simply impossible. Humans could never surpass Dream Demons in the field of creation.
Still, the heat of youth warmed even old Meikal’s heart. Youth had to be spent while one was young. All he could do was kindle the fire so that their youth could burn when it should.
“Fine. Whoever manages to pierce a hole in this horn, no matter who it is, can take my position as Deputy Workshop Master of 〈Twilight Dusk〉 for the day!”
Keeping alive the illusion that one could achieve anything through effort. Perhaps that was the role of an old man like him.
“Really?”
“Then I want to try too!”
The excited young craftsmen rushed forward one after another.
Naturally, none of them succeeded. Even craftsmen who knew how to handle spiritual power fairly well could not leave a single scratch on the Four-Horned Beast’s horn.
That was the kind of material it was.
“I want to try.”
Who was that?
It was a face he had never seen before.
Meikal, fanning himself against the heat of the central furnace, wore a strange expression.
“Sir, you cannot go in there!”
A worker hurried over with an armful of something. It was Naven, who had recently been assigned to guide visitors at the entrance.
Meikal asked,
“Naven, who is that? And what are you carrying?”
“Th-This is...”
Naven could not figure out where to begin. He looked back and forth between Jaehwan and the horn in his arms, stammering.
Meikal sighed and asked,
“Who are you? Outsiders are not permitted to enter here as they please.”
“I just have to carve a groove into this hilt, right?”
A spark flashed in Meikal’s eyes. He was dressed like a beggar, but his confidence alone was that of a first-rate craftsman.
Could he be a young worker traveling through Chaos?
Meikal waved away the surrounding craftsmen, who had begun to look threatening.
“Let him try.”
He did not know where this fellow had come from, but the courage was remarkable. At 〈Twilight Dusk〉, where novice workers were often too intimidated to move, such spirit alone made the young man’s recklessness worth praising.
But recklessness was still recklessness.
Authority was not built in a day. True authority did not collapse so easily, and 〈Twilight Dusk〉 was practically its symbol.
Perhaps it would not be bad to show this newcomer the standing of 〈Twilight Dusk〉.
“...Huh?”
The man had raised his finger, then brought its sharpened tip to the hilt made from a Four-Horned Beast’s horn.
As if he intended to carve a groove with his finger.
It was madness. Anyone who tried that would break their finger every time.
Of course, skilled Dream Demons could refine Horned Beast horns without tools, but Meikal had never heard of a human accomplishing such a thing.
If that were possible, there would have been no reason for all this hardship...
Then, with a deafening crash, dust exploded outward.
It sounded as if the whole place were collapsing. The very ground beneath the workshop seemed to shake.
Until that moment, Meikal did not know.
That sound was the sound of everything he had worked for his entire life shattering into pieces.
The dust that had filled the workshop gradually settled.
A narrow cavity exactly one finger wide had been bored straight through the work and down beneath the anvil. It went so deep that its end could not be seen.
“Th-That, that, that...!”
Everyone in the workshop doubted their own eyes.
“This works, right?”
The man in question was still standing where he had been. The sword, now fitted with a holder made of Four-Horned Beast horn, was spinning around and around on his finger.
As Meikal watched the spinning sword, his world spun with it. Barely regaining his senses through the dizziness, he asked,
“...Who in the world are you?”
Jaehwan was starting to grow tired of hearing that question.
“Deputy Workshop Master.”
Meikal’s complexion improved slightly at that. If he was the deputy workshop master somewhere, perhaps he was a renowned craftsman.
“Deputy Workshop Master? Which workshop do you belong to?”
Jaehwan answered indifferently.
“〈Twilight Dusk〉.”
Several of the workshop craftsmen glared at him.
“You bastard. Are you trying to make a joke out of this?”
“How dare you use the name Twilight Dusk!”
Jaehwan did not so much as blink.
“You promised earlier.”
Promised?
The same scene flashed through everyone’s minds.
Wait, surely not?
“Fine. Whoever manages to pierce a hole in this horn, no matter who it is, can take my position as Deputy Workshop Master of 〈Twilight Dusk〉 for the day!”
Deputy Workshop Master Meikal’s face stiffened.
Jaehwan said again,
“For today, I am the Deputy Workshop Master of 〈Twilight Dusk〉.”
Then, in the next instant, cracks began to spread through the Four-Horned Beast’s horn that was wobbling on Jaehwan’s finger.
Meikal’s face turned pale.
“N-No...!”
The tough Four-Horned Beast horn, personally entrusted by the Hall Master of Limitless Hall, shattered into countless pieces and scattered through the air.
Jaehwan frowned and muttered,
“...It was only a Light Stab.”
Footnotes:
Chapter discussion