Chapter 23 - Episode 4. The 1% World (3)
Chapter 23: Episode 4. The 1% World (3)
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Meikal threw aside all regard for the authority of 〈Twilight Dusk〉 and screamed. He had no idea what kind of trick had been used, but a Four-Horned Beast's horn had broken. A Four-Horned Beast's horn, something worth a fortune here in Chaos.
How was he supposed to compensate Limitless Hall now?
"I didn't mean to do it, but I'm sorry."
"Sorry? Did you just say sorry?"
Meikal spoke with his moustache trembling. All he could think about was whether to beat the man in front of him to death with a hammer or kill him in the furnace. Jaehwan opened his mouth.
"I'll compensate you with something better than the horn."
"Compensate?"
Every craftsman in the workshop scoffed at that. He was going to compensate them, and for a Four-Horned Beast's horn at that.
What sort of beast was a Four-Horned Beast? It was not only rare, but a monster that could not even be faced unless elders of the Ten Halls of Chaos stepped in personally. And this man claimed he would compensate them for one of its horns?
"Then you keep your promise too."
Meikal recalled what he had boasted about earlier. He had said he would make Jaehwan the Deputy Workshop Master for a day if he carved out a jewel holder from the Four-Horned Beast's horn.
Meikal could hardly believe it. Was he still thinking about that in this situation?
"If you can compensate us for a Four-Horned Beast's horn, you may serve as Deputy Workshop Master or do whatever else you want for the day. But if you offer some pathetic substitute as compensation, you will not leave this place alive today."
Jaehwan nodded and called Naven.
"Put that down here."
At Jaehwan's gesture, the worker Naven set the horn he had been carrying beside the furnace. It was a huge, dark horn from a monster. Everyone wondered what it was.
A moment later, they all gasped at once.
"Good heavens, that's a Garnak horn!"
In 《Chaos》, monsters with five or more horns had their own separate classification. They were that powerful and dangerous.
A wolf-type monster known to require several elders of the Ten Halls of Chaos, or even someone at the level of a Deputy Hall Master, to hunt.
That was Garnak, the Five-Horned Beast of Chaos.
A deep silence filled the workshop.
Meikal gave an order in a heavy voice.
"Close the doors. We will not receive customers today."
The workers hurried over and shut the workshop's front doors. With a loud creak, the massive iron gates were sealed.
This was only the third time Meikal had seen an unprocessed Garnak horn. Once, shortly after arriving in 《Chaos》, he had seen one in another famous workshop. The other time, he had watched the previous Deputy Workshop Master of 〈Twilight Dusk〉 work on one from over their shoulder.
"Incredible."
Perhaps it had belonged to a young Garnak, because the horn was smooth and flawless. Everyone in the workshop stared at it with flushed faces. If they could only work on something so large and beautiful for one night...
"Is this enough compensation?"
"Of course. It is more than enough."
There was more than a tenfold difference in value between a Four-Horned Beast and a Five-Horned Beast. With a Five-Horned Beast's horn, simply cutting off a corner would have been enough compensation without any processing at all. Yet this man had handed over an entire horn. Even after covering the loss, there would be plenty left over.
After thinking for a moment, Meikal said, "This 〈Twilight Dusk〉 is yours for today."
Murmurs rose around them, and Meikal barked, "Quiet!"
Once the workers regained their senses and fell silent, Meikal continued speaking to Jaehwan.
"I have been rude to my benefactor."
"It's fine."
"May I ask you just one thing?"
Jaehwan nodded, and Meikal asked, "Where did this horn come from?"
"I got it myself."
"You got it yourself? Does that mean... you hunted a Five-Horned Beast yourself?"
"Yes."
Someone who hunted Five-Horned Beasts personally?
Who exactly was this man? Jaehwan did not seem interested in wasting any more time.
"Prepare everything. We'll start right away."
"Start what?"
"I'm going to make something."
The worker Naven rushed over and whispered something into Meikal's ear. Meikal nodded.
"I see. You will be making a sheath."
"That's right."
"What material will you use?"
"This."
Jaehwan pulled another chunk of Five-Horned Beast horn from his Dimensional Bag. It was in even better condition than the first one. Five-Horned Beasts literally had five horns, so that was only natural.
Of course, it was not natural to Meikal for an entirely different reason.
"You intend to make a mere sheath from a Garnak horn?"
Not a Three-Horned Beast or a Four-Horned Beast, but Garnak, a Five-Horned Beast.
It was material that could produce a masterpiece even if someone slapped it together with mud. And he was going to make nothing more than a sheath from it?
Meikal was certain this young man did not understand the true value of a Garnak horn.
"May I see the fortunate sword worthy of having a Garnak horn as its home?"
Without a word, Jaehwan handed over the sword at his waist. Meikal examined its information, then let out a quiet sigh.
"Huh. The Ice Dragon Sword."
"You know it?"
"It is supposed to be a sword made from the Ice Dragon King's horn. At least, according to its description."
The Ice Dragon King was the magic dragon of the Forgotten Zone, the most dangerous of the twelve zones in 《Great Realm》. A sword crafted by refining that magic dragon's horn could not possibly be anything but an excellent blade.
The unfortunate thing was that this sword was a replica.
That was only to be expected. Meikal occasionally heard news from 《Great Realm》, but he had never once heard that the magic dragon of the Forgotten Zone had been hunted.
Even the noble Lords had never hunted the legendary monster known as Ice Dragon Velkisus.
Therefore, this weapon must have been made by a dream demon that had actually seen the Ice Dragon King and used its horn as inspiration. In other words, the horn used to make this sword was not from the real Ice Dragon King.
"It has some rarity because a dream demon made it personally, but using a Garnak horn to make a sheath for a sword of this level seems excessive. It would be better to make a new sword from the horn..."
That was when the sword let out a hum.
Startled, Meikal released the hilt. The blade fell precisely toward the Garnak horn. Its vibrations intensified, and the blade slowly split apart like a mouth.
Crunch.
One entire Five-Horned Beast horn was vanishing before his eyes. Meikal had become too exhausted even to be surprised.
"Good heavens. It is a spirit weapon?"
The Ice Dragon Sword, having consumed the Five-Horned Beast's horn, began to shine with a brilliant glow.
"Your sword is evolving."
Its blade became sharper, while its surface grew denser and stronger. Its strength was now no weaker than a sword made from Garnak horn. On top of that, the black aura pouring from the sword had become impossible to conceal without wrapping the blade in layers of cloth.
It was a sword that absolutely needed a sheath.
If that much spiritual energy wandered around the marketplace, it would attract useless small fry.
"Judging by the spiritual energy coming from the sword, it seems to house the soul of a higher species. How in the world..."
The sword continued humming. Meikal quickly checked its condition and spoke.
"It is undergoing a Great Evolution. It may take some time, but once the evolution is complete, you will have to give the sword a new name."
"A new name?"
"A spirit weapon loses its first name when it undergoes a Great Evolution."
The sword, having lost its first name, hummed sadly. Meikal watched it in silence before carefully speaking.
"But the material is gone..."
The sword had eaten the material meant for its sheath.
What was he supposed to make the sheath from now?
"It's fine. I have another one."
Again, Five-Horned Beasts had five horns.
Meikal watched horn after horn emerge from the Dimensional Bag, then raised both hands in exasperation.
* * *
A short while later, Meikal stood before a Garnak horn.
A horn with a soft black sheen. It was also his first time processing a Garnak horn. Long ago, he had briefly seen them used to make weapons for Fortress Lords, but...
Could I really do this?
He had risen to the position of Deputy Workshop Master and received the title of 「Apprentice」, but Meikal now struggled even to process a Four-Horned Beast's horn.
What kind of 「Apprentice」 had never even made a Tower...
There were enormous differences in skill even among 「Apprentice」.
Even at the same grade, dream demons and humans differed completely in the scale of their imagination. While humans struggled over a single sword, dream demons built Towers that became entire worlds.
Meikal quietly looked down at the Garnak horn.
Some materials were like that.
Materials that overwhelmed people just by being seen.
"I'm sorry, but I do not think I can take responsibility for this..."
Beside him, Jaehwan was putting on something.
"You... no, Acting Deputy Workshop Master, what are you doing?"
Jaehwan had changed into a worker's clothes. He rolled up his sleeves and spoke.
"I don't know what you're talking about either."
Meikal looked confused.
"I'll make the sheath."
"...What?"
"You will help me from the side."
What was that supposed to mean? Meikal understood that this man called Jaehwan possessed incredible ability. He had no idea how it worked, but Jaehwan had the power to break horns.
But breaking a horn and processing one were two entirely different matters.
"No matter how capable you are..."
"That's right. I certainly could not do it alone."
Jaehwan nodded. He possessed destructive power, but lacked finesse. Material like a Garnak horn could not be processed through strength alone.
"That's why I need you."
Jaehwan spoke while looking at the pale traces of the dream demon skill, 「Crafting」, left on the tip of Meikal's hammer.
* * *
At the same time, in Gorgon Inner Keep.
In the depths of a neat, modestly decorated chamber, a weathered middle-aged man in a tidy uniform suddenly coughed while drinking tea from his cup.
"You lost the Soulstone? What do you mean by that?"
"...I am sorry."
The man in dark blue martial clothes prostrated before him and lowered his head in shame.
"...How were you attacked?"
"I do not know. When I came to... I was lying on a rooftop."
They had been attacked but did not know how.
It made no sense.
The middle-aged man frowned deeply.
"What adaptation stage are you?"
"Third."
"What are the grade and level of your Stealth skill?"
"Advanced grade, Master Level."
"And you were still discovered? No, how was that even possible?"
"...I do not know."
"This is driving me mad."
If a Third Adapter who had mastered an Advanced-grade Stealth skill truly wanted to hide, even high-ranking Adapters of Chaos would have found them difficult to locate.
Yet the opponent had not only found his subordinate, but attacked without leaving a trace and knocked them unconscious.
"...Karlton said he could not be a Fifth Adapter."
Perhaps the opponent was an Adapter at the level of a Fifth Adapter. If the opponent was a high-ranking Adapter, they needed to make every preparation on their side as well.
"Increase the team. Find him, even if you have to search every inch of the keep."
The next moment, a thud sounded from deep inside the Underground Prison beneath the inner keep.
The vibration was faint, but it was enough for the middle-aged man, who had already surpassed High Adaptation, to feel it. Something like a drawn-out scream could be heard in the distance. A faint groan trembling with pain.
The middle-aged man's expression twisted with sorrow.
"...Fortress Lord, please endure a little longer."
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