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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
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Chapter 13
Zeke rode in a carriage out of the academy.
He was on his way to meet the blacksmith who had refused his appointment.
'Gelion Halbert.'
Zeke recalled the blacksmith's name.
In his previous life, Zeke had a deep connection with Gelion.
Ten years from now, Gelion would earn the nickname "Soul Blacksmith."
He would also earn the title of the continent's best blacksmith because he could read the user's soul and create the most suitable weapon for them.
And before his return, Zeke had saved Gelion's life while carrying out a mission.
Indebted to Zeke for saving his life, Gelion had crafted a much-needed sword for him as a reward.
Zeke recalled the claymore he used in his previous life.
'Solar Sword Gram'
The Solar Sword Gram, engraved with a pattern resembling a coiled snake, was a masterpiece by the master craftsman, Gelion.
This sword had a special function just for Zeke.
It was the ability to convert mana cultivated from the ether hall into aura.
The reason Zeke wanted to commission a weapon from Gelion, of all people, was to recreate this Gram.
"We have arrived, young master."
At Decker's words, Zeke opened the carriage door and stepped out.
It was a small, shabby blacksmith's workshop in a corner of the city.
Zeke looked at the sign on the blacksmith's workshop.
[Gelion's Blacksmith]
'What sense of naming.'
He ordered Decker to wait and entered alone.
As soon as he stepped inside, a strong smell of alcohol filled the air.
A man was slumped over a table inside.
Zeke slowly approached the table.
"Ugh!"
The man, completely drunk, waved his hand without even looking at Zeke.
"Closed for business... go away... closed..."
A young man with pale skin and a gaunt face.
He had a delicate face and a thin body that didn't seem to belong to a blacksmith.
He had a sparse beard, but it was definitely Gelion.
Zeke looked down at Gelion and said,
"Gelion Halbert."
At the sound of his name, Gelion looked up at Zeke with hazy eyes.
"Huh? What? You... this isn't a place for kids, so get out..."
He then picked up a bottle of alcohol and started guzzling it down.
Zeke frowned at his completely wasted appearance.
'This is serious.'
He looked around the blacksmith's workshop.
It seemed like the forge hadn't been lit in months.
He spoke to Gelion,
"I heard you're not taking any appointments. May I know why?"
Gelion burped and wiped his mouth.
"Ugh... I can't make the weapons I want to make. What's the point of making more?"
Zeke tilted his head, observing Gelion's state.
'He's so different from when I saw him in my previous life. I can't figure out what's going on.'
Even in his previous life, Gelion was quite emotionally volatile due to his delicate nature, unlike a typical blacksmith, but Zeke had never seen him so despondent.
Zeke watched him for a moment, then turned and walked out of the blacksmith's workshop.
Gelion chuckled and continued to drink.
"Someone like me should just die. What kind of blacksmith am I..."
That's when it happened.
Splash!
"Gah!"
Zeke, who had gone outside to fill a bucket with water, threw it with all his might at Gelion.
Gelion, drenched from head to toe, looked at Zeke with a dumbfounded expression.
Zeke spoke to him with a cold gaze,
"Are you feeling more sober now?"
Gelion blinked and stared at Zeke.
Then his eyes settled on the gloves Zeke was wearing.
Gelion's face turned pale.
"D-Draker..."
In the Duchy of Troy, the Draker clan held a unique status.
Especially among them, the pure-blooded Drakers were even more special.
Gelion instantly sobered up.
He immediately bowed his head low on the table.
"I-I apologize. I've been disrespectful to your esteemed self..."
"I'll ask you again. Why did you refuse my appointment?"
At those words, Gelion trembled.
"I-I never imagined that a pure-blooded Draker would request something from an unknown blacksmith like me..."
Gelion hadn't even bothered to check the appointment request in the first place.
Zeke pulled up a chair, sat down, and said to Gelion,
"Now you know who your client is. I'll ask you again, can you take my appointment?"
Gelion replied in a fearful but firm voice,
"I apologize, but I cannot fulfill your request."
Zeke's eyes narrowed.
"You have time to drink, but no time to take my request?"
Gelion lifted his head and said to Zeke,
"That's... although it's impertinent of me to say, it's a personal matter."
"Explain yourself clearly. If it's not a convincing reason, you cannot refuse my request."
At Zeke's words, Gelion hesitated, then slowly got up from his seat.
"This way, please. I'll explain."
Gelion led Zeke to the back of the blacksmith's workshop.
Hundreds of broken swords were piled up there.
It was like a graveyard of swords.
Looking at the wreckage of the swords, Zeke asked Gelion,
"What is this?"
Gelion said with a bitter expression,
"This is the reason why I cannot accept your request."
Zeke picked up the fragments from the pile of swords and examined them.
"This is..."
He could discern something from the broken sword fragments.
"It's the folded steel forging technique. And it's a much higher level of skill than usual."
Gelion was surprised by Zeke's words.
"H-How did you know?"
It didn't make sense for a pure-blooded Draker to know about the "folded steel" forging technique, which even most blacksmiths were unfamiliar with.
Looking at the mountain of debris, Zeke said,
"Are you saying you can't accept the request because you lack the skill?"
Gelion nodded with a stiff expression.
"I've reached my limit as a blacksmith."
Zeke could understand Gelion's situation.
'He's hit a huge wall.'
The Gelion of the future could freely manipulate fire and iron, creating the perfect weapon for any user.
Seeing Gelion standing at a crossroads in his growth, Zeke fell into deep thought.
'What should I do?'
Actually, Zeke already knew the solution to Gelion's problem.
In his previous life, Zeke had been Gelion's lifesaver, so he had heard many stories from him.
'Gelion, every time I see the weapons you create, I'm filled with admiration. What's your secret?'
'Many blacksmiths want to know that. It's my life's secret, but what could I hide from my benefactor?'
'No... If it's that much of a secret, you don't have to tell me. It's too much pressure.'
'The secret is the forge. A magically crafted forge.'
Gelion's secret was to freely control the temperature of the fire through a specially made magic forge.
Zeke looked at the mountain of sword debris with a bitter expression.
'The timing isn't right. Does this mean he doesn't have the skills to create the Solar Sword yet?'
The Solar Sword Gram was a piece that Gelion himself called his greatest masterpiece.
If Gelion hadn't overcome his current obstacle, he wouldn't be able to create Zeke's sword.
Just then, Gelion suddenly collapsed and cried out in frustration.
"Ugh... This is so frustrating! If only I had the forge... if only I had the forge..."
Zeke spoke to Gelion,
"What do you mean by forge?"
Gelion pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to Zeke.
"This is the special forge I designed."
Zeke was surprised to see the blueprint drawn on the parchment.
'It's the same one Gelion used in the future.'
Gelion said with a frustrated expression,
"If only this forge were complete, I could reach the level I envision. But... that damn money is the problem."
Surprised by his words, Zeke blinked and asked,
"Wait, so you're saying all these failed works are because you don't have the money to build this forge? Not because you lack the skill?"
At Zeke's question, Gelion said with a serious expression,
"I already mastered all existing blacksmithing techniques years ago. What I desire is something beyond that."
Gelion was trying to go beyond existing techniques to step into a realm that ordinary blacksmiths couldn't reach.
Looking at the forge blueprint on the parchment, Zeke asked,
"How much money are you short?"
Gelion sighed.
"I can somehow get a loan to build the forge itself. But... the most important thing is the core magic operation formula."
"Magic operation formula? Can't you just commission a mage for that?"
Gelion made a bitter face.
"I already tried submitting a request to the magic tower."
"And?"
"The Magic Tower guys asked for ten thousand gold to create the operation formula for that forge."
"Ten thousand gold?"
Usually, the monthly living expenses for an average family were about ten gold.
Ten thousand gold was an amount that ordinary people couldn't even dream of earning in their entire lives.
"Ten thousand gold? That's putting the cart before the horse."
Gelion had a frustrated expression.
"There's clearly a way to improve, but I can't surpass that level with ordinary fire. Every time I hammer the iron, I feel nothing but self-doubt."
Zeke looked at Gelion and fell into deep thought.
'Before my return, the reason Gelion's rise to fame was delayed might have been because he was saving money.'
If that was the case, it meant that once the forge was complete, there would be no problem for Gelion to display his true skills.
Just then, someone flashed through Zeke's mind.
'The Mana Theory instructor... Paynun, was it? He was definitely a specialist in magic operation formula research.'
Perhaps this problem could be solved more easily than expected.
He spoke to the despairing Gelion,
"Hey, Gelion."
Gelion barely managed to compose himself and said,
"I apologize... for my disgraceful behavior before your esteemed self..."
"If I can make this forge for you, will you accept my request?"
At those words, Gelion's eyes widened, and he looked at Zeke.
"Y-You'll make the forge for me?"
Gelion's eyes were burning with passion.
Zeke unconsciously stepped back from Gelion's intense aura.
"I think I can give it a try."
As Zeke regained his composure after the slight surprise, Gelion knelt before him and clutched his ankles.
"Sob! If you do that for me, this Gelion will serve you as his benefactor for life!"
Looking at Gelion, who was shedding tears, Zeke recalled the Gelion of his previous life.
'He seems even more grateful than when I saved his life.'
He took Gelion's forge blueprint and put it in his pocket.
"I'll meet with a mage first and let you know as soon as I have the results. And stop drinking."
At Zeke's words, Gelion bowed his head, his face covered in tears and snot.
"Understood. Thank you! Thank you! My lord!"
***
Leaving Gelion's shabby blacksmith's workshop behind, Zeke headed back to the academy.
In the carriage, he examined Gelion's blueprint.
Although he hadn't formally learned magic, he could read an operation formula blueprint.
'The structure itself doesn't seem difficult. Why did the Magic Tower guys charge so much?'
It seemed like there was something he didn't know.
Arriving at the academy, Zeke headed towards the research building where Paynun was staying.
Just then, something caught Zeke's senses.
'That place is...?'
A secluded spot between the academy buildings.
It was the place where Zeke was often bullied by Leon Conrad in his previous life.
The bullying had stopped since his return, but the memories of the past hadn't disappeared.
Zeke was about to turn around and head towards the research building when...
Thwack! Thwack!
He heard the sound of someone being hit coming from a secluded alleyway.
Zeke tried to ignore it but stopped in his tracks.
'This isn't the time for me to be nosy...'
The painful memories of the academy held him back.
Eventually, Zeke turned around and walked towards the alleyway.
As he expected, Leon Conrad and his gang were huddled together.
With Zeke, their usual prey, gone, it seemed they were tormenting a new victim.
He looked at the cadet being beaten by Leon's gang.
'Huh? That guy is...'
Zeke recognized the face.
'Liam Stone.'
Jakenn Varldec's attendant and the future mercenary king.
He was being beaten up as Leon Conrad's new victim.
Knowing that the person being beaten was Liam Stone, Zeke became conflicted.
'There's no way Liam would just take a beating. Is there something going on?'
He felt like getting involved would only lead to trouble.
After a moment of thought, Zeke turned around to leave.
Just then, Leon's voice boomed,
"How's it feel? Does that knock some sense into you, you inferior bastard!"
In an instant, Zeke's figure shot upwards.
He stepped on the wall and leaped forward.
He grabbed Leon Conrad by the back of the neck and threw him against the wall.
"Ugh!"
Conrad's gang was taken aback by Zeke's sudden intrusion.
Zeke glared at them with murderous eyes and said,
"Three seconds. Get on your knees and bow your heads."
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
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