Hermia gave Kang Yoon-Soo her approval to use the smithy in Kerlin. There, he poured out the minerals in the backpack and sorted them into each type.

23 Gold Ores

14 Enhancement Stone Fragments

6 Mithril Ores

4 Moonstone Fragments

The smithy’s production tools were old, but its facilities, particularly its furnace, were of excellent quality. Kang Yoon-Soo proceeded to fire up the furnace and processed the minerals one by one. The minerals melted into hot molten liquid, and he refined them perfectly to the highest level of purity. Soon, only pure precious metals remained.

12 Gold Bars

5 Enhancement Stones

2 Mithril Ingots

1 Moonstone

It was an amazing result, considering the amount of materials he had utilized. Moonstones in particular were especially difficult to handle. However, Kang Yoon-Soo’s refining skill was so high that the moonstone he obtained shone as brightly as true moonlight.

[You have produced a tremendous achievement with your own hands. The new skill ‘Mineral Refinement’ has been created.]

[Mineral Refinement]

Skill Level: 1 (00.00%)

You may refine minerals into their purest forms.

A new skill had been created. It was difficult for one’s actions to turn into a skill; the only way to independently obtain a skill was to either relentlessly do the same thing over and over again or produce a tremendous achievement.

Kang Yoon-Soo placed the refined minerals into the backpack, then took out the greatsword. It was dull and its condition was poor after the battle with the Spartoi. He placed the weapon in the furnace, and it started to turn bright red from the heat. Afterward, he took it out of the furnace and placed it on the anvil, then started to hammer it patiently for a long time.

Clang! Clang!

When he was done hammering the greatsword, he quenched the blade in cold water.

[The greatsword has become even more durable.]

[You have produced a tremendous achievement with your own hands. The new skill ‘Equipment Refinement’ has been created.]

[Equipment Refinement]

Skill Level: 1 (00.00%)

You may increase the quality of equipment or repair it to full durability.

Kang Yoon-Soo took the newly repaired greatsword and started to sharpen it using a whetstone. There were no skills helping him, but his craftsmanship was already amazing by itself.

[The steel greatsword’s attack power has increased due to excellent craftsmanship.]

[The skill level of ‘Equipment Refinement’ has increased. Your working speed when repairing equipment has increased.]

Kang Yoon-Soo placed the greatsword on the table and took out five enhancement stones, peculiar stones that gave off a blue glow. Without a hint of hesitation, he brought his hammer down on them.

Crack! Crack!

A blue glow shot out of the stones, being absorbed into the hammer’s head. Kang Yoon-Soo then brought the hammer, now glowing with the light from the stones, down on the greatsword.

Striking equipment with a hammer that had absorbed the light from enhancement stones would increase its attributes. Hammering the edges would increase attack power; hammering the handle would improve grip and dexterity; and hammering the tip would improve penetrative power.

However, failing to control one’s strength or tempo would cause the enhancement to fail. After a failure, equipment would suffer a huge drop in attack power or durability. The results of a failed enhancement would usually have to be disposed of.

All equipment could be enhanced up to fifteen times, and the success rate would decrease for every successful enhancement. The Enchanter class had the skill ‘Equipment Enhancement’, which would allow them to enhance items without enhancement stones; thus, it would be much easier for them to upgrade equipment.

Kang Yoon-Soo hammered away at the greatsword without any hesitation.

Clang Clang! Clang! Cla-clang!

He swung the hammer five times.

[You have successfully enhanced the steel greatsword.]

[You have successfully enhanced the steel greatsword.]

[You have successfully enhanced the steel greatsword.]

[You have successfully enhanced the steel greatsword.]

[You have successfully enhanced the steel greatsword.]

The result was a great success. Kang Yoon-Soo inspected the greatsword.

[Steel Greatsword]

Rating: Normal

Attack Power: 29

Hardness: 4

A greatsword made of high quality steel.

The greatsword’s attack power more than doubled, going from 14 to 29; on top of that, another stat had been created. Just the fact that Kang Yoon-Soo had sharpened, hammered, and enhanced his weapon greatly increased its attack power. A normal blacksmith would have been satisfied with the result and withdrawn his hammer. However, Kang Yoon-Soo was different, and to him, this was when the real work would begin.

“Excuse me,” said a voice from outside. Kang Yoon-Soo turned around to look in the direction of the voice. It was dark outside, but he could see the silhouette of a long-haired woman.

It was Shaneth, and she was wearing a dress that exposed some parts of her skin. She looked more normal than when she had gone around wearing the helmet. She shyly looked away when she noticed that Kang Yoon-Soo just kept staring at her.

“I didn’t wear this because I wanted to… Lady Hermia forced me to wear this…” she said in a meek, shy voice. She then passed a freshly baked apple pie to Kang Yoon-Soo and said, “Lady Hermia asked me to bring this to you.”

Kang Yoon-Soo received the apple pie, took a slice, and started to eat it. The baked pie was moist on the inside, but the crust was crisp, crackling audibly as he bit into it. However, he could not taste anything.

“Well…” Shaneth began. Kang Yoon-Soo looked up at her.

Shaneth hesitated for a second, then eventually said while blushing, “I actually wanted to thank you.” She was extremely shy and looked down at the ground to avoid eye contact. “If it weren’t for you, I would have still been wearing the helmet, and you’re my savior. The way the other soldiers looked at me also changed after the burn marks disappeared. I’m not used to it, but it also feels good to expose a bit of my skin for a change... Ummm... Also…”

“This is more than enough.” Kang Yoon-Soo cut her off.

“Eh?” Shaneth exclaimed in confusion.

Kang Yoon-Soo took another slice of the pie and said, “Hermia didn’t send you. You made this pie yourself and brought it of your own accord.”

“Eh? What?” Shaneth was disoriented and briefly stunned into silence. “H-how did you know…?” she asked, stuttering as her face turned bright red.

Kang Yoon-Soo looked intently at her. Although the burn marks had disappeared, there was still a scar on the left side of her face. He thought, ‘That scar wouldn’t disappear no matter what we did.’

That scar had been left behind by Ignus as a mark of the flame. In their previous lives, they had tried to erase that mark, but nothing worked. It was a mark that the chosen one had to bear, and no magic or medicine could erase it.

‘I’m sure it will be the same this time as well.’

Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly got up and grabbed Shaneth’s shoulder, saying, “Sit down.”

Shaneth was surprised, but she obediently sat down on a wooden stool. Kang Yoon-Soo took out some scissors from the smithy’s tool cabinet and approached Shaneth. She was a beautiful woman, but her hair was so messy it looked like a jungle.

Shaneth was surprised to see the scissors and vaguely shook her hands as if to refuse, saying, “You don’t have to cut my hair. I like it better this way!”

“I’m crazy. I don’t listen to anyone,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied as he started to cut away at her hair. Shaneth tearfully tried to resist, but in the end, she obediently received the forced haircut. She was worried that stopping halfway would make it look hideous.

After a while, Kang Yoon-Soo set down the scissors and said, “It’s done.”

Shaneth hesitantly looked at her reflection in a tub filled with water. The moment she saw her face, she reacted, “...Huh?”

It looked better than she had expected. No, in fact, she loved it. It was a hairstyle that one would only see on noble ladies. Her previously messy, overgrown hair had been neatly rearranged, perfectly framing her large, clear eyes. Her hair was much shorter than it had been before, but nevertheless, it was still long. It was unable to perfectly hide the scar on the left side of her face, but it did a fine job of covering it up.

Shaneth clasped her bright red cheeks, overjoyed. However, she asked, “Don’t you think this kind of beautiful hairstyle is a waste on someone like me?”

“No,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied with his usual demeanor, then took another slice of the apple pie. By then, the pie on the plate had completely disappeared.

Shaneth asked, surprised, “Shall I bring more?”

“No,” said Kang Yoon-Soo.

The way Kang Yoon-Soo spoke was clipped and rude, but for some reason, Shaneth did not seem to mind, nor was she offended. Why was that?

Kang Yoon-Soo gripped the sharpened greatsword with both hands and looked at a spear that had been fastened to the ground with a metal hinge. It was the spear left behind by the Spartoi.

[Spartoi’s Spear]

Piercing Power: 43

A spear made from the tooth of the Ignus Dragon. It is filled with the inextinguishable breath of a dragon. It is the weapon used by the Spartoi all his life, and he considered it his friend.

The spear had immense piercing power, but it was too big and heavy for a human like Kang Yoon-Soo to use. He lifted his greatsword high into the air, then swung it down toward the shaft of the spear with great force.

Snap!

The spearhead was instantly separated from the shaft. Kang Yoon-Soo threw it into the hot furnace; surprisingly, the flames in the furnace grew even hotter. The dragon’s breath contained within started to spread through the furnace.

He looked at Shaneth and said, “Help me.”

“You mean me?” Shaneth asked with a surprised expression. She then continued, “How? I’m not familiar with smithing.”

Kang Yoon-Soo slowly shook his head and said, “I’m not planning to make equipment.” He started to fiddle around with the ring on his finger. It was the unique item left behind by the Ultimate Necromancer, Nakron—the Ring of Life Suppression.

The ring had another innate skill aside from Soul Extraction; it was the Spirit Creation skill, and could only be used four times.

“I plan to create a spirit,” said Kang Yoon-Soo.

“What…? You’ll ‘create’ a spirit?” Shaneth tilted her head in confusion, thinking she had heard him wrong. However, Kang Yoon-Soo merely nodded as if to confirm what he had said once again.

Create a spirit?

It would have been another story if he were a summoner who could borrow the powers of the spirits, but a mere human being able to create a spirit had never been heard of before. It was hard to believe, but Shaneth decided to comply with Kang Yoon-Soo’s request. He was the one who had erased the burn marks that had weighed her down her whole life. She wanted to help him at all costs.

“How can I help you?” she asked.

Kang Yoon-Soo pointed at the furnace that burned with an untamed wild flame rampaging inside, and said…

“Get in.”