episode_0134

“It’s almost time. Mr. Tanhwaju.”

“I know too.”

– Kang…

The steady hammering stopped. For a moment, the sound of the whole world seemed to disappear.

At the same time, my concentration was broken.

The sound of several blacksmiths hammering still echoed from the first floor, but the sound was not as pure as the old man’s hammering.

The old man was blunt and looked at the object he had made.

It is simply a sword made by roughly pounding ingots.

The ingot confirmed through observation was of fairly good quality iron, but it was not a special effect or extremely rare.

It was an iron that even small workshops could afford if they put enough effort into it.

The sword made from such iron was not even properly finished, but the blade shining in the light of the furnace was extremely sharp.

Although I had little experience and had not handled many different types of weapons, I could tell that it was a good enough sword.

“Hmph. Something unpleasant came out.”

But the old man seemed somehow dissatisfied. He looked at the sword he had made with disapproval, then roughly leaned it against the wall and stood up.

Ariel said, glancing at the sword leaning roughly against the wall.

“The general’s evaluation remains poor.”

“It’s not that it’s harsh, this is a natural evaluation.”

The old man who was shaking his hands turned around. He then glanced at Ariel once, then turned his gaze towards me.

Gray-white eyes stared at me. The eyes were dull, typical of an old man, but on the contrary, they were strange eyes with a hint of life in them.

“Unusual Ahae logo.”

The words of the old man, who had been looking at me as if he was measuring me for a while, made no sense.

“Let’s go.”

After organizing his equipment and drying his hands, the old man walked towards the side door.

The old man walked without hesitation. I instinctively followed his confident steps.

With the sound of metal hitting, we walked away from the workshop site.

When I looked behind me, I saw that Ariel was following the old man without saying a word. It doesn’t look like they’re going to any strange places.

It was still sunny outside, but when I checked my watch, several hours had passed.

Even while I was concentrating, I didn’t forget my sense of time… but as expected, a lot of time passed.

‘Ahae兒孩…? I’m younger than the old man, but…’

I made a strange expression as I followed the old man.

Well, it is true that he is younger than the old man on the outside, but… it is something to be treated so openly as a child.

It’s not a bad feeling… but it’s just a strange and dazed feeling.

“Did you learn something?”

Before we knew it, we had entered the interior of the mansion. The old man walked across the carpet and suddenly asked.

He probably saw that my eyes were closed, but he was sure I was watching his movements.

[I learned a little]

I thought for a moment and then answered.

Actually, I learned a lot. The old man… Tanhwaju Hwa Byeok-un was a blacksmith with one of the greatest skills in the original work.

I obtained information by carefully observing his movements with the power of observation. This is very valuable information.

In addition, the movements of most of those working in the blacksmith shop were also collected.

They are all members of the Gyeophwa family and have learned high-level metallurgy.

Now, if I can imitate that, I will also be able to use my own metallurgy.

“You’re not asking about me. Do you know who I am?”

[yes]

[You are Tanhwaju Hwa Byeok-un]

“It’s amazing. I also know the old man in the back room who doesn’t have much outside activity.”

An old man in the back room with no outside activities?

The title of Tanhwaju, the greatest blacksmith of the Gyeophwa family, is too grand to be expressed that way…

While I was looking for something to say in response, Ariel, who was walking behind me, opened her mouth.

“An old man in the back room who has no outside activities. So are you saying that I am just a baby thrown into the cradle too late?”

“It’s really awkward to see him call himself a kid at that age. How did you come to join the Gyeophwa family─”

“It is even more awkward to see Tan Hwa-ju, who calls himself an old man in the back room, with a strong body that can hit monsters with a hammer.”

The conversation between the two started suddenly. I walked quietly without participating in the conversation.

I was having a hard time finding the words to reply, but thanks to Ariel, I was able to come out of it properly.

I walked steadily and arrived at the underground facility of the mansion.

A thick steel wall encountered after passing through a long underground corridor. I observed its interior.

‘The overall material is Flameus metal, which is resistant to heat, and the built-in magic is “Flame Resistance”… I guess this is the place for verification.’

In addition to the thick iron door, the entire interior appears to have been prepared for fire.

The iron door opened with a squeak. There were already three passengers inside.

Hong Yeon-hwa looks like she’s lost in thought, and general manager Choi Ji-yeon looks the same as she did in the morning.

and…

“Oh, there you are.”

Bright red eyes staring directly at me as I entered through the open door. Soon the man with a bright smile pointed at me with his finger.

“Sister-in-law, you have arrived.”

“In public places, call me general manager.”

To “? Isn’t it a bit unfair to call it so stiffly here, even though it’s not a conference room?”

“Even now, strictly speaking, it’s public… No, it’s done.”

Choi Ji-yeon, who had been saying something, suddenly closed her eyes, massaged the back of her neck, and closed her mouth.

The man, who burst into laughter at that reaction, approached in stride and held out a hand the size of a pot lid.

“We finally meet the person of interest. My name is Jinhyuk Hong.”

The man’s words and actions as he smiled while saying that seemed quite easy-going.

To put it in a good way, it gave a friendly and easy-to-get-together impression. To put it in a bad way, it gave a light impression that was inappropriate for the location.

Jinhyuk Hong.

There may be someone with the same name as him in this world, but the person who is a member of the Gyeophwa family and who calls Choi Ji-yeon his sister-in-law in the main family can be identified.

Jeonghwaju (停火主) Hong Jinhyuk.

He is the younger brother of the head of the family and holds the position of captain of the Jeonghwadae, the fighting unit of the Gyeophwa family.

[This is Lee Ha-yul]

[It is an honor to meet you like this]

“Ah, he was the formal type.”

We held hands. As expected from its pot-lid-like appearance, the hands holding each other were very thick and strong.

Although it would be difficult to leave scars on the body of a superhuman, the calluses are clearly visible.

And we also observed his inner self.

When I first saw Hong Yeonhwa, I felt the fire sleeping inside me.

This was possible with spatial perception, which was a messy mixture of the power of space and the power of observation without being aware of it.

Now that I have grown up, I am able to obtain clearer and more detailed information.

“Hmm… That’s strange.”

It seems like he figured me out just like I figured out him.

However, he tilted his head as if he did not get satisfactory information.

“I don’t feel scared. Even if it’s completely hidden, it can be hidden like this… Ugh!”

– mate!

“Don’t be rude and come out.”

Choi Ji-yeon, who hit the back of Hong Jin-hyuk’s head with her palm, shook her hands and sighed.

.

.

.

Due to some circumstances, I ended up standing in the center of the facility.

The verification process was simple.

First of all, the purpose of the meeting is to verify whether or not Gyeophwa is really used.

In other words, without going into anything complicated, it’s just a story where I show my anger once and that’s it.

[Shall we begin?]

“Yes, please.”

Jiyeon Choi, who was staring at me through the glass window, nodded in response to my question.

Beyond the glass wall, in addition to Choi Ji-yeon, there were Hong Yeon-hwa, Tan Hwa-ju Hwa Byeok-un, and Jeong Hwa-ju and Hong Jin-hyuk.

Hong Jin-hyuk said that he wanted to experience the horrors of this place for himself, but he was blocked again by Choi Ji-yeon and dragged out.

It seems informal in many ways. First of all, maybe it’s because they are intertwined as a family.

‘Stop thinking about random things.’

Right now, I’ve cleared away any useless thoughts.

I swept away any remaining emotional residue and maintained my composure.

You must not forget. It burns anything, but the best firewood to consume is the owner’s emotions.

Also, if there are not enough emotions to receive, it is a useless unique ability that incites the owner’s emotions and forcibly extracts them.

If you use it while your mind is distracted and your emotions are bottled up, there is a possibility that it can get out of control and be consumed by you.

– Phew…

I exhaled, calmly cleared my head, and unleashed my magic power.

The magic power pouring out of the core flowed through the circuit and overflowed mainly through the right arm.

Arrange magical power. Inflate and expand uniqueness.

It is not about creating something new, but taking something that already exists and imitating it.

Magic affinity expansion ability

Homogenization – annihilation

Grumble! Intense flames flooded from the arms wrapped in arm sleeves.

* * *

A wave of bright red flames swept across the glass wall at once.

Waves of flame filled the interior of the facility and, like waves, repeatedly crashed into the glass walls.

Hwa Byeo-un stretched out his hand and touched the glass wall.

hot.

The flames… I could feel the heat of the fire.

This glass wall is an insulated glass wall handcrafted by Tanhuaju Hwabyun.

It was designed and manufactured to withstand quite a bit of fire, but if exposed to that fire, it will quickly melt.

“Inspiration.”

“Why, you look like a tiger horse.”

“Is this my imagination?”

Hwa Byeo-un turned his head. Hong Jin-hyuk’s face, which was light and serious in everything, was now tinged with seriousness.

Surprised again by that, Hwa Byeok-un suddenly touched his face.

Similarly, stiff facial muscles were felt.

“……”

Am I mistaken?

Hwa Byeok-un could not answer right away.

This is because he felt the same way and could not come to a clear conclusion about his feelings.

The Gyeophwa family continued for 200 years, and the unique ability called Gyeophwa was also inherited.

However, not everyone expressed fear.

Also, not everyone manifests the same nature of evil.

Although the fundamental intensity and ferocity of the manifested evil was the same, there were differences depending on the person who manifested it.

So there are cases where there is a small, but noticeable difference.

I felt a sense of discomfort at the boy’s anger.

Hong Jin-hyuk, who had fought countless battles wearing a sword, and Hwa Byeok-un, who had dealt with fire for a long time and struck iron in front of the flames, felt a sense of discomfort in that sword.

It has characteristics.

There was an intensity similar to that of Hong Yeon-hwa, whose output was unprecedented in the family’s history.

also…

‘That’s…’

200 years.

Although it may be a short period of time compared to human history, it is more than enough time for bloodshed to continue and for traitors to appear.

This special ability, inherited from the ancestors, was rarely used for the sake of human peace.

and.

In the relatively recent past, there was a person who manifested evil and caused great harm to civilians.

An incident that occurred in the heart of a new city called ‘Yeokjin’, right in the center of a downtown area.

Thousands of civilians were caught up in the flames spreading in all directions and burned to death on the spot.

Considering the indirect damage, it was a disaster that caused casualties that could easily be several times greater.

The sordid nature of the coercion manifested by the person who caused the tragedy and the worst criminal for whom the association ordered ‘immediate extermination’.

It seemed like some of that boy’s fear was mixed in.