Chapter 199: Promotion Celebration Gift (1)

The drinking session had deepened considerably, and by the time the liquor bottles were piling up under the table, one could say that each person had finished at least one bottle.

Hye-eun, who had been silently picking up and eating the snacks on the table, suddenly said something like this.

“So… Taekyung, you.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve finally made it to B-rank Hunter, so is there anything you want?”

“Huh?”

“Just, well…. I was wondering if there’s anything you’d like to receive as a celebratory gift for your promotion….”

It was the same as indirectly saying she’d buy it for you if there was something you needed.

Even so, right now, there wasn’t really anything that came to mind or that I needed.

“Hmm? For now, I don’t really need anything.”

“Oh, come on. There’s no way you wouldn’t need anything now that you’ve just become a B-rank Hunter.”

“…I really can’t think of anything.”

I wasn’t the type to overspend, so I wasn’t lacking money either, especially since I’d started earning recently.

I had already replaced my old greatsword, and I received plenty of spare potions from Hwayoung Sunbae.

Besides, Hye-eun usually granted requests if she could, even without a celebratory gift, so it felt a bit awkward to specifically ask for a gift.

“Ah, right! Taekyung, your greatsword! You’ve been using that since middle school, right?! Should I buy you a new one? A proper one, like a Damascus steel greatsword!”

“If it’s that, it’s fine. Anyway, I changed to a different sword about two months ago.”

“Huh? You changed it?”

It seemed faster to show it directly than to explain with words, so I opened my spatial pocket and showed the Mithril greatsword.

“How is it?”

“……”

“Hye-eun?”

“Ah, uh-huh…. It certainly is a good sword….”

Kang Hye-eun muttered blankly, gazing at the blade that shone green, unique to Mithril.

From across the table, Eunyoung Noona, who was sipping her soju glass, lightly evaluated my sword.

“Judging by the material, it seems to be a greatsword made of Mithril.”

“Oh, you recognize it?”

“How many years do you think I’ve been in this line of work? Can’t I recognize something like that? It looks like it was forged by a Dwarf craftsman for at least 5 years, isn’t that right?”

“I don’t know for sure, but it seems like it.”

“…You don’t know for sure? Surely not, it wasn’t something you received directly from the craftsman?”

Noticing Eunyoung Noona’s gaze turn cold, I hurriedly continued the explanation about the Mithril greatsword.

“It’s not stolen goods or anything, it’s because it’s an item I obtained with Awakening Points.”

“…Oh, really?”

“Besides the greatsword I originally used, there was a time I urgently needed another weapon, and conveniently, I had enough Awakening Points to buy it. Since it wasn’t something I received directly from meeting a Dwarf craftsman, that’s why I don’t know the exact details.”

“Oh my, is that so? I almost made a strange misunderstanding~.”

Weapon plundering between Hunters is inevitably a sensitive issue, so it was unavoidable that Eunyoung Noona’s gaze momentarily intensified.

“You can buy weapons like this with points? Taekyung, your ability is certainly amazing….”

“Well, I guess so.”

I didn’t bother mentioning the details about having done it about four or five times just to save up the points to buy this.

“If it’s a weapon of this caliber, you’ll definitely need a professional maintainer.”

“It’s made of Mithril, so do I need a professional maintainer?”

“The fact that it took 5 years to forge means that even when it breaks and needs repair, it will take a proportional amount of time. If you only entrust it for repair when it’s completely unusable later on, you’ll have to leave it be for almost several years without being able to wield it until the repair is finished.”

“…I’ve never thought about that, so I didn’t know at all.”

Certainly, Mithril is hard and doesn’t deform much, but when actually engaging in combat, there were many times I had to cut down monsters just as hard as this.

Eunyoung Noona’s words, that it might become unusable when needed later without consistent maintenance, were quite convincing.

“Then what should I do?”

“Ideally, entrusting it periodically to the craftsman who made the weapon would be the best method.”

“Entrusting it to the person who made the weapon…”

In my case, the craftsman who made the weapon was the Hunter Lust Manager System, so subsequent maintenance would also have to be entrusted through the system.

Just in case, I briefly consulted Esila about whether that was possible.

‘Esila, is it possible?’

「The Hunter Lust Manager System does not support services such as exchange, refund, or repair of items sold.」

‘I figured you’d say that.’

「I apologize for not being able to help.」

‘It’s okay, it can’t be helped.’

Since it was a question I asked with the mindset of ‘it would be good if it worked, and if not, then whatever,’ I wasn’t too disappointed.

Anyway, since entrusting subsequent maintenance to the craftsman who made the weapon became impossible, I naturally had to find another alternative.

“What if that’s impossible?”

“The expertise might be a bit lower, but you’ll have to entrust it to another craftsman who can handle Mithril.”

“…What if I don’t know anyone?”

“What choice is there? You just have to keep using it until it becomes unusable, and then throw it away.”

“……”

“That’s the unavoidable reality, my son.”

Although Eunyoung Noona’s words sounded somewhat cold, I couldn’t help but nod my head.

“Actually, I’d like to introduce you to a craftsman I know, but that person has such a strong ego that they won’t even look at objects that someone else has hammered even once.”

“It can’t be helped. Dwarf craftsmen are known for being very stubborn.”

“In this regard, at least, try to find one by going out yourself. Wouldn’t supporting you completely from start to finish be too overprotective?”

“Understood, Noona. Then I will resolve this issue.”

For now, just realizing the problem was enough. I’ll solve this issue separately someday.

Perhaps, in a similar way to how I met Hwayoung Sunbae, I might be able to meet a blacksmith technician through the Guild’s requests.

If worse comes to worst, I could ask Do Sihee to look for a craftsman who can handle Mithril.

Just the solutions that came to mind immediately were about this much, so there was no need to think deeply about it right now.

“I’m sorry, Taekyung-ah…. If only I knew a craftsman, I would have introduced them….”

“It’s okay. As Eunyoung Noona said, this is also a problem I have to solve while working as a Hunter.”

Hye-eun’s awakened ability starts from ‘creating’ a shield made of ki, unlike typical close-combat awakened abilities.

In many ways, since it’s an unconventional ability, a blacksmith wasn’t really necessary for her.

In Cha Yuri’s case, since she’s a mage, there was a possibility she knew equipment crafters, but a blacksmith who handles typical blades and a crafter who makes magical items have fundamentally different abilities.

And above all, the fact that it’s a problem I have to find and solve myself ultimately doesn’t change.

Even if I were introduced to a blacksmith who knows how to handle Mithril by some chance connection, whether that craftsman would readily take on my weapon was something I’d only know when the time came.

Rather, if I work even harder and make a name for myself, weapon craftsmen might come flocking on their own, wanting to fix my weapon.

Thus, with the talk about weapons somewhat settled, this time, this suggestion popped out from Hye-eun’s mouth.

“Ah, then what about potions?”

“Potions?”

“Normally, when hunting inside dungeons, you never know what might happen! To prepare for such times, it’s good to stock up on a few bottles of potions!”

“…Wasn’t the gift talk over yet?”

Kang Hye-eun reignited the fire on the celebratory gift proposal, which I thought had ended at a reasonable point.

“If you’re an A-rank Hunter, you gain the qualification to purchase a few potions every month from the company, right? There wouldn’t be any particular harm in you receiving them too, would there?”

“Well…. I don’t think I really need them.”

It was a proposal I wasn’t particularly keen on, as I already had potions received from Hwayoung Sunbae.

No, in the first place, aren’t potions sold only in limited quantities by the company something you shouldn’t accept carelessly?

“Come to think of it, weren’t those originally not allowed to be taken out…?”

“If just you and I keep our mouths shut, it’s fine!”

“This kid, you’re saying something that could cause big trouble!”

“Hye-eun, no matter how I think about it, that doesn’t seem right….”

“Ugh….”

It wasn’t exactly committing a crime, and for someone in Kang Hye-eun’s position, it was a charge that would end with a minor punishment at most, but.

Anyway, since potions weren’t necessary to the extent of taking that much risk, I shook my head and expressed my refusal.

“…Since I thought of it, I should share what I have with Hye-eun.”

“Ah, right, Hye-eun.”

“Yeah?”

“Instead of that, you take this and keep it.”

From my spatial pocket, I took out a few vials of Ki potions, Mana potions, paralysis cures, etc., and handed them to her.

“…What’s this?”

“Anyway, I had a job from the Union where I received payment in potions, and I got a bit more than expected.”

“……”

“Since you’re the party leader, you’ll surely need them especially more, right? Keep them, and share them or use them when it’s appropriate for you.”

“…These are better than the ones used at the company.”

“Really? I don’t know much about potion grades and such.”

While tidying up the items received from me, her somewhat crestfallen expression was strangely pitiful.

“…I feel somewhat sorry, as if I needlessly made her put in so much effort only to make her feel empty.”

While wondering if perhaps there might be a favor Hye-eun could do for me, one suggestion suddenly flashed in my mind.

Although it was a potentially rude request, thinking ‘what do I have to lose?’, I proposed it to Hye-eun once.

“You know, Hye-eun.”

“……Yeah.”

“Perhaps, if it’s okay with you, Hye-eun, will you grant me just one favor as a celebratory gift for your promotion?”

“……Huh?”

As soon as the word ‘favor’ came out of my mouth, Hye-eun’s expression visibly brightened.

“Yes! Just tell me anything! If it’s something I can do, I’ll grant it all!”

“I’m not going to ask for something impossible. Although it’s a slightly difficult request to make.”

“No, no. It’s really okay, anything!”

Seeing her say this much, she seemed determined to grant anything, so I too gained the confidence to voice the desire I had secretly harbored in my heart.

The problem was that only Kang Hye-eun’s permission wasn’t needed, as I also had to ask the opinion of the other party involved, Eunyoung Noona.

“…It seems like Eunyoung Noona will have to help too, are you perhaps okay with it?”

“Noona… I (Ahjumma) don’t mind anything if it’s my son’s request~.”

I had already anticipated that she would say something like this, but.