episode_0028

Shihyuk extinguished the flickering flames of the Mana Brazier.

Then, he took out the mana crystals that were completely melted inside and placed them on the shelf. It was the one he had placed in the furnace earlier.

It wasn’t a flame made by extracting the mana from the lower-level magic stones in a melting pot, but rather it was a five-colored flame that Shihyuk had squeezed out as much as possible, melted over a long period of time like jam.

As a result, its viscosity and hardness were beyond imagination and were unparalleled compared to other crystals he had created.

However, Shihyuk looked somewhat dissatisfied. Was it that even the refined mana crystals that absorbed the purest mana were not refreshing to his eyes?

Sihyuk, who had been thinking deeply about something, suddenly got up, ran out of the blacksmith shop, and headed out of the house.

Si-hyuk, standing in the middle of the yard, looked around as the sun began to set behind the mountain and darkness began to form.

The wind seeping through the cracks in the gate. The wind that wraps around the rocks once and then fades. The wind that makes its presence known by shaking the bushes and making a sound like it’s banging against the branches.

He took a deep breath for a moment, then suddenly began to commit an act that the criminal found difficult to understand.

He stretched out his hand toward the ‘wind’ blowing here and there on the mountainside, and grabbed it several times as if he could grasp its shape.

He repeated that abnormal act over and over again, grabbing the air, and then finally, as if he had achieved it, he headed into the house.

Carefully and cautiously, so that something held in the fist does not slip out.

And without using a hammer, he began to knead the mana crystals with both hands as if kneading flour.

It was different from the normal mana crystals in that even Shihyuk, who had a supernatural body, could not easily touch it.

He touched the mana crystals that had hardened with the heat and mana of his five-colored flames with his bare hands, and his hands turned bright red from the heat, blisters formed, and the skin on his palms stuck to them and peeled off due to the viscosity. A creaking, dangerous sound came from his wrists.

Shihyuk didn’t care. He continued to knead the crystal as if he was kneading rice cake, and he even pretended to put something he had caught from outside in it, or to apply it to the crystal.

Only then did Shihyuk nod a couple of times, as if he had created something satisfactory, and took his hand off the mana crystal. With a crackle, the flesh on his palm that was still there was finally torn away.

He must have been in severe pain, but he had a calm expression on his face. He held the hammer in his mangled hands and struck the crystal with all his might as if nothing had happened.

Then something strange happened. It was understandable that the magic crystals that had been sticking together like glue gradually took the shape of [Magic Iron], but as they hardened, their color gradually changed.

It’s very mysterious and unique.

[Magic Iron], which was reborn as a clean sphere without a single crooked corner from his hammering, had a light green body that was clear and transparent. It was like looking at a clean, top-quality peridot or a colored glass bead.

At first glance, the transparent interior was clearly made of [Magic Iron], but it was as if the empty space was filled with some kind of liquid or something else, flowing and circulating smoothly inside.

wind.

It was the wind. The wind was blowing inside [Magic Iron], as if his earlier antics had not been in vain.

The shiny green iron orb was sucking in the air inside the forge like a living creature breathing, then spitting it out again, repeating the cycle.

“Excellent.”

A slanted smile appeared on Shihyuk’s lips, as if his work had gone quite well.

Of course, it didn’t end there. Aren’t all equipment weapons or armor that have a shape other than a large sphere like this? Sihyuk fired up his hammer once more and pounded the lime-green sphere until it was spread out very thinly and widely on the shelf.

And he began to bend, fold, and bunch up the [Magic Iron] that covered the shelf with his hands, as if covering the table with a colored glass film.

Shihyuk was now touching the [Magic Iron], which was not even a crystal, with his bare hands.

He kept twisting and turning the damned thing he had made himself, his fingernails all lifted and turned over, and his knuckles broke and snapped here and there, but he didn’t stop.

Shihyuk was making some shapes, as if he was playing with colored paper.

The spread out part was twisted and stretched out to create the shape of a stem, and the third part was made into a calyx by gluing it together. The part that was thought to be the pistil was pulled, and the remaining part of the [magic iron] was used to make a petal by pulling it very thinly and widely.

Yes, he was making flowers.

A flower that suits a girl.

No matter how accustomed to pain Shihyuk was, his fingers were broken, twisted, and jointed, and he was in a state of intense pain, but he was calmly working on his work. He was so calm that he was even smiling slightly.

As he created his work, he thought about the girl to whom he would offer flowers.

galaxy.

When he encountered a girl who was landing lightly in the middle of the street, his first impression was that of a pure and free wind.

What is the wind? It is pure and has no nature, so it can embrace anything.

As if the wind blowing from a passing car smells of exhaust fumes.

It’s like smelling a skin lotion or perfume from someone you pass by on the street but can’t remember the name of.

As if the wind blew from beyond the garbage heap and permeated my rotten smell.

Like that, maybe a galaxy.

With the talent she possessed, she could become anyone she wanted to be.

He may be drunk on his own power and abuse it, or he may use his beautiful appearance to charm people. He may become a rotten and annoying person like Kim Jin-hyung, or he may have a dark and gloomy side like his dark past.

However, the girl possessed only childlike innocence.

Even Shi-hyuk, who feels awkward and uncomfortable when meeting others for the first time due to mistrust, was a person filled with pure kindness to the point that he unconsciously opened the door to his heart.

Shihyuk was amazed. No, beyond amazed, he was shocked to the point of thinking that there was such a person in the world.

What was Si-hyuk thinking as he watched Eun-ha, who approached him without hesitation, even in his dark and gloomy state, and who swayed like a puppy’s tail in the wind?

He still remembered.

A girl who was acting awkward as if it was her first time drinking tea at a cafe.

A girl who didn’t even know the difference between Americano and Espresso.

A girl who tasted caramel macchiato for the first time and shook her head in surprise at its sweetness.

… No matter how much humiliation and pressure the galaxy was under, with its overflowing talent, it would be able to keep enough money in its hands.

But the girl acted as if she had never been to a cafe that women her age usually enjoyed. She didn’t know how to write for herself.

A few neatly folded bills and a couple of coins. That was all the Galaxy had.

If she wanted to, the girl could go to a fancy dessert bar, not just a chocolate bar, and enjoy all the famous homemade cookies and cakes and other luxurious treats she wanted. However, Eunha didn’t do that. She saved up a little bit of her own money every year and donated it to the underprivileged, giving all the money she earned and the wealth she had accumulated through her talent to others.

Like the ‘faceless angel’ they used to talk about on the radio.

How can that be?

The girl, who had a dark past, didn’t taste cheap snacks until she was about 10 years old.

Eun-ha, who had received the favor for the first time and realized that there was something so sweet in the world that would make her happy and joyful just by putting it in her mouth, did not want to keep it to herself but wanted to enjoy it together with everyone.

Some may shake their heads and say it is too foolish and stupid. Some may click their tongues and say it is too generous. Some may deny the girl for giving her affection without any sincerity.

But you can’t deny that it’s dirty. It’s so clean and pure.

The kindness and consideration for the unspecified majority, done without any sense of public opinion, was like a nameless, small flower that bloomed with great effort in the cracks of the asphalt.

Even though you have overcome all the hardships and trials and have blossomed, if you look down on the vast world, you may seem so small and insignificant that no one will pay attention to you.

But that flower, which is neither showy nor has an enchanting fragrance,

The kindness that warms one’s heart clearly has a charm that makes one want to watch it, to the point of slowing down the pace of the person who encounters it.

Don’t be arrogant about your abilities,

Acting for others to the point of being foolish,

Treat people with purity and honesty, without telling lies.

A person who is willing to sacrifice what he has for all the lowly people in the world.

That feeling of wanting to keep watching without thinking.

If the title of hero can be applied to something specific, then this is it.

The galaxy was still small and young, and had yet to fully bloom, but it was clear that it had the makings of a hero.

So, for the little girl who will become a hero,

Shihyuk dared to pay his respects as a craftsman and offered a small flower.

Shihyuk sighed as he looked at the harmony made of the completed [Magic Iron]. His forehead was covered in sweat and his complexion was pale.

He had attained the rank of enlightened being, had been transformed, and had acquired the body of an Arahant. However, he had been abusing his body so much that he was reminded of the old days when he had driven himself madly.

But Sihyuk laughed.

Even though my hands and feet were cold from excessive bleeding, and even though I could faintly see the threshold of death that I had half tasted before, I was able to properly smile like I did when I first succeeded, feeling a sense of satisfaction as I looked at the [Magic Iron] flower that was born carelessly and dyed pink by my own blood.

But it wasn’t over yet. He gathered all the remaining mana in his body and burned his soul as he picked up the hammer. The three letters of his name shone on the hammer his master had made for him and his body shook.

Not only that, but all the tools and equipment in the blacksmith shop were clashing together to create a magnificent harmony. The conductor of the grand overture was an unsightly craftsman, the performer was a blunt blacksmith, and the audience’s name was Sihyuk.

It felt like a hammer with all its power condensed into it was going to burst. This was breaking the law.

In a way, he was doing something that shouldn’t have happened. If he wasn’t careful, he could have died.

If you quit now, you can survive.

It wasn’t time yet. Take a break, calm your head, and think again. Shut up, world.

… … .

Don’t talk nonsense.

I decided.

I promised to give that little girl a flower. I won’t listen to your complaints.

… … He shouted and then swung the hammer down.

Master,

Are you watching? I did it.

-.-.-

On that day, all mana scanning devices in the capital of South Korea stopped working.

A huge and intense mana wave from somewhere covered the entire Seoul. The startled government tried to find the cause by sending out an emergency contact network, but no one could give a clear answer.

Fewer than ten people were able to detect the waves that occurred.

Among them, only three people were able to clearly identify the epicenter and the emotions contained in the waves that occurred.

“Hehehe, the dragon finally realizes its power and roars!”

An old man with a large, rocky body who enjoys climbing.

“Holy, shit. I came to see an old man’s face and ended up having a very strange experience.”

A cross-eyed, gray-haired foreigner who visited Korea briefly but was disappointed.

“… Mr. Sihyuk?”

And the girl with short green hair who can control the wind and will soon become a hero.

The huge waves continued for three days and nights, and finally stopped.