Shun POV:
‘The Soul Realm?’
I cross-referenced it with all the information I had, creating several plausible explanations. Through them, I concluded that the Soul Realm referred to a place deep inside oneself, accessible via meditation. There, the Ki Practitioner could train without moving their physical body.
“The Soul Realm? What’s that?”
Phoebe questioned Katherine the moment our eyes met. She greeted my glare with an unapologetic smile before looking back toward Katherine.
“It is a place within a Ki Practitioner that the mind can only enter through the deepest form of meditation.
The palm of the hand is used to store objects inside of that location as well as take them out.”
Katherine raised her hand from her lap and flipped it over in order to give a demonstration. A few seconds passed before a black towel with gold linings appeared. It was accompanied by a mist so faint it could barely be seen by the naked eye, and it dispersed just as fast as it came.
The towel draped over the sides of her palm. A few seconds later, it phased out of existence, followed by that same mist.
‘The delay makes it only useful for storing objects.’
In other words, it couldn’t be used as a method to block projectiles or other forms of attack. If it could, it was possible it would do more harm than good, considering the location of the Soul Realm was deep inside the practitioner.
“...I can access the Soul Realm, but I prefer Purple Dimension.”
“I’d use it if I could.”
Byeol chuckled at Gerard’s response. She rested her small hand against his thigh, causing his lips to spread into a flustered, yet happy, grin.
Aiden and Phoebe smiled at the scene before re-splitting the loot amongst themselves.
“And here’s your cut, Shun.”
She bent down, but before she could place the brown bag on the grass, I looked away. Despite her clothes covering her moderately large breasts, they were still noticeable.
“Keep it and let’s go.”
“Mister Shun, Phoebe gave you the Zero Sword.”
I let out a deep sigh and swivelled my eyes toward Byeol.
“Ki Artifacts are useless to me.”
“But don’t you think they might have some use in the future? At least store it at the guild or in your own personal inventory. You never know what could happen!”
“...”
I picked the brown bag up, walked past Phoebe, and dashed it in front of Byeol.
“Do your job then.”
Several pouches of gold crashed against the ground.
“Permanently.”
A shadow covered most of my body. Gerard peered down at me with his fists clenched tight.
“I don’t know what your problem is, but fix your attitude.”
Gerard.
He was the tank of the party and in order to fulfil that role, he always wore Ki Artifacts. However...
His Monzen Ki began to flare out.
He was strong without them. Gerard’s gentle brown eyes narrowed to thin slits at my silence. The tension in the air tightened enough for the blades of grass to think twice about following the wind’s command.
“I’m sorry.”
I bowed my head and stepped back. His furrowed eyebrows rose upwards in a disjointed manner while his eyes drew closer together. Gerard opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say. Instead, Byeol used that opportunity to jump in between the two of us.
“No problem! Request accepted. Leave it to me, Mister Shun.”
Byeol’s grin diffused the remaining uncertainty in the atmosphere. I gave her a nod and walked back toward the tree when the corners of my mouth rose.
“Shun, don’t do that again.”
“Do what? She’s a Scout, and I hired her services.”
I glanced back at Phoebe, staring at me with serious eyes. She lowered her gaze to the side and didn’t reply right away, taking a few seconds to examine the situation again.
“...Alright. Do you want to get something to eat with me?”
Her vibrant amber eyes shone, but Phoebe knew what my answer would be to that stupid question.
“No. I’m heading to Kibo’s Smithy.”
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“Then take care!”
I ignored the faint blush complimenting her grin and walked off. I had wasted enough time here already.
***
Kibo’s Smithy.
It was situated outside of the main city of Chunhae, near a waterfall that overlooked a scenic view. Benches were arranged a few metres away from a fountain, creating a small community area for customers. The opposite side of the smithy had an area exclusively for blacksmiths to relax after their hard work.
Unlike other smithies, Kibo didn’t ask a lot of questions, nor did he perform security checks at the door. All he would do was ask for the details about the customer’s purpose here, and then offer them coffee or tea.
That was it.
His ability to connect with others placed his smithy in the top 3 for adventurers to go to within Chunhae. Prices were reasonable, but quality was guaranteed; he never cut corners.
Kibo even had a partnership with a nearby famous restaurant called Namilicious. It was run by a noble called Lady Nam, who others referred to as a beauty. She would send a few waiters and waitresses to serve food to the blacksmiths. However, when it came to Kibo, she made the trip herself.
Lady Nam was interested in him, but Kibo already had a ring on his finger. He just never wore it while he worked.
I stepped inside the large smithy and saw Katherine already there, meditating in silence.
“Shun, I heard you’re a C+ Adventurer now. Everyone’s talking about some maniac soloing dungeons one after the other, but the soldiers refuse to say anything about it.”
Kibo let out a hearty laugh and pointed his finger toward me.
“It’s you, isn’t it?”
My lips curved upwards. Intuition was necessary for a blacksmith, and Kibo’s intuition was more than good. He often used a Ki Artifact to appraise equipment, but he didn’t need to.
“Kibo, let me borrow a furnace.”
“Make yourself at home.”
He walked off with a grin, since he already knew the answer to his question before he asked. The reason the soldiers refused to reveal my identity was to discourage others from following in my footsteps.
Rumours were rumours. They could encourage the curious, but that was all. However, the moment those rumours could be confirmed, that was when many would act upon them.
As I said before, Phoebe wasn’t an airhead. She put two on two together and arrived at the conclusion that I was that maniac.
I took off my Troll hoodie, leaving me in my black vest. I placed it down on a stool near the free furnace and narrowed my eyes.
“Codex.”
The pages blurred as I flicked through the massive book. In order to add a novel or book to the Codex in Providence, I needed to recall every page with word-for-word accuracy. Otherwise, the Codex would reject it.
One of the first books my father bought me was about memorisation. It explained, in simple terms, how to memorise anything.
It fascinated me.
I read that book more times than I could count, refusing to read anything else until one day, 3 months later, I recited the entire book to my father. His response?
“Try doing that with a story, then I’ll be impressed, son.”
My dad knew... how to engage my competitive nature that wasn’t seen much outside of the home. One year later, I recited an entire children’s dictionary that was 400 pages long. Once I finished, my father smiled.
“How clever.”
That was all that needed to be said. Memorising the books I loved to read became a habit from that point onward.
“Inventory.”
I located a suitable ability and pulled out dozens of materials, including a hammer. With Ki Artifacts like Purple Dimension as well as the storage capability of the Soul Realm, there was no need to worry about drawing attention to myself by taking out objects from thin air.
After sorting out the materials into the proper categories, I was ready to begin.
“Let’s get to work.”
My Ki flared out, and the hammer blurred.
***
[Equipment Name: Troll Swagger (Enhanced +4)
Durability: 121/130
Description: An open hoodie made from Troll hairs. It has been enhanced to the limit with parts of an Imminence Reaver’s Cloak and the skin of an Ultimate Fishnin, multiplying its defensive properties by 4x.
• Movement Speed is increased noticeably due to the special fibres of the Imminence Reaver’s Cloak.
• Movement Speed is increased noticeably, and sweat is purified due to the skin of the Ultimate Fishnin reaching the Ultimate Level.
• It was made by Shun, an Expert Blacksmith, and is part of the Cool Troll Set.
----
Cool Troll Set:
• Troll Swagger (0/1)
• Troll Mellow T-Shirt (0/1)
• Troll Darkpants (1/1)
• Troll Chillboots (1/1) ]
[Equipment Name: Ruthless Deadmin’s Spear (Enhanced +4)
Durability: 67/75
Description: A spear crafted with the bones ripped off Bloodied Deadmin. It has been enhanced with the blade of an Imminence Reaver and the blood of a Goblin Warlock, multiplying its offensive properties by 4x.
• Movement Speed and Accuracy are increased noticeably due to the blade of an Imminence Reaver.
• Technique triumphs all, but blood proves victory. A lack of blood on the blade causes dizziness, but when drenched, that dizziness shifts to the target.
• It was made by Shun, an Expert Blacksmith.]
[You have created a masterpiece!]
[Equipment Name: King TurtleMen Shield (Enhanced +10)
Durability: 670/800
Description: A destructive shield made from the shell of a King Turtle, Bone King Turtle, and the bones of an Elite TunnelKing. It has been enhanced to the absolute limit with Warhog Fur, Troll Skin, LizardFish Skin and Ultimate Fishnin Skin, multiplying its defensive properties by 8x.
• There is a chance of a Turtle Shield being deployed.
• There is a chance of Elite Defence being deployed.
• Movement Speed is noticeably increased, sweat production reduced and purified due to the Ultimate Fishnin skin reaching the Ultimate Level.
• It is a bona fide masterpiece created by Shun, the Expert Blacksmith, and is a part of the King TurtleMen Set. High understanding of all materials has allowed him to bring out the specialities within.
----
King TurtleMen Set:
• King TurtleMen Helmet (0/1)
• King TurtleMen Chest Armour (0/1)
• King TurtleMen Gauntlets (0/1)
• King TurtleMen Shield (0/1)]
‘...’
Sweat drenched my body as I examined the shield. Aside from Ki, monsters had innate traits; that’s what the specialities within referred to. However, I didn’t understand how it worked till I experienced King’s Turtle Shield deploy a Turtle Shield in battle.
Reflex.
It was an action that occurred without intention to an outside stimulus. For example, a porcupine’s quills would raise when threatened. This same analogy could be applied to Equipment made from monsters.
When struck, The King’s Turtle Shield would vibrate. This vibration is what caused the small chance of a Turtle Shield being deployed via the shield’s broken-off fragments. It was one of the reasons why the durability of the shield fell faster with extended use.
On the other hand, King Turtles didn’t need to be hit. Those dungeon monsters used small fragments of their actual shell to create a Turtle Shield: its lightweight and forward momentum allowed the shield to float in the air for a short period of time.
It had nothing to do with Ki.
In other words, since the monster was already dead, the catalyst needed to cause that reflex changed, and the likelihood of it occurring decreased. This was proven by Enhanced Equipment effects.
I ignored the aching of my body and continued hammering away on a pair of gauntlets.
“...Shun, are you sure you’re not a blacksmith?”
“It depends.”
My concentration sank deeper with time. It phased out the surrounding area until a small breath left my mouth. The furnace responded to this change, igniting the flames to reach a hotter temperature.
‘More. More. More.’
The hammer struck the gauntlets, fine-tuning its shape with every strike. The hours rolled by until a light blue window popped into my vision.
[You have created a legendary masterpiece!]