For several days, a constant hammering sound rang in Gi-Gyu’s basement. Thanks to the soundproof barrier, his mother and sister didn’t hear it from upstairs; unfortunately, he couldn’t avoid the incessant noise with his sensitive player ears.
Clang!
Gi-Gyu quickly became sick of the continuous bangs and clangs and went to the basement. Min-Su was sculpting something out of the stone coffin; the boy honestly had terrific stamina and power as he kept hammering the coffin day in, day out.
‘Isn’t sculpting done with a hammer and a chisel?’ Gi-Gyu thought in confusion. Surprisingly, Min-Su managed to shape the coffin using just the hammer, making Gi-Gyu doubt his knowledge. However, he soon realized that Min-Su was just unique.
Gi-Gyu watched as Min-Su split the stone coffin in half, shaping it delicately without a chisel. Watching Min-Su work was like watching a magic show: Every time he brought down the hammer, the coffin broke exactly how and where he wanted.
-It’s because he’s Paimon’s descendant.
When Lou explained, Gi-Gyu asked, “Sounds like you were fond of Paimon?”
Usually, when Lou talked about the other demons, including Baal, Gi-Gyu could tell Lou didn’t like them. However, Lou seemingly had a sort of affection toward Paimon.
-He was one of the few demons that didn’t betray me.
“Hmm.” Gi-Gyu didn’t reply since he could hear the longing for his old life in Lou’s voice.
Clang!
The hammer went down again, and Gi-Gyu continued watching Min-Su work.
***
“I might end up being arrested for child abuse,” Gi-Gyu muttered. Indeed, if someone saw Min-Su right now, Gi-Gyu would be reported to the police for possible child abuse. Currently, Min-Su was sleeping on Gi-Gyu’s lap; the week-long hammering had given him blisters and mild fever.
Gi-Gyu tried his best to stop the boy, but Min-Su refused to take a break. The kid had actually created a weak barrier around him to gently push Gi-Gyu away. Realizing this was what Min-Su needed and wanted, Gi-Gyu stayed away.
The result was Min-Su sleeping with uneven breathing on Gi-Gyu’s lap.
“Maybe I should’ve tried harder to stop him,” Gi-Gyu muttered, feeling guilty. Admittedly, a part of why he didn’t try harder was selfishness. He remembered what Old Man Hwang told him before his death and wanted to see if it was true.
“Min-Su will become a blacksmith much more powerful than me.”
He felt apologetic for his selfishness, but when he turned toward Min-Su’s work, it reminded him he had made the right choice. Studying the coffin's new shape in awe, Gi-Gyu whispered, “It was all meant to be.”
Just as Old Man Hwang claimed, Min-Su had a great potential to be an excellent blacksmith. One may wonder how being a good sculptor translated to becoming a good blacksmith, but Gi-Gyu knew better. The stone coffin barely took any damage from the giant magic explosion back then, but Min-Su shaped it into something utterly different. What was it if not raw talent?
“I wonder if potions would work on him.” Gi-Gyu reached toward Brunheart’s gate, and a skeleton walked out and handed him several potion bottles politely. Needless to say, Gi-Gyu was now using his gate as a bag.
“Thanks, Hart,” When Gi-Gyu thanked the lich, the monster replied.
-I am always at your command… Grandmaster…
Gi-Gyu closed the gate and picked up the potion. Min-Su’s aura was utterly different from players, so he knew Min-Su wasn’t a player for certain. However, Min-Su entered the Tower, a place only players could enter, and sculpted the stone coffin. So, he knew it was worth a try.
Shwaaa...
After Min-Su gulped a few drops, his face became less pale. Encouraged, Gi-Gyu poured the same potion on Min-Su’s damaged hands.
“It’s working!” The potion was visibly healing Min-Su.
“Mmm… Dad?” Min-Su slowly opened his eyes and mumbled.
“Are you awake, Min-Su?”
“Ye… yeah,” Min-Su replied weakly.
“You must be hungry, huh?”
“Uhm,” When Min-Su murmured, Gi-Gyu promised, “Let’s just finish this part, and we’ll get you some food.”
The potions relieved Min-Su’s fatigue, so he remained awake. Patting the boy’s head, Gi-Gyu lifted Min-Su. Since the little boy worked so hard for him, it was now time for him to reward Gi-Gyu.
“In what order should I go about this?” Gi-Gyu murmured as he walked toward the sculpture. The sculpture was glowing brightly, gleaming on Gi-Gyu’s face.
When Gi-Gyu stood in front of it, Min-Su asked weakly, “Dad… What are you going to do with it?”
With a smile, Gi-Gyu raised his hand to summon the status screen. He announced, “Combination. Hwang Ji-Chul’s fragment. Ego fragment.”
Old Man Hwang’s real name was Hwang Ji-Chul. The sub-material Gi-Gyu chose for the Combination was an Ego fragment. Old Man Hwang’s egofication failed back then, but…
“I know it won’t be perfect, but close to perfect is possible,” Gi-Gyu murmured with hope. After spending hours studying this process with Baal, they come up with the best possible solution.
Golden pieces appeared from Lou and Gi-Gyu and mixed into one in midair. Watching this process intently, Gi-Gyu ordered, “Nine!”
A skeleton soldier exited Brunheart’s gate and handed Gi-Gyu a sword glowing in dark and murky green light. While the golden pieces of light mixed, there was something Nine needed to do.
Now in his sword form, Lou clashed into Nine, followed by a system announcement.
[Hwang Ji-Chul’s fragment is being accepted by Nine.]
Then, Lou let Nine absorb his stats despite being capable of absorbing Nine itself. It was a controlled process; once Nine had absorbed a bit of Lou’s stats, Gi-Gyu stabbed it into the giant golden light storm.
“Ugh.” Gi-Gyu groaned from the pressure. The energy Nine absorbed left the sword and was absorbed into the mixture of golden lights.
Admiring, Min-Su murmured, “It looks so pretty.”
The unexpected strain this process put on Gi-Gyu made him sweat bullets; however, it was just a beautiful scene with firefly-like particles and intense lights to Min-Su.
Gi-Gyu couldn’t tell how much time had passed when he heard the sudden system announcements.
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[Combination was a success.]
[Hwang Ji-Chul’s fragment has transformed into Ego Hwang Ji-Chul.]
“It worked.” Finally, his day-long discussions yielded successful results: He succeeded in turning a fragment into an Ego.
***
Gi-Gyu wanted to stay and complete the rest of the process, but he couldn’t because of Min-Su. The potions healed the boy physically, but it wasn’t enough to treat Min-Su’s psyche. Min-Su collapsed after watching the beautiful mix of lights for a few minutes.
When Gi-Gyu brought Min-Su upstairs, Yoo-Jung glared at him and accused, “Oppa, what have you done?!” Gi-Gyu only scratched his head awkwardly, failing to find an excuse.
While Min-Su slept soundly in Gi-Gyu’s bed, Gi-Gyu’s mother suggested, “How about we give Min-Su a room?”
When Gi-Gyu first introduced Min-Su to his mother, he briefly explained the boy’s situation. He told his mother that Min-Su had lost his family, and because he knew the boy’s grandfather, he decided to take care of the now orphaned child.
They had plenty of rooms in their spacious home, but Gi-Gyu shook his head after hearing his mother’s suggestion. “Not yet. I want to observe his situation for a bit longer, Mother.”
“Hmm… I don’t know what you’re waiting for, but please don’t take too long. Even a child needs his own space,” Su-Jin said with a nod.
“All right.” Gi-Gyu had already thought of giving Min-Su a room; for now, he needed more time to think.
“Mmmm…” When Min-Su moaned, Su-Jin patted his head and asked, “Oh, are you awake, Min-Su?”
“Grandma?”
“Hahaha,” Su-Jin chuckled.
Grumble.
Hearing Min-Su’s stomach growl, Su-Jin quickly stood up and announced, “Let’s get some food into you. How could you stop eating for a week, silly boy?”
Yoo-Jung glared at Gi-Gyu, who sighed, “Haa…”
There were believable excuses; then there were facts that sounded like excuses. Gi-Gyu knew no one would believe Min-Su stopped eating of his own violation, let alone his family.
***
Tae-Shik clenched his fists; his palm bled as his nails dug into his flesh. “I can’t believe this.”
“Kim Tae-Oh’s family was starving to death, and they didn’t know where Kim Tae-Oh was either.” Sung-Hoon’s face was filled with rage as he reported to Tae-Shik.
While investigating Kim Tae-Oh’s whereabouts, Sung-Hoon learned about his family’s situation: They were in dire straits after Kim Tae-Oh joined the Caravan Guild.
Tae-Oh’s family situation was similar to Gi-Gyu’s old life: A family of three with an unwell mother and a younger sibling. His family had been waiting for Kim Tae-Oh’s return all this time. They were living their last days; thankfully, the association found them.
“All right… Just help them get on their feet,” Tae-Shik ordered bitterly. The guilt was crushing him.
“Of course,” Sung-Hoon replied with a nod and left the room.
After learning about Andras, Tae-Shik knew this demon brainwashed Caravan players never to leave the guild. Consequently, all Caravan players suddenly disappeared, abandoning their families. The families of financially stable players survived, but families like Tae-Oh’s waited for their loved ones till death.
A crimson flash of anger appeared in Tae-Shik’s eyes. “You better not underestimate us humans.”
Their hunt for the Caravan Guild had just begun. Lucifer and Baal were out hunting, which meant Tae-Shik could no longer stay idle. It was time for him to make his move as well.
***
After Min-Su recovered, he returned to the basement. Of course, Gi-Gyu went with him.
Min-Su asked, “Dad, what will you do today? Will I get to see the pretty lights again?”
“Well… I don’t think it will be pretty, but you’ll see something important,” Gi-Gyu patted Min-Su’s head and replied. Due to the stone sculpture’s shape, he was certain Min-Su would be ecstatic to see what was about to come.
‘I guess Min-Su’s subconscious made him shape the sculpture after his grandfather.’
When Gi-Gyu first saw the final result, he couldn’t hide his shock. The stone coffin had transformed into a sculpture that looked exactly like Old Man Hwang. It looked like a younger and stronger version, but there was no mistake that it was Hwang Ji-Chul in a stone form. It shone with golden light, looking otherworldly.
Gi-Gyu said to Min-Su, “You really are an incredible blacksmith.”
“Hehehe.”
Gi-Gyu still couldn’t believe how a sculpture, not a weapon, could shine like an Ego. Old Man Hwang alluded that Min-Su would be Gi-Gyu’s greatest asset; now, it was time for him to give the little boy a gift.
Gi-Gyu placed his hand on the sculpture’s chest and announced, “Sync.”
Based on Baal’s calculation, Gi-Gyu’s shell could still accept a few more Egos.
[You have successfully synced.]
The sculpture wasn’t a full-fledged Ego; it was just a fragment. With how far Gi-Gyu had come, no Ego fragment would refuse to sync with him. A bright light appeared along with the status screen, but Gi-Gyu dismissed it and shouted, “Grant!”
He selected Hwang Ji-Chul as the Ego…
The man known as Old Man Hwang…
The greatest blacksmith Gi-Gyu knew.
Fwooosh!
The blacksmith’s Ego entered the sculpture with a blinding flash.