Chapter 9: I Was the One Who Seduced It First (2)

Keter arrived at the entrance to the forge and looked around. Even from the front, the forge looked vast and magnificent. The surrounding air was thick with the scent of iron and dirt, and the intense heat created waving mirages.

“

Phew

, it’s hot all the way out here.”

In his past life, Keter knew the Sefira family had a forge and where it was, but he had never visited it before. It was because he had no interest in archery in his past life. He only started using archery after the complete downfall of the Sefira family; before that, anything he could get his hands on was his weapon. In this life, he came to find Amaranth, the Demon Bow. If not for that, he would have targeted the Sefira family heirlooms, the Three Divine Artifacts.

These artifacts were three legendary bows: Tempest, the bow of the wind created by a human Great Wizard and an elf elementalist; Agareth, the heavyweight bow made from the heaviest metal in the world by a dwarf king; and finally, Doppelganger, the shapeshifting bow that could transform into any form.

Each of these artifacts was so valuable that they could sell for more than ten million gold at an auction. However, this foolish family was only using one of these magnificent heirlooms.

It was understandable that they weren’t using Agareth, the heavyweight bow, as it could only be wielded by a chosen one due to its weight. However, they refused to use Tempest because they claimed to adhere to the kingdom’s magic prohibition laws. Doppelganger, the shapeshifting bow, was being used by Besil, his father and patriarch. If Keter didn’t know about Amaranth, he would have gone for the Tempest.

As Keter was about to enter the forge, a soldier blocked his way.

“Please stop for a moment. Are you Lord Keter?”

Seriously, they all just stop me first without question.

“Why are you stopping me when you already know who I am? I hope you have no reason for this, because that way, I’ll have a reason to beat you.”

“Uh, well, this is the forge, so I thought you might have come to the wrong place.”

“I know this is the forge.”

“May I ask what you’re here for...?”

“Guess. You have one chance.”

The soldier licked his dry lips nervously. He didn’t intentionally block Keter’s way. It was just that the soldier instinctively sensed that Keter was dangerous from his fierce impression and stopped him out of professional habit.

“A... Are you here to look at bows?” the soldier asked.

Keter looked disappointed at the soldier’s response.

“You’re lucky.”

The soldier sighed in relief and naturally let Keter in, wondering why he was stepping aside in relief.

“It’s so damn hot.”

Keter felt the heat from the entrance, but it didn’t compare to the heat inside. People would sweat profusely here, even in the winter.

Clang! Clang!

The sound of hammering echoed constantly from all around. Keter walked through the heat, glancing at the blacksmiths crafting bows and arrows. As he reached the end of the forge, the person he was looking for came out to meet him.

“Who the hell are you? I haven’t seen you around before.”

He was short with a rugged build, a bushy beard, and a half-bald head. He looked like a typical middle-aged dwarf. His name was Volkanus—a half-dwarf, a mix of human and dwarf, who was destined to be killed by the Marksman of the Demon Arrow three months from now.

In Keter’s previous life, Volkanus was just an old man he had introduced himself to. They didn’t have any particular relationship, but... in this life, he planned to owe Volkanus a lot. The power of archery could be amplified dozens of times depending on not just the bow but the arrows as well. In other words, Keter would need the labor of a craftsman like Volkanus to make the arrows he wanted.

Seeing Volkanus glaring at him made Keter feel good, as he seemed lively and well.

“I’m Keter.”

“Keter? Are you Besil’s bastard child?”

“And you are a dwarf, aren’t you?”

The forge, which had been extremely noisy, suddenly fell silent. The blacksmiths stopped their work and looked at Keter.

“Calling Master a dwarf? Is that guy crazy?”

Volkanus, a half-dwarf, had blacksmithing skills that surpassed humans thanks to his dwarf blood, but he also had been exiled from the dwarf village long ago. The reason was unknown, but that was the reason why he hated being called a dwarf.

The soldier who followed Keter from the entrance hurriedly intervened.

“Master Volkanus, Lord Keter did not call you a dwarf with any malice, so please understand. Lord Keter, Master Volkanus dislikes being called a dwarf.”

However, Keter just shrugged.

“Is there a reason why I can’t call a dwarf a dwarf?”

“W-wait...” the soldier stammered.

“You stay out of this.”

Volkanus, dismissing the soldier, slung the large, long hammer he was holding over his shoulder.

“Keter, was it, boy?”

“I’m pretty big for a boy, no?”

“You have no sense of humor or manners.”

Keter shrugged again.

“That sounds more like you than me, but okay, I guess.”

“You damn brat, all talk and no substance. Why are you so confident? Do you think Besil will protect you?”

“I’ve taken care of myself alone just fine ever since I was born.”

Keter’s unyielding attitude made those around him even more anxious.

Volkanus expressed his displeasure by cracking his neck.

“Ha, this kid. How can you be this reckless? Though I’d love to smash your face with this hammer, I’ll give you a chance to redeem yourself, considering Besil’s reputation. So, bow down and apologize, and from now on, call me Master Volkanus.”

Volkanus gave Keter an ultimatum. However, Keter gave him one as well.

“I’ll give you a chance too, considering my father’s reputation. I don’t particularly dislike the nickname ‘bastard,’ but I don’t like being called that. Genius, madman, Solver—call me something like that.”

The people who were watching Keter and Volkanus’ power struggle looked confused. Keter said he didn’t

dislike

being called a bastard, but he didn’t want to be called that. However, Volkanus nodded like he understood.

“Is that so? Fine. I won’t call you a bastard, and you won't call me a dwarf.”

“Alright, let’s do that,” Keter replied.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

“I’ll generously overlook your lack of manners since you’re a country bumpkin.”

“How about a handshake of reconciliation between two bumpkins?”

Keter kneeled to meet Volkanus’ gaze. Though Keter was taller, Volkanus’ muscle density and size were overwhelmingly greater. To offer a handshake to someone like him...

Volkanus grasped Keter’s hand and smiled, thinking this was his chance, and said, “Welcome to Sefira, Bumpkin.”

“Looking forward to working with you, Grandpa Midget.”

Everyone was shocked again by Keter. After being told not to call Volkanus a dwarf, he called him a midget while they were shaking hands.

As if to prove that their concerns weren’t for nothing, Volkanus, with an angry face, squeezed Keter’s hand as hard as he could to break it.

Drrr!

Volkanus ripped the sleeve of his leather shirt just by flexing his muscles.

Keter is dead now.

Everyone thought Keter would beg for forgiveness in tears, but he was fine.

“Grandpa Midget, did you not have lunch yet?” Keter asked calmly.

“... You brat?”

Volkanus’ face turned even redder, and the veins in his arm bulged. His grip was powerful enough to tear wooden planks in half. It was a superhuman strength beyond human capabilities, yet for some reason, it didn’t affect Keter.

After a minute, which felt like an hour, Keter let go.

“Let’s wrap up the greetings now. I’m here to see some bows.”

To talk about looking at bows in such a tense situation...

The other blacksmiths thought Keter must have gone mad from the heat of the forge.

He’s not in his right mind.

He must be crazy.

Don’t make eye contact with him.

Volkanus glared at Keter, who was calmly looking for a bow. In his one hundred fifty years of life, he had never seen such a crazy human. Perhaps that was what piqued his interest.

“Have you at least used a bow before?” Volkanus asked.

“For thirty years.”

“Not funny. Follow me, boy.”

Arrogant.

However, Volkanus didn’t entirely dislike Keter.

He has determination unlike youngsters these days. If he wasn’t a descendant of Sefira, I would want to take him as my student.

The dwarves had a mission, which was similar to an obsession: to create exceptional weapons and bestow them upon those worthy. Even if Volkanus denied being a dwarf, he was still of dwarf blood. Volkanus wanted to test Keter’s capabilities, so he took him to the storage room where the bows were stored.

* * *

The storage room was full of numerous bows—wooden bows, metal composite bows, bows made from horns, and lots of bows made of unknown materials. The common trait among all of them was that they were all masterpieces.

His hammer still on his shoulder, Volkanus gestured toward the bows with his chin and said, “Bumpkin, here are the bows you wanted. Pick one.”

Normally, he would explain the types of bows, but he didn’t for Keter. While Volkanus liked Keter’s determination, it didn’t mean he liked his personality. Therefore, he took Keter to a storage room filled with defective bows to assert dominance. Although it was filled with defective items, to an untrained eye, they would look like excellent bows.

Those full of vanity tend to choose large and flashy bows.

This place was full of bows that would appeal to shallow people—those that were more decorative than practical. They were either made by Volkanus when he was bored or by other blacksmiths who were driven by vanity. Even so, they were still qualified to be called masterpieces outside.

Keter walked past the bows without examining them closely, then approached a particular bow.

“This one’s good.”

Keter picked up a bow adorned with jewels. Volkanus, who had been waiting for this moment, took a deep breath and said, “I knew it! Of course, you’d pick something as useless as...”

Thunk.

Volkanus couldn’t go on as Keter removed the emerald embedded at the end of the bow.

“Huh?”

Volkanus, who took a deep breath to shout, paused.

“A j-jewel? Who said you could take it!?”

Keter put the jewel in his pocket and replied, “It was embedded in a garbage bow anyway. I’ll sell this and buy you a drink later.”

“Ahem!”

Volkanus was not enticed by the promise of a drink; he was surprised that Keter called the bow trash.

Does this brat actually know how to evaluate bows?

Though bows may appear simple in structure, they were the most complex and difficult weapons to make. Their durability plummeted without perfect overall balance, and they couldn’t even shoot arrows accurately.

Volkanus shook his head. The jewel-encrusted bow looked suspiciously flashy, even to his eyes.

“Trash!? You haven’t even touched the bow. Don’t pretend to know what you’re talking about.”

“I can tell just by looking at them.”

“Hahaha. Are you saying you’re a dwarf or something?”

Unlike humans, other species were descendants of gods and born with special abilities. For dwarves, it was said that they could roughly assess the value of equipment just by looking at it.

“I can drink like a dwarf, though,” Keter said.

“Stop talking nonsense and pick your bow. You can’t leave until you pick one.”

There were over a hundred bows here, and all of them were garbage. No matter which one Keter chose, they were all duds. There was no way for him to escape.

Choosing a bow just by looking? How dare you show off in front of me like that.

While Volkanus was waiting for Keter to choose a bow, Keter clicked his tongue as he looked around.

“Everything here is garbage... What is this box?”

Volkanus slammed the floor with his hammer and said, “There’s no need to look at that box. It’s just a collection of unfinished items.”

“Really?” Keter asked.

Keter was the type to do it more when told not to. But the reason he stopped in front of the box wasn’t just because it seemed suspicious. Amaranth was calling; the Demon Bow that he had been looking for was right here. Amaranth seduced him through a mental projection. It promised him absolute, invincible power, honor, and wealth—it promised him everything.

Meanwhile, Volkanus scolded Keter, who wasn’t listening to him.

“There’s nothing to get from there, so pick one of the ones hanging on the wall!”

“Wait a minute.”

Keter pulled out all the bows piled inside the box and picked up the one that was at the very bottom. It was a jet-black bow, as if carved from darkness itself.

“Wow, you really hid this one well.”

“W-wait a minute! How did you find that!” Volkanus shouted as he approached Keter with his hammer in his hand.

The atmosphere was tense, as if he might strike with the hammer at any moment, but Keter spoke calmly.

“Grandpa Midget, this place is full of trash bows anyway, so I wondered why you would even need a box for unfinished pieces. Sure enough, there’s something like this at the bottom, huh?” Keter said, waving the bow around.

“Put it down. That bow should not exist in this world,” Volkanus said in a serious tone.

“Oh. hearing you say that makes me want it even more.”

“This is no joke, you fool! That is the cursed Demon Bow!”

Volkanus raised his hammer as if he were about to strike at any moment. However, Keter would never yield to threats, even with a knife to his throat.

“The Demon Bow, huh...” Keter muttered like he hadn’t known as he stared at the black bow.

Amaranth, who called Keter, tried to take over his mind the moment he grabbed the bow. But Keter blocked the attempt with sheer willpower, and he could sense Amaranth panicking and growing wilder.

Cute. Did you think you lured in an easy mark? But you’ve been kidnapped by me. What are you going to do now?

“This bastard is really dangerous, isn’t it?” Keter said mischievously.

Sweat dripped from Volkanus’ forehead. He knew the terror of the Demon Bow, so he had no room to entertain Keter’s jokes.

“This is your final warning. Put the bow down. You think you found the bow, but it’s the other way around—the bow lured you,” Volkanus said cautiously.

“No,” Keter replied firmly.

He then fist-bumped his chest.

“I was the one who seduced it first.”

“What?!”

“If this thing could lure just anyone, it wouldn’t have been stuck here all this time; it would have gotten someone else. But why did it respond to only me? Because I have an irresistible charm.

Listening to Keter, Volkanus frowned deeply. It was what others would usually call an expression filled with contempt and bewilderment—the look when people ran into a crazy person.

Volkanus realized what kind of person Keter was in just an hour.