Chapter 60. The Tower (2)

Henova rolled his eyes upon hearing something unexpected, but soon his face contorted in anger.

“You’re a lunatic!”

But Henova’s yell made Yeon-woo let out a chuckle.

‘I haven’t heard that in a long time.’

It was something he used to hear from the commander on a daily basis.

“Get the hell out of my shop if you’re going to...!”

“I was joking. Wasn’t that obvious?”

Because of Yeon-woo’s blunt tone, Henova still couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.

And when he realized it was a joke, Henova’s face became even more contorted.

Once again, Henova tried to shout at him in a fit of rage. But when he opened his mouth, Yeon-woo put down the backpack he was carrying on his right shoulder.

Henova stopped for a moment and narrowed his eyes.

“Wait, is that what I think it is? The Dark Elves’ hunting bag?”

‘As I thought, he recognized it right away.’

Yeon-woo nodded, thinking things were going as he wanted.

“Yes.”

“Well, I guess you’re not as bad as I thought you’d be.”

Henova looked at Yeon-woo with a slightly different attitude, though he was still stuck up.

Dark Elves only handed their possessions to those they acknowledged. Having such items meant that he had the skills to back it up.

Furthermore, Henova was already aware that Yeon-woo had just recently finished the tutorial by looking at his appearance.

And there was only one Dark Elf in the tutorial that he knew of.

“Did you get that from Galliard?”

“Yes.”

“Hmph! That scrawny lanky idiot has a horrible temper, but he does have a keen eye for judging players.”

Galliard, the Dark Elf, and Henova, the dwarf, are always fighting like cats and dogs.

I don’t know if it has to do with their races or their personalities.

But in my eyes, they look like a couple of really close friends.

Just like how good friends often casually say harsh things to each other.

...But of course, if I were to say this in front of them, they’d beat me to death.

His brother also added that the two actually respected each other’s skills more than anyone else, even though they constantly snarled at each other.

“Aight, then. Looks like you’re trying to trade my item for what you got from the tutorial. Go ahead and take them out. By the way, my weapons are very expensive. It’ll be beyond what you can imagine.”

Henova arrogantly raised his chin up with his arms folded.

Items that could be collected from the tutorial were usually worthless scrap items which no one in The Tower would give a single glance at.

He was going to make him take them all out and turn him away.

Yeon-woo opened his bag and began to take out the items he had packed inside.

Goblin’s teeth and jawbones, Lizardmen’s eyeballs, Orc’s ribs, Troll’s blood and brains....

Whenever something came out, Henova let out a snort. They were all useless items, just as he had expected. Items that only weak players would pick up to make a living off of them.

Still, each item he took out was a relatively expensive part of the monsters.

However, by the standards of Henova who had risen to the rank of ‘Master’ blacksmith, they were a pile of trash. Trash he would never take them even if he had thousands of them

Henova was starting to feel annoyed and humiliated by the fact that he was trying to buy his weapon with such trash items, but he kept silent to see how much more he could take out.

But from some point onward, Henova’s eyes that were looking at the trash suddenly changed.

‘You dirty little bastard.’

He realized that the items Yeon-woo was taking out weren’t just random trash.

If they were put separately, they were definitely a worthless pile of scrap items. But once they were put together,

‘They become the basic materials for a certain artifact.’

And by his knowledge, that artifact was a very high-rating item. Something which a player who had just cleared the tutorial couldn’t possibly have knowledge of.

‘Speaking of which....’

Henova glanced Yeon-woo up and down again and rubbed his chin quietly.

‘He’s wearing quite good artifacts for a novice.’

Actually, his artifacts weren’t just ‘quite’ good. They were ‘extremely’ good. It was only his pride that didn’t allow him to admit it.

The black bracelet he had on his right wrist, though he hadn’t evaluated it in detail, he was certain it was a great artifact.

And the sword he was carrying on his back, it was a little short to call it a normal long sword, but there was a subtle hint of holy and demonic energy flowing out of the sword.

Two energies that cannot coexist.

As far as he knew, there was only one case as such.

‘A demonic sword which used to be a divine sword but ended up cursed for some reason. It must be a weapon from a distant past… But where the hell did he find that?’

Eventually, Henova raised his assessment of Yeon-woo, who he thought was a crook, a little bit higher.

From a crook to a novice.

Still, there wasn’t much difference.

But Henova had to further adjust his assessment because of the two items Yeon-woo took out at the very end.

They were treasures beyond comparison.

One was Beast Lord’s Lion Mane Helm.

The other is Iblis’ Embryo.

Yeon-woo put out all the rewards he obtained from the tutorial as the payment.

Henova took on a grim expression.

“Is this a joke?”

“What makes you think that?”

“So you’re not joking? Do you even know what you just took out?”

“I know what they are. Aren’t they an artifact left by the Beast Lord and an egg of a Hell Beast?”

[Beast Lord’s Lion Mane Helm]

Classification: Headgear

Rating: A-

Description: An armet used by the Beast Lord, who disappeared for unknown reasons in the past. It was made with the hide of a mythical creature, the White Lion.

The helm possesses the vigor and courage of the While Lion and the power of the Beast Lord.

* Fang of the White Lion

Increases attack power for 10 seconds by 1% for every monster killed, up to 35%.

Also, through the vigor of the White Lion, it reduces the duration of enemy crowd control effects by 5%.

* Roar of the Beast Lord

Unleashes the aura of the Beast Lord, inflicting the surrounding enemies with the status effect ‘Fear’ for 8~10 seconds.

[Iblis’ Embryo]

Rating: B+

Description: An egg laid by a Hell Beast, Iblis.

It can only be hatched through a special method. Once hatched, it will follow whomever it sees first.

The Beast Lord was one of the most famous Lords in the tower. He had once ruled over The Tower along with the Vampire Lord.

Thus, the artifact left by the Beast Lord was rated A-. It was the first A- artifact Yeon-woo got since entering this world.

Even though its value was lower than Bathory’s Vampiric Sword, that didn’t mean it was worthless. Rather, if he wanted to sell it, people would buy it for whatever price he named.

Above all, The Tower provided players with the items that best fit the player’s combat style.

Of course, Beast Lord’s Lion Mane Helm was also a suitable item for Yeon-woo.

Iblis’ Embryo also had an equally high value.

Iblis is a hell beast that is known to dwell in the deepest jungle of Gehenna.

A raptorial bird that is five meters in size and has a monstrous beak and claws that can tear any animal to shreds with ease.

It would take a somewhat tricky process to hatch its egg, but considering the advantages of taking such a beast as a companion, it was worth the effort.

An artifact left by the Beast Lord and an egg of a Hell Beast. Both items had power that could make their owner stronger than any normal player in The Tower.

Even if Henova had great pride in his ability as a blacksmith, he knew his items were not worth any higher than those two items together, if not one alone.

That’s why Henova thought Yeon-woo was playing a joke on him.

No, this wasn’t at the level of a joke. He was making a fool out of him.

After Arthia disbanded, Henova had ended up being persecuted by several clans.

How did he fall so low as to be looked down upon by such a novice?

Henova was mortified. His face was burning with shame. But he didn’t shout at him because he didn’t want to give up his last bit of pride.

He clenched his teeth. He glared at Yeon-woo trying to contain his anger.

But as if Yeon-woo hadn’t noticed Henova’s anger, he asked with an impassive tone as he looked into Henova’s glaring eyes.

“If you think these materials and the two items are worth more than the dagger, may I ask you to make an artifact for me?”

In that instant, Henova felt his anger drain out. Because he noticed what Yeon-woo was trying to do.

“You’re asking me to make ‘Gyges’ Eyes’, aren’t you?”

Yeon-woo nodded.

“Yes.”

“Hmm….”

A giant that was said to have hundreds of arms and thousands of eyes.

The artifact named after such monster was definitely worth the two items Yeon-woo had presented.

And there were no more than five master blacksmiths in The Tower who could craft such artifact.

Henova was one of them.

Henova glowered at Yeon-woo as he narrowed his eyes.

“You little bastard. You’ve been after this since the beginning.”

“I apologize if I have offended you. I heard that you have stopped making artifacts recently, so I had to resort to such a tasteless measure.”

Yeon-woo apologized as he bowed down politely.

Once again, Henova groaned in agony.

He stared at the materials and two artifacts for a long time. His mind was cluttered with mixed emotions.

Then he looked at Yeon-woo and asked.

“Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, do you know what it means to place an order with me?”

“Just as I said earlier, I can take care of other clans. What I need you to do is to focus on crafting Gyges’ Eyes. Don’t worry about anything else. Can you do that?”

A very calm look. But inside, he could feel a strong determination.

Henova didn’t hate that attitude.

But the moment he was about to say yes,

“Of course, if you’re still afraid of other clans, I can’t help it.”

The sudden remark brought out by Yeon-woo made Henova’s brows crease.

Yeon-woo’s jokes in such a monotonous tone were starting to tilt him.

Eventually, Henova screamed as his patience wore out.

“Okay! I get it! I’ll do it!”

* * *

[Appraisal failed]

[Appraisal failed]

···

[Appraisal succeeded]

[‘Draconic Eyes’ skill proficiency has increased. 15.5%]

[Henova’s Magic Bayonet(魔裝帶劒)]

Classification. One-handed weapon.

Rating: B-

Description: A bayonet which Henova, a dwarven blacksmith, put his blood into crafting for three years. It was originally made for someone dear to him, but with its owner lost, the bayonet came to possess Henova’s rancor and wrath. Because of this, the dagger holds sharpness that can easily split a rock.

* A Dwarf’s Wish

The Magic Bayonet feeds off of the owner’s emotion. The stronger the emotion, the sharper the edge will become.

* Blade of Rancor

The bayonet aggravates the opponent’s wound, eating away their vitality.

If the target’s vitality is lower than 20%, there’s a fixed chance that the target will be inflicted with the status effect ‘Ice Poison(氷毒)’ .

**This item is a ‘growth’ type artifact. The artifact can grow along with its owner, and its growth speed depends on the owner’s familiarity and proficiency with this artifact.

‘It’s much better than I thought.’

On his way out of Henova’s smithy, Yeon-woo smiled as he read down the description of the Magic Bayonet.

This was unquestionably a high-end artifact.

He presumed that all of the weapons that Henova provided to Arthia might have been of such quality.

The part he liked the most was that the dagger was a growth type artifact. It meant it could grow more powerful as he continued using it.

“It fits surprisingly nicely in my hand.”

Yeon-woo had been planning to ask Henova to make Gyges’ Eyes right when he entered The Tower.

When he was asked by Kahn and Doyle if he knew any blacksmith, it was Henova he had referred to as ‘a blacksmith’ he knew of.

‘If he can make a weapon like this, he should easily be able to make Gyges’ Eyes.’

Henova said it would take at least a month.

Even though the basic materials were sufficient, he still needed to get some other supplementary materials, and the crafting process itself required quite a long time.

‘It seems like he didn’t let go of his hammer even when other clans threatened him. It mustn’t have been easy. I can see he’s certainly a great man, given that he didn’t submit.’

Yeon-woo decided to keep an eye on Henova for the next month, using Gyges’ Eyes as an excuse.

Even the circumstances that revolved around him.

‘It should be enough time to figure out who he is.’

Either to trust him or not.

Yeon-woo handled his new bayonet with serious eyes.

*Woong*

The Magic Bayonet resonated as if it was happy to have a master.

Strangely enough, Yeon-woo felt that the Magical Bayonet ‘fit’ him really well.

It felt like he had found a long lost item that he was so used to.

“….”

Then suddenly, the phrase ‘someone dear to him’ from its description caught his eye.

‘Someone dear to Henova…?’

Who could it be?