Chapter 1

When one awakens to magical powers, they encounter a phenomenon known as synesthetic mindscape. Some envision night skies filled with countless falling stars, while others smell all kinds of fragrances. Some even hear everything around them being vacuumed away to a single point.

The same synesthetic mindscapes would then occur indiscriminately, with no rules whatsoever, and I was no exception.

Swoooosh-

A faint sound of waves brushed against my ears. Only one thought came to mind when I first encountered my synesthetic mindscape.

Why waves?

If it were the crackling sounds of fire, I would understand, but my sensory image absolutely had no relation to my blacksmith class. In fact, unlike others, I periodically heard the waves, and each occurrence only left me with more questions. And despite innumerable hours of hammering away, stoking the fire in the furnace, and crafting entire arsenals, I still could not find the answer.

Swoooosh-

Only now, as the world was on the brink of destruction, did I come to understand that the waves were actually an indication of the world’s demise.

“Fuck...”

The distant rumbles that once seemed capable of wiping out entire districts and the roars that could instantly blast out millions of people’s eardrums were growing faint, indicating that the battle between the Destroyer of Seas and Forlorn Hope was coming to an end.

“Phew...”

Even if I wanted to see the progression of the battle myself, my fractured neck made it impossible for me to turn my head. My spine was shattered to pieces, rendering my lower body devoid of sensation, and seeing how blood welled up in my mouth, it seemed that the condition of my internal organs was also pretty dire. I was lucky to have enough strength left to cough out the blood in my mouth, or I might have already drowned to death.

“I should have just died...”

I wouldn’t have blocked it if I knew I would be left paralyzed in this horrible pain.

As I entertained such futile thoughts, I leaned against my broadsword and slowly breathed out to ease my pain.

Thud!

A grotesquely contorted head fell before my eyes. All three horns had been pulverized and four irises that once gleamed with a blue hue were distorted as if it had been subjected to torture. The condition of the head certainly conveyed how painfully the Destroyer of Seas met its end.

“Serves you right, asshole...” I sneered as I examined the head.

It’s funny that in the end, he was ironically slain by the humans that he so belittled, after all that bragging about how he was the strongest amongst the six Harbingers of Destruction and how he would bring the end of the world. I wanted to laugh heartily, but I feared I might die coughing up too much blood.

As I was holding my breath in agitation, the three that slayed the Destroyer of Seas had returned.

“Drop that shit, man.”

“Some might even believe that you killed the Destroyer of Seas.”

“Exactly what I mean, you were just playing possum.”

“Didn’t I tell you? He was just trying to snatch away the credit while we took care of the battalion.”

They ganged up on me like hyenas just because I was smiling and in a good mood, but I was too used to this kind of situation.

“Phh, stop with all the flaunting. If it weren’t for the arsenal I forged, you guys would have been gone for good.” I said with a smirk.

“What did you say?”

“You bastard...”

“Wow, what bullshit.”

They said this as they glared at me.

As I smirked at how they hadn’t changed at all since the first gathering of Forlorn Hope, they let out a deep sigh.

“Never mind, what’s the point of bothering a dying man?”

“Yeah, he always acts like this anyway.”

“Ah, I give up.”

They collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

“Are any of you going to survive this?” I asked as they sat with their backs turned against each other, unwilling to look at one another.

“I’m done for; all my organs are shattered.”

“Same here; the bleeding won’t stop because of some curse.”

“Ugh, it doesn’t seem like I can make it either; I was stabbed through the heart.”

“So, it all comes down to this,” I said as I sighed at the sight of them calmly discussing their impending deaths.

Although the Destroyer of Seas was the last of the six, ninety percent of the world had been swept away by his colossal cataclysmic waves. Since the Tower of Heroes that had been upholding Earth had collapsed now, Earth would plunge into the Abyss of Demons, annihilating anything left on the planet’s surface.

“Haah...” We might have won this battle, but we had already lost the war.

“You three should have helped me much sooner...” I muttered.

Although I had known this was how it would end before I had even assembled Forlorn Hope, I couldn’t help but feel bitter at the result.

The three Dogs in front of me were fence-sitters that took neither the side of humanity nor the Abyss. They only sought their own interests, moving as selfishly as they pleased.

If only I had them...

It’s not that they were the strongest ones out there, but they could accomplish deeds that others couldn’t due to their unique talents. If only they had displayed their skills earlier, other heroes wouldn’t have lost their lives in vain, and we might have reached a different conclusion.

“Be grateful that we even helped you at the end...”

Mad Dog Yeom Sung-Ha.

“Don’t complain if you’re weaker than us, jerk.”

Blast Dog Luize Valente.

“Eat shit, man.”

Frost Dog Amir Singh.

“You bastards...” I chuckled ironically as they didn’t back down even at their very end.

I wanted to throw loads of curses at them, but what was the point if they couldn’t even hear them anymore?

Where did it all go wrong?

I pondered as I first glanced at those three sitting with their backs turned against each other and then gazed at the darkening sky.

Should I have assembled Forlorn Hope sooner? Was it because the Perfect Ones, the most powerful beings of humanity, failed to join forces properly? Or maybe it’s because I failed to learn the real meaning behind the crashing sounds of waves in my synesthetic mindscape?

I am the problem,

I realized as I reflected on the decades of my life flashing before my eyes.

If only I had swung my hammer for others and come to senses about my given talent sooner, maybe things would actually be different.

“I must be crazy...” I laughed bitterly at these lingering regrets, realizing that it was all futile as it was all in the past. Since I had made a promise to myself to not regret anything regardless of the outcome, I forcibly shook away the thoughts flooding my mind as I placed a hand on my waist.

Clench-

I took firm hold of my hammer and slowly stood up, not taking support from my broadsword anymore.

Cough!

Blood quickly oozed out as the restorative power of the broadsword was no longer present. I could die in peace if I just sat down, but I wanted my life to end meaningfully.

“These are my life’s masterpieces; I can’t just leave them in this condition.”

I picked up the three Dogs’ weapons with the little strength left in my body and swung my hammer amidst the desolate ruins.

Ching! Ching!

Sparks of fire rose, and my hammer glowed red.

Though they wouldn’t be as perfect as if they were reforged in the workshop, with this Ember Hammer from my master, I could certainly mend them adequately.

The worn-out weapons were reforged, and I firmly shoved them beside their corresponding owners.

“Phew...” This idea of raising graves for them seemed entirely pointless, since the waves would ultimately come crashing in and erase what was built.

Swooooosh-

The annihilative waves were gradually drawing nearer. I looked down at my hammer and realized there was not much time left.

Is this really the end?

If it really was the end, I would rather take my own life than drown in the waves. I grasped my chest tightly as a sudden thought came to my mind.

Bond Extraction.

[Extracting bond from subject ‘Lee Se-Hoon’]

[The bond with the host is Lv. —.]

A piece of transparent ore revealed itself in the palm of my hand, glowing radiantly.

Still dull, as expected.

I gazed upon the forever-unchanging colorless ore.

My unique skill, Blacksmith of Bonds, allowed me to extract Fatestones, special ores, from those who had formed a relationship with me. The element of the ore varied depending on the kind of relationship established with the subject and the subject’s capability for power. But when I used the skill upon myself, it always yielded low-quality ore, inferior even to ordinary iron ore.

If only I had awakened this...

Regrets flooded in as I recalled the past once again. Sighing at my failure to shake off the lingering regrets, I looked at the empty Fatestone.

If there is nothing left inside...

At least I could take away the tormenting regrets. I clenched my hammer one last time and hammered away at the colorless ore.

Swoooosh-

Instead of the sound of iron being hammered, the sound of waves filled my ears. Was it the sound of impending doom approaching me, or was it my usual hallucination from my synesthetic mindscape? Without being able to tell the difference, I swung my hammer without rest and found myself smiling. Whenever the sound of waves echoed in my ears, I knew that I was forging something better than expected.

Ha, I must be a lunatic.

It was absurd to find delight in crafting a weapon while hearing the world’s demise.

Throughout my empty laughter, I hammered away at the ore until the last of my strength was depleted.

“Ha... Ha...”

A plain, colorless dagger, forged decently enough, appeared in front of me. It was well-made in a sense, but no more than that. It had no special skills or powers imbued, as it was crafted only using my own Fatestone.

Swoooosh-

The tide was lurking right in front of me. Slowly, I pointed the dagger toward me, and then I noticed that the three Dogs’ bodies were disappearing.

What should I say during moments like this? I considered cursing at the entire world but then thought better of it, chuckling softly instead.

“Life...fuck you...”

This was enough.

Thunk!

The blade pierced through my heart as smoothly as through empty space. I couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction at the sharpness of the blade. I wondered who could’ve forged such a good blade.

[Weapon ‘---’ synesthetic mindscape has been activated.]

[Activating skill ‘Return to Origin’]

***

Swoooosh-

I frowned as I heard the so-irritating faint sounds of waves again.

I’m not dead yet?

Was the dagger so sharp that I didn’t even realize I had been stabbed in the heart? I decided to strike myself again before the tide caught up to me.

Tap.

I felt a blunt sensation against my chest. In reaction to this sensation, I opened my eyes slowly.

The scene that unfolded before me was different from what I had expected. Pungent smoke and flames scorched my face. My clothes were tattered and burned, and a blunt hammer was pressing against my chest.

I have seen this scene somewhere before, yet it was too distant to figure it out precisely.

“Hey.”

“...”

“Trainee, are you not paying attention?”

“...”

“Lee Se-Hoon!!”

It was only at the shout that I realized that he was talking to me. I raised my head and saw an irritated man with a contorted expression and several teenagers in their late teens and early twenties, all standing in front of the makeshift furnace.

“What kind of behavior is this? This is an exam, and if you don’t want to comply, pack your stuff and leave the room immediately.”

“Exam...”

Words from the man in front of me, the test proctor, sparked my memory. This was an exam for Babel Academy, a place where apprentices ascending the Tower of Heroes are fostered. I had previously applied for the Metallurgy Department here but had failed miserably.

Although this might just be a bittersweet memory, there was a bigger problem.

This memory was from a staggering thirty-one years ago.

“Exam?”

I had returned to that past.