AMRTB 09

The All-Master Returns to Bronze – Episode 009

A few days after the placement test ended.

Shinhyuk’s name rose and fell in the media every single day without fail.

[Shinwha’s Divine Star, Writing a New Myth!]
[About How I, Once Called a Useless Extra, Was Actually a Hidden Powerhouse Who Could Get First Place in the Placement Test]
[Choi Shin-hyeok, Let’s Look into His Three High School Years!]

They even took an interest in Shinhyuk’s past.

After all, everything has a middle. If they could learn even a little about the process leading to Shinhyuk’s birth, a second Shinhyuk might be born. It was only natural.

‘What a pointless endeavor.’

But from Shinhyuk’s perspective, knowing it was all futile, it just looked like wasted effort.

“Shinhyuk, what are you thinking about?”
“Nothing, just zoned out for a second. We’re almost at Cheonggyecheon. Should we get off?”
“Yes!”

Shinhyuk snapped out of his reverie at the voice of Sua, dressed in casual clothes, sitting next to him.

The two were now at Cheonggyecheon.

Cheonggyecheon, with its babbling stream, was also famous as a dating spot for many couples.

But that was only before the Dimension Arena opened.

Clang! Bang! Clang! Clang!

“Welcome!”
“Our workshop’s weapons are the best!”
“What? Our workshop’s weapons are the best!”
“Take a look at these shields! Shields made by Master Hwang Chil-deuk!”

Cheonggyecheon was bustling like never before.

Workshops settled everywhere.

The sound of hammering from those workshops.

And finally, the fierce bloodbath to sell items made in those workshops.

“It’s a fun place, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So, you said you came here today to find a craftsman?”
“Yeah, well… Not exactly a craftsman.”
“…?”

Sua, who was enjoying the spectacle of the bloodbath, tilted her head at Shinhyuk’s incomprehensible words, but Shinhyuk didn’t bother to explain.

Ending up following behind Shinhyuk without understanding anything, Sua gradually grew more puzzled.

“Why are we going to such a back alley place?”

Because Shinhyuk was heading not to the outer areas with many other craftsmen, but toward the dark, damp center.

Shinhyuk walked ahead, shrugging his shoulders.

“Because the aspiring craftsman I’m looking for is here.”
“Aspiring craftsman? He’s not a craftsman?”
“He’ll become one later, so isn’t it the same thing?”
“…Shinhyuk! You promised the Chairman! You said you’d show results! How do you plan to keep that promise if you bring an aspiring craftsman!”

Finally understanding Shinhyuk’s plan, Sua shook her body like a penguin, scolding him.

‘This feels unfamiliar. Being worried about by someone.’

Sua’s worry.

Knowing it stemmed from genuine concern, Shinhyuk smiled warmly and calmed her down.

“Don’t worry. The person we’re going to meet now is just an aspiring craftsman for now, but he’s someone who will become a Master surpassing even a craftsman.”
“A Master? What’s that?”
“Ah, it’s probably not known yet. Just… think of it as an item grade. If an ordinary craftsman is Common grade, a Master is Rare grade.”
“Ahh, I see. But Shinhyuk, how do you know about—”
“Well, here we are. Shall we go meet today’s main character now?”

While he had no intention of hiding his identity as a Regression, he felt now wasn’t the time, so Shinhyuk quickly changed the subject.

Seeing Shinhyuk had no intention of explaining, Su-ah puffed out her cheeks in protest, but only for a moment.

“Here.”
“…Are you sure the person who will become a Master is here?”

Sua couldn’t hide her surprise at the scene before her eyes.

“This isn’t a workshop, it’s no different from a shanty!”

Because the workshop before them was as shabby as a shack.

The roof was full of holes, and the door was half-destroyed, its shape barely recognizable.

That someone even lived here was amazing to Sua, who came from an ordinary commoner background.

But Shinhyuk paid no mind and entered the shabby workshop.

“Light.”

Fwoosh!

[Skill: Light learned.]
[Insufficient number of skills to acquire Basic Magic.]

Shinhyuk’s sphere of light brightly illuminated the inside of the pitch-dark workshop where not even a lamp was lit.

As Sua opened her mouth wide in admiration at the sight, like a single beam of light in a dirty world—

“…Who are you? This is my home.”
“Ah, Ahh! S-Sorry! Better late than never, I’m Han Sua. This guy here is Choi Shinhyuk.”

A man with a wretched appearance, with sweat and grime streaming down his face, revealed himself.

Startled, Sua rattled off introductions for herself and Shinhyuk. The man smiled bitterly.

“You’re a fine-looking young couple. You don’t seem like the type to belong in a place like this, so please turn back.”

Unlike his own utterly wretched self, the man acted like a vampire seeing light at the sight of Sua and Shinhyuk, who looked like they should be shining brightly outside. Shinhyuk approached him.

“No. I came here to take you with me, Mr. Bang Se-jin.”
“…You know me?”

The shabby man, Bang Se-jin, couldn’t hide his bewilderment at Shinhyuk, who seemed to know him, then soon hardened his expression.

“More or less. Aren’t you the person who joined a workshop under our Shinwha Guild, couldn’t overcome the internal power struggles, was expelled, and on top of that, due to their connections, can’t even properly hold a hammer anymore?”
“…’Our’? Ah, now that I look, your face is familiar. Aren’t you Choi Shinhyuk, the third-generation chae-bol heir of the Shinwha Group?”

Because Se-jin had been kicked out of a guild workshop belonging to Shin-hyuk’s family’s Shinwha Group and simultaneously became unable to set foot in any black smithing circles.

The mastermind behind it all was the Shinwha Guild.
Furthermore, the Shinwha Group was involved, so it was only natural Se-jin showed a sharp reaction toward Shinhyuk.

Shinhyuk silently stared at Se-jin, who was sneering like that.

“Mr. Bang Se-jin.”
“…What, do you think glaring at me like that will make me submit?”
“No. I think you’re misunderstanding something.”
“…?”

The words saying he was misunderstanding.
As Se-jin tilted his head at that, Shinhyuk slowly began to explain.

“By any chance, had you heard my name before the placement test? Or seen my face in the media?”
“Uh….”
“You haven’t. Because I am the eldest son of the disowned child of the Shinwha Group.”
“Disowned… child?”

And after hearing all the explanations, Se-jin had become polite again, just like when they first met.

Because as Shinhyuk explained, Se-jin had heard nothing about Shinhyuk before the placement test ended.

Seeing that Se-jin was now in a posture to talk again, Shin-hyuk began his persuasion in earnest.

“Yes, for all three years of Player High School, my expected tier was Bronze. At school, I was called a useless extra and ignored by the entire student body. My friend Sua here can vouch for that.”
“Yes! Shinhyuk was kind and diligent but a useless extra, so he was called a useless extra!”
“…Anyway, that’s the case. In other words, I’ve lived a life largely unrelated to the Shinwha Group. So, the target of your anger shouldn’t be me.”

Shinhyuk let out a fake cough at Sua’s pure-faced guarantee of his lousy past but didn’t forget his purpose.

He was of the Shinwha Group, yet had lived a life apart from it.
So, don’t get mad at me, get mad elsewhere.

At Shinhyuk’s words carrying that meaning, Se-jin finally came to his senses and bowed his head to Shinhyuk.

“…I’m sorry. I’ve been through a lot, so I get hot-headed just hearing the name Shinwha.”
“I understand. That’s possible. So, speaking of which, Mr. Bang Se-jin.”
“Yes?”
“Won’t you join hands with me?”
“…?”

A sudden proposal.
As Se-jin tilted his head in confusion, Shinhyuk took out the Blessed Steel from his inventory.

“It’s Blessed Steel. Unique grade. A weapon made from this would be really… nice… It’s a problem that there’s no outstanding blacksmith for it…”
“Th-that’s right! Outstanding materials shine in the hands of outstanding blacksmiths!”

Blessed Steel.
Faced with a Unique-grade material item before his eyes, Se-jin nodded frantically, drooling.

Both the angry and polite faces he showed Shinhyuk just moments ago had vanished without a trace.

“The most outstanding blacksmith among the ones I know is you, Mr. Bang Se-jin… Any thoughts?”
“…O-of course! B-but I’ve been blacklisted by the craftsmen of the Shinwha Guild workshop, so I can’t even properly hold a hammer. If I hold a hammer, retaliation will come.”

But Se-jin chickened out even before starting.
It showed just how much Se-jin had suffered at the hands of the Shinwha Guild workshop craftsmen.

Of course, that didn’t apply to Shinhyuk.

“By any chance, are those Shinwha Guild workshop craftsmen supported by the former Chairman of the Shinwha Group or something?”
“Huh? That can’t be. First of all, if it were him, he’s been dead for a long time, right?”
“Then it’s fine. Let me make one quick call.”
“Okay…”

The sudden mention of the former Chairman of the Shinwha Group—that is, Shinhyuk’s great-grandfather—left Se-jin bewildered.

“Yes, Grandfather. I’ve found a craftsman to bring. Is it okay to go straight to the workshop? Ah, you want to have a word with him? That’s not hard. I’ll pass the phone. Mr. Se-jin. Please take the call. It’s my grandfather.”
“G-grandfather? You mean the Chairman of the Shinwha Group?”
“Yes, that’s right. So please take it quickly. Grandfather seems very interested in you, Mr. Se-jin.”
“…Gulp!”

But the ensuing one-on-one call with Choi Cheol-ho turned bewilderment into astonishment.

Cheol-ho, who could make even Se-jin, who gritted his teeth at the name Shinwha, answer the phone politely, opened the conversation lightly.

-I am Choi Cheol-ho, Chairman of the Shinwha Group. Who might you be?

“…I-I’m Bang Se-jin. I, I originally worked at the Shinwha workshop, but I was dismissed and now live in Cheonggyecheon.

Se-jin introduced himself to Cheol-ho in a trembling voice.
A hearty laugh came through to Sejin’s ears.

-A former Shinwha man! I see. But you were dismissed, you say? To dismiss a craftsman so outstanding my grandson wants to bring him. Can you tell this old man what happened?

“Ah, well, you see…”

At Cheol-ho’s question, reminiscent of his own grandfather, a choked-up Sejin reported everything he had experienced to Cheol-ho in detail, leaving nothing out.

-…What insolent scoundrels! How dare they mess with what’s mine? Your name was Bang Sejin, right?

“Huh? Yes!”

-I’ve already promised Shin-hyeok, but you are still a Shinwha man. And I, Choi Cheol-ho, never abandon my people! So, go back to the workshop with Shin-hyeok.

“Y-you mean it?”

Hearing it all, Cheol-ho was enraged and urged Sejin to return to the workshop.
Sejin, who never imagined he’d be directly acknowledged by the Chairman, widened his eyes as if they’d pop out.

After exchanging a few pleasantries…

When Cheol-ho hung up, Se-jin looked at Shin-hyeok with a dazed expression.

Feeling Sejin’s gaze on him, Shin-hyeok smiled brightly and said,

“A hammer. Don’t you want to hold one?”

“Shin-hyeok-.. I… I want to hold a hammer…”

Thud—

Despite the dirty floor covered in filth, Sejin knelt down with a thud and bowed his head before Shin-hyeok.

‘Got an SSS-grade blacksmith.’

It was the moment Bang Se-jin, who would later be called an SSS-grade Blacksmith, Maister, Hand of God, and more, came under Shin-hyuk’s wing.