BGOH 10

Chapter 10 …

The Genius Blacksmith Hunters Are Obsessed With

The customer had already paid, yet he was so fascinated that he couldn’t bring himself to leave.

All Kang Cheol had done was sharpen a used knife, but the man’s expression looked like that of a child who had just received a Christmas present.

After splitting an already halved tissue once, then again, he turned to Kang Cheol.

“This isn’t some tissue you cut beforehand, is it?”

“If I’m charging money for sharpening, it should at least be this good. You can pull out fresh tissues yourself and try as many as you want.”

Kang Cheol placed the box of tissues beside the basin, and the customer, still unable to believe it, pulled out several more.

He floated a tissue on the water and lightly drew the knife across it.

Then—

Slice.

The tissue separated as if by magic.

“It actually works? How is this even possible?”

“M-Me too! Let me try!”

Even the blacksmith with the dialect, who had been preparing his own stall, snatched the knife from the customer and copied the test.

Once again, the tissue split cleanly.

“Good grief… what kind of sorcery is this?”

Compared to cutting paper, cutting a floating tissue is far more difficult.

And cutting something while it’s floating on water is much harder than cutting something you’re holding in your hand.

In other words, the demonstration Kang Cheol had just shown skipped at least two levels of difficulty.

This wasn’t remotely comparable to simply slicing through a sheet of A4 paper while holding it and getting a clean edge.

Any blacksmith, no matter how inexperienced, would immediately recognize how impressive it was.

“Is it really that amazing?”

“I can’t do that.”

The customer looked at Kang Cheol with fresh admiration.

Back when Kang Cheol’s father had still run Kang Cheol Workshop, Kang Cheol had already been skilled enough to handle sharpening in his father’s place.

Which meant that even if someone came intending to insult him, they couldn’t criticize his sharpening technique or its results.

Naturally, more and more people began gathering around the booth.

“What’s going on? Is someone using a blade for the first time? They’re making such a fuss.”

“I heard he sharpened a knife unbelievably well.”

“How well could sharpening possibly be…? Huh? Whoa…”

Everyone thought the same thing at first.

How different can it really be? Sharpening is something everyone does.

But that belief disappeared the moment they stood in front of the basin with the floating tissue.

Doubt quickly turned into amazement.

Caught off guard by the unexpected attention, Kang Cheol nevertheless forced himself to stay calm.

“I was honestly a little nervous since I completely recreated the edge, but it turned out well.”

“But… is it really okay for a working knife to be this sharp?”

The question didn’t come from the customer who had submitted the knife.

Still, that customer nodded as well, clearly curious about the answer.

“I get asked that a lot. It’s actually a common misunderstanding.”

Kang Cheol answered naturally, as though he’d explained it countless times before.

“A working knife is better the sharper it is. If the edge is keen, it cuts more easily. That means there’s less impact on the blade, which is better for the knife itself, and your hands and body get less fatigued, so it’s better for work too. The same goes for longswords, and the same goes for knives.”

“Aren’t you just saying that so people sharpen their knives more often and you can make more money?”

A voice that sounded like another blacksmith came from somewhere in the crowd.

Kang Cheol answered without the slightest hesitation.

“Wouldn’t you rather maintain the blade than wear out your body? Even when I work, if I have to apply too much force because my sanding belt or whetstone is worn out, my grip starts hurting.”

People reacted differently after hearing his explanation.

But they all arrived at the same conclusion.

He’s different.

Every other blacksmith insisted that knives shouldn’t be too sharp.

Whenever customers asked for an extremely sharp edge, they’d refuse, claiming it was “for the customer’s own good.”

But Kang Cheol’s explanation made perfect sense—even to complete amateurs.

A knife exists to cut and pierce.

Why would making a tool perform better ever be harmful to its user?

Besides, anyone who regularly used knives had experienced sore hands from forcing a dull blade through material.

Whether you spent money on pain-relief patches because you used dull knives, or spent money keeping your knife sharp…

Wasn’t it basically the same thing?

Kang Cheol handed the customer one of his business cards.

“My workshop is still being repaired at the moment, but when you need repairs later, please give me a call. I’ll make sure to provide a service that’ll pleasantly surprise you again.”

The customer accepted the card and quietly repeated the words to himself.

“A service that’ll pleasantly surprise you…”

What a refined way of thinking.

In contrast, the business card itself was somewhat old-fashioned.

Its bold lettering contained no flashy design or decorative flourishes.

Then his eyes drifted from the card to the hand that held it.

Those hands—

Thick, rough, covered in calluses and scars—

Stood in stark contrast to Kang Cheol’s still youthful face.

…So that’s why I thought the money wasn’t worth it.

For someone like this.

Meanwhile, Kang Cheol had patiently explained everything simply to make sure his customer’s equipment could be properly maintained.

The customer suddenly felt ashamed.

After swallowing the lump in his throat, he finally managed to say,

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“It’s nothing. You Hunters are the ones who work hard going into Gates.”

As the customer bowed, Kang Cheol bowed back.

The Hunters watching nearby smiled, finding the scene heartwarming.

At first glance, it looked like everything had ended on a wholesome note.

But then—

“Um… excuse me.”

“Yes? Is something else wrong?”

Kang Cheol asked, puzzled.

The customer had already paid.

He had received his knife.

His questions had all been answered.

Yet he still wasn’t leaving.

—No way…

Suddenly, Kang Cheol remembered their earlier conversation.

Just as he’d feared, the customer asked,

“Why didn’t you remove the scratches?”

“…Pardon?”

Kang Cheol blinked.

After all that fuss over slicing tissues, he was suddenly complaining about scratches?

“That’s polishing. You only requested sharpening.”

“What polishing? Everyone else does that without even being asked. Why’s the service here so bad?”

—Wow… people like this really do exist…

The shameless customer looked down at Kang Cheol with utter arrogance.

Just as he seemed to be enjoying Kang Cheol’s bewildered expression—

SMACK!!

A crisp impact rang through the air.

The troublesome customer collapsed backward.

“Gah! W-Who was that?!”

When he turned around, an enormous man was glaring at him fiercely.

“Me, you bastard.”

“G-Guh…”

“If you’re done, quit causing trouble and get lost. I’ve been waiting to use that too.”

Despite his intimidating appearance, the giant’s finger was pointing toward the tissue floating in the basin.

The troublesome customer hiccupped in panic…

…then immediately fled.

“Th-Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. Just sharpen mine even better than that loser’s knife.”

“Of course.”

Although there had been that brief incident, business at Kang Cheol’s flea market booth flourished after his first customer.

He wasn’t as busy as the medium- and large-sized companies occupying the biggest booths, but customers came steadily enough that there was never a break.

“If I leave my knife with you, can you make it do that too?”

“My knife chips way too easily. Can you fix something like that?”

“I don’t use a knife—I use an axe. Can you sharpen axes too?”

Some customers wanted edges sharp enough to slice floating tissues.

Others came with their own concerns.

Some even made unusual requests.

Kang Cheol’s answer never changed.

“Of course. Yours can be sharpened enough to cut tissues. The next customer wants the edge angle adjusted while sharpening, right? And how sharp would you like your axe?”

Everything was possible.

More importantly, he inspired confidence that the final result would be even better than the customer expected.

The blacksmith with the dialect timidly asked,

“If I place an order too… would you accept it?”

“Hm? What kind of order?”

“Uh… well… could you teach me sharpening…?”

“Absolutely not.”

That was one order he refused.

The customer who wanted to cut floating tissues ended up slicing five of them before leaving while humming happily.

The customer who wanted his edge angle adjusted finally stopped doubting after Kang Cheol promised free after-service if any problems arose.

The customer who brought an axe praised how quickly the work was finished and even shared some food he’d bought at the market.

“You’re still growing! Don’t be shy—eat!”

“I can’t really eat food that gets my hands dirty…”

Kang Cheol smiled awkwardly.

Still…

He wasn’t in a bad mood.

—You planned this pretty well, Student.

Originally, there wasn’t much money to be made at a flea market.

So Kang Cheol had lowered his labor costs dramatically compared to the quality of his work in order to attract customers.

That way, he’d secure enough work time to complete the profession quests given by the notification window and earn Coins.

In that regard, his plan was working perfectly.

Even excluding the Coins that accumulated every hour, the small profession quests were bringing in a steady income.

—Profession Quest: Respond to a customer requesting sharpening. (1/1) Complete!

—Profession Quest: Respond to customers requesting sharpening. (5/5) Complete!

—Profession Quest: Respond to customers requesting sharpening. (10/10) Complete!

By the end of the morning, he’d earned 70 Coins.

Converted into Korean currency, that was about 1.4 million won.

—Not bad at all, right, Student?

“Yeah… honestly, I didn’t expect to earn this much.”

—Come on, hurry up and thank me, Student.

“I was about to… but now I don’t feel like it.”

It was nearly lunchtime.

Kang Cheol had just decided to finish the task in front of him before grabbing something to eat.

Aside from his busy hands, everything was peaceful.

Then another customer approached.

“Excuse me. Could you take a look at something?”

“Certainly. Just a moment.”

Kang Cheol stopped working and wiped the moisture from his hands.

Standing before him was someone whose face practically screamed that he’d had unbelievably rotten luck.

“Yes. How can I help you?”

“You’ve been working hard. Um…”

The customer hesitated.

Even after starting to speak, he couldn’t quite bring himself to explain.

It looked less like hesitation…

…and more like he simply didn’t know how to describe what was wrong.

“No matter where I take it, after sharpening it never feels as sharp as it used to. You seemed really popular, so I thought… maybe if you looked at it, you’d understand.”

“So you’ve had it sharpened, but it still doesn’t feel sharp?”

“It has been sharpened, but… I don’t know whether it actually isn’t sharp or whether it just feels like it isn’t. I honestly can’t tell…”

At first, it sounded like a strange thing to say.

After all, once a blade had been sharpened, it should simply be either sharp…

…or not sharp.

—If he can even notice something like that, he’s probably pretty skilled with knives.

Kang Cheol gave a slight nod in agreement.

The customer was describing something that could only be sensed by someone who truly understood a blade just by holding it.

That wasn’t the kind of intuition ordinary practice could produce.

Yet surprisingly, the customer didn’t seem confident in his own judgment.

“May I take a look?”

The customer handed over the knife, still inside its sheath.

The plain molded sheath clearly outlined the blade inside.

Part of the fairly long blade remained exposed.

Shhhk.

As Kang Cheol drew it, the friction between blade and sheath produced an irritating scraping sound.

The edge still bore fresh sharpening marks.

The sharpened section was brighter than the rest of the blade, meaning it hadn’t had enough time to oxidize.

“Is this carbon steel?”

“Yes. I was told it’s spring steel.”

Holding the blade up to the light, Kang Cheol examined it carefully.

Then his eyes widened.

“You’re a Hunter, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Do you happen to carry a flashlight? Could you lend it to me? Turn it on, but not at full brightness.”

The customer switched on his flashlight and handed it over.

Kang Cheol slowly rotated the blade, shining the light across the surface from every angle.

Sometimes from the spine.

Sometimes from the edge.

Sometimes from the tip.

He inspected it over and over before finally—

Tap.

Setting both the flashlight and the knife down.

“Can you… tell what’s wrong?”

“I know exactly what it is… Sigh. This is unbelievable. They should never have done this.”

Kang Cheol scratched the back of his head vigorously.

Frustration.

Disappointment.

Anger.

Suppressing the emotions welling up inside him, Kang Cheol asked,

“That bastard actually charged you money after doing this?”