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Chapter 24
“Try it on. I made it to fit your size.”
“Oh! Of course!”
At Jin Sung-wook’s words, Woo Hyun quickly put on the Crimson Spider, and as soon as he did, a natural smile spread across his face — it fit his body perfectly, as if it were part of him.
“Sir, really… thank you.”
When Woo Hyun expressed his gratitude sincerely, Jin Sung-wook only answered with a satisfied smile. Just then, a man stepped out from the door behind the counter and spoke.
“That’s what I should be saying.”
Woo Hyun flinched in surprise at the sudden appearance of Jin Tae-san. Seeing his reaction, Jin Tae-san asked,
“Do you know who I am?”
‘Know him? Of course I do! In my first playthrough, he was the greatest craftsman alive — the one who made most of Yoo Serin’s top-ten-ranked equipment!’
Woo Hyun barely stopped himself from blurting that out and instead replied politely,
“Yes, sir. I heard you’re a Living National Treasure in metallurgy.”
“Oh? Not easy for a newbie player to know me. I heard you recommended both the Dracula and Lycaon. You must be quite interested in armaments.”
Woo Hyun gave an awkward smile at Jin Tae-san’s self-made assumption and answered modestly.
“Well, if you’re a player, you can’t not be interested in weapons. Sometimes they’re literally your extra life.”
Jin Tae-san nodded in approval.
“You’re right. Anyone who doesn’t treat their weapon with care isn’t worthy to be called a player.”
Woo Hyun nodded as well, agreeing wholeheartedly, then asked curiously,
“Then what did you mean when you said you were the one who should be thankful?”
At that, Jin Tae-san smiled faintly, pointed to Jin Sung-wook, and said,
“I don’t know if it was intentional, but because of your commission, my grandson here was able to surpass his limits and become someone worthy to follow in my footsteps.”
Woo Hyun turned to Jin Sung-wook in surprise.
“Sir, you’re Grandmaster Jin Tae-san’s grandson?”
“Well, yeah. You could say that.”
Hearing that, Woo Hyun immediately understood why such an EX-grade item could have been created at a mere national forge.
‘So that’s it — this is the bloodline of a master craftsman.’
He had thought getting an S-grade result would already be a jackpot, but an EX-grade? That was like winning the lottery.
“That’s… incredible.”
When Woo Hyun said that sincerely, Jin Tae-san looked a little embarrassed at the praise. He coughed lightly and handed over a pair of black leather pants.
“This isn’t exactly proper payment, but take it. I matched the measurements to what my grandson used, so it should fit perfectly.”
Woo Hyun opened the system info window on the pants — and was instantly speechless.
[Shadowhide (EX):
Pants made by Grandmaster Jin Tae-san using the leather of the Shadow King. Forged while performing the ultimate blacksmithing technique — Iron Arirang — his spirit of craftsmanship is imbued within. As a result, only one such unique item exists in the world.
Increases physical power threefold and reduces incoming impact damage by one-third.]**
“Oh my god…”
Another EX-grade item — something even the top ten rankers could barely get — appeared right before his eyes. Woo Hyun’s jaw literally dropped.
‘So the legendary craftsman Jin Tae-san was working at a national forge all this time…’
Now he understood how Yoo Serin had managed to obtain Lycaon and establish ties with Jin Tae-san in his first life.
Knowing Serin’s personality, there was no way she would’ve chosen a big, flashy weapon like Lycaon herself.
She probably visited the Seoul National Forge by chance, met Jin Tae-san, and bought it on his recommendation.
After that, Jin Tae-san must have continued supplying her with masterwork equipment — helping her rise to the ranks of the top ten.
‘But this time, that connection came to me instead.’
Woo Hyun felt a twinge of guilt about it but quickly shrugged it off — he could always introduce Serin to Jin Tae-san and Jin Sung-wook later.
After all, as the only daughter of the Daehyun Group’s chairman, Serin would be an excellent client for them, too.
For now, he decided to simply enjoy the unbelievable luck that had come his way.
Woo Hyun took the Shadowhide, went into the dressing room, and changed.
The dark black Shadowhide went perfectly with the deep crimson of the Crimson Spider. The two pieces together looked like a coordinated set.
Seeing him now fully equipped from top to bottom, Jin Tae-san said quietly,
“Must be that you wear it well — it suits you nicely.”
Jin Sung-wook nodded in agreement beside him.
“Sir, Grandmaster — really, thank you. You’ve both given me something that’s practically an extra life.”
With the EX-grade Crimson Spider and Shadowhide, Woo Hyun had effectively gained another life. His gratitude was genuine — especially since he hadn’t paid a single coin for them.
“Good. Just make sure to come right away if anything happens to that gear. That’s all I ask.”
“Of course. I’d have to be insane to let anyone else touch something this precious.”
A few days later – Myeongji Mountain Hunting Grounds
After conquering the Spider Queen’s Nest dungeon and acquiring the Thousand-Poison Immunity, Woo Hyun had advanced to the rank of D-Class player.
Now, armed with the unparalleled Crimson Spider and Shadowhide armor, he confidently headed to Myeongji Mountain — a hunting ground frequented by D-Class players — and was in the middle of hunting Lamia.
If the Arachne was a monster with a human upper body and spider lower body, the Lamia had a human torso and the lower body of a snake.
Tap-tap-tap!!!
Woo Hyun charged toward the group of Lamia — twice as fast as before — all thanks to the triple enhancement to his leg strength from Shadowhide.
The strength boost wasn’t a special skill but a passive physical amplification that consumed almost no mana, effectively giving him a high-efficiency movement technique similar to light-footwork martial arts.
<Blood Slash>
Swoosh—Splurt!
Woo Hyun leaped forward, kicking off the ground, and swung Dracula upward.
In an instant, a Lamia’s body split cleanly in half.
Hiss—Thunk!
As Woo Hyun briefly hung midair, the remaining Lamias seized the chance and released clouds of poisonous gas at him.
<Blood Protection>
Boom!
The venomous gas collided with the blood barrier Woo Hyun had conjured, bursting into a purple mist.
The Lamias cackled, assuming he must have been poisoned.
But—
Whoosh! Thump!
<Blood Smash>
BOOM!!!
Woo Hyun shot out of the mist, stepping through the air like a martial artist, and drove both of his mana-strengthened legs straight into the laughing Lamia’s head, smashing it completely.
The others hissed and retreated, alarmed that he was still perfectly fine even after breathing their poison.
Lifting Dracula casually, Woo Hyun smirked.
“Guess all that pain was worth it. Even D-rank Lamia venom can’t touch me now.”
Whoosh!
Thunk!
A Lamia hiding in the bushes suddenly sprang out, its coiled tail launching it like a spring toward Woo Hyun’s back.
But Woo Hyun didn’t even dodge — he simply reversed his grip on Dracula and angled it so the Lamia would impale itself.
Its fangs went straight for his shoulder — but the Crimson Spider’s defense was too high for them to pierce.
Clang! Grind!
The Lamia’s fangs scraped uselessly against the armor, and with a single upward slash, Woo Hyun cleaved the monster in two.
Slash!
Another one down. Woo Hyun scanned for his next target.
The Lamias exchanged glances — and then all at once, their thick tails whipped toward him from every direction: front, back, sides, even above.
Their tails, infused with serpentine power, could deal serious injuries even with a glancing hit.
<Blood Flame>
Fwoosh—!
A surge of blood energy burst from Woo Hyun’s body and transformed into flame, surrounding him completely.
Fwooooom!!!
SSSsskkreee!!!
The intense heat scorched the air, forcing the Lamias to recoil before their tails burned.
“Blood Flame’s great and all, but damn, its fuel efficiency sucks,” Woo Hyun muttered, feeling his mana plummet after one use.
—Well, blood magic and elemental magic don’t mix well. You know that. But for non-elemental spells, your efficiency’s actually pretty decent.—
At that, Elzebeth materialized beside him, speaking casually. Woo Hyun chuckled.
“Yeah, that’s why I stick with them.”
Whip—Crack!
A Lamia’s tail lashed out like a whip, but Elzebeth didn’t even look — she raised a hand and blocked it with Blood Protection.
Snap!
With the rear defended, Woo Hyun dashed forward, slashing Dracula across the front line.
Slash!
A Lamia’s tail shot toward him — he wrapped Dracula in mana and sliced it clean off.
Squelch!
Sssskreee!!
The monster screamed in agony, writhing, and Woo Hyun stretched out his left arm.
Shoo—Splat!
Threads shot out from his palm — spider silk — striking the Lamia’s head. Woo Hyun yanked the thread, pulling himself toward it like a grappling hook.
Thud! Slash!
He rammed Dracula straight into its forehead and tore the blade upward, splitting its skull apart.
Screeeech!
The remaining three Lamias shrieked and launched a desperate final assault — escape was impossible thanks to the web skill he’d obtained from the Spider Queen’s Nest.
Tap-tap-tap!
Woo Hyun charged at the one in front and hurled Dracula.
Whoosh—Thud!
With his superhuman strength from body reinforcement, the Lamia couldn’t dodge — Dracula embedded itself in its head, killing it instantly.
Seeing the weapon leave his hand, the two remaining Lamias lunged.
Tug! Whoosh!
Woo Hyun grabbed the silk thread still attached to Dracula’s pommel and yanked — the sword flew back into his hand.
Catch.
<Blood Flame>
Fwoooosh!!!
He reignited the flames, blocking their advance, and swung Dracula twice in rapid succession.
Slash! Slash!
Thud—
The final two Lamias fell, their heads rolling away.
Woo Hyun then drove Dracula into one of the Lamia hearts lying nearby.
