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Chapter 7
The reply came instantly.
Yujin tapped the screen.
– Enhancement Sorcerer.
– Enhancement Sorcerer?
The response from the Sword Ghost sounded almost dumbfounded.
Even though it was a chat, the tone carried such a vivid emotion that Yujin could almost feel it directly.
– Do I look like I need something like enhancement right now?
– Then what do you need?
– …I can’t say.
‘Then how the hell am I supposed to fix it?’
Well, of course. The guy probably held nothing but swords his whole life. How would he know?
The Sword Ghost had been wielding a blade since before the Great Cataclysm. The guy’s brain was probably just another muscle.
– I may be an Enhancement Sorcerer, but whatever it is you need, I can help.
– And why should I trust you?
– You’re going to make me sign a silence contract anyway, aren’t you?
– ….
– Even if I fail, the only thing you’ll lose is a bit of time.
– Do you have any idea how precious that time is to me?
Damn, the guy was hard to please.
‘Well, I expected as much.’
The Sword Ghost had a notoriously terrible personality. Yujin hadn’t met him directly, but he knew someone who used to be close with the guy.
– That guy’s kind of dumb and slow, but he’s a good friend!
– Isn’t that basically an insult?
– Anyway! He’s hard to get close to at first, but once you’re in, he’s solid as a rock!
– The guy who ended up dying in a dungeon ‘cause he couldn’t use his sword?
– You wanna die? That sword was his life, okay?!
…Yujin wasn’t sure how much of that he could believe, but if that woman said he was a reliable ally, maybe it was true.
The man was the greatest swordsman in the world, so there had to be some truth to it.
‘Even if he’s not a lifelong ally, just using him for a year would be worth it.’
Even if he only passed down one sword skill, that alone made the Sword Ghost incredibly valuable.
‘So how do I reel him in?’
Yujin thought back.
– How’d I get close to him? Well… the guy’s kind of a weirdo. He really loves money.
– Money?
– Yeah. He was obsessed with saving time, because time is money to him. But he had one hobby.
– What was it?
– Gambling.
– …He was a gambling addict?
– No, not like that! He liked betting on his own skills—duels and competitions. He said that’s how he grew the most.
If there was one way to bait him now—
Then it would be this.
– Let’s make a bet. I’ll put 100 million won on it.
– 100 million? That’s it?
100 million won was a lot of money. But for an S-rank Sword Ghost? Chump change.
But—
– What, is 100 million too scary for you?
– …What did you just say?
That was enough to provoke him.
– I won’t even need much time. Surely 100 million is worth at least a sliver of your time? Fine. If that’s not enough—I’ll bet my life.
– …Are you suicidal?
– Doesn’t matter. So are you in, or not?
– Ha!
It was basically a dare.
Yujin’s words hit the Sword Ghost’s berserk button.
– Fine.
Good.
Got him.
– If I succeed in your task, I don’t need your toe-licking gratitude.
– Then just show up on time tomorrow. Or should I come to you?
– I’ll come.
– Tomorrow, 10 AM. Location is my hou—
“Ah, wait.”
Yujin stopped typing mid-sentence.
“…Where did I live again?”
Damn it.
He held his head in his hands.
No matter how good your memory, remembering where you lived five years ago wasn’t easy.
Especially when he kept moving the moment he got more money, thinking houses were the only luxury he could afford.
‘Damn it. I really shouldn’t have done that.’
Wasted money, that’s all that was.
No choice now.
– Steel Sword Dojo. You know the place, right?
– Wasn’t that place shut down?
– That’s why we’re going.
The Steel Sword Dojo.
To be precise, the former dojo.
Now, it was a wreck, ruined by multiple monster attacks and long since abandoned.
Lack of budget meant no one even tried to rebuild it.
‘Perfect bait.’
– Tomorrow, 10 AM. Steel Sword Dojo.
“Ha!”
The Sword Ghost laughed at the message summary.
“What kind of lunatic is this?”
Location wasn’t the issue.
Still in Seoul. One car ride and he could be there.
But—
‘He doesn’t even know what I need done, yet he bets 100 million and his life? Is he just a keyboard warrior?’
The kind of guy who gets brave behind a screen.
Probably.
‘Almost certainly. This is a waste of time.’
Normally, the Sword Ghost would have ignored it.
But—
‘Why the Steel Sword Dojo?’
He could’ve said his house. A sauna. A dungeon. Anywhere.
But this mysterious chatter specifically mentioned the Steel Sword Dojo.
A name with suspiciously bad taste.
But for the Sword Ghost, it struck a nerve.
Because it was the very dojo his parents had run—the place where he was born and raised.
‘I need to find out why he picked that place.’
Even if it was a coincidence.
‘…Not much time left.’
He looked down at his beloved sword.
A family heirloom left by his now-deceased father.
– Son. This is a very special sword. A real one. Not like the ones we usually use. Take care of it.
– I will, Dad!
Bigreed.
He remembered the original name was something like “Gwangsancheommado.”
But after the Great Cataclysm, upon his awakening, it was renamed.
Rank: S.
The very weapon that let him climb to where he was today.
But now…
Screech. Clunk.
[This sword is currently unusable for unknown reasons.]
[It cannot perform its intended function.]
[Durability: 10/100]
One of the sword’s ornaments fell off, now dull and stone-like.
It happened after visiting the A-rank dungeon: Grave of Swords.
[‘Bigreed’ absorbs the swords buried in the Grave of Swords.]
Since that message, the sword had stopped functioning, as if turned to stone.
He tried to use it anyway, but it just drained durability.
Repairing it barely raised the bar. It could break at any time.
If it did—
‘I’d have no face to see my father again.’
So the Sword Ghost had stopped all activity, investing money and connections into restoring the blade.
But no one could fix it.
‘Even the so-called greatest blacksmith in the world failed.’
Without Bigreed, the Sword Ghost was incomplete.
More than that, he was someone who had failed to carry on his family’s legacy.
People told him he was stupid—why obsess over a sword?
But to the man himself, who loved his family dearly, the sword was beyond value.
‘I hope he’s not a fraud.’
He sheathed the sword, tapping the hilt.
If the guy wasn’t a con man—
If he really could fix it—
‘I’d lick his toes if I had to.’
He meant it.
…Though he really wasn’t into guys.
‘Been a while since I came here.’
After a nap in a nearby sauna, Yujin looked around.
The area was so devastated it was hard to believe it was still Seoul.
‘Still no plans to clean this place up, huh.’
The appearance of dungeons and monsters had left deep scars.
Not just lost lives, but destroyed homes and neighborhoods.
Some were just obliterated.
This place was a prime example—too many dungeons, so rebuilding was abandoned.
‘Ironically, it’ll become one of the safest places later.’
Dungeons weren’t infinite. After a certain number spawn, they stop appearing in that region.
North Korea was an exception, but that’s another story.
Step.
He walked through the familiar yet alien landscape.
“Still a dump.”
He entered the building with a missing roof.
At its center stood the Sword Ghost, in a black coat, sword at his waist, radiating immense pressure.
‘So that’s the Sword Ghost.’
First time seeing him in real life.
The woman never shut up about him.
Yujin nodded.
“You must be the anonymous client?”
“That’s me.”
“What do you want fixed?”
“First—”
Flap.
A paper fluttered toward Yujin. He caught it midair.
“Sign the contract first.”
“Sure.”
A Silence Contract.
A consumable item that cost around ten million won per sheet.
Rich people and top hunters often used them.
‘Pretty sloppy, though.’
Even this contract had exploitable flaws.
Some clauses could be circumvented with strength.
Like not disclosing identities or discussing the job.
‘So I can talk around it.’
Yujin scanned for every loophole, then signed.
The paper glowed.
[A contract has been established between ‘Sword Ghost’ and ‘Han Yujin’.]
“All set.”
“Fix this.”
Whoosh!
The sword flew toward him. Yujin caught it, carefully drawing the dulled gray blade.
‘Oh? This is…’
A familiar sword.
‘No need to analyze it then.’
He was planning to ask for a skill like “Analyze” or “Appraisal,” but he didn’t need it anymore.
“Sword Ghost.”
“…You know me?”
“Is there any hunter in Korea who doesn’t? Maybe some foreigner who looks down on East Asians, sure.”
Yujin stared him down, holding the sword.
“You want to know why this sword broke—or rather, why it froze?”
“…!”
The Sword Ghost’s eyes widened.
He had never shared anything about the sword.
Most people would’ve just assumed it was damaged.
“Can you fix it?”
“Of course not.”
“…What?”
The Sword Ghost frowned, but Yujin stayed calm.
Few could remain composed in front of an S-rank hunter. It meant he was confident.
The Sword Ghost sighed.
“This sword isn’t broken. It froze because it absorbed too much power.”
“…Meaning?”
“It went past its limit and shut down. So we just have to raise that limit.”
Grin.
Yujin smiled, radiating confidence.
But the Sword Ghost still looked puzzled.
“Raise the limit?”
“Yeah. Every weapon has a natural limit. You know what I mean, right?”
“…I do.”
A wooden chopstick, no matter how sharp, was still soft and weak.
Everything had a built-in ceiling.
And there was only one way to break through that—
‘And I’m the one who can do it.’
Yujin—more precisely, his job as a Soulbound Enhancement Sorcerer.
He could use souls to enhance any piece of equipment.
“I’ll break this sword’s limits for you.”
His crimson-glowing eyes locked onto the Sword Ghost.
The man unconsciously swallowed.
‘He looks younger than me… How?’
Sword Ghost.
The man who slew countless monsters and overcame endless killing intent.
But those eyes…
They were deeper and darker than even his.
“You.”
Yujin asked, still with that piercing gaze—
“What can you give me in return?”
