Regression of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 07

========== REGRESSION OF THE TRANSCENDENT BLACKSMITH CHAPTER 7 ==========

Tae-ho stared intently at the egg.

It was true that he had expected a special reward, but receiving an egg was unexpected.

At the same time, it fell far short of his expectations.

“Are you telling me to use this as a pet?”

Tae-ho’s tone returned to casual speech.

Tae-ho also knew about pets.

Among the Awakened classes, there were Tamers, Spiritists, and Druids.

Since these classes carried beasts or spirits around like pets, pets themselves were not exactly unfamiliar entities.

However, no matter how good a pet was, it was hard to compare it to a Hero-grade item.

But for some reason, at the mention of a pet, Arimir’s hair stood on end, and she was seething with anger.

“What? A pet?! How dare you-!”

Arimir, who had been raising her voice, flinched.

Currently, Tae-ho was the only one who could take the egg out of the Tutorial.

Of course, there was a slim chance that another Awakened might succeed in clearing it later.

But no matter how strong they were, it was clear they wouldn’t be as strong as Tae-ho.

Besides-

‘Phew. Let’s hold it in. He’s a child who possessed that much mental strength and patience. He just said it because he didn’t know what it was.’

Having watched Tae-ho’s actions, Arimir could vaguely sense what kind of human Tae-ho was.

A child who made the impossible possible with absurd, new methods.

And a child who could trust his own choices and walk that path while enduring for six months.

Although, the only flaw was that he was just as arrogant.

Perhaps because she had only seen him being nervous around her, the administrator, that kind of confidence wasn’t bad either.

‘I want to tell him everything, but…’

This egg was a secret that Arimir had brought with her, having deceived even the Tower’s system.

The moment the egg’s identity was revealed.

Not only would she be unable to take the egg out, but she and the egg would have to pay a huge price.

Arimir cleared her throat and relaxed her angry expression.

Trying to speak as gently as possible, Arimir persuaded Tae-ho.

“Just because it’s an egg doesn’t mean only a pet will come out, does it? I assure you, this egg will be a great help in your future.”

“Nonsense. Then what would come out of an egg if not a pet? A weapon?”

“You insolent brat-!!”

At Tae-ho’s cynical reply, Arimir’s suppressed anger exploded.

Her control slipped, and her surging Qi made Arimir’s hair shoot up into the sky.

“You wicked boy! Do you think this is just some ordinary egg! This egg is my-”

Arimir, who was shouting in anger, stopped abruptly.

Blood flowed from the nose of the wide-eyed Arimir.

Arimir, moving her eyes as if reading something while scanning the air, let out a deep sigh.

‘How can I persuade this child? How…’

When Arimir was choked up and agonizing over it with a frustrated and urgent heart.

Tae-ho, who had been watching Arimir quietly, opened his mouth.

“I don’t know what it is, but it seems important to you. Do you want me to take the egg that badly?”

“…!”

Arimir, hit right on the mark, made a guilty expression.

Seeing the reaction, Tae-ho nodded.

“I guess I’m right. Understood. I will accept the egg as my reward.”

“Really?”

Arimir’s face brightened.

However, Tae-ho wasn’t making that choice to help Arimir out of the goodness of his heart.

Just as Arimir had a purpose, Tae-ho also had his own purpose.

“But there is a condition.”

“A condition?”

Arimir’s expression crumpled.

She was very displeased that he dared to set a condition for her, the administrator.

But since she was the one who needed something right now, Arimir nodded.

“Understood. However, it must be something I can do.”

“Of course. I’ve already confirmed that you can do it, so you don’t need to worry.”

“You’ve tried it?”

Arimir was puzzled.

Until now, she had only watched Tae-ho as an administrator.

She had never compromised fairness by giving Tae-ho special treatment.

Instead of answering, Tae-ho held out an object to Arimir.

Recognizing the object, Arimir’s eyes widened, and her jaw dropped.

“You, you, you…!”

“You know what I’m asking for, right?”

As if to say let’s get this over with quickly, Tae-ho held the core in his hand closer.

Arimir’s eyes, which had grown as big as saucers, trembled with shock.

[You have selected your Tutorial clear reward.]

[Once the selection is confirmed, it cannot be reversed.]

[Do you really wish to take the ⌜Unknown Egg⌟ as your reward?]

“Yes.”

Tae-ho answered without hesitation.

[The ⌜Unknown Egg⌟ is granted as your Tutorial reward.]

Having confirmed the message that he had received the reward, Tae-ho turned to look at Arimir.

“That’s it.”

“Yes…. Then take it.”

Arimir, whose face had become gaunt from having her Qi sucked out by the core, nodded with a tired expression.

Tae-ho looked at the core Arimir was handing over with a subtle gaze.

“Can’t you do it one more time before I go?”

At that blatant pressure, the gaunt Arimir trembled.

This tenacious and tiresome guy!

“There’s nothing left to squeeze out, so stop it!”

“It’s fine. I can wait until there’s something to squeeze out.”

“You’ll starve to death before my Qi recovers!”

Arimir raised her voice, pointing a finger at Tae-ho, who had become as emaciated as she was.

Although he had asked out of greed, as she said, Tae-ho was also reaching his limit.

‘True. Since starting the Tutorial, I haven’t even been able to drink the core’s coolant. Any more than this, and I could be in danger.’

At her reasonable words, Tae-ho gave up his greed.

He had gone through all the trouble of clearing the Tutorial to gain such a fortuitous encounter.

If he starved to death inside the Tutorial because of greed, there would be nothing more pathetic than that.

Besides, even just this was a huge harvest.

The Qi he obtained from Arimir was a reward far more valuable than 100 million Hero-grade items.

Having given up, Tae-ho tucked the core into his arms.

Arimir, who had been narrowing her eyes and keeping her hair on end in case he said something else, felt relieved.

“You tenacious brat… Here. It’s your Tutorial reward. Take good care of it.”

Arimir handed over the egg.

Tae-ho, holding the egg in his arms, bowed his head.

“Thank you for your hard work. I’ll be going now.”

Having received everything he needed, Tae-ho bowed formally to Arimir and moved his feet.

Just then, Arimir called out to Tae-ho, who was trying to leave through the system.

“Child. What will you use the power you’ve gained for?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to use it to climb the Tower.”

Tae-ho looked at Arimir with eyes that seemed to ask what kind of useless question she was asking.

Arimir, who had a strange expression at Tae-ho’s answer, raised her index finger.

“Then I will give you one piece of advice regarding climbing the Tower.”

“What advice?”

Tae-ho showed interest.

No matter how strange her behavior was, Arimir was the administrator of the Tutorial Tower.

The advice Arimir gave might turn out to be a surprisingly big help.

At Tae-ho’s obedient reaction, Arimir’s expression softened.

“In the future, while climbing the Tower, you will face many dangerous moments, and your heart will become urgent. However, do not be pushed by that heart and try to climb only quickly. If you listen to the stories of those you meet while climbing the Tower and observe them as you ascend… you will be able to walk a different path.”

“Others inside the Tower? Do you mean the other races I meet there?”

Tae-ho was surprised by the unexpected advice.

Every country had a time limit for clearing the Tower.

If one climbed quickly and gained fame, they could also gain great wealth.

Above all, the other races met inside the Tower were treated like NPCs in a game by the challengers.

But to walk the opposite path of giving up clearing time to act for them?

Feeling Tae-ho’s doubt, Arimir smiled bitterly.

“You won’t understand now. However….”

Arimir finished her words, staring at Tae-ho with a more serious expression than ever.

“Keep this in mind. Just rushing to climb is merely spinning your wheels. You will eventually face a limit.”

“…Face a limit.”

Tae-ho ruminated on Arimir’s advice.

Arimir’s advice was contrary to the common sense he knew.

But Tae-ho could tell.

That there wasn’t a shred of malice or deception in the words Arimir was saying to him.

“Understood. I will remember your advice.”

“Yes. Then go safely. And… please take good care of that child as well.”

Arimir looked at the egg with a longing gaze.

Tae-ho, who read the bitterness and affection deeply floating in Arimir’s eyes, was puzzled.

‘Was it a pet she cherished? If so, she didn’t have to give it to me.’

Having received plenty of Qi from Arimir, Tae-ho was about to say he would return the egg, but soon changed his mind.

Right now, every bit of strength was precious.

He didn’t know what would come out of this egg, but if it was a pet, he would be able to get at least a little help.

Tae-ho’s body slowly floated up.

Tae-ho’s floating body disappeared in an instant as if it had never existed, just like when he came to the Tutorial.

Only Arimir remained alone at the top of the wide Tutorial Tower.

Arimir closed her eyes.

The time she had spent with the egg she had been hiding and nurturing for a long time came to mind.

That egg had finally left her arms completely.

It was a complex feeling where relief and a sense of loss, sadness and joy were swirling all at once.

“Forgive this mother who had no choice but to do this. I pray that your path ahead is filled only with blessings. My child.”

Arimir’s farewell, with no one to hear it, hovered in the air and then scattered.

Growl-!!

“Ugh.”

As soon as he came out of the Tutorial and arrived in his room, a tremendous sound came from Tae-ho’s stomach.

It felt like his empty stomach and intestines were screaming for him to bring food immediately.

Tae-ho, who hurriedly opened the refrigerator, filled his stomach by choosing only the softest things to eat.

It was dangerous because if he ate something greasy suddenly just because he was hungry, he could get sick.

Only after filling his stomach did Tae-ho, whose tension had relaxed, lie flat on the floor.

Satisfaction and pride were deeply etched on Tae-ho’s face.

Tutorial Tower clear success.

The achievement that no one in the past had ever accomplished was a perfect first step after his regression.

‘What’s left is what kind of class I’ll receive.’

As soon as he thought of it, as if reading his mind, numerous message windows popped up in front of Tae-ho’s eyes.

Tae-ho scanned the contents of the messages with expectant eyes.

[Checking the Awakened’s potential based on their actions in the Tutorial.]

[You have created new possibilities with the extraordinary idea of making items yourself.]

[Despite having no class, you demonstrated tremendous crafting ability.]

[You completed an outstanding work that is hard to believe was made in such a poor environment.]

[You suppressed all enemies with overwhelming ability.]

[You overcame the limitation of not being able to use Qi and succeeded in clearing it.]

[Your class has been determined by integrating your performance in the Tutorial Tower and the Awakened’s potential.]

Once all evaluations were finished, a message finally appeared stating that his class had been determined.

All the message windows that had popped up chaotically disappeared.

A single message window appeared before the tense Tae-ho’s eyes.

[Congratulations. Your class is War-smith.]

“…What? Smith? A blacksmith?”

Tae-ho’s eyes widened at the unexpected result.

To be continued in the next chapter ▶