Chapter 3

01. A Hidden Piece in a Clear Sky (3)

'SS-grade item and S-grade characteristic.'

My mouth went dry at the once-in-a-lifetime choice. Whichever I chose, it was clear that a bright future awaited.

If I sold the SS-grade item, I could earn enough money to last a lifetime. How many weapons of this grade even exist?

C-grade equipment can fetch millions, so there's no doubt about an SS-grade item.

This was an opportunity to settle down and live a carefree life, away from the perilous hunter lifestyle.

On the other hand, the characteristic, whose purpose was unclear just by its name, had the potential to be a hit or miss.

"But..."

For some reason, my heart leaned towards the characteristic evolution.

'If I get an S-grade characteristic, I could make items like Carlos, right?'

Just by having a characteristic that buffs my equipment, I received better treatment than other hunters, who found it rare.

The world's only S-grade crafting characteristic. If I honed it properly, I could live a life of luxury. Perhaps, I might even earn more money than from equipment.

It might not be as useful as I think, but it was worth a try.

"It seems you've made your decision."

"Yes. Please take care of me, Master."

"Huh, you're bold. Follow me."

***

After my apprenticeship began, the first thing I realized was that Carlos was not a particularly kind teacher. They say geniuses lack the talent to teach, and he was the epitome of that.

From the day I became his disciple, Carlos had me observe his work.

Pouring molten metal into molds, hammering, engraving mana circuits. His skills were almost magical.

Carlos' forge, a special field I had never seen before, was fascinating. Fire burned without wood, and all kinds of minerals were present, with flames adorning the ceiling. It felt like I had entered another world.

But after a few days, the novelty wore off, and I grew bored.

"Carlos, Carlos. Master! Say something, please."

"Come and observe properly."

"But how can I understand just by looking?"

"Don't just look with your eyes; read the flow of mana. Then you'll understand."

I don't understand anything.

"Because geniuses are..."

Carlos must have heard my muttering because he smacked the back of my head.

"Ouch! I thought my neck would break! I'm only C-grade!"

If you hit me so hard, I'll get hurt!

I shouted half in jest and half in earnest, but he ignored me.

Well, despite my complaints, it wasn't a bad time.

Carlos was gruff and never explained anything properly, but being surrounded by rare items and serving him was enjoyable in its own way.

Had I ever had such leisure during my hunter life? It was a bit painful to use up all my leave, but I was grateful for this time.

***

About two weeks after we started living together, Carlos suddenly declared:

"Jaho, you can go back now."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I've shown you everything I can."

I whined that I hadn't learned anything yet, but Carlos was firm.

To prevent me from clinging on, he quickly pushed me out of the house. He even gave me a basket of cookies I liked.

'Can't even cry about how heartless he is with this.'

In the end, I waved with the basket in my arms.

"Master, stay healthy! I'll come back!"

Carlos slammed the door without a word.

I know he's not as cold as he pretends to be. I munched on the cookies he gave me as I walked toward the square.

'From now on, a golden path will open up!'

I might not be as skilled as Carlos, but I have talent, right? I felt an unwarranted confidence.

'Besides, there's the system. There's no way I can fail.'

Just like I became a master archer overnight without ever holding a bow, with this characteristic, I could become a seasoned blacksmith.

I'll start by trying it out on C-grade weapons. Then I'll sell them and build a reputation...! My heart swelled like a freshly baked loaf of bread.

'Goodbye, ordinary C-grade dealer Yun Jaho! From today, I'm S-grade!'

The days when I was looked down upon as a C-grade dealer flashed through my mind. No one will be able to ignore me now.

"Even those arrogant S-grades will regret it when they see me."

With the talent Carlos recognized and this characteristic, I had nothing to fear. I couldn't stop smiling at the bright future ahead.

***

"I had to. I had to!"

In a room filled with acrid gray smoke, the remnants of exploded items rolled around.

The beginning was grand, but the end was tragic.

Breaking six C-grade pieces of equipment. The thought of the money wasted made me unable to calm down.

"That damn failure penalty!"

Unable to contain my frustration, I pounded the floor.

"Surely it's not another scam contract... No, that can't be it."

With trembling hands, I held the C-grade item, the Ruby Staff. It was the last weapon I had.

"At least I still have this."

Since I drew the sword, I had to cut the grass. Licking my dry lips, I channeled mana into the staff.

"This time, it has to work!"

'God, Buddha, any deity out there, please help me!'

– Innate: Pure (B), Deep (C), Solid (E)

– Acquired: Not selectable

"I'll apply 'Solid.'"

I closed my eyes tightly and chose the lowest-grade effect.

After failing six times, my confidence was at rock bottom. Surely, even an E-grade wouldn't fail, right?

"Enchant!"

Please, please...!

A gray light enveloped the staff. Then, with a bang, smoke rose from the staff.

After seven failures, all I had left was a soot-covered staff.

Fuming, I threw the staff onto the bed.

"What's the point of having an S-grade skill if I can't use it!"

My already small and cute bank balance became even more pitiful. I had bought the equipment, thinking it was an investment in a rosy future, but now...

"Why is this one still intact?"

I approached the bed and caressed the soot-covered staff.

'Well, at least this one wasn't destroyed. The Tower is still the Tower.'

But the more I thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.

When I got the S-grade characteristic, I thought a bright future awaited. Not just any S-grade characteristic, but a skill to permanently enhance equipment.

What a bright future. I thought a golden path would be laid out for me.

"I didn't expect it to turn out like this."

I must have been blinded by the S-grade characteristic and missed the most important information.

I thought just activating the skill would be enough, but what a disaster.

'I should have chosen the item instead of the characteristic evolution!'

Thinking about the moment of choice made me want to cry.

When I was at Carlos' house, I was too busy serving him to check my status screen.

After a series of failures, I accidentally opened my status screen and realized a new item had been added.

"Open status screen."

Player Name: Yun Jaho

Overall Evaluation: C

– Health: 27 (+13)

– Strength: 30 (+7)

– Mana: 45 (+22)

– Agility: 36 (+19)

– Dexterity: 3

Characteristics: Eternal Blessing (S), Marksman (C)

– Additional Skills: Enchant (S), Explorer's Eye (A), Bow Assistant (C) ...

※ Some additional skills of the current characteristic 'Eternal Blessing (S)' cannot be viewed.

(Viewing condition: 1 successful Enchant)

I had seen my status screen countless times since becoming a hunter, so I quickly noticed the new 'Dexterity' item.

The brilliant value of 3 for Dexterity. In terms of grade, it was less than F.

Swinging a sword increased my strength, and taking hits increased my health. I even tried folding 100 paper cranes and knitting, but my Dexterity stat remained unchanged.

And what was even more curious was:

"What's Item Understanding?"

– Your item has a special power. (Slots: 5)

– The power of the blessing is enhanced by the master's teachings. The item is permanently imbued with a special power.

(The success rate increases proportionally with Item Understanding and Dexterity.)

I scoured Towers.com but found no information on these two items. I had heard that information about crafting hunters was kept secret, but I didn't expect it to be this bad.

It seemed I had made a serious mistake.