That day, I made only a few Standard series items with a moderate amount of monster materials mixed in, then rested.
With Ordinary Crafting, I might end up with muscle pain, but my head had never hurt before.
After using Special Crafting, however, my mental energy was drained far more than expected.
Well, it was probably because I had used Special Crafting too many times at once.
From now on, I would have to refrain from using Special Crafting repeatedly.
The next day.
After finishing breakfast.
“I will go hunting right away.”
“I will be counting on you!”
After Serin went out to hunt.
As a warm-up for my hands, I picked out some materials Serin had brought back that I had never seen before and tried making a few items.
[ Crafting is complete. ][ Crafting Evaluation: A ][ You have obtained ‘Hard Bone Club’. ]
For instance, I carefully shaped a Skeleton’s femur and made a club.
[ Crafting is complete. ][ Crafting Evaluation: S ][ You have obtained ‘Frog Shoes’. ]
Or I used materials from a Bubble Frog to make shoes with the ‘Leap’ ability.
As I used various materials to create various items like this, I felt as if creativity was welling up inside me.
After finishing my warm-up.
“Now, shall I begin?”
I decided to get started in earnest on the core task I had to do today.
A commission.
And I had already decided which commission I would accept.
Before carrying it out, I checked the commission I had chosen yesterday once more.
The title of the message was.
[ Are you, by any chance, Steel Hammer from Final Gate……? ]
That was it.
An Awakened who knew me from when I had been a Blacksmith in Final Gate.
Even the nickname was.
[ Whip Master ]
It was a name I knew too.
That made sense, because Whip Master had been one of my regular customers.
Not only had I often made his items for him, but whenever I requested materials I needed, he was the one who obtained them for me first.
Feeling a sense of familiarity, I checked the contents.
[ Are you, by any chance, Steel Hammer from Final Gate……? ]
I do not know whether you remember me, but I am Whip Master!
If you really are Steel Hammer, then truly, truly congratulations!
To think you Awakened as the world’s first Blacksmith!
If so, perhaps Final Gate and Awakening really are connected somehow.
Actually, I Awakened too.
And I Awakened as a Whipmaster, the same class as my main character in Final Gate.
My ability also Awakened in relation to whips, but…… I am in a difficult situation because I cannot obtain a proper whip.
That was what it said.
To summarize, he had changed class into a Whipmaster, but it was difficult for him to obtain a whip.
That was the meaning.
After reading the commission details, I checked the Exchange, and there were indeed very few whips listed.
In particular, most whips were designed for high-level users, so low-level Awakened were in a situation where even obtaining a low-grade weapon was difficult.
“That must be troublesome.”
In any case, to think Whip Master had also Awakened when Final Gate ended.
It made me remember a chat message someone had sent before the game ended.
‘Looking at this, when the game ends, people are going to Awaken with their game abilities. haha’
At this point, perhaps I should have made a pilgrimage to that holy site.
But since the server had shut down, even that was impossible.
In any case, as a fellow Final Gate user.
And as a user I had been fairly close to.
I chose this commission in order to help Whip Master, who was currently in difficulty.
I was also interested because I had not made a single whip since Awakening.
“It is a pity. A whip is not a weapon in my Codex either.”
From what I read, it seemed he had Awakened quite a good ability.
But because it happened to be related to whips, he seemed unable to fully display his strength.
[ Using the Special Crafting skill. ][ Please draw the blueprint for the specially crafted item. ]
I immediately began drafting the blueprint.
This was not very difficult.
How many whips had I made for Whip Master?
I recalled my experience from Final Gate and compared the appearance of Final Gate’s items with the appearance of real-world whips.
[ Blueprint complete. ]
Then I implemented a suitable blueprint.
[ Please select the materials. ]
After the blueprint, the next most important thing was the materials.
If it had been before, I would have had only iron and wood, so I would have had to make something like an iron-wire whip or a chain whip.
But those were too heavy to be weapons a low-level Awakened could use.
Even if I made one, apart from the level requirement, it would certainly end up with an absurd restriction like ‘Strength 50 or higher.’
However.
[ Giant Field Mouse Tail ][ Three-tailed Fox Hide ][ Venomous Spider Web ]…….
That was not the case for me now.
[ Your level has increased. ]
Even at this very moment, Serin was slaughtering enemies in the hunting ground.
Beside me, the monster materials she had brought back were piled high.
Not only had their types become far more varied, but as the monsters in the hunting ground grew stronger, the quality of the materials had also improved.
In any case, the materials I chose from among them were.
[ Giant Field Mouse Tail ][ Rough Scaled Snake Hide ]
These.
I did add other basic materials as well, but these two were the core.
After finishing the material selection.
[ Crafting begins. ]
CLANG!
I immediately entered the crafting process.
First was the handle.
I did not use any special material for the handle and made it from ordinary wood.
Instead, I wrapped suitable leather around the handle to keep it from slipping.
Next.
CLANG!
I used the Field Mouse’s tail as the core, the inner spine that could be called the whip’s framework, and connected it to the handle.
A whip was not something that could be made simply by twisting leather together.
In order to increase a whip’s elasticity and durability, it needed a proper core at its center.
Of course, the Field Mouse’s tail was not long enough to serve as the whip’s core.
CLANG!
But as I swung the hammer.
And as I shattered the Points.
The Giant Field Mouse’s tail grew thinner and longer, stretching into a form suited to the whip’s core.
Next.
CLANG!
I wrapped ‘Rough Scaled Snake Hide’ around the tail that had become the whip’s framework.
With the scales still attached.
In reality, such a thing would not work, but were Awakened not beings already far removed from reality?
The same went for me.
Even without my personally weaving the leather.
Each time I swung the hammer, the Scaled Snake’s hide naturally wove itself over the framework.
CLANG!
I was explaining it easily, but it was not actually an easy task.
Because it was Special Crafting, the mental energy consumption was high, and the Points felt as rough as the Rough Scaled Snake’s scales, making them difficult to strike.
Even so, thinking of my connection with Whip Master, I swung the hammer with all my effort.
CLANG!
Finally, the tip of the whip.
For the part called the fall or cracker, the part that actually delivered the strike, I used the tail section of the Scaled Snake, which was made of especially large and sharp scales.
Then.
[ Crafting is complete. ][ Crafting Evaluation: S ][ You have obtained ‘Rough Scaled Tail’. ]
Thankfully, I was able to finish it with an S-grade evaluation.
It was a pity that SS-grade had not appeared as it had when I made Serin’s bow, but Serin’s bow had been special.
I would have to be satisfied that this received an S-grade rather than an A-grade.
Still.
[ A Masterpiece has been born. ][ A Masterpiece created with all your heart and soul has been completed. Through the inspiration gained from it, your stats increase. ][ Strength increases by 1. ][ Agility increases by 1. ]
Since a Masterpiece had been created, I thought it would be better than most items and checked its information.
[ Rough Scaled Tail ]Form: WhipGrade: SRequirement: Level 5 or higher, WhipmasterDescription: A whip created by the Blacksmith Jang Gang-cheol, inspired by Final Gate and crafted to fully preserve the scales of the Rough Scaled Snake.Attack Power: 49Abilities: Bleeding Lv 2, Fatal Lv 2, Interception Lv 2, Ferocity Lv 2
An item exactly to my liking had been made.
For the requirements, I had matched Whip Master’s level and class.
Its attack power was also measured higher than that of existing S-grade weapons.
And the abilities attached to it were perfectly suited to a whip.
With this, Whip Master should be able to fully display his true skill.
Thinking that.
[ This is Steel Hammer. ]
This is the whip you commissioned.
And…… it is good to see you again.
Whip Master.
I sent ‘Rough Scaled Tail’ to Whip Master.
It was the first time I had made a special item for someone other than myself and Serin.
Still, we were both from Final Gate.
I sent the item with the hope that things would go well for both of us.
Of course, I still received the commission fee properly.
***
The Mir Guild, one of the massive guilds of the Republic of Korea.
The Mir Guild regularly held entrance exams in order to find talented Awakened.
And only the person who won there could join the Mir Guild.
Whether someone was an acquaintance of an existing member or whether they were popular.
Such things did not matter in the slightest.
A place where only those who proved their skill and potential in the entrance exam could enter.
That was the Mir Guild.
And today was precisely.
“We will now begin the Mir Guild entrance exam.”
“Ooooooh!”
“I have been waiting for this day!”
“Today, it is definitely going to be me!”
It was the day of that entrance exam.
When it came to the Mir Guild, it was a massive guild recognized even in the Republic of Korea.
As such, the number of participants was enormous.
All of them were doing their utmost to show even a little more of their strength.
Because if they won here, not only could they join the Mir Guild, but if they made a good impression here, there was a high chance they would have their skill recognized and receive an offer to join a good guild.
After all, it was not only the Mir Guild watching the entrance exam.
In the middle of that.
There was one person who was especially drawing people’s attention.
“A whip?”
“How unusual.”
“Indeed. It has been a long time since I saw an Awakened who uses a whip.”
“Even if they do exist, handling a weapon like a whip is no easy matter.”
Participant number 100.
He was an Awakened named Chae Jin-ho.
Fair enough. Most of the participants were swinging swords or spears, or using magic.
Since he alone was swinging a whip, it was only natural that he stood out.
If that had been all, they might have simply thought it was interesting and moved on.
However.
“His skill is considerable.”
“This is the first time I have seen an Awakened handle a whip that well.”
“Is it an additional effect of his ability? Something like ‘Whip Proficiency,’ perhaps.”
“I do not think so. It seems separate from his ability.”
“Impressive. There may be correction from the Whipmaster class, but even so, to handle a whip that well.”
Participant number 100.
Chae Jin-ho’s whip arts were not merely interesting.
CRACK—!!
First of all, they were powerful.
When the whip was swung, its tip broke through the speed of sound and released a sharp crack through the air.
Together with that, those struck by the whip were sent flying as if they had been hit by a cannon.
The attack power of the weapon itself was high.
But a whip was also a weapon that, if used properly, could produce several times more power than other weapons.
And that was not all.
WHIRR!
A whip was not a weapon that was merely powerful.
“Gasp!”
Binding an opponent with the whip.
Hooking their legs and tripping them.
Wrapping the whip around terrain features such as stones or around other Awakened, then swinging or throwing them.
It boasted tremendous versatility.
It even had long range.
The difficulty of handling it was the problem, but if one could handle it well, there was no weapon quite as good.
Watching him.
“Impressive.”
“Haha, is that man the star of this exam?”
“Ahem. Perhaps I should not say this, but I must hope he does not win.”
Those who had come from guilds other than the Mir Guild grew tense.
The Mir Guild accepted only the winner.
If that participant failed to win, they had to bring him into their own guild somehow.
Because even at a glance, that man was clearly a rookie who would shoulder the next generation.
Unfortunately.
“The winner is participant number 100! It is Chae Jin-ho!”
Chae Jin-ho seized victory.
At that, those who had come from other guilds let out sighs of regret.
Well, in truth, it was only natural.
Chae Jin-ho had already become known among the participants as someone too powerful to face, a target to avoid.
And so, Chae Jin-ho joined one of the Republic of Korea’s massive guilds.
The Mir Guild.
At the Mir Guild’s induction ceremony.
“What do you think was the reason you were able to win the entrance exam?”
To the reporter’s question directed at Chae Jin-ho.
A promising talent of the Mir Guild who would lead the era.
Instead of elevating his own skill.
“I think it was thanks to Steel Hammer, who made a whip just for me so that I could freely display my ability.”
Chae Jin-ho spoke Steel Hammer’s name.