Chapter 59 059

It was only yesterday that Seojin found out how to make exclusive gear. He used the auto-sorting function in his inventory and realized that the adamantine was located in a weird spot. Adamantine was an ore, so it needed to be placed alongside other miscellaneous items, but it was located right next to his noble-looking attire.

'Why is it here? Because it's a metal of God?'

Seojin didn't think much of it at first as it was such a rare item that it could be treated differently. However, he was convinced that wasn't the case the moment he showed it to Trail.

"Oh, my God! I never thought I'd see this kind of ore in my life… where the hell did you get it?"

"If I could melt it, I could make equipment that's only for you, ah, too bad."

"We can't melt that ore with our capabilities! What a shame!"

Those words were the final strike to the nail. Seojin already felt that no matter how active the NPCs were, they always said the exact lines that the devs fed them, which meant the NPCs were bound to say such things when a character with a hidden class brought adamantine to them.

'…How far ahead have the devs planned? I'm almost scared now.'

Seojin already suspected that even the most absurd coincidences he experienced were actually all part of the dev's plan, and that was now proven.

'It's as if… Well, it's not bad for me.'

Even now, Seojin had only one piece of gear apart from the newbie-level stuff he received at the start. The elegant garment that would make him look like a noble.

'What if I made some equipment using this adamantine? I must be able to forge something better than anything I've ever received.'

"Here it is. Try not to drop it."

Acquired: Extracted Divine Power (???)

Seojin received a diamond flask from Jeriel that contained the condensed energy. The question marks next to it meant the quantity could not be indicated because it was extracted from adamantine.

"Thank y—"

Seojin noticed that Jeriel was acting weird right before he turned around. His posture was awkward and dubious.

"…Jeriel?"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"Why do you look so nerv… Oh."

Seojin's eyes landed on the molten adamantine behind Jeriel, left on the workbench now that all of its energy had been extracted.

"It's because of that, isn't it?"

Adamantine was no different from any common rock without the power within it. However, it still had a mysterious orange glow to it and of course, the alchemist could not suppress his academic curiosity.

"Are you going to do more research on that?"

"I-I would appreciate it if you'd let me. In fact, there are still a lot of things to be uncovered, and the guild's alchemists are also very interested… "

Jeriel murmured desperately to persuade Seojin.

"Of course, I know that it's not something you can just buy with money… but, Seojin, if you do this old alchemist a favor, I will show you my utmost sincerity."

"You're not that old."

"My agony will make me age drastically if I can't research this, so, please…"

Seojin stared at Jeriel, who almost looked like he was going to cry, for a moment.

'I was just going to hand it over, it's worthless and unnecessary anyway.'

However, Seojin thought it wasn't proper to refuse the gift that he was willing to give in return.

"You may use it for research. You're requesting it as the guild master of Erze… Dunkehr's Alchemy Guild. Am I right?"

"Of course! Oh, I'll do it again. May I purchase the adamantine in your possession for research purposes?"

"How much are you willing to give me?"

"…Just name it. I'll get a loan if I can't meet your demands. Of course, I'll use the Alchemy Guild's funds first. More than ninety percent of the guild members agreed on this."

Jeriel might have been an accomplished alchemist, but he was the worst negotiator. He was doing everything that a man shouldn't do when visiting a market, from exposing his eagerness to buy the item to practically handing over a blank check.

'He's not lying. He would definitely go and get a loan. It's not like he would gain anything from the empty husk either… I don't feel like I'm robbing him of everything.'

Seojin was not an evil guy. He pretended to ponder over the proposal for a long time, before finally nodding as if he was yielding.

"How much money does the guild have?"

"Around one thousand and seventy hundred gold."

"…One thousand and seven hundred?"

They had more than Seojin thought. No wonder, as they must have been making a fortune for decades with the strong support of the previous Lord. However, Jeriel mistook the meaning of Seojin's reaction.

"I have my own money too! About two hundred gold… I can somehow get an extra three hundred gold using my name! Please…"

"One thousand will be good enough."

Seojin made up his mind. Of course, there was nothing special about the melted Adamantine, but that would be worthy of its academic purpose.

"Leave your own money as is. You made an official request as a representative of the guild, right? Almost all of the other alchemists agreed."

"Well, yes, of course."

"That'll do. One thousand gold and we're good. Don't forget to post my name on the research contribution list later."

"…Thank you! Thank you so much, Seojin!"

Seojin felt a slight sense of guilt upon hearing Jeriel's response.

'Well, there are mutual benefits, right?'

When would Jeriel, an alchemist, even be able to see adamantine again? The process of extracting the divine power and the results of the research on the remnants alone would be his work to do.. Seojin flipped the flask once before heading to the Street of Fire.

* * *

The Street of Fire was no different even though the city's name had changed, and Trail, the best blacksmith among the craftsmen there, was also the same as usual. The Lord meant nothing to him compared to his brand and craftsmanship. Everything was normal, except for one thing…

"Oh, Seojin!"

Seojin, the adventurer, was visiting.

"Trail, are you busy?"

"What's more important than welcoming an adventurer like you? Oh, what's that?"

Trail handed the hammer in his hands to his apprentice. The craftsman's eyes recognized what Seojin held in his hands at once.

"…Is it that…?"

"Do you recognize it?"

"It's the same energy I felt from the ore. I didn't know this was possible… how in the world did you pull that off?"

It was the holy power, extracted from the Adamantine. Trail examined all sides of the flask with surprise and nodded.

"It should be possible."

Seojin hadn't even asked yet, but it was clear that Trail meant he could bestow the energy into new gear.

"I'll wait where I always sat."

"I'll send my apprentice once I'm done. You don't have to wait here…"

"It's hard to find something more amusing than watching a master craftsman work."

"…I feel sorry for Master Ferguson. How sad would he be if he knew that I was being treated similarly to him?"

Trail's satisfied grin betrayed his down-to-earth words.

"I shall do my best."

Seojin left and sat on a bench next to the statue. Trail put the flask to one side and began to finish what he had been working on.

'How will it turn out?'

Seojin wiggled his fingers in anticipation. This was the first clue he'd gotten about exclusive gear since Movelon. Of course, Ferguson would be a much better choice of blacksmith, but Trail randomly said that he could forge just the right equipment for Seojin.

'This outcome must be fixed considering that the devs added that line.'

In fact, what Seojin wanted more than exclusive gear was to find out the dev's intentions. He could apply that formula in the future once he figured it out.

'He created this world, after all. Then, while I wait…'

Seojin took something out of his inventory. It was a luxurious letter with colorful golden embroidery on the envelope, delivered directly from the King of Valaran.

'How should I take care of this?'

A letter from the King of Valaran (1)

* A letter written in response to a message from the King.

This was received in response to Seojin's appeal not long ago. If it was just words of grace, he would have it no other way, since it meant that his relationship with the King had made some progress, but the actual content was a bit of a troublesome kind.

'So, he wants me to be the King's secret agent.'

It was so blatant that Seojin couldn't help but laugh. The King wanted Seojin to travel around each estate and return the wealth of "corrupt" lords to the treasury. Of course, it was not compulsory as Seojin was an adventurer, but it was obvious that it wouldn't be good for Seojin's health if he refused.

'This kind of proposal would make anyone drool.'

Considering the proposal, Seojin would face no personal losses. Many nobles of Valaran were in the hands of Ironblood and it would make him move more conveniently. The problem was, however…

You may change your class to Royal Inspector!

* When you change classes, all information related to your existing class, 'Silver Tongue', will be deleted, and you will gain new abilities as a "Royal Inspector."

…that system message. Royal Inspector was also a kind of hidden class, and that meant that the King's letter was the beginning of a class change quest.

'There's no way I'll accept his proposal… but how can I do that without upsetting him?'

This was from the King, and blatantly refusing his proposal might leave a negative impact on his and the King's relationship. Seojin finally made a decision.

'Being an unofficial inspector should be fine.'

The King's proposal included two tasks. One was to officially become a Royal Inspector and the other was to visit Churai Island, which could be reached through the port here.

'I'll go to Churai Island next anyway, but I cannot serve him because I'm already walking on my own path… the King will understand that.'

So, Seojin's refusal would essentially suggest that while he was willing to do everything the King asked, he could not give up his own path because he has his own rules as an adventurer… but what if that didn't convince him?

'I'll think about it then… what's that?'

Seojin stopped thinking for a moment as he was bathed in the light from the blacksmith's shop. Vision-blurring light flashed as lightning forced the entire Street of Fire to come to a halt before falling into confusion.

"What was that?"

"That light… where was it? Did you see that?"

All of the players had no idea where the light came from, except for Seojin. Trail walked out of his shop calmly and closed the door as if it was closed for the day. Seojin did not miss the cold sweat on his face.

Come through the back door!

Seojin read Trail's lips and instantly understood his soundless words.