The Cursed Blacksmith Who Regressed - Chapter 105

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 105

– Whoa?

– Holy shit

– They conquered the Mars Gate?

– Hahahaha wow, looks like Manggu really decided to work hard

– Did Maeng do well? This was all Choi Hyun’s doing

– Right, honestly the MVP is God Choi, would Maeng have even moved without Choi?

– No, you crazy bastards, is that what’s important right now? The point is how did they conquer a 72-hour defense gate in just 6 hours?

– Didn’t you see the broadcast last time? They just eliminated all the enemies. Didn’t you see the interview about how they shortened the time in the Invaders’ Playground too?

– This is crazy, so crazy

– But who’s the foreigner in the photo?

– I heard it’s a foreign healer that Choi recruited this time?

– A foreign mercenary?

– She’s pretty

– Does that person have a StarStar account?

An explosive reaction.

From this point on, Choi Hyun’s nickname became God Choi.

Moreover, this opportunity allowed them to inform the public about the 1st Squad and show Shasha’s existence to the masses.

When asked if this might be burdensome for Shasha, fortunately she said it didn’t matter.

But most importantly, the most significant gain from this Mars Gate conquest was none other than the Necromancer recruitment matter.

Jang Hae-hyeon said.

“After the Mars Gate conquest, Necromancer applicants finally exceeded double digits.”

“That’s fortunate.”

“It seemed to be rising little by little after Hunter Maeng’s broadcast, but this Mars Gate trip you took seems to have been the definitive catalyst. Everyone’s expectations are high.”

Good news was coming from all directions.

The Tamer 2nd Company also began operating in earnest, and as a result, the number of new Tamer Player applicants gradually increased.

Regular guild members were also showing vigorous conquest activity rates thanks to high settlement ratios and Daesan’s full support.

Naturally, the regular guild member enrollment rate was also soaring.

Of course, as Daesan and Paragon’s enrollment rates increased, other guilds’ member departure rates were becoming severe, but that couldn’t be helped.

This was an inevitable trend.

The momentum was good.

For a while, the projects that had been shelved began to see the light, each in their own position, and especially the 1st Squad focused solely on Black Area conquest activities.

[ Gate ‘Song of the Mountain Guardians’ has been conquered. ]

[ Gate conquerors are Players ‘Choi Hyun’, ‘Kim Ha-geom’, ‘An U-ju’, ‘Maeng Bu-yong’, ‘Shasha Ivanov’. ]

[ ‘An U-ju’ has been selected as the top conqueror. ]

[ Additional experience points will be provided to the top conqueror. ]

[ 1 bonus stat point is provided for being selected as top conqueror. ]

…

The 1st Squad’s operating method changed.

From the point when everyone’s fear and burden regarding Black Areas disappeared, Choi Hyun stopped taking on all the major tasks alone and began distributing them among the squad members in turns.

As a result, the squad members could take turns becoming the top conqueror, and through this, they could gain additional stats and grow at a frightening speed.

Around that time, Choi Hyun set a new goal for the 1st Squad.

That was to create Korea’s first level 100 Player.

The current official highest level was 95.

And that was an American.

Originally it was 94, but recently they leveled up once to become 95.

Second place was China’s Yang Hui, who was confirmed to be at level 93 and closely pursuing.

In that sense, Korea couldn’t even rank when looking only at their domestic hunters’ highest levels.

Because Maeng Bu-yong, who had the highest level, was only level 88.

However, Maeng Bu-yong’s current level was an impressive 91.

This was the result of conquering gates consecutively.

And that wasn’t all.

Kim Ha-geom had also reached level 90, and An U-ju had reached level 90 as well.

Shasha had somehow reached level 79.

Everyone’s leveling speed was frightening.

‘In that sense, I am.’

He checked his status window.

[ Choi Hyun ]

– Lv : 61

– Class : Blacksmith

– Traits : ＜Demon’s Eye＞＜Repair＞＜Curse of Memory＞＜Anonymous Craftsman＞＜Heavenly Martial Body＞＜Materials＞＜Noble Spirit＞＜Qualification from Beyond＞＜Invader＞＜Hundred Yin Body＞＜Space＞

– Strength : 68

– Stamina : 68

– Mana : 68

– Sense : 68

– Dexterity : 270

– Unallocated Stat Points : 0

Level 61.

The leveling speed itself was still fast, but now that he had changed strategies and wasn’t receiving top conqueror every time, his stat acquisition had decreased somewhat.

That was fine.

This was only reduced compared to the past, but from an overall perspective, he still boasted overwhelming numbers compared to any other Player.

It was right after conquering the gate that corresponded to today’s final schedule.

“Everyone, good work!”

“Good work.”

Good work.”

“Good work.”

The way they exited the gate had changed to resemble office workers on their way home from work.

Jin Hyeon-geun was waiting outside, and everyone got into the van to move.

After the vehicle departed, Choi Hyun, who was checking documents, said.

“There aren’t many Black Areas left in Korea now.”

Then An U-ju suddenly pulled her back away from the backrest and said.

“Eh, already?!”

“There are some I handled personally, and the big factor is that we’ve been focusing intensively on processing only gates these past few days.”

“Ha, who would have thought the day would come when I’d feel regretful about the number of Black Areas decreasing….”

She was sincere.

Because there was no place that raised levels as reliably as the gates in Black Areas.

“So about that, I think we should stop Black Gate conquests for a while and focus mainly on Black Dungeons or regular Areas.”

“Eh, why? There are still some Black Gates left.”

“Yesterday was the deadline for Necromancer recruitment applications. Starting tomorrow, like we did with Tamers, we need to call in Necromancer applicants for employment tests.”

“Will you be doing it personally, President?”

“I did it personally for Tamers too.”

“That’s true but… Ah, it’s so disappointing. Whatever it is, it’s better doing things together with you, President.”

“I’m disappointed too. But there are still some Black Dungeons left, so please handle the remaining conquests under Deputy Squad Leader Shasha’s command instead of me.”

“Yes, understood.”

The next day.

As announced the previous day, Choi Hyun began operating separately from the 1st Squad.

It was because of the Necromancer recruitment schedule.

The first assembly location was the same Paragon Headquarters as before.

The final number of applicants was 37.

Several of the Necromancers entering the headquarters building looked at the building with hope, just as the Tamers had done.

But not everyone had hopeful expressions on their faces.

Only a few had clear eyes, while the rest all looked dead inside.

Expressions devoid of hope.

The overall atmosphere was completely different from when they recruited Tamers.

Eventually, the applicants gathered not in the previous auditorium, but in a somewhat larger auditorium.

In the auditorium, instead of headquarters employees in suits, different people were waiting for the applicants.

They were previously hired Tamers.

The officially hired Tamers stood guard like soldiers, wearing their distinctive uniforms.

Thanks to this, the atmosphere looked even more distinctive.

Soon, when all 37 Necromancers had gathered, the Tamers distributed name tags.

Compared to the Tamer recruitment, this was less than half the number.

It couldn’t be helped.

There were still many Necromancers in the world who were reluctant to reveal themselves.

Once people had gathered, Choi Hyun appeared.

This time, it wasn’t Jang Hae-hyeon but Choi Hyun who appeared directly.

“Welcome, applicants. I’m Choi Hyun from Paragon.”

Clap clap clap-

A few Necromancers applauding.

A feeble sound.

Even that stopped mid-clap as they looked around nervously.

After greeting them, Choi Hyun quickly scanned their faces.

If the Tamers were those who had grown pale from exhaustion, these people had a dark, gloomy atmosphere about them.

Like a vibe of social misfits, perhaps.

However, he continued speaking without concern.

“First, I sincerely thank you for applying to Paragon. Now, let me begin the explanation right away.”

He pressed the remote control switch in his pocket.

The lights went out and the words ‘Necromancer Recruitment Briefing’ appeared on the screen.

“I have reviewed all 37 of your application documents. You are all Korean citizens with Korean nationality, and more than half of you have criminal records.”

Several applicants frowned at the mention of criminal records.

“But I don’t care about such things. Because those are things that happened in the past, and being here now means you’ve all paid for your crimes. That’s why what I value is not the past, but the present and future. So let me ask you all: why did you want to become Necromancers?”

Silence fell.

No one raised their hand.

They were all looking around at each other.

Then one rough-looking woman raised her hand.

“To try to revive a dead person.”

“Which dead person?”

“My boyfriend.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, could you tell us your story?”

Actually, he knew.

That’s because the Necromancer application didn’t have any conditions like when they recruited Tamers.

Of course, if there was one difference, it was whether they had a criminal record, but they made exceptions for Necromancers.

Because all of their criminal records had stories behind them.

‘The woman who raised her hand is Han Su-kyeong. She recklessly changed her class to Necromancer after being told she could revive her boyfriend who died during the Great Catastrophe. The Great Catastrophe that occurred at that time was a global-scale disaster, and there were so many deaths that funeral homes, memorial halls, ossuaries, and even mortuaries and crematoriums had waiting periods of weeks to months.’

So Han Su-kyeong’s boyfriend also had to wait in the mortuary for several weeks.

That’s when Han Su-kyeong made her move.

She changed her class to Necromancer and, based on scarce internet posts, revived her boyfriend as an undead.

She hesitated for a moment, then began to tell her story.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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