You Have Been Invited to the Auction House of the Gods - Chapter 35

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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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35

 

 

 

“You’re back already?”

 

Hae-in, who had stopped hammering inside the blacksmith workshop, glanced at the ore bag in my hand and twisted his lips.

 

“Usually it takes a full day…”

 

Despite his disbelieving reaction, Hae-in’s hands were already rummaging through the minerals I had brought.

 

“Mithril…?!”

 

Hey, it came from your family’s mine, so why are you the one surprised?

 

“…Somehow the mountain allowed you to have mithril.”

 

Hae-in glanced at me, then shifted his gaze to Galmu.

 

“Or maybe it’s thanks to this guy. He seems to have an incredible sense for sniffing out minerals.”

 

Though Galmu doesn’t have a nose, Hae-in’s words weren’t wrong either.

 

As if there was a sensor at the sword’s tip, being able to navigate those complex mine tunnels like our own bedroom was thanks to Galmu.

 

“Since you came early, come in and help.”

 

Hae-in, who had taken Galmu, immediately turned around and entered the blacksmith workshop.

 

***

 

As I went inside, intense heat and the smell of metal hit me all at once.

 

Hae-in gently placed Galmu on the workbench and handed me rough leather gloves from beside the bellows.

 

“Hold this.”

 

I put on the gloves and gripped the bellows handle.

 

“Have you done bellows work before?”

 

“No.”

 

“Then learn with your body.”

 

Hae-in casually pointed with his chin at the embers inside the furnace.

 

When I pressed the bellows, the flames inside the brazier came alive slightly, but that was it.

 

Hae-in watched for a moment, then said,

 

“Even if the fire looks sufficient, it’s not enough to fill your sword. You need to awaken it more.”

 

I tried working the bellows a few more times with determination, but there was no sign of the embers growing larger.

 

Thinking I needed to blow harder, I pressed the bellows more forcefully.

 

Hae-in gently pushed me aside and naturally took hold of the bellows.

 

“This isn’t something you can do with brute force.”

 

Unlike when he held a hammer, his fingertips holding the bellows were very delicate.

 

I sat behind him and watched Hae-in work the bellows.

 

He was following a rhythm, providing air when needed.

 

The flames that grew in an instant heated the blacksmith workshop intensely.

 

Beads of sweat formed on Hae-in’s forehead.

 

Even so, he couldn’t take his eyes off the flames.

 

‘A craftsman is indeed a craftsman.’

 

His serious demeanor when working was quite impressive.

 

Sweat began to form on my forehead as well.

 

But I found myself influenced by the rhythm of the fire Hae-in was nurturing, watching mindlessly before I knew it.

 

After a few more bellows work sessions, Hae-in let go.

 

“Is it done now?”

 

“No, it’s still not enough. I need to get some more materials.”

 

“Is the fire weak? I’m quite confident with fire myself.”

 

Saying that, I playfully ignited Karmic Fire at my fingertip.

 

Hae-in’s gaze moved to the Karmic Fire at my fingertip.

 

For a moment, his eyes widened slightly.

 

“This…”

 

He came closer and looked at the flames at my fingertip.

 

I couldn’t even touch the flame with my fingertips, afraid it might flicker.

 

“Can you maintain this continuously?”

 

“Why?”

 

I waved the red flame above my finger once.

 

“With this kind of fire, I can sufficiently fill your sword.”

 

“Really? Then let’s do it.”

 

I slowly brought the Karmic Fire I had ignited at my fingertips toward the furnace entrance.

 

Hae-in quietly watched from beside me, holding his breath.

 

“Just a little more…”

 

As the spark of Karmic Fire reached deep into the furnace, flames instantly swelled up.

 

The Blue Karmic Fire blazed larger, making the air inside the blacksmith workshop tremble heavily.

 

As the flames came alive, Hae-in quickly moved to the front of the workbench.

 

“Make the flames stronger.”

 

At his words, I poured out more Karmic Fire.

 

I let the Karmic Fire from my fingertips seep deep into the furnace.

 

“That’s it. I’m going to start working now. Keep it just like that.”

 

Without even waiting for my answer, Hae-in thrust Galmu into the furnace.

 

Even while hammering, Hae-in continued giving instructions.

 

To reduce the intensity of the Karmic Fire, or to raise it just a bit stronger.

 

He kept fluctuating between some unknowable subtle differences in temperature.

 

Then at some point.

 

The flames in the furnace seemed connected to my fingertips, beginning to move according to my will.

 

Why this was possible, how such an expansion suddenly occurred, I couldn’t know.

 

I could only explain it by saying it simply happened that way.

 

At the same time, I could feel the sensation of the Karmic Fire melting Galmu.

 

I could feel Galmu glowing red-hot on the workbench through my fingertips that were producing the Karmic Fire.

 

And then I began to understand the reason behind all those subtle adjustments Hae-in had been asking of me.

 

‘So this was possible too?’

 

Until now, I had only known how to coat Galmu and swing it.

 

This was like…

 

‘It’s like it’s alive.’

 

I gradually became fascinated by the Karmic Fire that writhed like a living creature.

 

Then suddenly, one question came to mind.

 

‘What exactly is Karmic Fire?’

 

My thoughts returned to that small spark before it became Karmic Fire.

 

Just a single spark received from some deity.

 

That had been the beginning of this flame.

 

The spark that replaced mana had at some point become my way of fighting and my Divine Authority.

 

Before igniting Karmic Fire, the sensation of countless sword strikes overlapped.

 

Over the sensation of striking down with the wooden sword, my questions continued to create ripples.

 

Ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times…

 

Karmic Fire that bloomed after thousands of downward strikes.

 

How had I ignited Karmic Fire?

What did the flames of karma bloom from?

The question of “what” became “how”.

After finishing striking down the scarecrow, to block that powerful spear flying toward me.

He had unleashed all the resentment and anger that had been building up.

At that moment, I was able to realize.

The answer was decided from the beginning.

Karmic fire… true to its name, I had ignited a flame by burning my own karma.

At that moment, he began to fully sense the karmic flames within the brazier.

 

As the sound of Hae-in’s hammering gradually faded from my ears,

 

“Now I need to light the cold fire. Just maintain the flame and rest for a bit. I’ll go get the materials.”

 

That single statement from Hae-in once again sent ripples through my heart.

 

‘Cold fire…?’

 

***

 

As usual, Hae-in was pounding away with his hammer.

 

His mind was complicated.

 

A video he had happened to see during break time.

 

That video was the problem.

 

A scene of a man around his age sweeping away a monster wave with a massive sword.

 

Hae-in, who was such a sword enthusiast that people said he was born holding a sword, wasn’t interested in

the man who had created that impossible spectacle,

but rather in the heavy sword he was wielding.

 

The first perfect sword he had ever seen in his life.

 

Hae-in had told his god and Master about this, but all he got back was boasting about how he had made it himself.

 

Unable to take out his frustration on his Master, Hae-in headed to the workbench to clear his mind.

 

Listening to the sound of hammering, his random thoughts disappeared and his mind calmed down a little.

 

When ten thousand rounds of quenching were finished, the fire in the furnace flickered and a human figure appeared.

 

If it had been another apostle serving a god, they would have been shocked and fallen over in fright,

but to Hae-in, it was just a video call from the Old Master.

 

Of course, it was ordinary communication that Hae-in couldn’t refuse by his own will.

 

He thought the Old Master might teach him a new technique, but only after being a conversation partner for a long while could he finally hear the main point.

 

The story that the man with the sword from the video would come looking for him.

 

Probably because there wasn’t a proper blacksmith there,

he added the footnote telling him to personally finish the work, then cut off the divine message.

 

He wasn’t sure about his qualifications as a Master, but the Old Master had romance.

 

At the thought of being able to finish that sword with his own hands, Hae-in couldn’t sleep a wink and hammered iron all night.

 

When that time of endurance was about to end, he felt signs of people outside.

 

A young man holding a sword.

 

Just from his posture holding the sword, Hae-in could sense what an incredible swordsman he was.

 

‘A swordsman who can perform ten thousand identical downward strikes…’

 

That was Hae-in’s first assessment of the Merchant.

 

Having his first meeting with Galmu like that, Hae-in sent him to the ore vein, telling him to get materials.

 

That ore vein would evaluate his qualifications.

 

Because this mountain where he resided wasn’t an ordinary mountain.

 

While leisurely preparing, thinking it would take several days, he returned before the sun had even set.

 

Honestly, he was a little surprised at this point.

But obviously, he couldn’t have brought back such good ore.

 

When Hae-in, thinking this way, opened his bag, he couldn’t help but be shocked once again.

 

‘No way… mithril?’

 

Beyond discovering mithril, bringing it back required the mountain’s permission.

 

‘This man has such a pure soul?’

 

When he had him try bellows work, he didn’t even expect much.

 

He’d probably do it a few times then collapse.

 

Bellows work was difficult, but it was also arduous labor that required the mental strength to maintain it consistently and steadily.

 

In the end, he did it himself, but the persistence of not giving up until the end was praiseworthy.

 

But what shocked Hae-in most of all was the flame that man had kindled.

 

Perfect materials and perfect fire.

 

Could there be two words more blissful than these for a blacksmith?

 

Hae-in immediately grabbed his hammer.

 

When the flames permeated the furnace and began following the rhythm of his hammering, he clicked his tongue inwardly.

 

Because it was too absurd.

 

‘He’s realizing it in real time…’

 

Though he himself had been born a genius, that human was also a genius no less than himself.

 

By the time the primary work was coming to an end, the man’s eyes were half-closed when he looked at him.

 

Hae-in knew what that state was.

 

He himself had quite often experienced situations where the world turned white and only the hammer and himself remained while pounding away.

 

‘I need to speak quickly before he enters the trance state.’

 

Hae-in rapidly delivered his words like firing a machine gun before the man fell into selflessness.

 

“Now we need to light the cold fire. Just maintain the fire and rest for a moment. I’ll go get the materials.”

 

The quenching had to be done with cold fire through the White Dragon’s Ice Crystal.

 

Then he quickly returned to the blacksmith workshop with the ice crystal so as not to disturb the man’s trance state.

 

In that brief moment, the situation in the blacksmith workshop had changed 180 degrees.

 

Blue flames were devouring the workshop’s furnace, but it was cold.

 

The temperature was so cold that breath was visible, and frost was forming on the workshop’s floor and ceiling.

 

“No way, what is this? It’s flames, so how can they be made cold?”

 

This had already far surpassed the level of shock.

 

He had said he would light cold fire, but that was something that could only be lit by borrowing a dragon’s power.

 

That was necessary to materialize a contradiction.

 

But what exactly was that man that he could ignite cold flames on his own in such a brief time?

 

Hae-in looked at the Merchant who had fallen into selflessness with a shocked expression.

Beyond shock, an emotion close to fear now overwhelmed him.

 

“What is that person… scary…”

 

***

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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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