CHAPTER 29: BOOMER WIZARD (1)

It was the second day of farming the Fortress of Living Armor.

"Hm? That transformation seems a little unstable. Look here, young lady."

Lee Ji-Ah raised her head. "Uh, yes? Are you talking to me?"

"That's right. Has it been around a month since you started learning magi—no, I mean, since you awakened your ability?"

"No," Lee Ji-Ah slowly replied. "It's been about half a year now..."

"Hm? Half a year?"

"That's right, half a year," Lee Ji-Ah repeated.

"Ho, hehe... Ahahahahaha!" Kan Cho-Woo laughed in sheer disbelief.

"Even though half a year has passed, your shape transformation is still so unstable? Now look here, young lady."

"Yes!" Lee Ji-Ah snapped to attention.

"Did you know, back in my day, we were expected to master shape transformation within a single month. Hear that? It was only then that you were considered an actual wizard. Are you listening to me?"

The behavior of this spirit who had flown in from a different dimension somehow seemed extremely familiar to the young members of the Mapogu team.

***

On the fourth day of farming the Fortress of Living Armor.

"Hah! Hah! Hah!" Kang Woo-Hyuk was taking short but quick breaths in between his hammer swings.

Claaang!

With one last peal, the clear and metallic sound filling the huge hall suddenly stopped.

"I've finally done it!" Kang Woo-Hyuk cheered, then clenched his fist and swung his hammer one last time at the piece of armor in order to check its durability.

However, his joy didn't last for very long.

"Here's the next set of materials," Kim Ki-Rok said from behind him.

"Huh?" Kang Woo-Hyuk turned with his mouth agape.

"Hahaha! This is no time to be resting, Mr. Woo-Hyuk."

Still struggling to understand the situation, he replied, "Huh?"

"You still need to forge a thousand more sets. So here are the next batch of materials for you to start working with."

Behind Kim Ki-Rok were several piles of armor that looked to have been damaged in battle, or to be more precise, armor which had been infused by the spirits during the process of their monsterization before they were defeated.

"Mr. Woo-Hyuk," Kim Ki-Rok said with a serious expression.

"Yes," Kang Woo-Hyuk responded gloomily.

"You don't have the time to be resting," Kim Ki-Rok patiently reminded him.

"Ha, haha, hahahaha!" Kang Woo-Hyuk burst into tearful laughter and got back to work.

***

The sixth day in the Fortress of Living Armor.

"Hmmm..."

At the sound of the humming, Lee Ji-Ah and the rest of the Mapogu team were immediately set on edge.

"Hmmm."

What kind of boomer complaint was this old man going to voice now?

"Look here, young man."

"Pheeew!" Lee Ji-Ah immediately let out a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, the two young men within the team swallowed dry gulps before snapping to attention, "Ulp! Yes!"

"I'm talking to this young man with a bow. There's something that I need to say to you."

This time, it was Kang Seh-Hyuk's turn to let out a sigh of relief. "Pheeew!"

Meanwhile, Jeong Man-Kook smacked his lips as he greedily stared at the shattered pieces of the Living Armor. "Wouldn't it be tasty if we grilled some meat on top of that armor?"

"Now look here, young man with the bow."

"Yes..." Nam Dong-Wook slowly responded.

"Hah, hohoho. It was unimaginable in my day, but to think that a young man like you would actually..."

"Wh-what is it?" Nam Dong-Wook nervously asked.

"The fact that you didn't reply immediately, even though an elder was calling out to you... No, I shouldn't complain. It's not that important. Hohoho. After all, I'm just an old man who has already died, lost his body, and been left to wander the world alone, so I can understand why you would be willing to disregard me so."

"S-sir?!" Nam Dong-Wook yelped.

"Hohoho. I really shouldn't complain. Even though such rudeness wouldn't even be imaginable back in my day. To think that rather than respecting the elderly, the younger generation would actually stoop to such levels of disrespect."

Nam Dong-Wook, who had previous experience interning at a small business, instinctively stood at attention while Kan Cho-Woo got all of his complaints out of his system.

***

The tenth day in the Fortress of Living Armor.

Claaang!

Kang Woo-Hyuk despaired as he looked at the piles of materials behind him that refused to shrink even though he had been crafting and crafting away at them.

He had hoped to have cleared away a good portion of the metal by now, but Kim Ki-Rok kept dragging in more shattered pieces of Living Armor from over yonder.

"Excuse me, Guildmaster? There's just something that I'd like to ask," Kang Woo-Hyuk nervously spoke.

Kim Ki-Rok nodded. "Go ahead and say what you have to say."

"Do they really need to be perfect?" Kang Woo-Hyuk asked.

Kim Ki-Rok frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Kang Woo-Hyuk hesitated, "Um... As long as I'm still forging complete pieces of armor, wouldn't it be okay if I cut a few corners in terms of quality? After all, it's not like they're going to be used by anybody, are they?"

"Ah!" Kim Ki-Rok realized what he was trying to say. "You're asking if you can satisfy the condition to unseal your skill by forging cheap pieces of armor."

"Ah... yes. That's right," Kang Woo-Hyuk honestly admitted. "Or would it be a problem if I slacked off while forging?"

Kim Ki-Rok shook his head. "There wouldn't be any problems."

Kang Woo-Hyuk, who had been desperately forging pieces of equipment with his cracked and blistering hands for the past ten days, was left blinking in shock with an expression of utter disbelief on his face. What was the meaning of all the hardship that he had gone through up until now?

"Really?" Kang Woo-Hyuk asked doubtfully.

"Yes." Kim Ki-Rok nodded firmly. "However!"

Boom!

Kim Ki-Rok poured out even more broken pieces of armor onto the floor. Tilting his head to one side, he asked, "Are you really alright with forging so half-heartedly?"

"Huh?" Kang Woo-Hyuk was confused.

"Mr. Woo-Hyuk," Kim Ki-Rok said in a serious tone.

Kang Woo-Hyuk stiffened up. "Yes, Guildmaster!"

"You're lacking in both skills and experience, but you are a true craftsman, aren't you, Mr. Woo-Hyuk? You do desire to walk the path of a master artificer, don't you?" Kim Ki-Rok asked sternly.

Kang Woo-Hyuk stammered, "Th-that's right."

"Then allow me to ask you once more." Kim Ki-Rok leaned in closer as he asked Kang Woo-Hyuk, "Are you really alright with forging so half-heartedly?"

Clang! Clang!

***

The twenty-fifth day in the Fortress of Living Armor.

While checking the dulled edge of her sword, Yoo Seh-Eun clicked her tongue and then pulled out a new longsword from the subspace pocket that Kim Ki-Rok had lent her.

Yoo Seh-Eun let out a sigh of complaint. "This is really tiring. Fuck..."

Their current task was to supply materials to Kang Woo-Hyuk, who needed to forge a thousand pieces of equipment in order to unseal his ability. She had initially thought that it wouldn't be that difficult and that it wouldn't take all that long either.

Although the quantity was large, as long as Kang Woo-Hyuk could make about fifty a day, she had thought that it would take about twenty days at most.

However, that hadn't been the case.

Even if one awakened the ability to craft such items, it was impossible to guarantee from the start that all of the weapons or armor forged would be successfully imbued with mana. That was why Kang Woo-Hyuk had only been able to make ten such items on the first day. And his performance hadn't seemed particularly impressive, considering the quantity of materials that had gone into forging those ten pieces.

Of course, as time passed, his production speed and the quality of his work had gradually improved. However, since Kang Woo-Hyuk was still lacking in terms of experience and technique, there hadn't been any dramatic changes in his production efficiency.

Yoo Seh-Eun called out to the others, "Hey, what's Mr. Woo-Hyuk's current daily production output?"

"He's just reached fifty," one of them answered.

"Fifty a day... ugh..." Yoo Seh-Eun groaned in despair.

Since Kang Woo-Hyuk had forged about half of the required items, this meant that they still needed to do this job for at least ten more days.

"I'm going to go crazy before then," Yoo Seh-Eun muttered with a dark expression.

They were definitely making a lot of money. The wages that they received every day were generous, and the number of mana stones that they had acquired while hunting the various species of Living Armors was considerably high as well.

At a rough estimate, they had each earned over a hundred million won already.

Their levels had also gone up. At this point, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that their levels had exploded upward.

The unlimited provision of weapons and supplies along with the buffs generated by Kim Ki-Rok's delicious meals made their party extremely strong, to the point where the repopulation speed of the monsters couldn't keep up with their hunting speed.

So things weren't that bad.

It wasn't that bad, but...

"Hoho, young archer fellow."

"Yes!"

"I just have to say, back in my day..."

"Sir!"

"Even archers knew how to imbue their mana into their arrows. Hm? It was only when they were able to do that, that they could even call themselves an archer. Don't you agree?"

"My apologies!"

"No. There's no need for you to apologize. Hohoho. If someone were to see us talking like this, they might think that I was actually chastising you."

"My apologies!"

"Hohoho. I told you, there's no need to apologize. Do you really want to make me out to be the bad guy that much?"

"Not at all, Sir!"

"Hohoho. Let me just say, back in my day..."

If only they didn't have to bring this boomer along with them.

In order to avoid meeting the wizard's eyes, Yoo Seh-Eun even spent her break time outside, guarding the hallway. Once her break was over, however, they had to back to farming.

As the group continued their work, their earpieces suddenly started crackling.

—Ah, ah, ah. Can you hear me?

"Yes! Guildmaster!"

—It has already been 20 days since we first entered this Gate, but unfortunately our Mr. Woo-Hyuk still hasn't finished his work... Hm? Because of that, we haven't been able to give you all any time to rest. What do you have to say to that, Mr. Woo-Hyuk?"

—I'm very sorry!

—No, there's no need to apologize to me.

Kim Ki-Rok's soft voice flowed into their ears through the earpieces that the siblings were given.

—I just feel sorry for the Mapogu team, Ji-Yeon, and our dear Ji-Hee, all of whom are working hard in order to deliver the materials needed to fuel our Mr. Woo-Hyuk's growth.

—I'll work as hard as I can.

The audio of Kang Woo-Hyuk grinding out crafting experience in the background was clearly being transmitted to the team.

—As hard as you can?

—I'll give it everything that I have!

—Everything? All that you have?

—I will strive to put my life on the line!

—Alright, thank you very much for those sentiments. However, there's no need to put your life on the line. After all, we don't want to make it seem like I'm working you too hard now, do we?

—That is correct! There is no way that the Guildmaster would overwork his guild members!

—Ah... it seems that I went off-topic. Allow me to explain why I'm contacting you in the first place.

The Mapogu team straightened their backs. "Yes, Guildmaster. Please enlighten us."

—We will be withdrawing soon.

"Huh?" Everyone was caught off guard.

—To be more precise, we'll be leaving this Gate, resting for about five days, then moving on to the next Gate.

The siblings all slumped their shoulders after hearing that. They thought that things were finally over and had been ready to celebrate.

—I heard from Sir Kan Cho-Woo that the speed at which the monsters are repopulating can't keep up with your hunting speed, which has led to some issues with harvesting materials.

Just as the Mapogu team was coming to terms with their situation...

—As such, we need to change hunting grounds. Let's see... It's 3 p.m. right now, so if we quickly submit our report to the Hunters Association, we should be done at roughly about 5 p.m. Let's pack up right away. I'll take you out for a company dinner before we all part ways tonight. Afterward, I'll notify each of you separately once the next schedule has been arranged.

So the job wasn't over yet.

However!

However!!!

We're getting a breeeeeeeak!

The farming team all clenched their fists in excitement over their first break in twenty days.

***

At a restaurant called We-Love-Hanwoo![1] located near the Mapo District Office Subway Station, the owner was grinning widely at the arrival of a big group.

These customers, comprised of the DG Guild and the Five Siblings of Mapogu, were practically inhaling large mountains of grilled meat.

Kim Ki-Rok was grilling meat with one hand and operating his smartphone with the other. Once he was done organizing the information on the screen, he held it out for all the Mapogu siblings to see.

Clearing his throat, he said, "As you may know, the average price of a C-Class mana stone is five million won."

The rest had been busy inhaling their plates of meat but paused mid-bite and perked up their ears.

"That results in a total sale of 3.435 billion won. Subtracting the 10% tax, which is 340 million won, from this figure... that leaves approximately 3.09 billion won. We can then round that number up to 3.1 billion won." Kim Ki-Rok finished reading off the calculations.

"3.1 billion?"

"Thr-three billion won?!"

The jaws of the Mapogu team collectively dropped. Meat fell out of some mouths and half-drunk soup spilled out of others.

"If we divide this sum eight to two as per the contract, the total amount that the five siblings will be receiving is 2.47 billion won. Dividing that by the number of people in your team, that would be 494 million won per person. Then we can add each of your daily wages on top of that." Kim Ki-Rok said with a nod.

In the end, each of them would be receiving around 500 million won.

"500 million won in exchange for twenty days of torture..." Kang Seh-Hyuk muttered, struggling to pick up his jaw back up off the ground.

In contrast, Kim Ki-Rok shrugged his shoulders as if such a sum wasn't really anything impressive. "It's really not all that much."

fre\e(w)ebn ov.e l\. co.m

Kang Seh-Hyuk gasped. "Huh? 500 million isn't that much?"

"That's right." Kim Ki-Rok nodded. "It might seem like a lot of money now, but even a single piece of armor worn by the top C-Class Hunters is worth roughly around 300 to 400 million won."

"Oh my..." Kang Seh-Hyuk trailed off, still in shock.

Kim Ki-Rok continued, "Even if their armor is cheaper than the ones Hunters normally entrust their lives with, their weapons would still run you over 500 million won."

"But that... That's even more expensive than the armor!" Kang Seh-Hyuk said doubtfully.

Kim Ki-Rok corrected him. "That was the price for a single piece of armor. Though a breastplate alone would cost about 300 to 400 million won, if you add all the helmet, leggings, gauntlets, and other pieces you'd need on top of that, the full price for a set of armor would probably be over one billion won. With a shield on top of all that, it would probably cost around 1.5 billion won in total?"

"Ha, haha..." Kang Seh-Hyuk, who had been considering wrapping his entire body in armor, picked up the piece of meat that had fallen onto the table and resumed chewing it with a dumbfounded expression.

"Getting back to the main topic now, I have just deposited 500 million won into each of your bank accounts," Kim Ki-Rok calmly informed them.

Rustle rustle!

The members of the Mapogu team quickly stuffed the large lettuce wraps into their mouths, pulled out their smartphones, and logged into their bank accounts.

Just like Kim Ki-Rok had said, a nine-digit sum of money had been deposited into each of their accounts.

"F-five hundred million!"

"It's really five hundred million!"

"Five hundred... five hundred million..."

Kim Ki-Rok called out to the server, "Eight more servings of pork belly, one serving of kimchi stew, and three more bowls of rice please."

Not paying any further attention to the Five Siblings of Mapogu, who were all flustered by the long string of zeroes currently displayed on their balance, Kim Ki-Rok made a small lettuce wrap and held it out toward Kim Ji-Hee.

Smiling fondly, he said, "Ji-Hee, say ahhh."

"Aaaaaah." She obediently opened her mouth wide.

Kim Ki-Rok fed her the lettuce wrap and asked, "Does it taste good?"

"Yeeeesssh." Kim Ji-Hee nodded her head with a bashful smile.

After patting her on the head, Kim Ki-Rok pulled the five siblings who were lost in their fantasies back to reality. He understood why they were in such a fluster, but it was impolite to ignore the meat that was sitting in front of them.

"For now, let's just eat," Kim Ki-Rok ordered.

"Ah, yes!"

Having regained their senses, they continued feasting.

As he grilled some more meat for Kim Ji-Hee, Kim Ki-Rok checked his smartphone.

Although the monsters' repopulation speed may have been a touch too slow, it hadn't actually posed much of an issue to their mission of collecting materials for Kang Woo-Hyuk's upgrade. Yet even so, there was a reason why Kim Ki-Rok had insisted on temporarily withdrawing from the Gate.

"There's still about an hour left," Kim Ki-Rok quietly muttered to himself.

The current time was 4:58 p.m.

"Hm?" Kim Ji-Hee, who was spearing pieces of meat with her fork, tilted her head in curiosity after hearing Kim Ki-Rok talk to himself.

Kim Ki-Rok reassured, "No, it's nothing. Just keep eating. Is there anything else that you want to try?"

There was still one hour left until 6 p.m.

Kim Ji-Hee pointed to the menu on the wall with her hand and said, "That one."

1. An expensive type of Korean beef, similar to Japan's wagyu. ☜