Light of Arad: Forerunner

Chapter 38

Linius stared at Jinseong with wide eyes.

“Oh! It’s you! But why did you enter from such an unusual direction…?”

Was it because Jinseong used his custom-made teleportation potion instead of just walking in?

Even as Linius welcomed him, he quickly looked Jinseong up and down, continuing to speak.

“Did you grow so much that you figured out how to move around freely? Already?”

“Oh, no, nothing like that. Haha, it’s all thanks to the pass you issued for me before, Linius-nim. I’m very grateful once again.”

Jinseong bowed deeply to Linius in gratitude.

It wasn’t just a superficial gesture to leave a good impression on him. Jinseong genuinely wanted to thank Linius for all the help he had received in Elvenguard.

Perhaps that sincerity came through, as Linius smiled awkwardly.

“Haha, no, no need to say it like that, it’s a bit embarrassing. Ahem, so? Is your friend doing well? Or has Professor Roton developed some new medicine?”

He quickly changed the subject.

One of the lies even Jinseong himself had momentarily forgotten.

“My friend… well, I can’t say they’ve completely recovered, but at least they’re no longer writhing in pain like before… That’s how I’d describe it.”

Despite the lie, Jinseong managed to answer with relative composure.

Linius nodded with a solemn expression.

“Yes… I figured. Even Professor Roton would have a hard time developing a medicine that could instantly erase the pain of Kazan Syndrome… But it’s good to hear that the painkillers are helping somewhat.”

“Yes, it is a relief.”

Jinseong nodded in agreement.

Was that description perhaps a reflection of his own mindset?

“So? You didn’t come here just for a friendly chat, did you?”

“Heh, how did you know? Of course, I didn’t come just to exchange greetings.”

At Linius’s question, Jinseong rummaged through his bag and pulled something out.

It was a small dagger.

“A… dagger?”

“Yes. I obtained it from the GBL cult followers on Behemoth.”

The words Jinseong uttered were enough to astonish Linius.

More than that, though, it wasn’t just surprise.

“Behemoth?! The GBL cult?”

“It’s a dagger crafted by a group dedicated to seeking truth. It wasn’t made by professional blacksmiths, but what do you think of it, Linius-nim?”

And with those magic words that could pique a blacksmith’s curiosity!

Linius’s eyes widened as he closely examined the dagger Jinseong handed him.

“Not bad. No, it’s actually quite good. I’m curious about how they managed to polish the edge like this. For an amateur to achieve such precision, it’s surprising…”

“If you’re really curious, I can find out for you. I know one of the GBL cultists.”

Jinseong replied to the impressed Linius.

The person Jinseong referred to was Ophelia, a former member of the GBL cult whom Jinseong had saved using the after her escape from Behemoth.

Although Jinseong hadn’t developed a close relationship with her, as they hadn’t crossed paths during the contaminated quest, it didn’t really matter.

‘Now that I’m officially part of the Mage’s Guild, I can make requests in the name of the Special Committee.’

Jinseong could confidently offer to help Linius, knowing he had the ability to make such requests.

Reading Jinseong’s mood, Linius smiled warmly at him.

“A young man who once didn’t even have a pass to enter Hendon Myre… You’ve grown quite a bit. You’ve taken on a real adventurer’s air.”

“Oh no, I’m not an adventurer… I don’t want to be called that, either.”

Jinseong rejected what could have been taken as a compliment from Linius.

While the implication that he now appeared more seasoned was nice, the word “adventurer” itself gave Jinseong an undeniable sense of discomfort.

“Haha, I’m just joking. So… You didn’t bring this dagger to just give it to me, right? Even if it’s to repay the 3,000 gold I gave you for travel expenses, that’s a bit too much change.”

Linius chuckled heartily as he spoke.

At this, Jinseong’s expression began to change.

The reason he had come wasn’t just to express his gratitude or give a gift.

What Jinseong had been thinking about, even before arriving, was how to increase his capital.

“So, I’d like to ask a favor.”

“A favor? What is it?”

Jinseong needed to prepare items he could use in Dungeon & Fighter.

And the value of ‘good items’ could easily range from hundreds of thousands to millions of gold, if not more.

‘It’s impossible to get that amount through normal means. The discontinued items I’ve acquired… As rare as they are, no one’s going to pay hundreds of thousands or millions of gold for them. I can’t even sell them since they’re “untradeable” items.’

Considering that the Mage’s Guild would at most offer him tens of thousands of gold, it was impossible to earn substantial money just through interactions with NPCs.

The rare items Jinseong had acquired, or items that were effectively discontinued due to their difficulty to obtain, mostly had stats suitable for low-level users. Despite their rarity, they couldn’t fetch a high price.

Therefore, Jinseong had come up with a plan.

“I’d like to create replicas.”

Given that rarity didn’t translate into monetary value, the only way to make use of that rarity for higher-level users was through one method.

Dungeon & Fighter had a skin system, which Jinseong had already confirmed existed in this world, Arad.

‘The equipment I wore didn’t change in appearance, even though the effect was applied. It was the same with the steel armor I wore. In this world, as in the game, only avatars can alter the appearance of armor.’

Even now, though he was wearing clothes, Jinseong’s appearance remained that of the “Dark Knight” class.

In other words, even for Jinseong, equipment appearance could only be customized through avatars.

‘But weapons… aren’t limited to just avatars.’

Weapons had an additional system beyond just avatars.

By replicating the shape of an existing weapon, you could use it as a skin.

“Replicas? You mean the shape?”

“Yes. Tradeable replicas. I’d like to commission you to create a mold using your steel casting technique, Linius-nim.”

And if those replicas were created using , they could be traded between users, which meant Jinseong could obtain weapons and then turn their shapes into skins to sell for gold.

‘Normally, even just that would be worth several million gold. You couldn’t buy it cheaply even from the Sera Shop. But if I can use it like this!’

Watching the anxious Jinseong, Linius folded his arms.

It was only natural that he sighed.

“…It won’t be easy. It’ll take a lot of money, time, and effort. But! I can’t reject the idea without seeing the items first. So, what weapon do you want to replicate?”

Despite the difficulty, Linius’s positive attitude was likely because he was, at heart, a true blacksmith.

It was part of Jinseong’s calculation that Linius’s curiosity would be piqued by what weapon he wanted to replicate.

“This one.”

Jinseong showed him something from his inventory.

Though it was supposed to be a weapon, what Jinseong held wasn’t made of steel.

“This, this is… no way! Could it really be?! When you mentioned Behemoth and the GBL cult earlier, I thought it was just a possibility, but the rumors were true?”

“Hah, I thought the queen of the Duchy of Bell Meyer had ordered everyone to keep quiet, but I guess she couldn’t stop the rumors.”

The incidents on Behemoth were currently being kept under wraps.

The queen of Bell Meyer had personally issued the order to avoid causing panic among the people of Arad, but rumors had still spread here and there.

“Yes, the rumors are true. This is—.”

Jinseong moved the item closer to Linius.

“—the tentacle of Apostle Lotus.”

When Jinseong had sliced off Lotus’s tentacle with a that increased his skill level by two, several pieces of flesh had fallen to the ground. Among them were those that still retained their tentacle form. Jinseong had, of course, picked them up.

After all, he had even stripped the brainwashed GBL cultists of their clothes. He recalled that weapons made from Lotus’s tentacles had existed in the past, so he had gathered as many as possible before leaving.

Linius was so flustered that he stammered.

“B-but, to use this as a weapon—”

Could Lotus’s tentacles really be used?

Could they be made into weapons, and could their shape be replicated?

Jinseong already knew the answer to Linius’s unfinished question.

“They can be used. I’m already using them.”

Jinseong drew a stiff, razor-sharp tentacle from his scabbard to show Linius.

It was one of the rarest items in Dungeon & Fighter, nearly impossible to obtain in the current game.

The , a level 35 sword.

Although Jinseong wasn’t level 35 yet, the power of the given to him by Nemer lowered the level requirement to 25

, so he could use it right away.

It was a low-level weapon with a high entry difficulty and relatively low performance, but its unique, stylish appearance made it stand out.

However, because it was a “non-tradeable” item, Jinseong couldn’t sell it to users who only wanted it for its appearance. If he used to turn the weapon into a “tradeable” replica, he could sell it for gold.

“This… is incredible.”

This wasn’t about a game’s NPC affinity system. This was about genuine interaction between humans.

“You’ll do it, right? I have quite a few of these, and once I sell them, I plan to reinvest the remaining money back into your smithy.”

The fact that Linius was deep in thought, silent, meant that Jinseong had already cleared the first hurdle of his plan.

The real challenge would be how to handle the replicas once they were made, but Jinseong had already mapped out a strategy for that.

Clink, clink. Jinseong counted the gold he had saved from the 100,000 gold given by Sharan, combined with the items he had acquired while traveling through Dungeon: Behemoth.

‘I didn’t spend all the travel expenses Linius had given me, so in total… 110,000 gold.’

As Linius began pulling out the steel casting molds, Jinseong spoke.

“Linius-nim, I’ll be heading out for a bit. It won’t take long.”

“You say it won’t take long, but I—… You’re already gone.”

Linius sighed as he stood next to the pile of steel molds and Lotus’s tentacles.

* * *

A player stretched lazily in front of her monitor.

“Finished four mining runs… Ahhh, my body feels stiff. I’m only in my mid-twenties, but am I already breaking down?”

On the character selection screen of Dungeon & Fighter, characters with all sorts of radiant auras were waiting for their pilots.

For players who enjoyed multi-character gameplay in Dungeon & Fighter, it was a very familiar sight.

Among the dazzling characters, one stood out with a particularly humble appearance. The character’s level and adventurer reputation were laughably low compared to the others.

The player stared at that character.

‘Oh, right. I need to level up Vanguard to max soon.’

She then logged into the character.

Just as she tied her hair up and was about to check the daily missions, a message caught her eye in the always-busy chat window.

[Megaphone] (Ch. 1) Jinseong: [LV. 35 Lotus’s Thorned Tentacle Replica] for sale. The concept is cute, and the weapon is fun.

The player’s eyes widened as she looked at her monitor.

“What?! Pfft, it’s him again! What are you up to now?”

Sunsujikgi, with a grin, pushed her glasses up and sent Jinseong a whisper.