Zeke rode out of the academy in a carriage.
It was to go see the blacksmith who had refused the reservation.
'Gellion Halbert.'
Zeke remembered the blacksmith's name.
In his previous life, Zeke had a deep connection with Gelion.
Ten years from now, Gelion will be given the nickname 'Blacksmith of Souls'.
He could also have the title of the best blacksmith on the continent, as he could read the soul of the user and create a weapon that best suited him.
And before returning, Zeke had saved Gelion's life while performing a mission.
In return for his debt of life, Gelion created the sword he desperately needed.
Zeke thought back to the claymore he had used before his return.
'Sun Sword Gram'
The sun sword Gram, engraved with a coiled snake pattern, was the masterpiece of the master craftsman Gelion.
This black jigger had special features for it.
It was an ability that allowed you to convert mana gained during a fight into aura.
The reason why Zeke aimed his weapon at Gellion, of all people, was to recreate this Gram.
"We have arrived, Your Majesty."
At Decker's words, Zeke opened the carriage door and got out.
It was a small, shabby blacksmith shop in a corner of the city.
Zeke looked at the sign written on the blacksmith shop.
[Gellion's Forge]
'And the name sense.'
He ordered Decker to wait and then went inside alone.
As soon as I entered, a strong smell of alcohol permeated the air.
Inside, a man was banging his head on the table.
Zeke slowly approached the table.
"Ugh!"
A completely drunk man waved his hand at Zeke without even looking at him.
"Since we're not open for business… … Go… … Open… … Not… … ."
A young man with pale skin and a pale face.
A handsome face and a thin body that doesn't look like a blacksmith.
Although he had a patchy beard, it was clearly Gelion.
Zig looked down at Gelion and said.
"Gellion Halbert."
When his name was called, Gelion looked up at Zeke with dazed eyes.
"Huh? What is it? You… … This is not a place for children, so get out quickly… … ."
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Then he picked up the bottle of alcohol and started gulping it down.
Zeke frowned at the sight of her becoming a complete wreck.
'This is serious.'
I turned my head to look at the forge and it looked like it had been several months since the last fire was lit.
He opened his mouth to address Gelion.
"I heard you don't take reservations. Do you know why?"
Gelion wiped his mouth, remembering the trumpet.
"Ugh… … I can't even make the weapon I want. What's the use of making more?"
Zeke tilted his head at the sight of Gelion's condition.
'It's so different from when I saw it in my past life, I can't figure out what's going on.'
Even in his previous life, Gelion had a meticulous personality that was unusual for a blacksmith, and had quite a few emotional ups and downs, but he had never seen him give up like this.
Zeke looked at him for a moment, then turned and walked out of the forge.
Gelion laughed and continued drinking.
"Someone like me deserves to die. What kind of blacksmith is someone like me… … ."
That was when.
Chomp!
"Phew!"
Zig, who had brought a bucket of water from outside, poured it out with all his might towards Gellion.
Gelion, who had been baptized with a torrent of water, looked at Zig with a bewildered expression while completely soaked.
Zeke spoke to him with a cold look in his eyes.
"Are you coming to your senses now?"
Gelion blinked and looked at Zig.
Then his gaze lingered on the glove on Zeke's hand.
Gelion's face turned pale.
"D, Draker… … ."
The Drake family held a special status in the Duchy of Troy.
Among them, pureblooded Drakers were especially special.
Gellion sobered up completely.
Right at the table, he straightened his head.
"I'm sorry, I apologize. I'm sorry for being rude to your majesty… … ."
"I ask again. Why did you decline my reservation?"
At those words, Gelion shuddered.
"Sir, I never thought that a pureblooded Draker would ask a nameless blacksmith like me for a favor… … ."
In the first place, it was Gelion who didn't even confirm the reservation request.
Zig pulled up a chair and sat down, speaking to Gelion.
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"Now I know who the client is. Can I ask again to make a reservation?"
Gelion answered with a fearful but firm voice.
"I'm sorry, but this request is not possible."
Zeke's eyes narrowed.
"So you have time to drink, but no time to take my requests?"
Gelion raised his head and spoke to Zeke.
"That… … I know it's presumptuous of me to ask, but it's my own problem."
"Tell me exactly. If there is no reason you can accept, you cannot refuse my request."
At Zeke's words, Gelion thought about it for a while and then slowly got up from his seat.
"Come this way. I will explain."
Gelion took Zigg to the back of the forge.
Behind the forge were hundreds of broken swords piled up.
It was like a tomb of swords.
Zig looked at the remains of the sword and asked Gelion.
"What is this?"
Gelion said with a bitter expression.
"That's why I told you I couldn't accept your request."
Zeke picked up the debris piled up in the Sword Tomb and examined it.
"This is… … ."
He could read something from the remains of the broken sword.
"It's a fastening technique. It's a much more advanced technique than the average one."
Gelion was surprised by Zeke's words.
"Oh, how did you know?"
It made no sense that a pureblooded Draker would know the method of fastening that even the most skilled blacksmiths did not know.
Zick said, looking at the mountain of debris that had piled up.
"Are you saying that you can't take on a request because you lack the skills?"
Gelion nodded with a stern expression.
"I felt my limitations as a blacksmith."
Zeke was able to grasp the situation in Gelion.
'I've hit a huge wall.'
The future Gelion could freely manipulate fire and iron, and could create the best weapon for any user.
Zig was troubled as he watched Gelion standing at a crossroads of growth.
'What should I do?'
In fact, Zeke already knew a way to solve Gelion's problem.
In his previous life, Zeke was Gelion's savior, so he was able to hear many stories from him.
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'Gellion. Every time I see the weapons you make, I am amazed. What on earth is your secret?'
'Many blacksmiths want to know that. It is my life's vision, but why should I hide anything from my benefactor?'
'No... ... If it's that level of vision, you don't have to say anything. It's burdensome.'
'The secret is the brazier. A brazier made of magic.'
Gellion's vision was to freely control the temperature of fire through a specially made magical furnace.
Zig looked at the mountain of sword remains with a bitter expression on his face.
'The timing is not right. Are you not skilled enough to make a sun sword yet?'
The Sun Sword Gram was something that Gellion himself said was his greatest masterpiece.
If Gelion hadn't been able to get over the wall yet, he wouldn't be able to make Sieg's sword.
Then, Gelion suddenly collapsed and cried out in resentment.
"Sob… … This is so frustrating. If only there had been a brazier… … If only there had been a brazier… … ."
Zeke said to Gelion.
"What does that mean, brazier?"
Gelion took something out of his bosom and handed it to Zig.
"This is a special furnace that I designed."
Zeke was astonished when he saw the blueprint drawn on parchment.
'It's exactly the same as what the future Gelion used.'
Gelion said with a resentful expression.
"If only this furnace could be completed, I could reach the level I envisioned. But… … that damn money is the problem."
Zig blinked at the unexpected words and asked.
"Wait a minute, so you're saying that those losers just didn't have the money to build this furnace? Not because they lacked the skills?"
Gelion said with a serious expression at Zeke's words.
"I have already mastered all the blacksmithing techniques that exist today, many years ago. What I want is something more."
It was Gelion who tried to go beyond existing technologies and venture into areas that ordinary blacksmiths had not been able to enter.
Zig spoke as he looked at the schematics of the furnace written on parchment.
"How short of money is it?"
Gelion sighed.
"Creating the furnace itself is possible if you somehow get a loan. However… … the most important core magic power source is the problem."
"Magic-powered? If that's the case, then you can just ask a wizard."
Gelion made a bitter expression.
"I already submitted a request to the magic tower."
"however?"
"The Tower guys cost ten thousand gold to build the drivetrain that would fit that furnace."
"10,000 gold?"
The average monthly living expenses for an average family was around ten gold coins.
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Ten thousand gold was an amount that an ordinary person could not even dream of earning even if they worked their entire life.
"10,000 golds. The belly button must be bigger than the stomach."
Gellion made a face of resentment.
"There is clearly a way to go further, but ordinary fire cannot get us beyond that point, so every time I strike the iron, I feel a sense of inferiority."
Zig looked at Gelion and was lost in thought.
'Before returning, the reason why Gellion's fame was delayed may have been because he was busy saving money.'
If that was the case, then it would be no problem for Gelion to display his original abilities once the furnace was completed.
At that moment, someone crossed Zeke's mind.
'The magic theory class instructor... ...was Paynen? That person was definitely a magic power researcher.'
Perhaps surprisingly, this problem could be solved easily.
He spoke to Gelion, who was in despair.
"Hey, Gelion."
Gellion said, barely able to pull himself together.
"I'm sorry… … for embarrassing myself in front of your majesty… … ."
"If I could make this furnace for you, would you accept my commission?"
At those words, Gelion opened his eyes wide and looked at Zeke.
"Oh, you mean you're going to make a brazier for me?"
Gelion's eyes burned brightly.
Zeke was unconsciously pushed back by Gelion's hot momentum.
"I guess I could give it a try."
As soon as Zig regained his sense of surprise and spoke, Gelion knelt down in front of Zig and grabbed his ankle.
"Ugh! If you do that, I, Gelion, will treat you as my benefactor for the rest of my life!"
Looking at Gelion shedding tears, Zeke thought of Gelion from his previous life.
'I feel like he's more grateful now than when I saved his life.'
He took the plans for Gelion's furnace and put them in his bosom.
"First, I'll meet with the wizard and let you know the results as soon as I get them. And now, stop drinking."
At Zeke's words, Gelion lowered his head, his eyes filled with tears and snot.
"Okay, thank you! Thank you! Your Majesty!"
* * *
Zeke left Gelion's shabby forge behind and headed back to the academy.
He looked over the blueprints for Gellion from the carriage.
Although I had never formally studied magic, I could read schematics of a drivetrain.
'The structure itself doesn't look difficult. Why did those guys from Matap charge such a high price for it?'
It seemed like there was something he didn't know.
After arriving at the academy, Zeke walked towards the research building where Payne was staying.
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Then something struck Zeke's senses.
'Where is that...?'
A backwater between the academy buildings.
In his previous life, this was the place where Zeke was mainly bullied by Leon Conrad.
The bullying went away after the regression, but the memories of the past did not go away.
Just as Zeke was about to turn around and head towards the research building.
Thud! Thud!
A sound of someone being hit was heard in the back alley.
Zeke tried to pass by, but then stopped walking again.
'Now is not the time for me to be meddlesome… … .'
Memories of the hardships I had at the academy haunted me.
Finally, Zeke turned around and walked between the buildings.
As expected, Leon Conrad's gang was standing in a group.
It seemed that with the original prey, Zeke, gone, he was now harassing a new victim.
He looked at the cadet being beaten by Leon's gang.
'Huh? That guy... ... .'
It was a face that even Zeke knew.
'Liam Stone.'
A servant of Jacken Waldeck and the future mercenary king.
He was being beaten up, becoming Leon Conrad's new scapegoat.
Zeke became concerned when he found out that the person he was dealing with was Liam Stone.
'There's no way Liam would just take it. There must be something going on.'
I thought it would be a headache if I interfered for no reason.
Zig, who had been thinking for a moment, turned around and decided to just go back.
At that moment, Leon's voice rang out loudly.
"How is it? Are you coming to your senses now! You inferior little bastard!"
In an instant, Zig's new form soared upward.
Then he just stepped on the wall and ran.
He grabbed Leon Conrad by the back of his neck and threw him against the wall.
"Cough!"
Conrad's group was taken aback by Zig's sudden intrusion.
Zeke said, glaring at them with eyes that were too young to live.
"I'll give you three seconds. Put your heads together."