The Hero Returns

***

Ten days went by quickly. In a luxury hotel located in Gangnam District…

Geneva wearing his neat white suit, asked his assistant, “How did it go?”

He was talking about the auction that had taken place the day before. Geneva looked at his image in a mirror, adjusting his clothes. He seemed very confident and comfortable because he asked for an obvious answer. He never thought that the outcome of the auction would be different than what he expected. But…

“Actually… The results weren’t as good as expected.”

Geneva made a wry face at the assistant’s answer. “What do you mean, the results weren’t as good?”

“The winning bids were about 30 percent less than projected.”

“What? 30 percent? Compared to the minimum expectations?”

“Yes. And… the Ripper Guild has also asked to break a contract.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Geneva’s face turned unsightly.

He couldn’t believe he earned a ridiculously small amount of money from what he had submitted to the biggest auction house in Korea. Also, his assistant told him that the contract with the Ripper Guild, an agreement for long-term equipment supply, was canceled.

“Then, shouldn’t they have to pay steep penalties?”

“It looks like the guild master said she would abide by the consequences.”

“The guild master of Ripper Guild? Must be Park Ji-yeon.”

Park Ji-yeon was eclipsed by Kim Su-hyeun and the Paragon Guild, but she was still an outstanding S-Rank awakener. She was known as a genius who had set the record in the S-rank examination at the time. The Ripper Guild that she was also famous for having the largest number of awakeners in Korea, except for the Authority and the Korean Awakeners Association.

“What was the reason?” Geneva asked.

“Because of the other equipment sold at the auction house yesterday.”

“Were there a lot of cheap and good equipment at this time?”

“Yes, but…all the equipment was made by one man.”

“What?”

“All the works under the name of Kim Dae-ho’s workshop had a starting price of 0 won. Also, there was a confirmation letter from the famous appraiser of the Gordon Company, January Nicole.”

“The starting price was 0 won?” Geneva asked back in surprise.

A starting price of zero wasn’t unheard of. But it had never happened before that all the equipment provided by a craftsman was priced at zero.

“But still! How did my works’ prices fell because of that reason?”

“People said they all were of excellent quality. Even January Nicole praised them highly.”

“What? That picky woman?”

January Nicole. She was an item appraiser from America who criticized equipment harshly. She didn’t even hesitate to criticize Geneva’s equipment. As an appraiser, she was well-known among awakeners. There was no doubt about her judgments. So, if she complimented the items that had appeared last night, it meant those items were really well-made.

“The items from that workshop were sold before us. So, fewer people participated in the bidding for our equipment. And, most of them were your buff—”

“Alright, alright. Stop. I heard you.” Geneva shook his hand, stopping the assistant.

He put on a suit jacket and glared at his reflection in the mirror.

“So, one rotten apple spoiled the barrel, huh?”

***

Kim Dae-ho called Su-hyeun when he received the payment from the auction house.

-Is this real?

“What is?”

-I think they sent me the wrong amount of money by accident. There are too many zeros.

“What you got is right amount.”

-No, no. I got a lot less than this last time. It’s weird. Don’t you trust me?

“I was about to come over to your house. Let’s talk about it later.”

Su-hyeun, who was about to leave for Kim Dae-ho’s house, hung up the phone and changed his clothes. Now, he didn’t have to go far to Yangpyeong. With his car, he arrived at Kim Dae-ho’s house very quickly.

“Hey, Su-hyeun.”

Kim Dae-ho was in his house, not the workshop. He led Su-hyeun straight to the living room. The furniture hadn’t arrived yet, so it was very spacious and empty. There were only two folding chairs and one table.

Kim Dae-ho forgot to offer something to drink in his haste to ask, “So, are you saying this is the right amount?”

“Yes.” Su-hyeun nodded as he saw the amount printed in Kim Dae-ho’s bankbook.

“It’s a different situation than when you submitted stuff last time. That time your equipment wasn’t properly guaranteed by an appraiser.”

Once in a while, Kim Dae-ho had submitted his works to the auction house because he needed money for materials and everyday expenses. Of course, Kim Dae-ho didn’t know much about the auction process, so he had to proceed with disadvantageous conditions in many aspects, such as appraisals of goods or commissions.

“But this time, it’s different. The auction house’s commission was low, and there was also a clear proof of appraisal.”

“That piece of paper was that important?” Kim Dae-ho asked.

“Well, think about a watch. People pay much more for a watch that has a letter of guarantee. If there isn’t one, the price drops a lot even though it’s the same watch. For awakeners, their equipment is precious items that can save their lives. So, the price varies a lot when they know they can trust it.”

“Huh.”

“With that amount of money, you don’t have to make weapons with the lowest or lower-grade Ether stones anymore. And your prices will keep going up.”

“What? It’ll go up more?”

“Yes. If you build your brand well and make equipment with good materials. It’ll probably double from what you got this time.”

Kim Dae-ho, as Su-hyeun knew, was the perfect blacksmith. There was only one thing he lacked; he was really ignorant of the world. He was born in Yangpyeong and had never even stepped foot in Seoul before. When he had sold his equipment, he had done it through the small auction house in Yangpyeong, with many brokers in the middle.

He was a pushover, an easy target for a scam, or to be overcharged. The only reason Kim Dae-ho was able to eat and live without starving was that the equipment he made was so excellent.

“My brand…”

“I said it like it’s something big, but what I meant was people would believe your items in the end.”

“Oh, that’s what that meant.”

“Yes. And for that, it’ll take some time. Well, in other words, it’s only a matter of time.”

There were several ways to create a brand image: publicity through an advertising model, word of mouth, social media, etc. But, the most fundamental option was commercial value. No matter how much a brand was known among people, if it didn’t have a commercial value, it would fade away. In that sense, Kim Dae-ho’s works were very excellent. He was the best of all the blacksmiths Su-hyeun knew.

<<Yes. It’s only a matter of time,>> Su-hyeun thought.

The question was how long it would take.

Ring, ring, ring—

At that moment, Su-hyeun’s phone started to ring. It was a call from Lee Ju-ho.

“Hold on a second. Hello?”

-Hey. Did you see that? Lee Ju-ho asked abruptly. His voice sounded strange and urgent. Su-hyeun felt something must be wrong and asked what Lee Ju-ho was talking about.

Lee Ju-ho replied.

-Turn the speakerphone and go on Abyss Online. The site’s been crazy because of Mr. Dae-ho.

“What? Because of Mr. Dae-ho?”

Su-hyeun turned speakerphone on as Lee Ju-ho asked and connected to Abyss Online. It was the site used not only by many awakeners but also by many citizens interested in awakener activities. There were several reviews posted on the main page.

-The items that began auction at 0 won. Just as expected, there was a reason…

-I bought it by believing in the name of the appraiser but picked a defective product. It looks fine from the outside, but inside…

-Some people got fine stuff but why does mine have an issue? They were items made by the same blacksmith. It looks like there are a lot of defective goods. Is it a matter of luck?

There were so many criticisms. Su-hyeun frowned.

-Did you see it?

“Yes, I did.”

-What do you think? Is there any chance there were some defective products?

“Defective products? What do you mean?”

At Lee Ju-ho’s word, Kim Dae-ho stepped closer to Su-hyeun. He read the posts and jumped up.

“What the hell? Are they talking about my babies?”

“It looks like it.”

“Bullshit! I put all the defective ones in the warehouse! Those were my babies I sent to the world under my name! There were no defective ones!”

It was natural that Kim Dae-ho was upset. The works he had presented at the auction house were all his successful works. Of course, anyone could make a mistake. But it was certainly strange that a person like Kim Dae-ho would make such a mistake in succession; also, they had been all checked by the famous American appraiser, January Nicole.

“It seems very suspicious, doesn’t it?” Su-hyeun asked and Lee Ju-ho immediately answered.

-Yes. Very suspicious.

“Then” —Su-hyeun got up from his seat— “we should check it out.”

***

The C-ranked awakener, Jeon Seong-min, wore a big smile on his face. He met his friends in a high-class bar and drank strong liquor together. His face was flush. They were all awakeners who attacked dungeons together.

“Hey. Do you guys know what this is?” Jeon Seong-min asked, tapping the sword that he didn’t take off even in the drinking party. He spoke in a tone as if he was showing off a luxury item.

“What? Is that new?”

“You mean the sword? Let me see.”

“No, no. Don’t you dare touch it. You don’t know how expensive that thing it is,” Jeon Seong-min said with a grave look.

His friends around him frowned slightly at Jeon Seong-min’s tone. He spoke as if he was looking down on them. But their faces soon changed as he went on.

“This is Geneva’s work. Got it?”

“Geneva?”

“The American blacksmith?”

They were all surprised. They couldn’t help it. Geneva’s items, even cheap ones, were worth billions. It was indeed a luxury item. It wasn’t something that a normal C-Rank awakener could get.

“Where did you get it?”

“You bastard. You’re lying, aren’t you?”

“Right. You called me last night and bragged that you got a good item for cheap.”

At his friends’ words, Jeon Seong-min became a little stiff. But soon, he managed to brighten his face again and smiled.

Only

“Ah, that? It was a defective item when I checked again. So, I got a new one.”

“Where did you get the money?”

“Oh, there’s a way. Sorry, but I have to leave. I’ll pay for the table, so have fun.”

“Oh, bastard. I guess you really got some money.”

Jeon Seong-min got up to the cheers of his friends. Anyway, there was no one who hated it when a friend bought alcohol. Some of them couldn’t take their eyes from the sword that Jeon Seong-min was wearing. Their eyes sparked, as if they were looking at a bar of gold. Jeon Seong-min left the bar in a hurry and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

<<Heew. That was close. I have to keep the secret. Damn. Useless vanity. The alcohol is always a problem.>>

“Mr. Jeon Seong-min?” When he opened the door of the bar, the man who was standing next to it, called him. “Could you give me a second?”