How a D-Class Alchemist Avoids Death

I let out a sigh and sprawled on the sofa.

‘This is 100% a misunderstanding, right?’

When I said she was taking a break, her reaction was strange, so I’m pretty sure it’s a misunderstanding.

“I never asked her to work; I simply mentioned that she was on a break. So, why the misunderstanding?”

I sprang up, venting my anger, and then lay back down on the sofa again.

That kid’s still a child that had to put down her hammer because of her emotional wounds. I thought if her wounds healed, she would pick up the hammer again.

That’s what I meant by my statement earlier.

“Haa.”

“Hyung. I don’t need a sword. Hunters usually fight well without weapons, and I don’t have a specific weapon I prefer.” Seo Taeju, who had been pondering all night at home about why I visited Hanseong, suddenly changed his attitude and spoke with a wavering smile.

‘Is this bastard really not insane… Should I hit him? Would it be self-defense if I hit him here?’

Who said they can’t spit in a smiling face? I feel like I could spit and even swing my fist.

“A hunter isn’t supposed to get attached to their weapons. No matter what sword I pick up, I can defeat those monsters.”

“If you’re thinking of talking nonsense again, just get lost.” I waved my hand dismissively.

If I keep listening to his nonsense, I really feel like I’m going to punch him.

“Do you have no plans for today? I only need to get a quick approval, should I get some breakfast on the way back?”

“Do as you wish, but just leave.”

“Sure. Then I’ll bring something delicious.”

That crazy bastard.

Until yesterday, he was acting like a mad dog, but today he’s behaving like a pet dog. I wonder if I can really bring this bastard to the cradle. In the novel, he was the only hope, but now, since Shin Sooha is alive, it should be okay.

“I’ll be back!”

The maniac, whose tension I could not keep up with, left, and the house became quiet. I leaned back and stroked the Salt’s head, who was dozing off, and stood up from my place.

“Ppi!”

Salt protested as if to say what I’m gonna do if he keeps waking up like this, but I ignored it and moved to the bathroom.

No matter how I think about it, I can’t let this slide. Even though I understand a hundred times that an adult’s heart can get hurt, I should at least make an excuse.

‘Right. Whether she accepts my excuse or not, I have to tell her my true feelings.’

I hardened my resolution and came out after washing, and Salt frowned at me.

“Hey, Salt. If you keep doing that, I won’t take you with me.”

Unhappy about being left behind, Salt sat on my head. I was about to hurry and leave but I hesitated.

“That guy’ll go crazy if I leave without a word.”

I grabbed a memo paper in the living room and roughly left a message and left the house. There wasn’t even time to call a taxi, so I walked out of the house and hailed a taxi.

“Pyeongbeok-dong, please.”

I was organizing my thoughts while looking at the swiftly passing scenery, but we arrived in no time as the road was unexpectedly clear today. I got off a bit farther than usual. I was planning to finish organizing my thoughts while walking.

“Phew.”

This was my first time apologizing to someone, so I was a little nervous. When I was Kim Hae-ah, if someone unrelated to my work misunderstood something, I would cut them off right away rather than trying to clear the misunderstanding. I thought the time spent clearing up a misunderstanding was a waste.

But I wanted to clear up Woo Hanseong’s misunderstanding.

Not because she was an SS-rank blacksmith, but because she was a child who had been hurt by an adult.

“Salt.”

“Ppi?”

“Listen carefully to what I say. Check if my words sound right.”

Salt flew to my face and met my eyes.

“Cough, cough. Woo Hanseong-ssi misunderstood something, but it’s not because you’re an SS-rank blacksmith that I helped repair your house.”

“Ppi. Ppi-ppi. Ppi-ppi.”

“Wait, it’s not over yet. There’s more.”

“Ppi-ppi.”

I cleared my throat again. I tried to make my voice as soft as possible.

“So, there’s a misunderstanding. I didn’t help Woo Hanseong-ssi because you’re a blacksmith—Huh?”

Suddenly, I felt a vibration and looked down at the ground.

“What? The ground definitely shook.”

It was weak, but it was a strange feeling as if the ground on which I was standing was moving.

“Ppi-ppi?”

“No. The ground is shaking…”

It was the moment when I was about to answer Salt. The ground I was standing on quickly darkened.

‘The ground’s darkening.’

“Damn it. Salt!”

It was a monster gate.

I caught Salt.

The dark ground was sucking everything in like it was absorbing it, and my body was being sucked into the gate as well.

***

“Hyung?”

Seo Taeju, carrying a bag of twisted doughnuts that Seo Go-woon used to love, stepped into his empty house and headed straight for the room.

“Hyung?”

He called out to Seo Go-woon while knocking on the door, but there was no response from inside.

“Are you asleep?”

He seldom took naps during the day, but one could never be too sure.

“Hyung, I’m going to open the door.”

As if he was going to wake Seo Go-woon, Taeju softly granted himself permission and opened the door.

“Hyung?”

Contrary to his expectation, the room was empty without a trace of anyone.

It was then, Seo Taeju left the bag with doughnuts on the living room table and dialed Seo Go-woon’s number. A note with hastily written words caught his eye.

[I’m going to Woo Hanseong’s.]

‘Woo Hanseong again? I told him I don’t need him.’

—The person you are reaching is currently unavailable, please leave a voicemail….

“He even turned off his phone?”

What conversation could be so important that he had to turn off his phone and go to him?

Seo Go-woon wasn’t up to his old foolish antics. However, what was incomprehensible was that it still made him worry as much as when Go-woon did those foolish things. In the end, Seo Taeju let out a deep sigh and left the house to fetch Seo Go-woon.

‘Will he understand if I tell him I brought the doughnuts because they’re delicious?’

Although it was certain that he would be angry again, there was a reason this time.

***

Woo Hanseong found herself huddled against the wall, her gaze fixed on the floor.

Up until yesterday, she could hear various noises from outside the room – the sounds of home repairs, the sparring of birds and humans, and the sizzling of cooking. But today, silence reigned.

‘It was kind of nice.’

The noises that emanated from the otherwise always quiet house somehow made her feel good. Especially, the sound of the bird called Salt and an unknown guest fighting would sometimes make her smile.

‘Will he not come anymore?’

Feeling a sudden pang of regret, Woo Hanseong vehemently shook her head.

“Don’t think about it. He’s a bad person.”

South Korea’s only SS-class blacksmith.

Woo Hanseong, who originally loved to create, was overjoyed when she first awakened to that fact. The idea that she could help her struggling parents by selling the weapons and armor she crafted brought her immense joy. But then.

‘Mom… Dad….’

Before they could benefit from her gift, her parents were taken from her.

It happened just two days before they were set to move into their new home.

The suddenness of their loss left her questioning why it had to be her parents’ car that was involved in the fatal hit-and-run.

Following the funeral, Woo Hanseong relocated to her only remaining uncle’s home. At his suggestion, she began working tirelessly in his workshop, churning out weapons and armor like a machine that knew no rest.

She believed that if she worked hard enough, perhaps some divine intervention would help bring the culprit of the hit-and-run to justice.

Three months later,

However, Woo Hanseong heard something that shattered her world.

“Hey, do you know how hard it was for me to make an alibi? I’ll never get caught. Do you think I wanted to do it? I had to do it because my persuasion didn’t work, and it was an easier way. Well, they’re a fool for not taking advantage of the value of an SS-class blacksmith.”

She had goosebumps.

Her skin crawled.

She learned of the hit-and-run perpetrator and the twisted reason behind her parents’ death in that brief exchange. Her SS-class blacksmith awakening was not a blessing, but a dreadful curse that led to her parents’ demise. Since then, she grew to despise the cruel heart of humanity capable of such murderous intent. Despite her desire to find evidence, she found none – just as her uncle had assured her.

So she used the weapons she made before joining the guild to pay the penalty for breaking the guild contract, and with the remaining money, she bought a deserted house on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province. She didn’t want to have anything to do with anyone anymore and didn’t want to do any blacksmithing.

“Hmm, maybe not everyone who awakens chooses that job, right? Think about it. If you’re a plant hunter and have a pollen allergy, you can’t be a plant hunter. That’s a problem from birth. There must be far more people who can’t live after they’ve awakened in this world.”

She couldn’t forget the words Go-woon had shared while inspecting the plumbing, oblivious to its impact. Those words had granted Woo Hanseong, herself – who had sworn off blacksmithing – a sense of absolution, a release from guilt.

“But why.”

She suspected it was the man’s preconceived notions that made him not want her, as a mere blacksmith. She had believed he was the only one content with her being simply Woo Hanseong.

“…No, let’s give up.”

She didn’t even have the energy to make up reasons. What was she contemplating of someone who wouldn’t come to her? She was merely going back to the way things were. It would become lonely again, but it’s not like she would die from loneliness.

A car engine’s rumbling sound reached Woo Hanseong’s ears as she bowed his head, intending to stop thinking about Go-woon.

“Could it be.”

Woo Hanseong suddenly stood up. And she ran barefoot to the iron gate.

When she opened the gate, panting heavily, what was outside…

“Is my brother here by any chance?”

It wasn’t Seo Go-woon.

“Ah… No.”

Recalling that this was Seo Taeju, who had argued with Seo Go-woon just the day before, Woo Hanseong shook her head.

Taeju roughly dragged his fingers through his hair.

“Dammit.”

Surprised by the sudden curse, Woo Hanseong flinched, but Seo Taeju paid no mind. Instead, he gestured irritably at Woo Hanseong and made a call on his cell phone.

“Hey. I’m here. Can you check if there’s a Monster Wave in Pyeongbuk-dong area?”

He had been hoping fervently that the black whirlwind he thought he had misread before coming here was not a Monster Wave.

—Just a moment. Huh? How did you know? That neighborhood, a Monster Wave triggered 40 minutes ago. By now, the response team is……

“Shit.”

Even before the other party finished speaking, Seo Taeju harshly hung up and turned to leave, but Woo Hanseong blocked him.

“What is it?”

“What’s going on?”

“Out with you.”

“I need to know what’s happening. Did something happen to Go-woon-ssi?”

At the mention of the name Go-woon, Seo Taeju’s face contorted nastily. Despite his handsome face, he looked chillingly cold.

“Don’t meddle in other people’s business.”

“He’s not someone else. It’s about Go-woon-ssi.”

“Is that something someone who told him not to come back out of a sense of betrayal should say? And as you wish, I have no intention of sending him here anymore. You don’t need to know now, do you?”

Finishing his words quickly, Seo Taeju headed towards his car.

“Ah, no! Yesterday…”

“I don’t like it.”

Woo Hanseong’s body jerked at Seo Taeju’s decisive words.

“I don’t like you being involved with my brother! So, don’t interfere and get lost!”

“Why?! I’m the one who was deceived. And in the first place, it was Go-woon-ssi who came here first. I didn’t do anything wrong—”

“Why?! You didn’t do anything wrong?! Look at the situation now!”

Seo Taeju, who had suddenly started to speak informally to Woo Hanseong, gritted his teeth.

“My brother left a note saying he was going to meet you. But now there’s a Monster Wave nearby? Is there any guarantee that he didn’t get caught up in it?”

“He could have gone to another place—Wait. Go—Go-wo-ssi is in a Mo—Monster Wave?!”

“Yes. It’s possible he was trapped while coming to meet you. Do you understand now?” Taeju said, ruffling his hair brusquely as he spoke to Woo Hanseong. “I’m not sure what your impression of my brother was, but he’s not one to apologize. If he doesn’t appear, it’s because he simply isn’t there. Have you ever heard of a loose cannon in the hunting community?”

“No.”

During her blacksmithing era, she spent all her time crafting weapons in the guild’s workshop, often falling into sleep out of exhaustion. Her days were so demanding that she barely had time to make friends who could share rumors.

“My brother is the type who doesn’t hold back his thoughts and refrains from flattery.”

Woo Hanseong found herself recalling the first time Seo Go-woon visited her home.

He was just as described.

In stark contrast to those who lauded the SS-ranked blacksmith, he merely greeted Woo Hanseong modestly.

Even during a meal of pork belly, he refrained from discussing the blacksmithing trade, in fact, he didn’t utter a single word about it after initially declaring he wouldn’t broach the subject during their meal.

“I’m aware my brother initiated contact with you. But, from this point forward, he won’t be coming to seek you out. So, quit interfering and go away.”

Just as Seo Taeju finished his one-sided declaration and was about to climb into the driver’s seat, Woo Hanseong, who had approached unnoticed, swung open the passenger door and settled in first.

“Hey.”

“I’m going with you.”

“What exactly do you think you’ll achieve by accompanying me? Do you even know what to do?”

Instead of responding, Woo Hanseong buckled her seatbelt and clutched the handle above the window with all her strength.

Seeing her determined not to exit, Taeju, now in the driver’s seat, asked, “Not leaving?”

“If this situation involves me, I need to verify it myself. Whether a Monster Wave truly exists.”

“Do you think I’m spinning a tale right now?”

“If it’s not a lie, you shouldn’t have a problem taking me along, right?”

At her sharp retort, Taeju, who had been gnawing his lip, shifted the gear and ignited the car.

Time was already slipping away. Whether Hanseong joined him or not, the priority was to ascertain if Go-woon was really in the Monster Wave, and if so, he had to swiftly complete the raid and rescue Go-woon.

Taeju’s car took off, leaving a dust trail behind.