“One should always be careful of fire, day or night.”
“Yes. Thank you for the advice. Since a fire did break out in the kitchen, it could certainly happen here as well.”
Since it was the office of someone of the General Manager’s rank, there were magical items used for light instead of lamps, so a fire was unlikely.
However, one never knew what could happen.
“I understand. I’ll have the staff tidy things up soon.”
“If a fire does happen, I’ll be the first one to run here.”
He was confident he could become the best firefighter in the Biryong Sect.
By using the Solar Holy Power to suck up the essence of the flames, most fires would lose their strength.
At Lee Tae-sung’s words, the General Manager’s eyes widened in surprise before he laughed.
“What? Hahat. I didn’t know you cared about me that much. Thank you, truly.”
Since the General Manager had been keeping an eye on Tae-sung for a while, he was already satisfied with his performance, but he hadn’t expected him to be so well-spoken.
He was good at social life and was a truly fine fellow.
“I’ve already credited your contribution for hiring the employees and preventing the fire from spreading further. Use it whenever you wish.”
Contribution points in the Biryong Sect could be used to enter the Secret Library or be exchanged for elixirs, weapons, or equipment.
Since Tae-sung had recently learned the Red Cloud Seven Styles and didn’t need a new skill immediately, he decided to save them.
“Thank you.”
“I should be the one thanking you. Oh, by the way, is there a specific request you’d like to take on?”
“Am I allowed to choose?”
“Of course.”
Normally, the General Manager assigned requests that he deemed suitable for a particular martial artist.
However, because he held Tae-sung in high regard, he was willing to steer requests toward what Tae-sung wanted.
There were certainly easy and comfortable requests compared to the pay or contribution points, and he was more than willing to assign one to Tae-sung.
“Actually, I was planning to take a leave of absence to visit Needle Sword Mountain. I heard that herbs grow well there and elixirs are occasionally spotted.”
“Needle Sword Mountain? Hmm. I’ve heard the terrain is quite rugged, so there are many herbalists and foragers there.”
“So I was thinking of going there for some fresh air, but I was wondering if there were any requests headed that way.”
He intended to visit Needle Sword Mountain because of Baek Woon-ho’s request.
However, wouldn’t it be better to take a mission if he was going anyway?
“Needle Sword Mountain. Needle Sword Mountain… Wait a moment. I think I saw something.”
The General Manager began rummaging through a pile of documents for a while. Then…
“Ah, here it is. There’s a transport heading toward Morustead from the Biryong Escort Agency. They are looking for someone at the level of an escort, so it doesn’t quite match your skill level, but…”
Morustead was famous as a city of blacksmiths and was located not far from Needle Sword Mountain.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m willing to go even as a porter.”
He had to go to Needle Sword Mountain anyway, so getting paid and earning contribution points while doing it was a win-win.
Shouldn’t he jump at the chance?
“The timing is a bit tight. They depart in one hour. Will that be okay?”
“Yes. But is the escort mission difficult?”
If the departure was so soon and they still hadn’t found an escort, was it a request people were avoiding because it was too hard?
The General Manager shook his head at that thought.
“No, it’s not that. On the contrary, it’s such an easy request that they decided they could do without one more escort. They were fine with leaving whether they had one or not.”
“Ah, in that case, I’ll participate.”
“Alright. Take this and go immediately.”
The General Manager handed over the request form.
-Tring!
**[A quest has been generated]**
**[Quest: Escort Goods for the Biryong Escort Agency]**
– Description: Become an escort for the Biryong Escort Agency and participate in the goods escort mission.
Successfully escort the goods to the city of Morustead to complete the mission.
Tae-sung read the quest notification and left the General Manager’s office with the request form.
***
The Biryong Escort Agency was a new business venture by the Biryong Sect.
Therefore, it wasn’t large yet, but it had potential despite being new.
The duty of an escort agency was ultimately to transport goods safely, and if needed, martial artists from the Biryong Sect could come to support them.
Because of this, the Biryong Escort Agency gained a reputation for being small but solid, and such rumors spread even faster among bandits.
If they targeted the wrong opponent, their lives could be at risk, so it was better to let a strong escort agency pass!
Thanks to that, the journey proceeded smoothly.
“Wow. This time, it’s surprisingly quiet. I wonder if it’s all thanks to a first-class member like you joining us as a mere escort.”
“Don’t praise me too much. It’s embarrassing,” Tae-sung replied, shrugging at the words of the senior escort, Hwang Gyun.
Tae-sung was a regular escort and Hwang Gyun was a senior escort, yet Hwang Gyun was using polite speech.
Even as a senior escort, his level was somewhere between a second-class and a first-class member.
Since a first-class member was at the level of a Chief Escort, he respected Tae-sung regardless of his temporary rank.
‘Anyway, it’s a shame. It would have been nice to get some experience points on the way.’
If a bandit event had occurred, he might have been able to level up or increase his skill proficiency.
He had been looking forward to that, but there was no news.
If the other escorts and porters, who were relieved that it was safe, had heard him, they would have wanted to hit him.
“We’ll be at Morustead soon. Normally it takes five days, but if we cross this mountain, we’ll arrive in half a day.”
With Tae-sung, who was at the level of a Chief Escort, joined by other veteran escorts and chiefs, the Biryong Escort Agency boldly decided to cross the mountain guarded by bandits to shorten the journey time.
The bandits, perhaps intimidated, didn’t even show their faces, and the journey became incredibly fast.
A faster-than-expected delivery meant an increase in the agency’s reputation, and an additional bonus would be applied to Tae-sung’s mission completion.
“Then we’ll be arriving shortly?”
“Yes.”
“Have you ever been to Morustead?”
“I’ve been there a few times. It’s a city lined with massive forges that every martial artist admires.”
Morustead was a city built by blacksmiths.
It was a heated city where various people gathered, from master craftsmen and apprentice blacksmiths to martial artists looking for weapons, merchants, and various factions.
‘A weapon… Come to think of it, I do need a new sword.’
Because he had taken Magma’s Fang into the real world, the weapon currently at his waist was just an ordinary longsword he had been using before.
Knowing how important a good weapon was in battle, he thought he might buy a decent sword in Morustead—provided the price was right.
A short while later, the caravan arrived in Morustead.
“Great work, everyone. This was the easiest and fastest trip ever. It’s all thanks to your hard work.”
The Chief Escort announced the end of the journey.
-Tring!
**[You have completed the quest.]**
**[Please visit the General Manager of the Biryong Sect to receive your settlement.]**
However, it seemed he could only receive the quest reward after returning to the Biryong Sect.
‘Where should I go first?’
Before heading to Needle Sword Mountain, Tae-sung decided to stop by a forge to look at swords since he was already in Morustead.
‘If I’m going to go, I should go to a place that looks impressive.’
Of course, such a place would be expensive, so he planned to just check the market prices first. Tae-sung moved through the city.
“…Whoa.”
Before long, he found a massive forge that was about the size of an eight-story building.
It seemed the entire building was a forge, as smoke was billowing from the chimneys.
In front was a sign that read ‘Off-limits. Owner not present!’ but Tae-sung stepped over the sign and went inside as if possessed.
And for good reason—inside the building was a large-scale blacksmithing facility.
Fierce winds were supplied from a giant bellows, and bright red flames soared upward.
Truly…
‘It’s beautiful!’
Look at those flames!
It was much more magnificent than when he saw the burning building in the Biryong Sect.
After all, it was no exaggeration to say that the level of a blacksmith was equal to the level of their fire.
The quality of the result depended on how purely they could melt the iron and impurities using high-temperature flames.
Naturally, because of such flames, it felt like the Solar Holy Power was urging him to hurry over.
Tae-sung followed its lead.
After getting close to the flames, he took in the massive heat through his breathing.
-Vwooom!
“!!!”
The efficiency was overwhelming.
Mana accumulated in his body at a rate that felt ten times faster than his usual training.
Since it had been seven or eight times faster when the Biryong Sect building was on fire, this was even more incredible.
However, in one corner of his heart, there was some regret.
‘Ten times… is this my limit?’
Honestly, the density of the flames seemed high enough to yield more than ten times the efficiency, but it seemed his body could only take in this much.
It was disappointing, but he was satisfied with this.
Tae-sung closed his eyes for a long time, feeling the flames and concentrating on the Solar Holy Power.
He could read the flow of the fire inside the forge as if he were holding it in his hand, and he guided it entirely into his own body.
“Are you crazy?! What do you think you’re doing there?”
Just then, a voice broke his concentration.
Turning his gaze, he saw a muscular old man with bronzed skin scowling at him.
“Are you a thief?”
“Ah… I’m sorry. The flames were so magnificent that I unconsciously came closer to watch.”
“Is your vision just for decoration? Didn’t you see the ‘Off-limits’ sign I put up?”
The old man pointed outside as he spoke, and Tae-sung had nothing to say.
He had seen it, but it was clearly his fault for entering as if he were possessed.
“Ha! I was working hard to keep the embers alive, and what on earth have you done!”
However, the old man didn’t seem to think Tae-sung was a thief anymore, as he didn’t say anything else.
Logically, if he were a thief, he would have been rummaging through the warehouse instead of standing blankly in the middle of the forge.
Thus, he bypassed Tae-sung and went to the bellows.
The flames in the forge were noticeably smaller than before, and he assumed the fire was dying because he hadn’t been tending to it.
‘I feel a bit bad.’
Tae-sung felt a prick of conscience since the fire was in this state because he had absorbed the essence of the flames.
-Fwoosh!
Fwoooooosh!
The old man began treading the bellows again, sweating profusely, when Tae-sung spoke cautiously from beside him.
“Master.”
“I’m working. Don’t talk to me!”
“No… it’s not that. I think there’s a crack in the forge.”
“What?”
Only then did the old man look at Tae-sung.
His expression was one of absolute absurdity.
“I think there’s a tiny hairline crack. It seems the heat is leaking out very slightly through there.”
Tae-sung spoke with confidence.
While operating the Solar Holy Power at full strength, he had felt the flow of heat inside with his entire body.
It was high-purity heat, but some of it was leaking outward.
At that moment, a voice came from outside.
“Councilman! We’ve brought the charcoal you asked for! You must increase the flames this time and create your greatest masterpiece!”
There were workers dragging a cart with great effort.
“Leave it there.”
The Master Blacksmith of Morustead and a member of the city council, Rodon, gestured vaguely to the workers to leave the charcoal inside.
Then, he stared intently at Tae-sung.
“So. You’re saying there’s a crack in the forge and heat is leaking. Is that it?”
“Yes.”
“Ha… And where exactly is that?”
Rodon found the words of this ridiculous brat so absurd that he thought he might as well play along.
“It’s here.”
Tae-sung pointed seriously at one side of the wall.
To the naked eye, it looked perfectly fine.
“There’s nothing there.”
“It looks like that to the eye, but it’s not. It’s definitely leaking slightly from here.”
As he spoke, Tae-sung channeled mana into his hand and covered a portion of the wall.
Then…
-Fwaaaaakh!
“!!?”
The flames, which had been growing from the air of the bellows, underwent a noticeable change, and Rodon’s eyes widened in shock.
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