Chapter 24: A Toast to Warriors

"Alright, then. Let's go, my friend."

"Uh... yeah."

Romantic Black was cool as ever.

He was truly curious and managed to solve his curiosity by successfully inviting Levan to the guild. After receiving Levan’s request, he left Houm’s house without any hard feelings.

After the three of them left the house, Levan muttered in disbelief, his voice still tinged with shock.

"There really are some extraordinary people in this world..."

Though he only caught a glimpse, they didn’t seem like bad folks. He didn't particularly criticize them.

As proof, they even gave him a Unique grade ring.

In fact, when Levan first joined the guild and received the ring, he considered asking to exchange the commemorative joining gift for something more useful to him.

But he soon gave up on the idea.

Because what Levan needed were items closer to those used by a warrior rather than a mage.

"I’d rather not risk revealing my true identity by asking for something like that."

Levan, who had reclassified as a Warlord, knew his value was sky-high both inside and outside the guild.

People's hearts could change at any moment, so until he fully understood the Freedom Guild, Levan decided not to disclose any personal information.

"I need to leave this village quickly."

Levan put on the animal mask again.

Following Belkan's advice, he planned to meet the villagers one by one, greet Houm last, and then leave Helum.

He hoped he might even get some free food as a parting gift, perhaps as a token of becoming guildmates with the villagers and Houm.

With his resolve made, Levan stepped out of Houm’s house.

---

The first place Levan visited was none other than Helum’s blacksmith.

His reason for going there first was simple.

If the villagers were going to give him free food as Belkan had said, the blacksmith would be the most reliable source.

"Material rewards are most certain with the blacksmith. If the blacksmith isn’t willing, we shouldn't expect much from others."

The bigger the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

Levan wanted to reduce that disappointment, so he chose to visit the blacksmith first.

Helum’s only blacksmith was the Warrior’s Workshop.

True to its grand name, the place was crowded with burly technicians who looked more like warriors or generals.

Levan first entered the showroom of the Warrior’s Workshop, impressed by the glass walls, and approached the counter staff, removing his mask and greeting them politely.

"Hello."

There was no need for suspicion.

Levan was already a guildmate of Helum, and Belkan had promised to inform the villagers.

By now, the new algorithm implemented in Helum’s 4(?) should have made most of them recognize Levan.

As proof, the counter staff first glanced at him suspiciously, but upon realizing he was a guildmate, immediately switched to a friendly attitude.

"Oh! You're the new guildmate, right?"

"Yes, that's right. My name is Levan."

"Ah! The guildmaster has been waiting for you! Please follow me."

The guildmaster here referred to the owner of the blacksmith’s workshop.

Levan followed the staff to the back of the workshop.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Behind the showroom where finished weapons and spell crafting orders were handled, the workshops where weapons were actually forged stretched out.

The staff showed Levan around and said,

"Our Warrior’s Workshop has a total of four production rooms and over ten technicians. It’s quite a large workshop!"

"Impressive."

"Right? One of those rooms is reserved exclusively for the guildmaster, so no one else can enter. The guildmaster has specially invited you, Levan. This is where the guildmaster is."

At the door to the guildmaster’s room—which would be akin to a CEO’s office in a company—the staff knocked.

A deep, rough voice called from inside.

"Come in."

The door creaked open, and the staff bowed politely as they entered.

"Guildmaster! Levan has arrived, so I brought him here myself."

"Oh, really? Hurry in."

From the tone, it was clear the guildmaster had been waiting eagerly.

Levan followed the staff inside.

There, behind a desk, stood a large man awaiting him.

[Toolkan / (Favorability 100%)]

Above the man's head floated a name tag: Toolkan, and a full 100% favorability gauge.

Seeing this, Levan felt a surge of emotion inside.

"Yes... we are not strangers!"

To have 100% favorability simply by becoming a guildmate was truly remarkable.

Levan bowed first and introduced himself.

"Hello. I’m Levan, newly registered as a guildmate of Helum."

"Nice to meet you. I am Toolkan, owner of the Warrior’s Workshop here."

Toolkan extended his hand first.

Levan shook it reflexively—big and thick hands.

"One hit from these hands would probably kill even a thousand men."

I’d better not mess around.

Levan quickly moved on to the main topic. He wanted to act pragmatically and leave the village as soon as possible.

"It’s an honor to meet you, Toolkan. Lord Jang told me to seek you out after I became a guildmate, saying that meeting you would bring good fortune."

"Haha, your brother said that? You came at just the right time. We Helum people value looking after our own above all. So I’ve been waiting for you, Levan, to teach you something important."

"Something you want to teach me?"

"Yes. I heard you are a mage, but I also heard you defeated the complete form of Amtoslin alone. That convinced me—you’re a warrior disguised as a mage. So I want to teach you about the things a true warrior must possess."

*What kind of nonsense is this?*

Even though he knew Levan was a mage, he insisted he was a warrior?

This was just Toolkan interpreting things his own way.

Besides, his tone felt like the beginning of a long lecture.

But Levan decided not to jump to conclusions.

After all, one should always hear people out until the end.

Toolkan said,

"Alright, Hoon-ah. You can leave now. Levan, please stay in my room for a deeper talk. By the way, do you like beer?"

"Ah... I don’t dislike it."

"Beer is like water to warriors. To become a true warrior, you must learn to enjoy the taste of beer. This is a special beer made in our village, chilled nicely. Please, have some."

[Obtained Helum Special Beer x1]

Drinking at midday.

It wasn’t Levan’s style, but he couldn’t refuse. He sat properly and had a toast with Toolkan.

Gulp gulp—

The beer slid down his throat.

But this...

"This is delicious?"

It was surprisingly good.

Really good.

Levan showed an involuntary surprised expression, and Toolkan burst out laughing.

"Haha, I knew you’d like it. We have plenty of alcohol, so drink as much as you want. Now, let’s see—what should I start with?"

After downing his first glass in one shot, Toolkan emptied it quickly and rubbed his hands together.

Clearly, he had a topic ready and began immediately.

"Before I explain, I have one question for you, Levan. What would you do if your primary weapon broke and you couldn’t fight?"

Is this a test?

If I fail, I’d be disappointed.

Levan answered realistically.

"I’d write. Since my main job is magic, wouldn’t I just use magic?"

"Haha, that might be true. But what if you can’t use magic either and have no spare weapons?"

A serious question.

Levan matched his answer to what a warrior might say.

"If I have no weapons, I’d have to fight with my fists. It’s not like my arms would be broken."

Exactly! Most would lose hope, but you truly have the blood of a warrior flowing in you."

"...Thank you."

"Just as you say. Our warriors believe that if you have no teeth, you must bite the enemy with your gums. However, the warriors of Helum value not just bravery but always being prepared with the best condition. So each of us knows how to handle gas-powered equipment."

"By 'handle', do you mean repairs?"

"Exactly. To a warrior, a weapon is like a partner. So a true warrior must have the basic skills to sharpen and repair that partner at any time. This is a shared value among Helum’s warriors."

"That’s a great value."

"Hehe, I knew you’d understand, Levan. That’s why I want to teach you one of the virtues every Helum warrior must have—equipment maintenance. This is a special maintenance technique passed down only in Helum."

[Toolkan offers to teach a skill.]

[Do you accept?]

[Refusal will lower Toolkan’s favorability.]

Eh?

A sudden offer of skill.

Levan’s instinct narrowed suspiciously.

"Is this a good thing?"

If it’s about equipment maintenance, it’s probably a skill for weapon repair. Should he like it or not?

Every item has durability, and to use them longer, regular repairs are necessary.

But repair is also a type of skill, so getting repairs from a skilled person is much more efficient.

In other words, learning a skill he won’t use would just waste time.

However, refusing would lower favorability.

"What should I do?"

A moment of hesitation.

Toolkan’s bright eyes waited for Levan’s decision.

If Levan refused, those eyes would turn cold like dead fish.

Levan sighed internally.

"Well... I guess I’ll accept it for now. If I refuse, it might affect my favorability with others too, so better safe than sorry."

A strategic acceptance.

Levan formally agreed to learn the skill.

"Alright then. Please take care of me."

"Hehe, trust me. I’ve trained many disciples, well into double digits. You won’t regret it."

"Ah, sure."

Levan had planned to take care of business quickly and leave the village.

But it seemed that plan was already falling apart.

---

Central Mage Tower Meeting.

A meeting was underway there.

"Have you heard? Hurdson, who was stationed at the Starting Village, lost to the Warmage."

"He lost? Could he have died?"

"No. They fought a fair duel at the village’s duel arena, and Hurdson was defeated."

"Why a fair duel out of all possible fights?"

"The friend says Hurdson tends to be reckless. Anyway, he lost to the Warmage and reportedly made a humiliating apology, even escorting the Warmage to Helum."

"That's pathetic... No wonder he’s now working as a taxi driver in the Starting Village."

Then, since Hurdson tarnished the tower’s honor, let’s give him disciplinary action."

"Good idea. First, replace all Starting Village workers, and send Hurdson to the Tower of Punishment for about half a month."

The meeting’s main topic was the punishment for Hurdson, who lost to Levan.

Right after deciding Hurdson’s fate, the discussion shifted to Levan, who defeated Hurdson.

"What should we do about the Warmage?"

"Well... normally, we’d just ignore him, but since he fought Hurdson and damaged the tower’s honor, we can’t overlook it."

"But even so, we can’t use forbidden arts like during the Rubik’s incident. That would only further damage our honor."

"Then what should we do?"

"He’s the heir to Rubik’s legacy. So even if we don’t know his past, we must show him we are superior now. Let’s send someone of similar caliber to completely crush him."

"Understood. I will select the person to send."

The meeting adjourned.

To restore the tarnished honor of the Central Mage Tower, they decided to send a fitting opponent to the heir of the Warmage.

Everyone’s attention began to focus on the upcoming duel between these two.