After finishing his hangover cure and breakfast, Jinwoo fell asleep.
In the next room, Cheolgyu was lying down asleep, and Mrs. Park Jeok gathered Byul, Baekgu, and Sol in the living room to watch TV together and enjoy a break.
At that moment, the Last Blacksmith was forging weapons.
Recently ascended to a Constellation, he now had plenty of time for his own thoughts.
So, he took some time to sort his priorities.
The Last Blacksmith, Julian’s Constellation Life Priorities.
Number 1: Blacksmithing.
Number 2: Watching broadcasts + eating meals.
Number 3: Training disciples.
Making weapons, no matter what, had to be his top priority in life.
And the broadcast of Jinwoo, who had saved him, was his second.
He wasn’t originally a gourmet, but after tasting Jinwoo’s food lately, fine cuisine had become inseparable from his life.
Just making one weapon meant he could receive tributes for free for the next few days.
Moreover, since it was a request from Jinwoo who had basically saved his life, Julian put a lot of effort into crafting the spear.
Of course, for now, he was short on materials, since he’d donated everything to his disciple.
He just used whatever was rolling around on the ground for materials, but he was determined to pour his effort into the process.
Julian didn’t really care what kind of weapon he made, but he especially liked swords.
Which meant, he’d hardly ever made a spear before.
โStill, I’m confident I can make a good spear for a normal Hunter.โ
He layered steel.
First, he would forge the spearhead, then make a sturdy shaft to support it.
Julian was making a trident.
Since Jinwoo was napping and couldn’t stream, Julian turned on the broadcast for fun.
(Anonymous 1): Are you streaming while Jinwoo is on break?
(God of Rain and Sunlight): It’s got a different flavor, I admitโwatching weapons being forged was fun last time, too.
(Returnee from the Demon Realm): Julian? Is that Constellation really that good at making weapons?
(Endless Waiting): It’s amazing. Come to think of it, Returnee, you haven’t really seen one of Julian’s swords yet.
(Liberated Swordsman): When Jinwoo wakes up later, ask him to show you. They’re the best.
(Water God of Cheongha): Hmm, true enough.
(Father of Crops): Hey Julian, make me a sickle! Seriously, I’m desperate here.
As expected, all the viewers were familiar faces.
No new viewers, and Julian seemed even more at ease with it.
He was a bit shy around strangers, so he preferred making weapons while chatting with the Constellations he was close to.
The other Constellations also preferred watching Julian’s stream together, chatting among themselves, over watching other streams with lots of strangers.
At first, they’d come together because of Jinwoo, but now they were close friends.
They took pride in being an elite group of select viewers.
BANGโ! BANGโ! BANGโ!
Julian pounded steel with his hammer as he chewed on a piece of squid.
Steel dust and sparks scattered into his mouth, but he was used to the sensation, so he didn’t mind.
In fact, he liked the salty taste while chewing the squid.
(God of Rain and Sunlight): Is this Julian’s so-called lucky mindset?
(Anonymous 1): Where’d you get that? Did Jinwoo secretly tribute you some?
“I got it from Sangho. Now I can receive tributes from Incarnations.”
(Anonymous 1): โฆBut you have to use coins for that, right?
“I used quite a lot.”
(Father of Crops): Instead of wasting coins, you could’ve just bought a crop from me! Huh? Heyโฆ hey, you!!
(Anonymous 1): Must be nice to have coins lying around. Annoying.
(Returnee from the Demon Realm): It just means you all have the ability to earn coins.
Julian nodded.
There weren’t many Constellations who made weapons, but there was always demand.
Constellations couldn’t really do anything, so they trainedโand that meant they always craved weapons.
Just like Anonymous 1, who wanted one of Julian’s swords.
Julian chuckled as he kept working on the spear.
(God of Rain and Sunlight): โฆNo one gets my joke. Julian’s mindset, I studied Earth memes all night for this.
(Anonymous 1): I got it, but it was so bad I didn’t react.
(God of Rain and Sunlight): โฆใ โใ โฆ.
(Endless Waiting): What’s that supposed to be?
(Liberated Swordsman): What joke? Returnee, explain.
(Returnee from the Demon Realm): โฆI don’t know either. I spent more time in the Demon Realm than on Earth.
Leaving the sad God of Rain and Sunlight behind, Julian looked at the well-forged blade.
Since he was making a trident, there were two more blades left to forge.
โNiceโฆ.โ
Every time he saw solid, well-formed steel, he felt like he was looking at a well-raised son or daughter.
Julian viewed his weapons as a blacksmith would his children.
(Anonymous 1): Maybe having a hobby like that isn’t so bad.
“Blacksmithing isn’t a hobby for me.”
Even now, he was layering steel, hammering with consistent force and timing, reading chat and talkingโall at once.
That wasn’t easy.
“I’ve staked my life on making weapons. Just like you don’t treat swordsmanship as a hobby.”
(Anonymous 1): Then I’ll treat blacksmithing as a hobby, and you should take up swordsmanship as a hobby.
“โฆOh? That sounds pretty appealing.”
Come to think of it, though he’d made swords, Julian had never really wielded them.
He’d tested them out to check balance, but never properly fought or learned swordsmanship.
He always thought if he got too relaxed, he wouldn’t be able to beat the dwarves.
“Every moment I could’ve spent swinging my swords, or practicing swordsmanship, I chose to swing the hammer one more time instead, because as a human, I had to beat the dwarves.”
Of course, in Julian’s case, he loved blacksmithing so much he never felt the need for a hobby.
Even now, he was enjoying making the spear more than anyone else would enjoy their work.
Even when relaxing, he’d either do carpentry or pound steel.
“But now, I wonder if learning swordsmanship wouldn’t have been a bad idea. Knowing how to wield a sword properly might actually help me make better weapons.”
His desire to pick up swordsmanship as a hobby right now was simply to raise his blacksmithing skill.
He thought knowing how to use a sword more precisely would make him a better blacksmith.
Since becoming a Constellation, he’d become more relaxed, and that was changing him.
Lately, Julian had been realizing that only by having some room to breathe could you truly grow.
(Anonymous 1): Same hereโI think knowing how to make swords would help my swordsmanship grow.
(Father of Crops): Look at you lot, at the top of your fields, still wanting to grow. Maybe I should try even harder at farming, too.
(Endless Waiting): Now that you mention it, I’ve realized a lot lately by relaxing and watching streams. Having streaming as a hobby has helped me growโmy swordsmanship has improved, too.
(Liberated Swordsman): Same for me. If I fight Jinwoo with swordsmanship now, maybe I could win.
(Anonymous 1): No, you just don’t know Jinwoo’s talent. Now that he’s not here, I’ll say itโhe’s incredible. Even when I give difficult instructions, he can carry them out exactly, which is an unbelievable talent.
(Water God of Cheongha): True enough.
The Constellations let their conversation flow as their thoughts wandered.
This time, the topic was Jinwoo.
(Returnee from the Demon Realm): Jinwoo beat a hero-level Constellation?
(Liberated Swordsman): We fought with pure swordsmanship, no mana. I lost.
(Endless Waiting): Jinwoo followed Anonymous 1’s instructions to the letter.
(Returnee from the Demon Realm): โฆA human following a Constellation’s instructions exactly? That’s amazing.
(Anonymous 1): Right, no matter how good my directions are, it’s almost impossible for a normal person to move their body exactly as instructed. It’s hard to get the timing and precision just right, but Jinwoo emptied his mind and followed my orders alone. That’s even harder.
Anonymous 1 became very serious once the talk turned to swordsmanship.
(Anonymous 1): And he’s still improving; his magic has grown lately, too.
(Liberated Swordsman): โฆIf he uses mana, I’ll win. If Anonymous isn’t giving instructions, I’ll win, too.
(Anonymous 1): Maybeโฆ but in pure swordsmanship, Jinwoo might be better than you.
(Liberated Swordsman): Hey! I’m still a hero-level Constellation! People call me a genius everywhere I go!
(Anonymous 1): Who here hasn’t been called a genius? That’s life. No matter how much talent you have, if someone even more talented works hard for a year, your efforts will be for nothing.
Anonymous 1 enjoyed teasing Liberated SwordsmanโEvan.
Evan always took the bait, making things lively.
(Liberated Swordsman): I’ll have to challenge Jinwoo to a duel someday.
(Anonymous 1): Sure, try a battle of words first. Debate-swordsmanship.
With this, Anonymous 1 had come up with another fun piece of content.
Of course, if it were a debate-swordsmanship duel or a match without Anonymous 1’s guidance, Jinwoo would lose.
But inside, Anonymous 1 believed that in just one year, Jinwoo would be able to win both the debate-swordsmanship and a real duel.
Just one year, and Jinwoo’s talent would surpass Evan’s, erasing everything he’d worked for.
It was almost strange how that talent had remained hidden for so long.
“Alright, it’s done.”
Julian admired the trident he’d made.
He liked the blue-tinted spear quite a lot.
By Earth standards, it was a B+ grade weapon.
It was made with only ordinary steel and took barely an hour, yet it reached that grade.
The Constellations were once again amazed at his incredible skill.
And at that moment.
Byul, Sol, Baekgu, and the villa’s owner, Mrs. Park Jeok.
These four were locked in a secluded warehouse.
“Is this guy Cheolgyu’s mother? And who are these kids?”
“No idea, sir. They were together so I brought them all.”
They were remnants of the Destroyer Guildโsome Hunters who hadn’t been in the building when Eric rampaged.
They believed that Cheolgyu, who survived alone, was connected to the secret Hunter, so they captured Mrs. Park Jeok, Byul, and Baekgu.
Soli had followed along while invisible and wasn’t captured.
โโฆHmm.โ
Byul scanned her surroundings.
She considered using force, but right now, she was with Mrs. Park Jeok.
She deftly turned on the broadcast.
The Constellations, who’d been watching Julian at work, quickly switched over to Byul’s stream.
(Anonymous 1): โฆWhat is going on here?
As soon as they saw Byul had been kidnapped, the Constellations were furious.
I woke up.
Suddenly, the broadcast activated and the Constellations’ chat alert sounds went off.
As soon as I saw Byul’s screen, I got up and shook Cheolgyu awake.
“Hyung, what’s wrong?”
“Get up, nowโit’s urgent.”
I was proud of Byul for calmly starting the stream and reporting the situation.
โ Dad, it’s me, Byul!
โYeah, my girl. Do you know where you are?โ
โ In the alley next to the big supermarket!
Byul calmly typed her thoughts into chat.
I ran there with Cheolgyu.
Today is the day the Destroyer Guild will be wiped out for good.