The World After the Fall

Meikal could not think straight. He didn't know what the man did, but it was a quadhorn that had been broken. The bone that was so valuable that it was priceless. What should he tell the owner?

"I'm sorry. I didn't intend to do that."

"Sorry? Are you saying you're sorry?"

Meikal roared as he trembled in rage. He was now thinking if he should hammer the man to death or put him into the furnace alive. But Jaehwan spoke, "I'll repay you with something better."

"…Repay?"

Everyone scoffed. It was the horn of a quadhorn they were talking about. A quadhorn was not only rare; it was so powerful that only the elders of the Ten-Clan could barely manage to fight one.

"You should keep your promise if I do."

"Promise?"

Meikal then remembered what he said about making space for a gem in the bone hilt. It was infuriating. He was talking about the promise even in this situation.

"If you can replace the horn, I will let you do whatever you want whether it's the Vice-Chief role or anything else. However, if you try to repay us with something stupid, you will not walk out of this place alive."

Jaehwan nodded and turned to Naven.

"Put it down here."

Naven brought over the horn and placed it down next to the furnace. It was the black, large horn of a monster. Everyone stopped, wondering what it was. Then they all gasped.

After a while, someone mumbled with a moan.

"I…It's the horn of a Garnak…!"

Pentahorns were categorized by their species because they were that dangerous and powerful. A Garnak was a wolf-like monster that required many elders and even the Vice-Leader of the Ten-Clan to fight it.

Everyone fell silent and Meikal ordered them in a heavy voice,

"Close the door. We are closed for the day."

Apprentices ran to close the doors to the blacksmith and the iron doors were shut. It was the third time that Meikal had seen an unprocessed Garnak's horn. The first time was when he had just come to [Chaos] while he was at another famous blacksmith, and the second was when the former Vice-Chief of [Twilight's Fall] worked on one.

"…It's amazing."

It looked like it was cut from a young Garnak as the horn had taken no damage. Everyone was focused on the horn.

"Is that enough?"

"….Yes. It's more than enough."

The value of a pentahorn was more than ten times that of a quadhorn. He could have just cut a part of it and it would've been enough, but this man gave it away whole. This was much more than enough.

Meikal pondered and answered,

"For today, [Twilight's Fall] is yours."

Everyone began mumbling but Meikal shouted angrily, "QUIET!"

Silence fell again and Meikal asked, "Where did you get this?"

"I killed it."

A man hunted a pentahorn down, but Jaehwan said,

"We'll start working so get ready."

"What are we working on?"

"I'm making what I need."

Naven then ran to Meikal and whispered. Meikal nodded.

"I see. So you need a scabbard."

"Yeah."

"What about the material?"

"This."

Jaehwan took out another horn. The pentahorn had five horns, so he obviously had more. But it didn't make sense to Meikal.

"Are you going to make a scabbard using a Garnak's horn?"

It was a pentahorn they were talking about. The material seemed like overkill just for a scabbard, so Meikal asked, "Can I take a look at the sword that you're trying to make a scabbard for?"

Jaehwan lent him the sword. After Meikal looked at its status, he moaned,

"Ahh… the Frost Dragon Sword."

"Do you know about it?"

"It's a sword made out of the Frost Dragon King's horn. Or at least that's what it says."

The Frost Dragon King was an Evil Dragon that lived in the 'Forgotten Region', or the most dangerous region among the 12 regions of the [Great Lands]. The sword was made from monster's horn. It was bound to be a powerful weapon.

However, it was a shame that this sword was only a replica.

It was obvious. Meikal had listened to the news of the [Great Lands] and had never heard of the Evil Dragon being hunted down. It seemed like a certain [Nightmare] had witnessed the Frost Dragon King and made a replica afterward.

"It's valuable since a [Nightmare] created it but it's a bit of an overkill to make a scabbard for a weapon at such a level. It might be better for you to make a new sword out of the horn…"

However, the sword began to cry. Meikal dropped it in shock and it landed on top of the Garnak's horn. The sword then vibrated even harder as it opened its 'mouth' and began devouring the horn.

"It's a Spirit Weapon…"

The Frost Dragon Sword began glowing as it finished eating the Garnak horn.

"I'm witnessing a lot of fascinating things today. Your sword is evolving."

The blade became sharper and the durability became tougher. It was now tough enough to compare to the Garnak horn. The black aura that the blade was radiating was now so dense that the only way to hide it was to cover it up with a cloth. It was in dire need of a scabbard. This kind of spirit energy needed to be covered up to keep unneeded attention at bay.

'It seems like the spirit of a higher race is absorbed within… why…?'

The blade kept on crying. Meikal checked the sword and spoke,

"It's a Greater Evolution. It will take some time to finish. But you will need a new name for it once it's finished."

"Name?"

"Spirit Weapons lose their original name when it goes through a Greater Evolution."

The sword was wailing now. Meikal then turned to Jaehwan.

"But now we don't have the material anymore."

The material had been devoured by the sword.

"It's okay. I have more."

Jaehwan took another one out from his backpack.

Meikal stood in front of the Garnak's horn. It was the first time he was given a chance to process a Garnak's horn. He had seen a horn that was processed a long time ago but…

'Can I really do it?'

He was a Vice-Chief and he had received the title of [Apprentice], but he barely managed to process a quadhorn.

'I'm not a true [Apprentice]… I didn't even create a tower.'

Although it was the same rank, the difference was too great. While humans were having a hard time creating a sword, [Nightmares] created towers that turned into worlds.

Meikal looked down at the Garnak horn. There were some materials that could be overwhelming just by looking at it.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can…"

Jaehwan was wearing something.

"What are you… no, Vice-Chief. What are you doing?"

Jaehwan pulled up his sleeves after changing into a smith's protective gear and spoke.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Meikal became confused.

"I'm making the scabbard."

"…What?"

"You should help me."

He couldn't understand. Jaehwan had tremendous power, that was for sure. He had the power to destroy the horn. However, destroying it wasn't the same as processing it.

"But you can't…"

"Right. I can't do it alone."

Jaehwan nodded. He had the power, but he didn't have the necessary skills.

"That's why I need you," Jaehwan said as he glanced at the trace of the [Nightmare]'s skill [Craft] still lingering at the end of Meikal's hammer.

At the same time, within Gorgon Castle.

A middle-aged man in clean, formal clothing, coughed as he drank his tea.

"What? You lost him?"

"…I'm sorry, sir."

The man in dark clothes bowed his head as he kneeled in front of the middle-aged man.

"What happened?"

"I don't know, sir. I just… got knocked out and I woke up lying on a roof."

The middle-aged man frowned. He had been knocked out but did not know how he was knocked out.

"What stage are you at?"

"3rd stage, sir."

"What's your stealth rank and level?"

"It's at the high-ranked and master level."

"And you were found out?"

"…I don't know what happened, sir."

"This is crazy."

If a 3rd stage Adapter with a master level, high-ranked stealth skill was in hiding, it was hard for even higher ranking Adapters to find out. But the target had found him and easily knocked him out without him knowing.

'Karlton said he probably wasn't the 5th stage…'

Maybe he was at the 5th stage. If he was at that stage, the man needed to be prepared.

"We'll gather more men. Find him, no matter the cost."

At that moment, a deep thud came from the underground cell below the castle. It was a slight tremor, but the middle-aged man, who was a high-ranked Adapter, was able to feel it. Then he heard a faint, long scream coming from below.

He frowned.

"…Master, please hang on a while longer."