I Became an Academy Overpowered Marksman

36. Strong connections, resounding rumors

“Shut up. Don’t be cocky.”

Tak Woo-hyun’s cold voice echoed in the hall. His expression, which had not shown any signs of nervousness before, had already hardened.

Embarrassed by his sudden action, the secretary replied in confusion.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry.”

It was an incomprehensible situation. Obviously, it is true that Lee Hyun-seung’s ability is excellent, but he is still only an academy student. The secretary, who thought that it was absurd for a mere academy student to ask Tak Woo-hyeon, the head of the blacksmith association, to negotiate one-sidedly like that. I couldn’t help but be silent without even thinking about making an excuse.

Tak Woo-hyeon ignored Pung Tae-ha and talked to Lee Hyeon-seung while lowering his head.

“I saw ugliness. make me apologize.”

It was unusual. It was because Tak Woo-hyun rarely bends over to someone.

Lee Hyun-seung smiled at Tak Woo-hyun’s attitude and thought.

‘Tak Woo-hyun. As expected, he must have been curious about my crafting slots for a while, seeing how they came out.’

The two crafting slots that Hyunseung Lee has.

Since a normal blacksmith has one crafting slot, he cannot craft another weapon while crafting an item. However, Lee Hyeon-seung has two slots, so he can make two items at once, or if he wants, he can make an item with a long production period and leave one slot as an extra.

The ability every blacksmith dreams of, the double crafting slot. Tak Woo-hyeon was convinced that with just that, he would be able to break through the barriers he was blocked in. No, it doesn’t matter if you don’t break the boundary. With that, you can easily create your dream unique or legendary weapon. No matter how long one slot takes to craft, the other remains intact.

The problem was that Lee Hyun-seung was the only one who knew about the double production slot. Tak Woo-hyeon had been a blacksmith for over 15 years, but he had never seen anyone use a double slot. So, I would have been desperate. Because there was no chance to ask anyone other than Lee Hyeon-seung how to use the double slot.

Hyunseung Lee thought.

‘The double slot can only be used by legendary blacksmiths…but there’s no need to be honest.’

The fact that you can use the double slot once you reach the level of a legendary blacksmith is great information in itself. This is because there was no information about the legendary blacksmith in the world yet. If Tak Woo-hyeon learns this information, he will work hard to somehow raise his rank to the legendary level. However, after giving this information, Tak Woo-hyun will have no more questions. So I needed to wrap it up a bit more.

Lee Hyun-seung thought so and responded to Tak Woo-hyun’s apology.

“It wasn’t even Tak Woo-hyun’s blacksmith, so there’s no need to apologize that much.”

Tak Woo-hyun smiled as if he was glad and held out his hand.

“I’m sorry for talking like I’m going to go to the middle of the day. I’m not the type of person who likes to weigh things up, so I’ll be direct. If we promise to protect you, we lose a lot.”

“You mean damage?”

When Lee Hyun-seung asked a question, Tak Woo-hyun answered.

“A while ago, when the selection match for the F class representative was in progress. I found out about you. Upon checking, it seems that there was an argument with Artemis guild leader’s daughter, Yoo Hee-yeon.”

-Startle

Lee Hyun-seung was a bit surprised, but he tried not to show it.

‘You must have already found out about my information. It wouldn’t have been that much time.’

To be honest, Lee Hyun-seung thought a little that Tak Woo-hyun might be aware of the problem with Yoo Hee-yeon, but he didn’t know that he already knew all the information. Judging from Tak Woo-hyun’s complicated expression, it seemed like he knew everything about the inside story.

Lee Hyeon-seung answered, thinking that it would be meaningless to lie if it was something he found out anyway.

“It is true. Yoo Hee-yeon framed me unfairly. It must have been a misunderstanding at first, but later, when it was clear that the real culprit was separate, they falsely accused me of being a stalker. So I just resisted. To prove my innocence.”

“…”

Tak Woo-hyeon asked Lee Hyeon-seung a question.

“Aren’t you afraid of the Artemis Guild? If you get caught by them, you might be subjected to so much pressure that a mediocre student can’t stand it. Well, they’re not going to do anything crazy like kill you while you’re still in the academy, but you never know what will happen if things go wrong.”

“It’s not scary. After all, in enough time, I will have abilities that they will never mess with.”

Tak Woo-hyun made an expression that seemed to like Lee Hyun-seung’s intense eyes, but he shook his head and talked.

“Too much confidence sometimes leads to great anger. Actually, I know that Jeong Eun-seo next to me is the daughter of Theor’s guild leader. It’s a little to say right in front of you, but even if you have Theor’s guild, it won’t serve as a sufficient shield from Artemis. Just because you trust the friend next to you doesn’t mean things will be resolved.”

Hyunseung Lee said.

“I know. But, if you are with me, things are different.”

Tak Woo-hyun shook his hand as if in trouble.

“What power do we have, however. We’re just people who like to build equipment. In terms of force alone, they didn’t have the strength to stand against the Artemis guild.”

Hyunseung Lee replied as if he had been waiting.

“It is not only force that is important in a fight.”

“What do you mean?”

“It is literally. Strength isn’t the only thing to consider when fighting someone. I understand that the Blacksmith Association has numerous blacksmiths nationwide. Among them, there are many people who make various artifacts such as weapons and potions. Blacksmith Tak Woo-hyeon knows that he can control them all.”

“What do you mean? Well, that’s all.”

“no. And that’s not all. Materials play the most important role in a war or battle. Even those with mighty arms cannot continue the battle without supplies. The Artemis Guild is currently preparing for a large-scale labyrinth expedition. Numerous equipment and accessories, as well as various recovery potions and status recovery potions, require an incredibly large scale of items. In particular, the expedition to be conducted this time has attracted unprecedented national attention. It’s never something that can be taken lightly. However, what if you cut off the supply in this situation?”

Lee Hyunseung tapped the table and talked.

“The Artemis Guild will enter the labyrinth without thorough preparation. Then, let alone a massive loss of power, you won’t be able to achieve meaningful labyrinth exploration results. In addition, the chance to get the by-products that can be obtained from the labyrinth is also reduced. They could lose all of their interests, cause, and even their reputation as a representative. Just by limiting your supplies.”

Tak Woo-hyeon, who had been listening to this, replied as if he was surprised.

“What you say is true. To be honest, at this point, the Artemis Guild is in a situation where we can’t treat the Blacksmith Association carelessly. Even after the expedition is over, they will need a lot of supplies to replenish their strength.”

Eventually, Tak Woo-hyun asked a question.

“But how did you know that the Artemis guild was preparing for an expedition? I still know it as information that only people in high-ranking positions and some people in the country know. We noticed that a large order came in from the Artemis Guild a while ago, but how the hell did you know about that information?”

‘Because I left for an expedition around this time in the game.’

I couldn’t say that, so I covered it appropriately.

“Jung Eun-seo told me.”

“…?”

Jeong Eun-seo, who was next to her, looked at Lee Hyeon-seung as if she was embarrassed, but Lee Hyeon-seung gave Jeong Eun-seo a warning as if to match the sum. Then Eunseo Jeong awkwardly said.

“Oh… that’s right, I told you. My father told me The Artemis Guild will be leaving for a labyrinth expedition soon.”

Of course, there was no need or justification for the guild leader Theor to tell his daughter about such things. However, the parties say so, and there is no reason to object. And without that, there was no way for a single student to know the secret information of the Artemis Guild, so Tak Woo-hyun agreed.

“As expected…A person of the level of Theor’s guild leader might have known the information in advance. It’s a bit surprising that I told my daughter about it, but…”

Tak Woo-hyun replied that he liked it.

“To be honest, you are a business that I lose a lot. Even though the Artemis Guild is in need of a lot of supplies, that doesn’t mean we’re the number one. They won’t be able to ignore us outright, though. But, it’s still worth the investment. Originally, I was worried about investing because of the double crafting slot you use, but not anymore.”

Tak Woo-hyun held out his hand.

“Information, confidence, and the determination to use them are innate, not acquired. It looks like you’re going to make a big impact in the near future. promise me In exchange for our protection, we’ll teach you how to use the double crafting slot later. And in addition, if you create a guild or other organization, you will maintain a friendly relationship with us.”

Lee Hyun-seung reached out his hand and shook Tak Woo-hyun’s hand in response.

“Sure. We will make sure to do both.”

Tak Woo-hyun asked Lee Hyun-seung with a curious expression.

“What are you planning to do from now on? I wonder if you have any clear plans.”

Lee Hyun-seung said to Tak Woo-hyun.

“First of all, I have to go to the academy and show that the blacksmith association is looking after me. If you don’t tell me, it won’t work.”

“Hmm… I think expressing it too openly will have the opposite effect. If you don’t do it wrong, it could be like a declaration of war, so you have to be careful. Even on our side, it’s difficult when it’s expressed that way.”

“Please don’t worry. Naturally, the Blacksmith Association will appeal to us for being on our side. So, please do me a favor. It won’t be difficult.”

“For now, let me tell you.”

“It is a list.”

-Sueug

Hyunseung Lee selected a list of about 20 students in Class F.

“People who do not belong to Yoo Hee-yeon, these are the gemstones I will scout in the future. Please make a weapon according to the characteristics listed here. Don’t forget to put the SIH logo on all weapons, which means Blacksmith Association. It doesn’t matter if the weapon grade is Rare or Epic.”

“What are you going to do with this?”

“I will show you. To those who will follow me, how much benefit I can get from being my ally. Furthermore, I will naturally spread the fact that you and I have a point of contact by spraying handmade weapons with the SIH logo on my would-be colleagues. Even if you don’t have to say it, it will resonate.”

“Ha ha ha! Did you know that this was going to happen in the first place and even made a list? you. He was a much smarter man than I thought. Did you know in advance that I would come? That’s a lot of confidence. I really like the method because it doesn’t feel like a declaration of war and it’s a way that I can definitely appeal to.”

Tak Woo-hyun laughed and hit Lee Hyun-seung on the back.

“I’ll recruit top-notch blacksmiths right away and have them craft weapons. No, if there are about 20 of them, I will make them myself.”

“I would appreciate it if you would.”

The news that D-7 Lee Hyeon-seung and the Blacksmith Association had formed an alliance began to resonate throughout the academy. Eventually, the news reached Yoo Hee-yeon’s ears.