Chapter 46
Yeonwoo Guild's response was simple.
"We'll proceed exactly as Hunter In Yeonhae suggested. Artist Do, please be careful as well."
Since Vice Guild Master Kim Sang-hyeon himself had said it, there was nothing more to worry about.
Right after that, we began properly preparing to strike the Blue Dragon Gang.
"What are you going to make this time?"
Naturally, I picked up my carving tools.
I looked at the Phoenix Guild Master, whose face was filled with curiosity, and Choi Hyeong-seok beside him, who looked almost exactly the same.
In Yeonhae had said she was going to inspect the area around the guild building earlier.
Apparently she still hadn't returned.
"Even if we're going to win, it'd be better to do it easily and with as few injuries as possible."
"Then...?"
"I'm thinking of making something suited for dealing with a large number of enemies."
"Ooooh...."
The Phoenix Guild Master's eyes immediately lit up again.
Despite his age and large frame, his expression was surprisingly innocent.
I rummaged through the bag Chaeri handed me whole.
Is this really all the material I can use right now?
No matter how much I searched, there wasn't a piece of wood large enough for what I wanted.
Well, that was only natural.
I'd brought pieces small enough to fit inside a bag.
Of course they'd seem inadequate for making weapons.
After thinking for a moment, I simply turned the entire bag upside down.
Clatter.
Blocks of wood rolled across the floor.
Ignoring the confused stares around me, I began arranging them together.
If the pieces are too small, I can just connect them.
I'd always worked with single solid pieces before, so carving something assembled from multiple blocks felt awkward.
Still...
It's not impossible.
Normally, I believed that a craftsman should use good materials.
For today, I could change that to a craftsman shouldn't blame the materials.
I moved the pieces around and checked how large they would become once joined.
They were still a little too short for ordinary weapons like swords, bows, or spears.
In that case, it would be better to make an item with a different form, like Gleipnir.
The largest Story I can currently contain is still in the realm of legends....
A legend.
An item from legend....
And even if the Blue Dragon Gang was a criminal organization, we still had to fight within the bounds of the law to some extent.
Unlike what happened in the pottery village, we couldn't claim simple self-defense during this operation.
In other words, rather than making something that would instantly cut off the enemy's head, I needed something closer to a restraint tool.
If we're going to subdue them, we need to overwhelm them completely.
They're going to fight like their lives depend on it. If only our side tries to avoid hurting anyone, we'll be the ones who get injured.
And if things went wrong and someone died unintentionally, I had no idea what kind of excuse the other side might seize on.
They'd fought dirty until now.
It was better not to leave them any openings.
If I had my way, I'd try making Gleipnir again.
If only the warnings that appeared when I made it hadn't been so loud and alarming.
Before properly beginning the sculpture, I stretched carefully.
By the time I finished, one particular item completely filled my thoughts.
"Doesn't it feel like something big is about to happen?"
"Haha. He hasn't even started carving yet, but the atmosphere is already incredible."
The whispers between Choi Hyeong-seok and the Phoenix Guild Master beside me gradually became distant.
I quietly stared at the long line of connected wooden pieces and murmured,
"A tool capable of subduing many people."
A tool.
Not a weapon.
Something shorter than a sword, yet excellent against a large number of enemies.
One legendary object immediately came to mind.
A legend every Korean knew.
Manpasikjeok.
The legendary flute said to drive away enemy armies with a single tune.
Right now, the wood was still nothing more than several pieces placed side by side.
Yet faintly, I could already see the image of a long flute above them.
Even without using the carving-knife set's skill, the image was so clear that excitement quickly rose inside me.
I think this one's going to turn out well.
The feeling couldn't have been better.
Even in the middle of urgent preparations for battle, my hunger to create a good work began boiling over.
"Hunter Choi Hyeong-seok, could I ask you for a favor?"
"Of course!"
"Could you get me some strong instant adhesive?"
"Yes!"
As though he'd been waiting for something to do, Choi Hyeong-seok shot outside.
Despite moving so quickly, his footsteps remained light.
I wasn't knowledgeable enough to judge combat ability from footsteps alone.
But even I could tell his martial skill was impressive.
If we combined Choi Hyeong-seok, In Yeonhae, a few Hunters sent by Yeonwoo Guild, and Phoenix Guild's members to block the gangsters' retreat...
Then blew the Manpasikjeok....
This fight might end much faster than expected.
I received the rest of my equipment from Chaeri.
An apron.
My carving tools.
Gloves.
Goggles.
Headphones....
Woodworking wasn't loud enough to destroy my hearing, but I put everything on anyway.
I'd need to wear the Led by Flowers protective gear set when we attacked the Blue Dragon Gang too.
Its skill, Once-in-a-Thousand-Years Opportunity, protected me from one fatal injury per day.
"Guild Master, do you have somewhere suitable for carving? The floor will get dirty."
"Haha! You can do it right here. We can clean afterward. But in exchange, would you let me watch?"
"Of course."
I gave a light nod of thanks and sat on the sofa.
It was only a short break before starting properly.
I could already hear Choi Hyeong-seok outside greeting a Phoenix Guild member after returning with the adhesive.
Phoenix Guild Master Kim Gyu-o couldn't close his mouth.
All of his attention was focused on the scene unfolding before him.
He didn't even realize his jaw had dropped.
Only when his mouth became completely dry did he finally notice and close it.
But moments later, his lips spread open again like an idiot's as he stared at Do Hwa-in's fingertips.
Strange.
So strange.
No.
Was mystical the better word?
Kim Gyu-o tilted his head for a moment, then forgot about it.
His upper body leaned farther and farther forward until he looked ready to tumble off the sofa.
He's just carving a long wooden cylinder.
Kim Gyu-o was, aside from being a B-Class Hunter approaching A-Class, an ordinary middle-aged man of this era.
He had a wife.
One daughter.
He worried about guild management, household finances, and the education of his young child.
That was why Kim Gyu-o had assumed that if he ever watched Do Hwa-in sculpt, he would be impressed by the skill attached to the process.
Not by the craftsmanship itself.
He couldn't say that aloud to Do Hwa-in, who had sculpted his entire life.
But honestly...
To an ordinary middle-aged man like him, art, and especially sculpture, had always felt distant.
That's the kind of thing educated people look at and admire.
That had always been Phoenix Guild Master Kim Gyu-o's opinion.
And in an era where art was fading away, plenty of people thought the same way.
Many believed that even if someone performed a live drawing show directly in front of them, they would remain unmoved.
Do Hwa-in's <Pilgrim> and <Gate of Heaven> had attracted enormous attention too.
But hadn't that been more because of Do Hwa-in's fame and the meanings embedded in the works than because they were sculptures?
Kim Gyu-o had certainly wanted to see them someday.
He was sure he'd be moved once he did.
But he'd never really thought that the part that would move him was Do Hwa-in's sculpting technique itself.
Damn. That's incredible....
Yet watching Do Hwa-in carve right in front of him felt almost magical.
There was no wasted motion in fixing the material in place and cutting it down with the knife.
There were no moments that made the audience anxious.
Every step unfolded with a strange sense of force and certainty.
That confidence pulled the spectators in.
Without realizing it, they all stared at his fingertips.
It's almost like he's pulling the item out from inside the wood.
Rather than carving wood to create an item, it looked like the finished object already existed within the material.
Do Hwa-in was simply removing the unnecessary parts to reveal it.
Whenever his movements became more delicate and cautious, Kim Gyu-o felt as though he were watching an archaeological excavation.
His palms grew damp without him realizing it.
What would emerge?
More than anything... those eyes.
Whenever Kim Gyu-o forced his gaze away from Do Hwa-in's hands, he immediately found himself caught by the man's eyes instead.
What incredible intensity.
As someone who made a living swinging a sword on battlefields, that was the only way Kim Gyu-o could describe them.
For a moment, he genuinely thought the fire burning in Do Hwa-in's eyes might ignite the wood in his hands.
He quickly shook his head at the foolish thought.
And yet, strangely, he couldn't stop feeling that there was fire in those eyes.
As though the flame had spread not to the wood...
But into Kim Gyu-o's own heart.
For some reason, I feel like anything that comes from those hands could solve even this hopeless situation.
He had accepted the plan partly because he'd been provoked.
Partly because he'd desperately wanted to believe.
But at that moment, the plan completely transformed into real hope inside Kim Gyu-o's heart.
"Pygmalion."
Crack!
The wooden flute, about as long as a forearm, split with glowing cracks.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
Kim Gyu-o placed a hand over his heart as he watched the dazzling light.
[A "Moderately Large Story" is being contained within the item!]
[Story Type: Manpasikjeok]
[!WARNING! Insufficient "Story Material"!]
[With assistance from your Aura stat, mystery is being infused into ordinary wood!]
[The Story has been slightly distorted! → Item rank decreases by one level.]
