Around a dozen goblins in filthy robes were gathered in a mansion in Ferrum.

“Kerek! I’m being serious! I saw him with my own eyes!”

“You saw Cheon Seong-Hwi?”

“Krrrk! The deplorable bastard who killed Tutobure and dangled his severed head on his waist!”

They expressed intense emotions from hearing the claims of the goblin who witnessed Seong-Hwi.

“Kerek! How much was his bounty again?”

“Kererek! A hundred million Coins!”

“On top of that, if we capture him, we’ll become heroes of Humilitas! Lord Abyete himself might even reward us!”

The goblins were elated at the thought of capturing Seong-Hwi. Humilitas had been in an uproar after news spread that Biphatogenes had obliterated Clan Trophy. Although Trophy was a black clan, it was one of the goblin race’s pillars.

Not only that, but the uproar intensified once word spread that the human named Cheon Seong-Hwi had killed the weakened Tutobure and chained Tutobure’s severed head to his waist.

“Kererek! A mere human must know his place!”

“Let’s capture him this instant!”

The goblins were enraged. Although humans and goblins were both inferior races, humans were undoubtedly inferior to the goblins in terms of power. Despite that, a mere human had chained the severed head of a goblin High Ranker to his waist, flaunting it for the world to see. The immensely shameful incident resulted in the massive bounty placed on Seong-Hwi’s head.

A goblin with an aquiline nose curved to the left shouted, “Kerek! Silence! Remember why we are here! We mustn’t cause a commotion!”

“But Sir Sakozati! Kererek! We must avenge Tutobure!”

“We Green Hunters specialize in bounty hunting, do we not?!”

“Kerek! I agree. It’s a hundred million Coins. With that much, we could purchase an A-rank item in Ferrum!”

The other goblins complained, but Sakozati shook his head and remarked, “It’s been ten days since Sir Jazathura entered negotiations. He ordered us to stay put.”

The goblins fell silent once Sakozati mentioned Jazathura, the new High Ranker goblin who rose to tenth on the goblin ranking, and the leader of Clan Green Hunters.

Sakozati smiled once he observed his subordinates’ reactions and said, “But... Opportunities like this don’t come often. I will ask Sir Jazathura for his opinion.”

“Kererek! You’re the best, Vice Clan Leader!”

“I’d expect nothing less from Sir Sakozati!”

“Krrrk! I’m sure Sir Jazathura will allow it!”

The goblins cackled joyfully in response to Sakozati.

***

“Muka! It’s been so long! Did you not miss me? I’ve been worried sick!”

“I thought you were dead, Muka oppa! Do you have any idea how furious Grandmother has been?”

“Kaaah! Muka! What is this alcohol? It’s sweet and strong!”

“Hahahah! That was a gift from my human friend, Seong-Hwi! Drink as much as you want!”

Seong-Hwi smiled faintly as he listened to the voices echoing from downstairs. “He must be happy to reunite with family after so long.”

They were in Muka’s home, a giant steel mansion on the outer ring of Ferrum. Seong-Hwi had been shocked when he saw the mansion.

Muka had said in embarrassment, “Ahem. Did I not tell you that I’m the grandson of Rika Haswell, the founder of the Haswell Workshop?”

The Haswell Workshop was one of the most skilled workshops among those run by the Red Hammer tribe. However, Seong-Hwi was shocked for a different reason.

“I can’t believe Muka’s grandmother is Rika Haswell,” he mumbled.

Rika Haswell was a dwarf High Ranker, sixth on the dwarf ranking, and a Spare Ranker who could aim for a spot on the World Ranking. Muka’s full name was Muka Haswell, a member of a house with significant influence in Ferrum.

Yeah, no matter how many disciples the Steel King has, it’s not easy to become one of them. His family background likely played a part.

Seong-Hwi nodded once the puzzle pieces fell into place. He believed his plan to acquire a chance to negotiate with the Steel King might be easier than expected.

“Since Muka is heading to the inner ring tomorrow for the artisan verification exam, I might as well take this chance to switch out my items.”

Seong-Hwi thought about the items he lacked. First, he needed a bottom piece. Although he was wearing military cargo pants that provided excellent mobility and several pockets, it was not an item. He also needed shoes. Tom’s Leather Boots had been serving him well, but not only was it made by a human artisan, but it was also nearing its lifespan.

“The Zanaka Karambit is nice, but its potential is capped at B-rank... I’d like some better items.”

Seong-Hwi lay on his bed to sleep as he thought about his plans for tomorrow. He tossed and turned on the bed for a while. He had not had a good night’s sleep since the lucid dreams, the side effect of Borrowing Destiny, began.

Whenever he slept, he was met with the figures from whom he borrowed their destinies and assimilated with them, being forced to have various nightmares generated by his subconscious. Hence, he only slept for about two to three hours a day, and that was if he forced himself to sleep.

“Mmm...” The sleeping Seong-Hwi groaned as he frowned.

The lucid dream began like any other night, but something different happened this time. A silver-grey object the size of a pinky fingernail sneaked out of Seong-Hwi’s pocket and floated in midair. It was the Steel Rice Grain, shining under the moonlight through the window.

The Steel Rice Grain flew around Seong-Hwi, drenched in sweat as he suffered from the nightmares, and flew out of the window. It trembled as if enraged by the overflowing energy of metal throughout the city and flew toward the Arcarin Plaza, one of Ferrum’s main streets.

Arcarin Plaza was one of Ferrum’s tourist attractions, filled with dozens of steel stores, steel roads shaped like snake skin, steel street lamps, and a fountain that spewed liquid iron.

The Steel Rice Grain arrived at the fountain, a masterpiece that an artisan poured their heart and soul into making, in the middle of the plaza. It fell into the red-hot liquid iron. A normal metal would have melted from the heat, but the Steel Rice Grain did not.

Instead, it absorbed all the liquid iron from the fountain as if drinking it and began to absorb the fountain itself. The absorptive force of the Steel Rice Grain grew stronger, and the radius of its absorption grew larger. It devoured the streets, street lamps, the stores, and even the items inside the stores. The vibrations and noises grew stronger, eventually feeling like an earthquake was happening.

“W-what was that sound?”

“Ahhh! M-my store!”

“What the hell?!”

All metal in the surroundings was food for the Steel Rice Grain. One of the dwarves had steel shirt buttons and a brass belt, which was all ripped off of him, leaving him embarrassed in tattered clothes.

“Call the guards! It’s a terrorist attack!”

“Who’d be reckless enough to engage in acts of terrorism during the Ferrum Festival?!”

“Ahaha! What a sight.”

The dwarves were terrified to see the entire Arcarin Plaza being obliterated, while the other races who had come to enjoy the Ferrum Festival clapped at the unexpected event.

The absorptive force vanished. The Steel Rice Grain trembled as if burping and flew toward the Haswell home where Seong-Hwi was sleeping.

“Kurgh! Stop! Leave me... alone!” Seong-Hwi groaned in his sleep.

The Steel Rice Grain flew toward Seong-Hwi and rested on his forehead. It shone with a silver-grey light, which gradually relieved Seong-Hwi’s agonized expression. The Steel Rice Grain remained attached to Seong-Hwi’s forehead until Seong-Hwi showed signs of waking up.

***

“Mmm... Yawn...” Seong-Hwi woke up and felt well-rested. He had not felt this way for a long time. “Huh? Did I have a good night’s sleep?”

He did not have the lucid dreams that had been haunting him every night. He had slept like a log. It had been a while since he felt energized in the morning.

Just then, he heard things breaking downstairs. Seong-Hwi rushed out of his room and ran downstairs.

“How dare you come back here, to my house?”

“W-what the hell do you think you’re doing, hag?!”

“What did you just call me? A snot-nosed brat like you has no right to shout at me!”

The first floor of the mansion was a large workshop. Seong-Hwi had not taken a good look because they had arrived last night, but there were fifteen blast furnaces shaped like large iron balls. No, there were fourteen now that Muka was smashed into one of them.

“Arghhh! Are you trying to kill your grandson, crazy old hag?!”

“I don’t have a grandson like you! Die!” 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

“Ahhh!”

Muka was not in the best of shape. His beard, which reached his belly button, had been cut to the base of his chin, and blood was pouring out of his nose.

“M-mom! Stop it! You’re gonna kill Muka! You’re killing my son!”

“Grandma! Please stop! I’m the one who has to repair all this!”

Muka’s family, who had passed out in the workshop after sharing drinks at the reunion last night, pushed Rika away from Muka with all their might.

Muka’s grandmother? Does that mean she’s Rika Haswell? Seong-Hwi wondered as he stared at the dwarf woman who had put Muka into a headlock and was spanking his butt.

Her skin was bright red, possibly her usual skin tone or even redder from rage, and her hair was blazing red. She was about the same height as Muka, but her arms were twice as thick. She wore a belt that held a galvanized steel liquor bottle and various tools, like a hammer and a chisel.

“Bastard! Son of a bitch! Moron!” Rika shouted as she continued to spank Muka.

“Ahhh!”

Seong-Hwi stared at Muka’s disfigured butt and summoned the Tarot Deck of Destiny. Cards flew out of the deck with a golden sheen.

[Activating Unique Skill: Symbol Embodiment.]

[Ace of Cups]

[Two of Cups]

...

[Seven of Cups]

Twenty-eight translucent blue cups appeared over Muka and his grandmother, and dumped the water inside over their heads.

“Urgh...” Muka trembled as the water healed his disfigured butt.

“Who did that?!” Rika shouted as she turned to Seong-Hwi, who had been watching from the staircase.

Her face was flat and filled with wrinkles like an arid land. She looked so masculine that she would be mistaken for a man if it weren’t for her lack of facial hair, the symbol of male dwarves.

Hmm... She’s powerful. I should run for it if I must, Seong-Hwi said inwardly as he felt the power suppressed inside Rika.

He raised his hands to show his lack of hostility and said, “You were overheating, so I judged water would be best.”

“Who do you think you are to butt into family matters?” Rika asked irritably.

“I am Muka’s friend, Cheon Seong-Hwi. I am a human.” He smiled playfully and continued, “That aside, family matters? I thought you said Muka wasn’t your grandson?”

Rika turned to Muka’s father, Maka, who was pretending to be a wall. “Maka! Who the hell is that? Why is a human in my house?”

“Oh, uhhh... Mother-in-law... Well... Muka said he was his friend, so...” Maka stuttered.

Yuka, Muka’s mother, expressed frustration at Maka’s stuttering and stepped up. “Mom! I told him he could stay here! This is the first time Muka has brought home a friend! How could I just send him away?”

“I own this house! If you want to do whatever you want, then get out of this house and do it! That goes for all of you!”

“Hmph! Then you’ll be left all alone!”

“What did you say?!”

Seong-Hwi was left irrelevant at the sudden domestic argument of House Haswell.

“I can’t bear to raise my head during the Faber conferences because of him! After all I did to have Bafor accept him as his disciple, he runs away?!” Rika shouted.

“That just goes to show how hard Muka has been having it! Muka finally came home after a decade, so I won’t stand for it if he runs away again because of you, Mom!”

“You’re no better! A mother who coddles her son like a baby! That’s why you can’t become an A-rank artisan!”

“What does that have to do with anything?!”

As Rika and Yuka were arguing, Maka helped his son Muka up and said, “Muka! Hurry up and beg for forgiveness!”

“Urgh... Why should I? I’ve done nothing wrong,” Muka remarked.

Hearing that, Rika grimaced intensely as she glared at Muka. “Nothing wrong?”

Muka also glared at his grandmother and said, “An A-rank artisan? An artisan is an artisan! Why must we be ranked? Master is certainly a respectable craftsman, but I don’t respect him as a leader!”

“What did you say?!”

“I said nothing wrong! Just take a look at the Ferrum Festival! He turned the noble artisan’s spirit into a circus show! We’re not attractions!”

Blood vessels bulged from Rika’s face. She said, “Look at you, being all high and mighty, my grandson. You want to know why we must be ranked? Because this world isn’t for the dwarves alone. A distinct hierarchy benefits our race. Eighty percent of artisans ranked A and B are dwarves. A brat like you wouldn’t know the significance of the power that it brings.”

She cracked her neck and continued, “I don’t like that we’ve become attractions in the Ferrum Festival either, but it is necessary. This festival is to let the Mirror World know of the dwarves’ excellence! The right to issue artisan certificates has become a strength for Faber!”

As Rika mentioned, the Ferrum Festival didn’t always exist; it had come to be after long and hard considerations and effort from the dwarves. Ferrum earned astronomical amounts of Coins during the festival, and the honor of being unmatched in item production and the authority to assess artisans had become a massive strength for the dwarves.

“The world doesn’t change just because you know how to hammer metal! I believe Bafor is doing a good job,” Rika remarked.

“But... But—”

“You’re nothing but talk! Prove yourself with results! If you claim to be an artisan with the noblest of spirits, then back up your claims with undeniable results that everyone would acknowledge!”

Muka’s face turned red with rage. He pushed aside his father, Maka, who had been supporting him, and shouted, “That’s exactly why I’m here! I’ll take that damn artisan exam! I’ll become an A-rank artisan and earn the right to attend the Faber conferences. I’ll tell off my master to his face during the next Faber conference!”

Rika’s face twitched. She grabbed the liquor bottle from her belt and took a swig.

“Kaaah. Kahahaha! You think being an A-rank artisan is that easy? A numbskull like you could never!”

“You think I can’t do it?!” Muka shouted.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I think.” Rika smirked and continued, “There are only a hundred A-rank artisans in the Mirror World. We pick three each year, but there are years when we don’t even get one because they have to take the place of the existing A-rank artisans.”

“I know that!”

“You say that, despite knowing that? Kahahaha!” Rika was no longer angry. Her eyes shone ecstatically as if she had discovered a rare metal. “Then why don’t you wager your right to use the Artisan’s Soul?”

Yuka interjected, “Mom! That means Muka could never hold a hammer again—”

“You stay out of this!” Rika shouted. She turned to the serious Muka and reiterated, “I’m asking if you’re willing to wager the right to use the Artisan’s Soul.”

“If I do, what will you wager?” Muka asked.

“Me? Ahaha! Anything! I’ll do anything you want if you become an A-rank artisan!”

“Fine. I swear that if I don’t become an A-rank artisan in this artisan exam, I will give up on my right to use the Artisan’s Soul.”

“Muka!” Yuka shouted, but Muka remained still.

Rika smiled with satisfaction and said, “Good. That’s my grandson. It won’t happen, but in the off chance that you become an A-rank artisan, I swear in the name of Haswell that I will do whatever you wish!”

Muka turned to Seong-Hwi, who had been watching from the staircase, and shouted, “Let’s go, Seong-Hwi! I’m going to apply for the artisan exam right now!”

Seong-Hwi nodded and went down the rest of the stairs.

If I play this well... Could it work? he thought with a smile.