Song Kang-chul’s hamr swung.
It was massive.
Threatening.
And—
"Fast!"
It was a mistake to assu that a two-handed hamr would be slow.
He wielded it with both hands like it was a re toy.
But.
"Too slow."
No matter how fast it seed, that was only in comparison to the usual speed of two-handed weapons.
Su-ho dodged with ease and raised Blood Club.
Then, he struck Kang-chul’s wrist.
"Gaaah!"
Song Kang-chul let out an involuntary groan.
At the sa ti, he instinctively let go of the hamr with one hand and clenched his fist.
The pain was intense.
But more than the pain, his face twisted in confusion.
"How the hell…?"
That was the only thought running through his mind.
It was understandable.
Song Kang-chul was a warrior player on the verge of reaching 2-star rank.
Not only did he pride himself on his heavy attacks, but he had also never neglected his stamina and defense.
He even called himself a DPS-Tank hybrid.
And yet, for the first ti in ages, he had taken a hit that left him in agonizing pain.
His face contorted like a child holding back tears, and Su-ho grinned.
"Looks like that hurt."
"You son of a—!"
Kang-chul moved to counterattack.
But Su-ho smashed him in the head with Blood Club before he could.
WHACK!!
Song Kang-chul’s body lifted off the ground, flung across the room, and crashed pathetically into the wall.
"Grrgh…!"
Pressed against the wall, he groaned.
It hurt.
But he refused to admit it.
"? Feeling pain? From that weak-looking bastard?"
Yet, the pain in his body was very real.
Gritting his teeth, he forced his head up.
And there stood Su-ho, already looming over him.
"What are you doing? Not getting up?"
A soft whisper.
Yet it sent shivers down Kang-chul’s spine.
At that mont, he knew.
"I can’t win against this man."
His survival instincts worked fast.
And he reached a conclusion just as quickly.
Slowly, he stood up and raised his hands.
"Alright, I surrender."
Experienced fighters could gauge the gap between themselves and their opponent after just a few exchanges.
And Song Kang-chul considered himself experienced.
So he chose to surrender while preserving so dignity.
But—
"Who said you could?"
"What?"
"I don’t accept surrenders."
"Wa-wait!"
Su-ho had no intention of stopping here.
"What if I hadn't dodged that attack earlier?"
Guys like this needed to be disciplined when given the chance.
Arrogant people who lived thinking they were untouchable always needed a reminder of reality.
So Su-ho proceeded to beat the living hell out of him with Blood Club.
"Aaaagh! Agh! I surrender! I surrender!"
"If you were gonna give up this fast, why did you act tough in the first place?"
"Aaaah! Aaaaaagh!"
Su-ho didn’t hold back.
Even though Song Kang-chul was a warrior nearing 2-star rank, his body was soon covered in deep bruises, and his skin split open, spilling blood.
Who knew how long the beating lasted?
Eventually, Su-ho let out a short breath and spoke.
"Phew. Get up."
"Ghh…."
"Not getting up?"
"You son of a—"
"Son of a what?"
"N-nothing!"
"Nothing?"
"N-no, sir…!"
Oh?
Still had so fight left in him, huh?
Su-ho narrowed his eyes at the battered man.
Despite his reputation, Kang-chul had tears streaming down his face.
That was how much pain he was in.
Su-ho asked.
"So? Need more?"
"N-no! That was more than enough!"
"Then go sit down."
"Y-yes, sir!"
Kang-chul scurried over to the couch.
But then—
Su-ho furrowed his brows.
The idiot had taken the main seat.
He just got his ass handed to him, and he still had the nerve to sit in the highest-ranking position in the room?
Su-ho stared at him.
Only then did Song Kang-chul realize his mistake and quietly shuffled over.
Once Su-ho sat down in the correct seat, he spoke.
"…Anyway, it’s an honor to et you, Vice President of Raid."
"…?"
"Not gonna respond?"
"Y-yes! Of course!"
Su-ho nodded.
"Good. Now we can finally have a conversation."
Only then did he take the ti to look around Kang-chul’s office.
A spacious executive room.
Despite the chaos earlier, there were surprisingly few damages.
It was then that Kang-chul mustered up the courage to speak.
"Uh… So…"
"Hm?"
"Why, exactly, did the Sword Saint co looking for …?"
Of course.
It was ti to get to business.
Su-ho asked,
"You have The Foolish Judge’s Hamr, don’t you?"
"Huh?"
"Are your ears clogged?"
"N-no! I have it!"
"Sword Saint needs it. We’ve been tracking it down, and that led us to you."
"Oh…"
For a mont, Song Kang-chul just stood there with his mouth slightly open.
Then, his brain started working fast.
Su-ho scoffed.
Even after getting his ass handed to him, this guy still had the nerve to sche.
But Su-ho had no intention of simply taking it by force.
Unless he planned to completely erase Song Kang-chul, a clean transaction would be best to avoid complications later.
As the silence stretched on, Su-ho spoke again.
"Still not done calculating?"
"H-huh? Oh, no! It’s done! Wait, calculating what?"
"Cut the crap. Let’s just finish this deal and move on. Sell it to the Sword Saint. How much do you want?"
"Well… ahem."
Song Kang-chul cleared his throat.
A sudden cough? Just because he was asked to sell a hamr?
Su-ho frowned, and Kang-chul spoke.
"Um… You might not know this, but I’m quite a famous hamr collector."
"And?"
"Not only that, but this is an ultra-rare, one-of-a-kind item—I’m the only one in the country who owns it. And… well, I’m not exactly hurting for money, so do I really have any reason to sell it?"
His eyes were serious.
Su-ho found it ridiculous.
"This bastard still doesn't get it."
A short chuckle escaped him.
"So, you're not selling it?"
"I an, it's not like I need the money, so I don’t really see a reason to sell…"
"Then don’t."
"What? Wait—huh?"
"I said don’t sell it."
Su-ho suddenly stood up.
Kang-chul flinched in response.
"W-wait, what are you doing?"
"I told you not to sell it. Why are you acting all flustered?"
"N-no, I just—"
"You made your choice. Just don’t regret it later. Let’s see what happens next, all because of that stupid hamr."
"…!"
Kang-chul’s eyes widened.
Only now did he realize.
"Ah. I miscalculated."
He had been trying to hold out to raise the price.
But that was a huge mistake.
Because in this room, Su-ho’s representative was equal to dealing with Su-ho himself.
And after getting beaten up earlier, his brain must have temporarily shut down.
As Su-ho turned to leave, Kang-chul desperately grabbed his sleeve.
"W-w-wait! Wait, please!"
"Not letting go?"
"I-I’m sorry! I was wrong! I wasn’t thinking straight!"
"Yeah. You really don’t seem like soone who thinks much. I don’t get how a dumbass like you beca the vice president of the second-largest guild."
Su-ho’s voice dropped, his words turning into sothing much more real.
"Then brace yourself. I’ll start with a tax investigation. Let’s see how long it takes for Raid to crumble into dust."
It wasn’t an empty threat.
And it wasn’t impossible.
Which was why Kang-chul’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull.
No longer just grabbing Su-ho’s sleeve, he threw himself to the floor, grabbing onto his pants.
"S-sir! I-I was wrong! I apologize! Please, forgive !"
"Let go, Vice President."
"S-sir!!"
Su-ho deliberately dragged Kang-chul all the way to the elevator.
The man couldn’t stop him.
Even though Kang-chul was physically bigger, Su-ho’s strength stat was leagues ahead.
Which was probably why—
As Su-ho stepped into the elevator, Kang-chul finally broke.
Tears burst from his eyes as he scread.
"I’M SORRY!! I’M SORRY!! PLEASE, JUST SPARE !! I WAS STUPID!!"
Su-ho finally paused.
His expression darkened as he looked down at the sobbing man.
"Bring the hamr."
"J-just a mont! I-I’ll get it right now!"
Kang-chul scrambled away.
He returned monts later, breathless, and handed the item over.
Su-ho inspected it.
A genuine article.
After confirming its authenticity, Su-ho placed the hamr into his inventory.
Then, he crouched down to et Kang-chul’s eyes.
"Tsk, tsk. This would’ve been so much easier if you’d just done this from the start."
"I-I’m sorry…"
"Honestly, I should crush Raid into the ground just for fun. But I’ll let it slide this ti."
"Y-yes… Thank you…"
"In exchange, give your business card."
"M-my… business card?"
"What, you need to spell it out for you?"
"W-wait, hold on!"
Panicked, Kang-chul rushed to grab his business card and handed it over.
Su-ho glanced at it before asking.
"This number here—it's your direct line?"
"Yes, it is!"
"Good. Answer when I call. And when I give you a task, do it imdiately."
"Ah…"
"Ah?"
"I-I an, yes! Understood!"
"Let’s try and act a little more professional, huh?"
Pocketing the business card, Su-ho stood up.
Then, without another word, he stepped into the elevator.
The mont the doors closed, the tension snapped.
Kang-chul collapsed onto the floor, his whole body trembling.
"Holy… fuck…"
This was the worst day of his life.
***
Su-ho stepped out of the Raid building after offering the receptionist a slight nod.
As he gazed up at the towering headquarters, a thought crossed his mind.
"Looks like I just got myself another errand boy."
There were certain things he couldn’t ask Choi Yoon to handle.
But Kang-chul?
Yeah.
That guy was going to be very useful.
Without further delay, Su-ho got into his car and drove ho.
And the mont he arrived, he headed straight for the basent.
There, the remaining materials from Choi Yoon had already been delivered.
After verifying their authenticity, he imdiately began the crafting process.
[ You have placed A Strange Sociologist’s Bookmark into the Combination Jar. ]
[ You have placed A Scolded Bureaucrat’s Eraser into the Combination Jar. ]
[ You have placed The Foolish Judge’s Hamr into the Combination Jar. ]
As the crafting process began, the jar materialized.
This ti, it was a deeper shade than before.
The recipe had ranked up from low-grade to interdiate-grade.
"Not that it makes much of a difference."
Crafting ranks mainly helped reduce failure rates.
But for soone like Su-ho—who already knew the exact formula—it didn’t matter much.
After adding all the ingredients, Su-ho activated the Combination Jar.
[ Combining… ]
[ Combination in progress… ]
[ Oh? The jar’s state is…?! ]
A familiar alert.
And then—
[ Congratulations! A rare treasure has been created from an interdiate-grade combination! ]
[ You have obtained The Talent of Atonent (S). ]
[ You have achieved a great feat! The system grants you 10 bonus stat points. ]
Finally.
Su-ho now had the Stat Redistribution Item.
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