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Chapter 41

Our Rookie King Has Changed (1)

It was said that among the many monsters, there were a few cases of insectile monsters having metallic shells. However, the monster that Kang Shin-hyuk had just slain wasn’t of that variety. Therefore, to process the carapace and turn it into a weapon, he had to physically break it down. Fortunately for him, it was easier to break down once he applied heat to it.

“But, when I think about it, this isn’t really metallurgy, is it?”

-Metallurgy is a skill that spans a very wide area. Even if you’re not dealing with metal, processing materials to make weapons is influenced by it.

“It’s not metallurgy…but it is…” It was thanks to the metallurgy skill that he could process the carapace so easily, so Kang Shin-hyuk wasn’t going to complain. No doubt, this would serve as a good foundation for the future, in processing all sorts of non-metals to make weapons.

-Janus’s whisper: What are you doing?

“I’m trimming the shell of an insect.”

-Janus’s whisper: You are working hard, that makes me happy.

“But the Godslayer sword is still far away, so please wait, Sir Janus.”

-Janus’s whisper: Just Janus is fine.

Kang Shin-hyuk idly chatted with Janus while he ground away at the shell, succeeding in making an oval-shaped ring. He attached the small, sharply ground teeth to both sides of it. The finished object looked almost like the mouth of the beast it had come from.

-You made a Sudden Monster Trap (C) with a little spiritual power. Metallurgy proficiency has slightly increased.

-Synchronization has accelerated. Current rate of 11.2%.

“Done!” The moment he created this new object, a trap, Kang Shin-hyuk was delighted to see the notification window in front of him. This was the first artifact he created that wasn’t a weapon or armor.

“I think it’s because my metallurgy is now C rank, but I’m gradually getting a sense of how to make artifacts. I have to pay attention to the source of the object as well as my own will to imbue it with spiritual power.”

-Not just anyone can casually create C rank artifacts and talk about it in that way.

[Sudden Monster Trap]

[C rank]

[Special ability: Stealth]

*Stealth: When deployed, this trap is immediately assimilated into the surrounding environment and concealed, slightly increasing the damage of the trap. It cannot be detected by search abilities below rank B.

“Ooh…” It was a special ability that really fit a trap. Kang Shin-hyuk let out a satisfied laugh as he examined the completed trap, but it occurred to him it would hurt if he accidentally activated it. He safely stored it away in his inventory.

“So, that’s it.”

-If you return now, it will be Monday, at 8 AM.

“Wow…” He was alright with being a little late, as he wanted to stay there longer. He had taken to metallurgy rather quickly, and it wasn’t boring, no matter how long he worked.

‘But that’s just an escape.’ To become a superhuman recognized by everyone, he couldn’t slack off when it came to classes. He was eligible to come back here after completing the quest, so he resolved himself to come back the following weekend. He quickly organized his luggage and prepared to leave.

“Anvil, are you awake?”

“…Yeah.” With good timing, Milan entered the barracks as Shin-hyuk was packing up.

“Leaving without a heads up?”

“It’s night. Besides, I said I would be leaving sooner or later.”

“Nevertheless…no, I suppose that’s true.” Milan approached him with a small sigh, taking off the gauntlets he was wearing and offered him a handshake.

“Anvil, you’ve helped us so much…thank you.”

“You paid me to do it.” The prince’s hand was delicate, but his voice was strong.

“You charged us nothing. If we survive on this land, it will be because of you.”

“If you think so.”

“No, You have no idea how grateful we are. You are, uh…” Milan hesitated, then put both of his hands on his helmet. Kang Shin-hyuk realized he had not taken it off in front of anyone as far as he had seen. As the helmet was lifted off, what Shin-hyuk saw was the face of a beautiful girl with dazzling blonde hair and clear eyes.

“…?!”

“It was worth taking off my helmet just to see that expression.” Milan gave him a smile upon seeing his face. Her voice was different now, and he realized that the helmet she wore must have been an artifact of some sort.

“I will introduce myself formally. My name is Milia Van Orde, the last princess of the kingdom of Orde. To rally my soldiers and have them follow me, I was imitating my brother, who died.” Shin-hyuk was immediately convinced, but also a bit curious.

“With just that helmet?”

“I’ve also had some help from Sir Zeke and a few others. But at this point, who can say? Maybe I won’t need to hide anymore.” Milia clapped my hands loudly.

“But such concerns are luxurious. You gave us this opportunity, and as my benefactor, I felt that I shouldn’t deceive you.”

“As you wish…”

“Is this not enough? It won’t be enough, so…” She came to some sort of conclusion all by herself, without a word from Shin-hyuk, and lightly gripped his shoulder. She kissed him briefly on the cheek, the scent of her clear to him.

“This is the best way to express myself as I plan on continuing to live as a man in the future.”

“Are you okay?”

“This is a breathtaking feeling.” She laughed and stepped back toward the entrance of the barracks. She put back on her helmet and returned to being Milan without any regrets.

“Thank you for everything, Anvil. I hope the day will come when we meet again.”

“I do too.”

“Well.” She nodded firmly and left the barracks, and Shin-hyuk felt the spot on his cheek she kissed.

“There were some hiccups, but the finish line was great. It feels like I’ve achieved a real quest because I got a kiss from a princess.”

-…

‘If you’re not going to talk, then don’t. Why send these ellipses?’ He shrugged it off.

“Then, let’s go back to My Room now.” The next moment, he was really back there. After it had happened a few times, it didn’t feel like a dimensional shift at all to him. Now, however, the lights were back on so he could see the floor and walls laid before him.

“This place…so.”

-It’s like the shelter you used in your previous life.

Though it was blocked on all sides and he couldn’t check it out properly, it was clear that this was Anvil’s studio. The one he had seen in the memories.

“How…?”

-My Room is meant to resemble your own thoughts, and it can change as you grow.

“So…it isn’t that world?”

-Of course not. You can go directly there by paying HP once your synchronization rate increases. However, please decide carefully if you want to go. Merba is a perilous place.

He felt equally relieved and disappointed that My Room wasn’t actually that place, but both were soon overtaken by a sense of anger and the urge to go there someday. He was about to say, ‘my family is there,’ but he stopped himself before he could. He let his mind cool off for a moment, regaining his senses.

‘It’s because the synchronization has increased.’ As he acquired more memories of Anvil, the sense of unity with him only increased. It seemed more and more foolish to try and separate himself from Anvil since it was his past life. Which was why he…

“I will go.”

-The more effort you put in, the faster you will get there.

“I know. Thank you.”

-…10HP Bonus!

He decided to find Merba someday and clear everything up.

***

At school that day, Kang Shin-hyuk was pestered non-stop by Baek In-ha all morning.

“Who did you go play with? You abandoned me!”

“Let’s say I was playing with someone. Would I tell you about it?”

“No, damn it!”

He was able to explain the situation to Claire, but he couldn’t honestly confess to Baek that he had been to a different world. However, since it was impossible to make an appropriate excuse to him since he had been trying to contact and search for him all weekend, Shin-hyuk decided to act as if nothing was wrong.

“I believed you were my friend…!”

“You were busy working on assignments all weekend anyway.”

“You were supposed to help me!”

“Do you not know how to work on your own? Are you a kid?” Kang Shin-hyuk sat down while teasing Baek, but at that point, he quit complaining and just stared at him.

“If you climb the stairs of adulthood, will your physical abilities be amplified?”

“I’ve never heard of something so stupid.”

“No, you’ve definitely gotten stronger.” A child he may have been, but a keen one. Shin-hyuk trained in another world for a month and had greatly improved all of his stats, but he had yet to demonstrate that. How could he read that change in his status?

“It’s a growth spurt, yeah.”

“No matter what, I’ll catch up to you right away. It seems like the evolution of a trait is really intense.” Shin-hyuk had no intention of telling him it had evolved again.

“I can’t lose anyway. I’m going to train non-stop today.”

“I’m going to start group training today as well.”

It was a new week, but no changes had occurred in the teachers’ educational policies. Even if group training was going on this afternoon, the training intensity only felt as if it had increased to push the students who already had a week to adjust to the hellish physical exertion.

“Compared to the level of training the seniors get, this is easy. Some of those seniors even have lower physical statuses than you lot do, so that means the problem is your guts!”

 “Oh, god…they finally said guts…”

“How is it possible that these elite superhumans were trained this way…?” Each student was complaining, but Shin-hyuk was of a similar mind to the teacher. The students were unused to handling their stats properly, but he had been training hard with his body to accommodate the fact he couldn’t handle mana.

‘But I’m also not dealing with my status properly because my growth has been too rapid. I have to figure out my limits and how to deal with my skills.’ He had entered the B rank, and at this level, it was enough to be on par with active superhumans. But if he were asked if he could use that power properly, his answer would be no. He had grown too quickly and didn’t know how far that strength could carry him. He had to push that to the limit until he couldn’t summon any more strength.

“Crazy. Kang Shin-hyuk is still holding on…”

“He’s definitely stronger than last week.”

“We’re barely holding on, but he’s not slowing down at all.”

Originally, in his class, Kang Shin-hyuk was still thought to be below Baek despite him winning the Rookie King title. Or rather, many people thought Baek was just an exception.

“My face doesn’t change so much.”

“Were you trying to make a tough expression?”

“No, it’s rather…I was going for calm?”

“Are you constipated?”

“No, look, you asshole…”

However, in today’s class, Kang Shin-hyuk didn’t seem to be lagging behind Baek in any of the training. If Baek had gone all out, maybe that would change, but right now, they were almost equal.

“I still can’t feel mana.”

“What the hell is it?”

“If you become a Rookie King, do they give you some sort of magic elixir?”

Kang Shin-hyuk was training with the wooden spear, a bloody smile on his face, as he listened to the gossip behind him. He was doing reaction training to hit incoming targets, but the training was soon over as he completely cleared the set at the maximum difficulty.

“Kang Shin-hyuk, you’re free to train as you wish with Baek. Everyone else, gather up!”

“Ahhhhh.”

“This is hell.”

“I’m not saying you need to do it like them, just do the best you can!”

It wasn’t just the 1st year C class. Since the previous week, all of the 1st years were being finely ground down. They cursed the teachers, Shinyoung, and the entire world as their bodies were broken down to be built back up. However, the thought of showing off an ugly sight in the sports competition made them hold on without giving up.

“Hey, Kang Shin-hyuk seems to be looking good today.”

“He does look different since he became the Rookie King.”

“No, it’s more like something fundamentally changed.”

As a bonus, Kang Shin-hyuk’s stock price was gradually rising, although he was too busy trying to stop Baek from running off to be aware of it. Soon, the afternoon classes came to an end, but special classes awaited them after school.

“Oh no, I’m going to die!”

“If you don’t want to die in the gate practice, work hard right now.”

“Shin-hyuk, let’s go right away! I heard a rumor that our trainer is a woman.”

“Come on, let’s go.”

The group training for gate practice was conducted in the Blackwood. For the students’ safety, the school closely monitored their training by calling in support from active supervisors from the superhuman association and several famous guilds. The superhumans, who had graduated from Shinyoung, were always willing to respond to the call of cultivating prospective youngsters, especially for the chance to make new contacts. But the supervisor of Group 7 of the 1st year C class had received a lot of attention in particular.

“I will be the supervisor of your gate practice training. I am Shin Eunah, a superhuman from the association.”

“…yes?” Kang Shin-hyuk rubbed his eyes and double-checked the sight in front of him. There was no doubt that Shin Eunah was right there before him. She met his eyes and gave him a slight nod.

“It’s good to see you again. Please take care of me.”

‘No, wait, why?!’