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Three years later
Steven sighed as he looked at a group of B-rank monster corpses.
'That demon… doesn't he get bored of sending his minions to attack me every time?'
'Their plans are really routine: either they set a trap with monsters to attack me when they discover my location, or they send contractors allied with the demons to attack me.'
Steven frowned.
'They even sent a demoness to seduce me… is there something wrong with their minds or what?'
Steven walked toward a wagon carrying goods and looked at a man standing in front of it.
The man seemed shocked by the sight of the monster corpses or by Steven's battle with the monsters.
The man approached him trembling and said to Steven,
"S-Sir Black Crow, thank you for saving us."
Steven nodded silently and moved to sit under a nearby tree, waiting for the merchant to clean up the mess that had happened to the goods.
Yes, Steven was on a mission to guard the merchants who were delivering goods to the Dwarf Village.
This caravan had been moving for three days. The path was difficult and only horses could traverse it.
After a period of rest, the caravan resumed the journey.
They eventually reached a cave where a dwarf stood nearby. He was half the height of an adult human and had tan skin.
He had tied orange hair and a thick, long beard.
The dwarf pointed toward the caravan, and the head merchant approached him with a smile and said,
"Hello, Bob, it's been a while."
The dwarf laughed and shook the merchant's hand.
"Hahaha, it has been a while, Bors. How are you? Did you encounter any monsters along the way?"
Bors sighed.
"Yes, it was a disaster if it weren't for Mr. Black Crow,"
he said, pointing at him.
Bob stepped forward and extended his hand toward Steven, laughing.
"Thank you for delivering them safely. The goods are very important to the Dwarf Village. My name is Bob."
Steven looked at him without changing his expression and said,
"This is my mission."
Silence fell.
"…."
Then Bob withdrew his hand, laughed dryly, and scratched his head.
He stepped back and whispered into Bors' ear,
"What's with him? Is he always like this?"
Bors nodded and replied,
"Yes, his personality is cold, he speaks little, and he doesn't like anyone touching him or coming near."
Then he shook his head helplessly.
Bob said,
"Ah, yes, you should enter and rest in the village for a few days. You must be tired from the journey."
Bors nodded and led the caravan into the cave.
Inside the cave, there were stairs leading down, and beneath the stairs was a vast chasm large enough to fit an entire city carved by the dwarves.
The houses there were not as advanced as human buildings,
but the tools in the Dwarf City were rare and of good quality.
There was also a device that allowed ventilation in the city within the cave.
The dwarf race excelled in blacksmithing and crafting strange machines,
and they were obsessed with rare metals.
Steven's goal in accepting this mission was to meet the best blacksmith and toolmaker in the world,
named Dawn. His character had appeared in the story; he was a swordsmith for the hero and the best person Kai would turn to when he couldn't find a tool that met his needs.
Naturally, Steven wanted Dawn to craft a tool for him.
Bors approached Steven and said,
"Sir Black Crow, we will stay in the Dwarf City for two weeks. During this time, do whatever you wish."
Steven nodded and walked away from the caravan into the city.
He wanted to find the shop where Dawn worked.
He followed the path as described in the story.
Dawn's shop was located near the far border of the city in an isolated place.
The reason for choosing this location was, of course, that he didn't want to meet anyone.
Steven approached the shop door, knocked lightly, and then entered.
He looked around. The shop was shabby but contained various tools and swords. Although their ranks were not high, they were well-made, organized, and clean.
Dawn took pride in his tools and would never allow a speck of dust to touch them.
Dawn realized someone had entered the shop and walked slowly toward Steven.
He examined him from head to toe and said,
"Who are you? I've never seen you before."
Steven looked at the old man Dawn, who was about his height, without disguise skills, with red skin, brown hair, thick eyebrows, and a beard reaching his neck.
He said calmly,
"You can call me Black Crow."
"I came here for you to make me a tool."
The old man Dawn looked at him and laughed.
Then he said,
"Hey, child, why should I make a tool for you?"
Steven frowned at being called a child; he had a bad feeling.
He took a bottle of wine from his storage ring.
This bottle was expensive; Steven had bought it for 200 rubles.
The old man Dawn's eyes lit up when Steven took out the wine bottle.
Dawn loved wine very much, especially expensive kinds.
The old man laughed loudly and then said,
"Alright, child, what kind of tool do you want?"
Steven spoke,
"I want a tool that can modify rank and talent without being detected by advanced rank and talent detection tools."
Dawn looked at Steven and said,
"I won't ask what you intend to do with it, but child, I'm curious about something. Can I ask?"
Steven's eyebrows furrowed and he said,
"What is it?"
Dawn said,
"Why are you disguised like this, child?"
After finishing his words, he felt a strong murderous intent from Steven.
Four blood swords surrounded him.
Steven asked with killing intent in his eyes,
"How did you know?"
The old man Dawn raised his hands.
"It's a hunch; my hunch is very strong and unique. Child, move these things away from me, I won't tell anyone."
Steven said coldly,
"How can I trust you?"
The old man Dawn sighed and said,
"We can make an S-rank mana contract."
Steven thought this might work, and he also needed the old man Dawn's skill.
He canceled the blood skill and returned the blood to the bottles he had opened earlier, looking at Dawn with a threat.
"Do you have an S-rank contract?"
When the old man Dawn noticed that he survived, he relaxed a little.
The mana contract was lethal; if the conditions were not met, it would reduce the mana to zero.
For an awakened person, mana is very important. If it runs out, it leads to instant death.
Thus, it is a deadly contract and cannot be destroyed unless your rank is higher than the contract. However, it still results in a large rank loss, so only a few awakened people resort to this method when necessary.
Since Dawn discovered him, Steven decided to cancel his disguise skill.
He canceled his skill and placed his cloak in the storage ring.
Steven now appeared taller than he did three years ago, his face perfectly sculpted with a touch of childishness, and his cold expression added a hint of beauty.
Even with clothes on, his perfectly sculpted body from training was noticeable if one focused.
The old man Dawn looked at him in astonishment and said,
"I didn't think you were this young! How old are you?"
Steven's expression remained the same and he said,
"13 years old."
The old man Dawn was surprised,
"That means you haven't even entered the academy yet!!"
Steven got annoyed and said,
"Hurry up and make the contract."
The old man Dawn waved his hands, saying,
"Alright, alright,"
muttering,
"Heh, I deserved to stick my nose into something that doesn't concern me."
He took out the contract, wrote that no one should be told Steven's identity,
cut his finger, and dropped a drop of blood on the contract. Steven did the same.
They watched the contract glow slightly before the glow disappeared.
The old man Dawn stood and told Steven,
"Alright, we're done. Now we can talk about the tool you want."
"I can make it; I have all the materials except for one."
Steven asked,
"What is it?"
The old man Dawn said,
"It's the Bird Gem, which is very important for the tool. If you want the tool, you must obtain it."
He sighed as he continued,
"But it's a rare gem. I don't know where it is; it's been a long time since I last saw it appear."
Steven thought for a moment and then remembered something,
"Wait a week and I'll get it."
Dawn was surprised and asked,
"Really? How?"
Steven frowned and said,
"You don't need to know."
The old man raised his eyebrows and shrugged.
Steven said,
"Is there anything else?"
The old man Dawn said there was nothing else.
Steven returned to his disguise, wore his cloak again, and left without saying anything further.
The old man Dawn watched him leave, and when he disappeared from sight,
he laughed loudly, took out the expensive wine bottle, and said,
"Finally, I will taste it, hehe. I had almost forgotten its flavor."
He sat and drank enthusiastically, then suddenly said,
"He is an interesting child."
And continued drinking.
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