***
When I opened my eyes, an unfamiliar ceiling came into view. The faint smell of iron dust mixed with a slight burnt scent tickled my nose.
"Is this our village blacksmith's house? It's not Lea's house."
My body was meticulously wrapped in clean bandages. As my dim consciousness gradually cleared, a throbbing pain washed over my entire body.
"Ah, sssp... My whole body hurts."
Just then, I sensed someone's presence, and the blacksmith, with his prominent cheekbones and reddish skin, entered the room.
"Pre, you're awake!"
To the blacksmith who smiled brightly and opened his arms, I weakly nodded.
"Yes, thank you so much for treating me."
The blacksmith approached with a worried expression and stood beside the bed where I lay.
"Are you feeling a bit better?"
"Yes, thanks to you, I think I'm recovering quickly."
"Come here, you son of a bitch."
"Huh?"
Having confirmed my recovering state, the blacksmith's face instantly transformed from a gentle smile to a fierce rage. In that moment, goosebumps ran all over my body.
'Uh, I think I've seen this somewhere before.'
"I thought you were dead, going to the Devil's Fangs all by yourself!"
"Uwaaaaaaagh! Save me!"
The blacksmith grabbed my hair with his calloused, rough hands and began to shake me mercilessly.
*Rip rip rip!*
The sound of hair being pulled from my head.
"I was worried! Maybe I should just brand you with a hot iron!"
"Your words don't make any sense! Keuaaaaack! I was wrong! My ear, my ear is tearing!"
As my sense of space grew dim from my head being shaken violently up, down, left, and right, a low, stern voice came from above.
"Anyway, since you're hurt, I'll stop here."
"...Ugh, I think my wound opened up."
"What did you say?"
"Nothing, sir."
"No, I'm not kidding, did it really open? Are you okay?"
The blacksmith carefully examined the bandages, his face etched with concern.
"Yes, I think I'm okay. Thank you."
As I spoke with a forced smile, the blacksmith finally seemed relieved and smiled gently. But his relaxed expression didn't last long. Even though it was just the two of us in the room, he unnecessarily glanced around.
"Well... um, Pre. Actually, there's something I want to ask you. If I say it like this, I might seem like a petty and materialistic guy, but it's because of that that I offered to treat you in my house."
"You being so honest is actually refreshing."
"I hate beating around the bush."
The blacksmith lowered his voice and put on a serious expression.
"That greatsword you brought back, where did you get it? Even a quick glance told me it wasn't an ordinary item."
'Greatsword? Ah! I got an incredible sword from the Devil's Fangs. That's why I was able to come back alive.'
"It was at the summit of the Devil's Fangs."
The blacksmith's eyes widened like a rabbit's, then narrowed again as if lost in deep thought.
"So, really, um... you really conquered the Devil's Fangs. Ha... You've fulfilled this village's long-held wish. Now, the people who died there in vain can finally leave for the afterlife without any regrets."
The blacksmith's hand, which had been gripping the bedsheet tightly for some time, slowly loosened.
"Do you really think so?"
"Why?"
"Because I conquered the mountain, wouldn't they feel even more resentful? Since they died."
The pale faces of the people who must have frozen to death painfully suddenly came to mind. They, too, must have cherished a desperate dream of standing on the summit someday, just like me.
"Pre. Those people won't feel resentful. At least not now."
"Why?"
"Because, after conquering that rugged summit and even obtaining a precious treasure, if they saw you, who, instead of just being excited and overjoyed, thought of those who went before you, who would resent you? If it were me, I would never do that."
"What if there are people who don't think that way?"
The blacksmith lightly flicked his wrist, a gesture as if shooing away something bothersome.
"Hmph! You don't need to worry about such petty scoundrels! They're a disgrace to the village!"
"Heeheehee, you're really cool, sir. That's so refreshing to hear."
"That's how you should live life. Otherwise, it's too tiring. Anyway, back to the main point, that greatsword, have you tried using it?"
"Yes, when I used it, flames shot out. And it also had a function that blocked the intense heat coming towards me. Since it's a hot sword that shoots out flames, I think it's a safety device made to protect the user."
The blacksmith listened to my story with great interest, then quickly concluded with a confident voice.
"In that case, it seems that greatsword is a 'treasure'."
Treasure. That meant an object possessing strange and special powers that could not be explained by modern technology.
"But aren't treasures usually found in 'Gates of Space and Time'?"
"Gates of Space and Time?"
Gates of Space and Time. Also called passages leading to other worlds, it was said that if you went inside, you could literally step into a completely different world.
Inside the Gates of Space and Time, special objects called 'treasures' usually existed, and it was known that the unique waves emanating from these treasures interfered with the space of our world, forming a gate. So, if the treasure inside was retrieved, the waves that had been interfering with our world would disappear, and the Gate of Space and Time would slowly close, as if a torn space was healing itself.
However, if the treasure inside the Gate of Space and Time couldn't be retrieved, the gate would gradually begin to collapse unstably, and at that moment, the surrounding space would be sucked into the Gate of Space and Time and vanish without a trace.
And very rarely, it was said that the entire world within the Gate of Space and Time would suddenly appear in our world.
It was known that the more powerful the treasure, the larger the gate would appear, and the resulting damage would also be unimaginably greater.
The origin of these Gates of Space and Time was recorded in old religious texts. Ancient humans, having gained powerful strength through the extreme development of magic and science, became arrogant and lost their reverence for the Creator. Enraged by this, the Creator destroyed the ancient humans and sent all the objects they had created to other worlds.
So, there was a story that the reason those objects sometimes affected our world was because they were originally from our world, and a strong force was acting to return them to their home. On the other hand, there was also the claim that the Creator was giving us, who had deeply repented, another chance.
"Yes, Gates of Space and Time."
"Sometimes, the world inside a Gate of Space and Time suddenly pops into our world, so it's possible a treasure came along with it then."
"That makes sense. Perhaps a long, long time ago, a Gate of Space and Time briefly opened on the Devil's Fangs. After all, those terrible monsters called Mutans can't be found anywhere else in other regions."
"Anyway, treasures are truly rare items. Even if you happen to see one, it never ends up in your hands. So, well, um..."
The blacksmith's eyes sparkled for a moment, then he quickly put on an apologetic expression, hesitating to speak his mind.
"Please, speak comfortably."
"No... that, hmm-hmm... Sssip... Um..."
"Oh, come on, please speak comfortably. I'll listen to whatever you have to say."
The blacksmith finally seemed to have made up his mind, the shadow of hesitation completely disappearing from his face.
"Aish, forget it. Me, making such a request to you. Forget about it."
"Don't be like that, please tell me. I'll at least hear you out."
"I said forget it. It'll probably get awkward if I say it."
The blacksmith hurriedly got up and left the room. Watching his retreating figure, a faint smile naturally formed on my lips.
'The blacksmith treated me when I was so badly injured, so he must feel uncomfortable asking for a favor using that as leverage.'
Since I had woken up late at night, it wasn't until the next day that the villagers, hearing I had regained consciousness, came to visit.
"Are you crazy! Were you trying to get yourself killed!!!"
"I'm sorry..."
"I thought you were dead... Are you really out of your mind!!!"
I got a tremendous scolding from the villagers who came to see me, and also,
"So, I'm telling you! I was doing a handstand and pushed the Mutans' chin up, making it fall off the cliff!"
"Stop talking such nonsense..."
I shared unbelievable tales of heroism from the mountain.
"Show me the treasure you got from that mountain! I've never seen treasure before!"
I met many people, but in the end, Lea didn't come, so I couldn't see her. Most of the villagers came and went, and as time passed, only the blacksmith and the village children remained.
"Pre hyung, I'm curious about something."
"What is it?"
"So, who was that first person?"
"Ah, he's right here next to us."
As I looked at the blacksmith, he had a bewildered expression, as if he didn't understand.
"The first person? Are you talking about me?"
The children suddenly cheered for the blacksmith, offering congratulations.
"Wowwww~! That's amazing! You found Pre hyung first! I'm so jealous."
"The blacksmith knew that Pre hyung didn't actually go to the Devil's Fangs but was secretly hiding in the village!"
"Sir, a few days before I left, I told these children. That I would give treasure to the person who found me, who hadn't actually gone to the mountain."
I had lied to the young children of the village because I didn't want to shock them with the news that I had gone to the Devil's Fangs to die.
"..."
"Sir, I'd like to learn more about that greatsword too."
At my words, the blacksmith's mouth fell open as if I had hit the nail on the head.
"You rascal, you know exactly what I want, like a ghost."
"You're a blacksmith, sir. It was too easy."
"Still, I can't just do that recklessly. It's such an incredible item; what if I try to disassemble it and it breaks? How could I fix it? With a treasure like this, as long as you're not extravagant, you won't have to worry about making a living for the rest of your life. Huh? In the first place, you went through so much trouble..."
"If you don't accept it, sir, I'll have to pass that greatsword on to someone else. Hmm... who was the second person to find me?"
"Me! Me!! Me!!! I was second!!"
Several children excitedly clamored, demanding the treasure for themselves. Amidst them, the blacksmith wore a bitter expression mixed with more apology than gratitude.
"Why are you doing all this for me? It's so hard for me to resist temptation too. You shouldn't keep doing this."
"There are as many as four reasons why I'm doing this for you, sir. First, the unfamiliar stimulation that comes from doing something I'd never be able to do in my entire life is amusing."
"You damn crazy bastard."