The Genius Archer Who Became a One-Man Army

Chapter 11

“What are you?”

“And who is this young punk?”

The two men inside the blacksmith’s shop glared at Lian, who was sitting on the floor.

However, Lian’s eyes were fixed on Walter, who lay sprawled on the ground.

‘…Was it this time?’

In the near future, Walter would become one of the most renowned blacksmiths on the continent.

Because of this, many would come to respect him, and an autobiography would be written about him.

Lian had read Walter’s autobiography.

That’s how he knew.

About the deep sorrow that Walter had before he became famous.

“Let’s get up.”

“Ugh…”

Lian slowly helped Walter to his feet. The two men glared and took a step forward.

“You bastard!”

“If it doesn’t concern you, just walk away. Don’t get hurt for no reason.”

At those words, Lian took a badge from his pocket and threw it on the ground.

The moment the two men saw the badge,

“I am Lian, a decurion of the 6th Legion of the Artian Kingdom. Do you dare speak such foul words to a soldier of the kingdom?”

“A, a soldier?”

“A decurion? This little kid…?”

At their reaction, Lian’s gaze turned icy.

“Leave, if you don’t want to die.”

“Damn…”

“Hey, old man! We’ll be back, and you’d better be ready next time!”

With Lian’s threat, they turned away, scowling.

“Are you alright?”

“Hmm… Thank you.”

As the two men left, Walter shook off Lian’s hand and walked back into the blacksmith shop.

There was a loneliness in his figure as he walked in slowly.

Without a word, Lian followed him into the shop.

“Hmm…”

The shop was filled with a peculiar scent of extinguished fire.

Though it seemed like the fire had been out for quite some time, the shop still held the atmosphere of a long history.

Lian looked at the items hanging on the walls.

Long swords and short swords.

Various weapons, and even some light armor, were neatly displayed.

Lian picked up a long sword and inspected it.

Though the blade wasn’t perfectly sharp, the weapon was fundamentally well-balanced.

‘The craftsmanship is solid.’

Though he had a peculiar personality and was quite stubborn, that’s why he could create such items.

As Lian examined the sword, Walter, holding a bottle of alcohol, spoke to him.

“You seem to know your stuff for a young lad. Did you say you’re a soldier?”

“Yes.”

“I heard you’re a decurion. You look young, but for your age, that’s impressive.”

A decurion commands ten soldiers, essentially a squad leader.

It’s not a significant position in the military, but enough to be intimidating to street ruffians.

Lian nodded at Walter’s words.

“It’s not a great position. But aren’t you going to hold the hammer again?”

“…”

At Lian’s question, Walter’s expression twitched.

Walter took a swig from his bottle and turned away.

“I don’t hold the hammer anymore. No, I can’t hold it.”

“Why? Because this proud blacksmith shop has been handed over to someone else?”

“…!”

For a moment, Walter’s eyes shook.

Walter turned his head towards Lian, his expression twisted in bitterness.

“How dare a kid like you…!”

“I might not know everything, but I do understand the situation.”

Walter was a well-known blacksmith in Bellotra.

Naturally, many sought him out, and his position was solid.

“But to those looking to start new ventures here, you must have been a thorn in their side.”

Walter was an honest blacksmith.

He didn’t compromise with others or his creations for petty gains.

He was truly a craftsman.

But being upright doesn’t always lead to an upright path.

Instead, because he didn’t bend, he had to break.

“The result… is that you have to hand over the blacksmith shop you dedicated your life to.”

“Who are you…?! Did that scoundrel Hiltersen send you?! What more do you want to take from me?!”

“I’m not here to take anything.”

Lian said. As Walter looked at him, Lian turned and picked a sword from the wall.

“You might not know me, but I know you. And I used a bow you made.”

“A bow?”

“Yes, I’m quite good with a bow.”

Even at the moment of his last breath, Lian had held a bow made by Walter.

With a slight smile, Lian put the sword back in its place.

Turning back to Walter, Lian’s gaze had become serious.

“If you had a chance to start over, would you take it?”

“…There are no such chances.”

Walter’s eyes shook.

He was deceived by Hiltersen and accumulated a debt of over 2000 gold.

It’s an amount he couldn’t hope to earn in a lifetime.

But Lian spoke to Walter.

“I’m not asking to hear that. If… If you had the chance to start over, would you take it?! That’s what I’m asking!”

When Lian shouted, Walter slowly raised his head to look at him.

The boy was clearly twenty years younger than him. But,

‘Why… does it not feel like a joke…?’

Those were not the eyes of a boy.

They were the deep eyes of someone who had experienced all of life’s ups and downs.

Walter, forgetting Lian’s young appearance, nodded slowly.

“If I could… If I could start again, I would like to.”

“I will help you.”

“You, you said you’re a soldier. Are you perhaps a noble?”

Even for a noble, 2000 gold was a considerable amount.

And to invest it in a mere blacksmith.

Lian gave a sheepish smile.

It was quite different from his earlier dignified expression.

“I’m just a decurion from a commoner background.”

“Then how do you plan to do this?”

“May I take a few items from here?”

“…My items?”

Lian quickly turned and began inspecting the weapons on the wall again.

He seemed to be looking for something specific.

“What are you doing?”

Walter asked, but Lian silently began to inspect each weapon hanging on the wall.

Although they didn’t possess magical properties, Lian had learned something important from his long years on the battlefield.

The sense of aura from those who used mana.

‘It’s a sense of magic.’

Even during the battle at the Pellon Gorge after he was reborn, he had felt it.

‘I can find it.’

Focusing as much as possible on his senses, Lian began to examine the weapons. Then,

“…Unbelievable.”

To imbue a weapon with attributes, a crucial element is required.

The weapon itself must inherently contain magic.

This isn’t something that can be artificially created.

It’s akin to a skill granted to someone deeply versed in a field over a long period.

This is why, despite knowing how to create attribute weapons, others couldn’t replicate the process.

However, many of the weapons Walter made contained magic.

‘It was written in his autobiography. Out of every twenty weapons he made, about one would contain magic.’

That’s why Lian thought there would be at least one or two magical weapons among all these.

But…

“Unbelievable…”

If Lian’s senses were correct, then among the weapons here, those containing magic were,

“All of them…?”

* * *

Walter became famous precisely because of his attribute weapons.

An attribute weapon means imbuing weapons or armor with attributes like fire, water, wind, or earth, enhancing their properties.

For example, a sword with wind attributes would slightly increase its cutting power, or a fire attribute would cause burns due to the fire’s energy.

Such attribute weapons skyrocketed in price based on the strength of the attributes imbued.

A regular long sword with an attribute could be sold for fifty to a hundred times its normal price.

However, imbuing weapons with attributes is challenging.

Or rather, the idea of imbuing weapons with attributes itself was unheard of.

‘This is a time when attribute weapons didn’t exist.’

Lian didn’t know the exact starting point, but he knew it began with an accidental discovery by a mage.

‘Who would have thought of inscribing magic into knights’ weapons to imbue them with attributes?’

Moreover, the weapons that could receive such attributes were extremely rare.

Not just any weapon could become an attribute weapon; it had to be capable of accepting magic.

‘In the future, Walter’s chance of making a magical weapon was barely 5%.’

This was said by the continent’s greatest attribute weapon craftsman.

But now, about half of the weapons before him contained magic.

Including the uncertain ones, it was more than half.

Lian cautiously reached out and confirmed another weapon.

There was no doubt.

‘There’s a faint sense of magic.’

Having met many who used aura, his body remembered the sensation.

‘Does this mean Walter declined in the future?’

Perhaps so.

Walter was over fifty when he became famous.

‘Could it be that now is… his prime?’

Lian, silently looking at the weapon in his hand, turned to Walter.

“You must keep your word that you won’t give up if you have another chance to start over.”

“But how exactly do you plan to do that?”

“I’ll borrow a few of these.”

Lian took the long sword with the highest magical response and a leather breastplate.

These would be sufficient for testing.

“I’ll be back.”

Lian headed to the magic tower at the center of Bellotra.

Although the tower was only three stories high, its presence signified that Bellotra was a considerable city.

“Is anyone here?”

While the tower was known to be quite secretive, this was mainly when imparting knowledge.

In terms of business, where astronomical amounts of money were involved, the tower was rather accommodating.

Lian approached the reception desk on the first floor, where a man in a brown hooded cloak, Jerome, was seated. Jerome was an apprentice mage, newly joined the tower.

As Lian entered, Jerome greeted him with a friendly smile.

“Welcome to the tower. How can I help you?”

“Is there a mage proficient in fire and earth attributes?”

“For what purpose?”

“I’d like to conduct an experiment with this weapon.”

“An experiment…?”

Jerome seemed a bit suspicious at Lian’s words, and Lian smiled awkwardly.

“Yes, I want to try imbuing this weapon with attributes.”

“Attribute imbuing?”

“Yes. Is that possible?”

“Hmm… If it’s something like that, the mage probably won’t see you. They don’t attend to requests outside their specified duties.”

“Hmmm…”

Lian sighed softly at those words.

He didn’t know much about mages, but he understood a bit about their nature.

“Then please ask if they could spare 30 minutes. I’m willing to pay whatever it takes.”

Clink.

Lian took five gold coins from his pocket.

‘This is the moment.’

To mages, five gold might not be a huge amount, but compared to just 30 minutes, it might be enticing enough.

Jerome, slightly taken aback by the gold coins, soon collected them and went upstairs. Within minutes, he returned to Lian.

“The mage will see you, but… only for 30 minutes.”

“Thank you.”

Lian followed Jerome to the second floor.

Knock, knock.

“Marque, I’ve brought a visitor.”

“Come in.”

At the voice from inside, Lian entered.

Clunk.

“Five gold for 30 minutes. What noble offspring might you be?”

With wavy blond hair and pale skin like a vampire from legends, the man had a thin frame.

Lian responded to his question.

“I’m not a noble. I’m Lian, a decurion from the 6th squad of the 3rd battalion, 5th regiment.”

“A soldier? Why would a soldier seek me out?”

Marque looked puzzled.

While there might be some connections between soldiers and mages, they were mostly unrelated.

Lian placed the long sword and breastplate he brought on the floor.

“I believe this experiment will interest you as well.”

“Let’s hear it.”

He folded his arms and tilted his chin up slightly, indicating he’d listen to whatever interesting proposal Lian had.

But Lian didn’t mind.

Achieving his goal was all that mattered.

“With this sword and armor…”

Lian began to explain what he knew.