CHAPTER 10
Even after paying, the customer didn’t leave.
It was just a used knife that had only been sharpened.
Yet he looked as excited as a child who had just received a Christmas present.
He cut the already-halved tissue once…
Then again…
Then looked at Kang-cheol.
“You didn’t secretly use pre-cut tissues, did you?”
“If I’m charging money for sharpening, it should at least be this good. You can pull out your own tissues and try it yourself.”
Kang-cheol placed the tissue box beside the basin.
The customer still looked unconvinced.
He pulled out another tissue.
Placed it on the water.
Then cut it.
Ssshh…
The tissue split cleanly.
“It works? How is this possible?”
“M-Me too. I wanna try.”
Even one of the dialect-speaking blacksmiths stopped preparing his own booth.
He borrowed the knife from the customer and repeated the test.
Once again…
The tissue split cleanly.
“Good grief… what kind of magic is this?”
Cutting tissue was much harder than cutting paper.
And cutting a tissue floating on water was even harder than cutting one in your hand.
What Kang-cheol had demonstrated skipped several levels of difficulty.
It wasn’t even comparable to simply cutting a sheet of printer paper cleanly.
Even if their skills were lacking…
They were still blacksmiths.
There was no way they couldn’t recognize how impressive this was.
“Is it really that amazing?”
“I can’t do it.”
The customer looked at Kang-cheol again.
Back when Kang-cheol’s father still ran the workshop…
Kang-cheol had been skilled enough to handle sharpening jobs in his father’s place.
In other words…
People could criticize anything else they wanted.
But no one could criticize his sharpening skills or the results.
Naturally…
More and more people began gathering.
“What’s with all the noise? Is someone using a knife for the first time?”
“They say he sharpens knives unbelievably well.”
“Really? How good could… Whoa…”
Most people thought,
“Sharpening is sharpening. How different can it really be?”
That opinion changed instantly.
All they had to do…
Was stand in front of the basin with the floating tissue.
Their doubts quickly turned into amazement.
The unexpected attention made Kang-cheol nervous.
But he tried to stay calm.
“I was honestly worried since I had to completely rebuild the edge. Luckily, it turned out well.”
“But… is it okay for a working knife to be this sharp?”
The question came from someone in the crowd.
Not the customer.
Still, even the customer nodded with curiosity.
Kang-cheol answered as if he’d heard the question countless times.
“I get asked that a lot. It’s actually a common misunderstanding.”
“The truth is, working knives are better when they’re sharper. A sharper blade cuts more easily. That means less impact on the knife, so the blade lasts longer. Your hands also get less tired, which makes work easier. The same applies to longswords and knives.”
A voice that sounded like another blacksmith interrupted.
“Aren’t you just saying that so people come back for sharpening more often?”
Kang-cheol answered calmly.
“Wouldn’t you rather maintain your knife than wear out your body? Even I get sore hands if I use too much force because my sanding belts or stones are worn out.”
Everyone reacted differently.
But they all felt the same thing.
He’s different.
Other blacksmiths always claimed sharp knives were dangerous.
Whenever customers asked for a sharper edge…
They refused, saying it wasn’t for the customer’s own good.
But Kang-cheol’s explanation…
Made perfect sense.
A knife was a tool made for cutting and piercing.
Why would improving the performance of a tool harm its user?
Besides…
Anyone who regularly used knives had experienced sore hands from forcing a dull blade through material.
Whether you spent money on pain relief…
Or on keeping your knife sharp…
Wasn’t it basically the same thing?
Kang-cheol handed the customer one of his business cards.
“My workshop is being repaired right now. If you ever need repairs later, give me a call. I’ll make sure you’re pleasantly surprised again.”
The customer slowly looked at the card.
“Pleasantly surprised…”
That’s such a professional attitude.
Compared to those words…
The card itself looked old-fashioned.
Simple.
Plain.
Nothing flashy.
As the customer looked beyond the card…
His eyes fell on Kang-cheol’s hand.
A young face.
But thick hands covered in calluses and scars.
…I thought spending money here would’ve been a waste.
On someone like this.
Instead…
Kang-cheol had tried to convince him to repair his equipment properly.
It was embarrassing.
Swallowing hard…
The customer finally managed to say,
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“It’s nothing. You’re the one working hard by going into Gates.”
The customer bowed.
Kang-cheol bowed back.
Even the Hunters watching nearby smiled.
It looked like the perfect ending.
But then…
“Um… excuse me.”
“Hm? Is there something else?”
Kang-cheol looked puzzled.
The customer had already paid.
Received his knife.
Had all his questions answered.
Yet he still hadn’t left.
“…No way.”
The system suddenly remembered something.
Sure enough…
The customer spoke.
“Why didn’t you remove the scratches?”
“…What?”
Kang-cheol blinked.
The man had spent all that time happily slicing tissues…
And now he was complaining about scratches?
“That’s polishing. You asked for sharpening.”
“I don’t care what it’s called. Other places polish it without me asking. Why’s your service so bad?”
“…Wow. People like this really exist.”
The customer…
No.
The troublemaker.
Looked down at Kang-cheol without even a hint of shame.
He seemed to be enjoying Kang-cheol’s confused expression.
BAM!!
A loud smack echoed.
The man collapsed face-first.
“Argh! W-Who hit me?!”
He turned around.
Standing there was a huge man glaring down at him.
“It was me, idiot.”
“G-Gulp…”
“If you’re done, quit causing trouble and get lost. I want him to sharpen mine too.”
Despite his intimidating appearance…
The man was pointing toward the floating tissue in the basin.
The troublemaker hiccupped in panic…
Then immediately ran away.
“Uh… thank you.”
“It’s nothing. Just sharpen mine even better than that idiot’s.”
“Of course.”
After that small incident…
Business at Kang-cheol’s booth became surprisingly successful.
He wasn’t as busy as the large companies with their giant booths.
But customers came steadily without interruption.
“If I bring mine, can you make it that sharp too?”
“My knife has lots of chips. Can you fix that?”
“I don’t use a knife. I use an axe. Can you sharpen axes too?”
Some customers wanted edges sharp enough to cut floating tissue.
Some brought specific problems.
Others made unusual requests.
Kang-cheol always answered the same way.
“Of course. I’ll sharpen yours until it cuts tissue. For yours, I’ll adjust the edge angle too. And yes, I can sharpen your axe. How sharp would you like it?”
Everything was possible.
More importantly…
He made customers believe they’d receive something even better than they expected.
One of the dialect-speaking blacksmiths approached awkwardly.
“If I asked… would you take my order too?”
“Hm? What kind of order?”
“Well… um… could you teach me sharpening?”
“Absolutely not.”
That was one request he refused.
The customer who wanted to cut floating tissue happily sliced five tissues before leaving.
The customer who wanted his edge angle adjusted stopped doubting after Kang-cheol promised free after-service if there were any problems.
The customer with the axe was delighted by how quickly the work was finished.
He even shared food he’d bought at the market.
“You’re still young. Don’t be shy. Eat.”
“I can’t eat food that gets my hands dirty…”
Kang-cheol smiled awkwardly.
But he wasn’t unhappy.
“Student… you planned this pretty well.”
There was never much money to be made at flea markets.
So Kang-cheol had lowered his labor fees far below what his work was worth.
That attracted customers.
The work gave him time to complete system job quests.
And the quests rewarded him with coins.
Everything was going exactly as planned.
Besides the hourly coin rewards…
Small job quests kept giving him extra coins.
Job Quest: Respond to a customer requesting sharpening. (1/1) Complete!
Job Quest: Respond to customers requesting sharpening. (5/5) Complete!
Job Quest: Respond to customers requesting sharpening. (10/10) Complete!
By lunchtime…
He had earned seventy coins.
That was equivalent to about 1.4 million won.
“Not bad, right, Student?”
“Yeah… honestly, I never expected to earn this much.”
“Hurry up and thank me.”
“I was going to… but now I don’t feel like it.”
It was almost lunchtime.
He was just about to finish his current job and grab something to eat.
Then another customer approached.
“Excuse me… could you take a look at something?”
“Of course. Just a moment.”
Kang-cheol stopped working and wiped the water from his hands.
Standing before him…
Was someone who looked like he’d had the worst luck imaginable.
“Yes? What can I help you with?”
“Thank you for your hard work. I…”
The customer started speaking.
Then hesitated.
It looked like he didn’t even know how to explain the problem.
“No matter where I get it sharpened… it never feels as sharp as it used to. I saw how popular you are, so I wondered if you might know what’s wrong.”
“So you’ve had it sharpened… but it still doesn’t feel sharp?”
“It is sharpened… but I can’t really tell if it isn’t sharp… or if it just feels different…”
It sounded like a strange complaint.
How could a knife be neither sharp nor dull?
“If he can notice that… he’s probably quite skilled with knives.”
Kang-cheol quietly nodded.
The customer was describing something that could only be felt by actually using the knife.
That kind of sensitivity didn’t come from ordinary experience.
Yet surprisingly…
The customer didn’t seem confident in his own judgment.
“May I take a look?”
The customer handed over the knife, still inside its sheath.
The plain molded sheath clearly showed the outline of the blade.
Part of the blade was exposed.
Shhhk.
As Kang-cheol drew it…
The sound of the blade rubbing against the sheath grated on his ears.
Fresh sharpening marks were visible along the edge.
That section was brighter than the rest of the blade.
Meaning…
It hadn’t been long enough to oxidize.
“Is this carbon steel?”
“Yes. I was told it’s spring steel.”
Kang-cheol held the blade toward the light and examined it carefully.
Then his eyes widened.
“You’re a Hunter, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Do you happen to carry a flashlight? Could you lend it to me? Not on the brightest setting.”
The customer switched on his flashlight and handed it over.
Kang-cheol examined the blade from every angle.
From the spine.
From the edge.
From the tip.
Then…
Tap.
He set both the knife and flashlight down.
“So… can you tell what’s wrong?”
“I know what it is…”
He scratched the back of his head.
“…Seriously. This shouldn’t happen.”
Frustration.
Disappointment.
Anger.
Suppressing all of it…
Kang-cheol finally asked,
“That bastard… actually charged you money after doing this?”
