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Chapter 67 Awakening (5)

Regeneration potions were items that returned things to their best condition. This extended even to the saddle known as the Dragon’s Mark, whose interior was completely entangled due to years of misuse. However, it was important to note that if the artifact wasn’t carefully controlled, the reproduction that would take place would have no limits. In other words, it was possible for artifacts overload due to an excessive recovery, or to even begin to decompose.

‘It’s funny.’ Therefore, repairing artifacts with a regeneration potion was a difficult process. It was delicate work that involved analyzing and reconstructing the artifact’s internal structure while simultaneously controlling the regeneration process. That was using two different types of magic at once. Or so Claire had said, but the explanation went over Shin-hyuk’s head as he couldn’t handle magic.

‘I don’t need to.’ However, he had learned about the efficacy of the regeneration potion, so he was confident. He already knew the internal structure of the artifact, as well as the perfect state of the artifact that the saddle itself knew of. The saddle was leading him to the form it desired.

‘Right?’

-Vwoom

‘Finally, it responded.’ The artifact began to resonate faintly with Kang Shin-hyuk as it began to accept the spiritual power permeating into it. His spiritual power led the potion so that it wouldn’t go berserk, aiming for that original form desired by the artifact. He smiled as he could feel the slight changes taking place in the mana circuits within the saddle.

‘I know a little more now.’ At first, he didn’t understand what exactly it had to do with taming. However, as he examined the artifact as it accepted the power of the regeneration potion, he began to understand it intuitively. Of course, that didn’t mean he would be able to replicate it. This item was made using mana craft; all Kang Shin-hyuk could do was metallurgy.

‘Still…I think this is possible.’ Once he had grasped the meaning and will of the artifact, all he needed to do was focus on creating an object that replicated that. If an enchanter heard him, no doubt they would mock him, but he felt it was possible.

-Vwoom

‘Well?’ It was then. Even after restoring it to its original state, the regeneration potion still had energy left to spare. He wanted to improve it. Kang Shin-hyuk instinctively added his own spiritual power to the artifact, pushing the potion beyond its limits to change both the interior and exterior of the artifact.

-Taking off the unnecessary decorations and expanding the mana circuits.

-A specific direction has been given to the saddle based on the spiritual power it has received…in this process, the Golden-eyed Dragon was activated.

-Originally, this artifact had the name of Dragon’s Mark, but it wasn’t originally related to dragons. It didn’t matter so long as the target was a monster. It worked without differentiating between them.

-However, it obtained that name after it was used to tame wyverns over the years. Thanks to the Golden-eyed Dragon characteristic, the artifact was breaking through its limits.

“No, it’s still a little lacking.”

“What?!” Kang Shin-hyuk drew his sword as he kept his hand on the saddle. The people watching the vibrating and changing form of the saddle stood up, but he paid them no mind as he cut the tip of his finger.

“What are you doing?!”

“Quiet!”

“Huh?!” Lee Manwoo silenced Douglas Payne with a word, who was trying to stop Kang Shin-hyuk. Meanwhile, Shin-hyuk’s blood that continued a deep spiritual power and a B-rank regeneration power fell onto the saddle, absorbed into it without a trace. Of course, his regeneration was quite lacking compared to the potion’s power, but it was better than nothing. The artifact emitted a radiant light as it finished repairing with the addition of his blood. No, rather, it had evolved.

-An artifact that had completely lost its ability has evolved beyond mere restoration. You have obtained [Dragon’s Mark (A+)]. If you use it yourself, you can raise your rating even further.

The luxurious saddle was shining radiantly before him. The image of a dragon was engraved onto the edges of it. He let out a sigh and put it down, messages filling his retinas as if they had been waiting for that moment.

-Communicating directly with artifacts to draw out their true power, your metallurgy skills have grown to B-rank. Heat resistance has further increased.

-Mastered the resistance skill [Resist Fire (A)]. The rarity of [Resist Fire (A)] increased due to the influence of regeneration and metallurgy, becoming [Resist Fire(S)]. Under the influence of metallurgy, skill proficiency increased to B-rank.

-Synchronization has accelerated—current rate of 17.2%.

-Congratulations on your new resistance acquisition with a 500HP bonus!

Familiar messages scrolled past him. He could understand the extent of the evolution of the Dragon’s Mark, but what was even more surprising was that he gained the Resist Fire skill from his heat resistance increasing. Resistances were very rare skills, so it was surprising metallurgy had such a hidden effect. No, of course, what he had just learned wasn’t ordinary metallurgy.

‘By the way…’ Kang Shin-hyuk recalled the instinctive activation of his trait during the process of repairing the object, which had happened when he repaired the orb as well. He thought it was originally applied to only weapons as a simple buff, but it worked to evolve these objects. It was a reminder that it was linked to his metallurgy, although its secrets still remained hidden for now.

‘I thought it was a trait that stopped me from using mana, but is it related to my previous life? No, since we have the same soul, isn’t that natural?’ He grew increasingly confused as he wondered what characteristics Anvil had in his previous life.

-As I said before, you didn’t have combat capabilities in your previous life. Until you accessed the Hero Universe, you were an ordinary person. One with no characteristics.

‘I see…’

-There’s no need to think too deeply about it. It means that there is no need to separate yourself from the past, nor do you need to try and match yourself. Just do what you want to do now.

‘…Thank you.’ Kang Shin-hyuk covered his embarrassment by thanking the administrator.

-1,000HP Bonus!

‘Did you read my mind?!’ While Kang Shin-hyuk was going back and forth quietly with the administrator, the artisans of the Payne family went to examine the artifact.

“My god! The energy inside is already different!”

“I’ve seen a lot of artifacts but…this is great. Lee Manwoo, this!”

“Artifact evolution. I’ve only seen it twice so far. When the connection between an artifact and its owner reaches its peak, I’ve heard that it can grow. But to think it would happen with an artifact I created…” Lee Manwoo shook his head and looked at Kang Shin-hyuk.

“This guy did it.”

“Evolving the artifact created by the great chief…!”

“Is this the ability of his disciple?!” The craftsmen overreacted to the point where it was hard to imagine them quietly repairing an artifact. Kang Shin-hyuk reddened a bit under their excited gazes.

“Haha, the effect of the regeneration potion was really great.”

“It’s an amazing item, but that’s not the only reason. You aren’t even the owner of this artifact in the first place…”

“You!” Finally, Douglas Payne stepped forward. He couldn’t believe what he had seen.

“Aren’t you trying to steal the Wyvern Knights items? Dropping blood on an artifact is often a way of registering as its owner!”

“No.” Kang Shin-hyuk responded calmly and lifted the saddle up.

“I could have used anything like that on this artifact. Still, anyone can use it, and you don’t even need to attach a badge to it anymore. You just need to meet the conditions for using it.”

“The terms of use…?”

“Yeah.” Kang Shin-hyuk felt a bit shaky as he hadn’t expected it to go this far.

“It grew during the repair process, so naturally the qualification requirements have changed. Probably, it originally had them…”

“It did.” Lee Manwoo nodded slowly.

“What I set was that only the captain of the Wyvern knights could use it. But now…it has become a standard of the artifact, not of a human.”

“Which means?”

“It’s not the person who decides… It’s the artifact that decides. The person that the saddle decides has the abilities appropriate of the Wyvern Knight commander. Only they can use it properly.”

“It’s the Dragon’s Mark now, sir.”

“This artifact is so cheeky. It’s begging you more than me!” Kang Shin-hyuk, who had deeply communicated with the artifact while repairing it, should be excluded. It would be easy to stop Douglas Payne from using it while he was working on it, after all.

“Huh, it must’ve been quite annoying to have been plagued by unqualified people. Maybe this guy can help us select the head of the Wyvern Knights in the future.”

“Huh…!” The two artisans, Douglas Payne and Eleanor R. Algiers, all looked up.

“Then it’s no problem.” Douglas Payne took the saddle away from Shin-hyuk with a confident expression and started walking away.

“Senior, since you’ve come over, why don’t we visit the wyvern? I’ll show you how I tame him.” Of course, he was walking toward the wyvern’s barn. It looked like Emil Bolton might burst into laughter, and Lee Manwoo just gazed at the artifact in his hand with his head tilted.

“That…ah…”

“Ah…” Eleanor bit her tongue, and Karen looked like everything was ruined. Kang Shin-hyuk, however, was convinced.

“We will go too. We’ll see if this man deserves to be recognized as the real captain.”

“…Huh.” Eleanor let out a deep sigh and nodded. So next up was to check on the wyvern Meloy.

-Kruuuuraaaaaah!

The results were as expected.

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