Transferred to an SSS-rank Production Class

“Charlotte?”

“Hehe, I tried copying what you were doing, Player. How is it?”

Charlotte waved a paper with a magical formula drawn on it.

It was perfect from start to finish. And here I thought I had made remarkable progress! I buried my face in the pile of papers on the floor.

Oblivious to my feelings, Charlotte laughed brightly as she twirled around me.

It took me days of being cooped up in the library to finally draw a proper magical formula, but Charlotte had produced a fairly decent one in just an hour.

“Master, am I really talented?”

“What?”

“I think you might have misjudged me.”

“Ha, are you doubting my judgment now?”

Kallos gave me a light knock on the head. I let out an involuntary yelp.

“Anyone can copy a magical formula. But mana sensitivity, the branches of traits, the eye to see the essence – these are things you must be born with. You have those. Do I really need to spell it out for you?”

“But…”

“Just open your skill window.”

[NPC ‘Kallos’ requests to view your skills. Do you allow it?]

When I accepted in a daze, Kallos made a gesture in the air as if conducting.

‘What is he doing?’

I activated Explorer’s Eye. As soon as I turned on the skill, I was overwhelmed by the mana circuits spread throughout the room. It was a vast network, incomparable to something like the Chimera Egg.

“This is the structure of the World Tower system…”

The mana circuits, thin as spider webs, were interwoven in a complex manner that I couldn’t even begin to understand. I almost doubted if these were really mana circuits.

Kallos, with his usual indifferent expression, twisted and added to the circuits.

‘So the mini-Kallos he made before was created by manipulating this.’

Suddenly, I remembered his trait name. Blacksmith Transcending the World. It was a fitting title for a master who could freely manipulate even the system.

After finishing his manipulation in an instant, Kallos patted my shoulder.

“Check it out. It’s nothing grand, but I tweaked your skill a bit. Now you should be able to check the success rate of enchantments. While I was at it, I also added a feature that prevents equipment destruction if you sacrifice an item of the same rank.”

These were exactly the functions I needed.

Overcome with emotion, I rushed to hug Kallos. Although he showed signs of discomfort, he didn’t push me away.

I had been worried about accidentally destroying someone else’s equipment… It was worth pouring out my concerns to Kallos every evening. Even though he seemed not to be listening, he was actually paying attention.

“Master, you’re a genius of the century! A genius!”

“Hm, remember this, Gaho. Don’t rely too much on skills. These are things you should naturally acquire through trial and error.”

“What?”

“It all depends on you. Don’t have the complacent thought that the system will take care of everything.”

I blinked at words I had never heard before.

Being told not to rely on the system that allowed me to use abilities akin to superpowers.

“In the end, skills are just bringing out your potential. It’s your ability to begin with. The more you’re bound by the system, the more you become someone who can only do that much. Don’t forget this.”

Although I couldn’t fully understand Kallos’s words, I nodded.

Saying that I would understand the true meaning of these words someday, Kallos stroked Charlotte’s head as she lay on the floor drawing magical formulas.

“Come out. That’s enough theory for now.”

“Really?”

And then Kallos confined me to the workshop.

“Master?”

“Don’t even think about coming out until you’ve analyzed all the items there.”

‘I feel like I heard something similar a few days ago…’

Instead of books and magical formulas, Kallos buried me in a pile of items.

◆◇◆◇◆

How many days had I spent in the workshop where day and night were indistinguishable?

A notification on my Hunter Watch marked the end of my training period.

[- Sender: Choi Kwon-young

The first floor to explore has been decided.

The party formation is also complete, so please return as soon as possible.

-P.S. Hunter Yun Su-ho asked me to send his regards.]

While I was excited at the thought of finally starting, I also felt a sudden anxiety about whether I could really do this. As I sat in the workshop with a gloomy face, a large hand suddenly fell on my head.

“Looks like it’s time for you to go.”

“Yes.”

“Take care.”

After gruffly uttering those words, Kallos disappeared in a flash.

Just those words of “take care” were enough. His awkward send-off made my worries melt away like snow, and I found myself grinning.

Yes, I will return here. With materials to give to Master.

“I’ll be back, Master.”

Leaving behind a farewell to no one in particular, I left the 33rd floor.

◆◇◆◇◆

As always, the old Seoul Station building was bustling with hunters today.

It was a familiar scene, except that the hunters, who would normally be focused on their own business, were busy glancing at someone.

“You’re late.”

“What?”

“I’m here to pick you up.”

Why are you here to pick me up?

The appearance of Yun Su-ho, a rare S-rank hunter who hardly ever appears in the media, caused a stir around us.

I recalled the postscript Choi Kwon-young had left. This guy Su-ho must have visited the guild again in the meantime.

Yun Su-ho, who was a head taller than even the awakened people who are generally larger than ordinary people, stood out in many ways. Leaning against the old station wall with his arms crossed, he looked quite impressive.

“Let’s get out of here first. Don’t act like we’re together.”

“Aren’t we together?”

“No!”

I quickly walked out of the station building. Yun Su-ho followed a couple of steps behind me.

“I brought a car. I parked it over there, so just wait a bit.”

“No thanks. You go alone.”

“Why?”

“Why? That’s what I want to ask. Why are you doing something you never do?”

Although I hadn’t asked anything difficult, Yun Su-ho stroked his chin.

‘That’s the habit he shows whenever he’s thinking hard.’

After pondering for a while, he finally said, “It’s dangerous.”

“I’m going to take public transportation, so you can go on your own.”

“Public transportation? Do you know how dangerous it is to be in contact with an unspecified number of people…”

Seeing him insist that all Hwangya hunters must have a lack of safety awareness, I snapped back without realizing it.

“Hey, I’m a hunter too, a hunter.”

“You’re C-rank, aren’t you?”

“Surprisingly, according to the Special Law for Awakened Persons, hunters of C-rank and above can be punished just for threatening ordinary people.”

Yun Su-ho tilted his head as if to say, “So what?”

“If you want to meddle, wouldn’t it make more sense to worry about the ordinary people using public transportation with me, rather than me?”

I may be considered awkward among hunters, but I’m still an awakened person. Dealing with three or four ordinary people is just a post-meal exercise for me. What danger…

Yun Su-ho was as stubborn as his tightly pressed lips. Even though my abilities hadn’t been publicly announced yet, he treated me like a potential kidnapping victim.

“Hey, isn’t that Yun Su-ho?”

As our argument dragged on, people started recognizing him. Yet Yun Su-ho didn’t budge.

Seeing people whispering and taking out their phones, I started to feel urgent. The only option was to make a strategic retreat.

“Ah, fine. Let’s go, let’s go!”

Reluctantly getting into Yun Su-ho’s car before becoming a zoo monkey, the black sedan started smoothly.

I wonder how much this costs. The ride was so comfortable that I found myself thinking about buying a car when I get my bonus.

As I sank deep into the backrest, a question suddenly occurred to me. How did he know to wait for me? I was called out urgently.

“How did you know I was coming here?”

“Choi Kwon-young told me.”

This guy! Selling out his guild member?

Choi Kwon-young never does anything that doesn’t benefit him. It was highly likely that he had extracted something in exchange for giving out my whereabouts. If I confronted him about it, he’d probably shamelessly say I benefited from the comfortable ride.

Having achieved his goal of picking me up, Yun Su-ho silently played the role of driver. He only occasionally shared updates about himself.

Before I knew it, nodding off here and there, we had arrived at the guild building.

“Why are you following me?”

Yun Su-ho followed me into the guild building. He said he had some business. Well, that’s not my concern. I checked the time in front of Choi Kwon-young’s office.

It was a bit earlier than the agreed time, but this should be fine.

Knock knock. I gently tapped on the door.

“Come in.”

Choi Kwon-young answered as if he had been waiting. When I opened the door, I saw a room furnished with dark wood furniture.

Hwang Jae-hee was sitting in front of the Guild Master’s desk, buried in documents, while Choi Kwon-young, the room’s owner, was sprawled on the sofa in a relaxed posture.

Slowly getting up, Choi Kwon-young guided us to a reception room connected to the office. There were already guests in the reception room we were led to. These people must be the party members Choi Kwon-young mentioned.

Two familiar faces and one unfamiliar one.

‘Han Cha-hyun is understandable, but…’

“It’s Mr. Kim!”

“Unni, long time no see.”

Cha Taeyang waved her hand energetically. Han Cha-hyun, who was sipping coffee, gave me an eye greeting, which I returned with a slight bow before sitting down in an empty seat.

“Wait, Yun Su-ho, why are you sitting next to me?”

Yun Su-ho, who had already taken a seat, casually checked his tablet.

‘Don’t tell me…’

Choi Kwon-young smiled with his eyes curved. It can’t be, it shouldn’t be.

With Choi Kwon-young’s next words, I ended up burying my face on the desk.

“With this, everyone is here. These are the party members you’ll be working with for a while, so please get along well.”