The Swordmaster Wants To Live Peacefully [EN]: Chapter 327

Hephaestus.

A god abandoned due to his unsightly appearance, the blacksmith god who lived as a cripple because of it.

He was also a master of skull surgery, having split Zeus’s skull to bring Athena forth.

Perhaps because of that, Hephaestus’s temple was no different from a smithy.

Scorching heat.

The sound of hammering iron.

Steam constantly billowed up.

Standing before Hephaestus’s temple, Yoo Seong-woo felt his heart race with the rhythmic hammering.

There are many levels to craftsmanship.

Starting from an apprentice to being called a master craftsman, it requires much effort and talent.

But there are those who look down on such craftsmen.

It is the ideal of craftsmen whose skills have reached the divine, known as the Divine Craftsman.

A prime example of such a Divine Craftsman is Olympus’s Hephaestus.

He was the one who created the signature weapons of the Olympian chief gods, a Divine Craftsman who produced all sorts of armaments.

Since Yoo Seong-woo was skilled enough to be called a master craftsman, he was looking forward to meeting the Divine Craftsman.

“I will step back here. I hope you have a good time.”

Hermes, who had guided him, retreated, and Yoo Seong-woo ascended Hephaestus’s temple alone.

The only presence felt inside the temple was one person.

Whether he had no subordinate deities or not, Hephaestus was wielding his hammer alone in the smithy.

“Hephaestus.”

Yoo Seong-woo called out his name, but perhaps he didn’t hear him because he was so focused; he merely swung his hammer silently.

Yoo Seong-woo dragged a chair nearby, sat down, and waited for his hammering to finish.

Just as he would do.

Craftsmen hate being disturbed.

‘How long will it take?’

He hoped it wouldn’t take too long.

Yoo Seong-woo sat in the chair and watched Hephaestus’s metallurgy over his shoulder.

There was much to learn.

Willpower is imbued in one swing, and divinity in two swings.

With three swings, the lump of iron gradually takes shape and transforms into a beautiful form.

When it seemed like he was roughly finished, Yoo Seong-woo said.

“Are you done?”

“Yes. Just a little more trimming… Ack?!”

Hephaestus unconsciously answered and then, startled, shrugged his shoulders and looked back at Yoo Seong-woo.

Yoo Seong-woo waved his hand and yawned, and he asked timidly.

“Who are you?”

“A guest of Olympus. I’m staying here with Zeus’s permission.”

Hephaestus seemed to have been so focused on his smithing that he didn’t know such a thing had happened in Olympus.

“Oh dear, I seem to have been too focused to notice such a precious guest.”

“It’s alright.”

Yoo Seong-woo looked at him.

The face he finally saw was not one that could be called ugly.

‘Ah.’

Hephaestus was decent by human standards, but the deities appearing in Greek mythology were all overwhelmingly beautiful and handsome, so.

He had become relatively ugly.

Yoo Seong-woo briefly expressed his sympathy for Hephaestus’s fate and got to the point.

“I came to you because I need your help. Can you take a look at my swords?”

“…….”

Hephaestus seemed to hesitate for a moment, pursing his lips, and then nodded.

“It violates the rules for me to look at the weapons of other sacred temples, but since I have Zeus’s permission… I will make an exception.”

“That’s kind of you.”

“And more than anything… you weren’t surprised when you saw my face.”

“Should I be surprised?”

“Everyone is surprised when they see me for the first time. There’s a reason I’m Olympus’s representative ugly man.”

“There are plenty of uglier guys than you in the human realm. The Olympian gods would faint if they saw them.”

Hephaestus laughed out loud at Yoo Seong-woo’s words.

After chatting for a while, Hephaestus said.

“Now, show me the swords. Let’s see what the problem is.”

“There are quite a few.”

“It’s alright. Time is what I have plenty of.”

Yoo Seong-woo took out the problematic swords: Ilseong, Igye, Samjeong, Owol.

Heuksa and Yukmang, Palseong were fine.

‘Geochil (巨七) can’t even be drawn, so it doesn’t matter.’

The commonality of the swords that didn’t need to be drawn was that they had all reached divinity at least once.

Heuksa is a sword with a demon god sealed within it.

Yukmang is a goddess’s sword.

Palseong is the sword of Yamata no Orochi [eight-headed serpent monster in Japanese mythology].

Hephaestus’s eyes sparkled as he looked at the five swords.

“These are amazing swords. Each one has an incredible level of perfection.”

“That’s right. But it’s still not enough.”

“…Indeed. It seems like it’s time to shed a layer. I think I can help a little with the leap from master sword to divine sword.”

He explained what kind of treatment he would give the swords and how he would work on them.

It seemed like he had done a really good thing by coming to Hephaestus.

He recognized the problem after looking at them for a moment and even suggested appropriate solutions.

“How long will it take?”

“It won’t take too long. About half a day for everything should be enough.”

“That’s not long.”

He had expected about a month, but as expected of a Divine Craftsman.

“It’s a process of increasing the resonance between the sword and the swordsman. But afterwards, your role will be the most important in shedding a layer.”

“My role is the most important?”

“That’s right. This is the process of establishing the sword’s ego. They already have an ego, but their independence is weak.”

Yoo Seong-woo nodded.

Ilseong and Samjeong talked to some extent.

But he had never heard the voices of the remaining Igye and Owol.

In contrast, Heuksa and Yukmang were crazy bastards who chattered very loudly.

Palseong contains the soul of Yamata no Orochi.

“During the process of establishing an ego and gaining independence, communion between the sword and the swordsman is necessary. Read the sword’s memories and increase the synchronization rate with the sword.”

“I see.”

“If they establish an ego and gain independence in that way, the swords will be promoted to a divine status. At least they will become lower-level deities.”

If that happened, it would be an enormous increase in power.

If each sword could play the role of a lower-level deity, the Sword World would also rise rapidly.

Hephaestus continued.

“But you must be careful. Each of these swords is unusual, and you may not be able to escape if you get lost in reading the swords’ memories.”

“That’s alright.”

He knew these swords better than anyone else.

Thus, Yoo Seong-woo entrusted the swords to Hephaestus, left the temple, and looked around Olympus.

Wherever he went, the gazes of the deities were fixed on Yoo Seong-woo, but there were no longer any who showed blatant hostility or picked a fight like before.

They had seen him defeat Heracles and eventually cut down the three Moirae sisters [the Fates] with their own eyes.

“This place looks good.”

Yoo Seong-woo sat down in a quiet place with suitable shade where there were no people, summoned Palseong, placed it on his thigh, and closed his eyes.

He absorbed the fate divinity stored in Palseong and gradually converted it into his own divinity.

Discarding what should be discarded and keeping what should be kept. The fate divinity was also very useful for a swordsman.

Swordsmen stand at dozens of crossroads during battle and choose their future.

It is almost an act based on instinct and intuition, but if you can read the past, see the present, and choose the future, the range will be even wider.

“…Hoo.”

Yoo Seong-woo took a long breath and opened his eyes. He hadn’t yet absorbed all the energy contained in Palseong, but an uninvited guest had arrived.

It was a woman with a veil covering her face and long brown hair.

“…You are.”

“Circe. You can call me that.”

“Circe.”

A name he had heard somewhere.

Yoo Seong-woo pondered the name Circe for a moment, then opened his mouth as he recalled it.

“The witch goddess of Greek mythology. Was she Medea’s aunt?”

“Yes.”

Circe nodded, approached Yoo Seong-woo, and looked down at him.

As expected of a goddess, she was taller than most adult men. She looked down at Yoo Seong-woo for a while, then sat down in front of him.

“What brings you here?”

“I wanted to say thank you.”

“I don’t think I’ve done anything like that.”

Moving with Medea was also because their intentions aligned.

In many ways, the Witch Society and the Sword Sect were walking the same path, so he accepted them.

Circe shook her head.

“I saw the battle between Jason and Medea directly. I also saw her shake off her lingering attachments and complete her own world. That would have been impossible without your help.”

“…….”

“That child has always been like that. She only took a step forward when someone pushed her from behind. This time, you gave her a big push.”

“…You still don’t know Medea well. Even if it wasn’t me, she would have completed her own world someday. And shaken off her lingering attachments.”

“…Would she have?”

“She would have. Medea was a strong witch, although she had some problems. But it’s impossible to know how many years it would have taken.”

Circe chuckled at Yoo Seong-woo’s words.

Thinking about how many years it would have taken for Medea to shake it off on her own, she said.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Medea smile. When I chased that child out of Olympus with my own hands, she was so full of hatred that she seemed to see nothing…….”

“If she suffered such a thing, it’s understandable. She was cursed and really couldn’t see anything.”

“A curse in the name of love, perhaps.”

Circe muttered and looked up at the sky.

Then, after a while, she got up from her seat, handed Yoo Seong-woo a ring with a red jewel embedded in it, and said.

“A gift for you, who saved that child. If you call me with that ring, I will lend you my strength once, anytime.”

“Send Medea some nectar or ambrosia [food and drink of the gods]. It’s like she’s come home after a long time.”

“You never know when to stop.”

But perhaps she liked that side of him more, as she laughed again and waved her hand.

Then her figure was engulfed in darkness and disappeared.

Yoo Seong-woo, left alone, was about to close his eyes again when he saw Medea walking towards him from afar and got up from his seat.

“You were here?”

“What’s wrong?”

“What do you mean, what’s wrong? I just came to find you because I couldn’t see you. What were you doing here?”

“I was just killing time for a while. I couldn’t see you, what were you doing?”

“I went around saying hello. It’s been a while since I’ve been to Olympus…….”

She had a slightly bitter look on her face.

Even though she had returned after a long time, the gazes looking at her had not changed.

Still, she had visited Hecate’s temple and met Circe.

It was Circe who had picked her up and carried her when she collapsed.

When she had chased her out of Olympus with her own hands, the sight of her shedding tears and looking down at her was enough to melt Medea’s heart, which had been frozen like ice.

Medea smiled brightly and said.

“Oh, and Jeremiah has woken up. Let’s go see him together!”