Unlike Dark Knight, Buffer, and Mercenary King, the Blacksmith is not a unique class.
In other words, there are plenty of blacksmiths who could replace Russell.
Even so, there was only one reason Ryu Min had gotten on a plane and come all the way to a remote mountain deep in England.
'Because talents on Russell's level are rare.'
The statement that Russell would survive up to Round 15 was no lie.
Nor was the claim that he would reach the peak of the Blacksmith class.
'He might have died before hitting max level, but he was the only blacksmith to survive until the very end.'
That meant his personality, skills, and tenacity were all outstanding.
'If I can maintain a friendly relationship with someone like that…?'
It would be helpful in many ways when progressing through the Rounds.
Fixing the orb's durability was just a bonus.
'The Blacksmith class has similarities with a Buffer, so there's no downside to keeping him close.'
The difference was that, unlike a Buffer, a Blacksmith didn't have to stick to you all the time.
Once he repaired or reinforced your equipment, his job was essentially done.
Ryu Min stole a glance at Russell.
His mind was a mess as he agonized over whether or not he could trust this stranger.
'I should give him a little push in making his choice.'
This was exactly the kind of moment he'd studied English for, over countless regressions.
Ryu Min spoke in fluent English.
"What I'm asking for isn't much. All I need is for you to take care of my equipment when necessary and cast a few skills now and then. In return, I'll give you information about the next Round. If you do that, you'll be able to scoop up benefits you would've missed in the future and grow strong much faster."
"Hmm…"
Get information about the future just for casting a few skills.
It was an offer that didn't really require any deliberation, but that wasn't what was bothering Russell.
What bothered him was whether he could trust Ryu Min or not.
-From the way he talks, he does seem like an honest person, but… can I really trust him…?
After turning it over in his head again and again, Russell presented a compromise.
"Thank you for valuing my future so highly, but I still don't feel completely certain. So, here's what I propose: I'll decide whether to continue this deal or not after I see the results of Round 6."
"Do whatever is comfortable for you. It's not like I'm asking you to sign a contract."
Ryu Min flashed a confident smile.
Just like with Ma Kyung-rok, once Russell saw the prophecy with his own two eyes, he would have no choice but to rely on him.
"I'll fix your item first for now. I'll listen to the Round 6 information afterward."
"Understood. Here."
Ryu Min took the Beads of Eternity out of his inventory.
Its durability was barely hanging on at 1.
Russell took the necklace, didn't even bother checking its item info, and immediately cast his skill.
Flaaash—
With a brief flash of light from the orb, the repair was complete.
"Here. All done."
Ryu Min took the item back and checked its information.
Its durability was now completely restored to [1,000/1,000].
'Good. Now I can start stacking again.'
Grinning, Ryu Min looked at Russell.
-I don't know what kind of necklace it is, but it must be pretty good if he wants to keep using it even after the durability got that low.
Reading his thoughts, he realized Russell knew nothing about the item.
Even though he fully had the ability to examine its details.
'He deliberately didn't read it, thinking of it as customer privacy.'
It was the professional attitude of someone with a good character.
"Thank you. Thanks to you, the durability is back to perfect."
"Will you give me the Round 6 information now?"
"Of course. The quest in Round 6 is…"
Ryu Min shared all sorts of high-level information.
Each time he did, Russell's pupils widened and then shrank again.
"Hmm… If what you just said is true, I'll have to gather companions who are as strong as possible."
"Yes. That would help. The monsters are overwhelmingly powerful."
Russell nodded, but deep down he still doubted whether the prophecy would actually come true.
'Well, he won't be able to believe it until he goes through it himself.'
Ryu Min didn't feel any impatience.
Once Round 6 was over, Russell would understand.
That, to survive, he would have no choice but to grasp onto the lifeline called the Prophet.
"Then is our deal finished with this?"
"Yes, but…"
Ryu Min let his words trail off.
He still had more business with the blacksmith.
"Would you be willing to sell me an item?"
"An item?"
"You have something called [Black Iron Powder], don't you?"
"…!"
Russell, who had been half in doubt until now, couldn't help but be shocked this time.
'He even guessed what I have!'
He never imagined this man could use prophecy to correctly name an item lying inside his inventory.
And that wasn't the only surprising part.
"That item. Sell it to me. You seem to be looking for a job because you're short on money for materials, so I'll pay you generously."
'…So he even knows I'm trying to find work?'
It wasn't prophecy but mind-reading, yet to Russell it made no difference.
"This is really astonishing. I'll believe it now. That you're a Prophet. And I apologize. To be honest, I suspected you might be pulling some kind of trick."
"There's nothing to apologize for. I only speak of the future as I see it. Whether you believe it or not is entirely up to you."
"The Round 6 information is probably correct as well, then."
Saying that, Russell lifted his head with a look of resolve after thinking deeply about something.
"You need Black Iron Powder, right? I'll just give it to you."
"You'll just give it to me?"
"What I received from you is greater than what I've done for you. I'm not that shameless a person, you know?"
It seemed he'd finally accepted the value of the Round 6 information and was pricing it highly.
Smiling, Russell took Black Iron Powder out of his inventory.
"Here, take it."
Ryu Min accepted it without refusing, and the item description floated up.
[Black Iron Powder]
-Category: Miscellaneous
-Description: Black iron powder. A faint magical power can be felt.
'He's just giving away such a precious item.'
Strictly speaking, he was receiving it in return for the information, but Russell didn't know that.
He had no idea what level of value Black Iron Powder actually held.
'It's a material that goes into god-grade gear, after all.'
They said that once you got past Round 11, it became fairly easy to obtain, but for now that was still difficult.
The odds of getting it by luck while hunting monsters like Russell had were slim.
'Honestly, I'm the one who should be grateful here.'
If he'd gotten Black Iron Powder in exchange for the Round 6 information, it was hardly a bad deal.
"Are you sure you're okay with this? Just giving it to me like that?"
"I'm fine. Honestly, I don't even know what it's used for. You're the Prophet—only you would know how valuable that item really is."
Russell had some sense about him.
-If he went out of his way to ask for it specifically, it has to be an important item.
But he deliberately chose not to ask.
He chose not to pry.
He thought that, after already receiving so much help, wanting to know more would just be greed.
'Knowing where not to cross unnecessary lines—that's Russell's strength.'
Grinning, Ryu Min held out the bag he had brought with him.
"Take this."
"What is this?"
Russell, who took it without thinking, opened the bag.
"Gasp!"
Inside were dozens of bundles of ten-pound notes.
"It's a total of twenty thousand pounds."
"…"
"I can't just take the item for free, so consider this payment. That should be more than enough to cover your material costs, don't you think?"
"O-of course."
Russell replied immediately, almost sharply.
"More than enough" didn't even begin to cover it.
Twenty thousand pounds was around 32 million won in Korean money.
-T-this much… I won't even have to look for a job!
Was it because he realized he could do the blacksmithing he wanted for the rest of his remaining time?
The way Russell looked at Ryu Min quickly turned warm.
Seeing that expression, Ryu Min let out a small chuckle, and Russell, snapping back to reality, belatedly grew self-conscious.
"Ah, b-but… is it really okay for me to take this much money…?"
"You're more than entitled to it. The item you gave me is worth at least that much."
'Honestly, I wouldn't feel bad even if I gave him money in the hundreds of millions, but if it's too much, it'll only make him uncomfortable.'
This was him holding back.
But even this seemed like a lot to Russell.
Thinking there was no helping it, Ryu Min spoke casually.
"Of course, I didn't give you this much money just so you'd use it all on materials."
"Sorry? Then…?"
"Open an overseas stock account and invest about half of that money into Korean stocks."
"Korean stocks?"
"The company name is Player Place. It's a company that'll soon explode in popularity. If you invest, you'll never have to worry about material costs again. Well, whether you believe me or not is up to you."
"I'll believe you. It's the Prophet's word—there's no way it's wrong. Besides, it's money I got without doing anything anyway…"
Once he saw Russell promise to invest in Korean stocks, Ryu Min was finally able to turn away.
"That's everything I needed from you, then, Russell Daniel. I wish you good fortune in the next Round. Oh, do you have a phone?"
"Of course. I even upload videos to YouTube with it, you know."
"Then I'll give you my number. Save it, just in case."
Russell held up his phone and typed in the number as it was dictated, then abruptly raised his head as if realizing he'd forgotten something important.
"I completely forgot to ask for your esteemed name. Your name is…?"
Smiling gently, Ryu Min replied.
"Just call me Mr. Ryu."
Time could not be stopped.
As always, that day arrived.
Midnight, June 1st.
As usual, Ryu Min was summoned to the otherworld and looked around.
Unlike the lush greenery of previous times, a bleak wasteland stretched out before him.
This, without a doubt, was the setting of Round 6.
'Round 6 is the cooperation Round. I need to find people to move with.'
Scanning the surroundings, Ryu Min used the Tracking skill.
The first person he found was Min Juri.
If he was going to form a party, she was absolutely essential.
'Honestly, there's no one I need besides Min Juri.'
Even so, he still needed people to fill the headcount.
The rule for this Round was to form a five-person party.
'I need three people besides myself and Min Juri. Who should I pick?'
Four candidates popped into his mind immediately.
One of them was someone he'd be meeting for the first time, but someone he absolutely had to recruit into the party.
They would be useful in his future activities.
"Oh? Black Scythe-nim!"
Min Juri spotted Ryu Min and came running, waving.
"It's really nice seeing you here like this! Have you been well?"
"You say that like it's been ages."
"Hehe, but it has been a whole month, you know."
Min Juri now smiled brightly, no longer afraid of him.
Well, even in the last regression, the two of them had gotten along well.
'That's probably why we became close even without knowing each other's identities.'
As Ryu Min casually glanced around, he felt people's gazes focus on them.
-Who's that girl? Why is she talking to Black Scythe?
-Min Juri? Is she a top-ranker on Black Scythe's level?
-Come to think of it, I think I saw her in the results last Round. I'm pretty sure she was 2nd place…
-Either way, I'm jealous. Having the top ranker as a connection…
Ryu Min didn't care, but Black Scythe was very popular among the players.
He'd never been knocked from Rank 1, and he had a cold charisma on top of that, so players of all genders wanted to be close to him.
But that desire stayed in their hearts and never turned into action, for a simple reason.
Black Scythe was scary.
There was an aura around him, like a barrier that said "keep out."
Min Juri, however, seemed completely immune to that kind of thing and continued talking without a care.
"Did you manage to beat the last boss in the previous Round?"
"I did."
"Time was really tight, but you beat it so quickly? Then you must have completed the sub-quest for collecting the Stones of Balance too, right?"
"I completed it. And for the record, I won't be telling you what the reward was."
"Tch, how did you know? I was about to ask."
"Just a hunch."
"I've thought this for a while, but your insight really is incredible, Black Scythe-nim."
"…"
When he fell silent, Min Juri finally realized something was off.
-W-what on earth did I just say? How embarrassing.
Flustered, she blushed.
"Ah, I-I said something really cringey just now, didn't I? I'm sorry."
"There's nothing to apologize for."
"Huh? Ah… right. Why did I even apologize?"
"Either way, thanks for the compliment."
He let out a small chuckle as he said it, and she laughed along.
-He's considerate one moment and overflowing with charisma the next… he's really a strange person.
Just as Min Juri laughed it off—
"Hello, Black Scythe-nim."
Two of his party candidates approached him.