Morning sunlight poured through the abandoned subway entrance as Renzo stepped onto the streets of New York.
The city was alive.
Cars filled the roads.
People hurried toward work.
Street vendors shouted from the sidewalks.
Nothing had changed.
At least, that was how it appeared.
Renzo stood quietly for a moment.
After everything that had happened inside the Forgotten Forge, the ordinary world felt strangely distant.
Kensei-Ryu laughed softly.
"Look at them."
"They have no idea a Divine Class is walking beside them."
Renzo smiled faintly.
"That's exactly how I want it."
He adjusted the worn jacket covering his armor.
The Forge Monarch attire had already transformed itself into ordinary clothing through the authority of the Forge Domain.
To everyone else—
He looked like an ordinary nineteen-year-old.
An F-Rank hunter.
Nothing more.
A blue system window appeared.
Forge Monarch
Level: 50
Divine Essence: Stabilized
Forge Domain: Active
Bound Guardian: Ignis
Authority of Creation: 40% Unsealed
Renzo closed the window.
Level 50.
Halfway to the world's limit.
Yet he had already surpassed the System itself.
Vulcanos spoke calmly.
"Do not become arrogant."
"I know."
"The world has not yet seen your true enemies."
Renzo nodded.
Corvus had only been a Herald.
A fragment.
The Outer Sea was still waiting.
But before facing beings that could destroy worlds—
He needed resources.
Information.
Influence.
He needed to build a foundation.
A familiar memory surfaced.
The Black Market.
In his previous life, hidden auctions had been held beneath Manhattan.
Guilds.
Corporations.
Assassins.
Independent hunters.
Everyone traded there.
Monster cores.
Artifacts.
Illegal equipment.
Dungeon maps.
Anything could be bought.
Anything could be sold.
And Renzo possessed something priceless.
Divine craftsmanship.
Kensei-Ryu spoke.
"You're thinking about money."
Renzo nodded.
"I'm thinking about freedom."
The sword god laughed.
"That too."
Renzo walked through the busy streets.
As he passed a large digital billboard, a familiar symbol appeared on the screen.
A silver shield.
AEGIS CORP
The advertisement showed smiling elite hunters standing before a newly conquered gate.
At the center—
A man with silver hair and cold blue eyes.
Alistair Vance
The strongest hunter in America.
The leader of Aegis Corp.
The man who had betrayed Renzo in his previous life.
Renzo stopped walking.
For several long seconds—
He simply stared at the screen.
Memories returned.
Twenty-three years of carrying equipment.
Twenty-three years of loyalty.
The Level 100 dungeon.
The betrayal.
The abandonment.
The darkness.
Kensei-Ryu's voice softened.
"Hatred?"
Renzo shook his head.
"No."
He looked at Alistair calmly.
"Hatred makes people reckless."
"What I feel…"
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"…is opportunity."
Vulcanos nodded.
"Good."
"Vengeance is a poor forge."
"Purpose is a better one."
Renzo continued walking.
He had no intention of confronting Aegis now.
Not while they still believed he was insignificant.
The hidden player always had the advantage.
An hour later—
Renzo arrived at his apartment.
The small room looked exactly as he had left it.
Broken furniture.
Scrap metal piled in the corner.
The metal workbench.
His old life.
Renzo walked to the table.
Then activated Forge Domain.
Golden light spread across the room.
The air distorted.
A circular portal appeared.
Inside—
The Forgotten Forge.
Not the entire sanctuary.
Only a portion.
A personal workshop.
The First Anvil stood proudly within it.
Furnaces burned with golden flames.
Shelves of divine materials lined the walls.
And Ignis stood silently near the forge.
The guardian bowed his head.
"MASTER."
Renzo smiled.
"Welcome home."
The portal closed.
The room returned to normal.
Kensei-Ryu whistled.
"A portable divine workshop."
"That's absurd."
Renzo walked to the scrap pile.
Rusted pipes.
Broken electronics.
Discarded steel.
In his previous life—
This had been trash.
Now—
It was raw material.
He picked up a rusted steel rod.
Golden flames ignited around his hand.
The metal melted instantly.
Refined itself.
Purified itself.
Renzo didn't need to think.
The forge responded naturally.
A few moments later—
A sleek black dagger rested on the table.
Its edge shimmered with faint golden lines.
A system window appeared.
Item Created
Name: Shadow Fang
Rank: B
Effect:
• Increased armor penetration.
• Enhanced mana conductivity.
Renzo blinked.
"A B-Rank?"
He had used ordinary scrap metal.
Nothing special.
Nothing rare.
Yet he had created a B-Rank weapon effortlessly.
Vulcanos answered.
"You are no longer an ordinary blacksmith."
"You are a Forge Monarch."
Renzo looked at the dagger again.
If scrap metal could become B-Rank equipment—
Then monster materials…
A slow smile spread across his face.
The Black Market would never know what hit it.
A notification suddenly appeared.
Hidden Opportunity Detected
The Manhattan Underground Auction
Begins in:
3 Days
Kensei-Ryu laughed.
"Well."
"Looks like the world is inviting us."
Renzo picked up the dagger.
Golden flames reflected in his eyes.
Three days.
Three days to prepare.
Three days before he entered the underground world of hunters, guilds, and criminals.
This time—
He wouldn't enter as a porter.
He would enter as the man who could forge miracles.
And somewhere in Manhattan—
A certain underground auction was about to discover that a hidden F-Rank hunter had become the most dangerous craftsman in America.