Genius Blacksmith's Game

In the past.

Athletes who won gold medals at the Olympics always became heroes of their country.

Dozens of advertising offers. Hundreds of reporters waiting at the airport.

Even floral garlands from the people who had become their fans.

None of it was excessive treatment.

When someone had worked for a long time somewhere out of sight and brought glory to their country, they deserved that much.

And now.

The viewership of Continental War: World Championship was overwhelmingly higher than that of the Olympics of the past.

That was because one-fifth of the world’s population played Ares.

And when Korea learned that the man no one had expected anything from had become Korea’s hero—and that he was the Successor of Admiral Yi—the country could only be turned upside down.

Only a few minutes had passed since the match ended.

Breaking news poured out.

—Daehan Group offers advertising deal to Lee Jongha.

—Pureun Enterprises reportedly to provide a car for Lee Jongha and his mother’s story, and for the hero who brought glory to the nation......

—Global corporation Aiple expected to send Lee Jongha a love call.

It suited the situation to say the entire world had ground to a halt.

Not only Korean companies, but global corporations as well were trying to use Lee Jongha as an advertising model.

And he was not merely receiving advertising offers.

Japan’s greatest guild.

The place where Musashi served as guild master.

It had abandoned its original guild name and reorganized itself anew as “Warrior.”

Musashi’s guild, Warrior, had originally accepted only ninjas, but it had changed that approach. Now it commanded more than 100,000 guild members.

It had also absorbed several territories on the Japanese server, trying to move closer to becoming a kingdom.

At that moment, Musashi spoke.

“13 billion. That is the amount we are prepared to spend to recruit Lee Jongha. Come to Warrior. We will spare no support.”

He revealed it in an interview with reporters.

13 billion, merely to recruit one person into a guild.

The entire world was shocked.

However.

—He’s more than worth it. Musashi’s guild Warrior is now firmly one of the world’s five great guilds.

—Not only would Warrior, one of the world’s five great guilds, be able to raise 13 billion, but no matter what nation is founded, its greatest weakness will be the sea near that country.

—The sea is the fastest route for invading that nation. Of course, in the real world, some countries don’t have a “sea,” but Ares isn’t like that. Every server is surrounded by the sea. And if Lee Jongha is blocking that sea? No one can invade.

That explanation proved why Musashi had officially called out the enormous sum of 13 billion.

It also received tens of thousands of likes across the world.

And not to be outdone by Warrior, which had risen into one of the five great guilds, Vietnam’s Divine Archer Miao joined the fray as well.

Divine Archer Miao’s guild in Vietnam, Con Trau.

In other words, Water Buffalo. It, too, was approaching kingdom status under its new name.

Vietnam was known as a country that was not wealthy.

However.

Because the revenue Divine Archer Miao generated was global in scale, it defied ordinary common sense.

“We will give 20 billion.”

As if determined not to let an emerging powerhouse slip away, Miao called out an enormous sum.

Once guild Warrior and Water Buffalo entered the competition, the guild masters of other countries—

That is, the countries that had also risen into the world’s five great guilds—had no choice but to participate as well.

Kali of the United States declared,

“25 billion. On top of that, we will give him the position of deputy guild master.”

It was nothing short of a shocking statement.

The whole world was turned upside down.

—....... One user’s value is 25 billion...... And if he becomes deputy guild master of the world’s greatest guild, he’d earn at least 10 billion a year just from the taxes collected in the territory, wouldn’t he?

—But that’s probably because Lee Jongha is Valhalla-level, at least on the sea?

That was right.

At sea, Lee Jongha was on a level comparable to Valhalla, and he had proven that fact in the match.

After that, China called out 30 billion.

And just as the whole world was waiting for Lee Jongha’s decision—

A Saudi Arabian prince and user, Ali, the owner of the guild Lord of Gold, spoke.

“50 billion.”

“......!”

“......!”

—......!

—......!

The entire world was shocked.

The Saudi Arabian prince.

User Ali possessed overflowing amounts of money.

Although Saudi Arabia was not a powerhouse in Ares, this was his declaration that he would make it into one, even if he had to pour money into it.

And to Ali, the rest of the world looked rather cute.

“To think you tried to show off with a mere 10 or 20 billion.”

Ali considered Lee Jongha’s recruitment confirmed.

“Korea’s hero is now Saudi Arabia’s hero.”

The Saudi people cheered.

The Korean Wave, K-pop, and other aspects of Korean culture were still burning hot across the world, and they were delighted that they had recruited one of the greatest Koreans.

But then.

—Lee Jongha migrates to the nation of Hyun.

—The sea of Hyun. No one will be able to covet it.

Ali was flustered.

He could not believe it.

Did the nation of Hyun pay him more than 50 billion!?

Was the nation of Hyun’s financial power beyond anything he had imagined?

Soon, Ali was able to watch Hyunsoo giving an interview.

“Just how much did you offer him!?”

“Was the nation of Hyun’s financial power really that incredible!?”

“Saudi Arabia announced that it would provide additional support worth tens of billions on top of 50 billion won. Exactly how much has the nation of Hyun agreed to pay him!?”

Hyunsoo, looking dejected, said,

“We don’t have any money......?”

“......?”

“......?”

The entire world was left questioning, and one reporter asked,

“......Then how did you recruit him?”

“Do you have some special recruitment secret?”

“Ah! You must have promised to fit him out with a full artifact set!”

Saudi Arabia’s Ali could not help but think that made sense.

The guild masters of various nations had called out hundreds of billions.

Jongha was worth that much.

So, as the reporter said, it seemed highly likely that Hyunsoo had recruited him by offering to outfit him with a full artifact set.

At that, Hyunsoo tilted his head and answered,

“......I was just standing still?”

“?”

“?”

This time, people went to Lee Jongha.

“Is that true? Have you received nothing from the nation of Hyun?”

That could not be true.

The Saudi prince, Ali, believed Hyunsoo was lying, and soon Lee Jongha spoke.

“......I have.”

Just as expected.

Hyunsoo had lied before the whole world.

Saudi Prince Ali knew Hyunsoo’s lie would be exposed to all.

“Hyunsoo appointed me Commander of the Sea and promised me 3,000 gold a year.”

“300 billion gold!?”

“Wait, you’re saying he promised 300 billion gold?”

“Gasp, 300 billion gold!”

Lee Jongha shook his head.

“No. 3,000 gold.”

“......???”

“???”

3,000 gold a year.

Three million won annually.

The whole world was dumbfounded, and Saudi Prince Ali, who had called out 10 billion, 15 billion, and then 50 billion, was left speechless.

No, 3,000 gold......? Then that’s 250,000 won a month?

That’s just a soldier’s salary, isn’t it?

Come on, even a part-time job would pay more than that.

What was even more amazing lay elsewhere.

“Is it true that you were the one who asked to join first?”

“Yes.”

Hyunsoo truly had been standing still, and Jongha had joined on his own!

At that moment, the entire world envied the nation of Hyun.

More precisely, they envied Hyunsoo, who had recruited Lee Jongha just by breathing.

*****

Production classes.

They referred to classes that crafted or made things.

Their types were as varied as those of combat classes.

Painters, chefs, sculptors, blacksmiths, alchemists, parchment makers, accessory makers, and more.

The revealed classes alone easily exceeded ten, and there was talk that, if the unrevealed classes were included, the number would reach around thirty.

As such, the influence production classes had on Ares was by no means small, nor could it be looked down upon.

Lucifer, known as a scroll maker.

As the world’s number-one-ranked scroll maker, he earned several times more than most combat rankers, which proved that fact.

Therefore, Continental War: World Championship also included events for production classes.

An event for chefs: Black-and-White Banquet.

A sculpting contest for sculptors.

Potion Battle for alchemists, and so on.

Of course, it was true that their viewership was generally lower than the events for combat classes, but production classes could still show off their own abilities this way.

Among those more than a dozen production-class events, there was one event guaranteed to have the highest viewership and buzz.

It was the event where blacksmiths competed: “Master Blacksmith.”

The event “Master Blacksmith” was given its name with the meaning of determining who the true Master Blacksmith was.

And the interest in this Master Blacksmith event—

was far hotter than expected.

The search traffic and dozens of search terms rising across the world proved it.

The search terms mostly consisted of the following.

Hyunsoo.Smith.Master Blacksmith rules.White Tiger Sword.Azure Dragon Sword.Great Bow of Demon-Slaying.Nation of Hyun.As the search terms showed, the whole world was focused on two people.

Smith and Hyunsoo.

Smith.

He was one of the few Master Blacksmiths in the world who had advised Ares in the blacksmithing field.

Afterward, Smith began Ares and proved everything.

He became a Legendary class faster than anyone else and became a guidepost for blacksmiths.

He taught the crafting methods for difficult quests that blacksmiths could not clear, and because of that, he was respected by countless blacksmith users around the world.

Unrivaled.

At one time, the person with the unrivaled highest number of forge subscribers in the world was Smith.

It seemed there would be no one left in Ares who could surpass him.

Takashi, the Master Blacksmith of Japanese swords, had disappeared.

Korea’s Master Blacksmith Kang Hyuntae had fallen into a vegetative state due to an unfortunate accident.

The one remaining person’s whereabouts were unclear, and only Smith of the United States was left.

Then, one day.

Smith encountered a turning point.

[An unknown person has surpassed your achievement in the Blacksmith Tower.]

......What?

At the time, Smith was shocked.

Scratching a stone with a dagger he had made.

That had been the assignment.

He had left a large gash in the stone and reigned as a legend in the Blacksmith Tower.

Someone had surpassed that achievement of his.

From then on, a certain being began to rise.

The second time, someone reached the crafting of a Legendary artifact faster than he had.

Smith could not believe it.

And not long after, the Mad Rookie appeared, and during Continental War: China VS Korea, that person’s identity was clearly revealed.

Master Blacksmith Hyun.

He created the first Transcendent and seized the title of one of Ares’s Continental Top Ten Legends, “Master Blacksmith.”

Then he caught up to Smith’s subscriber count and reached Mythic faster than he had.

Smith had become second place.

However, at present, Smith carried immense confidence.

So, before entering the event, he told Team USA,

“I will win.”

It was confidence born from tremendous certainty.

—Participants in the event Master Blacksmith, please proceed to the field.

At the Judge’s words, Smith, who held that certainty, headed toward the field to win.

******

Team Korea’s waiting room.

—Participants in the event Master Blacksmith, please proceed to the field.

Hyunsoo, too, followed the Judge’s words and headed up onto the field.

More than one hundred “Master Blacksmith” participants filled the arena.

And to Hyunsoo, this match, Master Blacksmith, could be called extremely important.

Smith is one of the few remaining artisans, and he is a Master Blacksmith who has worked at a forge for more than forty years.

He was one enormous mountain.

Hyunsoo was a blacksmith who had only worked at a handcraft forge for a little over ten years.

Even now, he could see the years of experience in Smith, who had spent a long time doing forge work.

However.

I will win with what you taught me.

Hyunsoo’s father had been the greatest Master Blacksmith.

It was a fact Takashi had acknowledged, and Hyunsoo did not forget that he was another Master Blacksmith born from a Master Blacksmith.

—The heat is already intense, even before the event begins.

—A big match between a Master Blacksmith who has lived through fifty years of time and a Master Blacksmith newly leading the era. Perhaps a match we may never see again is about to begin.

Hyunsoo and Smith.

The two faced each other.

When the still-too-young blacksmith and Smith, whose experience was written all over him, met face-to-face, cheers erupted from every corner.

“Waaaaaaaah!”

“Hyunsoo, win! Hyunsoo, you can do it!”

“Master Blacksmith Hyun! Rip out that old tiger’s fangs!”

“Blacksmithing means Hyunsoo, obviously!”

“What nonsense. Smith was there from the very beginning!”

“Smith is an elder and Master Blacksmith of the blacksmithing field. You can’t ignore the weight of time!”

“Smith! Show them what an artisan who has handled crafted works for decades is like!”

The crowds cheering for Hyunsoo and Smith split in half, pouring out heated shouts.

The commentators spoke in excited voices.

—Master Blacksmith VS Master Blacksmith.

—The big match of the Master Blacksmiths.

—The match will begin shortly.